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.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Saturday, 17 March 2012
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.
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.
Friday, 2 March 2012
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.
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