Well, here it is folks. The final 10 [Here’s the first 40: 50-41, 40-31, 31-20, 20-11 and Steel Druhm’s: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11, 10-1]. And this is going to ruffle a bunch of feathers, I guarantee it. These are, for the most part, not widely considered “favorites” and would never make fan-voted lists, but these tracks all got onto this list pretty easily. I’m not as angry about the whole Gibson list anymore, and I’ve lost a bit of steam because of that, but these tracks are all fucking fantastic, top-o’-the-line kind of shit. I hope you enjoy the list and I look forward trolling you soon. U MAD BRO!?
"Rhapsody"
Steel Druhm’s Best Heavy Metal Songs of All Time 10-1
Wow, what a long, strange journey through time and sub-genres it’s been. Here we finally are at the center of the metalverse. After all the lead ups (50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11 | And here’s Angry Metal Guy’s first 40: 50-41, 40-31, 31-20, 20-11), these my friends are the big enchiladas of metal. The best of the beasts, the cream of the corpse paint. You were all so very patient and now you can finally rest peacefully, having attained full metal enlightenment from the Steel Druhm. If you disagree with any of these final selections, kindly think it over until you agree. Take notes Gibson.
Symphony X – Iconoclast Review
If you hadn’t figured this out yet, all of us over here at Angry Metal Guy, myself maybe most of all, are horrible Symphony X fanboys (and girls). It’s hard not to be fans of what are easily the best progressive power metal band of the modern era. So the coming of Iconoclast has been a so-called Big Fucking Deal, since it was first announced all those months ago. The record, which is another stab at a concept album, basically sounds like it borrows heavily from The Matrix and any other “The robots are coming!” kind of stories, you know the type. So, it was with genuine curiosity and fanboy-tinged apprehension that I first put on Iconoclast when I got it all those weeks ago.
Autopsy – Macabre Eternal Review
A brand new Autopsy album? Well tickle me Hellmo! Now, THESE guys are the very definition of old school death metal and founder, drummer and chief gurgler Chris Reifert got his start with the legendary band Death way, way back in 86′. After playing on the Death debut, Reifert went off to launch Autopsy and they were one of the first bands to market themselves as death metal. After several classic albums loaded with crusty death mixed with grinding doom riffs, Reifert called it a day so he could pursue his other band Abscess full time. After reuniting for their The Tomb Within EP in 2010, Reifert decided to fold Abscess and resurrect the mighty Autopsy and hence, we get Macabre Eternal, their first new album in fifteen long years. So, does it live up to their legendary status in the genre? Can it ever meet the huge expectations of long time fans? Is Rhapsody of Fire entirely made of cheese? Of course! It’s an instant classic and so, so fucking sick, you just have to hear it to understand.
Strident – Oath (From Chaos to Glory) Review
So apparently there’s this burgeoning metal scene in South Africa. How fucking cool is that? We already ran a review from scenesters Crow Black Sky, A Walk with the Wicked and Heathens and now we get the first proper self release from unsigned Cape Town heroes Strident. Playing what they describe as “epic South African power metal,” these gentlemen are out to show the rest of the world that true metal runs deep in the African earth. This is indeed power metal in its purest form and clearly influenced by the likes of Manowar and Rhapsody of Fire (together again, ain’t that sweet AMG?). Needless to say, with those guys as primary influences, you can expect things to get mighty cheesy real quick and that’s exactly how things go down here. Sporting an album cover suitable for the next Brutal Legend video game, their debut Oath (From Chaos to Glory) throws every power metal and true metal staple, stereotype and standard at you in a manic fury. It’s fun, funny and cringe worthy in equal measures and sets a new standard for the phrase “hugely over-the-top.” Whether you like it or not has a lot to do with your overall lactose tolerance and sense of humor.
Angry Metal Guy’s Top 15(ish) of the 2000s
It’s hard to make this kind of broad list, I just want to say that from the get-go. How do you do this? Do you choose your favorites, or do you choose the genre defining records? Because saying, for example, that some of the following records are really genre defining wouldn’t be true. On the […]
Angry Metal Guy’s Top 10(ish) of 2010
2010. Wow, man. 2010. We’re counting months now until we all die in 2012. So how do you think it’s going to happen? Do you think that terrorists will get a nuke and fuck up the world? Or do you think that a meteor will hit? Or should I wait until the end of 2011 to ask that question?
Virgin Steele – The Black Light Bacchanalia Review
OK, what the hell is going on here? Why are metal’s elder statesmen forgetting to include metal on their metal albums? First Halford and now this? Virgin Steele has been around since forever (1982), and singer, keyboardist, pianist, composer David DeFeis is a near legendary figure in the metal scene who happens to hail from my neck of the woods in New York. Growing up, I always considered Virgin Steele a poor man’s Manowar (and I think these guys felt the same way). Although I was never a die-hard fan, they had some good early albums and DeFeis is a talented musician and truly gifted and versatile vocalist. However, on album twelve, the pompously titled The Black Light Bacchanalia, DeFeis and company have opted to create nearly ninety minutes of what can best be described as Manowar meets chamber music meets Vegas lounge music. Conceptually, easy listening/lounge Manowar is the equal of other such self defeating concepts as room temperature fire and Shakespeare performed by mimes. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
Equilibrium – Rekreatur Review
Equilibrium hit the world right in the face when Sagas was released a couple years ago and they really became a folk metal (pagan metal, viking metal, whatever the fuck you want to call it) sensation. And sensational is really how many people experienced that record. It was like a cross between Finntroll, Ensiferum, Turisas and Rhapsody of Fire: unceasingly melodic, over-the-top, ridiculously happy and engaging as hell. In 2010, now, this elite German act is returning with a follow-up to what is already considered to be a classic in the genre, with their third record entitled Rekreatur. How could it possibly live up to all the expectations?
Sigh – Scenes From Hell Review
Let me start with the a territory that isn’t very comfortable for many in heavy metal: orchestrations. Heavy metal has seen many variations on the classical orchestration in many different subgenres. Neo-classical metal, like the wanky stuff with Yngwe or Symphony X, has long bragged about the influence of baroque and classical music. Bands like Rhapsody of Fire and Epica do things that sound like they should be straight out of a movie score and black metal even has a symphonic sub-genre, most notably filled by Dimmu Borgir, whose symphonics have gone over the top in the last few years with the addition of Mustis (though we’ll see what happens now that he’s gone). Never before in my tenure of heavy metal listening have I heard orchestrations used in a black metal record to such effect as they have been used on Sigh’s new record Scenes from Hell.