REVIEWS
(All reviews by Chris D'Alessandro unless otherwise noted)
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Full Blown Chaos - Heavy Lies The Crown
One of the best metal CDs I've picked up in a long time. Heavy Lies the
Crown
has it all. Guitar riffs that will make you want to kill, heavy vocals and
a sound
that will blow you away. This CD will get you all hyper and make you want
to conquer the world. Ha ha ha A barbarian king on the cover too?
That sums
up the sound. If Conan were around today, Full Blown Chaos would be one of
his favorite bands.
Influences include a full range of thrash, hardcore and traditional metal
bands.
Heavy Lies The Crown is the best metal CD of 2007, hands down.
Ferret Records
www.ferretstyle.com
The Hives -
The Black and White Album
I've always liked The Hives and I like this one as well. The lyrics
and the sound of "Howlin" Almqvist's vocals have such a
F you attitude to them and combined with the lyrical element...
Sometimes when I've been feeling bad, I just throw on The Hives
and I've felt a whole lot better. The guitars have a way of sounding
linked, layered and webbed together so that even with their thin tone,
they sound heavy and in your face. The Hives are a band that truly deserve
to be called a "Rock" band. The riffs, the lyrics, the vocals, the image;
its all there.
This one is a rocker.
A&M Records
http://www.thehivesbroadcastingservice.com/
Holden Caulfield - ...And Never Will
A hardcore dose of punishment delivered like a roundhouse kick to the forehead.
Simple, straight forward and bashing,
the way hardcore should be. Mostly old school, big riff / beat down
hardcore, but some melodic elements of the
new school thrown in too. More groove oriented and mid paced, than fast and
thrashing. Very raw and powerful.
It's going on my ipod for listening pleasure in Iraq. Ha ha ha
http://www.surpriseattackrecords.com
http://www.myspace.com/holdencaulfield
The Sword - Age Of Winters
The attack of the Black Sabbath clones has begun in earnest. Hide your
Vol. 4 because
bands like The Sword are trying to claim the ground formerly occupied by
the aforementioned band..
"Trying" is the word. I mean these guys are good and everything and they
bust out
some seriously cool riffs, but you've heard most of this before, and played
better by Iommi, Ward and Butler... The overall feel of the CD is
cool, with the
mythical notions and all, and the songs are pretty good, but uneven.
Age Of Winters is a good CD for background music, if you're in the mood
for something that sounds like Sabbath, but is not Sabbath.
www.kemado.com
Dragon Force - Inhuman Rampage
This is straight up 1980s style guitar metal. Lots and lots and lots of
guitar solos.
In fact if you don't like guitar solos, don't even think of buying this. This is
an
inhuman rampage, of fuggin'' wild guitar that is! These guys play so well,
they
don't even sound human. This is some crazy ass metal guitar here.
Reminds me a bunch of stuff like Dream Theater. Just put it this way,
if you like Dream Theater, you'll like this, if not you'll want to fed the
CD to a dragon after listening to it for five minutes, I know I did!
Seriously though, this is a complicated and extremely talented
performance,
by musicians who transcend the ordinary. Dragon Force are virtuosos who
simply
shred their instruments to pieces. Metal guitarists will want this, if
just to marvel at the talent.
www.dragonforce.com
www.roadrunner.com
Cannibal Corpse - Kill
Cannibal Corpse has always been the band I throw on when I'm in a
mood to
listen to mind numbing heaviness. They're always sure to satisfy that
craving.
Kill is the latest dose of aural punishment from Cannibal Corpse.
They do
absolutely nothing new on Kill, they just stick to what they do best: making
ass kicking old school death metal. This one is a bit faster than some of
their
more recent releases, but mixes in lots of grind as well. If you're a fan,
you know what they sound like: HEAVY. If you're new to Cannibal Corpse,
start with some of their older discs and work your way up to this one.
www.cannibalcorpse.net
Exodus - Shovel Headed Kill Machine
You know this CD is rather interesting. Kind of like that trucker cap your
dad had been wearing
since the late 70s and is suddenly back in style again. Exodus
has not changed their style in around
15 years. The riffs on this disk could have easily come from any of their
last four CDs. As ever
the guitar work is great and the guitar sound itself is the essence of thrash,
but there is just nothing new
here. Exodus just can't compete with bands like Shadows Fall,
The Haunted and Killswitch Engage when it comes
to musicianship and can't compete for heaviness with bands like The Black Dahlia
Murder. As far as the mosh
parts they try to integrate into their songs, it just sounds so forced.
A band such as Agents Of Man or Hatebreed
would wipe Exodus off the stage. The song titles and lyrics are just so
damn corny too. Deathamphetimine?
That's not clever, not even in the metal sense of the word, its just dumb.
I'm not saying I don't enjoy
Shovel Headed Kill Machine, but there is just so much better music
out there on the metal scene.
As for Exodus, I would rather listen to Bonded By Blood or
Impact Is Imminent, than endure this CD.
Save your money, pick up the CDs I mentioned above instead, these guys are stuck
in 1989.
Nuclear Blast
The Haunted -Revolver
OK I know this has been out for over a year, but I just picked it up a few days
ago and wow, do
I like this CD. Revolver represents a return to The Haunted's
classic sound, as they sounded on
their S/T disc way back when. The style of course, has been updated a
great deal, but the feeling
of aggression, as on their S/T disc is over the top. This is the archetype
that all the euro-thrash
has been based on. Every song on here kicks your ass form start to finish.
Its all there, the
brutal vocals, the technical guitar parts, the thrashing drums, like I said:
Wow.
One of their original songwriter/guitarist came back tot he fold, I assume that
is why
their style ahs undergone such an improvement. I do enjoy their other work
like One Kill Wonder
and The Haunted Made Me Do It, but both of those put together are not as
good as Revolver.
www.centurymedia.com
http://www.the-haunted.com/
Josh Small S/T
Banjo and vocals mostly and some acoustic stuff. Maybe reminds me of the
Grateful Dead,
or street performance music. but then again my point of reference for this
type of music is small. I'm going to send this to
my sister, who enjoys this kind of music and see what she thinks of it. .
He's got a sweet country voice and
the music is very sincere and sad at points. Some nice slide guitar too.
Very full sounding for
just vocals and guitar/banjo. If you like bluegrass/blues tinged acoustic
stuff, this is for you.
A nice relaxing, melancholy thought provoking sound on this disc. I also like
how he mixes
some profanity into the mix and some cool sound effects, like breaking glass! I
could picture
this guy chillin' on the street in New Orleans or Paris jamming with his buds.
Pop Faction Records
www.popfaction.com
Monarch -
Tragedy Holds The Hand Of hope
This metalcore band exhibits a great many influences form the modern metal scene
They remind me to a degree of a band on my label
Killed By Memories. This because
they combine elements of the more heavy aspects of hardcore, such as breakdowns
with the lyrical elements and melody of new school metal bands like
Every
Time I Die.
Music like this seems to be a sub genre all its own, with synthesis of many
heavy styles.
Sine I've received this, they have put out a full length as well on Pop Faction
Recordings.
If it is anywhere as good as this one, then it must be impressive.
Pop Faction Records
www.myspace.com/monarchva
The Black Dahlia Murder - Miasma
This is just an awesome metal CD. If you like the Norse metal sound; fast,
complicated
and melodic, down tuned riffs with amazing musicianship, you'll have this
permanently jammed in your player.
I've been listening to this non-stop since I've bought it. Lots of double
bass drumming, lots
of screamed vocals and crazy guitar solos. Like I said, think stuff along
the lines of At The Gates, but played with an American hardcore attitude.
This is one of the best metal CDs I've heard in a long time to come form an
American band.
There some unforgettable riffs on this CD as well, you'll find yourself tapping
out the drumbeats and humming guitar parts!
Metal and hardcore fans need to get this one ASAP. An excellent mix
of musicianship and attitude.
Metal Blade
http://www.theblackdahliamurder.com/
http://www.metalblade.com/
White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
These two do a lot with a guitar, piano and and a drum set. The first
track Blue Orchid
is the kind of tune that made this band famous to begin with. An
unforgettable guitar riff
with quirky lyrics that hover just outside the range of your understanding. All
of the songs
on Get Behind Me Satan are quality, no "filler" here. I'm enjoying this CD
a bunch, especially for
the lyrics that are cool in the way I described above. This one is bit
more "realized" than
their other CDs. I like this one. And uh, you can get 29% off at
Amazon! Ha ha ha
V2 Records
www.v2records.com
www.whitestripes.com
Pigmy Love Circus - The Power Of Beef
The Spades - Learnin' The Hard Way Not To Fuck With The Spades
Probot - S/T
Damageplan - New Found Power
HateBreed - The Rise Of Brutality
Aweekinjuly - Nearfatalexplosion
Between The Lines - Wake Up Call
Fiddler Records - Wet Hot American Sampler
Phuckface - Itch That
Should Not Be (1 Song Sampler)
The Berlin Project - The Things We Say
Story Of The Year - Page Avenue
Bezerkers - Cut Throat Words
Process23 - Premonitions
Metallica -St. Anger
Paid In Blood - Demo CD
Voi Vod -
S/T
Insult To Injury - Realm Of Indifference
Under The Weather - S/T
A Global Threat - What The Fuck Will Change?
G.F.Y. - Till The Day We Die
Hardtimes: Demo
Defiance: Out Of The Ashes
The Unseen: Complete Singles 1994-2000
Voi-Vod: 3 Song promo for
forthcoming S/T CD
(these guys are back with a Roarrrrrrrrrr!)
Division Of Laura Lee: Black City
Transplants: S/T
Ikara Colt: Chat And Business
Shadows Fall: The Art Of Balance
Snapcase: End Transmission
Minority Report (A scathing review!)
Audioslave: Audioslave
Brotherhood Of The Wolf
Boys Sets Fire: Live For Today
Sparta: Wiretap Scars
Old Reviews (I have archived these)