Update

Hey guys. Im just giving a little update explaining why I havent posted anything in a while. Ive been really busy as of late with school work and other... issues. Basically I just havent had time to listen to much music. But I want you to all keep checking regularly cause ive got some cool stuff that im working on for when I get back form this short break. Of course I will be continuing my Pain of Salvation discography with The Perfect Element Part 1 (which you can expect sometime this week). I also have been working on my top 50 albums ever! Its been a big project but I think it may be quite enjoyable for some people. Also im planning on doing a Rush Discography soon and making them my third inductee in the Jm Hall of fame. I will have a metal grudge match coming soon (hint think progressive metal). For those of you who dont know what that is check out my Lamb of God vs Pantera article. Im also going to start doing Best of Genre awards to celebrate some of the best musical styles, bands, and albums, out there. Lots to look forward to so stay tuned! JM

Pain Of Salvation - One Hour By The Concrete Lake Review

With Entropia Pain of Salvation had broken major ground in the Progressive Metal industry. They had created a concept album that changed the way stories could be told and it carried a very heavy message about war and family. What could possibly come next you ask? Well another concept album. They released One Hour By The Concrete Lake in 1998 and this time they crafted what is probably Pain of Salvations heaviest album. The guitar parts are extremely complex and heavy with some amazing bass guitar work as well. They keyboards are more featured on this album and they sound like they've finally found their place in this band. This album is also less scattered and more focused. There are still the suprising twists and turns but the songs feel slightly more complete. The writing on this album is superb (which ill get to later) and vocally you can expect the same from David Gildenlow. He still has the soaring highs and belowing lows. The vocals are extremely powerfull and moving and some of the best vocals ive ever heard. All this said this album is only marginally better than Entropia. It improves slightly on almost everything plus it moves the band in a more cohesive and heavy direction. If you only listen to one song off this album, then listen to the closer "Inside Out". It is one of the most amazing songs Ive ever heard. Now on to the story of this album. Spoiler alert. I will be spoil some of the stories of these albums because some of them are so good but this one ill try to keep under wraps. Its another story about war like the last one except this time it takes a more factual approach. The story is about a man who works in the arms industry and starts to question wheather what he is doing is right. He decides to travel the world and see what real damage his weapons are causing. The album gets its name because at the end he arrives at this "Concrete Lake" in russia where so much nuclear waste has been dumped that if he stood there for one hour he would die in two weeks. Overall this is a very powerful album about war but this time takes a more factual and agressive approach and ends up crafting a better more refined album than Entropia. This is another must have POS album and it continues their progressive Metal/Rock legacy. 9.5/10.

Pain of Salvation - Entropia Review

Alright so i finished the In Flames discography and im right away ready to start Pain of Salvation. Let me start off by saying that Pain of Salvation are one of the most amazing bands on this planet. Almost all of their albums are concept albums and they all explore human issues and thoughts and feelings. Listening to a Pain of Salvation album can be one of the most emotional experiances on the planet. It can also be one of the most confusing. As is the case here with their 1997 debut Entropia. This album is a concept album but the twist here is that the story is told out of order. This can make the album extremely confusing but when you put the peices together it actually really helps this albums story. Now let get a little bit into the style of this band. pain of Salvation are a Progressive Metal/Rock band kind of like Dream Theater but a little less technical. So you got some extremely catchy melodic choruses and unlike my previous discography Pain of Salvation use only clean vocals. That said Daniel Gildenlow is an amazing Rock vocalist and does an excellent job. The musicianship of this album is excellent with very technical guitar, bass, drums, and piano. The sound of this album is excellent with very suprising twists and turns that suprise seasoned prog veterens like me. Now into the story of the album. The album is about an imaginary world called Entropia where a family is torn apart by war. Not only does the story deal with war but it deals with family issues, realationships, and loss. This is an extremely powerful story that can evoke tears in certain moments. This album will take you on a journey and it is an amazing debut. The guitar solos are also especially moving and are placed in the perfect parts to start the waterworks. Did I cry in this album? No. Did I cry in other POS album. Yes I did. That probably explains why this is only my fourth favourite POS album. It just didnt move me as much. That said this is a spellbinding amazing album that is extremely moving. It earns a very strong 9/10.

In Flames - Sounds of a Playground Fading Review

Alright time for the grad finale. The very last In Flames review before this discography is complete. Sound of a Playground Fading their newest 2011 release. Let me start off by saying this is a very good album. It is a combination of all of In Flames previous styles they've ever done and as a result it sounds completley diffrent form anything they've done before and is exceptionally good. There is a mixture of clean and dirty guitars. There is also a mixture of clean and harsh vocals and the cleans on this album are done very well. The music is more complexly written and layered than most of the stuff In Flames have done before. The lyrics are back to the peak of where In Flames should be lyrically. This is a really good album that said it has a few flaws. The diversity of the album is sometimes too much and it effects the overall flow of the album. That said the albums never gets boring and always has a new twist or turn for you. If in flames are going to continue with this new sound they definantly need to refine it but that said this is a very good album that should apeall to Hardcore fans and Mainstream fans alike. In fact this album is so good that I rate it higher than their debut lunar strain. This earns an 8.5/10 and caps off In Flames discography in a good way. Now I bet your wondering what discography is JM gonna go next. The answer is an amazing eroupean Progressive Metal/Rock band. Pain of Salvation.

In Flames - A Sense Of Purpose Review

Hey guys. Sorry this is soo late. My computer is in the repair shop and I have school starting tommorow so Ive had trouble finding time to do this. Anyways here we go with another In Flames review. So Come Clarity was a real Identity crisis for In Flames. It was Poppy mainstream music in some parts and Black Metal in others. Im happy to say that with A Sense of Purpose In Flames sound like they have well... a sense of  purpose. This album is an attempt for In Flames to return to their roots. They bring back in the juicy guitar melodies. They bring back the crunchy complex riffs. Most of all they bring back the old vocal style of Anders that he had on the classic albums. This record is really awesome I have to say. It flows very well from top to bottom and it feels alot like a classic In Flames album. The music is complex again, the lyrics have some meaning, and there is no Identity crisis here. In Flames sound like they know exactly what they want to accomplish and they do a damn good job of executing it. And for those of you that like modern In Flames, dont worry, the modern influence is still here but they take the good parts and infuse it into this new faced paced classic style. This album has alot of catchy tracks as well that can easily get stuck in your head. I think this is a good thing because it makes the songs more memorable. Still the album has flaws. After a while In Flames start to repeat themselves and the album gets boring. These dull sections of the album really start to get annoying when your listening to a 50 minute album and it bogs down the flow. Overall this is not a classic album by any means but it is a good fun listen where In Flames sound reinvigorated. 8/10.

In Flames - Come Clarity Review

So In Flames had just left us with two stale releases which, although hated by the hardcore fans, they were gaining them massive popularity amongst the mainstream scene. Now im the first to admit Reroute to Remain wasnt that bad (although flawed as you'll see down below) but Soundtrack to Your Escape was just terrible.
So what would the mighty In Flames do next. Well ill tell you what they did. Instead of selling out and making another crap album they made Come Clarity which you tell by the name and the cover art that the album has been taken more seriously. That said this is not the sound of old In Flames. What it is is the sound of a band having an Identity crisis. On some parts of the albums they sound like their trying to be very hardcore Black Metal and on other parts they sound like the new experimental In Flames we're starting to get used to. Still at no point on this album do they sound like the old In Flames that we know and love. Though I will commend them for trying and being more hardcore with the Black Metal stuff unfortunatley its that stuff that just doesnt often work on this album. An example I like to use is the first song Take This Life. This is an amazing song and it merges the two In Flames styles perfectly. Heck if every track on the album was this good the album could be their best. But unfortunatley its not. Most of the other songs lean to heavily in one direction or the other and sometimes the Black Metal influences are just to harsh. Sometimes the Nu-Metal influences sneak back in and it never really meshes. The album just isnt that cohesive. Then theres the title track Come Clarity which is In Flames trying something completly diffrent that what they've done before. This album is a bit of an experimental mish-mosh but it does have some incredibly good lyrics and the instrumentation is back to where it was on Reroute to Remain. Anders incorperates alot more clean vocals than before and it actually works pretty well. As for his harsh vocals well they are... harsh. Too harsh actually as he tries to sing in a Black Metal style with the higher thrashier screaming and sometimes its just painfull. Overall this was In Flames in an identity crisis and even then they managed to craft an ok album. Still it has its flaws and faults and is not as cohesive as most of their albums. A solid 7.5/10.

In Flames - Soundtrack To Your Escape Review

Ok so its time again for another in flames album review. Now im really sorry for those of you out there reading this that dont like In Flames or Melodic Death Metal. I promise my next discography will be something a little more mainstream. I acctually know who its going to be but I will save that for later. Now In Flames were coming off a bad album with Reroute to Remain but one that had done its job and propelled them into the mainstream. They now had a huge fanbase clamouring for a new release and Hardcore fans wondering if theyd go back to their roots or not. Then they released Soundtrack to your Escape and sold out. This is the worst In Flames album (in my humble opinion) and this is where IN Flames started to become boring to me. This album is no longer Melodic Death Metal its full blown Nu-Metal with small amounts of crappy black metal singing. Other than that its all poppy clean vocal choruses, and although I like Ander's voice I think his clean vocals would improve on later records. This record is full of synths, lame guitar riffs, and unexplicably bad lyrics. Some fans of this album claim it tells a story and is a concept album. No its not, and if it is could you please explain to me why its the most choppy plotholed story ever! Seriously ive listened to this album twice and could not tell there was a story to it. The sweet guitar melodies are completly gone on this record and in their place are unoriginal synth melodies that sound like they were ripped of of Linkin Park or Limp Bizkit. There are no emotionally moving moments on this album and each song feels the same as the last (probably because most of the songs are in the same key or same tempo). The album becomes extremely boring towards the end and I almost couldnt make it through the second time. That said this album does have some good qualities. Songs like Dead Alone and The Quiet Place are actually quite good and very well layered. The complexity of the music is still there on some songs and Ander's singing isnt half bad. But overall this album is very dull and unenjoyable. Stay away from this even if you like Modern In Flames. It earns it self a 6.5/10.

In Flames - Reroute to Remain

Here it is. Probably the most controversial In Flames album in their discography. When released it divided fans, caused many arguments, and aleinated some hardcore fans. We'll here we go with the review of 2002s Reroute to Remain. With Clayman In Flames had tried to modernize their sound without aleinating hardcore fans and as my reveiw of that says they did a pretty good job. Clayman retained the hardcore elements of their sound while modernizing it alot. That said you obviously cant please everyone because the album never really got to the metal mainstream. Therefore with Reroute to Remain In Flames made a huge switch in sound, songwriting, and vocal style all with and attempt to reach metal mainstream and heck from the sound of this album they wanted to reach the music mainstream in general. In Flames' sound on this record is very "Nu-Metal". They add poppy synthesizers, Ander's screaming is less deep and growly and more raspy, and they even added clean vocals in the choruses. Yes thats right hardcore fans clean vocals. Almost an unspeakable word amongst people like you. I have to say though I dont mind clean vocals or the clean vocals on this album. What I do mind is how bad this album is. The songwriting like I said before sounds very Nu-Metal especially in the choruses. There are some good tracks on this album but the use of uneeded synthesizers really brings them down. The lyrics are a huge step down from earlier releases. The album is lyrically sound but you wont hear brillian lyrics like the ones in Jotun on this album. Rythym section of bass and drums is as strong as ever (except for the style change). The guitars (sigh) are not good at all on this album. The creative riffs of Whoracle and Colony are long gone. The sweeping solo's of The Jester Race are gone as well. Worst of all, the melodies are gone! Sure the odd one is thrown in here and there but they are nowhere near the excellence of earlier albums. The production on this record is also very average. Remember this is one of my favourite times for music production and I thought the produciton on this record was just so loud it muddled everything up. Dont get me wrong I like loud music. But I HATE muddled music. The guitars sound especially crappy. They are just not as clear as they used to be on earlier albums. Average. Thats pretty much how I describe this album. Its like any other Nu-Metal or Metalcore release being released at the time and the Melodic Death Metal element is gone. That said there are some good tracks so a 7/10 nis in order.

Billy Talent - Billy Talent Review

Alright so I kinda figured its time to take a break from the In Flames discography and do a review of a band that I have loved for a long time. Meet Punk/Hardcore/Alternative Rock band Billy Talent a fourpeice band from Canada whos albums have really been some of the most artsy to break into the mainstream the past few years and here we go with a review of the first one. This is a very edgy and rough first album and it leans more towards the Punk side of the bands influences. From the screaming chorus on This Is How It Goes, to the really heavy guitar riff on Cut The Curtains this is a really Hardcore album that alot of punk fans will enjoy. It definantly is not as poppy or mainstream as later albums would be but it is still very musically diverse. Let me start with the drumming since its what I know the least about. The drums on this record are not a big stand out point. They sound like basically any Alternative Rock drums should and they definantly arent as punky as the rest of the band on this album. The drums do really groove in parts and sometimes are even musically complex but often its an Alternative Rock beat that I could find in another Rock song. Granted at the time the album was released they were fairly original. Now the Bass Guitar. The Bass on this record is breathtaking. This genre of Alternative Rock/Punk really allows for the Basslines to shine through. The Bass carries the songs at points and is almost the standout preformance on this album. The Vocals are solid and well mixed but sometimes come off as flat. Yes Ben sounds like hes whining at times and his Screams come off as over the top (probably one of the reasons he stopped on later albums) but overall its a good preformance. And finally the guitars. Ian Ds'a is a songwriting genuis (which we'll get to) and his guitar parts on this album are INCREDIBLE. He uses and abuses the guitar in new creative ways on each song and he is a very innovative guitarist. Every song has a standout guitar riff or riffs. Its just so amazing to finally here a popular album as guitar centered as this one. He is the standout player on this album by far. Overall the songwriting is brilliant with some of the best lyrics since The Beatles. I was just blown away by this first album and despite its flaws I give it an 8.5/10.

In Flames - Clayman Review

So In Flames have just come off of four massive groundbreaking albums. Lunar Strain essentially created the genre known as Melodic Death Metal. The Jester Race created massive guitar soniscapes and uped the ante on the first album. With Whoracle they created a "perfect" concept album about earths past, present, and future. Finally with Colony they modernized their sound and made themselves more accesible to less hardcore fans. Now we come the the fork in the road known as Clayman. In Flames 5th studio album was released in 2000 and with the dawning of a new decade In Flames were starting to realize that they could become popular amongst mainstream metal crowd's. If Colony was that realization then Clayman was definantly them making a bid for mainstream sucsess. This turns out to be a good thing as In Flames craft one of their most acsessible albums without alienating hardcore fans (a mistake they would make in the future). The album is really good and has some of In Flames best, most hard hitting songs while still making itself... easier to listen to for mainstream audiences. The album is not perfect by any means nor does it touch their earlier albums in quality but there are good songs here. Some In Flames fans even consider it their favourite album and Im sorry if im offending you guys but thats not my intent (trust me the next couple albums with get worse). The songwriting is mostly solid and like their other albums the guitar harmonies are still extremly prevelent. But the guitar sound is more modern and the riffs seem more bland. As for the lyrics they are mostly solid but some songs (ahem, Pinball Map) arent as thought out or as meaningfull as earlier In Flames releases. Still every track is enjoyable and the album is very solid. As for the production, its amazing! This is the early 2000s were talking about (my favourite time for music production) but still this produciton is really good. Every guitar note rings through yet doesnt sound muffled or bland as it would on later releases. The drums click and boom at the prefect times and Bass is mixed extremly well. Every instrument shines through exactly when it needs to. Overall this is a very good album. If you like modern In Flames, Pick this up, and If you like the classic In Flames, you should pick this up as well. A few flaws but still very very solid. 9/10

In Flames - Colony Review

Alright here we go with another In Flames album review. After the mighty power of Whoracle, it was clear In Flames would be hard pressed to follow it up. But follow it up they did, whith "Colony". This is another amazing In Flames album and from the first notes of Embody the Invisible you again know its going to be amazing. The album is less experimental and more solid all the way through. You can hear In Flames modernizing their sound a bit but it works extremly well. The songwriting is at its best once again and the production is even better than on "Whoracle". The dual guitar melodies and solos shine through once again and some of In Flames best songs are on this album. The opener Embody the Invisible may be the best In Flames song ever. Then we move into amazing cuts such as Ordinary Story, Colony, and Zombie Inc. The album closes with another amazing song in Man Made god. This track is amazing just like everything else on the album. The rythym section is as tight as ever and the Harsh Vocals are very good. As far as the vocals go Ander's has intrdouced some spoken word vocals in this album and they flow very well with the rest of the music. They are not over used (as on other albums) and Hardcore fans dont be scared they are not clean vocals at all. This is an album that like the last one takes you on a journey that you wont forget but I will have to say Whoracle is just marginally better than Colony. As amazing as Colony is it is not perfect. There are the odd flaws with lyrics or songwriting throuout the album and some songs are slightly forgetable. I like to put this album right in between The Jester Race and Whoracle. But since there isnt a score for that this album will earn a 10/10 as well even though its not quite perfect. You defenantly need to listen to this if you like modern In Flames. This may even be for some their best classic album.

In Flames - Whoracle Review

By now you should know my feelings on In Flames. They are an amazing band whos first two albums created and revolutionized a genre of metal and in 1997 it seems In flames could go nowhere but up, and up they went with the release of "Whoracle" a concept album which has become my favourite In Flames release. Yes folks thats right, a concept album. Once I get reviews of "The Wall", "Metropolis: Part 2", and "Operation:Mindcrime" up you'll realize that concept albums are some of my favourite albums ever and also some of my least favourite. So I was going into this album very tentativley seeing as The Jester Race was so good. But obviously as ive said above this album blew me away! The whole story of this concept album is looking at the past, present, and future of planet earth and In Flames do a mighty fine job of getting their point across. The album opens with Jotun which could be the single best In Flames sing ever. This song is amazing and again from the opening notes you can tell this album is going to be good. Then epic tracks like "Food for the Gods", "Gyroscope", and "Dialouge with the Stars" follow closley behind and trust me you will be blown away by the percision and accuracy of the music. Yet it still retains great musicality and songcraft like other In Flames releases. The diversitey on this album is alot like on "The Jester Race", with acoustic guitars being added in with the heavy guitars. Seriously if I had to pick one bad song I dont think I could do it. While the song "Morphing into Primal" is a little weaker than the other songs it is still amazing! There is not a single note placed wrong on this album. The guitars sound great. The mixing sounds in your face and precise. The vocals shine through at the perfect times and the lyrics are brilliant delivering the message of the album with poinnient accuracy. This album is perfect. There I said it PERFECT! There is nothing wrong at all and it goes above and beyond taking you on a journey you wont easily forget. I recomend this album to anyone. If you like In Flames, if you like concept albums, if you like Melodic Death Metal, and even if you like Power Metal or Thrash Metal or any type of Metal or Rock this album is amazing! What else could i give it other than a perfect 10/10.

In Flames - The Jester Race Reveiw

With Lunar Strain In Flames had given the Metal world exactly what it needed. They gave Heavy Metal a shot in the arm and created a completly new genre in the process. Out of the woodwork came bands like Dark Tranquility, Children of Bodom, and Amon Amarth and Gothenburg sweden became home to one of the biggest Metal movements since the Thrash Metal movement of the mid-late 80s. Now everyone had one question on their mind. How would In Flames follow up Lunar Strain? They got their answer in 1996 when In Flames released "The Jester Race". Let me start off by saying that this album is the album that is considered to be In Flames masterpeice. While I dont nessecarily agree with that, I do agree that the album is brilliant. From the opening notes of "Moonsheild" you can tell this is going to be an epic album. In Flames take everything that they did on Lunar Strain and expand it here. The guitar melodies are more epic sounding and they harmonize alot more with each other. The rythym guitar parts sound massive and they layer perfectly over the rythym section of bass and drums. The songs are better written with acoustic interludes and the odd talking part by Anders Friden who is a much better vocalist. The music is complex and the lyrics meaningfull. It seems like In Flames have done nothing wrong right? Wrong. There are 2 faults of this album one of which In Flames could do nothing about. The first fault is the mixing of the vocals. They are swamped by all the other music thats going on around them making them hard to hear. This is a big deal seeing as the production got better on later albums. The second fault which really isnt this albums fault, is that they improved everything on The Jester Race on later albums as well creating some of the most perfect albums I have ever heard! But that said this is an amazing albums that has nearly no issues therefore earning itself a 9.5/10. I strongly reccomend this album if your going to listen to In Flames but dont know where to start.

In Flames - Lunar Strain Review

Metal was dieing in the 1990s. The ever so popular Grunge movement had taken over the mainstream and underground scenes at the time and there were only a few Heavy Metal bands that were acctually making quality music. The old ways of doing "Heavy Metal" had died and Genres like Thrash Metal had morphed into completly diffrent Genres like Death Metal. The stage was set perfectly for a revolution to happen in the Metal world, and happen it did. Bands like Pantera had taken Thrash Metal into the Mainstream creating essentially Groove Metal. Chuck Schuldiner and his band Death had exploded creating the Death Metal and Progressive Death Metal genres and then there was In Flames. They werent hugely popular until later and their influence wasnt felt until later but they spawned one of the biggest most popular movements in Metal ever. They were merging the genres of Death Metal, Black Metal, Progressive Metal, and Power Metal. They created one of the greatest genres of music ever in Melodic Death Metal adn this is the album that put everything in motion. Lunar Strain came out in 1994 right when Heavy Metal needed a shot in the arm. This album is Breathtaking. Its one of the greatest Melodic Death releases ive ever listened too and its only In Flames first album! The riffs are powerfull yet they retain just the perfect sense of melody. The Melody and Harmony guitar lines are brilliant and original (for 1994) and they sweep you right off their feat with the dreamy acoustic sections. The Drums are excellently preformed. The blast beats and double bass are all put in the exact right places and they only compliment the music. And the solos! Oh my god the are the most eargasmic solos ive heard in a long time. The songwriting is very good but its hard to hear the lyrics at times due to the bad production, but overall the songwriting/vocals is very good for the genre. The Production is the only noticible flaw on this record. But seeing as it was this bands first album and it was 1994 the bad production is almost excusable. This record doesnt really have any "standout tracks" because they are all really solid and flow together well. To sum it up, this is a brilliant genre defining album with excellent flow and great musicianship. The bad production brings this down from being a 9/10 but its almost there. Really Solid 8.5/10

Number of the Beast 30th Anniversary

Alright its time to start a new segment here on jm metal maniac and thats the Classic Album segment. What im going to be doing here is taking a really close look at classic albums from the 70's all the way up to 2005. Any album that has made a significant impact on the genre of heavy metal qualifys and im going to take a look at what made these albums great. By all means im not going to reveiw these albums. Thats already been done. What i am going to do is break each album down track by track. Ill usually do one of these when its a significant anniversary for an album. For example Iron Maidens Number of the Beast. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of this album im going to put it in the JM metal maniac hall of fame as my first inductee. (once i get the hall of fame up and running of course). But im also going to use this as my first classic album for the classic albums segment.

Now when you look at bands discography's you usually see one album that defines who they are. It is diffrent enough that each track stands out but stays to what the band is all about. It ussually has a smaller number of tracks and NO FILLER. It also gives you a sense of wonder every time you look at it. That is what i think about when i think of Number of the Beast. It showcase's all of Iron Maidens greatest parts. Their early punk rock vibe, Their long progressive epics, and their trademark gallop's. Why don't we take a closer look and see exactly what makes this a classic album.

TRACKS

1. INVADERS
This is the big starting point for the album. From the very first stacato chords with steve's weaving bass line you know you've stumbled on something great. The song then breaks down into a fast very punk-rock riff that drives the song. The song then moves into a punk style E chord riff with Bruce Dickenson's wailing vocals leading the way. The song just spirals out of control from then on with riff after riff leading the way. The catchy chorus of Invaaaaaaders also sticks in your head for quite awhile later. The song's guitar solo's are fast lightning quick spurts of speed that are very reminiscent of what thrash metal soloing would be years later. The song is basically just Maiden doing their late 70's early 80's punk thing but you know that this something a little diffrent from before. A great album opener.

2. CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED
This is where the first big woah of the album is. This is one of the greatest power ballads ever and the second best song on the album. The song starts with an acoustic intro and melodic guitar solo. Then it goes into a haunting acoustic verse that chills my spine and brings tears to my eyes. Then chorus is a very powerfull bit of singing by Dickenson, he really shows off his vocal ability and range on this song and how much better he was than Paul Di' anno. The song's up tempo part kicks in and the song really takes off. It has the spiting mad vocals, the intricite guitar harmonies and the staedy rythym work. The guitar solo although it may not seem like much it is a briiliant melodic tapping run that im still trying to play to this day.
They really show versatillitly on this track.

3. THE PRISONER
This is the another early Maiden punk track. It starts out with an exert from the classic tv show and then breaks out into punk style riffing. THe song is kind of a hybrid between punk and early judas priest and it meshs really well giving the Irons a third diffrent flavour on this album. The catchy chorus is great and the song has some great speed riffing from Smith and Murray. The standout on this song is the extremly masterfull guitar solo by Smith. It starts out with a melodic peice of tapping and then moves into some classic blues licks, melodic minor runs, harmonized melodies, and speed. It is one of Smith's best and is what makes this a standout track.

4. 22 ACACIA AVENUE
This is another standout and a diffrent flavour for maiden. The sequel to Charlotte the Harlot this song starts with some punk riffing like the last song. The power chords build and build until they break out into a full blown heavy metal chorus. About a minute thirty in though the song changes into what would be known as the trademark Iron Maiden gallop. Its actually one of their more intricite gallops with some string skipping form the two guitarists. The song goes full blown heavy metal and gallops its way into the iconic live Maiden setlist. Yes this song was played live almost every concert back in 82. The song has a slow break where a very powerfull melodic solo comes in and then the song picks back up from there. Iconic live song.

5. THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
Well probably one of the most iconic Iron Maiden songs ever! The intro is like the prayer of Maiden fans, they all know it off by heart, and the guitar kicks in right in the right place. The song is another galloping sort of track that has very tight guitar work. The solo's are extremley tasty (especially Dave Murrays) and the song has an intesity that will always be there whether its played live or not.

6. RUN TO THE HILLS
Another classic iron maiden gallop this song is probably the most well known song by maiden period. It has a great Dave Murray guitar solo, a classic intro, and catchy chorus that sticks in your head. The message of the song is also brilliant its about the war between the first nations and the british when britan was colonizing america. I think even i know the whole song off by heart and its another iconic live song thats played at every Maiden show.

7. GANGLAND/TOTAL ECLIPSE
Gangland is the only real misstep on this album. Its a bluesy roack kinda song with lots of hooks and good instrumentation but nothing really stands out here like the rest of the album. Its a good track but its just not that great. All is forgiven however because on the remaster of NOTB they put the song Total Eclipse in its place and it is brilliant! One of the best songs on the album by far. It has an epic intro, a great riff, and doomy chorus. This song is much more like what Maiden put out in the late 80s.

8. HALLOWED BE THY NAME
What more can be said about the epic 7 minute closer. This is how you end an album folks. This is by far the best song on the album with great lyrics, riffs, and solo's. The tempo changes and key changes are perfect and everything just comes together perfectly. The closing moments of the album are some of the best notes ive ever heard and end this epic affare witha truely epic song. This song is the main reason why this is such a classic album today.

Metal Grudge Match Episode 1 Groove Metal

Alright this is a new segment where I take two prolific metal bands and compare all their work in a complete all out grudge match. The two bands will both fall under the same sub-genre of metal. For example i could take Megadeth and Metallica and compare all their work and in the end I'd pick a winner. But today im not going to do the most obvious one. Im going to compare two prolific groove/thrash bands that are extremly popular and have a huge fanbase. Thats right in one corner we have PANTERA and who could compete against such a powerful force? Why only one, in the other corner we have LAMB OF GOD. Just to be fair i will  not be comparing the burn the priest albums or pantera's early hair metal stuff. Now whoever i pick as the the winner isn't nesecarilly the best. You may have your own opinions and i want to hear them so COMMENT PLEASE!
This grudge match will be divided into three categories. Band Members/Musicianship, Albums, and Influence on the genre.

BAND MEMBERS/MUSICIANSHIP


Lead Guitar: Dimebag Darrell VS Mark Morton
This was going to be a tough one for Lamb of God. I mean you've got one of the most influential heavy metal guitarists ever, Dimebag Darrell going up against a great guitarist in Mark Morton. I mean Dimebag is one of the many reasons i started to play guitar his emotional solos just pulled me in and i spent days trying to replicate his fast leads. But Mark Morton suprised the hell out of me. I guess when i listen to Lamb of God and the song gets to the solo I'd never really payed that close attention to how good they where. In this matchup you've got solo's like Walk, Cemetary Gates, and Cowboys from Hell going up against solo's like Requim, Walk With Me In Hell, and Ashes of the Wake. Mark Mortons fast pentatonic finger roll style so closely resembles Dimebag's that it was actually hard to choose. But i have to pick Dimebag Darrell as the winner for just one reason. His emotional solo in "Floods" almost brings tears to my eye's to this day and Mark Morton doesn't really have a solo like that.

Rythym Guitar: Dimebag Darrell VS Will Adler
I have to admit this was the easiest category for me to decide. The winner to me is clearly Will Adler because of his superb riffing. Seriously, Dimebag's got some great riff's but none of his riffs can match the speed and aggresion of Lamb of God's. Now here it really is two guitarist's competing against one but again it is Dimebag fuckin Darrell. Still Lamb of God have some of the most powerful chunky riffs ive ever heard. Even they're new album Resolution is mind fucking amazing. The riffs that come up on just ghost walking alone are enough to beat pantera. The tight rythyms and speedy playing are what boost Will Adler to the top.

Drums: Vinnie Paul VS Chris Adler
This is kind of a rematch of last matchup in a way. You've got the two siblings of our last contestants. There's the speedy playing of Chris VS the more Groovy playing of Vinnie. The winner in this one is again a child of mr and mrs Adler just because his rythym's are so musch faster and tighter than Vinnie's. Chris and his brother play fast and in unison. Thats really what it is. Vinnie is a great drummer but he just doesn't have as much speed as Chris Adler. There is also more double bass in Chris's style and I love double bass drumming so that really tipped the scales for me.

Vocals: Phil Anslemo VS Randy Blythe
This was a close one two. Both vocalist's show great range and have some of the deepest screams ive ever heard. Randy has the all out Death Metal scream that he uses on every Lamb of God song. He's consistent yes but the vocals are always the same screaming vocals. Phil however has more of a yelling style of vocals. His are lighter although he does scream like randy. But the key thing here is Phil has much more of a vocal range. Listen to Cowboys From Hell and then listen to Cemetary Gates. The guy can really sing heartfelt songs when he wants to and thats why he wins this matchup.

Bass Guitar: Rex Brown VS John Cambell
The winner of this one is Rex Brown because of the great tone he has. Don't get me wrong John is a great bassist but Rex just has such an amazing tone that blow's John's out of the water any day. This was the hardest category for me to choose since it really was the closest. But Rex is just an amazing bassist in a band with only one guitarist. Rex carries the rythyms all by him self when Darrell is soloing  so thus the winner is Rex Brown.

Category Winner: PATERA


ALBUMS/DISCOGRAPHY


Cowyboys From Hell VS New American Gospel
This one is obviously cowboys from hell. The albums production is 10 x better than NAG and The Riffs solos everything are just better. The Big thing here is the vocals. Randy's vocals on NAG are really rough and im not a big fan. I would come to love some of his later stuff though. Phil's vocals are amazing! They go from ruff n gruff to soaring and melodic and he does it flawlessly. Some of phil's later vocals i would come to hate though.

Vulgur Displays Of Power VS As The Palaces Burn
This was a real close one. Vulgur Displays is considered the greatest Pantera album but in my opinion its not at all. And Palaces is a huge step forward for LOG in their progression to becoming one of the greatest metal bands of the 2000's. The winner by a really close margin is Vulgur Displays. It was the last truely great Pantera album and songs like Hollow and Walk are just a little better than songs like Vigil and Ruin. The vocals are really close. The riffs are really good on both. But VDOP just has that X-Factor that makes it a bit better.

Far Beyond Driven VS Ashes Of The Wake
This was another close one but for me its got to be Ashes Of The Wake. Laid to Rest is just a beastly track that tells you right from the start what this is gonna be. The whole album screams POWER. As for FBD it just lacks the speed that AOTW has. FBD is a great Pantera Album, one of my favourites, but it doesnt hold a candle to the guitar mastery on AOTW. Randy's Vocals on Ashes are better too. He's now established a truely unique vocal style that blows away Phil's lackluster shouting.

The Great Southern Trendkill VS Sacrement
The quality goes up for LOG and it goes down for Pantera. THis one was Easy. Although Sacrement wasn't as good as Ashes in the Wake. I sure was a hell of alot better than TGST. Pantera's Musical ability's dont really shine through and Lamb of God are just getting stronger and stronger. This was an easy win for Lamb of God.

Reinventing The Steel VS Wrath
This isn't even a contest. Wrath is a step sown i quality from what Lamb of God had been putting out BUT it still blows the extremly crappy reinventing the steel out of the water. Wrath in my opinion is another classic Lamb of God album that just destroys anything in its path and never lets up.

Resolution
This doesn't have anything to compete against so i guess it isnt very fair but LOG have already won this category. Resolution is just sooooooo damn good that i have to mention it. It is amazing and is one of my favourtie Lamb of God albums. It is furious the guitar work is amazing the list goes on and on. Lamb of God truely know how to make an album.

Category Winner: LAMB OF GOD


INFLUENCE
Ok so i guess it may seem a little obvious but Pantera has HUGE influence on the metal world. They are the ones who inspired Lamb of God to even form a band. It's crazy how much influence Dimebag Darrell has had on guitarists and to this day he still makes people want to pick up a guitar. All that said this category is a tie. Lamb of God have made the Album an art form once again and they have a huge fanbase. They still inspire me to write music to this day. After examining these bands its just too tough to pick a winner. This is such a close race that there's no way for me to possibly pick a winner.

Category Winner: BOTH


CONTEST WINNER: TIE


Ok so this may cause some contraversy but i think its a good way to end the first heavy metal grudge match. PLEASE COMMENT AND TELL ME WHO YOU THINK SHOULD WIN.

Swallow the Sun- Emerald Forest and the Blackbird

This is a great album. So far the best metal album of the year! This Epic/Death/Doom band from Finland have crafted a masterpeice. The production quality is excellent. The guitars are crisp and easily heard. The bass booms and the drums hold everything in place. The song structure is diffrent then what swallow the sun have done with previous releases. They have more soft ballad like songs on this album and it really works. Dont get me wrong their death/thrash masterpeices are still here. Hate lead the way is the best song and is just brutal. Buy this album it is top notch and will surely be topping my year end list.

Suicidal Angels-Bloodbath

Do you like Thrash Metal. No not that new wave death stuff i mean real classic 80s thrash! Well if you do you will LOVE Bloodbath by greek thrash band suicidal angels. The riffs are quick and very punchy. They have a very Slayer/Exodus type of feel. I love those bands so thats all good to me. The songs are brutal punchy lightning fast platters of thrash. They blaze through each song with their greek thrash style and its really awesome. All this said this album has two drawbacks. 1. The albums production (although good) is nothing new, the band sounds exactly like slayer. They use the same time changes and guitar sound and even singing style. 2.The album is all kinda the same. The tracks kinda blur together and some sound very similar. They only use 3 or 4 musical ideas and recycle them. That said this is still a great thrash metal release and should hold up by the end of the year.

Psycroptic-The Inherited Repression

Ok this might be album of the year. Im serious this time this album has lots of soaring guitar work and complex drum lines. Lead singer Jason Peppiat has found a more middle range vocal style that i personally love more than his old scream/growl thing. The songs are well written and the production is very neat. The songs themseleves are truely epic, seriously these guys never stop and hold the same intenseity throughput the whole album. The album is longish but its a technical death metal album so what do you expect. Overall a great release pick this up right away if you like death metal.

Hey metal fans. Big Metallica event at 11:00 pt today on metallica.com dont miss it.

Update

Hey guys this is just an update talking about what im hoping to start doing. Of course im going to continue reveiwing the new metal releases but i was thinking of doing numerous diffrent things. The first is classic album reveiws. I want to reveiw as many metal bands discographys as i can. Im thinking of having you guys post on facebook, twitter, or right here to tell me what band you want a discography reveiw of. Im also thinking of a battle of the metal bands type of thing. It will be voted by you of course and i was thinking of doing it sort of basketball playoff style. Id like to know what bands you think should be involved. Im also still in dire need of writers who are willing to write anything about metal. The last thing i want to run by you is a signiture guitarist series. What this would be is each week id post an article about a guitarist who shaped the way metal is played today.

Thats all for now and i hope to see you in the near future. Remember to check the blog every week new material is coming.

Best metal albums of 2011

2011 was a banner year for metal with new albums from Mastodon and Machine Head. Also lots of classic thrash bands like Megadeth and Anthrax released new albums. So here are my top 10 Metal albums of 2011.

10.Amon Amarth-Surtur Rising
Although this was a weak amon amarth album it still kicked alot of other albums asses into next week. Big epic songs, blistering guitar work and brutal vocals these guys never stop being themselves.

9.Stratovarius-Elysium
Youve probably never hears of this german power/prog metal band but i love em and cant get enough of their clean and crisp guitar sound. Their catchy choruses and emotional solos always keep me coming back to this album. The selling point of this album for me is the 18 minuete prog rock epic Elysium. Its a beutiful closer to a beutiful album.

8.Opeth-Heritage
Finally Opeth has stopped being a death metal band. Their longtime death/prog metal fusion has always produced great music but ive never really been a death metal fan so when opeth just went al out prog rock i was excited. Theyve produced a beutiful work of art that although is not as good as blackwater park its better than most of their albums. The keyboard and piano work is emotive and the 70s prog sounding guitars really gell with the keyboards. Even the album artwork is beutiful and emotive.

7.Trivium-In Waves
This is a great album from start to finish and a really fun listen.

6.Korn-The Path Of Totality
Korn have crafted a wonderfull metal album that although isnt my favourite type of metal theyve gotten even me to like it. The production quality is excellent and the guitar work is good for the most part. The songs have brilliant song structure an lyrics. The reason this is only number six is because there are just better albums out there this year.

5.Thirteen-Megadeth
Honestly this album wasn't as great as i hoped it would be. There are just a few bad songs on here and thats something i dont really want or expect from a megadeth release. That aside this album still makes the list because its good old classic megadeth with a slightly punchier new sound. The solos are some of the best of the year and the albums closing track 13 is epic! If this album was perfect it would probably be number 1.

4.Obscura-Omnivium
I agree with everyone out there this is a really stinking good metal album. The guitars soar and from the opening notes you know this is gonna be epic. The production is great the vocals are good aside from my one issue with this album. You cant really hear all the lyrics. Now some of you might argue with this but ok this album in my opinion is just not up to par in musical skill with two of the next three albums. The other album is ranked higher than this cause of the nostalgia factor.

3.Anthrax-Worship Music
This is a brilliant album by one of my favourite bands. This is the album that has the "nostalgia" factor. I love these guys and some of their early stuff is amazing! Then joey left and theyve never been the same since then. Imagine my exciment when i hear that joeys coming back to anthrax. This album is really good though. Every track has something special about it. The production is great. The solos are great. The drums and bass are tight and cohesive. The vocals go from crazy lows to soaring highs. And Scott Ian chugs out riff after riff just like hes back in the 80s.

2.Machine Head-Unto the Locust
This is one of the BIGGEST albums of the year. Robb flynn has kept saying over and over that this is gonna revoulutionize metal. While it doesnt quite do that it comes mighty close. The tracks are long progressive epics remminiscent of Mastodons 2009 release Crake The Skye. The song "the locust" is one of my favpurite songs of the entire year! The production is great as always but whats really good here is the song structure and lyrics. The whole album is just brilliant. The instrumentation is rivalling that of Mastodon or Opeth or even Obscura. I hope machine head keeps chugging out releases like this one.

1.Mastodon-The Hunter
This is definently as good as everyone says. Heck its even better. Theyve traded in the long progressive epics for shorter radio freindly songs but that HUGE stylistic change seems so small because this album is just as dumbfoundinly awesome as every mastodon CD yet. Mastodon are so brilliant and skilled at their instrumentation its like second nature and theyve been topping my lists for a long long time. Hopefully they keep chugging out great metal realeses. No doubt in my mind they will.

Weekly Album Reviews

Alright its time for my first set of weekly album reveiws. This week four new big metal releases came out.

Global Flatline-Aborted
Alright im starting off with the worst album and working my way up.THIS ALBUM SUCKS! In my opinion this album is very bad. Ill start off with guitar tone. The guitar tone is terrible its very muddy and Canibal Corpse like and i personally hate that sound that said there are afew nice guitar riffs along the way that sound kinda cool. The singing is bad. If your gonna scream and growl you better do it well or im not gonna like you. The vocals are raspy and craggy and screechy. The song structure is a mess at best and the bass just ticks me off. The lyrics although bareley audible through the crappy screaming are terrible and im just not a fan. Buy this album if you want a Canibal Corpse type sound with Machine Head type vocals. Otherwise Stay away from this album. I give it 2/5.

Lacuna Coil-Dark Adrenaline
Alright on a much happier note evanesance finally has some real compitition. This album is brilliant. It has great textures and layers and some very warm and melodic guitar solos. The guitar tone on this album is clear and ever present. The heavy riffs chug along the whole album and never stop. The bass is present but not anoyingly loud. The guitar solos are brilliant little melodic interludes. But the greatest thing about this album is the vocals. They have a very evanesance sound except instead of listining to a girl with a great voice drone on and on this band trades off the vocal duties back and forth every song. This male/female combanation is pulled of excellently and sounds great. The album doesnt repeat itself either each track is something new. The down fall of this album is that its sometimes to pop metal or rockish. Other than that this is a tastefull melodic album for all metal fans. My favourite tracks are "fire" and "trip the darkness". I give this a 4/5.

Primal Fear-Unbreakable
Wow! All i have to say is Wow. Best album of the week and maybye depending on what else comes out the year. Primal Fear have achieved the ultimate guitar tone. Its crunchy and mean but not to distorted. They layer guitars for diffrent harmonies and textures and they have some very fast aggressive solos. Their songs come off almost like thrash metal at times and at others like power metal. They have cathy riffs good lyrics and well arranged songs. The intro on where angels die is brilliant. As for the rythym section the bass and drums sound good. The drums pack a real puch and the bass keeps up with the great guitar work fine. Now we get to the vocals. This was the turning point for me with this album. The vocals are raspy and growly and then they go to soaring screams and high pitched yells that come off like a kind of Maiden/Preist thing. My favourite tracks are "and there was silence" "where angels die" and "blaze of glory". I give this a 5/5.

Lamb Of God-Resolution
Alright here it is finally the big one. I left this till last cause this is probably the release most metalheads were looking forward to. Lamb of God are back with a bang and their best album yet. The guitar tone is chunky and raw. The solos are brutal and fast. The lyrics are angry and disturbed. And the growls and screams are rutheless. The aforemetioned aborted album is an example of bad screaming. This ia good screaming at its most brutal and finest. The old pros of groove metal still know a thing or two. They've got some brilliant riffs and never let up the whole album. This is an album most all metal fans should own. My favourite tracks are "ghost walking" and "the number six". I give this a 4/5.

So if you had to only buy one album this week id say get primal fear s unbreakable. If you can afford picking up 2 get unbreakable and resolution. The other two you should really listen to first and decide for yourself as you should do with all music thats the end of this weeks review section.

Top Ten Heavy Metal Bands

Alright seeing as this is my first actual post i think it should be my favourite metal bands because thats how you could get to know me better. Remember this an opinionated list so you might have your own opinions to and id love to hear them so comment and share your favourite heavy metal bands.

1.Metallica
Okay i know i lose alot of credability by putting these guys first but i just love their early work soo much. Kill em all is the album that influenced my favourite sub-genre of music (thrash metal) and Ride the lightning is my favourite album of all time. Yes they did sell out with load, reload, and st.anger but their early work is miles better than anything anyone will ever do.

2.Iron Maiden
The reason these guys are not number one is cause i couldnt have any ties and i like thrash metal more than NWOBHM. That said Iron Maiden are amazing! From the early punkishness of Killers to Number of the beast and Bruce Dickinsons crazy screams these guys never stop putting out good quality Heavy Metal.

3.Megadeth
Truely some of the most complex metal music ever. Their music is carefully layered and structured. With lyrics talking about corrupt goverments and wars these guys deal with real world issues. From the neo-classical vibe of their lead guitarists to Dave Mustaines alien like voice these guys really know how to deal out crazy good metal.

4.Judas Preist
Rob Halford. Thats basically the reason their ranked so high. From his crazy shriek on Screaming For Vengeance to his soft ballad sing on Beyond the Realms of Death Rob Halford truely is the man. Of course theres many other reasons to put preist on this list. The crazy Drumming on the Painkiller album and of course the amazing guitar duo of KK.Downing and Glenn Tipton. They shred carzy licks out on almost every song. These guys are masters of metal.

5.Black Sabbath
The Godfathers of metal. These guys atarted the greatest musical genere ever and then kept it going. The reasons they dont rank number one or two on this list is the lack of having a permanent lead singer. Ozzys back in the band now so i guess thats not exactly true but they also produce slow trudging metal with a very muddy guitar tone. Although i love their music its just not as spectacular as the bands above.

6.Overkill
These next two bands may come as a surprise for some people. Overkill is one of my favourite thrash metal bands ever though so they had to make this list. They've been consistent ever since their debut always keeping the same sound and style. The crazy vocals of Bobby and shreding guitar solos always captivate me. plus their sound is like mixing early Metallica and Iron Maiden (my two favourite bands) so natrually the result is timeless thrash metal.

7.Testament
Heres the other surprise for some of you. The first five testamenth albums are like the holy crown of thrash metal for me. Their amazing skill and persicion is second to none. They write punishing dark thrash metal with crazy arrangements and amazing guitar solos. The New Order ranks very high on my favourite albums list and it alone could put this band on this list. THe only reason they arent ranked higher is thier experimentation with death metal which i was not a huge fan of.

8.Pantera
Dimebag Darell is one of my favourite guitarists. From his punishingly heavy riffs to his slow emotional peices he always puts out something good. Pantera will always have a place in my heart because of this and so will MOST of their albums. I love Cowboys from Hell and Vulgur Displays of Power but i also love albums like Projects in the Jungle and Power Metal.Its a shame they chose to shun those early glam albums cause some of them were really good.

9.Slayer
I know i know why so low? Because im not a fan of Tom arayas vocal style. That aside these guys put out some of the most punishing thrash metal around and Seasons in the Abyss is and amazing album. Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King make up one of the greatest guitar duos in thrash metal and they also write some very well developed lyrics. If only they had a better singer.

10.Anthrax
These guys are great. They dont take themselves to seriously and they just have fun. They write awesome riffs and fun lyrics and have some great guitar solos. It sucks that they didnt get joey back until now but now thats hes back Anthrax are back and they put out another fun album with worship music.

Alright that pretty much sums up my favourite heavy metal bands. Did your favourite not make the list then comment  cause id love to hear from you.

First Blog Post

Hi everyone im James and im a Metal Maniac. No i dont like working with metal or welding im talking about heavy metal music. Ive grown up with it my whole life and i love it dearly. Im gonna be posting mostly lists of metal albums and bands that i like but ill also be doing metal cd reveiws for (hopefully) every big new release. Im going to do concert and dvd reveiws. Im going to also do classic CD Reveiws. This blog is also going to be reveiwing heavy metal guitar products. Im really into guitar and play almost every day so id like to reveiw products like pedals and guitars once this blog gets going. I also cant do this alone. I need people who are willing to write their opinions on metal music. Right now im in need of a couple part time writers but if your not big into getting something in every week you could just send me the odd post or two. If you have anything you want to send me or would like to be involved in writing this blog send me an email at jmsmackey655@gmial.com. Enjoy the blog and i hope to hear from you in the future.