Talk about the right album at the right time! While I was never that big a fan of the symphonic bombast and Lord of the Rings fetishism of power metal acts like Blind Guardian and Rhapsody, I was tasked with reviewing the new Dragon- land opus over the same long weekend that  local movie channels played the LOTR trilogy nonstop in their full extended glory. Since Under the Grey Banner is yet another slobbering Tolkien love-fest, replete with elves, orcs, swords and sappiness (which completes their own trilogy started on their first two albums), it fit right in. Like their previous works, it’s a full-on symphonic cheese factory with enough grandiose pomposity to choke a Balrog. You know exactly what it will sound like and what will be included. Overblown keyboards, soaring vocals, choirs, frenetic neo-classical guitar wankery, it’s a big, overwrought symphonic mess. As such, it manages to work about as well as most albums of this ilk but at least it didn’t send me running for a shot of insulin until the midway point. While its nothing you haven’t heard before from the likes of Rhapsody or Labyrinth, its well done and quite entertaining at times in a too-close-to-Broadway-musical kind of way. However, it has it’s share of consistency issues and isn’t as strong as their 2004 Starfall release. That said, I’m sure fans of this type of Dungeons & Dragons™ music will love it like a +10 sword of sliceification. In case there was ANY doubt about the nerd-factor of this stuff, Dragonland created an interactive website with maps and narrations to help guide you on the mystic  journey they planned for you. Holy nerd bait, Batman!

Since this is a royally bombastic fantasy epic, you get the obligatory overlong intro and dramatic voiceover to set the mood before the first proper song hits. Luckily, after the long wait, it’s a doozy. “Shadow of the Mithril Mountains” is a speedy, energetic power metal tune with predictably soaring, epic vocals and all the grandeur they could fling against the recording studio wall. Jonas Heidgert flexes his vocal muscles to the limit and his singing really puts the song over exceptionally well, as does the Yngwie-ish fret-work on the song’s back-end. “The Tempest” slows things down while maintaining the epic vibe and again, the vocals make the song better than it should have been. Other high points include the galloping energy of “The Black Mare,” the uber-melodic strains of  ”Lady of Goldenwood” and the Enya-esque closer “Ivory Shores,” courtesy of Amaranthe‘s Elize Ryd (this could have been on the LoTR soundtrack). The title track gives you the whole fantasy kitten-kaboodle and between the voiceovers and the five-hundred guest vocalists, a decent song lays partially buried and obscured.

Sadly, all is not golden in Middle Earth and tracks like “Fire and Brimstone” and “Throne of Bones” get weighed down by Fred Johanson’s deep, super dramatic, quasi-opera baritone vocals that just don’t work and seem cheese- tastic (“Throne of Bones” may be the most Broadway-ready metal song to prance along in years). Likewise, several songs, while decent, seem very generic and bland (“A Thousand Towers White” and “Durnir’s Forge”). Making matters worse, some of the better songs are saddled with voiceovers that pop in and disrupt the flow and momentum (“Lady of Goldenwood” and the title track). In the final accounting, roughly half the tracks here are weighed, measured and found wanting.

The band’s performances are all quite well done, especially the vocals and the guitars by Olof Morck (Amaranthe, Nightrage) and Jesse Lindskog (ex-Dreamland) and some of their leads and solos are impressive indeed. The symphonics are mercifully kept just shy of overdone on several songs and Elize’s vocals are solid and graceful. If they penned a few more quality tracks like “Shadow of the Mithril Mountain,” we would be looking at a potential usurper of the jewel-studded throne of Luca Turilli but it was not meant to be.

In all candor and honestly, Dragonland was never up near the levels of the best in this genre. Despite some fun moments, Under the Grey Banner doesn’t bring them much closer and I doubt it will attract the Eye of Sauron. While far more palatable than what Dragonforce is doing, this is still middle-of-the-pack fantasy power metal puffery with too much elf and not enough orc. Add a point if you know who Gary Gygax is or if you belong to a LARP guild. Nerds!!

Related posts:

1. Bloodbound – Unholy Cross Review
2. FullForce – One Review
3. Shadows’ Grey – Bonjour Tristesse Review

3 was one of my favorite discoveries of the year 2007. The End Is Begun ripped me out of my progressive complacency and reminded me that well-written, well-performed progressive rock or heavy metal, can be some of the most interesting and effective music. In a world dominated by polyrhythms and breakdowns, 3 was a refreshing blast of melody, piccolo toms and some of the most creative and unique guitar playing and song writing that I’d heard in a very long time. So I guess it’s fair to say that I have been anticipating their follow up, The Ghost You Gave to Me with no small amount of anticipation. 

The Ghost You Gave to Me eases out the door with something that sounds just like… well, 3. This is one of the bands that like Opeth has a very distinct sound, with a specific use of certain types of rhythms and phrasings that just sound like 3. The opener “Serenum Scropuli” is an acoustic bit, emphasized with a neat little arpeggio before the end of the phrase, and vocalist Joey Eppard’s recognizable, tenor washed out with a ton of reverb. This is the perfect opener, before wandering into a track with a power rock chorus (“React”) and the bands characteristic acoustic work.

While I’m not a huge fan of the band’s pre-The End Is Begun material, this record picks up where its predecessor left off. At times it is undeniably and ridiculously poppy, like on “Pretty” which actually has the techno beat (un-cha-un-cha-un-cha) on the chorus, or “Sparrow” (or “Afterglow”) where the band wanders into Coheed & Cambria territory with what sounds like a pop punk backbeat. On the other hand, the acoustic work and delicate melodies may be what the band is best at. “One with the Sun” shows that off with a catchy vocal melody and acoustic work supported by fantastic drum and bass work. “Only Child” is another one with fantastic bass, drum and guitar work that probably stands out as the most progressive on the record, as well. It’s mysterious and sexy and a fantastic track.

But the third part of this band, and the reason they’re signed to Metal Blade, is that they write great metal riffs as well. “It’s Alive” rips out the door with a powerful riff, before wandering into 70s prog territory and bringing it back out on the chorus, with Eppard’s “It’s alive!” chorus. One of my favorite parts on the album is actually about 3 minutes into the track “Numbers” where they break out a riff that could easily have come from a death metal or black metal band. This riff is pure thrash groove and it could have been a Behemoth or Septic Flesh riff. Honestly, I could’ve used a bit more of the heavy stuff on this record. It’s well done and the mentioned tracks, the title track and a spattering of other moments give this a nice feel, but it’s never quite as heavy as I’d like it to be.

Of course, the key to a lot of this material is Eppard’s vocals and use of harmonies. Again, like Coheed (and Blind Guardian and Bad Religion) there seems to be a desire to build great vocal melodies, but also fantastic harmonies. Eppard is probably a first tenor, so that places him on the up end of vocal ranges for men (in case you don’t know), and that means that he is able to offer a lot of texture to his vocal backings and it really fills out the sound of these tracks. I hadn’t really noticed it before, but in this case it works remarkably well. So well, in fact, that it distracts from the fact that these lyrics are basically non-sensical children’s rhymes. It kind of drives me nuts, because when the gnawing end-rhymes dig their way through my barrier, they really annoy the hell out of me. While they’re more creative than the “die”/”cry” crap that others are guilty of, Eppard has a very specific pattern that he likes to use (“I like to rhyme / All the time / that I’m singing this song. It’s good fun / when the sun / isn’t exploding and killing us all.”) and it gets repetitive and frustrating. I know that progressive rock isn’t about the lyrics, but cut your fucking listeners some slack, huh? If you don’t care about writing lyrics, find someone else to do it.

But all-in-all The Ghost You Gave to Me is a very good record. It’s got no bad tracks with a lot of variation. I don’t like it as much as The End Is Begun yet, but it’s possible that I will, and the writing is engaging and the band’s playing is lights out. Fans of the band will eat it up and new listeners will become fans. Everyone who has progressive tendencies should check this record out.

Related posts:

1. Three – Revisions Review
2. Arch/Matheos – Sympathetic Resonance Review
3. Devin Townsend Project – Ghost Review

10. Dimmu Borgir – Spiritual Black Dimension – “The Insight and the Catharsis” — Well, these guys win on several fronts. First front? Definitely the Freud reference. Second front? This song fucking rules. I love everything about. The songwriting is grand, majestic, heavy and blasty while still having lots of melody. This was probably the band’s last awesome album, but it was “The Insight and the Catharsis” and Simen’s vocals that kept me coming back to this track. His vocal melodies are totally incredible and super addictive. And even the guitar solo is heads-and-shoulders above Dimmu‘s run-o’-the-mill work. Over and over and over I have listened to this song and never have I gotten bored with it. Tremendously well constructed, well performed and one of my favorite metal songs of all time (obviously).

09. Danzig – III: How the Gods Kill – “How the Gods Kill” — “Really?” you say. “Danzig?” Hell yes, Danzig. He may be an 4 foot evil Elvis impersonator, but he’s the most evil one of those fuckers you ever done met. And really, he did produce some good, doomy, bluesy heavy metal back in the day. But one of those just pretty good records contained a magnificent and, in my opinion, overlooked track: “How the Gods Kill.” Man, this one is great. It starts out with Danzig‘s dulcet tones and and it just builds. It never reaches a frenzy, but it’s like seething evil. Creepy, awesome and oh-so-memorable. A truly great heavy metal song.

08. Blind Guardian – Nightfall in Middle-Earth — “Nightfall” — This is another one of those tracks that I don’t think it goes to deny. How do you ever deny this shit when it’s staring you in the face like this? This song has everything in it that you could possibly want out of a power metal band. The vocals? Awesome. The harmonies? Huge. The chorus? Unforgettable (really, you’ll be singing it for weeks). The story? By J.R.R. Tolkien. And while Blind Guardian fans will probably poo themselves (they are a remarkably bitchy and fickle lot), I don’t actually think it ever got better than this. These guys just nailed it and nothing they’ve done since has quite lived up to it. Unfortunately, once I’d been changed by “Nightfall” I wanted more of it and never got it. But this song will never die for me.

07. Amon Amarth – Fate of Norns – “The Fate of Norns” — This is actually a weird one, in a sense. As a track it’s actually not the band’s “best” even, but this is one of the few heavy metal songs that has lyrics that actually really moved me the first time I listened to it. Since then it’s been a favorite of mine and for good reasons. I mean, it’s also a great song. Mid-paced melodic death metal with a very memorable chorus, but really it’s just the lyrics that do it for me. I think it’s the idea of Johan Hegg crying over his dead son that do it for me. I dunno, apparently Angry Metal Guy is actually Soft and Cuddly Metal Guy. Whatever, this song is a track I always come back to and love thoroughly. Especially the “ALLFATHER!!!!” part. Oh man, goosebumps as I listen to it now. “I lay him down upon a pyre / A burial worthy a king / And as I lay down by his side / I feel them weaving us in.” So motherfucking metal.

06. Rhapsody [of Fire] – Power of the Dragonflame — “Agony Is My Name” — Oh man, J is right. I am a power metal fag! ‘Cause dudes, this song just straight up balls. This track has it all. It’s like they looked at Yngwe Malmsteen and then they just raised him by 1,000. It’s all here: the over-the-top vocals, chorus, baroque guitar solos and hell even a harpsichord and it 100% rules. Just everything about this song is total win. The chorus, the vocal delivery, every single instrument on the recording. Oh. I listen to it and I instinctively throw horns. It’s like reflexive. Fuck. Such a great track, and this band has had some great tracks.

05. Iced Earth – Something Wicked Comes this Way – The Trilogy: “Prophecy,” “Birth of the Wicked,” and “The Coming Curse” — Okay, I’m cheating. But I *shouldn’t* be cheating, it’s just that Jon Schaffer didn’t make this one song on the record. But you ever see anyone ever play just one of these tracks? No. Have they ever played just one of these tracks live? No. This is one big awesome epic song and it is literally the only Iced Earth I ever even listen to anymore. Matt Barlow is such a beast on these tracks and all three are just.. well.. plain awesome. I’m actually at a loss for words as to how to explain why I love these songs as much as I do. They are just super epic, with Schaffer’s best writing ever, and all the things you love about metal. Gallop, lightning triplets on the drums and guitars, and all the conspiracy laden drama you can eat. Now listen to this and tell me this shit ain’t worth of this spot on the list.

04. Opeth – Blackwater Park — “The Drapery Falls” — Opeth is ridiculously popular now and this is the record that did it. And while I don’t tend to kowtow to the consensus, it’s hard to ignore that this record was special. Because, well, it was special. Everything about it just really clicked, and while I don’t actually even think it’s the band’s best, it has lived on. For me, one of the reasons it lives on as one of the finest metal records I own and one of the band’s best is this track. I remember hearing it for the first time and my jaw dropping when the change at 4 minutes hit: “Pull me down again and guide me into.. Aaah!” Oh man. It floored me and I never forgot it. And still to this day, I haven’t forgotten it. I don’t listen to much Opeth anymore, and I dread the new record something fierce, but “The Drapery Falls” brings back all the same good ol’ nostalgia feelings. [Finally, fuck that they're SO POPULAR that I can't find a non-live version of this song on YouTube.]

03. Metallica - Ride the Lightning — “Creeping Death” — Uh. Hi. Metallica? Yeah, as far as I’m concerned these guys are the thrash band that survives the best in the modern era (that is, their first three albums are still the best), but I must admit that my first full length record was actually a Metallica record, so let’s not kid ourselves, people. I’m a biased motherfucker. Still, I’ve never understood the infatuation with Master of Puppets when Ride the Lightning was such a much better record and “Creeping Death” is the crown-motherfucking-jewel in Metallica‘s bonnet (these guys don’t have a crown anymore—they play corporate parties for fuck sake). Still, this track is just awesome. It’s catchy, it’s rad, it’s got great solos and one of the best chanty parts in any song. Also, it’s.. Biblical? Well, whatever, it was the most metal part of the Bible for sure. Great shit.

02. Iron Maiden – Seventh Son of a Seventh Son — “The Prophecy” — This is the second prophecy on my top list, but this is easily the superior of the two. For me, what makes Iron Maiden the best heavy metal band of all time is the prog. They were a heavy metal band, it’s true. And they wrote some fucking scorchers that I absolutely love. But “The Prophecy” is such an awesome and epic track and subtly progressive—it just embodies everything I love about heavy metal today. It’s got a cool lead in, great dynamic vocals with a badass riff. Dickinson sounds amazing but he never tries to shriek or fuck it up with vocals from his nutsack—he’s just dead on. The guitar work on this song is awesome and Steve Harris’ bass is really just unmatched. The melodies are sticky and the guitar solos are ballsy, though they’re definitely not the best on this album (’cause the title track takes that). And then, the outro. A harmonized riff and beautiful acoustics under it. It’s almost too much too fast, and yet for some reason it just got under my skin and never left. I guarantee you that if I ever get a successful band off the ground this will be the first song we cover. It shows all the dynamism that the band’s counterparts never could muster and it still should make bands green with envy.

01. Blaze - Silicon Messiah — “Stare at the Sun” — It’s hard to express how much I loved this record as an 18 year old. But, I loved a lot of shit when I was younger that I wouldn’t touch with a 20 foot pole today. When it comes to good, honest heavy metal the 2000s have not been pretty. We’ve had some power metal and we’ve had some neo-thrash and there’s a bunch of bands who wish they were born in the 80s, but none of them did it convincingly and with an eye to the future while still just being modern heavy metal. Honest to God heavy metal without and anachronistic bullshit. Blaze, which was led by Blaze Bayley and built of a bunch of no name British punk kids really did that. And speaking of “crown jewels” this is the best song they ever wrote. Everything about this song is just right. The build up is impeccable, the guitar solos are just so goddamned good, the lyrics are well written (it’s about a man going insane in space while staring at the tiny dot that is our sun—what’s more metal than that?) and the production from Mr. Andy Sneap (who you may have heard of) is immense and heavy. I love this song so much, I cannot even begin to do it justice. It just exemplifies everything good about heavy metal. This, in my opinion, is the definition of heavy metal perfection. And there’s not even a little bit of nut grabbing going on.

And that my friends, is all she wrote. If you have any desire to listen to the whole fucking thing as a playlist, you can do that right over here! Click this link and be taken to Spotify!

Related posts:

1. Angry Metal Guy’s Best Heavy Metal Songs of All Time 30-21
2. Angry Metal Guy’s Best Heavy Metal Songs of All Time 40-31
3. Angry Metal Guy’s Best Heavy Metal Songs of All Time 20-11

Wow, yet another reminder that you can’t always judge a metal album by the cover. By looking at the artwork for Hell‘s debut Human Remains, I bet most would expect a death or thrash bonanza. Well, a mighty big ass surprise would await upon spinning this thing! This is NWOBHM style metal by a British band that was part of the 80′s new wave but unable to land a record deal, despite adoring fans and supporters like Lars Ulrich. After founding singer/guitarist Dave Halliday killed himself in 1987, it seemed Hell had run it’s course. Fear not, for long time fan, friend and mega-producer Andy Sneap (Sabbat) has come to the rescue, convincing them to reform for another shot at metallic glory. With the surviving members together again along with new vocalist Dave Bower and Mr. Sneap as a second guitarist, we finally get that long awaited debut. So how do a bunch of songs that have been mothballed since the 80′s sound in 2011? Well, despite some great moments and obvious potential, its not a complete success. Allow me to elaborate.

Hell takes the NWOBHM style of titans like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, pairs it with riffing right off the first two Mercyful Fate albums and adds some extra heaviness to the mix. Sounds like a winning formula right? It is, especially for cranky old bastards like me who grew up during that Golden Era of metal (AMG will disagree about the 80′s being a metal Pax Romana, but it was!). On tracks like “On Earth As It Is In Hell” and “Plague and Fyre”, guitarist Kev Bower and Mr. Sneap lay down some great old school influenced riffs that don’t necessarily sound dated (“On Earth” in particular having a heavy Mercyful Fate style). On “The  Oppressors” they craft a swaggering, bouncing main riff that exudes coolness. During “The Devil’s Deadly Weapon” there’s some great, epic riffing that can’t be resisted (especially at 2:02 onward into the solo). In fact, every track on Human Remains has some great riffing and solo work and some truly interesting compositional ideas that get quite proggy at times.

So what’s the glitch you ask? Well, it pains me to say it, but the vocals of Dave Bower (brother of guitarist Kev) are a real hindrance. He’s clearly a gifted vocalist and blessed with a diverse and unusual skill set. He can sing like King Diamond, hit stratospheric highs like Halford in his prime and can carry a tune across town without breaking a sweat. The problem is, he tries just too damn hard on most of the songs and adopts a style incorporating the worst features of Jon Oliva (Savatage), Hansi Kursch (Blind Guardian) and Lizzy Borden (Lizzy Borden, duh). If you can’t imagine that combo, it entails alternating between hoarse, gruff vibratos, little, shrill chirps, screams, WAY over-the-top dramatic intonations, cheesy theatrics and lunatic laughter. In essence, Mr. Bower approaches vocals like Anthony Hopkins has approached acting recently. Just listen to his ranting and general hysteria on “Blasphemy and the Master” and you’ll see what I mean. When he takes things down several notches, the songs fare better like with “Plague and Frye” and “The Quest.” Sadly, restraint is rarely the watch word and Human Remains contains the most overwrought vocal performance since Martin Walkyier’s slobbering on Sabbat‘s Dreamweaver album. Oddly enough, Walkyier was the first choice to do vocals here. Apparently Mr. Sneap likes his vocalists unhinged and unrestrained.

Another problem is the length of the songs. “Blasphemy and the Master” feels way too long at eight minutes and “The Devil’s Deadly Weapon” is even worse at ten minutes. Considering Bower’s vocal shit show, that’s simply too big a canvas to let him finger paint on. Also working against them is a tendency for the lyrics to get too glib and supercilious, thereby undercutting the dark mood they’re trying to create. Finally, the songs themselves are uneven, some rock solid, some borderline filler.

After such a long, tough road, I give Hell full credit for finally getting this material released. They’ve been through Hell and back career-wise (sorry, had to do it). While the vocals are a major love or hate proposition and its an uneven record overall, the guitar-work partially redeems things. There’s big potential here and I can see Hell crafting a real stormer next time out, providing they keep Mr. Bower on a much, much shorter leash (with muzzle). Welcome to the big time guys, glad you finally made it.

Related posts:

1. In Solitude – The World. The Flesh. The Devil. Review
2. Wolf – Legions of Bastards Review
3. Tarot – Spell of Iron MMXI

Bullshit. First, even by that logic, tracks from At The Gates and Blind Guardian, having been released in the mid-90s could easily have made that list. But I think the other thing that people forget is how metal is no longer as unified then and therefore it’s much harder to come up with newer songs that unify large buying publics. There’s a reason that it’s Korn and Tool that make those lists and not Opeth or Primordial (though arguably Opeth is one of the most popular metal bands in the world today), and it’s because metal doesn’t have the same kind of commercial power that it maybe once did. But does that mean that we should cloister ourselves in stupidity and only pay attention to records that went gold and songs that even people who don’t like metal have heard? This Angry Metal Guy says “Hell no!” And thus I have presented this list (here’s: 50-41 and 40-31) parallel to Steel Druhm’s lists (50-41 and 40-31) with an eye to what has happened in metal since then. Of course not everyone is going to agree—but that is simply because we live in a post-modern metal world, where not everyone is able to get the same metal.

But ask yourself this; which of these bands will be looked back upon fondly, and which of them will be looked back upon with shame. There’s a reason that Warrant and Stryper didn’t make Gibson’s list, and it’s the same reason that Korn shouldn’t have and Papa Roach wasn’t anywhere near it: because these were trends, they were bad, they were cheesy and they are to be looked upon with proper contempt and shame for having ever existed. The same cannot be said of Ulver or Opeth or Primordial or Vintersorg. These are united in excellence and artistic expression, even if they don’t all reach the same listeners.

So my goal here is not to construct the list of the most accessible stuff, it’s the stuff that I see as the best. That means when it comes to songwriting, presentation and, of course, memorability. And now, 30-21.

#30: Manowar – Kings of Metal – “Hail and Kill” — This, my friends, is fucking heavy metal. While Manowar‘s discography is choppy (at best) and I’m pretty sure that Joey DeMaio is a high-functioning psychopath (from everything I’ve read and given his history of fucking bands who work for him in the ass), that doesn’t mean that these guys didn’t write one of the best heavy metal songs of all time. Because man, they really did. This is a song that I would love to see live just so I could chant along with it in the chorus and headbang like mad. This track and “Thor” are pretty much the best thing the band ever did, but when they hit the ball they really hit it out of the park. Extra points for the line “May your sword stay wet like a young girl in her prime.” Ha! — Also, RIP Scott Columbus.

#29: Bloodbath – Nightmares Made Flesh – “Eaten” — The first time I heard this song, I just had to laugh. And then I had to listen to it again. This is everything that old school death metal should be, except being done with an amazing sensibility that I think is hard to find in the death metal scene. The riffs here are amazing, the chorus here is hilariously awesome (“Eaten! My one desire, my only wish is to be eaten! The longer I live the more I’m dying to feel the pain!”) and the feeling is extreme, heavy and creepy. This song is total win and I love it. When turning people onto more traditional death metal I actually think that starting with Bloodbath is a good way to go because they’re oddly “poppy” for a death metal band. As has been made abundantly clear with this song.

#28: Morbid Angel – Covenant – “God of Emptiness” — Morbid Angel is a band that has an undeniable legacy in death metal and “God of Emptiness” was a bit of a gateway record for dudes like myself who were exposed to it and went “Whoa. That was fucking evil.” The final clean vocals are great, the video is awesome and the song is just crushingly heavy. Some may debate whether or not this is Morbid Angel‘s best stuff, but I think it definitely ranks up there and it’s got added nostalgic value. In fact, I think it’s one of the best death metal tracks ever and it puts into perspective how much thrash metal changed death metal over the years, doesn’t it? This shit was sloooow. Oh, and Azagthoth is a ridiculous guitar player.

#27: Taake – Over Bjoergvin Graater Himmerik - “IV” — Probably the best Norwegian black metal band since early Ulver, Taake‘s first three records are fucking phenomenal, but one track just stands out of me on this one. With its icy cold riffing and its intelligent melody, while having great bass work and feel, this song gets stuck in my head whenever I listen to it. So there isn’t a ton more to say, but the writing is magnificent, the riffing is outstanding and the mix of extremity and melody with sort of a NWoBHM sensibility makes for what is one of the most enjoyable metal songs ever written. The riff that starts at 4:07 is largely why this record stands out for me. Two of the best minutes of black metal ever written.

#26: Blind Guardian – A Night at the Opera – “Battlefield” — So, when A Night at the Opera I fucking hated it. I really did. Even all these years later, I don’t like it as well as the band’s earlier stuff. But there is one song on this record that has stuck with me since then and has never let go and that is the track “Battlefield,” which is just epic in proportions that I cannot even begin to express. You just need to listen to this song to get a sense of how huge it is. And at the same time, it’s got this Celtic Riverdance kinda feel to it and it.. fucking works. The guitar solo is excellent, the arrangements, too, are awesome and this is just a powerhouse of a song. “Battlefield” stood heads and shoulders over the other songs on that record, and earns a well-deserved place on this list.

#25: Faith No More – Angel Dust – “Land of Sunshine” — I guess it’s hard to choose when it comes to the record Angel Dust, but one thing that shouldn’t be denied is that these guys had a sound all their own that was kind of post-metal but oh-so-metal at the same time and Mike Patton is such a unique and cool vocalist and the whole “self-help” talk that goes through this song makes it awesome. I love the maniacal laughter and the guitar solo, the bass heavy approach, and.. well.. ALL of it! These guys were really ahead of their time and really underrated, despite having had some big hits and having been pretty popular. And this is my favorite FNM track and one of the best metal tracks ever written.

#24: Helloween – Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. II – “I Want Out” — Actually, I probably should’ve gone with something else from Helloween but I can’t help myself. I love this song (and I love Sonata Arctica‘s cover of it a hell of a lot, too ’cause it’s faster), and despite the band having other great tracks, it’s important to remember that Helloween is basically entirely at fault for what we think of as Europower in its modern form. Now you can debate whether or not that’s good, but you can’t debate that these guys have had a massive influence on that movement and bands like the aforementioned Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Nocturnal Rites and so forth. Let the mid-paced catchiness seep into your soul. [Also, while it's not a part of this list, you should definitely check out their overlooked and mightily awesome, but heinously cheesy, Mr. Torture.]

#23: Lost Horizon – Awakening the World – “Sworn in the Metal Wind” — “Hey man what is this? Sounds like wail of a wimp. Did you let loser side take command? Where’s the warrior in you and the spirit he got? You say lost? No! It’s somewhere inside. And you know there’s a force that unites all of us, leave the wasteland we, together, will! If you’re broken remember you have with us! Take now your next deep breath, and revive your old strength!” What more do I actually have to say than this? How about this? “Don’t forget you are metal, not some ass kissing whore!”

#22: Slayer – Reign in Blood – “Angel of Death” — Oh holy fuck did this record change my life. I mean, you can’t argue with Slayer. And for me “Angel of Death” was always one of the songs that did it for me. The riffing is awesome, the chorus is great and the track really manages to piss a lot of people off. And actually, for Slayer this song even shows a remarkable amount of sophistication, given that the rest of their stuff on this record wasn’t quite as… techy. It’s actually funny to go back and listen to this and think about how blown away I was by the extremity of this record, and how now it seems kinda tame when I compare it to other bands that I love now. But “Angel of Death” is a song loaded with great riffs, an awesome sound and maybe two of the least painfully shitty solos that the band ever wrote. Someone should’ve confiscated Kerry King’s fucking whammy bar years ago.

#21: Opeth – Still Life – “Godhead’s Lament” — Well, this song probably needs little introduction from me. Anyone who has listened to metal since forever knows that Opeth is pretty much one of the best bands ever and anyone who reads this blog knows that I’m a pretty die-hard fan. But coming in at number 21 and very deserving of doing so is “Godhead’s Lament,” which I think is the finest track from this record. Unfortunately, the only copy I could find on YouTube is peaking so I’m assuming that this is a remaster. In any case, the whole song is amazing: the riff at 1:43, the solo and the cleans that follow (at 3:27), actually I’m just going to stop. This entire song is just goddamned incredible.

Oh yeah, that’s pretty rad, innit? I thought so. But wait: there’s more! Coming soon!

Related posts:

1. Angry Metal Guy’s Best Heavy Metal Songs of All Time 20-11
2. Angry Metal Guy’s Best Heavy Metal Songs of All Time 10-1
3. Angry Metal Guy’s Best Heavy Metal Songs of All Time 40-31

Well, either way, now that I’ve given your children nightmares that they will never get over, I’d like to say THANKS. Thanks to everyone for reading this blog of mine (and Steel Druhm’s—who gets a special thanks for writing for this blog of mine). Thanks for responding to posts, for donating to the website to help keep it afloat and thanks for your patience when I can be a little bit inconsistent due to having a life and not doing this for a living (and thanks to Mr. Steel Druhm especially, but also Lord Doom and the others who have helped pick up the slack). It’s really cool that you do that. That you get an RSS feed of reviews that we write. That you debate and that you feel as passionately about metal as we do even if we don’t all agree. That’s awesome.

Also, a big WTF to Southern Lord and Profound Lore for not sending me promos despite repeated requests. What’s an Angry Metal Guy gotta do to get some love from y’all? I’m not going to download your shit illegally to review it, but I’d like to review it! So send me promo already for fuck’s sake!

Lastly, I want to say a word first about the fact that 2010 saw the loss of two of my personal heroes: Ronnie James Dio and Peter Steele. Let’s not forget both of these metal icons who gave in their own very unique ways to the fabric of the thing that we all love. Metal will definitely not be the same with them gone.

In honor of 2010 being a pretty good year (aside from the untimely deaths), I’ve got to present my top 10. And more importantly I have to declare the Record o’ the Year!

#1: Orphaned Land // The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR — I can tell you that I was skeptical about this record. I really, really was. The name turned me off, plus it had been 5 years since Mabool was released and I wasn’t sure that they could grip me like they had the first time around. Oh how horribly wrong I was! The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR is the best record that came out in 2010 hands down. I’ve heard all sorts of different critiques of it, but I don’t understand any of them. Every note on here is perfectly placed, the instrumentation is perfection and the mix is astounding. The level of creativity, bound up with the message and the political “movement” this represents means for me that this record deserves to be the best record of the year. I strongly recommend you read my review, read the interview I did with Kobi Farhi and purchase the record. It is a testament to this amazing band and to the global nature of heavy metal in 2010.

#2: Rhapsody of Fire // The Frozen Tears of Angels — Oh man. Rhapsody of Fire is back in a big way. While the EP they released later in the year could never live up to this record, The Frozen Tears of Angels blows everything the band has done since Power of the Dragonflame out of the water. The record is a pure neoclassical guitar orgasm, with the orchestrations making it back to interesting again and a high energy attack! This is everything Rhapsody of Fire is supposed to be and hopefully it is everything they will be long into the future. It’s possible that this record may also set a standard so high that anything they ever release again will never live up to it. But I suspect that this energy that they’ve got after being stranded for a few years due to a stupid lawsuit has more fantastic cheese in store for us! Bring on the cheese (OF FIRE!)!!

#3: Sigh // Scenes from Hell — You know what I don’t fathom? How this record has missed people’s lists and hasn’t even been mentioned near the top of these discussions that I’ve held on Facebook or Twitter! I cannot fathom how this record is being overlooked. It is easily the coolest orchestral black metal record to be released in years. People have complained about the production—but those people are stupid. What’s so cool about this record is how incredibly claustrophobic it sounds at the same time as having some mind-blowing tracks including “L’art de Mourir” and “The Summer Funeral”. I have come back to this record repeatedly throughout the year and I have continued to be impressed with the consistency and sophistication of this record. I cannot wait for more if they keep heading down this path. Hangman’s Hymn, eat your heart out!

#4: Finntroll // Nifelvind — Oh, you didn’t see this one coming, did you? The metal scene has been rather quiet about the new Finntroll since it came out, but not this Angry Metal Guy. Nope, this Angry Metal Guy has been listening to a shit ton of Finntroll just wishing that they’d tour Sweden (seriously, dudes! Do Finnish bands have a fucking Swedish boycott or something?). This record officially is the best Finntroll record in my book—it doesn’t shame Nattfödd, but it definitely makes their other stuff just not look nearly as good as I thought it was. It’s everything I was hoping it would be and, frankly, it was more. Plus, the band’s new image is totally wicked. Like they’ve been reading Changeling books or something. No matter what the causes are, these guys still rule in my book, even if they’re not in vogue anymore.

#5: Barren Earth // Curse of the Red River — OK, so since my favorite bands in the world are pretty much Opeth and Amorphis it should come as no surprise that this record makes my top 10. It’s funny because I haven’t really had the chance to come back to too many records this year, and this one is no exception. But when looking at my list of the stuff that I genuinely loved from this year, these guys immediately came back to me. Breaking it out again, there’s no doubt in my mind that my review was totally correct. Barren Earth‘s Curse of the Red River is a truly enjoyable CD that will live on in my playlist. Sure, it feels like Amorphis! Yeah, it’s a super group! But who cares? It’s awesome and worthy of your consideration when thinking about the best records of the year.

#6: Solefald // Norrøn Livskunst — I did just write this review, so the blurb probably won’t be as long because there should be no need to remind you of how amazing this album is. There may be a moment or two of non-perfection, but it’s pretty few and far between and what’s left is one of the most addictive records I heard this year. The beauty of this album is that it surprised the hell out of me! I was honestly expecting that Enslaved would be the Norwegian band that made this list (or Borknagar), but instead it ended up being Solefald who I have been pretty lukewarm on in the past. But this album just nails it home. How do you argue with this approach? It is truly a magnificent record and one of the best progressive offerings of the year.

#7: Demiurg // Slakthus Gamleby — It’s been a weird year for me and death metal. I have yet to find that technical death metal record that drives me to angry glee like I did last year (really it was two tech death records that made up 2/3 of my top three in 2009). No, indeed, this year the death metal records that I’ve liked have been of a decidedly more old school approach—and Demiurg has a nice blend of doom in it as well. This whole record is a masterpiece, in my opinion. I know that fans of the old school death metal Rogga Johansson projects were particularly critical of this album, but I think that it’s a well-constructed record that is worth every cent you would pay for it. The touch of Swanö, the vocal arrangements of Warby and the unique approach really made this record a shoo-in for my top 10 list. And 7 seems too low. Gah.

#8: Blind Guardian // At the Edge of Time — Sometimes, it’s hard to admit when you’re wrong. In some cases, it’s even harder when the people who are saying that you’re wrong are douchebags on the Internet who are convinced that “objectivity” means “agreeing with me.” But in this case, I have to admit that I was wrong. This record has drawn me back again and again and it has grown on me. I still think that it has some weak tracks, but the more and more I listen to it the less and less I care. The well done parts are really well done and the parts I didn’t like at all have started to grow. To be honest this one surprised me because it grew like a power metal record has rarely done for me. Power metal has long been binary choices in my opinion; but with Blind Guardian it turned out to be a much different experience. And I’m glad I kept giving this record a chance.

#9: Iron Thrones // The Wretched Sun — I thought about whether or not I should include this one because these guys aren’t signed, but in a way that should make me put this record even higher on this list. These guys aren’t fucking signed! It blows my brains! Away! Anyway, this record fucking rules and that you don’t own it yet makes me question your metal cred. The tracks are tight, heavy and these guys blend the best of a lot of different worlds to make a really fantastic and solid record. If you’re disappointed that In Mourning isn’t on this list, then you should go out there and find this record. Because it will blow your brains away, too!

#10: Torture Division // Evighetens Dårar — #10 is always the hardest to choose, isn’t it? I mean, there’s a ton of records that could go in this spot. And I weighed at least 4 different records that I felt could have gone here. I know that technically Evighetens Dårar is a compilation because it’s made up of three demos (Evighetens Dårar I-III), but those demos put together into a long play format are stunning, excellent death metal that I have listened to quite a bit since I got it. Really, this record has gotten under my skin. I know that there are some non-believers out there who aren’t convinced by this one and think their first demo set was better—but I don’t think they’re listening to the same record that I am, because Evighetens Dårar is awesome.

#(ish): Fejd // Eifur — I’ve been beating around what I should do with it and I really couldn’t decide. This list was finalized before I even took a listen to it—having just gotten swamped down in the day-to-day of being an Angry Metal Guy. What a miss I made. I really whiffed on that one and for that I apologize. If you’re a fan of folk metal you owe it to yourself to check this record out. It isn’t what you’re used to and that’s what makes it the best. This band is sophisticated, interesting, intelligent and fun. The melodies are amazing, the production is perfect for the material and the talent of these musicians should impress the hell out of you. I can’t recommend highly enough that you give these guys a chance. It has been a long time since I’ve heard a folk metal band that really nails it home like these guys do. And unless you already listen to Hedningarna you probably haven’t heard anything quite like this before.

It goes without saying that by its very nature a Top 10 leaves out great records. Because I don’t want to do that, I’m also going to include some honorable mentions that could have made the list and maybe even should have made the list. Though, if they didn’t, then you’re probably wrong. Also, you lack objectivity.

Honorable Mentions:
Rage // Strings to a Web — This one was weighed for number 10. I had a hell of a time not including it on that list because this record is just loaded with fantastic riffs, great choruses and blistering solos. It is probably the most traditional power metal that I’ve liked in years and I highly recommend it to everyone. It is a fantastic album and you should own it already. Why don’t you?
Grand Magus // Hammer of the North — I weighed this one for #10 as well, and man, that was a tough decision. Grand Magus is just an awesome band doing traditional metal in a way that is super convincing, incredibly enjoyable and very addictive. This record fucking rules and you are definitely encouraged to go and check it out.
Winterhorde // Underwatermoon — Oh man. This record rocked my world. I definitely feel bad about leaving this one off the Top 10(ish).
Watain // Lawless Darkness — Having already lost my metal cred for not making this #1, I probably shouldn’t include this. If you don’t know already, you probably shouldn’t, as they say.
Deathspell Omega // Paracletus — This record is an aural mindfuck. I haven’t had time to let it sink in long enough to make sure it belongs on this list. But it is definitely something that I will be listening to a lot in the coming year. Best black metal record of the year?
Pain of Salvation // Road Salt One — I’m not going to make any friends by including this only on the honorable mentions list because I had given it a 5/5 early this year. I still think it deserves to be towards the top of my list, but in the end other bands just pushed it out for various reasons. This doesn’t stand up quite as well as it did when I first got it, but I still love almost all the tracks and think that it is a triumph for the boys from Eskilstuna.
Istapp // Blekinge — Penalized for being a compilation, but still a pretty wicked record. This isn’t exactly in the same league as bands like Watain or Deathspell Omega or Arckanum when it comes to being black metal, but it’s an incredibly entertaining record.
Vex // Thanatopsis — This record cannot come highly recommended enough for me. This band has been sorely overlooked because they’re just on a tiny label from the US, but it is an album that you should own.

Biggest Disappointments:
Ihsahn // After — This record never sat well with me. It had moments, but I ultimately gave it a higher score than it deserved. After angL which I thought was pure genius this record was just a massive letdown. I suspect that future Ihsahn records will be better now that he’s gotten that out of his system. Or at least I hope so.
Enslaved // Axioma Ethica Odini — I know, this record was made record of the month and got 4/5. And it’s true, that it’s a good record that fits well into Enslaved‘s discography. This record tops other people’s lists for good reason, I guess. But it was just not at all what I had expected and/or wanted and my expectations were so incredibly high that I just couldn’t handle ‘run-of-the-mill’ when it showed up.

What Am I Looking Forward to in 2011?
Oh man!! There’s a new Rhapsody of Fire coming as well as a new Symphony X! Opeth announced a new record and it sounds like a new Amorphis records is in the works (if I remember correctly) and that would be pretty amazing as well and early on we’ll be getting the newest Vintersorg record. That’s definitely reason for celebration! And what about the new Shining record that should be on its way soon? And Indie Recordings just announced that Einherjer will be releasing their first record since 2004 in the spring! 2011 could be a fucking amazing year assuming that all my favorite bands don’t shit out on me. But the best part will be all the new shit I get to hear. Fuck yeah.

Related posts:

1. Angry Metal Guy’s Top 15(ish) of the 2000s
2. Steel Druhm’s Top 10(ish) of 2010
3. Angry Metal Guy’s Top 10(ish) of 2011

Blind Guardian is easily one of the most unique bands that modern metal has ever encountered. I really do think that they are one of the most original acts to ever come out of any scene, sub-genre or crevace within the greater history of metal. Combining bay area thrash influence with a German power/thrash legacy and sprinkling liberally with Queen, this German act has been at the forefront of power metal and progressive metal since Imaginations from the Other Side (for sure, and probably even before that). Few bands in metal command the kind of insane loyalty from their fanbase and few bands ever deserve that kind of loyalty, frankly. Even for me, personally, Blind Guardian was one of the bands that really got me exploring modern power metal. I picked up Nightfall in Middle-Earth and my life was forever changed. That record still ranks in my top 10 of all time, easily.

But, while the universe has few laws (Kepler, Newton, Joule, you know the drill), Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™ is definitely in full effect with this majestic guardian of the blind. This law is pretty simple. No matter how good your favorite band is, eventually they will start to suck for one of two reasons: 1) They run with the same sound for long enough that it begins to get tired and every song becomes interchangeable and/or uninspired or 2) They change, and it pisses you off. I cannot think of a single band who has not produced some crap, and even if they get better again, eventually they produce a whopper (or two) and it never lives up to those early records that you love so much and that made them unique at the time. The scientific foundation for this is, of course, quite simple: prove me wrong. Unfortunately, A Twist in the Myth, the previous Blind Guardian offering from 2006 was utterly disappointing and that was as a follow up to an at least marginally disappointing A Night at the Opera. So, the question coming into this is “Can Blind Guardian produce a record in their current formation with the same kind of breadth and complexity as Nightfall in Middle-Earth while maintaining the memorability and honesty of Imaginations from the Other Side?”

At the Edge of Time opens on a pretty good note, actually. The track “Sacred Worlds” starts in and really illustrates the sound of modern Blind Guardian than almost any other track on the album: it’s subtle to begin with, violins fluttering on one side and then  the other and a slow build putting the instruments into the whole thing nice and slow before starting into what is a pretty good mid-paced track with a fantastic chorus that is really classic Blind Guardian. But as the album creeps forward from this epic start (9 minutes for the first track) the quality of the first track isn’t really maintained. “Tanelorn” is a fantastic look back in time to when the band actually produced tracks that weren’t ridiculously overdubbed, but the chorus is a bit throwaway and feels pasted onto what is otherwise a fantastic thrash metal track (not that it’s a bad chorus, mind you). But aside from “Ride into Obsession” (which also sounds a lot like it could be on Imaginations from the Other Side), “Curse My Name” and the last two tracks on the album, everything else just seemed to be lacking that x factor that these guys had in spades before.

What stands out for me about this record more than anything else, is how the most successful material on here is the stuff that’s really stripped down and old school Blind Guardian. Everyone knows that they’ve got their own studio and spend tons and tons of time on arrangements and choirs, but what I find to be the most incredibly motivating and undeniably good aspects of this record are the ones that harken back to a time before they became addicted to multitracking. To when their music was honest and simple but catchy and awesome. “A Voice in the Dark” does this for me, as does “Ride Into Obsession” and “Tanelorn”. However, as I already mentioned “Sacred Worlds”, which is very heavy on orchestrations, is also a fantastic song, as is “Wheel of Time” which (while those books are fucking horrendous) shows that the band can really blend their thrashy power metal into over the top orchestrations and pull it off. The melodies in both of these and the orchestrations as well, are perfect. “Wheel of Time” probably walks away from this record as the finest track on the album. It’s epic, with amazing feel, groove and guitar solos that scream “Blind Guardian is awesome!!” while they’re playing.

But while the album has 5 awesome tracks that I’m totally smitten with, the whole thing actually has 10 tracks. Among the disappointing tracks are just some really ridiculously uncatchy music as though the muse of inspiration was only hitting it home 50% of the time. “War of the Thrones”, for example, (great books, btw) is a banal track with a chorus that doesn’t fit the mood of the books at all (so. fucking. happy.). “Valkyries” is another one that just lacks awesome and lags behind the other more excellent tracks on the album. And it’s a shame, because this record is clearly better than A Twist in the Myth but it still seems to this Angry Metal Guy that Blind Guardian isn’t firing on all cylinders and that the Law of Diminishing Recordings is full in force for them. And that’s a shame, because I want this album to be amazing. I want to be awed like I was in the past and I’m not. But I would suggest that fans of the band check this record out, because there will be things on here that you appreciate—just don’t expect it to be Nightfall, Imaginations or Somewhere Far Beyond.

Related posts:

1. Rage – Strings to a Web Review
2. Skyforger – Kurbads Review
3. Sylosis – Edge of the Earth Review

Skyforger is Latvia’s answer to folk metal and they’ve been giving it a go for quite a while. Despite having been around since 1995, however, they’ve not produced a terribly huge discography. In fact, Kurbads is the first Skyforger album since 2003, when they self-released a folk album that was mightily well-received by their fanbase—even, apparently, more so their metal album from the same year Thunderforge. The band, for the record, has also been involved in a bit of controversy surrounding the use of, what the band calls a thundercross, and what the rest of us call a swastika in their logo. But it seems the band has worked very hard to distance themselves from any of the controversy surrounding this and should be approached from a non-political stance.

And pure folk metal Kurbads certainly is. Written with an eye towards ancient Latvian mythologies about men becoming heroes, every song on this record is basically about people standing up to the evil confronting them and defeating them. Think about it as the Baltic equivalent of the great national epics of Germany, Sweden, England or anywhere else for that matter. To back up this admirable and interesting concept the band has once again attacked the subject with their breed of doomy (or at least mid-paced) blackened folk metal. As I’ve been listening to this album I’ve had some issues placing exactly who the band sounds like, which is a thing to be admired, really, but I guess the best way to describe Skyforger‘s sound to newcomers is a blend of 80s thrash, Iron Maiden and Bathory with a healthy dose of folk melodies. It is a sound that is both familiar and comfortable, yet unique and interesting. Normally not a fan of mid-paced bands, Skyforger spoke to me on a completely different level.

This appeal has largely to do with the well-structured and interesting songwriting which combines all these different elements into a strong alloy. For example, the track “Black  Rider” mixes a Blind Guardian-esque riff, using bagpipes as lead instead of overly layered guitars, with an old school style Motörhead riff. While “The Nine-Headed” blends folk metal with Kreator-like German thrash and Iron Maiden‘s dual guitar leads. Each one of these songs offers a beautiful blending of these different metal styles and makes them cool, cohesive and crushing. My personal favorite song, and the one that convinced me that Kurbads was going to be a good record after all was definitely “Son of the Mare”, which starts out slow but turns into a speed metal track of amazing quality, with some of the most addictive melodies being carried by the bagpipes towards the end. This track set the standard for the album, which most of the record really lives up to.

Listening to Kurbads I’m really reminded of what it is about being a metalhead that I like so much. Sure, there seems to be a ridiculous amount of genrefication that’s gone on in the last few years. There are very few bands that are universally loved by metalheads in the same way that an Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath or a Metallica once were. But the ability of bands to take these various different genres, blend them together and get something new out of it is definitely something that is worth our admiration. Every metalhead has his or her own idea of what The Best Fucking Band Ever should sound like, and most of the time it’s not one band, but several. Skyforger has managed to mix all of these things together to write one of the more interesting folk metal albums you’ll hear these days and something I guarantee you doesn’t sound anything like Eluveitie, Turisas or Finntroll—and that’s what makes it awesome.

Related posts:

1. Amorphis – Skyforger
2. Amorphis – Skyforger on MySpace
3. Svartsot – Mulmets Viser Review

When I was in my big power metal phase, which I guess would’ve probably been around 2000/2001, I stumbled upon a Rage CD in a great used CD store that I used to go into all the time (those were the days). I thought for sure it was going to be great just from looking at it. Turns out… not so much. I don’t recall hating a record more than that one. I thought it was a major pile of shit. I’m pretty sure it was the record XIII, but I can’t be sure as it was sold away a long time ago. Needless to say I wasn’t even a little bit excited when I received this record. I was fully expecting this record to be totally crap.

However, the German hockey metal has struck: and I’ve been addicted for about a week to this CD. For fans of the band, I’m sure that this review will probably be not as good as it could be, because I don’t have a lot of reference for the band’s earlier work, however, I’m going to describe this from the perspective of someone who’s really hearing these guys for the first time. Rage is like a blending of 80s Yes with Blind Guardian. They have all the thrash, the classical influences (and these guys actually pre-date Blind Guardian by a few years) and the “hockey choruses” as one individual I know calls it, that make Blind Guardian, Nocturnal Rites and bands of that nature addictive. On the other hand, there’s a progressive bent, that keeps things fresh and that really is reminiscent of the 1980s.

Actually, the biggest surprise here is that a band with such big, modern production can still sound so genuinely 80s. I know that, of course, these guys started making music in the early 80s, but honestly.. no one sounds like that anymore. These guys have not shyed away from the things that made the 80s unique and campy, including a Top Gun love scene kind of soundtrack moment (the track entitled “Fatal Grace” and starring a Kenny G wannabe) in the big “Empty Hollow” track (a 5 part epic, that kicks ass). But despite all of this, it still manages to be good and somehow avoids the camp. It has all of those simple rock beats, straightforward melodies and guitar driven compositions that one associates with the 80s, but somehow they just make it work. There must be something in the tone or the production that I can’t quite put my finger on, but this record manages to be simultaneously nostalgic and relevant.

But don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a glam album either. It is consistent with good German thrash metal and just generally addictive. Very few bands tempt me to headbang at the desk while I’m writing the review and listening to it. Few bands produce melodies that are so intensely addictive as the choruses on this album (see: “Empty Hollow,” “Hunter and Prey,” “Saviour of the Dead”). My biggest complaint about this record, honestly, is that the lyrics are pretty lame. As a buddy put it “Show me a power metal band with good lyrics and I’ll show you the holy grail,” and that’s probably true.. but you’d think that someday we’d be able to get past the embarrassing lyrics that show up on this record (and many other power metal records). It’s a shame, because everything else about this record is great—but just listen to the lyrics to “Hellgirl” and tell me that you’re not embarrassed.

Criticisms aside, I was pretty much wowed by this album. I’ve heard bad things about this band’s later material, so it sounds like this record isn’t at all representative of that era. If you’ve been a fan of this band in the past but quit listening to them, now might be the time to give them another chance. And if you’re a fan of power metal, prog and German thrash you should definitely check out this album.

Related posts:

1. Nevermore – The Obsidian Conspiracy Review
2. Blind Guardian – At the Edge of Time Review
3. Sigh – Scenes From Hell Review