And…THEY’RE BACK!! The teutonic terrors responsible for such classic metal albums as Breaker, Restless and Wild, Balls to the Wall have reformed to deliver one humdinger of a comeback ass whipping and one of the best metal albums of 2010 in the process. Blood of Nations is the first slab of new Accept material since 1996’s Predator and to say they are back with a vengeance is quite an understatement indeed. Yes, it’s sad but true, original and über distinctive frontman Udo Dirkschneider is not onboard for this reunion crusade but fear not, Accept manages quite nicely without his unique services and no one is more surprised than yours truly about that one.

From the opening notes of lead off track “Beat the Bastards” you will notice this is a pretty heavy album. In fact, this is probably the heaviest album in the Accept discography.  I would consider this as Accept’s Painkiller and just as Painkiller showed that Judas Priest had a lot of life left in their aging metal hearts, so Blood of Nations does for Wolf Hoffman and company. Although surprisingly heavy, all the classic Accept trademarks are present, from the dual axe attack and crunching riff work of Mr. Hoffman and Herman Frank, to the chanting backing vocals made famous on “Balls to the Walls,” to the hook laden and memorable song structures.  New lead throat Mark Tornillo (T.T. Quick) channels just enough of Udo’s classic rasp to give the material a familiar sound to comfort old fans yet also firmly places his own stamp on many of the tracks and proves he’s more than a suitable replacement for the beloved metal dwarf.  While Mr. Tornillo does attempt to keep his vocals true to the classic Accept sound, at times he breaks ranks to channel the late great David Wayne of Metal Church fame and across the entire album his voice is so damn metal it hurts!

Of the twelve tracks on Blood of Nations, five are absolute metal monsters that stand out as some of the best material Accept ever penned (six if you get the European version with the excellent bonus track “Time Machine”). The rest are all well above average classic metal cuts and nary a trace of filler material is to be found. The best of the beast include “Beat the Bastards,” “Teutonic Terror,” “Pandemic” and “No Shelter” and all will bring a big smile to fans of classic and true metal.

What makes Blood of Nations so effective is the tried and true classic  Accept template of heavy but catchy guitar work and memorable choruses that manage to be so immediate but still metal as all hell. One listen to “Teutonic Terror” and you will see what I mean. This stuff has pure up the horns metal spirit and soul and makes you want to sing along as loudly as possible.

After so many reunion albums by once great bands have disappointed and left a bad taste in fans mouths, the only taste Blood of Nations will be leaving is the taste of cold metal. Congratulations are in order for these old boys because they’re back to show all the young folk how classic metal is supposed to be done. Don’t miss this one, it’s a total winner.

Related posts:

1. U.D.O – Rev-Raptor Review
2. Evile – Infected Nations Review
3. Bonded by Blood – Exiled to Earth Review

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

Trends often start off with a good idea or at least a respectable inspiration. However, through imitation and copying, that original idea becomes a trend and the trend gets boring, overdone and ultimately becomes a joke. The retro 80’s power metal trend is in full bloom and many would say the 80’s retro thrash movement has been overdone for years already. As someone who grew up in the 80’s metal era, I may possess more tolerance for this whole “retro” thing since it does this old heart good to hear a quality metal album that truly captures the sound, energy and spirit of a time long gone. Therefore, my review of The Empires of Inhumanity, the new release by German thrashers Fatal Embrace will be more charitable than what it would have received from other angry metal guys. In all fairness, these Teutonic shredders have been around since 1993 so they could rightfully be considered part of the original thrash movement rather than a retro band. Either way though, over four albums Fatal Embrace have demonstrated an unwavering dedication to the 80’s thrash style of Slayer and Sodom while foregoing all modern styles and current trends completely.

Picking up right where 2006’s Dark Pounding Steel left off, The Empires of Inhumanity delivers fast, pummeling, old school thrash that often sounds more than a little like Slayer in their prime mixed with the rougher edge of vintage Sodom and even Blessed Death. Guitarists Moloch and Spezi churn out some fierce and effective riffs from track to track, many reminding of Reign in Blood through Season in the Abyss.  The Slayer influence is so prevalent at times that lead track “Wake the Dead” could have been on Season in the Abyss and fit in almost perfectly. Continuing with the Slayer theme, vocalist Dirk Heiland manages to channel the rough delivery of Tom Angelripper at times but can also mimic the screams of Tom Arya almost perfectly (check out his scream at 2:58 on “Wake the Dead” for proof). His vocal work is the highlight of most of the tracks here.

Fatal Embrace manage to churns out ten respectable and effective examples of vintage 80’s thrash with everything you might want from that sound. If this album came out anytime from  1985 through 1991, it would have made a lot of top ten lists for the year. With that said, the truth is there isn’t much here original or new in any way. Worth noting however, is an excellently done cover of the Iron Maiden classic “Killers.” Fatal Embrace puts their (semi-unique) spin on it and the result is a lot of fun to hear.

It can be tough to write a review for a band so entirely built around other bands’ sounds.  Beyond pinpointing the bands they borrow from, what else is there to say? For sheer nostalgia’s sake and for being so well done, The Empires of Inhumanity gets a decent rating and I enjoy listening to it. However, the overt Slayer/Sodom worship comes close at times to rendering these guys no more than a tribute band. If you loved the thrash sound of the mid 80’s, you should check this out for sure, it’s cool and fun and you know exactly what you are getting. All modernists and retro trend haters, stay the hell away.

Related posts:

1. Formulas Fatal to the Flesh Vinyl!
2. Rhapsody of Fire – The Cold Embrace of Fear Review
3. Havok – Time is Up 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