If you are a regular reader here , then know I have started back reviewing actual albums. I know I am doing a mix tape a day , I can not help myself at this point, it is harder to focus on blast beats and growling vocals when I am floating around with cotton candy biscuits in my head. But I have said it before and will say it again . This is my fucking blog so I write whatever the god damn hell I want, right not this is what I want, Feel lucky is this for someone and I am sharing it with you guys, not to diminish the importance of what I am sharing with the actual intended audience. On previous ones I have made play lists of hair metal or emoish metal , but aside from Queensryche on the hair metal one not much in terms of actual metal, so I decided to throw some actual metal , perhaps not the heaviest by today's standards , but maybe we will get around to that, not sure I am really feeling songs about kissing your mother's decapitated head as my head in more along the lyrically lines of these songs today. I have not jerked off in two days so that might be feeding into this more cock rocking metal .
Continuing out countdown of what is the most influential sub-genre of metal . It opened the door for bands to play louder, harder and faster thus spawning Death metal, black metal, grind core etc.. yeah doom stayed on it's own path. The bands that came out of it are now considered the biggest bands in metal...I mean Metallica and Slayer, come one end of debate. Normally I try to limit it to one album per artist. There are some artists that had much more of an impact so they might get another entry or two. There is thrash ranging from proto-death metal to hard core to power metal bands that evolved with the times. I grew up during the rise of thrash and listened to it through out highschool so some of this is determined by which albums did I listen to the most as they came out and which have endured the test of time. Lets face it none of your Toxic Holocausts or Revocations can touch these bands. They are pretty much tribute bands in comparison.
40- Riot-" the Privledge of Power" 1990
There is still plenty of their more classic metal sound on this album, but the cover of Al Dimeola's "Racing with the Devil on a Spanish Highway" cements their place on this list. It might be the most power metal album on this list, but when they lay on the speed it proves why they are here.
39- Fates Warning- "No Exit" - 1988
These guys shed some of the classic prog metal leaning for this more in your face release.
The lyrics to this album go beyond the normal metal malarky. Technical yet groove riffs from a under rated band.
37-Forbidden- "Twisted into Form" -1990
Blended classic metal influences with catchy foreward thinking thrash.
36-Prong -"Beg to Differ"1990
These groove monsters were my first indication that metal was changing .
35-S.O.D-"Speak English or Die" 1985
When I listen to this album now I often think , what would happen if this album came out today. It gives a middle finger to everything, which is just what kids today need to hear so they are not such pussies.
34- Angkor Wat - "When Obscurity Becomes the Norm" 1989
1989
When this album came out the world was not ready for this band.
33-Dark Angel -"Leave Scars" 1989
"Darkness Descends" might be the album the so called metal purists might want here, but they do not know shit because the songs on this one are better.
32- Machine Head- "Burn My Eyes" 1994
1994 Yeah tis band would eventually turn into shitty nu-metal, but how can you not sing along to the cry of " Let Freedom ring with a shotgun blast"
31- Diamond Head - "Behold the Beginning" 1980
Metallica really ripped these guys off . I mean you do not need "Kill'em All" on here since this album is where it came from . This might be the first thrash album, even though by today's standards it is rock n roll.
It is hard for me to wrap my head around a Diamond Head album without Sean Harris singing on it. His voice is what is so distinctive to the band that I felt set them apart. Sure they were the proto thrash band that inspired Metallica, but his voice held something very unique that sold those songs, which could have otherwise been warmed over Judas Priest. Tatler has been parading around as the sole member of this band since 94. There is a foot in both worlds here. It sounds like who they were and makes a decent stab at feeling current . Sometimes this singer reminds me more of Chris Cornell in his upper range. He sounds more like Harris on "the Messenger". The title track is even more melodic . It sometimes sounds like grunge meets power metal. The vocals are at the forefront of the mix so it's hard not to compare them to the glory days . There are no "Am I Evils" on this album , but there are moments when they try to recapture that.
The verses of "Shades of Black ' is effective, but the Soundgarden thing persists. Its a rock and a hard place, because these guys did invented some of metal riffs we hear recycled by countless bands with a song like 'the Sleeper' you sometimes feel like you have heard it before. Though these songs are generally well put together and catchy. The first mis-step that doesn't feel as inspired is on "Death By Design". They are a little more back onto their sound with "Serrated Love", but the song's groove is a little odd for these guys. The more staccato "the Phoenix' finds the vocals having to do most of the heavy lifting. I think if they sat back into the guitar a little more this would really allow us to hear how these riffs stack up in the big picture of what they are doing here.
Obviously even though the singer does a decent job and gives it a more modern sound than if they tried to recreate "Behold the Beginning " they are such a central part to this band's sound. This is a sticking point, because, there is nothing as ground breaking here as when these guys were in their prime. This proves timing is every thing. Still the album sounds really good and the song work for what they are. I will give this album an 8.
I was listening to this album after downloading it and explained them to my wife as 'the metal band from the 70s who wrote "Am I Evil". To which she replied "Well it sounds like they are still in the 70s." On the opening track I couldn't really argue their case. Guitarist Brian Tatler is the only original member, and every one else except for singer Rasmus Born Anderson from the 90's incarnation of the band. One question raised early on is "Why the hell would you call a song "Shout At the Devil" after Motley Crue pretty much owned the term in 83? It makes me unable to take the song's chorus seriously, despite the verses find the band in good form.
"Set My Soul On Fire" finds Anderson sounding more like Chris Cornell than Sean Harris, putting the band in more of 90's metal zip-code. It is a pretty solid song and thing the yeah,yeah accents which would normally sound cheesy work here. Its too bad "See You Rise" isn't put together as well. "All the Reasons You Live" is driven by a simpler chug, that seems more like the band than the previous song, but feels too happy to be Diamond Head. Anderson, has a good voice, but sounds more radio rock than what Harris was originally going for. There is more of a rock n roll feel to boogie of "Wizard Sleeve". It's well played, just a little too upbeat to draw me in. They do get heavier for "Our Time is Now" which has a pretty cool bass line.
"Speed" reminds you how blurred the lines once where between metal and rock n roll. The singer is at his grittiest for this song, but he doesn't carry the same personality Harris did into these songs. The band returns to for with the classic metal sounding "Blood On My Hands". "Diamonds" finds the band staying strong on the heavier path. Things get interesting for the more exotic lead into "Silence". The songs almost rips off the riff from "Kashmir" , but it's largely forgivable and while it's not the album's best song it's still pretty damn good. Overall this might not be "Lightning to the Nations" , but it's a decent return to form I'll give it an 8 since the stakes were so high.
