So what is a 'Comeback album'? For this post, it simply means an album that was released after a crappy/almost career ending album. There are a lot of them out there, but I will keep this list somewhat short. So how can a band release a career ending album? Easy, they try to reach a bigger audience or experiment with some new technique or just put out a half assed effort. For this list I will list the "comeback album" then the "crappy/almost career ending album" in parenthesis.
Fear Factory - Mechanize (Transgression) Yeah Transgression was a transgression. Oh the horror. Fear Factory are known for blast beats, double bass, heavy riffs and some killer vocals. With Transgression we got little to none of that. Actually, it was more reminiscent of Fear Factory during the dark days of metal. Yes there are a few hidden gems in there (the title track for one), but this was made for a tour with Megadeth and they didn't really put much time into it. Seriously who allowed Echo of My Scream to be on this album...and let it go for 7 minutes?
So enter Mechanize. This is more of a classic FF sounding album. From the intro of the title track you hear the industrial sounds that take you back to Demanufacture. The riffs and drums are back to where we love them. Most fans have embraced this album, but it is such a return to form that it had to lead this list.
Trivium - Shogun (The Crusade) Matt Heafy has some pretty big goals in life. When Ascendancy kept getting praise he said he wanted to be as big as Metallica. That's pretty big. Enter The Crusade press tour, where he decided to now say he wanted to be bigger than Metallica. So how could they do that? Simple, lose all of the screams and go with clean vocals throughout. How did it sound? Like a Metallica rip-off. It was so bad. In fact, during the tours they changed all of their old songs to be clean vocals too...talk about selling out. Musically, it is straight metal, no metalcore or anything like that. It didn't really sound like Trivium, not that they are built as a metalcore band, but it didn't have that feel. It felt too simplistic. Some songs were good Entrance of Conflagration and the stellar instrumental title track. But what really killed this album, besides the lack of screams, was the intro to Unrepentant it is such a rip off of Through the Never by Metallica. So bad. It's a good album and will probably make The Clone list of Metallica, but it almost killed Trivium.
Enter Shogun. This is a masterpiece of an album. Combination of screams and clean vocals and return to their earlier sound. Lots of double bass action and guitar solos that were just great. And how could they top the title track of The Crusade? Simple, Shogun...a 12 minute song that has all the feel of a Master of Puppets type track without the feeling of copying it. Shogun would probably rank higher on the list of favorite Trivium albums, but won't pass Ascendancy because it seems too convenient to see them return to form. People wrote Trivium off after The Crusade, but this album is a must own.
Shadows Fall - Retribution (Threads of Life) After the great album that was The War Within, Shadows Fall was signed to a record deal with a major label, Atlantic Records. Threads of Life was their first album and they assured everyone it wouldn't be a sell out album. It would maintain the brutality of The War Within. Well it didn't. Like Trivium, this album included more clean vocals and really went for the more simplistic straight metal approach. Most songs were the same; fast verse, slow chorus, fast verse, slow chorus, solo, slow chorus. After the album sold so poorly, they were pretty much dropped.
So what did they do? Over-compensated? Maybe, but Retribution could be their best album in terms of guitar solos...scratch that. It is their best album in terms of guitar solos. This album really does a great job of making every song memorable. There is little filler on this album, if any and each song contains a freakin' awesome solo. I will say this, it topped the list of best albums last year for me. If you want some more praise of this album, go HERE, for some earlier comments.
Megadeth - The World Needs a Hero (Risk) This is the example for comeback album. Risk wasn't a risk, it was a huge mistake. But was it a bad album? Yes & no. It was a horrible Megadeth album. It sounded nothing like Megadeth. Sure the first two songs might have come off of Cryptic Writings, but that was it. Everything else was pop rock. And that's where it's not a bad album, it's just not a Megadeth album. Kind of like Motley Crue's self-titled album without Vince Neil. Great rock album, but wasn't Motley Crue without Vince Neil singing. What made it worse was the hype for the album. It was supposed to be a return to form for Megadeth. Cryptic Writings had some sellout type songs with Trust and Almost Honest and they were going back to metal. Well...somewhere from the press to the recording something changed. Because gone was the metal and back was the sellout pop rock. Dave blamed Marty for the change in direction and producer and I believe Dave on this one. Marty has turned into a Japanese pop star, while Dave has tried to redirect Megadeth back to metal dominance. Plus it was easy to convince Dave because he really wanted to beat Metallica in terms of numbers.
So what happened? The World Needs a Hero. I love this album and it is probably in my top 5 Megadeth albums. I talked about it in depth and reviewed it before HERE. It starts off with a song that could have been on Cryptic Writings, but the solo is nothing special in terms of technicality, but it feels perfect. There are a few "radio" friendly songs here, but Recipe for Hate...Warhorse, Dread and the Fugitive Mind, Return to Hangar, When, and even Kill the King (which was supposed to be on the album, but was put on a greatest hits album before this was released) are striaght up thrash metal that could have easily made it onto Rest in Peace or Countdown to Extinction. What makes this album for me is the solos. There are songs where they solo for over a minute. And it is the classic trade off solos that Megadeth was known for. Bottom line, the whole album is great, but the second half is classic Megadeth. This was the beginning of Megadeth returning to thrash. Some fans bash it, I love it.
Before I end this, some of you might be asking yourselves "where's Metallica?" I don't think that St. Anger was a "crappy/almost career ending album". It debuted at #1. And honestly at that point Metallica had lost most of the "true fans" from the Load albums. So Death Magnetic isn't a comeback album for me because Metallica never left.
Showing posts with label shadows fall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shadows fall. Show all posts
Friday, August 20, 2010
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Who Decides: Top 10 Albums of the Year
Ok, so another year is coming to an end, so here is my top 10 metal albums of the year. I will try to keep it to ten, unlike last year. This year started off very slow for me. Nothing really caught my eye, until around June or so. I talked about it back then, and I said I doubt if any of those albums would make my final top 10...and well let's see.
Before we get to the list, I took out Arch Enemy's Root of All Evil (even though it is a great album) because it was just re-recording old songs with a new singer. If I could have 11 albums, I would have probably thrown in The Sorrow's Origin of the Storm. That was a classic metalcore album in the same vein as Killswitch Engage. Onto the list;
#10 - Threat Signal: Vigilance; much better than the Arkaea project which was Fear Factory light. This album has lost a lot of the FF influence and has gone for more of a straight thrash approach. The solos on this album as killer, check out The Beginning of the End for a sample.
# 9 - DevilDriver: Pray for Villains; a big let down overall from The Last Kind Words. I talke about this earlier in the year as well. A lot of solid songs, but overall just doesn't pack that punch that The Last Kind Words had. Check out Waiting for November, Bitter Pill, Teach Me to Whisper, and the title track.
# 8 - Evita: Minutes & Miles; the surprise of the year for me. Evita plays some crazy progressive metalcore music not unlike Protest the Hero. It's very good and deserved to be on this list. All of their songs are good, but if you check out one listen to Willing to Wake it's a good sample of the album.
# 7 - Dirge Within: Force Fed Lies; when I first hear this album I thought it was DevilDriver. Seriously, at times the lead singer sounds so similar it's eerie. Anyway, if DD would have put out this album DD would be higher up on the list. Musically, you know what you are getting. They pull out some nice solos especially on Complacency (2+ minutes of trading off solos).
# 6 - Nightrage: Wearing a Martyr's Crown; I listened to this album I didn't think it would make my top 10. It was lacking something for me, but over the last few months it has caught on big time. Descent into Chaos was a classic for me and evern though this doesn't beat that album it is solid. The guitar work is unmistakably Nightrage and the new singer does a fine job. He doesn't stand out like Tompa or Jimmie, but he works. Check out A Grim Struggle or the title track for a good feel of the album.
# 5 - Animals As Leaders: Animals As Leaders; did I say Evita was my surprise of the year? This is. First off, it's instrumental (something I really don't like). The guitarist, Tosin Abasi, is great. The music goes from thrash to metalcore to eletronic to acoustic. It is a wild ride to be sure. Check out CAFO.
# 4 - Megadeth: Endgame; it's Megadeth, it's better than their last album, and dare I say better than Death Magnetic? Mustaine brought his A game this time and wrote some killer riffs for this album. So why isn't it higher? Probably because his vocals are wearing on me. I can't explain it, but Dave's singing has gone downhill a bit. This Day We Fight and Headcrusher could have easily been on R.I.P. check them out.
# 3 - Susperia - Attitude; once again Susperia releases an album that is heavy, catchy, and has great musicianship. I can't add anything else, if you liked Carved in Stone or Unlimited you will like this one. All the songs are great. Check out The Urge, Sick Bastard (with Dimmu Borgir vocalist Shagrath), or Live My Dreams (with Testament vocalist Chuck Billy).
# 2 - Killswitch Engage: Killswitch Engage; I have already talked about this one and Shadows Fall's latest albums awhile ago. So I won't add anything else to this. Check out the entire album, definitely worth it.
# 1 - Shadows Fall: Retribution; like KsE I already talked about it, so I won't repeat anything. This album renewed my faith in SF. The guitar work is top notch and memorable. I can't find anything to complain about on this album.
So why is SF #1 and KsE #2? The difference is minimal. I would probably say the solos put Shadows Fall #1, even though KsE has better choruses. I was very happy to see two of my favorite bands rebound from sub-par albums and step up.
That's it. I want to try and do weekly postings next year. So let's see how that goes. I want to talk about the new Scrubs, The Middle, and some movie talk. Cross your fingers for a fun 2010.
Before we get to the list, I took out Arch Enemy's Root of All Evil (even though it is a great album) because it was just re-recording old songs with a new singer. If I could have 11 albums, I would have probably thrown in The Sorrow's Origin of the Storm. That was a classic metalcore album in the same vein as Killswitch Engage. Onto the list;
#10 - Threat Signal: Vigilance; much better than the Arkaea project which was Fear Factory light. This album has lost a lot of the FF influence and has gone for more of a straight thrash approach. The solos on this album as killer, check out The Beginning of the End for a sample.
# 9 - DevilDriver: Pray for Villains; a big let down overall from The Last Kind Words. I talke about this earlier in the year as well. A lot of solid songs, but overall just doesn't pack that punch that The Last Kind Words had. Check out Waiting for November, Bitter Pill, Teach Me to Whisper, and the title track.
# 8 - Evita: Minutes & Miles; the surprise of the year for me. Evita plays some crazy progressive metalcore music not unlike Protest the Hero. It's very good and deserved to be on this list. All of their songs are good, but if you check out one listen to Willing to Wake it's a good sample of the album.
# 7 - Dirge Within: Force Fed Lies; when I first hear this album I thought it was DevilDriver. Seriously, at times the lead singer sounds so similar it's eerie. Anyway, if DD would have put out this album DD would be higher up on the list. Musically, you know what you are getting. They pull out some nice solos especially on Complacency (2+ minutes of trading off solos).
# 6 - Nightrage: Wearing a Martyr's Crown; I listened to this album I didn't think it would make my top 10. It was lacking something for me, but over the last few months it has caught on big time. Descent into Chaos was a classic for me and evern though this doesn't beat that album it is solid. The guitar work is unmistakably Nightrage and the new singer does a fine job. He doesn't stand out like Tompa or Jimmie, but he works. Check out A Grim Struggle or the title track for a good feel of the album.
# 5 - Animals As Leaders: Animals As Leaders; did I say Evita was my surprise of the year? This is. First off, it's instrumental (something I really don't like). The guitarist, Tosin Abasi, is great. The music goes from thrash to metalcore to eletronic to acoustic. It is a wild ride to be sure. Check out CAFO.
# 4 - Megadeth: Endgame; it's Megadeth, it's better than their last album, and dare I say better than Death Magnetic? Mustaine brought his A game this time and wrote some killer riffs for this album. So why isn't it higher? Probably because his vocals are wearing on me. I can't explain it, but Dave's singing has gone downhill a bit. This Day We Fight and Headcrusher could have easily been on R.I.P. check them out.
# 3 - Susperia - Attitude; once again Susperia releases an album that is heavy, catchy, and has great musicianship. I can't add anything else, if you liked Carved in Stone or Unlimited you will like this one. All the songs are great. Check out The Urge, Sick Bastard (with Dimmu Borgir vocalist Shagrath), or Live My Dreams (with Testament vocalist Chuck Billy).
# 2 - Killswitch Engage: Killswitch Engage; I have already talked about this one and Shadows Fall's latest albums awhile ago. So I won't add anything else to this. Check out the entire album, definitely worth it.
# 1 - Shadows Fall: Retribution; like KsE I already talked about it, so I won't repeat anything. This album renewed my faith in SF. The guitar work is top notch and memorable. I can't find anything to complain about on this album.
So why is SF #1 and KsE #2? The difference is minimal. I would probably say the solos put Shadows Fall #1, even though KsE has better choruses. I was very happy to see two of my favorite bands rebound from sub-par albums and step up.
That's it. I want to try and do weekly postings next year. So let's see how that goes. I want to talk about the new Scrubs, The Middle, and some movie talk. Cross your fingers for a fun 2010.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Return of the King: New England Thrash Metal
So it's been over 2 months since my last post...thanks Webwasher. A lot of great albums have come out during that time; Megadeth, Nightrage, DevilDriver, Shadows Fall, and Killswitch Engage. For this post, I am going to focus in on the last two.
Now I put KsE & Shadows Fall in the same category of New England Thrash Metal, simply cause they (All That Remains, too) all sort of came out during the same time & are from the same area. On top of that, the members have done projects together (Overcast) or have been in other bands (Phil in Shadows Fall before Brian).
Both of their last albums were very unispired. It was like they were going through the motions. KsE's Daylight Dies was ok, nothing special. It was like you we thinking "Well it's sounds just like AoJB & EoH, but not as memorable." With Shadows Fall's last one Threads of Life, you kind of felt they took the safe way out. Meaning, they took their ideas from The War Within and softened them up a bit. Tried very hard to be catchy and well it was just alright. Once again, nothing memorable.
Fast forward to 2009 and both albums are great "return to form" type albums. In fact, even though the year isn't out I can pretty much guarentee that one of these albums will be #1, that's how good they are.
Let's start with Shadows Fall first. They went back and sped up the music a bit and didn't try to make a catchy song. So what happened? Some of the best songs since Art of Balance. Add of to that the guitar work on this album is fantastic. You can YouTube most of the album to hear it, I would recommend...well everything. War has a great chorus, Embrace Annihilation has an awesome solo, A Public Execution is a geat work out song with a chorus that needs to be heard. I can go on about every song, that's how solid this thing. Throw in some guest vocals by Randy Blythe and you have a winner.
Killswitch Engage's latest was a sort of make or break album for me. Alive or Just Breathing and End of Heartache are classics in the metalcore genre. In fact, I put AoJB in my top 5 metal albums of all time...yeah it's that good. So with this album, they brought on board a co-producer for the first time and it really pays off. With Daylight Dies it seemed so formulated; verse, clean slow chorus, breakdown, repeat. With Killswitch Engage, the songs are thrashier and while some of the slow clean choruses are there, they don't seem to distract. Add in the fact, the first song has a solo (they don't do solos normally). That's when it hits you that this isn't going to sound like Daylight Dies. The intro solo in Take Me Away is so good it makes you wonder why these guys don't do more of it. Anyway, like Shadows Fall, there isn't a lot of filler on this album. This album is a great continuation of what was established on AoJB & EoH.
I was worried about these albums since their last ones were so mediocre. Both albums met and exceeded my expectations. When I was doing my top 10 list in June and I saw both of these albums coming out, I was hoping they would make the top 10, now they will be topping the list. Why couldn't DevilDriver's latest have been this good?
Now I put KsE & Shadows Fall in the same category of New England Thrash Metal, simply cause they (All That Remains, too) all sort of came out during the same time & are from the same area. On top of that, the members have done projects together (Overcast) or have been in other bands (Phil in Shadows Fall before Brian).
Both of their last albums were very unispired. It was like they were going through the motions. KsE's Daylight Dies was ok, nothing special. It was like you we thinking "Well it's sounds just like AoJB & EoH, but not as memorable." With Shadows Fall's last one Threads of Life, you kind of felt they took the safe way out. Meaning, they took their ideas from The War Within and softened them up a bit. Tried very hard to be catchy and well it was just alright. Once again, nothing memorable.
Fast forward to 2009 and both albums are great "return to form" type albums. In fact, even though the year isn't out I can pretty much guarentee that one of these albums will be #1, that's how good they are.
Let's start with Shadows Fall first. They went back and sped up the music a bit and didn't try to make a catchy song. So what happened? Some of the best songs since Art of Balance. Add of to that the guitar work on this album is fantastic. You can YouTube most of the album to hear it, I would recommend...well everything. War has a great chorus, Embrace Annihilation has an awesome solo, A Public Execution is a geat work out song with a chorus that needs to be heard. I can go on about every song, that's how solid this thing. Throw in some guest vocals by Randy Blythe and you have a winner.
Killswitch Engage's latest was a sort of make or break album for me. Alive or Just Breathing and End of Heartache are classics in the metalcore genre. In fact, I put AoJB in my top 5 metal albums of all time...yeah it's that good. So with this album, they brought on board a co-producer for the first time and it really pays off. With Daylight Dies it seemed so formulated; verse, clean slow chorus, breakdown, repeat. With Killswitch Engage, the songs are thrashier and while some of the slow clean choruses are there, they don't seem to distract. Add in the fact, the first song has a solo (they don't do solos normally). That's when it hits you that this isn't going to sound like Daylight Dies. The intro solo in Take Me Away is so good it makes you wonder why these guys don't do more of it. Anyway, like Shadows Fall, there isn't a lot of filler on this album. This album is a great continuation of what was established on AoJB & EoH.
I was worried about these albums since their last ones were so mediocre. Both albums met and exceeded my expectations. When I was doing my top 10 list in June and I saw both of these albums coming out, I was hoping they would make the top 10, now they will be topping the list. Why couldn't DevilDriver's latest have been this good?
Monday, August 24, 2009
Thoughts Without Words: New school year, CSTs, & upcoming albums
ok so today was the first day of school and what do I think about it? Who knows...really can you tell much from the first day and only 32 minutes with each class? Here's what I do know;
New music in September should be a good one. New Shadows Fall & Megadeth. The 3 songs form Megadeth I have heard sound like it could be the best stuff since TWNAH. I like the guitar tone, thanks to Andy Sneap I suppose. And as for Shadows Fall, I have heard 3 songs from their new album as well and it sounds a lot better than Threads of Life. Hoping for two great releases this month. Right now, Susperia is probably my album of the year...who would have thought? Don't get me wrong, Susperia is one of my favorite bands, but this album didn't hit me like Unlimited or Cut From Stone. I will say they are writing some of the best thrash/heavy metal right now.
that's it for now. I gotta talk about 2 of my new favorite tv shows next time.
- have a lot of freshmen again, but with only one Alg. B class it shouldn't be too bad
- 1 Alg. B, 2 Geometry, 2 Alg. 2
- my room gets stuffy because a.c. won't go past 70, but with 38 bodies the room barely cools to 73.
- 4th period will probably be my nosiest class simply because there are about 10 - 15 who are good friends in that class
- it's gotta be better than last year...right?
- only 179 days to go :-)
New music in September should be a good one. New Shadows Fall & Megadeth. The 3 songs form Megadeth I have heard sound like it could be the best stuff since TWNAH. I like the guitar tone, thanks to Andy Sneap I suppose. And as for Shadows Fall, I have heard 3 songs from their new album as well and it sounds a lot better than Threads of Life. Hoping for two great releases this month. Right now, Susperia is probably my album of the year...who would have thought? Don't get me wrong, Susperia is one of my favorite bands, but this album didn't hit me like Unlimited or Cut From Stone. I will say they are writing some of the best thrash/heavy metal right now.
that's it for now. I gotta talk about 2 of my new favorite tv shows next time.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Who Decides: albums of the year
So with 2009 quickly approaching its final quarter the question of album of the year starts to loom even more. I have made it quiet clear that this year has been a little disappointing for me. Maybe it's a natural let down from the awesome year that was 2008...who knows.
Here's what I do know. September will give us new Shadows Fall and Megadeth records. October was supposed to give us the new Anthrax, but they fired their new singer so that album is up in the air. And I really don't know of any other albums that are supposed to be released this year.
So what does that mean for my top 10? Well as of right now, I would probably give the album of the year to either Susperia, DevilDriver, or Nightrage. Now, some might be thinking ... ok those are good albums so what's the problem? Well the problem isn't in the albums, they are solid, but they aren't as good as their last albums. Attitude is a catchy and heavy affair from Susperia ... but is it better than Cut From Stone? No. Same goes for Devildriver, Pray For Villains is good, but it's not better than The Last Kind Words. The Last Kind Words built upon The Fury of Our Maker's Hand. It took was a nice step from really good to great. But Nightrage is probably the biggest offender. I love every Nightrage album. Tompa's vocals on the first two albums plus the guitar work of Gus G. & Marios made those At The Gates-like. With A New Disease is Born, everything was raised to a new level. Tompa was gone, but Jimmie Strimell did an excellent job of singing (not just screaming) on the album. I was totally ready for another Nightrage release. But something happened on the way to their latest, Wearing a Martyr's Crown, they got a new vocalist. I don't think he is bad, just not as dynamic as Jimmie or original as Tompa. The guitar work is still memorable and top notch, but the vocals are....eh. Now I know that those were released in 2007 and it shouldn't affect 2009, but it does. After a great album, I guess I just expect more from a band.
So there are a bunch of new artists that have released really solid debut or second albums. Bands like Dirge Within (defintely for fans of Sanctity), Animals as Leaders (instrumental), The Sorrow, Arkaea (Fear Factory meets Threat Signal), and Evita (great metalcore) could make a run for that top stop.
Then there are some bands that have totally bounced back from disappointing albums. It Dies Today ditched the whole emo sound and went back to more of an original sound with Lividity. The new stuff they have released so far sound really promising. The other is The Autumn Offering. Fear Will Cast No Shadow was boring and unoriginal...and that's being nice. Throw in a new vocalist and you quickly forgot that The Autumn Offering was once a great band mixing modern thrash with some metalcore breakdowns in for good measure. Well, Requiem took me by surprise. It's a ton better than FWCNS, but it's not Embrace the Gutter. It still has it's emo moments, but they are defintely back on track.
The top spot is really wide open. There are a bunch of good to really good albums out there this year, but nothing great. Hopefully, Shadows Fall and Megadeth can change that.
Here's what I do know. September will give us new Shadows Fall and Megadeth records. October was supposed to give us the new Anthrax, but they fired their new singer so that album is up in the air. And I really don't know of any other albums that are supposed to be released this year.
So what does that mean for my top 10? Well as of right now, I would probably give the album of the year to either Susperia, DevilDriver, or Nightrage. Now, some might be thinking ... ok those are good albums so what's the problem? Well the problem isn't in the albums, they are solid, but they aren't as good as their last albums. Attitude is a catchy and heavy affair from Susperia ... but is it better than Cut From Stone? No. Same goes for Devildriver, Pray For Villains is good, but it's not better than The Last Kind Words. The Last Kind Words built upon The Fury of Our Maker's Hand. It took was a nice step from really good to great. But Nightrage is probably the biggest offender. I love every Nightrage album. Tompa's vocals on the first two albums plus the guitar work of Gus G. & Marios made those At The Gates-like. With A New Disease is Born, everything was raised to a new level. Tompa was gone, but Jimmie Strimell did an excellent job of singing (not just screaming) on the album. I was totally ready for another Nightrage release. But something happened on the way to their latest, Wearing a Martyr's Crown, they got a new vocalist. I don't think he is bad, just not as dynamic as Jimmie or original as Tompa. The guitar work is still memorable and top notch, but the vocals are....eh. Now I know that those were released in 2007 and it shouldn't affect 2009, but it does. After a great album, I guess I just expect more from a band.
So there are a bunch of new artists that have released really solid debut or second albums. Bands like Dirge Within (defintely for fans of Sanctity), Animals as Leaders (instrumental), The Sorrow, Arkaea (Fear Factory meets Threat Signal), and Evita (great metalcore) could make a run for that top stop.
Then there are some bands that have totally bounced back from disappointing albums. It Dies Today ditched the whole emo sound and went back to more of an original sound with Lividity. The new stuff they have released so far sound really promising. The other is The Autumn Offering. Fear Will Cast No Shadow was boring and unoriginal...and that's being nice. Throw in a new vocalist and you quickly forgot that The Autumn Offering was once a great band mixing modern thrash with some metalcore breakdowns in for good measure. Well, Requiem took me by surprise. It's a ton better than FWCNS, but it's not Embrace the Gutter. It still has it's emo moments, but they are defintely back on track.
The top spot is really wide open. There are a bunch of good to really good albums out there this year, but nothing great. Hopefully, Shadows Fall and Megadeth can change that.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Spotlight: Modern Thrash
So what is modern thrash? I know what Bay Area Thrash is; Metallica, Megadeth, Exodus, Testament, etc. But what is modern thrash? I have a whole bunch of artists that I have labeled as modern thrash. Well, for me, modern thrash takes the best of metalcore, death metal, and everything else since the late 80's and throws it together to get a sound of metal that is most reminiscent of Bay Area Thrash. These are the bands that weren't afraid to play solos all the time solos were a bad thing.
Take The Autumn Offering. They are always labeled as metalcore. And sure, you hear it...definitely. But overall they are thrash. Their debut was mainly hardcore/metalcore with sprinkles of thrash, but their follow-up Embrace the Gutter is pure thrash with sprinkles of metalcore. Listen to the solo in the title track.
And for those looking for the metalcore part, listen to Ghost. You go from a solo that could have been put on any Iron Maiden album to a breakdown that could go on any Killswitch Engage album. BTW, this band switched vocalists and it hurt them big time. I couldn't stand their latest and it even made my disappointments for 2007.
Sanctity was founded by Trivium...neat huh? Anyway they were so impressed that they covinced their label to sign them. Road to Bloodshed is class thrash. Much like Susperia, they sound like Testament a lot of the time. Their vocalist also hits some Halford-like high notes too. The solos are really tight and crisp...much like Megadeth. Unfortunately, they just lost their vocalist/guitarist and drummer due to personal reasons. So who knows what will happen to this band now.
Havochate and Lazarus are too classic thrash bands. Once again, Havochate sounds alot like Testament. Nothing wrong there. As for Lazarus, they sound like a faster version of Exodus...that's right a faster version. The solos on this album are amazing. The first time I heard the album I was grinning from ear to ear like I did with Machine Head's The Blackening. Solid bands and I will be looking forward to their new ones.
Last up Shadows Fall. This band is still labeled a metalcore band, but after their second album, I think they turned more thrash. The War Within has very little if anything that sounds like metalcore...some breakdowns here or there. Shadows Fall were never afraid to play solos. In fact, it was their video for Destroyer of Senses that brought them back. I was blown away to hear a true metal song on MTV. Most of the hardcore vocals are gone for cleaner screams/singing. Listen to these songs and tell me they are metalcore.
Playlist for the week:
Monday: Embrace the Gutter, Ghost by The Autumn Offering from Embrace the Gutter
Tuesday: Fiction, Still Alive, Alone by Havochate from Cycle of Pain
Wednesday: Beneath the Machine, Zeppo, The Shape of Things by Sanctity from Road to Bloodshed
Thursday: Last Breath, The Onslaught part 1 by Lazarus from The Onslaught
Friday: What Drives the Weak, Inspiration on Demand by Shadows Fall from The War Within
Take The Autumn Offering. They are always labeled as metalcore. And sure, you hear it...definitely. But overall they are thrash. Their debut was mainly hardcore/metalcore with sprinkles of thrash, but their follow-up Embrace the Gutter is pure thrash with sprinkles of metalcore. Listen to the solo in the title track.
And for those looking for the metalcore part, listen to Ghost. You go from a solo that could have been put on any Iron Maiden album to a breakdown that could go on any Killswitch Engage album. BTW, this band switched vocalists and it hurt them big time. I couldn't stand their latest and it even made my disappointments for 2007.
Sanctity was founded by Trivium...neat huh? Anyway they were so impressed that they covinced their label to sign them. Road to Bloodshed is class thrash. Much like Susperia, they sound like Testament a lot of the time. Their vocalist also hits some Halford-like high notes too. The solos are really tight and crisp...much like Megadeth. Unfortunately, they just lost their vocalist/guitarist and drummer due to personal reasons. So who knows what will happen to this band now.
Havochate and Lazarus are too classic thrash bands. Once again, Havochate sounds alot like Testament. Nothing wrong there. As for Lazarus, they sound like a faster version of Exodus...that's right a faster version. The solos on this album are amazing. The first time I heard the album I was grinning from ear to ear like I did with Machine Head's The Blackening. Solid bands and I will be looking forward to their new ones.
Last up Shadows Fall. This band is still labeled a metalcore band, but after their second album, I think they turned more thrash. The War Within has very little if anything that sounds like metalcore...some breakdowns here or there. Shadows Fall were never afraid to play solos. In fact, it was their video for Destroyer of Senses that brought them back. I was blown away to hear a true metal song on MTV. Most of the hardcore vocals are gone for cleaner screams/singing. Listen to these songs and tell me they are metalcore.
Playlist for the week:
Monday: Embrace the Gutter, Ghost by The Autumn Offering from Embrace the Gutter
Tuesday: Fiction, Still Alive, Alone by Havochate from Cycle of Pain
Wednesday: Beneath the Machine, Zeppo, The Shape of Things by Sanctity from Road to Bloodshed
Thursday: Last Breath, The Onslaught part 1 by Lazarus from The Onslaught
Friday: What Drives the Weak, Inspiration on Demand by Shadows Fall from The War Within
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Tirades of Truth: Shadows Fall - Fallout from the War
ok, well let's shift gears from all of the Sepultura/tribal metal for awhile and talk about a new release by one of my favorite new bands...Shadows Fall. I remember flipping through MTV a few years ago and seeing a video (shocking in itself, MTV playing a video) and I was blown away by the drums, guitar riffs, and most of all a solo that was short, but pretty killer. The video was 'Destroyer of Senses' from The Art of Balance. Well of course I went out and picked up the album. I was completely blown away. The music was a throw back to the classic years of thrash...think circa 86 - 90, awesome to say the least. Well, obviously I became an instant fan. Picking up their earlier album, Of One Blood, and then their latest The War Within. I will review the other albums later, but onto their latest The Fallout from the War.
This is an album that is basically leftovers from the writing sessions for The War Within, kinda like Load and Re-Load. Well the main difference is that this album is probably better than The War Within. Don't get me wrong, TWW was a solid album, but it was a little to catchy for me. But this thing...this sounds like it was written in between Of One Blood and The Art of Balance. What does this mean? Well the songs are completely brutal, the drumming is insane and the riffs are heavy and fast. Need proof listen to the intro of Going, Going, Gone or Will to Rebuild. Now keep in mind only the first 6 songs are new. The next 2 are re-recordings of earlier songs not released in the U.S. (although Deadworld was on Century Media's Identity 8 album) and the last 3 are cover songs. The new songs are solid thrashers. Don't expect catchiness or technical songs...minus the guitar solos of course. The re-recorded versions are ok, now I had Deadworld already and they kinda changed the intro and some other parts. It doesn't make it worse just different... ya know? The cover songs are great from the groove oriented December to the Anthrax sounding Mark of the Squealer, and finishing with a little glam cover...Teasin' Pleasin'.
Overall, this album is really great. I would have to say, once again, it's better than The War Within. I would say that if you are a fan of earlier Shadows Fall then this is for you. If you wanted more of TWW then you might have to wait until their next album.
Next time, an album that is possibly my favorite album of 2006...stay tuned.
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