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/

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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.

Chimaira - Resurrection [2007]

"Resurrection" definitely has more ferocity and bite in that one song than they had on all of the previous album combined. Fairly catchy, but nothing to write home about. However, "Pleasure in Pain" IS something to write home about. VERY catchy with a wonderfully dark and twisted theme. So far, there's been plenty in the way of force, but virtually nothing in the way of creativity and experimentation, but "Six" tries to change all that. A much softer beginning with Persian influence before jumping into the thrash madness. The problem with it is that it's a bit too long and with too little to offer in the way of diversity. I never used to like the middle of this album, but now I realize that I wasn't ready for the non-thrash songwriting. It's much darker and heavier with more ponderous riffs and a propensity towards breaking away from their more typical sound. Something that bothers me about the album is Mark Hunter's lyrics; they're so stock, predictable, and uninteresting that it can almost ruin a song. Other than that, this is probably their best and most solid album so far. It really feels like Chimaira has been renewed in strength.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.chimaira.com/

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Chimaira - Chimaira [2005]

All things were stock and unmoving until the middle of "Nothing Remains". Hopefully there will be more of that throughout the album, because right now I'm not really impressed at all with the first track. It's too long and the riff never really settles in to a nice catchy niche. "Save Ourselves" starts with a much more catchy groove to it... this is more like it. Too bad the chorus is meandering shit. "Inside the Horror" is a bit more doom and gloom; catchy at times. Things seem to get marginally better as time goes on listening to this album. It must be said that I LOVE the old-school soloing. "Salvation" seems to be the first song on the album that has solid writing through the whole thing. "Comatose" finally feels like the properly savage Chimaira I was expecting from the beginning. This album is mostly lifeless for me. It's not all that catchy, the songwriting isn't that good aside from "Comatose" and "Bloodlust", and it really drags on.

Rating: 5

http://www.chimaira.com/

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