Cycle of Pain - Cycle of Pain (2009)

 

Cost: $2.00

This CD is available for trade. 

Bought this one without really knowing what it was, figuring it would probably be groove metal or modern thrash based on the band name. I didn't have super high expectations to begin with, but learning it was the band of the longtime Black Label Society didn't help, and seeing some of the guest musicians really didn't help (they include Korn's drummer, Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory, and a Cypress Hill guy who raps on one track). 

Yet it still didn't even manage to meet my severely lowered expectations. The guitar sound is relatively heavy I guess, and contains a little bit of the Southern/groove metal approach I was expecting, but the songs come off more as slightly Sabbath-influenced hard alternative type of stuff than anything metal. I even wasted time relistening to 2 or 3 early tracks to make sure I wasn't being overly biased. I'm honestly shocked the band made it onto Metal Archives sounding like this. Even "Cycle of Pain," the most superficially aggressive track with screamy vox, feels more on the side of hard alternative than groove metal.

They show greater musical diversity towards the end of these album, and these tracks are the most interesting. "I See Heaven" is a serviceable mellow ballad. Egypt starts out with a decidedly Eastern flair (that's far more Indian than Egyptian) and segues into a somewhat progressive sounding track. Some of the guitar during the faster sections are the closest the CD ever gets to real metal. 

When I noticed almost 3 minutes left on the last track when the music initially ended, I suspected there was going to be some sort of hidden track or skit that would be the highlight of the album. I was right, but even I was not expecting the silly Rocky-themed tune "Mick Do I," complete with a bad Mickey Goldmill impression and a decent Rocky Balboa one. It's far more creative than any of the regular music here. Sadly, even so, it doesn't really justify spending two bucks.

Voodoo Lordz - Life's Games (2003)

Cost: $1.99

Wasn't sure what to think of the band name. Especially with that spelling, I was prepared for the worst, but it ended up being better than I expected. The majority of the disc is a mid-paced brand of thrash that reminds me of the the more laid-back approach a lot of US bands took in the mid-'90s without totally abandoning thrash for groovier Pantera-esque pastures. Most of the tracks don't have much of a detectable groove metal influence, and I consider that a huge plus. On the downside, this is definitely not all that '80s sounding, and I would have preferred more speed and aggression. I found the main vocals a bit strange, as there's somewhat of a talk-singy and amateurish aspect to them, but they also have some sort of affectation at the end of words that give them an almost Mustaine-like vibe (this is especially evident in "Fire in the Hole"). The middle 3 tracks are all decent enough where I felt I got my money's worth, with "Jekyl's Hyde" being my favorite.

Notice how I only said "the majority of the disc" above? According to the liner notes, 4 of the tracks were originally by a band called Wild Eyed Gypsy, which I assume was their previous band. 3 of these are songs that are mostly in line with the rest of the album, but do feel groovier and more rock-ish in approach. The other track is the closer "Road Rage," a fun HC/punk-inspired tune with angry vocals that ends up being the catchiest song out of everything.

Not going to pretend this is a great CD, but it's a decent indie release, especially for the price.

Lapse of Irony - Between Dreams & Dread (2004)

 

Cost: 99¢

 

The front cover and band name definitely gave off more of a metalcore vibe, but I felt better about buying it when I saw the band was listed as "atmospheric progressive metal/rock" at Metal Archives. Even with some vague idea of genre, I was still taken aback at how lightweight this was overall. It's certainly not devoid of metal influence, but even the sections with heavier guitars (the best is probably the latter half of "The Haunting") exist to serve the atmosphere, rather as a driving force in the music. The female vocalist does an admirable rock, and for something more on the atmospheric rock side, it's fine.

 

I suspect this has quite a few similarities to The Gathering's later non-metal material, but having never heard any of that stuff, I can't be sure. There's still enough in common with Nighttime Birds where I think they're an appropriate comparison, although Lapse of Irony are nowhere near as gothic-tinged and residually doomy as that album.

Evangelist - Self Confidence! (2011)

 

Cost: $1.99

Found this brand new and still sealed a while ago, but when I looked up info about the band online, I saw their Bandcamp site mentioned it was limited to 200, which made me think it was almost certainly just a duplicated CD-R. So I set it aside for a while, unopened. The other day I finally decided to open it up, and I was very pleasantly surprised that it was a factory-pressed disc. 

I find bands like this kind of strange, because they present themselves in a very facetious manner via aesthetics and songtitles, but this is not reflected much at all in the actual music, which I found pretty meh, but more on that in a bit. It feels equal parts inside joke, corny gimmick, and total lack of self awareness. While I don't mind bands being overtly silly in and of itself, keep in mind that several grindcore bands solely exist more or less as cleverly absurd songtitle generators--"Your Hands Are Very Soft" and "Fire on Blastbeat Hill" seem very lacking. 

Aforementioned Bandcamp page refers to the band as "progressive metal," so between that and the songtitles, I was expecting something far more left-field. Instead, it's fairly straightforward death metal. The guitar in the first track is a little on the technical side in parts and there's some somewhat shreddy soloing, which I thought were elements that might hint at more fully technical/proggy material to come. These never manifest, although there are more spots of showy guitarwork throughout the tracks. Because of some tremolo riffs, blasting parts, and the second vocals, some sections have more of a black metal edge soundwise, although it's nowhere near enough where I'm tempted to classify the music as death/black metal or anything like that.

There's also one outlier song. The 9+ minute "Go! Go! Go!" is a lumbering doom/depressive rock piece with guest female vocals. It feels a good deal more engaging than the death metal material. I'm sure at least some of that has to do with the diversion of the drastic style change, but if they had done an entire album in this style, I think I would have marginally preferred it. 

This is competent enough for what I paid, but I don't hear anything here to justify listening to this again over numerous other death metal bands, most of which have better songwriting ability and/or more unique musical attributes (and generally way better cover art, too!).

Distrust - No Good Deed Shall Go Unpunished (2008 reissue)

 

Cost: 99¢

Of all the weird (and typically crappy) mixes of metal and hardcore put to disc that I've covered here, this is easily one of the best ones. It mixes deaththrashing guitars with hardcore groove and breakdowns, death metal influences, and some crossover parts (which are cool, but sadly underutilized compared to the HC stuff). The sole Metal-Archives review for this does a great job of breaking down the band's sound--I don't think later Deceased is a band I would have thought to bring up when describing their sound, but it's a very apt comparison for some of the leadwork.

The angry guy vocals obviously fit with the hardcore influences here, but I find them way too shouty. It's especially disappointing because at times the singer slips into a more growly style that I would have preferred as the main vox. In general, I'm not too thrilled with any of the HC influences that appear here, but the guitarist really carries this album with those leads. Not my favorite, but if metal/hardcore hyrbids have to exist, I wish more of them were in this vein. Great taste in movie samples, too.

Viking Skull - Born in Hell (2005)

 

Cost: $2.00

This album draws primarily from several '70s metal and hard rock influences. I was a little surprised at how much of a Sabbath undercurrent was in the riffage and guitar grooves, despite the music being quite upbeat and never slowing down beyond mid-paced (with one notable exception). For music so boisterous and gruff-vocalled, I would have expected the Motörhead influence to be far greater here.

The boogier tracks like "Red Hot Woman" and "Dirty Dirty Hole" display some AC/DC influences, and "Frostbite" mixes heavier guitars with a Rose Tattoo swagger. "Beer Drugs & Bitches" initially sounds more fitting of the song's title, but 3/4 of the way through, they suddenly segue into a excellent piece of gloomy Sabbath worship. 

The more intricate twin guitar parts are often reminiscent of NWOBHM, and closer "You Can't Kill Rock and Roll" is somewhat Saxonesque, at least until the more hard rock end section. It's seriously bugging me because the beginning of the track is super similar to some song (an NWOBHM tune, I think) that I can't come up with at the moment. I'll have to update the post if I ever remember.

This is fine for what it is, and if you're not gonna do classic doom, I think something like this is the next best use of Black Sabbath influence (certainly moreso than the umpteenth meh stoner metal/rock hybrid band). That said, this is an entertaining album rather than a great or special one. Decent enough find for two bucks, though.

Rude Awakening - Headbutter (1996)

 

Cost: 99¢ 

Yeah, that cover art doesn't look much like a metal album, but luckily, it intrigued me enough to open the case, and the band pic did look like a metal band. Kinda varied heavy/power metal. "Dignity" sounds like a '90s alternative rock song injected with some heavier parts, "They Had to Die" seems to have a vague '70s rock influence, "Billycakes" has more of a '80s traditional metal gallop to it than the other songs, and "Lemming Instinct" is quite a bit thrashier than the rest of the album. Also, while the singer doesn't directly sound much like him the majority of the time, there's a quality to his vocals that reminds me a lot of Jon Oliva.