First Thoughts on Dream Theater's New Song "On the Backs of Angels"

Dream Theater (DT) is back sans Portnoy. I had an opportunity to see him live with the band just before his departure. I consider myself lucky because Mike is a great guy and a great drummer.

The upcoming DT album features Mike Mangini behind the kit. Although he's a monster player, I couldn't help but feel disappointed with his performance on "On the Backs of Angels." I wanted to hear him doing his own thing, not something that felt like a Portnoy imitation; still, I have high hopes for his performance on the rest of the album because of his work prior to joining DT.

Unfortunately, the meat of the song wasn't memorable in any way--merely standard modern DT fare, I suppose. The one thing that I really did love was the intro with the choir because I love those epic-natured climax builders. I think the band is at the point where they're super tight as group (though they've been at that point forever...), but they fail to impress because they're so predictable.

Don't misread me, though. This song is good, but it isn't great, especially from the group that gave us Awake. September 13th just needs to hurry up in any case. I want to hear this album A.S.A.P.

-TMA

Dream Theater - "On the Backs of Angels"

Currently Rocking Out with...

Tesla! This song is a great slab of hard rock, so naturally, I felt the need to share it with my fellow rockers.

I'll be back in the morning with a full post.

-TMA

Tesla - "She Want She Want"

Modern Thrash Done Right?

Referred to by some discussion on Metal Archives, I've been reintroduced to Onslaught. I don't have any previous experience with the band, but I do seem to recall that Steve Grimmett of Grim Reaper sang on an album or two. More than once (back in 2007ish), I eyed the album Killing Peace at a local record store, but I never ended up picking it up, so I decided to take a gander at the title track, which resulted in a thorough face-melting.

I'm doing some traveling for the next couple of weeks, so I'll be sure to keep my eye out for this record. I'm praying that it isn't a weak groove/thrash album that some vets are guilty of releasing in recent years. For the most part, I find the groove/thrash combo to be boring and often full of rehashed ideas, though I must admit that Overkill has done a good job with it on a couple of occasions.

I think I'm probably willing to take a risk buying the album just because of "Killing Peace."
-TMA

Onslaught - "Killing Peace"

Favorite Metal Riffage Part 3

Okay, so this is the third post in the series. I still have many, many riffs to cover, and I'll likely be choosing from what tickles my fancy at the very moment I write the post. There are too many glorious riffs in the metal world, rendering it impossible for me to pick one over another. What I'm trying to say is, none of these posts are in a particular order. I won't be playing ranked favorites here.

For this installment, I'll go with Amon Amarth's "Prediction of Warfare." Prior to hearing this song, I wasn't too keen on the band, and now that I think about it, I had no reason not to like them because their music is always consistently high quality. I tend to think of Motörhead when noting Amon Amarth's consistency because it's the same doggone idea every single record, albeit presented in a slighty different way.

The album "Prediction of Warfare" calls home is among the highest rated in Amon Amarth's discography and a staple in melodic death metal, so I'm assuming many of you have heard it. Indeed, you'll likely disagree with my claim that the song is the best on With Oden on Our Side. Actually, I hope you do beacuse there's no right or wrong answer, especially when it comes from such a superb record. Sadly, from what I've seen, the song appears to be forgotten, cast ashore the island that Amon Amarth deemed unworthy when on their daily viking pillage. I'm betting it's due, in no small part, to the song being a closer, perhaps dull in fans' eyes when compared with faster, more aggressive tracks that came before it.

Along with the opening melody, the grooving riffs are what drew me to the song, thanks to the rhythm and crunchy, staccato precision. In essence, I admitted to myself that I was wrong and did, in fact, enjoy the band. I'm glad I did beacuse I'd be missing out on some excellent music. In sum, I'm particularly fond of "Prediction of Warfare" and the album it comes from because they were my entrance to melodic death metal, along with Carcass' Heartwork and Insomnium's In the Halls of Awaiting. In retrospect, I can't think of a better way to be introduced to the subgenre.

Here's to fond memories, 
The Metal Advisor

Amon Amarth - "Prediction of Warfare"

Powermad is Back with a New Track!

After nearly a 20 year hiatus, power-thrashers Powermad are back. I thought I'd pass the new track along and let you guys hear it for yourselves. I totally dig it, and assuming they have an upcoming album, you can bet you'll see me review it here.

Crank this one,

The Metal Advisor

Powermad - "Souls Descending"

Analog vs. Digital

The amazing Rega P5.

As of late, I've been putting some heavy thought into the heated debate that analog and digital formats spark when pitted against each other. I personally don't believe one is better than another, but I do think they offer unique advantages over each other while still retaining a certain character that people love them for. That being said, I prefer analog by a long shot.

I won't lie, part of analog's appeal is the experience. There's nothing like holding a vinyl sleeve in your hands and analyzing the details of the cover art. Colored vinyl is like icing on the proverbial cake. In addition, countless artists never had the opportunity to have their material released on CD, so it's like an extra world out in the vinyl-sphere. This may not be a big deal with metal because, in the grand scheme of things, metal hasn't been around that long, but with jazz, blues, and other genres, an immeasurable amount of music is "lost" because it never got a digital release. On top of that, listening to your favorite records through a tube amp is sublime. In general, I'm sucker for the warmer sound characteristic of analog formats.

Despite that, vinyl is picky and very high maintenance. When compared with a CD or FLAC files on a computer, vinyl needs to be looked after with extra care. With a CD, it's as simple as storing it in an acceptable enviroment and keeping the disc free of scratches. Likewise, FLAC is essentially worry free as long as your hard drive doesn't crash. Good thing you have the CD as a precaution. For vinyl, monitoring the condition of your turntable's needle is key. If it's worn out, records are going to pay the ultimate price in the form of scratches, scuffs, or even worse--wear that may render it unplayable. Additionally, vinyl requires a cleaning once in a while with specifically formulated substances with the help of a special brush. You might also consider a record cleaning machine, but those things are darn expensive. I mainly stress vinyl care for the obscure recordings that never made it to a digital format and because I want to enjoy my records as long as possible. With proper care, they will likely outlast me unless I play them nonstop.

While I may not prefer the sound signature that digital formats offer, I appreciate their ease of use. It's much easier to amass a collection of CDs as opposed to vinyl because they're smaller and generally cheaper when purchased new. I'd like to have a larger collection of vinyl than I currently have, but I often find it too expensive. Yes, there is the option of used, but I don't find all used vinyl suitable because the majority of it hasn't been taken care of properly, resulting in poor sound quality. Because of the ease of use of digital formats, most of my listening time is through a superb CD player/receiver/speaker set up or an excellent computer-based headphone/tube amp/DAC set up. They sound amazing, yet I still prefer analog, and I relish using my turntable set up when I get the chance.

It's all in what you like,
The Metal Advisor

New Anthrax Song: "Fight 'em 'til You Can't"

Yowza. I just got smacked in the face with Anthrax's new song. Based on the situation with the band that has been ongoing for many years and the fact that they haven't released anything decent since 1990ish, this was a surprise. No, it isn't a return to Spreading the Disease or Among the Living quality material, but it's still very listenable.

Quick thoughts - The good: Belladona sounds a lot better than expected, and the chorus was catchy enough. Throughout the song, I thought I recognized a few melodies reminiscent of past 'thrax tracks. The bad: As a fellow member of Metal Archives said, "Gridlock" called and wants its riff back. No big, though. I guess you're allowed to rip your own material off. The gang vocals get a big "meh" from me when compared with the older stuff. It sounds...odd.

Eh, let's just wait for the album to be released. I'm not getting my hopes up because I'll likely be disappointed. I think I'll just pop Among the Living in my CD player when I need my Anthrax fix, but hopefully I'll eat my words. We'll see.

Hear the song here.

-TMA

Discoveries of the Week Part 4

 ...or should I say discovery? Nothing I've stumbled upon this week has come close to being as awesome as Demetori. Before this summer, if you asked me where the best metal came from, I would have likely given you an answer that included a mix of Europe, the USA, and Canada. However, I now find myself including Japan in the answer. My break from school has led me on a fruitful path to countless discoveries, helping me realize one thing: good metal can come from anywhere. Heck, I probably already knew that, but didn't realize it.

But I suppose I got a little sidetracked there. Apparently Demetori's discography is based off of music from an anime. I couldn't tell you if that's true or not. Aside from a couple shows, I've never found myself interested in anime, and, to be completely honest, I'll probably never watch the show these songs pull inspiration from. That's all fine and dandy too, as they're great metal tracks by themselves. From what I've heard, Demetori's songs range from a mix of power metal, power-thrash, and wait for it...djent. Yeah, you read that correctly. It's quite an odd mix, but I really enjoy the djent material. It's much better than the so called "popular" djent bands like Periphery, who, quite frankly, have awful vocals. Demetori counters Periphery (and the like) with musicianship that's up quite a few notches and with all instrumental material, whether the tracks are power-thrash, power, or djent. Instrumental metal is a +1 in my book.

So, it's safe to say I'm impressed with Demetori because I've had a few tracks on repeat for a good chunk of the morning. Luckily for you, I'm going to post them below. Just a few words of caution: Make sure you're in a wide, open room while listening. These songs *might* make you want to mosh or something.

Best thing you've heard all week? Maybe? Hopefully.
The Metal Advisor

"Strawberry Crisis!!"

"Crazy Xenomorph"

"Nuclear Fusion"

"Jehovah's YaHVeH"

Five Metal Songs to Play While Hunting Zombies

I've recently developed a small obsession with anything that has to do with zombies. Over the past couple of months, I've gathered a few books about these undead creatures from a survival guide to a comic series that depicts a group of friends fighting for survival in a zombie-devastated world. That being said, let's take a look at five metal songs that would be great to bash heads to, whether they lyrically pertain to zombies or otherwise.

1. Of course I'm going to include Iron Maiden. The band's mascot, Eddie, graces all album artwork and is your archetypal zombie, covering every base from a war-time zombie to a killer zombie with an axe. But what song would be best fit for your survival against the undead? "Killers," me thinks. It's speedy and chaotic enough to keep you on your toes and out of harm's way; god knows that zombies could swarm you at any moment. Though the line up on this song wasn't the Maiden that everyone and their mom knows, it's Maiden at their grittiest, rawest, and spunkiest. Killers as an album is an energetic romp through the realms of the NWoBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal), which instilled fear into the minds of the weak. Okay, so maybe not, but it was darn aggressive for its time...who am I kidding? It still is. "Killers" might not involve killing zombies, but it does stress the ever so important notion of watching your back. You never know. A zombie might burn a hole your back with his eyes. Watch out: you don't want him to take "Another Life..."

2. Titlewise, Gama Bomb's "Zombie Blood Nightmare" is definitely cliché. It has zombie in its name for goodness sake! Regardless of that, I really think this song has a cool story to tell. From what I can gather, the track envisions a wealthy person (or people) celebrating around a bonfire when a zombie infestation happens. When they realize what is occurring, they run to safety in their mansion, only to have the undead break the door down. I guess the zombies feasted that night. The chorus is also neat because it contrasts the living with the dead. Chilling, ain't it? Essentially, this track captures the mood flawlessly because it's upbeat thrash metal. Can you see yourself running from zombies? Totally. Perfect if you ask me.

3. I gotta include one death metal song here. Coffins' "Altars in Gore" is the perfect one to smash heads with. It's heavy enough to obliterate the undead, yet it's captivating enough to please even the most casual metal fan. Trust me, you're going to need some catchy metal to hunt zombies with. It will increase your performance by over 9,000! But seriously, you're going to need something crushing to get you charged up and to scare zombies upon their first fateful listen. This one'll surely send 'em to their doom. Not to mention, the cover art is incredible by both art standards and in cool factor.


4. Faith No More has a song simply titled "Zombie Eaters." Now, I don't have any idea why they named it that because, quite frankly, I can't make the connection between it and the lyrics. However, the track is still a pretty good aid in getting you pumped for the dangerous task that has fallen into your hands. It starts off peaceful enough, capturing the time when your life was normal and the undead weren't freely roaming just outside your house. But once the song kicks in, you suddenly realize life is not all fun and games anymore. You have a job to do. You need to protect your family and friends from becoming one of "them." Mike Patton's hectic vocals and the luscious guitar riffs are frantic reminders of zombies lurking around every corner. The synth is a subtle hint that you should probably be quiet, as to avoid the bastards. Who knew a song could have so much of life lesson?

5. You have remember to practice what you preach. 3 Inches of Blood's "Silent Killer" sums up the current situation nicely; in order to survive, you're going to need to eliminate the little buggers quickly, quietly, and efficiently. One wrong move and you'll be swarmed and left for dead. Keep in mind that you're the dude in the background. You're not the petrified idiot that makes as much noise as humanly possible trying to escape from the undead. Heck, you can even use that poor sap to your advantage. He'll be zombie bait while you plan your escape and prime your defenses. Load your gun, pick up a bat, you're ready to go. You're the "Silent Killer."

Watch out for the zombie apocalypse,
The Metal Advisor

Iron Maiden - "Killers"

Gama Bomb - "Zombie Blood Nightmare"

Coffins - "Altars in Gore"

Faith No More - "Zombie Eaters"

3 Inches of Blood - "Silent Killer"

Passing Along a Morbid Angel Blog Called Morbid Fails

Fellow metalheads,

I just stumbled into a blog called Morbid Fails while adventuring around the net. Angry fans are parodying Morbid Angel by taking real pictures of the band and photoshopping them into some of the funniest things I've seen in a very long time. I just might have to give Illud Divinum Insanus a listen now.

Click here to go to Morbid Fails

In humor,
The Metal Advisor

Recent Hauls Part 2

Thoughts and impressions on a few albums, metal and nonmetal.
 

1. About a week ago I heard Black Country Communion's "One Last Soul" on satellite radio, which caused me do a little investigating. Upon researching the band, I found that they had recently released a new album, but "One Last Soul" was on their debut, so I opted for that. If you're still not convinced simply based on the fact that I enjoy Black Country Communion, consider that the band is composed of veteran members, most notably Joe Bonamassa, a phenomenal blues/hard rock guitar player, and Glenn Hughes, a vocalist who goes way back, having worked with Black Sabbath, Iommi, Deep Purple, and the like. As a whole, I really like the band's debut, but I have one beef with it: concerning the guitars, the production is too recessed, effectively creating a veil, blending them into the background when compared with the drums and vocals. Aside from that, this album is a very good effort with top-notch guitar playing and an outstanding vocal performance by Mr. Hughes.

2. If you recall, I submitted a post on Holy Grail not too long ago. I found the band interesting, though not deserving of being called part of the new wave of traditional heavy metal. Crisis in Utopia is largely a blend of heavy metal and power metal, yet there is a catch--metalcore influence is quite abundant throughout the record, dragging it down a good measure. There are too many chugga-chugga riffs and sections that have breakdownish qualities. Additionally, James Paul Luna's vocals are generally sub par for the entire album. He struggles in the higher vocal range, and, worst of all, there are a few parts where he outright fry screams, a typical trait of metalcore that should be dropped from Holy Grail's sound. Overall, this album is generic, and it works too hard to impress. Avoid Holy Grail for better groups like White Wizzard, Cauldron, and Skull Fist, bands that deserve to be called part of the movement.

3. This album can be summed up in two words: crushingly heavy. Aphotic is a strong contender for album of the year (thus far). Though Novembers Doom's overall sound has changed since their early days, they are still on the same basic track of an artistic blend of doom and death metal. This record is continuation of the newer style, albeit in such a way that oozes quality, more so than their other recent albums. In a nutshell, this is the kind of album that gets better every listen. As of now, my favorite tracks include "The Dark Host" and "Six Side." Oh, and the production is fantastic. I can actually hear the bass, and the sound isn't too compressed.

4. Something a bit different here: Eurobeat is a form of electronic dance music heavily influenced by '70s disco and '80s pop with its first origins found in England in the mid 1980s. Outside parts of Europe and Japan today, the subgenre essentially has its foot in the grave. When I first heard the style, I thought every song sounded the same with little that differentiated it from other forms of electronic dance music. Eurobeat strikes me as the type of music that embraces repetition (as with all dance music) with open arms. That's not to say it's a bad thing, but it gets tiring as nearly every eurobeat song follows a formula that has been specifically created for the subgenre. I decided to introduce myself to the style with a compilation called Super Eurobeats Vol. 215. Aside from a few songs, I'm not impressed with the record, mostly due to awful vocalists. However, tracks like Alix's "Maximisin'," which is heavily influenced by contemporary pop and the Hi-NRG-style eurobeat of Jeff Driller's "Mecha Fireball" are very good and have enjoyed repeated listens from me.

-TMA

Concert Review: Uriah Heep @ Fraze Pavilion - Dayton/Kettering, Ohio: June 17, 2011

 

Wow, what can I say here? Uriah Heep put on one of the best concerts I've seen, coming second to the first time I saw Iron Maiden, though the experience may have been augmented because I sat on the stage while the band played. Iron Maiden certainly puts on a better show, but how many bands can top Maiden live? Few. Anyway, yes, I had the opportunity to sit on stage during the concert; to say the least, the perspective was interesting. Imagine facing the stage as at any normal concert. I was off to the left in between Mick Box's couple of Marshall stacks and some other equipment sitting on a little podium. I really got a sense of how concerts work (although, really, they aren't complicated). It was pretty sweet. Worth the money as my dad said.

Cool view, eh?

Before the concert, I was able to watch the band's sound check. Initially, it was your standard procedure. Play around with the instruments, tweak the sound. But after a while of sitting in the sweltering sun and heat, the band played a few songs for my family and I, effectively making it like a private little concert. And not to knock on the band or anything, but that was easily the best part of the day. I strongly believe they put in their best performance during the songs they played during the sound check, but the rest of the concert, as I said before, was very good in its own right.

Afterwards, the band left the stage for a meet and greet, some autographs, and a photo-op. They were all humble guys, genuinely wanted to talk to their fans, and were interested in hearing what we thought. Because Uriah Heep is somewhat unknown in the United States nowadays, the band is able to do just that. Bigger bands probably wouldn't dream of doing a meet and greet or, most obviously, let their fans sit on stage during the concert. I likely won't get to do anything like this ever again, but I'm surely glad I got to meet them (and that they turned out to be great guys). Despite that, I'm doubtful that I want to meet a band again. I wouldn't want to find out someone [insert band of your choice here] is a total jerk and sour the experience.

Mick doin' his thing during the sound check.

Following that, the band embarked to prepare for the concert. I had a long wait of ~3 to 3 1/2 hours before Uriah Heep would hit the stage. Yes, they got delayed and, to make things worse, the strangest opening act was paired with them. The opening band was Artisto, a poppy rock group that sounded akin to 1,000,000 other mainstream bands today. Totally unfitting, but the Aristo guys seemed pretty nice, even admitting that they hadn't heard of Heep before the concert. Mind you, this wasn't Uriah Heep's fault, as random acts are paired with them as openers at nearly every venue. Heck, I even asked the band who was opening for them, and they had no idea. Phil Lanzon [keyboards] summed it up nicely: "Hit or miss." In this case, a miss.

Although it may seem pretentious, I skipped Aristo's performance. From what I could hear, they were rather average. As I made my way down to the stage when it was time, a Uriah Heep fan complimented me on my Morbid Angel shirt; just goes to show that Heep is still popular with the metal and hard rock crowd. Upon climbing on stage and into my seat, I had a short wait while Heep came on. I took this time to examine my surroundings, primarily gawking at the stage setup. It was very plain Jane, no frills. With no decorations to be found, all equipment was exposed to the naked eye. This is likely my favorite kind of stage setup as I got to see extra guitars and equipment floating around.

Bernie being entertaining.

Shortly thereafter, the band stormed the stage in a typical confident fashion, as they should. Despite many line up changes, Uriah Heep has a considerable reputation because their influence on hard rock and metal has been generally unparalleled. Anyway, the band started off very strong and maintained that strength for the duration of the concert. They played quite a few tracks from their most recent album Into the Wild, along with a good chunk of classic material, though I would have loved to hear something from Abominog or Head First, two albums that I'm attached to for whatever reason. They're just fun. On a negative note, I was particularly appalled with the crowd's reaction to the new material. Very few seemed to know the songs, and their reactions were as predicted. Only a small number of people seemed to dig/recognize the new tracks, while the majority simply stood there with nothing more than a "Huh?" plastered all over their faces. These people only seemed to know songs like "Easy Livin'" and "Stealin'" as well. This duo is easily Uriah Heep's most well-known songs, inferior to a good measure of their discography at that. To me, those songs are like Judas Priest's "Living After Midnight" or " You've Got Another Thing Comin'." I could not care less if I ever hear them again. Funnily enough, the band kept turning around during the concert giving us a thumbs up or thumbs down to see what we thought. Of course we returned with a big thumbs up!

- (There were, however, a small number of people who were into the whole concert. One guy with the longest hair I have seen was headbanging so aggressively that his hair practically reached the stage [he was a few rows back]. The dude had the longest whipping hair I have EVER seen. In addition to that, there were a few people that seemed to be emotionally affected by the concert, along with others that were totally into it, singing all words and jumping up and down. The crowd wasn't a total failure!)

Tres amigos.

Moving on from my rambling, the whole band put in a great performance. Bernie Shaw's vocals were excellent, though I thought he struggled a bit on the falsetto "AHHHHHHH" highs. This is no bash on him either. I imagine those are hard to pull of in the fashion that Heep likes them. Surprisingly, I walked away most impressed by Russel Gilbrook. I reckon he was much better live than in the studio, in part due to his clean and lightning fast fills that he would pepper everywhere and because of his entertaining drum solo. The drum solo wasn't overly technical, but it was entertaining and memorable, in my eyes, the key to success. Trevor Bolder's bass playing complimented the drums nicely and formed a rock solid foundation. Mick Box's guitar playing was good, but I can't particularly remember anything special about it, mostly because he seemed to get buried in the mix like he does on some of the albums. In my opinion (at least for the albums), he needs to layer his rhythm playing, one track for each side as if there were two guitar players. I found myself staring at his custom Caparelli guitar for far too long as well. It's safe to say that I want that guitar, though I would nab one of his Yamaha Pacificas that he used on the Sea of Light tour over it any day. In a nutshell, the band was very tight, well-versed, and energetic, but I wouldn't expect anything less from a bunch of veterans.

Subsequent to the concert, we got the opportunity to hang out with the band again. This lasted for a good 30 minutes, and as before, the they were willing to chat about anything. They're just a group of great guys in it for the love of music. I walked away with two of Mick's signature guitar picks and one of Russell's drum sticks. I never saw that one coming!

Bashin' the skins.

In short, this will be a show that I will never forget, and it's evidence that Uriah Heep still knows how to put on an entertaining concert. Let's hope the band keeps releasing new material as consistently as they have been, so they can keep touring. Personally, I hope they gain a smidgen of popularity in the United States, so their return is guaranteed. No Europe, you can't have Uriah Heep all to yourself.

-The Metal Advisor

The setlist.

Phil and Trevor during the sound check.

Lookin' cool.

New Morbid Angel = Dance Music?

Okay, so I still haven't heard Morbid Angel's new album, but judging by this, I don't want to. I've seen some of the songs described as dance music...This is one effectively seals that claim. Incredibly bad music, totally funny Star Wars video sync, I guess the song was worth it because it prompted this video to be made. Such as shame, what a departure from the glory days of the band. I don't care if they were trying to experiment. At least make your experiments good.


It gets pretty hysterical when Darth Vader walks on. Get a laugh in or two.

-TMA

New Skeletonwitch Album on the Way

I must be out of the loop because I'm just now finding out that Skeletonwitch has a new drummer and that they're collaborating with a producer that has worked with Kreator, Slayer, Machine Head, and others. I suppose I'm okay with a new drummer, but if the band starts to fall apart, I'm not going to be happy. I'd also like it if the band does not take a polished production approach to their next album, which might totally alienate me from their music. Breathing the Fire was a step up from the production on Beyond the Permafrost, but it took some getting used to because it was a lot clearer. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't overly polished by any means, but, it took me by surprise. If Skeletonwitch steps into the uber-polished, computerized production zone, I will probably flip. The band is currently recording their next album.

Cross your fingers for it,
The Metal Advisor

Here We Go....!

Going to see Uriah Heep tonight. Wish me luck; hopefully I don't go deaf!

-TMA

Recent Hauls Part 1

Thoughts and mini summaries on a few things I've gotten recently, metal and nonmetal.

1. Swedish death metallers Interment recently (2010) released their first album titled Into the Crypts of Blasphemy after a slew of demos released from 1991 to 1994. As you can probably surmise, these guys aren't strangers to the old school Swedish death metal sound because they were a part of it; you should expect exactly that from Interment with dry, monstrous guitar riffs that have the ability to crush your skull and a production that sounds dirty and gritty. The album isn't groundbreaking, but it is extremely enjoyable if the sound is on your list. A worthwhile listen.

2. Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets are a rock group based out of Japan. All lyrics are in Japanese, though the first few albums are instrumental-only with heavy syth parts in place of vocal melodies, giving the material a very 8 and 16-bit inspired sound. I have recently acquired the band's entire discography and, lyrics or not, they're a very fun listen. While the guitar playing is somewhat sloppy at times, it easily redeems itself by being peppy, vivacious, and extremely creative. Vocals are excellent; drumming is rather precise and skilled, quite a surprise to me. It would be an understatement to say I really enjoy this band, well, because I love them! In short, they are a fresh addition to my music library.

 3. Hypocrisy's Osculum Obscenum is of the Swedish death metal sound and easily trumps any newer material that the band has released. To be honest, I never really minded Hypocrisy's sound change to melodic death metal, but this album has easily changed that. I now prefer the more crushing death metal sound of this record with its nice old school production and archetypal Swedish death metal riffs. Vocals are extremely thick and deep, while the overall level of musicianship is excellent. Users on Metal Archives have rated this album at a 94% average, so if that's any indication, this album should be on your radar.

-TMA

Has the USA been Important to Metal's Development?

Very much so.

I'm currently in a discussion with an ignorant, yet well-intentioned user of You Tube concerning origins of thrash metal, and the USA's overall role in the development of metal as a genre. The user in question claims that the most popular bands that helped spread thrash are from England and that the USA has had little to do with development of metal. Well, with all due respect, that's flat out wrong. Now, there are some thrash bands that came from England, notably ones like Xentrix and Tankard, but the most popular and most important ones hail from the United States and Germany. For example, the big four (Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeth) all come from America, and then there are a plethora of other bands like Overkill, Exodus, Testament, Nuclear Assault, Sadus, Dark Angel, Heathen, etc., and many obscure ones. Even more evidence are crossover thrash bands like D.R.I.. Germany has had the giant thrashers Sodom, Kreator, and Destruction, among others.

In between all of this, the user says the United States has had little to contribute to metal as a genre. That is wholly incorrect. First, death metal has very strong roots in America, particularly with the Florida death metal scene, which includes bands like Morbid Angel, Deicide, Death, Obituary, and others. Many of the of the subgenre's roots lie within the state, not to mention the host of other death metal bands that were active at the same time from all around the United States. Second, look above. Thrash's actual origins are in the United States. Heck, I could keep providing other examples from other subgernres of metal, but that should be sufficient. In short, it's just incredibly ignorant to say the USA has had little importance to metal when concrete evidence is right out in front of you.

In metal,
The Metal Advisor

Please rock out to this Overkill song. Thrash from the USA, represent!

Overkill - "Rotten to the Core"

Discoveries of the Week Part 3

I'm going to be out of town away from my computer most of the time, so I'm going to do my discoveries of the week post today. If I do end up with some free time, I'll try to post something, but I'm not making any guarantees! With that said, let's move on.

1. Benediction is a band I've been interested in for quite some time based off of one thing: the album cover of Transcend the Rubicon. It's so intricate, so detailed, and so awesome looking. I love the river flowing through an ancient civilization, one that likely worshiped ancient gods. Don't ya get an Aztec-ish vibe? Maybe not visually, but principally? Anyway, I had a chance to listen to the album once through, and I was impressed. It's hard to have an overall impression based on one listen, but I found the album to have lots of variety tempowise from hyper fast to a more medium pace, like the one I'm posting here. In short, it was an entertaining listen.

Benediction - "Painted Skulls"

2. Ah yes, Galneryus. I've also been familiar with the Japanese power metal quartet, and, again, I am thoroughly impressed. As I've said over and over again, I'm a sucker for neoclassical influence. And as you could probably predict, Galneryus has it in spades. I think the thing that intially drew me to the band a few years back was their guitar player. He's an absolutely incredible player, clean, yet so delicate, hitting every note with the up most precision. I really envy him and wish I could play my axe as well as him, but that's a different story! It's hard to post one song, so you get three. Aren't you lucky?

Galneryus - "Rebel Flag"

Galneryus - "Holding the Broken Wings"

Galneryus - "Destiny" 

(The intro music/vocal combination gives me chills at 17 or 18 seconds in. This is also with their new vocalist. You'll also notice a change in the band's sound.)

3. ARGHHHHH!!!!!!! COOKIE MONSTER!!!!!!!!! That might be your reaction if you're not familiar with the death metal vocal style. However, how can you not like the riffs in this song? They're everywhere! I seriously think I'm in awe at this one because of the abundance of said riffs. And like a cherry on top, those so called cookie monster vocals are just the way I like 'em and the song is insanely headbangable. Crank this one as loud as it will go.

Sinister - "Magnified Wrath"

4. I suppose one more should do it. Bow down to the METAL INQUISITOR! But seriously, they appear really awesome on the surface. Epic album cover, cool album name, heavy riffs, and a great vocalist. I have yet to hear anymore from the band, but I'm pretty much sold with this track. It's pure freakin' heavy metal at the core.

Metal Inquisitor - "Restricted Agony"

I bid thee farewell and a very happy listening session,

The Metal Advisor

It's The Real Thing, Baby!

It's 1:00 a.m., and I'm currently rocking out to Faith No More's "Zombie Eaters." FNM is one of my favorite bands, metal or not. Just trust me when I type this: the band covers a lot of bases and frequently steps out of the boundaries of metal to play funk, blues, alternative, jazz, avant-garde, you name it. Or they'll just simply fuse metal with another genre. Simply put, to call Faith No More solely a metal band is highly inaccurate because they play so many different genres. And now that I think about it, my favorite record is probably King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime; that's not to say their other albums are bad. In fact, they don't have a bad album to their name, although I found Angel Dust incredibly hard to get into as it takes the Faith No More norm of being insanely weird and ups it 10,000 times. It was a grower, and a rewarding one at that.

I vastly prefer the band with Mike Patton on vocals as a opposed to Chuck Mosely who sang on the first two albums. Patton conveys greater sense of a emotion, especially because he's less monotone and because he exercises a vast array of unique styles. One second he'll be emotionally serenading you, the next rapping, and the next barking like a dog through the mic. He's one of the most diverse and unprecedented vocalists in all of metal, even in any genre of music period.

So what song will give you a feel of what Faith No More is like? Honestly, that's impossible to do with a single track. I can, however, post one of my favorite songs from the band. Choosing it wasn't easy, as pretty much any song ranges from good to excellent.

-TMA

This song doesn't even begin to sum up Patton's vocal styles or the genres the band plays, but it's a good 'un. Actually, this one is very, very tame for the band.

Faith No More - "Digging the Grave"

A Metalcore Band...THE HORROR!!!!!

Upon my first exposure, I wouldn't be lying if I told you that I detested The Agonist. In fact, the first time I heard the band I dismissed them as your normal, god-awful metalcore. I figured the band simply rode off of the current mainstream trend of combining elements of hardcore music with metal, resulting in unoriginality because the metalcore formula is tired and worn out. And, please, don't get me started on deathcore; that's a different story and it's even worse, possibly the worst thing to ever happen to metal, though I suppose it doesn't even have metal in its name. Here's to hoping the -core trend vanishes soon.

It was only a few years ago that I stumbled upon The Agonist. I thought they were repulsive because they had all the stereotypical elements of metalcore, like chugga-chugga riffs, generic breakdowns, and the worst harsh vocals you could ever imagine. As if it was fate, I accidentally ran into the band again during my freshman year of college. After giving the band a serious look, I concluded that they weren't all that bad. Yes, the harsh vocals were terrible, but the clean vocals were actually good enough to keep me interested because they avoid the over-the-top melodic poppy sound that many metalcore bands are guilty of. And did I mention that The Agonist's vocalist is a female? What? Yes, you read that correctly. The woman's got an impressive set of pipes. I just wish she would switch over to all clean vocals, but I digress.

Anyway, after further analysis, I concluded that they weren't your typical metacore band, despite utilizing many of the metalcore stereotypes. This was mostly because my introduction to the band was through Lullabies for the Dormant Mind, which has quite a few symphonic elements and even some black metal influence floating around (though it's really slim). I guess my initial interest in the band sparked from those elements, along with the excellent clean vocals that are redeeming enough to hold my attention. After countless listening sessions, I can say I've acclimated nicely to the harsh vocals, but I wouldn't call them something I can relish--I certainly won't ever force them upon myself again. At any rate, Lullabies for the Dormant Mind is a great album, filled with energy, enjoying reasonable creativity for metalcore. Nonetheless, listeners should avoid The Agonist's first album Once Only Imagined at all costs. It's incredibly generic and the song writing is among the worst I've ever heard, resulting in a sound best described as amateurish. It's nothing short of a miracle that the band stepped up their game for their second album because it has enabled them to stand out from the collective mass called metalcore. I only hope The Agonist keep it up on their third album, but if they don't, I won't be heartbroken. It is metalcore after all.

-TMA

This song's lighter on the harsh vocals.

The Agonist - "Waiting Out the Winter"

Favorite Metal Riffage Part 2

Cacophony is group based around the guitar antics of Marty Friedman and Jason Becker, two world renown guitarists, in both skill and inspiration. I've only heard their second album Go Off!--it is an excellent chunk of classically-influenced metal, though I look forward to hearing Speed Metal Symphony, which appears to be a fan favorite. The majority of Go Off! is based around the speed metal, shred, or neoclassical sound; Friedman and Becker favored exotic guitar scales for many of the songs, and as a result, I've seen some people claim that the music is relatively hard to get into. Personally, I don't find that the case at all. Cacophony's music is extremely engaging, memorable, and adventurous. It sounds fresh each time I listen to it, and I always discover something new to enjoy.

The specific song from Go Off! that I want to highlight is "Sword of the Warrior." As with every song on the album, there is excellent, jaw-dropping lead guitar work to be heard, but, most importantly, the riffs kick a lot of butt. Similarity, the overall atmosphere of the song is frenzied, perfect for envisioning the sword wielder that the band had in mind. I'm not sure if this is the best song on the album, but it certainly presents an awfully enticing example of prime metal riffage.

In keeping metal alive,
-TMA

Cacophony - "Sword of the Warrior"

Favorite Metal Riffage Part 1

Much like anything else I've done in this blog, I'm going to start a series of posts where I highlight a metal riff that I enjoy. To start, let's take a look at Dark Angel's song "Time Does Not Heal." The album of the same name (which the song came off of) claims to have 246 individual riffs packed within its 67 minutes of metal goodness. It's certainly a bold claim, though I can't vouch for it because I haven't individually counted for riffs. Regardless of that, the album rocks, but it was definitely a grower as there are some odd vocal melodies scattered throughout that turned me away...at first. The majority of the riffs are of the thrash variety, fast and hyper speed alternate picking. For this individual song, I prefer to let the music speak for itself. And if you like it, you'll likely like the rest of the album.

Gene Holglan was a part of Dark Angel as well. That automatically makes them awesome, right?!

Dark Angel - "Time Does Not Heal"

Thoughts on Pantera

Hear me now, I'm openly admitting that I think any Pantera album released after Cowboys from Hell is utter garbage. Despite that, I still want to post about the band. We're going to take a look at the material released prior to Cowboys from Hell, the material that Pantera essentially denied existed. It's really too bad because their earlier stuff is their best.

First off, let's talk about Pantera's physical appearance during the '80s. Yes, you would be quite right to say that they looked like a hair or glam band; however, their music wasn't your typical hard rock and/or watered down metal. And please, let's not get me started on my personal pet peeve of calling hair or glam a music genre. It's not. It's nothing more than an easy way of classification for the ignorant.

Seemingly smiting their physical appearances, in the ye old days Pantera was mainly a heavy / speed metal band. They were charismatic, energetic, and relatively unique--they didn't assume the tough guy attitude that plagued their music on later albums, which, to be honest, was unique at the time but spawned way too many bands that needed to be sent to the landfill. Think of Cowboys from Hell as a transitional album between the two periods as it held themes from both, but was balanced enough that the music was enjoyable.

It's pretty sad now that I think about it because Pantera really took a turn for the worst. If you couldn't already tell, I'll tell you (though if you wanna stretch your imagination a little bit first and think about what I might dislike...): for the most part, I hate groove metal with a burning passion. Unfortunately for me, that's what Pantera embraced in the '90s. If you haven't heard any material post Cowboys from Hell, save your money and avoid the albums. If you have (and dislike them), do yourself a favor and toss them into the nearest dumpster, sell them, burn them, whatever.

I'm not going to pretend that I don't have a strong opinion of Pantera. For the most part, they're a grossly overrated band, and those overrated opinions were formed on the basis of their later work, which is the very work that I detest. Let's just end it at this: I'll post a couple songs from what I consider their glory days and their creative peak, which included their magnum opus Power Metal.

-TMA

Pantera - "Power Metal"

Pantera - "Killers"

Pantera - "Burnnn"

The Multi-Headed Hound: Cerebus

If you didn't know, a Cerebus is a three-headed hound that manifested itself in Greek and Roman mythology. Not getting the picture? Think back on that Harry Potter book or movie you read and/or watched. Gettin' it now? I thought so. I've recently bumped into the band and have found them to be a mesh of heavy metal and USPM. They're extremely enjoyable, highly skilled at their instruments, and write songs of good to excellent quality. However, I was disappointed to find out that they only released one full-length album and there's little hope of them releasing another unless they resurface out of the dust of time. Much like anything, I suppose that's possible because NWoBHM band Hell recently released their first full-length album, despite forming in the early '80s. In a nutshell, it's suitable to call Cerebus' Too Late to Pray a hidden gem. As with most, the guitar riffs are the main attraction for me, but the vocal melodies are often very memorable; everything comes together to create a neat, little package.

One track ougta do ya some good. This is the first track I heard, consequently leading me to check out the full album.

Cerebus - "Distant Eyes"

Happy listening,
The Metal Advisor

Discoveries of the Week Part 2

Got a couple things to share.

1. I think it will be of interest to include Gojira's newest song because I know that some of my readers are big fans of the band. The particular song in question is called "Of Blood and Salt." Interestingly enough, Devin Townsend (as well as Fredrick Thordendal of Meshuggah) had a helping hand in this one, and you can hear his vocals right off the bat. Truthfully, I find his vocal melodies to be atrocious, pushing me to wonder why Gojira chose to work with him. It's completely understandable why they chose Thordendal because Gojira practically worships Meshuggah. As for the song itself, it plods along at typical chuggy pace, making it a slow, uninteresting piece of music. This is the kind of song you don't judge an album off of. If the album is indeed as bad the song, well, you're out of luck.

Verdict: My thoughts amount to a big "meh." Maybe it will grow on me, maybe it won't. Sadly, Gojira doesn't have a good standing with me. I've tried more than once to "get" them, but the click never happens, and I always walk away forgetting what I've just listened to. I like a song here and there (okay, maybe more like two or three songs), but overall I'm not impressed by the band. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

Gojira - "Of Blood and Salt"

2. Moving on... This next one is pretty bad. Historically, I've been a fan of Alestorm because they successfully combine pirate "elements" with power metal. However, with this new song they've gone too far because they're effectively parodying themselves both lyrically and musically. I understand that pirates like to drink, but how many songs are they going to write about it and/or have lyrics concerning it? Not to mention the synth melody, vocals, and overall composition of the song are quite laughable. This one is filler, and not the kind you can happily listen to. Bunch of tomfoolery right here.

Alestorm - "I Am a Cider Drinker"

3. Well, I've got to bring something good to the table, eh? TOTAL ACCEPT FEEL HERE. This one isn't exactly a new discovery, but its been sitting in my listening cache and to search for on vinyl list for some time. You might call this one generic. I certainly won't deny that it isn't particularly original, but it successfully grabs the rockin' heavy metal feel that made/makes metal fun. Too many bands have forgotten what that is like, and I mourn as a result. Okay, so maybe I don't, but more bands need to play stuff like this. Thankfully we've got the trad. heavy metal movement going on, so maybe we'll get lucky.

Tyrant - "Metal Rules" 

3 Inches of Blood vs. The Traditional Heavy Metal Revival

Is it correct of me to include 3 Inches of Blood in the NWoTHM? Most of you would probably say no. Well, I guess I'd better explain myself. Based on 3 Inches of Blood's material prior to Here Waits Thy Doom, there would be no way in heck I'd consider them a part of the movement, but once the band released HWTD, that all changed.

While the album clearly incorporates other influences, it has an old school vibe that I just can't ignore. Needless to say, it's pretty darn good at encompassing the vibe that metal heads hanker and drool over. Let me explain; the first part of the vibe is the production. It's clear, yet not overly polished. Although I found it odd sounding at first, it clicked after a few moments. Thank god it isn't similar to the production on Fire Up the Blades, which was way to computerized for my taste. Anyway, when I listen to this album based on the production alone, I feel as if I'm surrounded by a coniferous forest with my sword and shield while I look up at the snow covered mountains around me. It sounds hollow, yet full because the noise is bouncing off all the trees (I hope you're thinking "What is The Metal Advisor smoking here?"). You know that feeling you get from some metal bands where you're a warrior in simpler times? Yeah, that's the one I get, though I can probably thank the album art for that one. Now, the second part of the old school heavy metal vibe is specifically the music. It's not based around a chugga-chugga riff that sadly too many modern metal bands are guilty of. Instead they take influence from Maiden, Priest, all that other good stuff (though they always have). As I've said before, I'm a total sucker for that type of stuff, anything that harkens back to pure, unadulterated heavy metal. In addition to that, Jamie Hooper who did the metalcore-ish vocals on previous albums is gone. Can I get a high five?! To be completely honest, he was terrible and unsuitable for a band like 3 Inches of Blood. Vocally, all the band has now is Cam on the highs and axe slinger Justin Hagberg on harsh vocal duties. But don't worry. His vocals only show up occasionally and they're akin to those of death metal. Luckily, he knows when to give it a rest, unlike Hooper who was always barking every freakin' second. Sigh... All the old school vibe really comes down to is the atmosphere and riffs, at least for this specific album.

So where am I going with this? I have no idea. Just don't dismiss this album as not being part of the movement because it says 3 Inches of Blood on the cover. Here Waits They Doom has all the right ingredients of a heavy metal album and it's worthy of the NWoTHM title, whether the guys in the band intended for it to be or not. The band clearly taps their influences with this record and it's readily obvious even when doing a quick surface listen (the kind where you're not analyzing anything). It was one of my favorite albums of 2009, and, to date, it's easily 3 Inches of Blood's best album due to riffs, Hooper leaving the band, and overall creativity.

Thanks for reading my blabbering,
The Metal Advisor

Two tracks from the album. Raise your fist in the air and proclaim metal as king.