Angry Metal Guy

Artas // Riotology
Rating: 2.0/5.0 — I’ll be dropping this class
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: myspace.com/artasmetal
Release Dates: EU: 28.01.2011 | US: 02.08.2011

Well, I’m not sure what I did to end up on the Angry Metal Guy’s Official Shit List™.  However, his  assigning me both the new Lazarus A.D. and Artas albums proves I’m on it bigtime. I can just picture AMG up there on his throne all high and mighty, laughing as he contemptuously sneers, “let him eat metalcore.” Steel Druhm does not like being on the Shit List and Steel Druhm will have his wengeance! Anyway, Riotology is the second album by Austrian metalcore/quasi-thrash bandwagon jumpers Artas. Up until now their claim to fame was a wildly ill-conceived cover of Coolio‘s “Gangsta’s Paradise” which ended up being funnier than Weird Al Yankovic‘s “Amish Paradise.” Now with Riotology they can truthfully claim recording two average metalcore albums. Hey, congrats guys! As soon as I saw the album cover which looks like a screen shot from the Assassin’s Creed video games I should have known where this was heading. The second clue I was in trouble was the band’s prominently displayed claim that they play “modern metal.” Apparently that’s record industry speak for tired metalcore by bands that yearn to be At the Gates and In Flames with poppier, radio-friendly choruses.  Because I am merciful, I will now implore you all to leave this review and save yourselves. I can’t go with you however, for I must write on. Continue reading

Lazarus A.D. // Black Rivers Flow
Rating: 1.5/5.0 — Somebody shit in the river
Label: Metal Blade Records
Websites: lazarusad.com | myspace.com/lazarus1
Release Dates: EU: 01.28.2011 | US: 02.01.2011

There are plenty of myths that sane folks know to be false like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and honest politicians. However, one should never count the sophomore slump among those fairy tales and urban legends, for it is very real and very painful to behold. Exhibit A for 2011 is Lazarus A.D. who had a decent if not remarkable debut with 2009′s The Onslaught. Many seemed to lump them in with the retro-thrash revival and while there was some Exodus aping to be sure, they always sounded more metalcore-ish to my ears. Although I hate metalcore like I hate taxes, there was enough aggression, energy and nods to the old school throughout The Onslaught to make it semi-palatable and I didn’t totally hate it. Well, there is simply no digesting their second platter Black Rivers Flow, as Lazarus A.D. have firmly embraced their inner mall kid and all things Shadow’s Fall and the result is a veritable black river of crappy, overused grooves, tough guy posturing and general mediocrity. Continue reading

Death Angel // Relentless Retribution
Rating: 2.5/5.0 — The good, the bad and the sellout…
Label: Nuclear Blast (EU | US)
Websites: deathangel.us
Release Dates: EU: 31.08.2010 | US: 09.14.2010

When California sons Death Angel came from nowhere and dropped their classic debut The Ultra-Violence on the metal world in 1987, yours truly was blown away in a pretty major way. That album, along with a handful of others, defined my metal youth and I still listen to it regularly to this day. Sadly, the minds behind that classic release could never record its equal and the albums that followed were always somewhat of a mixed bag.  Nowhere has this trend been more evident than on release number six, Relentless Retribution. Continue reading

Charred Walls of the Damned // Charred Walls of the Damned
Rating: 3.0/5.0 — Music is really great, but the vocals just kill this record for me
Label: Metal Blade
Website: charredwallsofthedamned.com
Release Dates: EU: 29.01.2010 | US: 02.01.2010

Charred Walls of the Damned has two distinct honors from the get-go: not only is it the longest band name EVER, but it’s also the first thing in which excellent drummer Richard Christy has surfaced in since going to the Howard Stern show and leaving American power metallers Iced Earth in the dust. I think everyone was wondering when he was going to jump back into metal, myself included. It’s hard to imagine that the former Death and Iced Earth drummer was just going to leave everything behind. Given his background it was only a matter of time. And not just his background: homeboy has contacts, too! He brings with him the mighty Jason Suecof, mostly known for his production (Trivium, Luna Mortis, God Forbid and so on), but who is also a fucking wicked ass guitar player (seriously, dude can shred). On bass, of course, is the mighty Steve DiGiorgio who played with Christy in Iced Earth and Death. How can this project possibly lose?

To answer that question, enter vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens. I have a bit of a grudge against this guy—and it’s not because of the fact that he replaced any big vocalists. I gave him a chance in both Judas Priest and Iced Earth and I have come to a conclusion: he was never meant for a vocal life beyond cover bands. His voice is thin and his tone is really frustrating, but most of all his phrasing is really terrible and he borders on torturous because his vibrato is so wide that he goes flat, so his harmonies just send shudders up my spine. He is not the dude who should be doing vocals on this record and it is an absolute shame.

The reason it’s a shame is pretty simple: the music on this record is awesome traditional/power metal. Christy’s writing and playing are unparalleled and I love the blending between the death metal style blasting on which the album starts, and the more straight metal that pounds out throughout the album. The guitars, of course, are fantastic and Suecof is a star, ripping it up with the best and giving some of the coolest arpeggiation (that’s right, Angry Metal Guy likes to verb!) and harmonies that I’ve heard and Steve DiGiorgio is Steve DiGiorgio: probably the best bass player in metal.

So I have good news for fans of Ripper Owens, which there are some out there, this is unequivocally the best project he’s ever been involved with. The song writing is awesome, the band is tight and powerful and if you’re a fan of his vocals then you will absolutely love this album. If, however, you’re like me you will feel a great sense of grief  coupled with anger every time he opens his mouth. Because instead of adding power to the arrangements and making this record what it should be, he basically adds a generally frustrating, tuneless siren over every song. I’m going to give this record a 3/5 because I think that it deserves the respect for the musical content in spite of the vocal performance.. but man, I personally can’t fathom why anyone would ever use him as a vocalist.