Odious Mortem - Cryptic Implosion [2007]

The vocals are WAY more powerful than they were on the previous album. "Fragmented Oblivion" starts shit off on the right foot with catchiness, brutality, energy, and a massive amount of technicality. Shit, half-way through the album and it's still fucking brutally ripping its way through my ears. It's non-stop technicality and energy. Excellent production quality. It's clear, heavy, and punchy all at the same time and seemingly without any compromises. The album is a little shorter than most which works in its favor since the material isn't diverse or experimental.

Rating: 8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odious_mortem

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Odious Mortem - Devouring the Prophecy [2005]

Short as hell Technical Death Metal album. It's pretty damn heavy and it's very technical. The production is quite good as well. I'm not a fan of the vocals on this album, though. They feel weak. There's clearly an air of Cannibal Corpse on this album with the harmonized guitar trills. It's not a particularly catchy album and after listening to it, nothing sticks in my head. So, the songwriting could use some work, but if all I'm looking for is a solid Technical Death Metal album to throw on to kill some time, this will do nicely.

Rating: 6.5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odious_mortem

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Novembre - Wish I Could Dream it Again [1994]

The production quality is what I'd expect for a first album. It's pretty interesting stuff. Really feels like they've stumbled onto a style while it was just beginning to break out. Just when everything felt like it was getting mundane, they break out with the ending section of "Novembre/its Blood" and redeem all of the interest that was lost. The Black Metal parts are wonderful. The singers pitch control is lacking to say the least, but I've heard worse and it somehow isn't that distracting. The album is a MONSTEROUS length, making it nearly impossible to listen to the whole thing in one sitting without falling asleep. Crop the songs a bit, take some singing lessons, and the material would be top notch.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.novembre.co.uk/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Sarah Marie Mullen - The Wild Woods [2006]

It's shocking how, despite being predominantly harp music, this album is in a completely different style than LF. Some more instruments have been added to the mix, like flute and guitar. It feels like LF was for more of the upper classes of society while this is geared more towards the common folk during a party. I'm not really a big fan of a fair amount of the material on this album. Maybe it's the arrangements, but it really doesn't feel all that much like period music and doesn't get me in the renaissance mood. One of the standouts is "Nonesuch".

Rating: 6.25

http://sarahmariemullen.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Sarah Marie Mullen - Luna's Fancy [2004]

What can I say. It's beautiful stuff. Pretty well played with only a few significant mistakes that stand out. I can't comment on the songs themselves since I don't know if she wrote them or is just playing them. Either way, it's a wonderful album full of passion.

Rating: 8

http://sarahmariemullen.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Iced Earth - Horror Show [2001]

The first four tracks are quite good. Of them, only "Jack" seems to capture the energy that they used to have. However, the songwriting has improved and become more complex. "Im-Ho-Tep" is a bit of an oddity that really doesn't float my boat... makes me bored. "Jekyll & Hyde" is much more like it: catchy, energetic, and wonderfully written. "Dragon's Child" has a very validating feel to it. "Transylvania" has a very boring and contrived first half but then goes into a really cool second half with good solos. "Frankenstein" is a straight-forward and largely uninspired song that feels flat. "Dracula" has more energy. "The Phantom Opera Ghost" has lyrics that are cringingly cliché, but the music is quite good. Overall, it's not as strong as Something Wicked, but the good parts are very good. It's a very polarized album.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.icedearth.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Hatebreed - Satisfaction is the Death of Desire [1997]

So, yeah, it's a bit of Metalcore and a bit of Hardcore. Neither are winning genres for me, but Hatebreed is quite good at capturing the energy of those genres without being too annoying about it. That said, one recurring theme for this band will be the AWFUL vocals of Jasta. He has the vocal range of a fucking cricket. All vocals are exactly the same. All words are exactly the same. Monotone doesn't even go far enough to describe it, and it gets really fucking annoying after a couple songs. The positive message is also really fucking gay. Even though this album is short, it's still not short enough. I get really tired of the same riffs cropping up in song after song. Sure it's pretty heavy, but it's not particularly catchy and the vocals are relentlessly boring and shitty.

Rating: 5

http://www.hatebreed.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Slayer - World Painted Blood [2009]

They've obviously gone back to the "less is more" approach for guitar distortion... which is really fucking annoying since the music could be so much more with heavier guitars. "World Painted Blood" really is some of the best songwriting Slayer has done in Decades, and then "Unit" makes me want to forget entirely about the dismal guitar distortion and hail Father Satan that this record exists!! "Snuff" isn't bad, but not as strong as the first two songs. "Beauty Through Order" returns us to the days of the slow-and-fucking-evil songs that were prevalent on Seasons... "Human Strain" just emanates darkness and evil. "Americon" is possibly the only weak song on the album. "Playing With Dolls" uses some of the new-school ideas that they've had and blends them perfectly with South of Heaven-era evil and style. It's wonderful; the writing is excellent. Evil is back in the foreground. It's as if Slayer took everything that I loved about their various styles over the years and very carefully slammed them all together. That said, they also grabbed a couple things that I really don't like about the newer stuff (like the stuff that reminds me of a nu-metal riff). The only real thorn in the side of this album is the guitar production. Yeah, fine, they wanted to be old-school about it, but they went back to the Seasons distortion and that's not really "old-school". So, they ended up with a really weak distortion for an ideal that isn't even correct in the first place. It's easy to look past the production issue, though.

Rating: 8.5

http://www.slayer.net

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Nile - Amongst The Catacombs Of Nephren-Ka [1998]

No time wasted here at all. "Smashing the Antiu" jumps right into the fray with grinding. It's good stuff all the way through. Very brutal, pretty catchy, and quite focused. It is technical, but not quite to the extreme that the later albums are.

Rating: 7.75

http://www.nile-catacombs.net/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

The Doors - The Doors [1967]

There are quite a lot of the classics that everyone knows on this album. It's quite ethereal and the music skips through varying degrees of madness, excitement, and calmness. It has that charming '60s recording feel to it, complete with the drums in the left speaker only. Nicely varied, but somehow all cut from the same cloth. There's a good amount of consistency in the songwriting. So none of the songs feel particularly weak or rushed.

Rating: 7

http://thedoors.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Cannibal Corpse - Gore Obsessed [2002]

Another push on the production quality makes this the heaviest CC album by far. There's a lot of good stuff here. There's more catchiness and blasting, too. While all of the songs have very good riffs, a worrying amount have filler riffs blended in as well. So, it's a bit uninspiring at times, but awesome at others.

Rating: 7.75

http://www.cannibalcorpse.net/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Cannibal Corpse - Bloodthirst [1999]

New production quality isn't as warm as Gallery, but it is a bit heavier much more clear. The overall level of excellence for this album is much higher than anything CC had done before. It's more brutal, more active, more technical, and more focused. Very good album. It has everything that I love about the new style of CC and it's all well-executed.

Rating: 8

http://www.cannibalcorpse.net/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Cannibal Corpse - Gallery of Suicide [1998]

After the thrashy "I Will Kill You" and the incredibly catchy and brutal "Disposal of the Body", "Sentenced to Burn" dives into the more mid-tempo and chunky side of Death Metal. "Blood Drenched Execution" has a few catchy parts, but most of it feels pretty weak compared to the previous songs. "Gallery of Suicide" drops into the slow-tempo'd style for the first bit. It's not all that catchy or gripping, but it does have an evil twinge to it. It even feels like Black Metal at a few points. "Dismembered and Molested" picks things up on all fronts. Then, there's "From Skin to Liquid", an epic and purely evil opus that can easily get every hair on my neck to stand straight up. "Unite the Dead" is a heavy romp that brings more catchiness to the CC sound. It's a tiny bit gimmicky, though. "Stabbed in the Throat" largely passes by unnoticed. "Centuries of Torment" brings that low pitch evil guitaring that I love back to the album. Overall, it's got good production quality and some good writing. There are a decent number of standouts as well and it's always heavy.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.cannibalcorpse.net/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Cannibal Corpse - Vile [1996]

Kick in the nuts start to the album. "Devoured by Vermin" really seems to set the stage for the newly evolved CC to push the brutality and complexity of the music to a level far beyond what they've done before. Admittedly, I don't like the flow breaking sections in songs like "Mummified in Barbed Wire" and "Perverse Suffering". All seems to be redeemed by the awesomeness of "Disfigured". "Bloodlands" initially takes the dark, doomy, and evil CC style before breaking out with an explosion of thrash and technical guitaring. There are a lot more stand-outs in this album than the previous one. "Devoured by Vermin", "Disfigured", "Puncture Wound Massacre", "Relentless Beating", "Absolute Hatred", and "Monolith" stand out in my ears.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.cannibalcorpse.net/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Cannibal Corpse - The Bleeding [1994]

Right from the start, it feels a bit more like the passionate brutality that CC is known for. Hopefully it will last through the whole album. I'm a bit worried that they may have front-loaded this album with good songs... I mean, shit, they just keep coming one after another: "Staring Through the Eyes of the Dead", "Fucked with a Knife", "Stripped, Raped and Strangled". It's hard to imagine that they can keep such a level of song writing throughout the rest of the album. I must say, Chris' vocals are starting to fucking annoy me, especially his high-pitched screams that sound like a five-year-old is yelling while holding his nose. For the most part, the material does actually stay pretty strong through the rest of the album. However, there aren't really any standouts like the first three songs of the album.

Rating: 7.25

http://www.cannibalcorpse.net/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated [1992]

Off to a catchy, heavy, and grinding start with "Hammer Smashed Face". It doesn't have the excitement of their later works overall. I'm not sure if it's the dead production quality or the filler riffs, but it just doesn't feel as exciting. There are a few tracks on here that will get my blood pumping: "Hammer Smashed Face", "Addicted to Vaginal Skin", and "The Cryptic Stench".

Rating: 6.5

http://www.cannibalcorpse.net/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Cannibal Corpse - Butchered At Birth [1991]

There's a lot more doom to this album. There are also places where the album drags quite a lot. It feels like the writing for this one isn't quite as strong and forceful as Eaten. There are definitely a few classics like "Meat Hook Sodomy", and "Covered With Sores".

Rating: 6.75

http://www.cannibalcorpse.net/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Cannibal Corpse - Eaten Back to Life [1990]

Heavy writing. It's a lot more thrash inspired than CC's later stuff, but the classic CC style is still buried in the music for those who know. It's not down-right catchy, but it's invigorating and energetic. The production quality is surprisingly clear and clean for being the first album. Pretty good distortion on the guitars as well. It's still mixed in that early Death Metal style. So, the guitars could stand to be higher in the mix and contain more punch. It's still a good album, even by today's standard.

Rating: 7.25

http://www.cannibalcorpse.net/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

The Devin Townsend Project - Ghost [2011]

Judging by the beginning of "Fly", this will be an album more in the style of Ki. Fuck, it's so damn calm it's impossible not to feel relaxed. Good use of Native American flute... not too forward, but certainly audible. "Heart Baby" seems to reinforce what the album is leaning towards in style and mood. "Feather" is a large song that relies more on the atmospheric natural world to get by. "Kawaii" picks things up a little by switching focus to more of what the album started off as. Then, "Ghost" somehow changes style entirely to something reminiscent of southern folk, and "Blackberry" continues the direction with the addition of more traditional American folk instruments and writing. "Monsoon" and "Dark Matters" opt for a very ethereal, natural, and atmospheric feel. "Texada" brings the music more forward. This album differs from Ki in that the style feels much more like it was influenced by New Age. It's a very pleasant album that seems to sooth the soul. It's very impressive that Devin has managed to so accurately mix New Age into his own style.

Rating: 8.5

http://www.hevydevy.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

The Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction [2011]

Wahey! I was NOT expecting an electronic almost break-beat style to the beginning of the album. Damn, nice way to ease the music into epic and crushingly heavy metal. "Stand" drags a lot during the middle, but tries to make up for it with a validating end. "Juular" is quite an epic and energetic song... it is much needed after the very long and drawn-out "Stand". "Planet of the Apes" is all over the place. Thrashy, dragging, energetic, validating... it's got the lot. "Sumeria" flexes some of the catchier and more brutal muscles that Devin has. It's a strange album, this. It's so all over the place that it never really settles on anything that I prefer. So, there are times when I feel it's just boring. It's also not the catchiest or most gripping album. Even so, there is a lot to like about this album. The creativity is nearly burning the album alive. There are some really great riffs thrown in here as well as a lot of madness. Most of what I don't like about this album I can chalk up to me simply not being in the mood for a concept album. I can still see what an epic album this is despite my mood. As the album progresses, I feel myself diving deeper into it... it could be that my mood is being altered, or maybe it's that the songs have gotten better.

Rating: 8.5

http://www.hevydevy.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Testament - The Gathering [1999]

The production quality is nearly perfect. Even 12 years later, this album is still one of the heaviest I've heard. Nearly every song is excellent. There aren't any filler riffs to be found on this album. Every second is a triumph of heaviness, yet, there is a good deal of variation on the album. Some songs have ominous clean guitars. Some are 6/8 romps through a metal fortress. Others are forays into the thrashing days of yore. All are energetic and hair-raising experiences overall. What an awesome album. When one concentrates, creativity can be found in some of the background effects and guitar slides that are barely noticed. The lyrics are very strong as well. Everything just feels so tight, like everyone was on the same page for the writing of this album.

Rating: 8.5

http://www.testamentlegions.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Testament - Demonic [1997]

FFFUUUUUCCCCKKKKK!!! "Demonic Refusal" is one fucking hell of a way to start the album. It's so fucking heavy and evil. Chucks vocals are purely his own brand of Death Metal. "Together as One" would have been great if they didn't include that really fucking gay and repetitive section with such a shitty riff. Shit kicks back into gear with "Jun-Jun" and "John Doe". Things actually even go back to Thrash Metal for the first time in years with "Murky Waters". The songs from this point on are all fucking great... except for "Nostrovia". This is an INCREDIBLY heavy, evil, angry, and destructive album that makes me want to mosh against the world. That said, there are a couple weak songs and some riffs throughout the album feel a bit half-assed.

Rating: 8

http://www.testamentlegions.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Testament - Low [1994]

There is finally an appreciable increase in production quality. It's pretty damn heavy. Chuck has even taken to doing some growls that are more Death Metal now. Good use of 6/8 to create the feel of a heavy groove. There is also a blending of traditional Rock into the heavier sound. They're all heavy, but not all of them capture my attention. "Low", "Hail Mary", "Trail of Tears", "Dog Faced Gods", "Chasing Fear", and "Ride" stand out to me.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.testamentlegions.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Testament - The Ritual [1992]

"Electric Crown" is already better than anything that was on the previous album. "So Many Lies" is completely pointless until the chorus. So, it's mostly boring. "Let Go Of My World" is acceptably energetic and heavy. "The Ritual" manages to inject a smidge of evil into the style. "Deadline" has a pretty damn catchy chorus and a decent amount of energy. This album is obviously the point at which Testament started driving their style more towards the Heavy Metal genre and away from Thrash. It's pretty good. Most songs have a good beat and heavy riffs with energy. It's a bit more Rock inspired in some parts which takes away from the attempted darkness of the album. There are a lot of good songs in here with good energy. It's not a breakthrough album that has the polished songwriting and perfection of style that I was hoping for. However, there are two gems that outshine the rest, "Electric Crown" and "Return to Serenity".

Rating: 7.5

http://www.testamentlegions.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Testament - Souls Of Black [1990]

A short and pointless intro track for "Beginning Of The End". "Face In The Sky" is pretty good. However, it's almost all groove metal with no semblance of the thrash they used to have. "Falling Fast" has a little thrash to it, but it's mostly a very aimless song with few riffs that are any good. "Souls Of Black" tries to redeem the album a little with a darker intro, but then drops into very non-evil groove metal. "Absence Of Light" is possibly the most disappointing thing I've ever heard... the beginning sounds like they're going to kick in with some insane thrash, but instead they just jump into a moderato beat with a boring and shitty guitar riff. "Malpractice" is one of the very few songs that actually a good verse riff to it. Extremely large let-down. This album is a very unpleasant turd. I'm not sure how it went wrong, but the riffs are lifeless and sound like they were taken from the reject bin. The only possible exception to this is "The Legacy"... and it's still not that great. Also, why the hell hasn't the production quality increased at all in the last four albums? What the fuck are they doing?

Rating: 5

http://www.testamentlegions.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Testament - Practice What You Preach [1989]

"Perilous Nation", while catchy and heavy, is quite predictable. There are a few songs that feel a bit tired and repetitive. However, overall it's a pretty catchy and heavy album with a lot of good riffs and energy. The production is a bit odd; heavy and powerful during palm muting, but feeling like it was played through a single-speaker practice amp the rest of the time.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.testamentlegions.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

植松伸夫 - Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack [1997]

Much unlike FFIV, this actually has some really good writing mixed in. When he does evil and dark, it's very good. However, the more regal stuff feels too childish and weak. The whimsical stuff is TOO whimsical and ends up sounding camp. The battle music is usually pretty good. There are a few recurring themes that do get annoyingly repetitive and really tiresome by the end of the album. USE THEM SPARINGLY, NOBUO! While he does a great job with most of the dark stuff, the Sephiroth themes are actually some of the weakest of the dark songs. Sure, this is one of the best from the FF soundtracks up until this point, but, damn, that's not saying much. The old FF soundtracks are really over-hyped by people that don't know what good songwriting is. Most of it is shitty and bland. Damn, this thing is just waaay too long and there is way too much crap in here that really doesn't need to be on the soundtrack.

Rating: 5.5

http://www.square-enix.co.jp/music/sem/page/uematsu/index.html

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness [1989]

This whole album is full of great old-school Death Metal. It's hella-energetic and even pretty damn modern in some ways. The production is typical of under-ground bands of this period. There's obviously a lot of Slayer influence throughout the album. Lots of thrashing around and plenty of blasting. There isn't much in the way of variation at all, and compounding that issue is the fact that the album is over fifty minutes long. However, I never really found myself getting bored. I liked it all the way through. Didn't seem to be any fillers. That said, it wasn't mind-blowing, just solid well-written Death Metal.

Rating: 7.25

http://www.morbidangel.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Machine Head - The Blackening [2007]

"Clenching the Fists of Dissent" is an epic length. It has quite a lot to like... amorphous, energetic, and even beautiful at some parts. The song only drags, briefly, once or twice. "Beautiful Mourning" starts off really energetic, but drags like a fat-ass in the middle of the song. "Aesthetics of Hate" is a bit like the previous track, but with more hate and catchiness. "Now I Lay Thee Down" has a more mellow first half to it with a middle section made of barbed wire. "Slanderous" has the 6/8 energetic groove thing going on and it's pretty catchy until the chorus. "Halo" starts its epic-length off with a groovy and heavy riff. Light and catchy chorus, too. I hate the boring-ass cheap ending. "Wolves" takes a while before the good stuff kicks in, but after a little while, it becomes more bland, weak, and boring. "A Farewell to Arms" has a beautiful recurring theme to it, but a majority of the middle section is let down by filler riffs that only delay the awesome middle-ending riff. I must say that I'm impressed with the variation found within each song on the album. It keeps things interesting. Sure, not all of the riffs are good, but there are certainly more good than bad. I've never been a fan of Flynn's vocals, though. They always sound slurred to the point of being annoying... like he's drunk or something. It's a pretty damn good album. However, the good is mixed with bad riffs and it really lets the album down a bit.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.machinehead1.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Machine Head - Through the Ashes of Empires [2004]

There are a few songs on this album that are extremely high-energy all the way through. The one ailment of this album is the use of filler riffs in many of the songs. Songs like "Bite the Bullet" and "Seasons Wither" are half weak-sauce but with some really catchy heavy parts thrown inside. The production is great. It's damn clear and always heavy as hell. There are some annoying vocal sections like the end of "In the Presence of my Enemies", but there aren't enough to really piss me off. There is a little variation on this album as shown by the lighter and more validating "Days Turn Blue to Gray". However, too many of the songs fail to stimulate my interest and passion. Standouts include "Imperium", "Left Unfinished", "In the Presence of my Enemies", and "Days Turn Blue to Gray".

Rating: 7.25

http://www.machinehead1.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Slayer - Christ Illusion [2006]

Whoa, no time wasted jumping into the fucking old-school Slayer sound. "Flesh Storm" really feels like something that could've been on Reign in Blood. It's so focused! "Skeleton Christ" is the first song that feels like it's dragging a bit, even though the thrashy sections are wonderful. I'm very happy that Tom's vocals don't sound like they're monotonous anymore. The production isn't quite as punchy and insane as the previous two albums, but it suits Slayer perfectly. There's much more Punk influence in this one as well. There are a few missteps... it's not all that catchy and the shoe-horned nu-metal riffs are as inappropriate as incest. That said, it's a damn good album that recaptures much of what had gone missing in recent Slayer albums.

Rating: 8

http://www.slayer.net

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Slayer - God Hates Us All [2001]

It's even more heavy than DiM. Despite the influx of Heavy Metal influence, this still feels very much like a Slayer album. The blisteringly hateful "Disciple" and "God Send Death" set the album on the right path to crush some skulls. One major complaint is that Tom's vocals feel a bit monotone on this album for some reason. It's also less focused on evil and more focused on hatred. "Cast Down" and "Threshold" feel a bit like they're dragging the album through the mud. There are a fair number of really powerful songs on here, but I must admit that the material feels like it has lost some of its potency. Maybe it's the shifting focus to lyrics about hatred instead of evil. Maybe it's the Heavy Metal influence being improperly handled. Not sure, but it has lost a little something.

Rating: 7.75

http://www.slayer.net

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Slayer - Diabolus in Musica [1998]

YES! This is the fucking guitar distortion and production quality that Slayer always deserved! I don't think I'll ever get tired of "Bitter Peace". "Death's Head" is a leap into the groove territory, but it also shows that Slayer is musically expanding and experimenting with their sound. Just in time, too, because I was getting a little tired of being able to predict the entire Slayer album. It's truly dark even when it's a bit more catchy and heavy. Even the really slow sections that feel like someone is being dragged through the mud don't bother me because it's just so fucking black. That's not to say that the album is perfect... it's not. "Stain of Mind" is all weak if the lyrics are disregarded and "Love to Hate" is simply awful in every way. It's very impressive that they've managed to change their sound so much and still make it incredibly dark and keep that Slayer feel. It's a real kick in the nuts to all the other bands that were around at that time with "modern" sounds and purely shit writing. All of that praise aside, this is probably one of the least thrashy album that Slayer has done up to this point, but it certainly is the heaviest by far.

Rating: 8.5

http://www.slayer.net

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Slayer - Divine Intervention [1994]

Well, they've mostly fixed the guitar distortion problem from the last album. The first thing I noticed was how much punch the bass drum has. "Killing Fields" has an amazing start, but it's followed by some pretty questionable transitions. Very angry, though. "Sex, Murder, Art" makes the album feel a bit more like a Slayer song. "Fictional Reality" is the first weak song on the album. "Dittohead" is a fun speed metal song for the majority of the song. "Divine Intervention" is a slow evil pounding before "Circle of Beliefs" takes a jackhammer to your face. This is much more of a continuation from Seasons. There are some really great songs, and some that are flat and boring. The evil has been diluted a bit, replaced with violence that reflects the punk phase that Slayer was in when making this album. Though, "213" really recaptures that evil feeling that was prevalent in the earlier stuff, but with a more modern twist.

Rating: 7.75

http://www.slayer.net

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss [1990]

The production is much more clear now. However, the guitar distortion is quite weak for the style of music. It works well when they aren't palm-muting, though. "War Ensemble" is, of course, a planet-powered kick in the nuts. "Blood Red" drops some of the energy, but keeps most of the evil attitude. "Spirit in Black" brings back the energy in the form of more mid-tempo Heavy Metal, eventually giving way to string-busting thrash. "Expendable Youth" drags quite a bit, but then "Dead Skin Mask" kicks in with some hardcore fucking slow evil shit. This is quite a mixed bag, songs like "Hallowed Point" and "Spirit in Black" have that thrash feel that I love, but there are also songs that are slow and evil as fuck as well as ones that are more up-beat Heavy Metal oriented. There are quite a few flops, especially when looking at the previous two albums from Slayer. However, the biggest problem by a light year is the weak-as-paper guitar distortion. You kind of get used to it, but fuck, every time they palm-mute it's just powerless.

Rating: 7.75

http://www.slayer.net

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Slayer - South of Heaven [1988]

One hell of an evil start with "South of Heaven". It's so obvious that they've perfected the hell-spawned metal writing. Fuck, I had forgotten how awesome "Silent Scream" is. On top of that, I had forgotten how fucking evil "Live Undead" is. Sure, things slow down a bit, but damn it's dark. "Behind the Crooked Cross" and "Mandatory Suicide" slow things down a bit and push everything into the evil heavy abyss where demons shall shred the listener's flesh for all of eternity. "Ghosts of War" returns the album to thrash brutality before "Read Between the Lies" drops things into catchy and heavy hammering. "Cleanse the Soul" and "Dissident Aggressor" decline a bit on the evil. So, the album as a whole is quite a bit less thrashy than RiB, but it's definitely as evil and there are quite a lot of catchy riffs thrown in the mix. However, the energy isn't quite as strong.

Rating:

http://www.slayer.net

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Slayer - Reign in Blood [1986]

"Angel of Death", the song that got me in to Slayer. What's there to say? It's evil; there isn't a single riff that is anything but awesome; heavy; energetic; chaotic. It's been many years since I listened to this album, and it's wonderful now to almost rediscover how awesome this album was. "Piece by Piece" is another brilliant thrash piece. It's very obvious when listening to this album that it has set the stage for Death Metal with it's brutal lyrics about death and the damn complicated guitar riffs. It's astonishing that Araya can pull off such chaotic and rapid-fire lyrics and still articulate with such excellence. This album is still great by today's standards and there isn't a weak song within. It's shockingly ahead of its time and the prototype for Death Metal. Nit-picking: it's a bit two dimensional; very little variation throughout the album.

Rating: 8.75

http://www.slayer.net

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Slayer - Hell Awaits [1985]

Evil kick-off to the album. In fact, it's all evil, all the time. This album really shows that Slayer has settled in to their new more thrash-based sound like a comet settles into a planet. Every song is an old-school thrash masterpiece. However, the production really needs work. The guitars feel dead and their distortion is quite week. The bass has very little actual bass to it and sits more in the mid-high frequency range.

Rating: 7

http://www.slayer.net

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Slayer - Haunting the Chapel [1984]

"Chemical Warfare" is one hell of a great kick-off to this album. This is definitely the "missing-link" in slayer's stylistic transition to what they would be for the next few decades. The production is pretty good. It feels alive and it's not weak at all. Certainly my favorite of the early Slayer albums. This is one of the wonderful things about EPs, the band can focus on making an awesome album from start to finish instead of a long album.

Rating: 7.75

http://www.slayer.net

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Testament - The New Order [1988]

"Eerie Inhabitants" sports a much more proficient and mature writing style with a good deal of variation and catchy riffs with a lot of heaviness. Four tracks in and it's clearly an excellent album so far. Thrashy, heavy as hell, and quite catchy. None of the riffs so far feel like filler. This is a much more hard-core Metal album than The Legacy. It's got much better songwriting. However, there's not a lot of variation across the album, so by the end I'm starting to get a little bored. There are a few weak songs towards the middle-end of the album, as well. The production also should be stepped up quite a bit.

Rating:

http://www.testamentlegions.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Testament - The Legacy [1987]

Wow... it's been so many years since I've heard this album that I completely forgot what it sounds like. "Over the Wall" kicks in with the thrash energy that Testament has always been known for and throws in a BLISTERING guitar solo just to rub it in all of our faces. "The Haunting" is a bit more catchy, menacing, and groove oriented. Obviously, the production is not so hot, but at least it has that charmingly nostalgic feel to it. The uniqueness in this album is much more subtle than many modern artists, but it's definitely there. The drums stick to Skolnick like shit on Velcro to give a very unified feeling between the rhythm and melody. It's pretty good all the way through. Nothing insane, but it definitely manages to keep the energy high. Only a few songs drag a bit. It does get a bit repetitive and the production definitely needs to be improved.

Rating: 6

http://www.testamentlegions.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

ZONE - N [2004]

Typical High school Pop Rock song to introduce us to the album. At least the chorus is pretty catchy. "BeaM" is certainly the highlight of the album. I still think that they don't realize what makes their band desirable. It's not good songwriting, because it's mostly average. It isn't serious vocals or slow ballads. IT'S THE CUTENESS. So far, they are averaging about 1 cute song per album, which isn't good enough. I listen to ZONE for the cute, happy, feel-good shit. But ok, if they want me to review it like a serious album, then I will. The songwriting is average. The creativity is... well, there isn't any. It's cliché and copy-cat all the way through. There aren't any high-points to the album at all. It's not all that catchy. It's too long of an album for what they have and there's a shit-ton of repeats. Props for the one song that breaks with the normalcy of the ZONE sound, "prayer". "true blue" is ok, too.

Rating: 4

http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/Info/ZONE/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

ZONE - O [2002]

The appeal of a pop band like this is the cuteness of the songs. "証" starts things off trying to be all serious, but ends up being derivative and gutless. I expect the shameless copy-cat nature of the underlying music, but there still needs to be an actual reason to listen to this. Unfortunately, "さらりーまん" continues with the boring and predictable seriousness. At least "Sae Zuri" is soothing and calm. Thankfully, "GO!" gives the listener a small taste of the cuteness that we were fucking looking for all this time. "一雫" is acceptable, if nothing more. Overall, it's pretty weak and mostly what one should expect from a pop band. Not all that catchy. Boring. Derivative. Amateur. Though, it isn't flat-out bad.

Rating:

http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/Info/ZONE/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Dir en grey - UROBOROS [2008]

Ominous and quite cool first track. "Vinushka" establishes this newer style as one that is much more deep and beautiful than previous albums. If the rest of the album is this carefully written, I'll love it. It even dives very suddenly into thrash metal with some death metal vocals before dropping back into a more acoustic section. "Red Soil" is sadly a bit more straight-forward even though I like the Death Metal section in the middle. Though, the second half of the song does redeem itself a bit some more creativity and psychotic vocals. Unfortunately, the more metal sections on this album are produced in a very flat way and with weak guitar distortion that removes most of the metal punch from the songs. That said, there's a lot to love in this album; "nice" sections are absolutely beautiful, metal sections offer a nice change from the norm, there's still some creativity thrown in there, and acoustic parts create a wonderful mood. The album is a bit too long, though. So, I start to get bored just after the half-way point. Stand-outs include "Inconvenient Ideal", "Sa Bir", and "Vinushka".

Rating: 8.25

http://www.direngrey.co.jp/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Decapitated - Carnival Is Forever [2011]

Jesus fuck... "The Knife" has one of the most confusing verse riffs I've ever heard. Unfortunately, it's much less Death Metal and more like Swedish Thrash. Not a fan of the Soilwork-wannabe vocals either. Though, his high-screams are quite good. Another confusingly difficult and technical energy bomb can be found in "United". Towards the end of "United" it actually starts to feel like a Decapitated song. Hey hey! Very Decapitated riffage in "Carnival Is Forever". Oddly enough, the vocals seem to inch themselves more towards Death Metal as the album progresses. "404" flexes more of the creative muscles with crazy squeals that sound like they should never come from a guitar. Well, there's no argument at all that this is a very technical album. It's also very high-energy. I like the fact that they didn't just repeat what they had tried before. However, it just doesn't feel like Decapitated and the vocals really push the songs away from Death Metal for me. It's also lacking in the blast-beat department... a lot. Perhaps I'm being to harsh, after all, Decapitated has never put out an album that sounded like the preceding one. Maybe I just need to warm up to this one like I did with Organic Hallucinosis. Must listen to it a few times before I actually give it a rating. Once I get past the vocals and general replacement of blasting with thrashing, this is a very good album that has a lot of brutality and energy. It just takes a while to get accustomed to it.

Rating: 8.5

http://www.decapitatedband.net/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

The Devin Townsend Project - Addicted [2009]

First thing I notice is that the vocals a bit more buried than I thought they'd be. "Addicted!" is attacking the heavier side of Devin that reminds me a lot of the stuff he did with SYL. "Universe in a Ball!" is more punchy and a little more catchy. Large up-tick in catchiness with "Bend it Like Bender!". "Supercrush!" keeps the catchiness and adds beauty into the chorus. Wow, "Hyperdrive!" is more of the same from the previous two tracks. The album started heavy, but not catchy and not in sync with itself. However, after that uninspiring start, things really pick up and great songwriting comes through. The focus of the vocals on this album is on female lead vocals. "Resolve!" really passes by without even being noticed, but "Ih-Ah!" yanks the attention back to the music with it's beauty. Boring start to "Numbered!", but it does mostly redeem itself by the middle of the song. There are extremely effective and pretty unique uses of effects littered around the album. I just can't believe what a turnaround this album had after the beginning couple tracks. It went from a creative but boring style to an excellent emotional adventure through beautiful soundscapes.

Rating: 8.25

http://www.hevydevy.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

The Devin Townsend Project - Ki [2009]

Extremely easy-going start to the album. It's quite soothing and gentle. I love the way "Coast" slowly eases into a bit of chaos without actually committing to it... it's quite suspenseful. "Disruptr" demonstrates perfect and very well-through-out placement of effects with a gritty guitar jabbing through. The accents really come through as well. This one also eases into metal, but ends up somewhat committing to it... the vocals do at least, the guitar distortion doesn't really change, making it a very unique sound. "Gato" really catches the ear and wonderfully massages it... with warm butter. "Heaven Send" has quite a nutty solo to it. This is such a soothing album that I don't even mind that it's pretty long. It does have some creative elements to it like the slow crescendo of chaos that occurs occasionally. The chaos has double-duty, though, in the form of also being the sole variation found in the album. I wish there was a bit more variation. At the same time, the songs are very carefully crafted and the soothing nature of the music is so relaxing and effective.

Rating: 8.5

http://www.hevydevy.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Devin Townsend - Ziltoid the Omniscient [2007]

Entertaining intro track with plenty of camp. Hilarious concept, but "By Your Command" demonstrates amazing use of musical dynamics even though it's not all that catchy for most of the first half of the song. "Ziltoidia Attaxx!!!" kicks up the catchiness with a great groove. "Solar Winds" and "Hyperdrive" take things into the realm of a more calm and thoughtful space. It may not be the catchiest album in the world, and the songs don't really stick with the listener after hearing them, but damn is it a fun album to listen to. It's quirky as hell, funny, and dynamic.

Rating: 7.75

http://www.hevydevy.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Genitorturers - Blackheart Revolution [2009]

Good start, it's nice and catchy but still hard-edged. "Kabangin' All Night" takes the swing approach. "Devil in a Bottle" starts off in stock-town with a very standard riff that I swear I've heard at least ten bands use. Rob Zombie has clearly been a huge influence for this album. "Falling Stars" is a nicer side of the band with a catchy chorus. This comes across as much more of a stock attempt at a Gothic Metal album than something that has darkness oozing from it. The production quality is as weak as it's ever been. However, it's much more clear this time around. I was hoping for some more heavy production, but this will work so long as the songs stay well-written. When all is said and done, "Revolution" and "Confessions of a Blackheart" are the only proper Genitorturers songs on here; the rest are lacking in darkness, originality, and passion. The album does get better towards the very end, but it's too little too late. Standouts are "Revolution", "Falling Stars", "Confessions of a Blackheart", and "Cum Junkie".

Rating: 6.5

http://www.genitorturers.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Grief of Emerald - The Devil's Deep [2011]

A more clear production quality, but the snare and toms really sit low in the mix, thus hurting the impact of blasts. Clearly, more effort went into the keys for this album than previous material. The beginning-middle section of "Famine" snapped me right out of my article-reading trance and immediately into the music. Unfortunately, it's been two songs since I was captivated like this... so it really doesn't have that catchy and shouty attitude. Nearly all of the Death Metal influence that I loved from Christian Termination is long gone, replaced by some more generic Black Metal. There's really nothing much that's unique about this album. A few risks here and there, but nothing substantial. I was really hoping for more... power and boldness.

Rating: 7.25

http://www.griefofemerald.se/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Marilyn Manson - EAT ME, DRINK ME [2007]

"If I Was Your Vampire" is a bit of a departure from the Manson style, but damn is it dark and brooding. "Putting Holes in Happiness" has a worrying opening that feels more like rock than Goth, but it actually starts to work a bit when the vocals kick in. Extended guitar solo!?!?!?!?!?!? Wasn't expecting that. There's quite a lot of soloing on this album, which is a shock. It's a mix of shred, rock, and whammy, so it's interesting and still manages to stay within the darkened room that is this album. The album relies much more heavily on guitar, drums, and bass riffs rather than the electronic and industrial effects that used to be pervasive. It's odd to hear this come from Manson, but it seems to work for the most part. That said, the songwriting seems to be a bit lazier nowadays; the album has little to no variation, so things start getting repetitive pretty quickly. It may be a doomy and dark album, but I do miss the creepiness that was found in earlier Manson material.

Rating: 7.25

http://marilynmanson.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Genitorturers - Flesh is the Law [2002]

Quite stock, but also catchy, first track, "Lecher Bitch". "Public Enemy" is more up-beat and energetic with a bit more of a conventional Metal feel to it. Interesting middle-end section that ever so slightly breaks the rules. "Flesh is the Law" is more like what I was envisioning with a lot of industrial effects and dark mood. It\'s not bad at all despite the stock style and the Manson-worship.

Rating: 7

http://www.genitorturers.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Taro Bando - F-Zero X Guitar Arrange Edition [1999]

This is more like it. The guitar distortion isn't anything worthy of Death Metal, and neither is the production quality, but the live instruments and production really add to the punch of the songs. The drums are oddly produced with a few toms having WAAAAYYYY too much bass put on them. The solos are lovely shredding rock solos that remind me of old-school metal. The songs are much more cohesive and have been rearranged to actually feel like a song from start to finish instead of a looped track for the purpose of continuing forever.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.last.fm/music/Taro+Bando

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Taro Bando - F-Zero X Original Soundtrack [1998]

Ok, so it's nostalgic. However, the production quality suffers quite a bit from the required performance of the game. So, it's not all that immersive an experience to listen to the soundtrack. There's potential for many of the riffs that is never realized thanks to the production quality. That said, there's a lot of filler on here, too. The nice thing is that there is a good deal of variation in the feel of each song.

Rating: 6

http://www.last.fm/music/Taro+Bando

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

The Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis [2010]

Whoa, ok, not an impressive start to "Farewell, Mona Lisa", but fuck does it suddenly get insane eventually giving way to a calmer middle section. Quite catchy. More chaos and catchiness from "Good Neighbor". "Gold Teeth on a Bum" is more ponderous and whimsical with a whiff of groove. Then it's right back to the chaos. Can you tell this is a chaotic album? Luckily, that's not all there is to it. There's plenty of that pre-Ire Works energy and creativity. At the same time, it's pretty damn catchy. The distorted guitars sound too much like they're enclosed in a box, but, other than that, it's good production quality. The writing style does feel like progression has been slow for them. So, the album isn't really pushing the boundaries of their style. Songs like "Widower" and "Parasitic Twins" give me hope for things to come. Even so, this is a very solid TDEP album that sits proudly next to Miss Machine.

Rating: 8.75

http://www.ireworks.net/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Dir en grey - THE MARROW OF A BONE [2007]

"CONCEIVED SORROW" is a pretty track with piano accenting the softness. Then, without warning, "LIE BURIED WITH A VENGEANCE" takes a trip to metal city with somewhat catchy and very groove-oriented riffs. "THE FATAL BELIEVER" keeps going in the same direction with metal riffage and a more J-Rock chorus. "GRIEF" finally brings a very small amount of variation into the album with a more Korn and Coal Chamber-like feel to a few of the riffs. "凌辱の雨" fits more in to the slot of heavy Japanese rock. "ROTTING ROOT" passed by without me even noticing. "艶かしき安息、躊躇いに微笑み" has a good amount of catchiness and passion going for it. Songs like "艶かしき安息、躊躇いに微笑み" and "THE PLEDGE" are really good and the more metal songs have some good groove and crazy vocals. However, all of this is overshadowed by the fact that there's virtually no creativity anymore. So, the metal songs feel very clichéd and old-hat, while the other songs, good as they are, feel like something that any ol' Japanese band could do. The production feels like a bit of a step backwards with weak guitar distortion for the metal parts. Not and impressive album.

Rating: 7

http://www.direngrey.co.jp/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Decapitated - Organic Hallucinosis [2006]

One hell of a first track. Brutal, fast, technical, and catchy. The different vocalist takes some getting used to, but his style works for the music and he's quite versatile. Things continue on the brutality path with "Day 69". "Revelation of Existence" really drives home the fact that trying to predict what these guys will do next is fruitless. They've really perfected the songwriting on this album. Even the slow parts are really heavy and catchy... never feeling like they drag. All of the songs on this album are extremely strong. By far their best album and certainly one of my favorite Death Metal albums in my library.

Rating: 8.75

http://www.decapitatedband.net/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

The Devin Townsend Band - Synchestra [2006]

"Let it Roll" starts things off with acoustic beauty slightly giving way to some progressive elements later in the song. While "Hypergeek" starts off the same way, it kicks in with wall of sound madness and metal. "Triumph" shows off a bit of the switching the listen can expect on this album. It's almost as if the whole song is constantly in a state of transition... Metal, Progressive, Folk, Pop... it just never stops. POLKA! lol. Damn, it really blends into "Vampira" perfectly, though. Fuck, that's quite amazing. There are a few heavy sections littered throughout the album, but the focus of this album is obviously not heaviness. This is a progressive metal album with a good amount of the creativity that I like to see from Devin. However, it's not particularly catchy and doesn't really stick with you after listening. So, the immersion is hampered a bit.

Rating: 7.75

http://www.hevydevy.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Devin Townsend - Devlab [2004]

It's much better than I thought it would be. A solid, ever-changing atmosphere permeates the tracks. It's not over-blown noise like most bands and the placement of effects is much more deliberate. The vocal parts are kooky, creepy, and crazy depending on Devin's mood at the time. It's surprising that he managed to make an atmospheric album that bends to his every whim and still doesn't feel boring and self-indulgent.

Rating: 8.25

http://www.hevydevy.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Genitorturers - 120 Days of Geintorture [1993]

Not particularly engrossing first track. It's interesting, though, because it's a lot more Heavy Metal inspired than the more Industrial movement of the following albums. "Reality Check" is much more catchy with a significant amount of groove. "Velvet Dreams" gives a glimpse into the direction that they will be going with later material, but it's way too long and drags a lot. "Pleasure in Restraint" is quite long, but also very limp. In total, there are some nice and catchy songs with a good metal feel. The production isn't that good, but it IS the first album and it's from 1993 no less.

Rating: 6

http://www.genitorturers.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Genitorturers - Machine Love [2000]

"Stitch in Time" is brilliantly dark, brooding, and heavy. I've never really been a fan of remix/rearranged albums, but this one is tolerable if for no reasons other than "Stitch in Time" and "Touch Myself". There are a couple good remixes of Geni's songs, but most are much crappier than the originals.

Rating: 7

http://www.genitorturers.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Genitorturers - Sin City [1998]

Catchy and blood-pumping start to the album. "Terrorvision" brings a lot of evil to the horned throne. The production quality isn't so hot... there's a lot of punch and heaviness missing thanks to the lower mix-level of the guitars and the weak distortion. The drums could use some punch as well. Even with those major downfalls, this album is a trek through the graveyard on a chilly fall night... and I fucking love it. Catchy, bleak, and hammering at times. Fix the production issues and this could be one of the best gothic albums out there.

Rating: 8.25

http://www.genitorturers.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

girugämesh - GO [2011]

"Opening" introduces us to the dance aspect of giru. "destiny" starts off on a bad foot with the very emo-inspired style. However, redemption is slightly at hand when the chorus kicks in to reveal more of a high-school rock feel. Sure, it's cute and I want to like it, but damn is it fucking cliché these days. It really feels like they've traded in their balls for a nice heaping plate of vagina. That said, it's better than NOW and feels like it has more passion. Every once-in-a-while a pretty damn good section slips through the cracks, too. "MISSION CODE" is probably the only major highlight on the album. I'm just so sick of the gradual mutation into a more pop-friendly "metal"... there's virtually nothing left of the bite and attack they used to have.

Rating: 6.25

http://www.girugamesh.jp/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

The Devin Townsend Band - Accelerated Evolution [2003]

Up-beat and catchy start to the album with "Depth Charge". Not as brutal as Physicist, and not as contemplative as Terria. "Storm" has a very kind feel to it despite the harsh guitar distortion. The production on this album isn't quite as solid and heavy as the last couple of albums. There's a bit too much of the stock-rock influence for my taste, especially since the writing isn't all that catchy or gripping.

Rating: 7.25

http://www.hevydevy.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Devin Townsend - Terria [2001]

A much more introspective introduction to the album with "Olives" flowing right in to the more brash and punchy "Mountain". It drags a bit, but it's not bothersome because the riffs change nicely between sections and there's more than enough variation within the song to hold my consciousness in it's gravity field. For the most part, Devin keeps the tempo on the moderately slow side until "The Fluke". Devin seems to be combining the heaviness of the previous album with a more post-metal attitude and the more progressive vocals from Biomech. It's a bit of a journey, this one. A noticeably more inside-out approach than anything Devin has done before. The catchiness isn't really there, but it's much more creative and passionate.

Rating: 8

http://www.hevydevy.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Dir en grey - Withering to death [2005]

Impressively heavy start to "Merciless Cult" and equally impressive calm and soothing middle section. The production, isn't quite as impressive since the distorted guitars feel a bit dead. "C" confirms that the Japanese Rock aspect is still alive and well in their style. I'm beginning to see why this album got more favorable reviews than VULGAR: the metal sections, while heavier, pander more to the masses quite a bit with the more melodic writing and even some breakdowns thrown in there. The album isn't bad at all, in reality, it's quite good. However, it's not as creative and captivating as VULGAR was.

Rating: 8

http://www.direngrey.co.jp/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Dir en grey - VULGAR [2003]

Four songs in and this is already an awesome album. The metal influence has remained integral, but they've ramped up the creativity and, equally important, the catchiness. There are many overtones of Japanese Rock. The songwriting is a massive improvement over anything they've ever done that it's almost like listening to a completely different band. They have finally become good song writers instead of just continuing to rely on creativity and genre-hopping. There is enough variation to keep things fresh. Even poly-rhythmic sections are thrown in there. The energy is staggering in many songs. I have no idea what could have possibly changed in 14 months to illicit such a wonderful change, but I'll be fucked if I say I don't love it.

Rating: 8.5

http://www.direngrey.co.jp/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Dir en grey - Six Ugly [2002]

"Mr.NEWSMAN" is a bit of an unbecoming start to the album. It's a live recording with somewhat poor production quality. "Ugly" kicks things up by moving back to a studio recording with better production. It's much more Heavy Metal than anything they've done previously. "umbrella" jumps back to the live recording. Overall, it's cool to hear Deg push themselves into metal, but the creativity is completely absent. If they can throw the creativity back into their new stylistic addition, all will be better. It's fairly classic as far as metal goes, too. At least the passion is there.

Rating: 7.25

http://www.direngrey.co.jp/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Ladytron - Light & Magic [2002]

Fairly uninteresting introduction to the album with "True Mathematics". "Seventeen" feels promising with good rhythm and a fairly catchy lead... so why the fuck do they ruin the entire song by repeating the same cock sucking phrase over and over again until I wanna punch the fucking "lyricist" in the face for being such a stupid cunt. It wreaks of lazy writing. Clearly, the lyrics on this album are just there to fill space. They add nothing to the music except for a female British voice to sucker guys into listening to it. It's sad because the actual electronic music is pretty nice and enjoyable to listen to... just ditch the fucking bitch. It's all well and decent up to a point, but the album is far too long and the songs are far too shallow with zero variation. I say skip the beginning, skip the ending, just concentrate on a few songs somewhere in the middle of the album.

Rating: 5

http://www.ladytron.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Grief of Emerald - Christian Termination [2002]

Nice and scathing start to the album. While "Alas, Spiriti Sancti" is certainly Black Metal, it has a wonderful tint of Death Metal to a few of the guitar parts. This album seems to be one of those secret gems... the beginnings of almost all of the songs are very weak, but wait it out for about forty seconds and all hell is brutally delivered to your fucking face. The guitar riffs, once the real shit storm begins, are WONDERFULLY brutal and merciless. However, they are too often repeated ad nauseum in their respective songs. Sure, this is a victim of quite a few standard problems when talking about Black Metal bands... no variation in style, a bit drawn-out, production could be better, etc. However, I do like much of the writing style and it's definitely got bigger potential for even more energy if the production and songwriting are polished up.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.griefofemerald.se/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

girugämesh - NOW [2009]

Techno-metal-glitchy intro track... standard operating procedure for these guys just with more of a house dance beat. Well, ok, congrats to them for slightly surprising me. I thought for sure that I knew exactly when the guitars and metal section would come in during "bit crash", but it turns out I was off by a few measures. Oh fuck no... "NO MUSIC NO REASON" scares me a bit with the very Swedish melodic shital verses... please don't go the way of DELUHI. "ALIVE" re-centers the circle back to what I'm used to with these guys. Finally, "I Think I can Fly" attempts to move things forward a bit, but the heavy parts are actually the weak link in this song. The verse riffs are definitely beginning to degrade in quality. A worrying number of sections are feeling like filler on this album. Gah, I wasn't a fan of the rap shit on MUSIC and time has not fucking sweetened it for this album... "nobody" will never be listened to again. And now with "睡蓮" I'm hearing copy-pasted riffs that have been copied FROM PREVIOUS SONGS ON THIS ALBUM. This is a very "meh" cd. There's almost no substantial progress to their style, the repetition is starting to kill me, the riffs aren't inspiring, and anything that could be considered catchy is too cliché and emotionless that it just falls flat on its face. All that said, it could have been worse... they could've used more influence from the Swedes. The only standout I can think of is "DIRTY STORY"... parts of "GAME" are good, but the fucking verse riff sucks cock.

Rating: 5.5

http://www.girugamesh.jp/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Devin Townsend - Physicist [2000]

Thrashy metal start. Damn, it's so much like SYL. "Namaste" is quite catchy and powerful once the vocals kick in. "Material" is pretty damn catchy. "Kingdom" is pretty flat with a lot of repetition and no real point to the song. And then, "Death" kicks in like a fucking jack-hammer to the face. Highly, distorted vocals, palm-muting thrash, and blasting to boot. Interesting, this is much more like an SYL-dominant style with sprinklings of the more progressive vocals and guitaring of DT's previous solo albums. I'm missing the catchiness and creativity of Infinity, but the brutality has been ramped up quite a bit. The wall-of-sound production really makes this feel like an SYL album, but it can become too much when listening to the album all the way through since there are virtually no dynamics at all. Things to begin to get a bit dull towards the last three songs of the album, however. It's certainly not written as well on the whole as Infinity.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.hevydevy.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Devin Townsend - Infinity [1998]

Really starts off like a SYL album with powerful bassy explosions. "Christeen" follows on from OMB with a bit more metal injected into the style. But then, "Bad Devil" jams some jazz and swing into the same sandwich as metal. It's INSANELY catchy, this. "War" continues on with a good swing beat, but it's a bit long. Clearly, this is the album where Devin started going even MORE insane... "Ants" is really written with the title in mind. Crazy, spastic, and nutty as fuck. The first couple of songs really lie to the listener. Once the third track begins, one understands that this will not just be a more metal version of the previous album, rather there will be much more creativity and madness. Things change up a bit with "Unity" which really slows things down to create a feel less like a sledge-hammer and more like a velvet rope. It's quite good, not as catchy as OMB, but far more interesting and creative.

Rating: 8

http://www.hevydevy.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine: Biomech [1997]

"Seventh Wave" started things off very nicely with surprisingly heavy production and riffage. It's a nice combination of progressive vocals and heavy guitaring without creating a rift between the guitars and the vocals. But then, "Life" just shocks the hell out of me. It's insanely catchy... to the point that it feels like it should be illegal. Not very creative, but damn it sticks in my mind. Catchiness is certainly the name of the game here, but it's not done in such a way as to feel contrived or ripped off with no emotion. It just makes me feel good while I'm listening. However, it is a bit long and there isn't much in the way of variation.

Rating: 7.75

http://www.hevydevy.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Dir en grey - 鬼葬 [2002]

Calm and ominous beginning in "鬼眼 -kigan-" before the shit breaks loose into a rocky thrash section. This feels much more raw than the previous couple of albums. "ZOMBOID" has a punky thrash feel to it. Good energy. "24個シリンダー" is a bit schizo with more sedated and darker guitaring and a build up to spastic vocals. A bit repetitive, though. "FILTH" isn't particularly catchy, but it's a quirky song that's fun to listen to. "Bottom of the death valley" is a bit more catchy. Another one with a more sedated feel. Luckily, there's a bit of variation, which is really a necessity on an album that is this long. Just before the middle of the album, a more electronic sensibility is introduced into the song writing. It also feels like the guitaring gets a little heavier. There's a bit more creativity on this one than there was on Macabre. The songs have more solid writing overall, too. Really not a fan of the chorus vocals in "蟲 -mushi-"... they basically ruin the song by wreaking of trying-too-hard. So, overall it's a mixed bag. There are some really good songs, and some pretty weak ones. However, the effort to push the creativity is there.

Rating: 7.75

http://www.direngrey.co.jp/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Dir en grey - Macabre [2000]

Strange intro track. Persian feel until the metal guitars kick in giving way to the vocals only towards the end. "脈" kicks in with more of the creepy feel of the first track. There seems to be more metal influence in the guitar riffs now even if the distortion isn't turned up to eleven. It's only the second song and I've got very mixed feelings. The metal parts are pretty good, there's a noticeable expansion of creativity, more crazy vocals, but then there's also these light and very poppy J-Rock sections that make me feel a bit sick. "理由" seems to settle more into an actual style rather than the mish mashed randomness of the previous tracks. Much more rock now and for the first time in this album, there is solid and memorable writing. "egnirys cimredopyh +) An Injection" certainly feels a bit drug-inspired thanks to all of the phaser effects on the guitars. Fairly catchy as well. "蛍火" employs lovely violin parts to blend lighter alternative rock with Japanese folk with great results. "【KR】cube" marks a return to some of the more catchy songwriting while "Berry" lays a few lines of coke out on the table. "MACABRE —揚羽ノ羽三ノ夢ハ二蛹一—" is a fairly epically-long song with more good writing. "羅刹国" is a deep dive into the metal well. So, after a crazy, weak, and uninspired beginning, this album really starts to flourish and settle in to a pattern of solid songwriting and catchiness. Creativity and experimentation are a bit low, however.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.direngrey.co.jp/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Innerpartysystem - Innerpartysystem [2008]

There's quite a bit more hard rock influence in this one, much to my liking. It's also a much more consistently catchy and well-written album than the previous EP. There's more bite as well. Overall, a much more solid album than the EP with better songwriting all around.

Rating: 7.75

http://innerpartysystem.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Innerpartysystem - The Download EP [2007]

The theme here is catchiness in an industrial rock setting. The first track is very catchy with great lyrics. "Heart of Fire" isn't quite as catchy or powerful as "Don't Stop", but it's not bad either. "The Way We Move" doesn't have the power and utilizes the much-hated auto-tune, but it's a bit more catchy. "Night is Alive" comes back with the power and more guitars. Overall, it's good. I'm impressed with the production quality and the consistently catchy songwriting. However, it's certainly not that creative or pushing any limits, and "Don't Stop" starts the album off with such venom only to disappoint as the album immediately gets rid of the attack in favor of more accessible and dumbed down lyrics.

Rating: 7

http://innerpartysystem.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Grief of Emerald - Malformed Seed [2000]

Very appealing old-school Black Metal keys combined with some more modern guitar riffing and the high-reverb production qualities of yesteryear. It certainly creates the dark and grind-stone atmosphere of Black Metal that I love so much. Beyond that, it's all fairly straight-forward and what I would expect from this type of band. No risks taken. Though, the material is pretty catchy at times.

Rating: 7.25

http://www.griefofemerald.se/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

girugämesh - MUSIC [2008]

Dance and glitchy intro track. "Break Down" is even more accessible than previous girugämesh stuff... certainly more Pop Metal now than real metal. That said, damn it's fucking catchy and energetic if stock and uncreative. Production is quite punchy and alive. "ULTIMATE 4" is much more metal with some nifty effects to create some trifle of dynamics. "FREAKS" follows on. "アングリージュース" has a bit of a funky feel combined with some electronic LFO stuff. It's quite surprising that they can follow a very catchy album like girugämesh with another very catchy album and still feel relatively fresh. There are more than a few riffs I've noticed that have been recycled from past albums and shoved into this new context, but it's not that distracting and it doesn't happen often enough to piss me off. I'm happy that they added a few more influence to the music, but they ARE influence that are really popular these days and one gets the feeling that that is the reason for bringing those influences in. Well-done, nonetheless.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.girugamesh.jp/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

The Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works [2007]

The production is more powerful, especially when regarding the drums. However, they've pulled off the same trick as before by having volumes and compression drop to create dynamic range. This seems to be the perfect middle ground... a sort of Valhalla for the old style of pure unrelenting chaos and the newer creative blending of styles, most notably, electronic. Plenty of creativity to go around. As the album progresses, though, the aggressively chaotic style disappointingly wanes, replaced by more creative and more accessible electronic and rock inspired songs. Even so, these songs are quite awesome and it's great to hear them spread their sonic wings and push their limits. If I want more aggression, I'll listen to Miss Machine, but if it's polished and extremely well-structured songwriting I'm after, Ire Works is perfect for the job.

Rating: 8.75

http://www.ireworks.net/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Chimaira - The Infection [2009]

I'm getting nothing from this album. It's slow, dim-witted, boring, not catchy, contrived, derivative, and almost all filler. The only song worth a fuck is actually really good and a wonderful piece of music to listen to, "The Heart of it All". The rest of the album is shit.

Rating: 4

http://www.chimaira.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.