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.
Saturday, 28 January 2012
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
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.
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.
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.
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