Now Playing

[The Wretch]

CARBONIZED - For The Security (1991)

[Ducky]

Exodus - Tempo of the Damned. Honestly think this is their best record and that Souza is a mighty vocalist. Proper piss and vinegar in his delivery.

Evile - Five Serpents' Teeth. The best album Metallica never wrote.

Squarepusher - Music is Rotted One Note, Just a Souvenir, Ufabulum. I love how chaotic this dude's music is.

Tim Hecker - Ravedeath 1972. Haven't given this a go in quite some time, forgot how good it is.

[Maggot Colony]

Acid Bath - Paegan Terrorism Tactics

[Mr Barlow]

Tanith - In Another Time

[The Wretch]

MR BIG - Lean Into It (1991)

[Ducky]

Dead Can Dance - Spleen and Ideal, Within the Real of a Dying Sun, The Serpent's Egg.

This'll be me now for the weekend, nothing else gets a look in when I'm in a DCD mood

[Thorn]

Gorephilia - In The Eye Of Nothing 7.5/10
Taking their cue from early Morbid Angel and Suffocation the Finns third album hits the mark.

Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events 7.5/10
Quite a streamlined effort from DT here, by their standards, a good listen overall.

Omen - Escape To Nowhere 7/10
The fourth album switch to a more commercial style didn't go down well at the time but I don't mind it now, a strong maybe even over dominant performance by Coburn Pharr of Annihilator fame here.

Grave Digger - Witch Hunter 7/10
Always an album cover that jumped out at me from ads in mags through the years so I was chuffed to finally get this from Hammerheart this week.

Road Warrior - Mach II 7/10
Second album from this Aussie troupe proves to be a more interesting listen than the album cover suggests.

Gamma Ray - Master Of Confusion 7/10
Stopgap ep from 2013 featuring two new tracks ,two covers and six live ones. Not sure they fully understood the concept of an ep!

Dark Forest - Oak, Ash and Thorn 6/10
Tales of Old Albion go well with a twin guitar attack but this lacks bite for me.

Traveler - Termination Shock 6/10
Trad Metal from Canada , grand for what it is though highly derivative and much like the Dark Forest, all a bit twee.

UDO-Thunderball 6/10
Decent title track but the majority of this is merely passable stuff that Accept would have left in the rehearsal room.

Insomnium - One For Sorrow 5.5/10
A random pic off the shelves this one, I wouldn't be the biggest fan of the band. Blandly inoffensive melodeath, all sweeping and soaring choruses and generally coming off like a poor man's Amorphis.

[The Wretch]

DOKKEN - Broken Bones (2012)

This was such a great record. It's not on par with 'Tooth And Nail' or 'Under Lock And Key' but it's as close as they were ever going to get, with or without the original line up. Don's best work since Up from the Ashes. And Jon Levin does George Lynch better than George does at this stage.

It's a pity that they didn't go for something similar with 'Heaven Comes Down' though. Bit of a damp squib sadly.

Mind you, it is still infinitely better than Lynch/Pilson, or T&N, or The End Machine, or any number of those Lynch and Pilson (and occasionally Mick Brown) related projects. Or fucking Lynch Mob for that matter.   

[Trev]

Insomnium - One For Sorrow 5.5/10
A random pic off the shelves this one, I wouldn't be the biggest fan of the band. Blandly inoffensive melodeath, all sweeping and soaring choruses and generally coming off like a poor man's Amorphis.

This is the only Insomnium I've heard and I can't decide how I feel about it. I quite like some melodeath, and I think there's an album I'd enjoy in there, but the production is so, so shit. The drums are drowning out everything, the vocals mixed so low they're pointless, and the bass non existent

[Eoin McLove]

Voivod- Killing Technology.
Zemial- I Am The Dark.
Council of Tanith- The Wrath of God. It's been years since I've stuck this on. Anyone know what Ferg is up to these days? Is he playing any music? And Fogg for that matter?
Kreator- Pleasure to Kill.
Convent Guilt- Diamond Cut Diamond. 

[The Great Cull]

Voivod- Killing Technology.

Their best album in my opinion.

[Eoin McLove]

Voivod- Killing Technology.

Their best album in my opinion.

I only picked it up yesterday so I'm on my second spin but it sounds good.

[Thorn]

Insomnium - One For Sorrow 5.5/10
A random pic off the shelves this one, I wouldn't be the biggest fan of the band. Blandly inoffensive melodeath, all sweeping and soaring choruses and generally coming off like a poor man's Amorphis.

This is the only Insomnium I've heard and I can't decide how I feel about it. I quite like some melodeath, and I think there's an album I'd enjoy in there, but the production is so, so shit. The drums are drowning out everything, the vocals mixed so low they're pointless, and the bass non existent

Ah I like plenty of melodic DM alright, maybe it's not even the right term for Insomnium, they just sound to me like they're trying to be the sum of a lot of other bands like Dark Tranquillity , Amon Amarth, Amorphis but it comes across as pretty generic and dull to these ears anyway.

[Ducky]

Voivod- Killing Technology.

Their best album in my opinion.

I'd give DH the nod, but between the two it's like debating whether to take the Ferrari or Porsche out for the weekend

[Danny]

So, the last few weeks- as I have been predominantly this year- I've been moreo into lesser trve Rock musics ("classic"/hard/grunge/prog etc.) But especially Morrissey (he is my fav singer/lyricist/human honestly (How the fuck is "I Have Forgiven Jesus" not the most blasphemous/heretical song ever more than the blackest of black metals best) & The Smiths- whom I've become shamelessly & proudly obsessed with; more than ever...but I got a bit bored purely musically- as in the guitar playin or songs are rarely heavy despite bein pure genius-

& so I took a break & I listened to a few new METAL records of interest to me that were released recently over the past couple days-

KERRY KING- From Hell I Rise
Ah Fuck off would ye?-I read the main thread there about this record FFS. A lot of boring dull moany cynical scoffin pricks. I love it. It SLAYS ffs. Easily (what is essentially) the best SLAYER album since "God Hates & Painted Us A Christ Illusion World" or whatever the fuck. Obviously not on the level of their archetype early albums but fuck- it's better than fuckin Diabolvs anyways (& No- it's not because of the nu/groovy riff style; at all but the songs just weren't great & a fuckin SLAYER song about "scrums" or any sports activities/moves should be forbidden by Lord Lucifer the fallen Angel himself).

Like c'mon wtf the Guitar playin & riffs between KING & Demmel (though hes no Hannemann or Holt even) are great. Bostaph on drums is solid as fuck as always (but no Lombardo obviously). Bassist is fine & fits grand. My only negative thing to say would be that while I'm a decent Death Angel/Osegueda fan- I think he tries doin Araya's SHOUTing vocal style thing too hard/contrived; something which came naturally to Araya as he had studied/worked as a vocal coach & it was his unique original style that worked for him. I think Osequeda sounds remarkably better/naturally on KK's album when he sings more like he usually does with DA. But yeah, I don't get all the hate. A welcome Deadly new hour of entertainment.

Likely the same mongchilds who think KK IS shit are the same borin farts who talk in depth about how Metallica- 72 Seasons is a loada shite when it's deadly & live they fuckin destroyed & owned every show worldwide-the 1 I got to they even played Dirty fuckin Window from St. Poxy & it ruled) I'd imagine..

DEICIDE- Banished By Sin
Not too fuckin bad this. Evil Heretical Death. About the same as but a it feels a bit better & more engaging/intense than the last couple at least. Still no patch on the first 2 or 3. Nor is it on their fluke masterpiece Stench Of Redemption. Fuckin Desecration & for Homo For Satan with that fuckin solo are among their top tracks for me.

VLTIMAS- EPIC
I love this fuckin album, just as I do their debut. I don't see much mention of it surprisingly- but For me, it really makes up for that Illus Scooter/The Kovenant Insanus shite & picks up at least for Vincent's reputation as likely 1 of if not thee best Death vocalist ever; from where Domination's excellence left off. Plus I think Eriksen has some remarkably fresh dark engaging guitar work. Like what he was tryna do I think with MAYHEM'S Ordo- these weird just not just dissonant but intentionally dark downwardly spiral riffs that make you feel weird. Flo Mounier om drums killin it ffs too cmon-this rocks!

ULCERATE- Cutting The Throat Of God
Another quality Death metal album. Heavy/tech/prog as fuck but brutal/dark/moody mixed with a bit of that PORTAL & AUS/NZ slimy magick. Only thing I'd say bad is-not that it's shit; but the album title & artwork is a bit tacky or under considered considering the eliteness of their other works; plus the couple singles from the album leadin up to it had better cover art than the actual main record. But whatever overall very engaging quality Death metal here ladz.