Havok-Burn

First off I would like to say that after a few times of listening to this album that Havok has become my all-time favorite thrash bands. The thing that’s interesting is that when I came to this conclusion, this was the only full-length they’d released. Usually, for me to truly love a band, they have to have plenty of material for me to judge them on, because it’s easier to judge a band if they have lots of music for you to get an idea of their basic sound. And so far they have done nothing short of amaze me.

If you wanted a basic description of their sound, it would be a combination of Death Angel’s heavier material and Iron Maiden’s softer stuff. Probably having more Death Angel than Maiden in their songs. Going into more detail, the pure skill and musicianship of all of the members is mesmerizing. I would have to say especially the lead guitarist and the drummer. When I showed this band to my dad (a 70s hippie/metalhead), he instantly noted that there were several parts in Havok’s music that had a very classic sound. Being a huge fan of the old school stuff myself, I’m very impressed to see that there are newly formed bands that want to have the sound of the classic godfathers they look up to.

Every song on this record is a masterpiece. For those of you that are more for the faster/more brutal stuff, Morbid Symmetry and Category of the Dead are what you might find most appealing. My favorite thing about those two songs is that one of them has and amazing bass intro. The intro song for the album reminds me of the newer Iron Maiden songs (A Matter of Life and Dead era). My favorite song from this album is definitely Identity Theft. Its pure melody is mind-blowing and the guitar solo is the kind that makes you crap your pants. This gets a perfect score.

Ravencult-Temples of Torment

From what I’ve heard, not very many people in my country know about Ravencult (I don’t know about Europe). Ravencult has been one of my favorite black metal bands since they released this album. They have done many things for me like influencing the music I write, and opening my eyes to the underground black metal world (the extremely unknown bands). I have been searching everywhere for this album on CD, and if anyone can help me get a copy or knows where to get one, PLEASE tell me! Ravencult is my favorite Greek band of all time, and I currently know someone that is originally from Greece (currently in USA) that is friends with Ravencult. There is not much of a biography about them, although I did learn that they are quite popular in Turkey, Germany, Norway (home of black metal), Cyprus, and of course Greece. The band is in fact involved in the occult, and is open about it (both of which I admire). They are also one of the most creative and talented black metal bands I’ve ever heard.

I noticed on Spirit of Metal that they have had more than one vocalist, I’m not sure whether their current one is the one that does vocals on this album or not. Probably the first notable quality in their music is that they are one of the faster black metal bands. But they also have a sound extremely similar to that of Darkthrone’s, only faster. It is very important that in any type of music, that the drummer and bassist are very tight and on tempo. And the Ravencult bassist is very tight with the drummer, on top of their bassist being one of the best bassists in black metal. They don’t overdo the treble in the overall sound. It seems that they have the equalizer set to something like the “classical” setting (where all of the frequencies are the same volume). I have noticed that in almost all of the Greek bands that I have heard, they occasionally use a certain keyboard sound that really gives the music an atmospheric sound. Another thing that one finds in this band that is not commonly found among black metal is that the vocalist has really mastered the black metal vocal style. He takes this, and ads sort of a scream to it to make the vocals sound amazing.

I discovered this band via YouTube on this video someone put together showing his favorite black metal bands. The specific song by Ravencult that was played was “Commence the Burning of the Heavens”, which still remains my favorite song on the album. The song that reminds me of Darkthrone the most is “The Needles of Truth”. This is mainly due to the lyrics being said almost completely off tempo which gives the song an interesting atmosphere. “Blessed in Heresy” is a song full of technical drumming. Overall I would give this album a perfect score due to the fact that I can’t listen to it without listening to the entire album and that there isn’t a song on here that I don’t completely enjoy.

Iron Maiden-Powerslave

Powerslave is definitely a milestone in the history timeline of heavy metal. This was also my first Iron Maiden album; therefore I am extremely relieved that I chose this as my first impression instead of one of their mediocre albums. This record was released when the Maiden vocalist at the time was in his best condition, because it seems that his singing and vocal range went downhill right after Powerslave in records such as Somewhere in Time. Then it started to go uphill right before my favorite album, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. I’m writing this review from the perspective of someone that barely knows anything about the band other than that they have had more than two vocalists over the years. But I have listened to their music a lot and am very familiar to their sound and music. So I will give my opinion and views on the music the best I can.

I think that this is one of Iron Maiden’s heaviest and fastest records. It’s not quite as experimental, focusing on more of a tight, solid sound. For some odd reason this album reminds me a lot of Whitesnake’s self-titled album. I think that mainly that is because the band had down-tuned guitars and bass, but still had a really melodic and technical sound. One thing that I would like to point out that really is a useless fact is that this is the first Iron Maiden album where the logo on the cover isn’t red. They didn’t use a red logo on the album cover after that until No Prayer for the Dying, and then they didn’t use one until The Final Frontier. There’s something that plenty of people out there probably haven’t noticed. Another thing that I like to think about is why did they choose to have a whole ancient Egyptian theme? That’s something that I’ve always wondered. This album is not only one of their heaviest; it mainly has a very mystical, progressive sound. I think that this is their most unique album because the band members got a lot the most during this time period, and they really wanted to take a break from touring so that they could take more time to create something completely different than their past albums. I am going to say this again, I think that this album is the best first impression to people who are new to the Maiden world. This is another album that if you want to feel the full effect of it, you need to sit down and listen to it, it’s an amazing experience that never gets boring no matter how many times you repeat it.

The record kicks off with a really mystical, progressive song known widely as Aces High. I personally think that the chorus is dull and could use to be more colorful. The drumming in the song is exceptionally simple most of the time, with a few parts of extreme technicality and speed. I noticed that the band rarely plays that song live anymore. The only live album that I have noticed that song in is Live After Death, which was recorded soon during their tour supporting Powerslave. My personal favorite song off the record is 2 Minutes 2 Midnight. This song was one of the Maiden songs that helped define the basic heavy metal sound for the 80s. Flash the Blade is a song than I’m not much of a fan of. Mainly because it’s an overall repetitive song. I noticed that Avenged Sevenfold played a cover of this song in their album Diamonds in the Rough. Those are the songs that stick out to me the most. I would give this album a 15/20.

Underoath-Ø (Disambiguation)

The group of astonishing artists that go by the name Underoath have finally released their new masterpiece. Except now, the album does not include their long appreciated and loved drummer/singer, Aaron Gillespie. Aaron has always been (and still is) one of my favorite drummers of all time. So I have been longing to hear what their new drummer sounds like. So when Aaron left the band, Spencer really had to take initiative and be a good leader to help the band stay together. Along with that, he now does all of the vocals (singing and screaming). And he did an amazing job of working with the band on creating a completely new sound.

I have noticed lately that a lot of bands have been striving to create new sounds (kind of like the 70s all over again). Bands like Alexisonfire, Mutiny Within, Animals as Leaders, Augury, Decrepit Birth, Iwrestledabearonce, Keep of Kalessin, I, Nachtmystium, Bring me the Horizon, Winds of Plague, and many more have been striving to create something not slightly new, but completely new, things that haven't been even thought of before! This album somewhat reminds me of Plagues by The Devil Wears Prada. But even then, those two albums sound almost completely different from each other. That is partly why Underoath is my all-time favorite screamo band; because they will go to the edges of the earth to create their own sound (which they are great at). But in my opinion, that's not how they've always been.

Underoath's landmark album (They're only Chasing Safety) is the first album with Spencer Chamberlain being the guy that does all of the screaming, instead of Dallas Taylor. Taylor's departure outraged and upset numerous fans. But the band's worldwide recognition skyrocketed. Here is my personal opinion on all of the albums previous to (They're only Chasing Safety). All of the instrumentations are simple, uncreative, and all of the songs generally sound the same. There just wasn't that much variety or progression in their music. Starting with (They're only Chasing Safety), EVERYTHING that Underoath played was filled with color, experimentation, and pure artistry. I think that Spencer had a huge influence on the band's new sound; constantly supporting progression and wanting to create something new. And ever since that, Underoath's sound has been getting better and better.

A lot of bands rely on one member (or person) to write the basics of a song, and then they take each part and build on top of it to make it have its own unique sound. After that, they will combine each member's part to create the final song, critiquing each other's parts along the way. But Underoath does something completely different. The whole band literally writes everything! This record comes with a bonus documentary DVD that the band filmed and produced themselves (along with occasional interviews by an anonymous interviewer). And it was surprising how each member took a small part in everything. I also noticed that everyone got along perfectly like a family should.

The overall quality of the music on the record is astonishing. The sound of the guitar distortion is a little similar to Lost in the Sound of Separation. I am one of the many people that believe that Aaron is a way better drummer than Daniel. But I think that it's obvious that the band wouldn't hire a mediocre drummer. He has to be good. And Daniel is an amazing drummer! He is a little more stubborn than Aaron, but he is a very good musician with plenty of talent. Aaron's drumming is a little more explosive and chaotic than Daniel's. But Daniel has done a great job of making his drumming blend in well with the music with more of a traditional style, rather than being more abstract. This album is also the album that has the most digital effects and keyboards in the music. This I think really is the main factor that gave this album its truly unique sound.

The instant that the In Division music video got uploaded on YouTube, I watched it (me being view #3). It was nothing that I think anyone was expecting. And the song did nothing short of blowing me away (I think I might have shit myself). The pure color and creativity of the album is not something that can be easily put into words. I would say that the song that sticks out to me as my favorite is Vacant Mouth. In this song, Underoath really tries on the jackets of heavier music. And they did a great job of it, especially with the solos done by almost every member. Driftwood really is a weird one. I can't really say much about it other than that it's cool, but really nothing I've ever heard in my life. If you want to get an idea of what I'm getting at, buy the CD and listen to it, because it's an experience you will never experience ever again unless you play the album again. The three remixes at the end of the album are actually really good (most remixes of metal songs aren't that good, because it's hard!). This album gets a perfect score on ANY scale.

Napalm Death-Scum

Napalm Death has had a huge affect on my musical life. Not only did they make me truly appreciate other crust punk bands, they also have had an influence in my songwriting. I am someone that strongly believes in the crust punk genre (I just call it crust). For those of you that don't know what crust is, it's basically hardcore punk mixed with a metal genre. Some crust bands are Napalm Death (punk mixed with brutal death and grindcore), Hatebreed (punk mixed with thrash metal), Darkthrone's newer material (punk mixed with thrash metal and black metal), Black Flag (punk mixed with thrash metal), and Extreme Noise Terror (punk mixed with death metal). Black Flag was really the first band to start the crust trend. Obviously they got their influences from Venom and Slayer, who formed right before Scum was released. I personally have been growing up listening to Napalm Death due to my older sister playing it in her car and at her house a lot. Out of all of the works of art that Napalm Death has produced, Scum still stands out to me as being a huge landmark in music and a masterpiece.

Scum has a quality that for some reason I love, which is the low quality recording quality. I have this weakness for music that has been recorded with a very raw sound, and very little editing. It shows basically that the band doesn't need any editing to make the recordings better (and also that the band/record label didn't have the equipment or money to edit them). Scum also covers a huge variety of genres, such as hardcore punk, crust, grindcore, brutal death, thrash death, death metal, drone, and speed metal. And to just about every album, there are downsides. The biggest ones are that Lee's vocal style is something that has to take some getting used to, and the drummer uses way too much symbols in some songs. Otherwise, the creativity is outstanding, and the musicianship is very enjoyable. The really fuzzy distortion that the bassist uses sounds really interesting when he plays alone, but it really adds a different kind of distortion to the band's music that sounds outstanding. I would recommend looking at the lyrics for this album, because most of them really give a realistic and accurate view of the mainstream style of living from the perspective of a metalhead that is far away from everything mainstream.

This isn't an album that was meant to be partially listened to. To get the best enjoyment from this album, listen to it when you know you won't get interrupted or have to skip songs. Otherwise, you won't feel truly satisfied. The song that stands out to me the most is the title song. It's obviously the song that they worked on and practiced the most. Divine Death and Parasites are really influential songs that really play around with the elements of thrash metal and grindcore. I noticed that this album possesses the shortest song in existence. You Suffer is about .4 seconds long! That's less than half a second! This album would impress mostly people who are diehard fans of brutal music. This would also be a good album to show people who are still new to the elements of brutal metal. Since first listening to them when I was 12, I have seen them perform twice; both of those times being an amazingly brutal experience, this gets 18/20.

Happy Hanukkahkwanzamas!!!

Hello everyone! Apologies for my absence for I have had so much school work and stuff with my band that i haven't had the time to post. Sound of Silence will be releasing their debut album on the 21st of this month!!!!! Our new website is www.soundofsilencemetal.weebly.com. and don't forget to check out my black metal solo project Cold Cry (www.coldcrymetal.weebly.com. I will be posting reviews and posts at light speed over break, continuing my Iron Maiden review series and start with a black metal series that includes albums like Transilvanian Hunger by Darkthrone, Gorgoroth's 2009 album, and Defective Epitaph by Xasthur. Hanukkah+Kwanza+Christmas=hanukkahkwanzamas!!!

Miss May I-Monument

I've only been listening to Miss May I for a few months. I have known about them since they came out with their first album, but haven't really gotten around to actually listening to them. After being legitimately satisfied with the band's material, I heard from a couple of my friends that they were coming to play in Seattle in about two weeks. They said that they had bought me a ticket because one of them was having his birthday there, so I decided I would go since this band was pretty good, and I had seen both opening acts before and liked one of them. Overall I was satisfied with Miss May I's performance, not something I would spend my own money on but I had fun. I had only heard their first album before that so I bought their new CD since I liked the songs that they played off of it.

First off I would like to say that Miss May I is one of the heaviest metalcore bands I've ever heard in my life. They aren't quite as thrashy and ear suffocating as Mnemic (the heaviest metalcore band I know of), but their breakdowns are so brutal I think my heart skipped a beat during one of them. I would like to note something that I think was a horrible decision. And that is that they chose one of the worst screamers to be a guest vocalist on one of the songs. I mean, he is horrible, and if you want to know just how bad he is, read my review on Attack Attack's self-titled album, and message me and I'll send you two YouTube links that I will have you watch. My favorite thing about the overall sound of the album is that there is tons of clean, meaty bass that sounds awesome. The bass blasts are perfect, without distortion. In Miss May I's first album, the vocalist really needed some improvements due to an undeveloped and unpracticed scream and growl. But in this album, damn, his vocals sound astonishing. His vocal frys are perfect and his growls are deep and full. The singing can be a bit out of tune sometimes, so maybe the singer should practice more and remember to take care of his throat and such. One thing that I recently realized is that this band is one of the only screamo/metalcore bands that get regular air time (I don't know about the rest of the world but they sure get played on one of my stations quite a bit), even though there are tons more other bands like that that never get played on the radio, which is something that I've always wondered (which probably why the concert had tons of people there). An improvement that I would make is that most of the breakdowns in the album sound very similar to each other, which shows lack in creativity. I think that the best musician in the band is most definitely their drummer! The drummer uses a larger than usual set and (unlike most drummers that use huge sets) he actually uses it and knows how to use it well! That and the singing are the main downsides to this album.

The first song is one of their faster songs, and the band really nails keeping on time which makes the song really cool. The song starts out with pure speed and brutality, and then makes a very smooth transition to a melodic, sung chorus with an excellent transition back in to the speed and anger. The second song is my favorite, despite the fact that it features one of my most hated and unsupported vocalists. The song is very fast a lot of the times, and then has a whole mish-mosh of melodic parts, brutal breakdowns, and other unexpected stuff. This song is really where the drummer shows everyone what he is capable of, huge thumbs up for the fancy drumming! Now the breakdown at the end is one of the most brutal breakdowns I've ever heard a melodic band play, when I heard it, I couldn't stop smiling and laughing because it really gave the song an astonishingly fantastical ending. The pure anger and rage in the whole album is so controlled and beautifully expressed. This album definitely gets a solid 19/20. This album would mainly impress people who are fans of melodic death, metalcore, and screamo. I will most likely buy their new album.

Iron Maiden-Fear of the Dark

This is one of the better Maiden albums. Fear of the Dark was the last studio album released before several years of touring and the release of numerous live albums such as A Real Live One, A Real Dead One, and Live at Donnington. This is also the first Iron Maiden album cover not to be designed by Derek Riggs, who did the covers for all of their previous albums. Fear of the Dark is the second bestselling Maiden album, the first being The Number of the Beast. I bought this album a couple of years ago due to a recommendation of a friend and an extra $5 I found in the back pocket of one of my pairs of jeans. I haven't listened to it all that much, so I decided I would seriously listen to it and review it. I am mainly writing this review upon request, so I will do the best I can to make this sound good.

Fear of the Dark is one of Iron Maiden's more progressive and complicated albums. The album mainly consists of faster, more driving songs, and ballads. I have owned this CD for quite some time now, and I haven't listened to it very many times, so this was my first time actually sitting down and completely soaking in the music. And I will say that I am greatly impressed with this treat to the ears known widely as Fear of the Dark. I didn't notice any technical drumming or guitars during the record. Most of the instrumentations were quite simple, but still moderately creative. This is not an album that I would listen to while driving or while on the go, this is an album that I have to sit down and listen to. In other words, this album doesn't make the best background music. The lineup that Iron Maiden had at this time (which I think was also the same general lineup for Seventh Son and No Prayer for the Dying) is my personal favorite. I would consider Seventh Son, No Prayer, and Fear of the Dark to be Iron Maiden's ultimate zenith period. I have had a lot of disagreement regarding that so I thought I would try and get my opinion heard by all of you that are reading my review. The lyrical themes on this album seem to be mainly about the life of someone who is homeless, always on the run, and is paranoid about being attacked. About when the album was more than half over, I suddenly realized that the bassist was one minute playing along the same general notes that the guitars were playing, and the next he was literally all over the place going crazy. After that he would go right back in place with the guitars, it was quite an astonishing thing mainly because he did such a good job with it!

At first, the album kicks off with Be Quick or be Dead, a very short-tempered, fast song that is an explosion of technicality and heavy melodies. This song reminds me of a lot of King Diamond and HammerFall songs. For some reason it seems to surprise a lot of people that someone of my age listens to a lot of the old classic metal such as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, King Diamond, Dio, Accept, Led Zeppelin, and Twisted Sister. I have been listening to heavy metal ever since I dug up Led Zeppelin's self-titled CD when I was in third grade. Back to the album, the second song is quite a delectable one. Not as fast as the first, From Here to Eternity is my favorite song off the album. Mainly because this song contains one of the most astonishingly mind-blowing guitar solos I have ever heard in my life. It's something that I call PURE ART (I RARELY call something that). Afraid to Shoot Strangers is the first ballad on this record, and it's not something that I am a huge fan of. Iron Maiden does some pretty wicked ballads, but this one is one of the more mediocre ones, there is a guitar solo in it, and the beginning of it just doesn't seem to fit the song at all, but I will give them credit for creativity and experimentation. The Fugitive is my second favorite song off the album. Although it lacks some in length, it makes up greatly in creativity and melody. I like how they mix distorted guitars with really smooth sounding guitars.

Overall, I am quite glad that I agreed to sit down and listen to this record after a couple of years of not listening to it. One thing that I love is feedback. I love it when people post comments on my reviews giving me feedback and telling me other stuff. I mainly talked about the songs that stuck out to me the most, but that doesn't mean that the rest of the album isn't worth listening to. I would recommend this to just about everyone! I would give this album 16/20.

Attention Maiden Fans!!

This is a message to all fans of Iron Maiden. I will be writing a series of reviews each being on iron maiden albums. I will at least be writing a review on Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Powerslave, Fear of the Dark, and The Final Frontier

Keep of Kalessin-Reptilian

I have had this album ever since it was released. Having been quite impressed with their debut album, it wasn’t much of a surprise to me that Reptilian was astonishing. I recently saw them live as an opening act for Nile, along with Ex Deo, Pathology, Psycroptic, and Phlegethon. And I was astonished beyond belief. I actually managed to easily get up on the stage and stage dive. On top of that I touched the vocalist’s hair sometime during the beginning of their set. Some time after they got off stage, I got a chance to meet the band at their merchandise table. I learned that three of the members are Satanists, and the fourth being an atheist. They were all very nice and I bought Reptilian on CD and got it autographed by the whole band. After that I decided that Keep of Kalessin is one of my favorite black metal bands of all time. My favorite thing about them is that they aren’t PURE BLACK METAL. They are progressive and experimental, which is a good band to show people who are new to black metal. So if you want to introduce someone to black metal, this should definitely be one of the bands that you show them.

The thing about Keep of Kalessin that I think everyone should know is that they are one of the tightest metal bands I’ve ever heard. This is expressed the most in the intro of The Awakening. The drummer’s blast beats are traditional, but he always adds something small to them, the thing that he adds is different each song and it really makes listening to the drums interesting. The distortion of the guitars is very clean, which means that you can listen to it very loud without experiencing discomfort or damaging your ears. The vocalist isn’t the best at the traditional black metal vocal style, which is probably why he doesn’t do it that often. When he screams, it sounds like he’s straining himself a little bit which could probably mean he is doing it incorrectly, or that he smokes. The one thing that he’s really good at is growling. His growl is very deep, has a powerful sound, and has been practiced a lot. Something that Keep of Kalessin did that I think is unique is that they created a small choir that was used in a few of the songs to give them a really gothic sound at times. One thing that could use a little work is the guitars. The guitars are a little too simple and can be very repetitive at times.

I think that the song that was practiced the most would be The Awakening. The intro is so tight that it seems almost impossible that a band could do that. At first I thought that they edited it in the studio, but they did the exact same thing live and metal bands usually don’t cheat when they play live. The Divine Land is one of the more melodic songs, having a really mystical and gothic sound due to the melodic guitars and large amount of singing. Judgement is an interesting song. It starts out slower, with no vocals, very melodic too. And then the whole song speeds up completely, but still stays extremely melodic and pretty. I guess now I’ll talk about my favorite song from this album (which they played live!), The Dragontower. This song is filled with creativity and color. The notes that are sung in the chorus fit the song perfectly. The Dragontower is the most diverse and abstract song from the album. I would highly recommend this album to black metal newbies, and hardcore black metal fans. This gets 19/20.