Iced Earth - Dark Saga [1996]

There aren't any real high points of this album. It's more like an album of mediocrity. Ok, but nothing inspirational or moving.

Rating: 6

http://www.icedearth.com/

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Hate - Anaclasis - A Haunting of Gospel Malice & Hatred [2005]

A much more appealing and interesting intro to the album... don't fucking let me down this time, cock-suckers. They've really taken a chapter out of Arkhon Infaustus' book of simple guitar riff with pure grind underneath. It's got a more evil feel to it as well. Problem is that the riff doesn't really change much at all until about 3 minutes in, so it feels like it has overstayed its welcome. There are some new aspects added to the formula in the form of electronic effects. It's mostly just one type of riff and song all the way up until "Malediction" which starts weak as hell, then gets really good, but then goes back to really weak again. "Razorblade" finally changes things up, if only slightly. "Fountains of Blood to Reach Heaven" is actually genuinely good in every way. The energy finally makes it all the way through to the end of one of Hate's albums. The songwriting is much better. However, they still are adding pointless and weak riffs in the middle otherwise strong songs. A few riffs are too drawn out and become boring. This album is a thousand times better than anything previously done by Hate. Finally, an album I can listen to more than once.

Rating: 7

http://www.hate-metal.com/

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Strapping Young Lad - Alien [2005]

Punch in the face beginning of "Imperial". There are some strange riffs that don't feel particularly catchy or brutal, but all is made well by the wonderfully-written clean vocals section. "Skeksis" flexes more of Devin's creative muscles with even Xylophone being introduced. The brutality is ramping up. And then, there's fucking "Shitstorm"... brutal isn't even the word for it; more like "brilliant". It's simplistic yet very complicated and the wall-of-sound production makes everything just insane. "Love?" brings things down to a groove level. There are a few songs that feel dragged out and fall a bit flat without much catchiness. There's a decent amount of variation in the types of metal used between tracks. However, the wall-of-sound approach makes my ears tired after a while.

Rating: 8

http://www.myspace.com/strappingyounglad

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Metalium - Millennium Metal: Chapter One [1999]

Fast and energetic start to the album with "Fight". EXTREMELY catchy as well. "Dream of Doom" slows things down a little. "Break the Spell" picks things up into a wonderfully catchy romp. The songwriting throughout this album is excellent. It manages to be more epic than bands with full orchestras and choirs behind them. Each song feels like it's own entity, but they all fit together to form what feels like a coherent story throughout the album. There's maybe only one weak song on here. They go through so many different types of Power Metal and writing styles that it's impossible to become bored while listening to this album... thrash, groove, heavy, melodic, ballad, and even a touch of folk. All that praising aside, the guitar distortion is too metallic and hollow... sounds like they're playing through aluminum cans.

Rating: 8.5

http://www.metalium.de/

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夢中夢 - イリヤ - il y a - [2008]

Beautiful string intro track. I was kind of hoping for more of a new age sound based on the intro, but so far the rock is wonderfully done. It is very much reminding me of Touhou's music thanks largely to the piano parts. It's almost noise at times. I'm really warming up to the opera-style vocals. Damn, "火焔鳥" is full of surprises... even a slow-speed blast. I can't even imagine what the rest of the album will sound like with so much being thrown into the first song. "眼は神" has some heavier parts injected into the beautiful ramblings of the piano sections. There's a lot more metal influence than I was expecting. "ドクサの海の悪棲" is so wonderfully brutal and dark that I feel all else in my life is melting into the blackness. They've pulled off a wonderful trick with the drums; when a more sedate and beautiful section is playing, the drum production is nice and fits in without feeling overly powerful, but when a metal-inspired section comes up the drums suddenly become extremely punchy and even over-compressed at times. This album is fantastic all the way through. There's just barely enough variation between songs to keep each song feeling mostly fresh. Though, most of that variation seems to come towards the end of the album. The songwriting is lovely. The beauty is moving, and the heavier parts really remind me of some underground post black metal. The only thing that could be considered a problem with the album is the production of the guitars during the heavier parts. They don't have a distinct sound, are buried in the mix, and are mostly inspired by the noise genre. Despite that, the guitars have a brutal and uncompromising charm to them. On balance, the metal parts are a bit stock for the genre that they are borrowed from, but I don't mind much because of how they are neatly fit into the songs.

Rating: 9

http://sound.jp/mutyumu/news/underconstruction.html

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Samael - Lux Mundi [2011]

Bass drum is way too low in the mix. There's this fucked up double-bass thing happening in the first track, but it sounds like there's a second bass drum part playing something more simplistic on top of that... it confuses the ear and the fact that the drums are lower in the mix really doesn't help. The first track isn't all that catchy or gripping. Ugh... this is a pretty piss-poor start for the album... first four tracks are drudgery. This album is a massive disappointment. It's everything that I DON'T like about Samael. Boring songwriting. No energy. Run of the mill riffs with no catchiness at all.

Rating: 5

http://www.samael.info/Above/index.html

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White Zombie - Astro-Creep: 2000 [1995]

After a genuinely creepy and prolonged intro... and explosion of energy and heaviness. I'm not sure if I've ever heard a heavier song than "Electric head Pt. 1", and it's even more astonishing when one realizes that this was released in 1995!! Things continue strongly through "Super-Charger Heaven", but then the catchiness and darkness tapers off quite a lot in "Real Solution #9". "Creature of the Wheel" brings the heaviness back, but the catchiness is absent from the verse riffs. Though, it lends itself to an amazing mosh-pit song. "Electric Head Pt. 2" brings some of the catchiness back and adds a healthy dose of quirky riffing. "Grease Paint and Monkey Brain" doesn't really have much energy for me... there seems to be a steady decline in the songwriting from the first track. But then, "I, Zombie" comes in and with a force that would be sufficient to restart our fucking Sun. "More Human Than Human" has never really appealed to me, but the following track is much more my style. Overall, this is quite a mixed bag. EXTREMELY strong songs are littered throughout the album with quite a few fillers surrounding them. It's still by far the best album White Zombie ever released, but they couldn't keep the strong songwriting going. I still like the fact that no one else sounded quite like WZ.

Rating: 7.75

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Zombie_(band)

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Misery Index - Discordia [2006]

Feels like more clarity has been added to the production. The bass drum is still a bit of a jack-hammer when at speed, which is great. Seems like the songwriting has gotten a bit better as well. Riffs are fairly punchy and more catchy than they used to be. It really is beginning to feel like a Dying Fetus album, though. This is a more solid album all the way through than most of the previous stuff.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.facebook.com/MiseryIndex

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

Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe II [2010]

First track has quite a bit of punch and power. It may take me a little time to get used to the new style, but it feels more like the first hellbilly. "Jesus Frankenstein" has some cool acoustic stuff to it and the main riff feels A LOT like old-school White Zombie. "Sick Bubblegum" feels just way too stock, predictable, and repetitive. "What" makes me say the same thing.... "What?" "Theme for an Angry Red Planet" is all well and good, but it doesn't fit the mood of the album at all. "Mars Needs Women" really makes me think that Rob has completely stopped trying to write decent lyrics. It feels very contrived and stock despite the well-layered guitars. Damnit... this album started off promising, but now it all has gone far far away from the darkness, heaviness, industrial, and evil mood of the first RZ album. 90% rockabilly, 10% metal. "The Man Who Laughs" is much more like it... so sad that it's only one of two songs that are good.

Rating: 5.5

http://www.robzombie.com/

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Rob Zombie - Educated Horses [2006]

Cool intro track. The middle riffs of "American Witch" are much better than the rest of the song, and that's not much of an accomplishment. It's a fairly stock one-dimensional song. "Foxy, Foxy" follows in the same vein... boring, repetitive, not catchy. It's only been 40 seconds since I listened to "17 Year Locust" and I can't remember anything about the song. "The Scorpion Sleeps" is way too much like a happy version of Manson. This really feels stripped out and more like a pop-metal album than what I would expect from RZ. It's missing nearly ALL of the darkness I loved from the first album. The songs aren't really that catchy at all. And, while the production is fairly heavy, the riffs feel too damn light and happy. "Let it all Bleed Out" and "Death of it All" are probably the only good tracks on the album. Very few layers overall. On the odd occasion that Zombie decides to flex his creative wings, the result is wonderful.

Rating: 5

http://www.robzombie.com/

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Rob Zombie - The Sinister Urge [2001]

Kicking off with a very energetic, heavy, and catchy track that fully utilizes Rob's new penchant for supporting orchestral arrangements... and it's quite well-done. "Dead Girl Superstar" brings up the tempo quite a bit. "Never Gonna Stop" takes on a more quirky and whimsical feel to it and gives the distinct impression that this is a step towards a more experimental Zombie. "Iron Head" brings things back to straight evil with a hint of turntable. It's certainly a departure from the very focused Hillbilly Deluxe. At times, this one feels a bit more poppy, but that feeling is always immediately tempered by more experimentation with other styles and instruments. On one hand, I miss the very acutely dark, gothic, and heavy style of HD, but I do like the experimentation for the most part. The album can't be called "light," either. There are a few songs that don't really work as well, though (i.e. "California" and "Never Gonna Stop"). I just can't bare to give it the same rating as HD... I really respect the creativity, but it's lost a fair amount of the bleak atmosphere in the process.

Rating: 8.25

http://www.robzombie.com/

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Amethystium - Evermind [2004]

I <3 this project ^__^. This one starts off with more of a cave theme to it, but the theme doesn't feel like it lasts long. The rest of the material is more of the same... naturist and new age that soothes the soul.

Rating: 8

http://www.amethystium.com/

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Watain - Lawless Darkness [2010]

The songwriting is a little more polished. Besides that, not much has changed at all. Good Black Metal effort all around. It is significantly longer than SttD was, though, and that makes it a bit tough to get through in one sitting without getting a bit tired and bored. So, there isn't that much variation, but that's par for the course in this genre. It's still pretty damn exciting, but it's absolutely too long.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.templeofwatain.com/

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Watain - Sworn to the Dark [2007]

Certainly a promising start to what looks to be a very long album. The bass drum finally feels like it has some meat to it. The guitars are still a bit thin, but they fill the space a little with the bass guitar. The vocals are nicely balanced and better sound overall for some reason... and more powerful. "Legions of the Black Light" feels like it has a bit less of that typical Swedish melodic shit to it and more focus on slower, darker, and more purposeful riffs. Just as I was beginning to think that things were getting a little repetitive and boring, "Underneath the Cenotaph" kicks in with an exiting urgency and main riff. Very good all the way through. Some parts feel just a bit drawn out, but they lend atmosphere to the song without being boring. This really feels like blackness has soaked all the way through the album right down through the marrow. The album is only a tad too long and a bit more of the faster high-energy stuff would have been nice as well to break up the dredge of the slower sections.

Rating: 7.75

http://www.templeofwatain.com/

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Misery Index - Dissent [2004]

A slower and more crushing start to this disk. Better production with a heavier guitar sound. The first two tracks are a bit more sedated than I was expecting, but the third track kicks in nice and fast. It's pretty decent overall. However, I'm not noticing any real improvement in the songwriting. The length of the disk is good, though... not too long.

Rating: 7.25

http://www.facebook.com/MiseryIndex

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

Slayer - Show No Mercy [1983]

Damn, it's been at least a decade since I regularly listened to this disk... time to see if it still holds up to how I used to perceive it. Some songs are very pure and others are more watered down. However, all of the songs are good. The production is... to be expected from this period and considering that it's their first release, it's not bad. There's definitely a sense of evil that comes cropping up every once-in-a-while, but since this is their first album it's not the focus. In fact, this album doesn't have much of a focus especially when referring to the guitar riffs.

Rating: 6

http://www.slayer.net

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Anaal Nathrakh - Passion [2011]

Here we go... I'm always eagerly anticipating a new AN. There is some fucking weird shit in "Volenti Non Fit Iniuria"... conflicting time bass drums, more synchronized stops than usual and some more interesting riffs. I'm into track 2 and so far I can say that the overall feel is much more like Black Metal than it has been for the last few albums. The song does feel a bit drawn out, though. And then, "Post Traumatic Stress Euphoria" throws EVERYTHING to the fucking wind... they smashed every thing they could into a 1:40 minute song.... and it's beautiful. By "Le Diabolique Est Lami Du Simple", I feel like I have completely warmed up to this album. I LOVE the fact that it's more Black Metal now (like the old days), but they've kept the bombastic heaviness of the later albums. On top of that, this is actually a very creative album... there's a lot of effects that, on paper, sound like they shouldn't work (wah pedal on the guitar, for instance) but they've made them fit perfectly. There's even a few glitch sections thrown in for good measure. Whoa, they got the guy from Bethlehem to do vox on "Tod Huetet Uebel" and it's fucking epic with this production quality. That small bit of melodic influence is still there, though, and the slower industrial parts aren't as strong and catchy as they were on the last album. Also, the creativity and experimentation with effects at the beginning doesn't really carry through the album. Those complaints aside, I love this disk.

Rating: 9.25

http://www.myspace.com/anaalnathrakh

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Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe

"Superbeast", man, what a song. Simple, but with just enough layers to give it depth. Catchy, but with a dark as fuck feel. Powerful, in a word. This whole album is pretty much great. There's only really one or two songs that lag behind a bit, but they're so different from the rest of the material that they are welcomed as a nice break. There's enough catchiness here that it'll be coming out your ears. Most of it is powerful and certainly has a wonderfully dark and menacing quality that is rarely heard these days. There's not much variation through the album, but there doesn't need to be. I didn't feel tired by the end at all. Great album. I can objectively say that it's better than anything White Zombie did... SUCK ON THAT, FAGGOTS.

Rating: 8.5

http://www.robzombie.com/

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Venetian Snares - Greg Hates Car Culture [1999]

Straight off, I'm very impressed by the percussive samples used in this album. It has a very natural feel despite the glitch aspect. I can even hear some more world percussion in there as well. "Personal Discourse" is much less noise than the previous album. There's more of an overtone of darkness and evil in the song. "Fuck a Stranger in the Ass" returns to the previous album's style of repetitive bass hits and spastic beats. Unfortunately, this return to the previously-mentioned style carries through the rest of the album. I was really happy with the style of the first two tracks, though. I just can't stand the repetitive bass hits... they're on the same fucking note every time and it drives me nuts.

Rating: 6

http://www.venetiansnares.com/

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Soilwork - The Panic Broadcast [2010]

Wow, that's a fucking promising start. Pure grind, but not the evil type. There's definitely a style change in "Late for the Kill..." Hopefully I will hear more of the industrial/techno influence that I loved about the older stuff. "Two Lives Worth of Reckoning" continues with great strength; catchy-as-hell chorus and clean singing; strong songwriting; appealing thrash rhythm; still no techno :(. There's a massive focus on fast-moving melodic guitar lines on this album compared to the more subtle guitar work on previous efforts. The aggression seems to have taken a bit of a back seat on this album, though. On STD, most of the songs felt like the listener was being savagely beaten. Whereas this one feels more like intermittent moshing in between holding a lighter high in the sky while singing along. Most of this change can be attributed to the change in the guitar writing style. There's much more rock and rapid-melodic riffing of the benevolent type on this one than the more thoughtful and plotting riffs of old. I have finally gotten my first real taste of that techno influence that I was looking for in "Deliverance is Mine". "Night Comes Clean" and "King of the Threshold" are a bit weak in their writing (even though "KOTT" is fairly powerful in other ways). There's much less fatigue when listening to this album thanks to more variety between the songs than I have previously experienced in a Soilwork album. Quite catchy most of the way through with only a few songs feeling weak. It's not as insane and brutally heavy as it used to be thanks largely to the guitar riffs, but it's certainly some of their strongest writing yet.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.soilwork.org/

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Hate - Awakening of the Liar [2003]

First track is good on energy; hopefully they'll be able to keep it up throughout the album this time. "Anti-God Extremity" has a terrible introduction and, overall, the writing is quite slap-dash. "Close to the Nephilim" is a step in the correct direction, but it has its fair share of boring and pointless riffs. One of the problems this album has is the use of regular break-riffs that destroy the sense of flow within the songs. These riffs would be permissible if they weren't repeated at regular and predictable intervals. In short, it's no better than the previous one. The energy is killed by the poor writing, extremely derivative riffs, and lacking power. The fact that they haven't improved at all means a big "FUCK YOU" from me.

Rating: 3.5

http://www.hate-metal.com/

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

Amethystium - Aphelion [2003]

More of that naturist new age that I like. There is certainly common stylistic ideas between their albums. Yet, they are separate from each other somehow. It seems like the songwriting has been tightened up just a bit on this album. It's energetic while maintaining the smooth calm of rolling clouds. Perhaps each album focuses on an element... I am beginning to notice that this album sounds more watery than I thought the previous one did.

Rating: 8

http://www.amethystium.com/

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Amethystium - Odonata [2001]

This has much more of the naturist style that I was expecting their first disk would have. Very soothing. Well written. Wonderfully effective at taking the listener away from the current reality and in to a place thick with the morning mist and foliage.

Rating: 8

http://www.amethystium.com/

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Misery Index - Retaliate [2003]

Wow, that's not a bass drum, it's a fucking jack-hammer! There are quite a few more dull moments where they seem to have not been able to think of anything to put in the section, so they just threw something in. At the same time there are plenty of heavy, catchy, and fast parts throughout the album. The energy is still there.

Rating: 7.25

http://www.facebook.com/MiseryIndex

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植松伸夫 - Piano Collections Final Fantasy IV [1992]

The piano certainly breathes a bit of life into music that is otherwise dull and empty. While it's a wonderful step up, the music remains unchanged.

Rating: 4.5

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

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Watain - Casus Luciferi [2003]

Fairly crappy production. There's no bass at all. The production is clear enough, but it fatigues the ear because of the large amount of treble. The songwriting is pretty damn good, though. It's rare to find a Black Metal band that has such a stock style but still makes it feel energetic and exciting. The excitement keeps up throughout most of the album, pausing only for the occasional doom riff.

Rating: 7

http://www.templeofwatain.com/

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