Heaven and Hell at Myspace

It’s really a shame that this didn’t come out under the Black Sabbath name. Oh, I know how Ozzy, Bill and Geezer forced Iommi to sign a contract saying that the name couldn’t be used without the participation of all four original members, and how this was justified due to Iommi’s dragging the name through the mud during the late 80′s and early 90′s, but this is a quality release, arguably better than any of the “real” Sabbath albums with Dio (it’s certainly better than the the mediocre-as-hell Dehumanizer).

That said, The Devil You Know doesn’t really have a sound that’s much different from the other Dio Sabbath albums, but it’s really, really good despite its lack of innovation. Dio sounds amazing for a senior citizen (would that all vocalists could sound this good this late into their careers), Iommi’s riffs are as good as ever, and the rhythm section is solid throughout. There’s even a little bit of synthesizer that’s used sparingly but effectively.

The album’s tone is also remarkably consistent- it’s completely dark, with no silly excursions into other moods like the Ozzy-era songs “Planet Caravan” or “Changes.” It’s also fairly slow-paced throughout (but not in a boring way). This leads to a few songs sounding awfully similar, but it’s not quite as much of a fault as it might sound. The lyrics are sometimes pretty cheesy, but they don’t really stick out a lot when the music is this grim. All in all, this is an excellent album and a more than worthy addition to the Sabbath catalog, even if it is technically apocrypha. I wouldn’t begrudge anyone who changed their MP3 tags to “Black Sabbath” for this album at all.

Chainsaw at Myspace

Note to self: Don’t get an album solely because it contains a cover of a band you like. This goes double if that band is Spinal Tap.

First of all, this is the Chainsaw from Holland, not any of the seven other bands listed on Metal-archives with that name. (There are also no less than 20 bands named Armageddon, and those are just the ones who managed to spell it correctly.) Chainsaw plays thrash metal that just doesn’t distinguish itself from the crowd. The playing isn’t offensive or anything, it’s just pedestrian (with a few exceptions, such as godawful drumming on a few tracks and a few guitar solos which sound like the notes were chosen at random).

The lyrics try to be amusing and even socially relevant at times, but they just sound like a middle schooler trying to sound edgy. For example, here’s a verse from “Hand of God,” a song about plastic surgery:

I’ll cut you up I like it tight
I’ll lift your breasts because they just don’t look right
Your legs are fat I’ll suck them slim
I’ll re-create you until you look divine

I understand that English isn’t these guys’ first language, but I can’t ignore lyrics like this when the vocals are this lame. The singer sounds little better than some guy they brought in off of the street. Sometimes, he sounds like he’s just trying too hard to sound silly (admittedly, this might be because a Dutch accent just sounds weird to me for a thrash metal vocalist). And what about that cover that caused me to pick this up? Well, Spinal Tap’s “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight” sounds lame when played by Chainsaw, although at least they didn’t go the obvious route and cover the Ramones’ “Chain Saw.”

“Metal Missionary” isn’t offensively bad; it’s just not very good and only worth picking up if you’re a really die-hard thrash fan.

Frate Cesare Official Website (Italian)

When I heard that there was a metal band fronted by a Capuchin monk, I was almost afraid to hear the result. This was because I was sure that there was no way that the music could possibly live up to the awesome premise. And guess what? I was right.

Friar Cesare Bonizzi is a 63-year old monk who fronts this band; he has recorded albums in various musical genres in the past. He puts in a pretty good performance; some of his screams are great. The lyrics are all in Italian, so I can’t understand them, although I’m familiar enough with Latin that I can tell that the lyrics to “Venere” are a hoot. It’s the rest of the band that’s the problem. They play some of the most generic European-style metal that I’ve heard in my life. It’s a shame that Friar Cesare Bonizzi couldn’t have found some better collaborators to work with; he’s pretty much the only memorable part of the record. Hopefully, he’ll have a better backing band if he decides to release another album in this style.

Motörhead at Myspace

Motörhead isn’t a band that’s known for changing its sound much over the years. Despite the fact that Lemmy is the sole constant member, its sound has remained very consistent over the years. That said, there are differences from album to album; you just have to be playing close attention to hear them.

Orgasmatron (originally released in 1986) was Motörhead’s first album as a four-piece, and the first without drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor (except for “On Parole,” which was recorded in 1975 but not released until 1979). The dual guitars are a nice addition; they’re played by Wurzel and Phil Campbell (who is still in the band today). The production by Bill Laswell has its ups and downs; I liked the obviously sampled backing vocals on the songs “Deaf Forever” and “The Claw”, but Lemmy’s bass playing is just buried in the mix so far that it’s almost completely inaudible.

My favorite song was the title track, which denounces the negative effects of organized religion. This topic was so controversial that no other metal band has dared take it on before or since. All in all, despite a few minor changes from formula, it’s a pretty typical Motörhead album. The songs are simplistic but fun, and Lemmy’s voice is just as scraggly as ever.If you like Motörhead’s other work, check this out; if you hate the band, skip it.

Manilla Road at Myspace

Manilla Road’s latest release, Voyager, is a decent effort, if not quite up to the level of some of the band’s previous work. Mark Shelton’s voice isn’t what it used to be; while his nasal delivery was somewhat hard to get into before, I enjoyed it because it sounded like the Monarch from Venture Bros. was fronting a metal band. Now, he just sounds middle-aged and tired, and makes some truly pathetic attempts at death growls. Fortunately, though, his songwriting skill and guitar playing have not deteriorated one iota.

I didn’t like Voyager’s lyrics as much as those of earlier Manilla Road albums; it’s a concept album, and the story’s some silly stuff about Vikings conquering South America or something along those lines. I greatly preferred the more diverse approach used on earlier Manilla Road albums. There’s a surprising amount of acoustic material here; a few tracks have no electric guitar at all, which is a nice change of pace. I also liked the organ intro to the song “Blood Eagle”. The rhythm section doesn’t  really distinguish itself well on this record; the drums sound a bit clanky and the bass is nearly inaudible.

If you’re new to Manilla Road, this album isn’t the place to start; however, that doesn’t mean that it’s bad; it’s just a bit different from the rest of the band’s catalog. You’d probably be better off starting with the band’s 80s material.

Zerozonic at Myspace

Although Zerozonic feature current members of Blood Red Throne and Green Carnation they have a sound that is more all American than of the frozen north. Influenced primarily by Pantera but also Black Album era Metallica, Machine Head, Snot, Black Label Society, Godsmack and present day Soilwork, this is an album that bucks the trend to turning the clock back to 1986 by turning back to 1993. Further evidence of this can be seen in the fact that in promo pictures all the members seem to have come dressed as Phillip Anselmo

Bizarrely what should on paper be quite an accessible even commercial metal album, is quite an absolutely obtuse listen. Despite being influenced by some of the most catchy and memorable (as in get stuck in your head like a Hilary Duff song you heard in burger king sort of way) bands in metal, “Dead on Arrival” is instantly forgettable. While the album still plays one can consider it a blessing that they did not choose the most straightforward and dumbed-down route, but that’s quickly dispelled by the sheer unremarkableness of the material and the occasional even more regrettable “nu” moment.

When they do stray from the usual formula with “Zero” sounding like Sonic Syndicate attempting a seven minute power ballad and “Stripped” having a middle section which sounds like Zakk Wylde masturbating onto the corpse of the genre of Barroom Blues Rock. At the end of the day all “Dead on Arrival” had to offer is “Far Beyond Driven” without the intensity or “The Black Album” without the hooks. If you already despise those two records then just think how much you will hate this one.

Manilla Road at Myspace

Manilla Road is one of those bands that’s been around forever, but never managed to break into the mainstream in any way despite releasing some great material. Their first album, Invasion, dates all the way back to 1980. The production is about as rough as one would expect from an album self-released by a band from Kansas, hundreds of miles away from any of the major metal scenes at the time. Mark Shelton’s nasal, high-pitched voice is a bit of an acquired taste. There are also some incredibly cheesy parts, including the silly spoken intro to “Far Side of the Sun,” the terrible, cliche-ridden lyrics to “Cat and Mouse,” and the horrible trainwreck of studio effects that ends what was Side A on the original LP.

Yet for all these sins, there’s quite a bit of talent on display here. Shelton’s soloing is quite good, and the rhythm section is fine, if a bit workmanlike at times. It doesn’t really sound that much like the band’s later work, either musically or lyrically (there are no nods to the work of Lovecraft or Howard, for example). I especially enjoyed the 13-minute album closer, “The Empire,” which is closest to the epic feel that the band strove for on their later material. Invasion isn’t Manilla Road’s best album, but it’s a decent place to start.

Svartsot at myspace

Folk Metal is something you either love or hate. Apart the odd artist such as Agalloch or Hammers of Misfortune it’s usually exuberant, joyous and unashamedly cheesy. It’s an easy recipe to get hideously wrong, in a widdly keyboard smorgasbord and ye olde worlde theme park style charm offensive that certain acts end up just sounding smug and self-referentially ironic in one of those oh so ‘random’ ways that appeals to the same kids who thought the Lostprophets “megalulz” t shirt was the height of hilarity until their friend introduced them to metal hammer magazine last summer.

Svartsot, thank fuck are not one of those bands. There are no keyboards on the recording of ‘Ravnenes Saga’ their debut album, but instead an array of Flutes, Whistles and the Celtic percussion instrument the bodhran all played by at this point now ex member Stewart Lewis (who had to quit due to his wives ill health) which add to the air of authenticity that pervades this album. The guitar riffs have more of a folk influence than those of say Turisas or Korpikplaani, and the folk stylings of Svartsot’s home country of Denmark make a welcome change from the now textbook Finnish style. The cheese is kept at a welcome minimum with the searing death metal vocals and beautiful production job of Jacob Hansen who has worked with Yrkoon and Destruction in the past and is at this moment in time working with reunited Dutch Death Metal legends Pestilence, helping to create a non too serious but in no way at all goofy atmosphere.

With a lot of the similar bands in this genre, you feel they are trying too hard to create a party album, but ‘Ravnenes Saga’ is a rare all purpose folk metal album. You can party, headbang, or relax to this album and with not a comedy cover in sight to make one groan; this is certainly one of the finest folk metal releases of the past two years.

Stormwarrior at Myspace

I love Stormwarrior. They do a great job of producing 80′s style speed metal in a way that’s delightfully cheesy without falling into the outright faggotry embraced by Hot Topic favorites such as Dragonforce. Heading Northe is another fine effort from the band. It’s hard to believe that this is just the third full-length studio effort from these guys; they’ve firmly established their sound. Things do get a little samey at points, but not as much as you’d think.

My favorite song on the album was “The Holy Cross,” a seven-minute epic telling about how the narrator will never give in to the foreign religion that is invading his land. (I would also like to state that my enjoyment of this song has nothing to do with the recent spate of church burnings in my area that started just after I first heard this album.) I also liked the fact that the band has gone out of their way not to include historically inaccurate horned helmets on any of its album covers.

I do have to address one thing. You probably noticed that extra E in the album title. Well, they randomly include them throughout the song titles and even in the lyrics booklet. It’s silly, but at least they didn’t have all the liner notes written in runes like Manowar did on their last album, and it doesn’t take away from the actual music one bit.

Dantesco at myspace

Dantesco, Puerto Rico’s premier metal band play a form of epic doom metal not a million miles from Doomsword, Solstice and Solitude Aeturnus. The first thing you will notice is they are all in Spanish and that vocalist Erico La Bestia sings for a good portion of the time in a cod-operatic style that somewhat distracts from the music. It’s hard to get into any sort of metal with someone sounding like Pavarotti singing over the top of it. The performance and composing of the music is top notch, but it’s impossible to get past a vocalist who by rights should be singing in an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical and it’s not coincidence that the bonus track on this album is actually taken from one!

The guitarwork is immensely soulful and provocative and with another vocalist I could probably get into this a lot more, but La Bestia’s vocals which when they aren’t operatic, sound like a parrot attempting falsetto, simply don’t work in Metal. Operatic vocals are for opera and nothing else really by the evidence of this record.