Inbreed - Bastards Forest (1998)

Cost: $2.50

The cover may not look like much, but this disc bewildered me, and in a good way.  The first hint of something unusual was the band picture--it looks like it came straight out of the '80s, and I seriously do not believe it was taken anytime after 1992.  To give you some idea, said picture includes a B.C. Rich Warlock, a backwards cap, three pairs of white high-tops, a Mötley Crüe shirt, a pair of jeans with appropriate knee-rips, and a pair of those somewhat baggy, calf-length shorts (that, or else the dude cuffs his pants in a really odd way). 

The music itself is also a throwback, sounding completely like a demo-level end-of-'80s/very early '90s thrash band.  Not even on the level of second/third tier stuff from say, '87-'88 (let alone mid '80s classics), but it lacks the crappy trends from the '90s.  The guitar seems a bit light, but that's better than the overly crunchy alternative.  Likewise, I'm not too keen on the vocals, but they're passable, and at least they're not angsty barking.  The guitarwork was somewhat amusing--it's competent playing for the style, but every solo is just overzealous shredding, and there's even some extra shredding in the very first track.  I don't mean that as a slam, it just seems like such a perfectly '80s thing to do.  Apart from the straightforward thrashing there are a couple of clean progressive-ish parts (generally dominated by the bass), and these are well done.

I admit I'm still kind of skeptical this is a 1998 recording--no actual recording date is given on the disc, although it was indeed pressed in the late '90s since there are e-mail addresses given.  Couldn't find any samples from the band's earlier releases to compare to this.  I did check out a couple of songs from 2000 and unfortunately they started to suffer from the dreaded '90s groove and crunch.  What still has me confused is that band picture, which I think is an old picture (why it was used, I don't know).  A different lineup is pictured on the cover of the bands' earlier Consenting Goat album, but they look older, meaner, and like a '90s thrash band.

Not a hidden gem by any means, but overall I found it enjoyable while it was on.  If this really was recorded in the late '90s, it's one of the greatest cases of a band being completely oblivious to current trends that metal has ever seen.

Lethal - Poison Seed (1996)

Cost: $1.00

Bought on: Dec. 19, 2013

I was excited about this find...an album I didn't have of a band I knew.  But I really didn't know much about the album itself, and poking around online for reviews prior to listening really didn't leave me with a good impression.  After hearing it, I'm quite neutral about the album, and I'm not really biased one way or another.  This was only a buck, and it's easy to find some semblance of worth at such a cheap price.  I enjoy Lethal's demo and first album, but I'm not a rabid fan of the band.  Don't get me wrong, it's a huge step down from Programmed, but I didn't find it terribly disappointing.

The main point of reference for the band is still Queensrÿche, largely due to the vocals--only now we're not talking early Queensrÿche anymore.  I do agree with other reviewers that they've largely succumbed to the '90s trend of groovy riffs, but even that is largely overshadowed by the progressive content.  This album feels a lot lighter and more progressive than its predecessor, with a lot of the play time being dreamy, balladish material.  So yeah, as a Lethal release, this is a letdown compared to their older stuff, but bands making all sorts of musical transgressions is par for the course in metal, and this is hardly worthy of mention compared to some of the worst.  Taken as a mid '90s progressive metal release, it's not too bad.

But most importantly, it was just a dollar.

Bitch - A Rose By Any Other Name (1989) (1997 reissue)

Cost: $3.00

This CD is available for trade.

I've frequently seen copies of this kicking around used racks, but never bought one before because they were always full used price, and I thought it was dumb to plunk down 7 or 8 bucks for a short, non-rare EP.  Finally scored a cheap one, although unfortunately it's the 1997 Metal Blade reissue with the ultra-generic black disc face rather than the original co-branded Enigma press.

This was Bitch's last sign of life at the time, with 3 '89 remixes of older tracks (one each from the Bitch full-lengths and the Betsy s/t) album, and three unreleased tracks.  I don't think the song choices for the remixes are particularly great, so on to discussing the unreleased material:

Walls of Love ("new" track) - Disappointing, especially with the deceptive start.  The intro riff (which is revisited during the choruses) is great and even hearkens back to Be My Slave.  But then they introduce some commercial L.A. metal tendencies, like the odd backing vocals.  I had figured the new material would have either continued in the same, more-commercial direction as the Betsy album, or reverted back to the heaviness of their older stuff.  They end up mixing some elements of both, and it doesn't work that well.

Throw Me In (unfinished track from The Bitch is Back sessions, completed in 1989) - This is right in line with the other The Bitch is Back material, although had it actually been on the album, it wouldn't be one of the better songs.

Crashthepartysmashthecake (unfinished track from the Be My Slave sessions, completed in 1989) - Despite the lame title, a great instrumental.  I'm assuming the '89 work on the track has a lot to do with it, but it doesn't sound much like a Be My Slave-era song, or even a Bitch song, for that matter.  The very beginning brings Holy Terror's "Black Plague" to mind.  It then treads territory more akin to classic Omen and Savage Grace for a bit before adding in some playful melodies and gradually losing momentum.  Best track by far.

Tuatha de Danann - Trova di Danú (2008 reissue)

Cost: $1.00

Got this one at the place that's been supplying most of my dollar discs as of late.  Initially I was happier about the prospect of finding Brazilian CDs in the bargain bin than the actual album itself.

 

The band plays Celtic/folk metal with the typical flutes, whistles, violins, and an abundance of acoustic sections.  Each song has varying amounts of folk and metal (some have none at all!) elements--the folk elements definitely rule the roost , but even the folk instrumentation is done tastefully with a high level of musicianship.  Despite the CD being quite light on the metal and heavy on acoustic guitar, I didn't find myself actually annoyed until the 10th and 11th tracks, where the female main vocals just proved too much.  

 

There are a few things I wouldn't have minded more of.  Opener "Bella Natura" has very '80s AOR sounding keyboards which I found amusing, but unfortunately they never use them again in this way on the album.  "The Arrival" throws in some black metal vocals near the end, which work quite well, but again, they're limited to just one song

I lucked out on the pressing--this version is the Louder Music jewel case reissue, so it's got the "A Song for Oengus" digipak bonus track without the crappy cardboard.  The bonus track itself is very (electric) guitar driven, so at least things end on a heavier note.  Overall, I liked this more than I thought I would, but realistically, can't see myself revisiting this that much, even as a change of pace.

Event - Human Condition (2001)

Cost: $1.00

Progressive metal with a strong mechanical vibe due to the use of electronic and industrial effects.  While I'm not a huge fan of prog. metal, I find most bands to be decent, but there's just a modernity about the sound here that I don't really like.

Metal Massacre VIII (1987)

Cost: $1.00

I've owned the 2-on-1 CD of Metal Massacre 8/9 for years, but this was a wonderful find--the original Restless pressing of Metal Massacre 8!  I'm pretty sure this was the first Metal Massacre out on CD at the time of its original release (CD editions of prior volumes are technically reissues, since they weren't available when the albums were originally released).  The odd thing is that Metal Massacre 9 was never released in its entirety on CD, just on the 2-on-1 with some tracks left off.

I'm not going to bother doing a track by track review--what is there to dislike here?--but I'm personally partial to the Overlorde, Fatal Violence, and Tactics songs.  Nothing here really reaches the greatness of some of the moments on volumes 2-6, but this is arguably the most solid Metal Massacre volume as a whole.  The quality level is pretty even, so no tracks really stand out as stinkers compared to others, and there aren't any songs I'm inclined to skip when listening.  You'd think for the release year the compilation would be pretty thrash heavy, but a good chunk of the roster is rooted in traditional, power, and speed metal.

The Ember Tide - self-titled (1999)

Cost: $2.50

This was a distro purchase, and while it was described as death metal with no additional descriptors, I was a tad skeptical...The band name sounds rather atmospheric or avant-garde, and the cover art just screams "progressive band."  It's even distributed by Warhead, who have slapped their logo on some really disappointing Australian stuff, mostly of the overly-modernized sounding variety.  However, it is indeed death metal, and after a Rambo: First Blood Part II intro, starts off quite furiously.  Final track "No Will" has slightly thrashier guitarwork compared to the other two songs.  Dual vocal styles are used (death grunts and also raspier vox); this works fine, but they don't really provide all that much contrast.  If I hadn't read the lineup info I would have just assumed it was the same guy doing both.

 

The band certainly doesn't overstay their welcome as the whole thing lasts a mere 10 minutes.  Not a hidden gem, but solid stuff and worth snagging if you can also find it on the cheap.  By the way, Japanophiles take note: Monkey Magic lineup pics and Demon City Shinjuku audio clip also contained within.

The Mother of All Tribute Albums (1998)

Cost: Don't exactly remember, either 10¢ or 25¢

Got this at a pawn shop's going-out-of-business sale, hence the cheap price.  Christian artists doing covers, including a couple of white metal bands.  Not being familiar with some of the songs, I tried to give the originals I didn't know a brief sampling, which generally wasn't a great idea.

1. Tourniquet - Dogman (King's X)

Don't like the original or the cover either, for that matter.  They did succeed in making the main riff much heavier (the guitars are tuned even lower than the original), but that's about it.

2. Doug Pinnick - I Will Follow (U2)

King's X guy.  U2.  Zzz.

3. Echo Hollow - Sunday Bloody Sunday (U2)

Guy Ritter and Gary Lenaire's post-Tourniquet band.  Haven't heard anything else of the band but they're supposed to play metal.  This is not a metal version.  I'm no U2 fan, and this pales in comparison to the original.

4. Spy Glass Blue - Song To My Parents (Keith Green)

I had never heard any of Keith Green's actual music before, I just knew him as late-'70s-bearded-Christian-music-guy-who-died-in-a-plane-crash.  The cover translates the piano melody of the original to electric guitar pretty well.

5. Reflescent Tide - Hold Me Jesus (Rich Mullins)

Well then.

6. Justin Fox - Do It For Love (The 77's)

Moving on now.

7. Paul Roraback - 2112 Overture (Rush)

Feels like it's missing a little something that can only come from the '70s.  Still excellent, though.  Best track on here.

8. Crimson Thorn - Loud 'N' Clear (Stryper)

In all seriousness, The Yellow and Black Attack EP has some great songs despite the lyrics.  I can even see how "Loud 'N' Clear" could have potential done in a more extreme manner, as thrash or death metal.  But this is just too unenergetic and cheap sounding for a serious cover.  It sort of works as a funny cover--I have to admit I laughed a little bit when the, uh, guitar solo started.

9. Guardian - C'mon Rock (Stryper)

Not terrible, but nowhere near the original.  Always thought it was odd these guys chose to cover the entire Stryper EP well after they had moved on from playing anything remotely metal.
  
10. The Channelsurfers - God Is Bigger (from Veggie Tales)

I found this interesting as a cover, but not as a song itself.  Very telling that a cover of a Christian kid's show song about how one shouldn't be afraid of monsters isn't the worst tune on the album.

11. Blackball - Message In A Bottle (The Police)

Decent attempt even though it kind of falls apart at the choruses.  Great bassline, and even though he doesn't sound too much like him, the singer nails Sting's cadence.

12. Atomic Opera - Water Grave (The Imperials)

I used to think these guys had released a metal album...I think I was mixing up their band name with Barren Cross' Atomic Arena album in my head.  Anyway, they do "Water Grave" as a somber acoustic number, very Collective Soul sounding.  Interesting take on it, though I like the Imperials version better.

13. One Bad Pig - Cosmic Cowboy (Barry McGuire)

Prior to this the only Barry McGuire song I knew was his most famous, the definitive version of the '60s protest song "Eve of Destruction."  The original "Cosmic Cowboy" is very weird, with almost spoken-word main vocals.  The cover unfortunately takes a more rocking approach--it loses a lot of the odd charm of the original, which the nice guitar solos don't make up for.

14. The Violet Burning - It's All Too Much (The Beatles)

In contrast to the previous song, this one actually captures the weirdness of the original quite well, albeit with inferior vocals.

15. Larry Norman - Jesus Freak (DC Talk)

...That should wrap up this post.

Tapping the Vein - The Damage (2002)

Cost: $1.00

This CD is available for trade.

Found this in a pretty good-sized haul...Not knowing what it was, I picked it up solely because it was on Nuclear Blast.  The band mix rock and electronica and hold no interest for me, so straight to the trade stack for this one.  I have no reason to badmouth their music because they are not metal or attempting to be, but let's put it this way--this album makes Lacuna Coil look heavy by comparison.

Kryoburn - Enigmatic Existence (2005)

Cost: $3.00

The main point of reference here is Demanufacture/Obsolete-era Fear Factory.  They don't get as mechanical-sounding and inorganic as Fear Factory does, but it's still very much industrial metal, which is a definite turnoff in my case.  Furthermore, any slight preference I might have had for them is eliminated by the clean vocal sections they occasionally throw in, which seem more fitting for a metalcore band.

Extreme Brutal Terror - Voice of Demon (2008)

Cost: $3.00

Although the price qualifies it for the blog, I hadn't really planned on doing a post about this, but there are absolutely no reviews or decent descriptions of the music anywhere else online.  Following the standard set by the band name and album title, the CD layout is ultra-generic, and provides no information on the band whatsoever.  Metal-archives lists them as being from Sweden, and distro/shop descriptions mention EBT having members from Scariot, Satyricon, and Grave...I'm assuming Daniel Olaisen was involved in this band, in which case the Satyricon mention is a stretch.

The band plays melodic death/black, but the EP seems like it's divided into two slightly different halves.  Vocals across the entire thing are raspy BM-style, with deeper backing vocals.  The first 3 tracks use keyboards and have more BM influence, though death metal is the dominant genre in the mix.  The death metal component is generally more melodic, but at times there are very contemporary Scandinavian DM riffs that are not very Gothenburg inspired (and certainly not in the vein of classic Swedish DM, either).  The last 3 tracks drop the keys and are straight-up melodic death metal, with the vocals providing the only black metal element.  The drums throughout the CD have an oddly inorganic, overly precise sound, so I'm pretty sure it's a drum machine or sampled drums.  Not terribly off-putting, but it doesn't do the music any favors.

Worth what I paid and better than what the crappy cover/layout may indicate, but nothing exceptional, especially for a style overrun with too many bands.

Acetylene - Elements of Insanity (2000)

Okay thrash, but the vocals really drag this down.  The main vocals are a sort of clean, rhythmic talking with through-a-megaphone type distortion added.  I cannot think of a single metal band offhand that has ever used anything like this as primary vocals, and stylistically the closest thing that comes to mind are less aggressive Rage Against the Machine vocals.  Barf.  If that wasn't enough, the singer does the whole schizophrenic bit and will quickly alternate the aforementioned vocals with screechy ones.  They fit the music a tad better, but largely come off as being too forced.  Occasionally when doing them, the singer will inadvertently slip into sounding a bit like Gary's high vox from Blood Feast or Blaine from The Accüsed, but it never lasts for more than a line or two.  Growly death metal vocals--which ironically end up being the most natural sounding vox on the album--are also used in a few spots, and these work better than the other vocal styles.

Musically, there's nothing particularly old school here, but most of the negative elements of post-'80s thrash are avoided.  This makes the strange vocal styles even more bewildering, as one would expect to find them in an overly modern band.  Acoustic guitars are used sparingly for intros and in the final instrumental track, and on rare occasion (usually to accompany the aforementioned growling vocals) the band will briefly hit death metal velocity (such as the beginning of "Reality Decays").

My Ruin - The Shape of Things to Come... (2003)

Cost: $1.00

I was a bit pissed off after getting this EP because I was familiar with the band and used to have one of their full albums, but no warning signals went off in my brain at all when I saw this.  There was a vague familiarity with the band name which I couldn't place, but I saw the Century Media logo and the mention of a Plasmatics cover so I passed it off as some gothic metal act.  Now, honestly, since this was only a buck, I would have still bought it just because of the Plasmatics cover, but I was still disappointed I failed to recognize this as Tairrie B.'s latest project.

I find her history as a female rapper to be hilarious on a personal level, but ultimately, I don't care too much.  I remember Manhole and Turu Satana from ads in mid '90s 'zine(s) (Pit, I believe?), and I thought they were terrible aggro bands regardless of whether you took her rap career into account or not.  My Ruin continues this trend with female Anselmo-wannabe vocals over an uninteresting groovy alterna"metal" base.  Coupled with this are cringeworthy ham-fisted (pun intended) lyrics about female self-image acceptance.  If there was ever a band for angsty ostracized fat girls, this is it.  The cover of "Sex Junkie" is musically okay, but whereas the original had a very snotty punk vibe, the ultra-forced vocals just steamroll over what little worth is here.

The Holy Mountain - Entrails (2005)

Cost: $1.00

Of course I automatically associate the band name with Sleep.  Even though it was pretty obvious what this was going to be given the other stuff I found with it and that it was released on No Idea, I still held on to a faint hope that it would end up being more metallic.  Things didn't work out that way, but this isn't bad for what it is.  Certainly in a d-beat vein, although I'd say they're not as crusty as some of the other Dis-bands, adding in touches of classic US hardcore instead.

Dichotic - The Deepest Rise (2008)

Got this one in a trade.  Groovy, mid-paced thrash.  The vocals are that aggro style I hate, though they're slightly less-forced than other examples that come to mind.  In fairness, I will admit I found this a bit more palatable than say, your typical bunch of Pantera wannabes, but really, at that level, there's no great accomplishment in being less worse.  It's like rating which band member I'd most like to casually socialize with--I'd certainly pick the bassist (who looks a bit like Tom G. Warrior if he enjoyed methamphetamines and wearing bandanas) over the fat black vocalist, but when it comes right down to it, neither seem like great shakes as company.

The end of the CD actually had some nice--but all too brief--deviations from the band's normal sound.  "Delivery of Peace" starts out with a Middle Eastern flavored intro, and the final title track begins with a bass-heavy, progressive-ish intro that builds into what are the best riffs on the album.  Of course, right before the vocals kick in on both songs, they promptly go back to groove mode. When I initially looked this up before my trade I noticed most of the online comments and reviews mentioned some sort of classic metal element.  Either these reviewers' idea of "classic metal" is stuff from 1994-1996 or these were shill reviews, but there's really nothing like that present.  There are a couple instances of interesting dual guitar work or solos--it would be interesting to see the band (minus the vocalist) play in a more traditional metal setting, but there's unfortunately none of that here.

Epidemic Cause - Far East (1996)

Cost: $2.00

Picked this up off of a distro's cheapo list.  I had pretty low expectations for this going in and was still kind of disappointed.  Metal-archives listed them as "industrial death metal," so I was prepared for some sort of industrial element to the music.  Looking back, I do think I was being overly optimistic, hoping this would be like old Hellchild or Transgressor, just with a drum machine.  Even some mix of industrial and death metal might have been okay.

I can't really say there's any death metal here, though.  It's certainly industrial influenced metal, and the guitars are quite heavy, but I don't really see any coherent death metal element to the music.  In fact, what the first song brought to mind musically was Chaos A.D.-era Sepultura, not any DM.  As should be expected, the programmed drums are the primary focus of the music and are what provide the music's industrial feel.  Most of the vocals are mechanically distorted and range from heavily Japanese accented spoken vox to unintelligible vocal hysterics to shrieking.     

Innominandum - To Improve Fit for Smaller Heads (1996)

This CD has an unusual distinction in my collection because I previously owned it, traded it away, and then ended up getting the exact same copy back a few years later--I happened to buy a bulk lot of discs from the guy I had traded it to, and guess what happened to be included?

Nothing about the CD itself indicates that there's anything remotely heavy here (except for the band name, perhaps).  The layout looks like something a mid '90s alternative rock band would use.  Songtitles and lyrics are all rather nonsensical.  I remember being quite confused and concerned by the look of things since I was trading blind when I got this.  I thought it might have even been a grindcore band using that kind of imagery for irony's sake.

I think this would be best classified as death'n'roll.  Vocals are typical for the style--gruff but not to the point of being full-on death metal growls.  The guitars are downtuned, but the song themselves are rather bouncy and groovy and seem more rock than metal-based (with one big exception).  When thinking of death'n'roll, I normally associate it with more rocking, high energy riffage and '70s influences, but these guys seem to favor slower tempos, resulting in an almost doomy sound at times.  The bass line is actually higher in the mix than the guitars and that highlights the groove in their sound.  But again, it still feels very much like a death'n'roll band to me...It gets nowhere as weird or strays as far from metal as say, some of the Finnish bands who moved on from death metal and were considered death'n'roll or grind rock.

The one exception I mentioned is the last track, "Morning Wood," which has considerably more death metal influence than the other tracks, including a fast middle section that pretty much justifies me having this CD.   Still, this is a definite step down from the band's '92 demo, which was straightforward death metal (hell, they even shared the stage with Blood a few times in the early '90s!). 

Victory - Culture Killed the Native (1989)

Cost: $0.99

Okay, judging by the price tag, I bought this in...oh boy...2003.  It's been filed away in a box since then.

I have the band's second album and live album, both of which made it much easier to postpone listening to this.  I wasn't expecting this to be all that heavy, and it wasn't.  I'd wager most of the metal-related interest in the '80s material of the band is due to Herman Frank being in the lineup, who joined them shortly after leaving Accept.

The album as a whole is heavy hard rock--big choruses, commercially-aimed but not overly sugary production, and (comparatively) heavy guitars that provide a harder edge to the band's sound.  The first couple of tracks, particularly opener "More and More," totally remind me of Def Leppard's Pyromania era.  While the guitars are quite heavy at times, they don't do enough to push most of the album into true heavy metal territory.  In fact, the only song here I'd be comfortable actually calling metal is "Let It Rock On," and even then, it's still quite commercial.  This album isn't pretending to be anything it's not and it's fine for what it is, but even for the more polished Euro sound, my ears prefer something a little heavier, ala V2, S.A.D.O., or even Paganini.

Fleshcrawl - Made of Flesh (2004)

Cost: $1.99

This is in the same general vein as all the later Fleshcrawl material starting with Bloodred Massacre--the chunky, classic Swedish-styled guitar work is still the most prominent feature of the band's sound, but there's a much greater use of melodic riffs and leads compared to the band's first three albums, which got downright doomy at times.  This is not my favorite of theirs, but it's still solid.  Oh, and on a personal note, I'm totally disappointed that this is the first album since the debut (no, I'm not counting that Black Mark compilation) without a cover song on at least one version/pressing!  They did an absolutely fantastic job with the Demigod, Demilich, and Carnage covers, and even the non-death metal cover songs were at the very least interesting to listen to.

Insult - I Wanna Be a Burn Victim (1997)

Cost: $1.00

The obvious appeal of the title made me pick it up, although I wasn't expecting it to be a keeper, and I didn't realize at the time that Seth Putnam produced this CD (he'd actually play bass in the band later).  Punkish hardcore here.  Speaking of Seth, I feel the same way about this CD as I do about the majority of Anal Cunt stuff--the music is really secondary to the unrepentant and un-PC humor of the songtitles and lyrics ("Choke Your Grandma" and "Several Well Placed Kicks to the Face," just to give two examples).  Musically it's old-school hardcore punk and nowhere near as noisy and chaotic as AxCx, but I think the vocal style, short song lengths, and lyrical subjects would make this more appealing to grindcore/noisecore fans than hardcore fans.  It certainly did for me.  Also, best part of the CD: short rendition of the Deliverance banjo theme on guitar.  Worst part of the CD: "Charles in Charge" not sounding enough like the show's theme, even though that's what they used as a lyrical basis (though the tune itself is about Charlie Manson).

Withdrawn - A Certain Innate Suffering (1997)

Cost: $1.00

Here we have yet another case where the layout and aesthetics of a CD point to something very different than what's actually on the disc.  Anti-animal slaughter statement on the back booklet.  Wolf cubs on the disc itself.  Band photos (all live) that look like a typical hardcore band (to be fair, though, one of the guitarists is wearing a Slayer shirt in one picture). 

I wrote this off as vegan HC as soon as I saw it, but I did end up buying it as trade fodder (based on the price tag, I got it around late 2005).  It had been languishing in the trade pile for years when I saw the band was listed on metal-archives, and decided to finally give it a listen.

Because of their inclusion and genre listing on metal-archives, I assumed this would be deathcore or some UK version of Earth Crisis.  No hardcore here at all.  They play a very British style of death metal, mostly slower-paced and doomy.  The vocals are done in a raspy style and while they don't detract from the music per se, I think traditional growled vox would have fit the music better.  While it's nowhere near the (un)godly level of old Paradise Lost or Decomposed, it's still pretty competent stuff.

Finally, on a sad side note, I was so pleasantly surprised by this mCD, I sought out sound samples of the full-length that followed this.  Unfortunately, it's got the HC vox and influences I was initially afraid this would have.

Burn Season - Burn Season (2005)

 Cost: $1.00

The only positive things I can say about metalcore hunting in bargain bins are the cheap cost and it being a way to pass time while browsing.  Even if I succeed and find something, it's only going to be mediocre at best, as hybrid genres are doomed to be.  If I fail, it's spectacular failure, and this is one such example.  Bought this based on the look of the cover and the band name, and I can't remember now if I got it with some other stuff and I was being trigger happy, or I found nothing else and was trying to show something for my efforts.  This is modern hard rock ala Nickelback, just with nu-crap elements and occasional harsh vocals to make it more extreme.  

Vegan Reich - Vanguard (1995)

Cost: $1.00

Surprised to see this here?  I sure am!  Not going to waste any time discussing their beliefs or the hardline movement since I couldn't care less.  I initially bought this solely as trade fodder, although I was intrigued that the bio/notes on the back cover mentioned Metallica and the Cro-Mags.  I was even more weirded out that as of this writing, the band is on Metal Archives!  This compiles the band's two early '90s EPs and a comp. track, all at a whopping 17 minute total.  The EPs are total crossover at a fast but not hyperspeed pace, with vocals I can appreciate since they aren't just ultra-forced barking.  They have an odd sense of melody at times, and are cleaner and less choppy compared to say, early D.R.I.  Unfortunately the last and earliest track here, from an Animal Liberation Front compilation, is just jangly punk.  Crossover isn't a favorite style of mine by any means, but this is done very well for what it is, so I may just hold on to this for now.

 

2022 update: I know I'm quite late mentioning it, but I'm not really surprised that the band has been removed from Metal-Archives...There are absolutely some metal influences here, but they strongly leaned towards the punk side of crossover.

Dismay - In Doubt (1995)

Cost: $1.00

This CD is available for trade.

Was not familiar with this band at all, and I ended up buying this almost solely because it was on We Bite (and maybe to a tiny extent, because the band name had potential).  Now, I realize We Bite was primarily a punk/hardcore label, but I did like a few of the metal and crossover releases they put out (Erosion, Death in Action, even the Eisenvater stuff was interesting in all its weirdness), so I bought it just in case.

Slow, groovy hardcore here.  It's quite heavy due to the thick guitars, and that may hold some appeal for more tolerant metalheads (I can see fans of the New Orleans sludge scene enjoying this the most due to the similarities in tempo and simplistic riffing), but I wasn't really into it.  I only recall one point during the album where they play fast (during "Uncivilization"), and it sounded like regular hardcore.  The vocals aren't as angsty and forced as typical HC vox, but I can't say I liked them, either.

As Hope Dies - Legions Bow to a Faceless God (2003)

Cost: $0.49

This CD is available for trade.

You may wonder why I cover so much metalcore when it's obvious I don't care for it.  IT'S BECAUSE OF GODDAMNED RELEASES LIKE THIS.  Aesthetically, the band is doing everything possible to convince me they are generic metalcore--there's the whole phrase-as-a-bandname thing, a cursive script logo, an absolutely dreadful thanks list, and an album cover in rust/sepia tones.  Yet the music is primarily furious Swedish melodic death worship.  There are breakdowns, and a few more hardcore influences show up in the second half of the album, but the CD is overwhelmingly melodic death metal based.  Even the main vocals, which are by and large the abysmal failure of many a metalcore/deathcore band, are a raspy black metal style here.  Ultimately, it feels more comfortable to just classify this as melodic death metal, but I've noticed online that the band is the subject of many a genre dispute.  Are they worth arguing about?  No.  Would I prefer to listen to a pure death metal band over this?  Yes.  Do I still find this preferable to almost any other post-'80s -core band out there?  Absolutely.

Nehemiah - Lenore (2005)

Your typical metalcore band, not very interesting.  I noticed there are two vocalists in the band, but they're not utilized in any special manner.  They have pretty similar singing styles, making it hard to tell them apart--it's not really a case where one handles the lows and the other the highs.  There are plenty of metalcore bands where one singer is able to cover all of the ranges used here, so it's a bit puzzling.  There are some quick trade-offs in the vocal lines and sometimes the vocals are doubled up, but again, they're so similar, I would have just assumed it was studio editing and not a separate person.

My point is this--for the purposes of this recording, having the second vocalist serves no point.  Similarly, for the purposes of this blog, Nehemiah serves no point.  This is a genre I already have no love for, and this does nothing to change that.  

Jucifer - I Name You Destroyer (2002)

Cost: $1.00

Prior to getting this, I only had peripheral knowledge of Jucifer from when they were signed to Relapse, since there would be advertisements and articles in the catalogs and on the website.  Based on what I saw of the duo, I figured they would be some sort of avant-garde rock.  If you had asked me recently about them, I would have said they seemed like good candidates for being a Southern Lord signee (I mean that in the most negative way possible) based on the kinds of people geeks who seemed to like them.

This is an extremely varied album, and while there are heavier moments, it's not a metal album by any stretch.  It'd be easiest to classify this as indie rock, but when I say varied, I mean varied--plenty of pop, punk, and even folksy influences show up.  The first two tracks threw me a bit as it's not until the third track where heaviness creeps in with some Sabbath influences.  The chord pattern at the beginning of "Queen B" brought to mind Bathory's "Born for Burning," and the first half of the track seems like an attempt to approximate the sound of extreme metal by a band not in the genre.  It also introduces Amber Valentine's harsher screeching vocal style, which seems overly forced.  I much prefer her regular vocals and they work well here since the majority of the disc is rather mellow.  Any other metal?  Well, "Torch" is sludge/doom, and some of the other songs have Sabbathy riffs or brief bursts of extremity ("Fight Song" sounds like a '90s alternative song, but is punctuated with bursts of the harsher vocals I mentioned before).

Living Sacrifice - In Memoriam (2005)

Cost: $1.00

You'd hope the title would have been sincere and had some finality, but unfortunately these guys decided to reunite a couple years after this.  This is primarily a retrospective (don't make me laugh by calling it a best-of) with 3 new tracks and the '98 re-recording of "Enthroned" that was previously only available on a Solid State comp. added.  The tracks are thoughtfully presented in reverse chronological order, in case you want to pretend their career trajectory took a positive turn and had them progress from metalcore to death metal with those kinda odd Inhabit vocals and then on to Slayeresque thrash.

Steel Nation - Soul Swallower

Cost: $1.00

This CD is available for trade.

Band name and album title look like typical power metal, right?  Nope.  Hardcore here, though the band's name can be excused since they're from Pittsburgh.  Going in, I kinda figured this wouldn't be metal after reading the thanks list in-store, but I picked it up just in case.  Hey, it's just a dollar.  Like most modern hardcore, there is a metallic element to the music here, but I've never been able to get over the typical forced vocal style, present disc included.

A Dozen Furies - A Concept from Fire (2005)

Cost: $1.00

Metalcore.  I was fully expecting that based on the band name alone, though I mostly picked this up because of the Sanctuary logo on the back...They're not a label I associate with metalcore at all, so I was hoping there was a slight chance this was more prog. metal type stuff.  As is quite common in the genre, both the vocals and the music itself alternate between being extreme and being more accessible/commercial.  I do hear a lot of melodic death metal influence in the twin guitars, which kind of puts them in the middle of the road in terms of extremity.  There are a lot more commercial-oriented bands in the genre out there, but by the same token, this is nowhere near as palatable for me as the bands who are playing what amounts to little more than midsguided Slaughter of the Soul worship, just with HC vox.  Although I don't particularly support the inclusion of bands like this on metal-archives, they were apparently once listed but eventually removed, which I found a little surprising considering some of the metalcore bands that remain listed there.  And ultimately, that's the only positive thing I can say about these guys (aside from their HIV test results).  There are bands that are far worse.

Oct./Nov./Dec. 2012 finds

No store breakdowns or introductory paragraph (obviously because I didn't keep close track), so we'll jump right into things:

Arch Enemy - Dead Eyes See No Future - $1.99
Title track, 3 live 2004 tracks, and 3 covers.  I'm no big fan of the first 3 Arch Enemy albums, so I won't pretend Angela Gossow is totally to blame for my disinterest in them.  I can think of worse extreme metal singers, but she's obviously in the band for novelty and sex appeal reasons rather than quality vocals.  The live tracks come off alright, although the overzealous stage banter before "We Will Rise" is straight from the Anselmo school of dumb aggression posturing.  Instrumentally, the Megadeth and Manowar covers are passable, if a bit simplified, but Angela's stilted vocals don't follow the song melodies and ruin them.  Musically the covers aren't that extreme, so the vocals come off as silly and overdone.  It's not saying much, but I thought the Carcass cover was the best thing on the EP--I'd take the real deal over this any day, but I'm sure Mr. Amott playing on the original song didn't hurt at all, and Angela does do a better job here of emulating the vocal style and timing than on the other covers.

Die Krupps - A Tribute to Metallica - $1.00
I hesitated on grabbing this, realizing I'd probably only listen to it once....But the disc was in excellent condition and it was extremely unlikely I'd ever see it cheaper, so the completist in me won out.  I wish these covers had been done as instrumental versions, as the weak vocals really detract from everything.  Still, the only song here that I truly found interesting beyond the novelty factor of the whole concept was Blackened.  It's not really that much better than those forgettable The Blackest Album tribute comps. that Cleopatra or whoever is putting out (they made it up to 4 volumes?!?!  Christ...)  So yes, as I type this moments later, I think that will probably be my only listen.  >:)

Head Trauma - Psychotic Episode - $2.40
Imagine a brutal death metal band playing '90s groove thrash songs.  The guitar sound and overall heaviness is definitely death metal, but the songs are full of groovy passages and start/stop riffing.  The vocals are of an aggro type but they're deep enough to bridge the stylistic differences here.  "Remember" is notable as it's a mellow instrumental (well, it's pretty much a bass solo with backing instrumentation at points) that reminded me slightly of Metallica (a less-progressive "Orion" at some points and a black album-style ballad at others).  I was also slightly surprised to find out midway through listening that the instrumentation is handled by Desmond Tolhurst of Mortician/Malignancy fame.  Interesting and very telling that I couldn't find any real reviews for this, only press sheet tripe which plays up Desmond's musical background or distro list descriptions that use adjectives to avoid specifically categorizing this.

Living Sacrifice - Reborn - $1.00
This album marked the change of the band's sound to modern metalcore garbage.  It's slightly better than the later albums since there are faint traces of the band's thrash roots here and there--the opening riff to the first track was quite furious and thrashy, and took me by surprise thinking there might be hope here...well, until the chugga chugga began a few seconds later.  "Something More" and "Liar" also stood out as being thrashier.  Since it was only a buck, I don't mind having bought this from a completist standpoint, but what I really want the bargain bins to deliver are the band's first three CDs!

Manowar - Into Glory Ride- $1.00
Cool to find this, but any excitement was somehwat dampened by the fact I've already owned it for years and years.  This is a solid album, and some individual tracks stand out as exemplary--"Warlord" is great, and "Revelation" is one of my favorite Manowar songs ever--but for me personally it was always greatly overshadowed by Hail to England.  Just take the more epic songs from the album--sure, "Secret of Steel" and "Valhalla" are okay, and "March for Revenge" is quite good at times, but for me they just don't hold up against "Battle Hymn" or "Bridge of Death" or "Guyana."


Nemesis - Eden? - $1.99
Guitar-driven progressive metal.  I'm kind of on the fence about how to further describe this, as it's usually too progressive to really call it power metal, but there are definite European power metal influences compared to say, Dream Theater and Fates Warning.  Pleasant to listen to, but not really my cup of tea, with one exception..."Faith" is an instrumental, very unlike the rest of the album but exactly the sort of thing I was looking for but not really finding when I would pick up less metallic shred/virtuoso albums (Satriani/Vai type stuff)...Tasteful but not overzealous guitarwork over dreamy background music.

Obituary - Anthology - $1.99
Compilation of stuff up to the Back from the Dead era.  There are two previously unreleased tracks at the end, one of which is an industrialized remix of "Boiling Point"...So the only reason to bother with this is the other unreleased track, which is a cover of Venom's "Buried Alive," recorded during the World Demise sessions.  Musically it's fine, but the vocals seem a tad restrained (to be fair, given that they were pretty thorough in recreating the intro, they may have not wanted to deviate from the original too much by having full-on deathy vocals).  Probably would have been better had it been recorded earlier.

The Secret - Solve Et Coagula - $1.00
Seeing the Southern Lord logo instantly made me think of doomy and/or avant-garde things, despite the goat on the cover.  This combines black metal (definitely the vocals, and most of the guitarwork), hardcore (not so much musically, but in some of the tempos--fear not, there are no breakdowns), and grind (during their speedier parts--while their songs are generally fast and short, there's not much outright blasting).  I should clarify that there's really no old school influence here, so they don't belong to the crop of bands mixing D-beat and black metal influences.  Nor does the grind element bring them anywhere near the Blasphemy/old Beherit sound.  I'm reminded of the band Infernal Stronghold in a way, not musically, but because both bands incorporate quite a lot of outside influences in their underlying sound, but still sound predominantly black metal.  Ironically, having mentioned Southern Lord and their doom associations, it should be mentioned three tracks ("Cross Builder," "Bell of Urgency," and the latter part of album ender "1968") are longer doomy/sludgy tunes.  They represent a minority of the material here but I find them to be more effective and less monotonous songs, so maybe they should have dumped the HC trappings and just done that style.  All in all, not great, not terrible.

Skid Row - Slave to the Grind - $1.00
This is one of the pressings where "Get the Fuck Out" was replaced with "Beggar's Day" (the shame is that "Get the Fuck Out" is actually a bit better).  For a long time I really didn't bother with the band and was only really familiar with them from MTV, so I thought the two big ballads from the first album were pretty representative of the band.  It's kind of surprising how heavy and gritty they can get, particularly the first two songs on this album.  That said, there are still commercial tendencies all over the place here.  Pure heavy metal this band was definitely not.

Testament - First Strike Still Deadly - $1.99
Re-recordings of old stuff, with Alex Skolnick back doing leadwork, and 2 songs with Zetro Souza on vocals.  These can't touch the originals, but I will say that this is one of the better "re-recorded classics" albums and in most cases I would happily choose this over listening to anything past the band's second album.  The only semi-miss here is "Alone in the Dark" due to Zetro's odd clean vox (keep in mind I thought the Legacy demo version was fine--he doesn't sound like that here).  Would have been nice if "Do or Die" or "Curse of the Legions of Death" were on here, but what can you do...  

Alastis - The Other Side (1997)

Cost: $1.99

The only other Alastis album I've heard in its entirety was the debut, although I was well aware they changed drastically from the early Samael sound, so this wasn't that big of a shock...Surprisingly, I didn't think this was all that bad, especially compared to the other '90s Century Media staple acts that underwent big stylistic changes.  It's competent dark metal.  Keys are used for some atmosphere but they're not terribly intrusive, and they don't really throw in any outside influences that make this a mutant musical hybrid.  It's definitely not as gothic as later Moonspell, Tiamat, or mid-era Rotting Christ, it doesn't have the non-metal influences of later Tiamat, and it doesn't have the electronic/industrial influence of later Samael.  Ironically, a lot of the material here brought Samael to mind (to coin a term I saw elsewhere, "Samael-lite"), even though this isn't really directly comparable to any era of Samael.  Stripping the black metal elements, budding electronic/industrial elements, and more pronounced vocals from Ceremony of Opposites and Rebellion era would be my best approximation.

Heavy, $1.99 at a time

Okay, to summarize the back story:
Franchise of stores had three locations here, once upon a time.
One of said locations closed several years ago.
Franchise just opened a new third store in a different location from the closed one.
I visit said franchise of stores a couple times.
I find a lot of metal for $1.99 throughout October 2012 at three locations of said franchise.
Am so happy, I don't really keep track of where I got what (receipts don't indicate CD title in most cases).
Have to write about said $1.99 finds in a combined, all-encompassing blog post.

While I find good stuff at all three locations most of the time, this haul was much better than usual, so particularly in the case of the new location I'm wondering if they brought in stock from somewhere else.  It's also extremely time-consuming as the clearance racks at each store are several yards long and filled with the typical R&B/alternative overstock detritus, classical/holiday comps., and lots of iffy metalcore.  Even more time was taken up because after I happened to find some metal DVDs, I was compelled to go through the clearance DVD section of each location more thoroughly than normal.  To her credit, The Sweet wanted to accompany me on every trip, although that's because the stores are strategically situated in plazas with plenty of female-friendly shopping and boutiques.

Arkaik - Reflections Within Dissonance
Technical death metal--not terrible, but suffers from a lack of memorability.  Since the songs are just whirlwinds of ever-changing riffs, nothing really stood out.

Blood Duster - Cunt
Reissue which adds a completely piss-take cover of Spectrum's "I'll Be Gone" as a bonus.  Some pretty funny stuff here, and the Impetigo cover is quite good.

Blood Duster - Fisting the Dead
Found this before Cunt. I'm usually not a huge fan of grindcore, but this was a cool find especially since it was still sealed (lid of the case was cracked though, which is why is probably ended up in the cheapo bin) and even had the obi-style information strip Relapse is so fond of.  This is the '08 reissue which has a '93 live show included along with the band's first 2 mCDs and the Tales of Ordinary Madness comp. tracks.  I like the tracks from the original Fisting the Dead mCD the best.  Oh yeah, two minor mistakes I want to point out...Track 50 is listed as "Simultaneous Pleasure Pinch" but it's actually "Anal Feast" and is even introduced that way.  Also, they cover Napalm Death's "Scum" during the live tracks, and it's listed on the tracklist correctly, but for some reason the back page of the booklet lists writing credits for "The Kill."

Bringers of Disease - Gospel of Pestilence
Digipak mCD of decidedly Nordic-sounding black metal from the US.  This brings to mind late '90s black metal, when bands were trying to emulate the golden age of the Norwegian scene in sound but could not quite get the substance--it's not bad, but it lacks the elements to propel it into the realm of the interesting or special.  I didn't particularly like it any better when they used more mid-paced tempos in the last song, so it's not a case of just being a monotonous speedy band, either.  Can't complain for $1.99 though, and the first track was worth that.

Broken Hope - Loathing
Wow, they got quite technical here.  Although their early stuff is representative of the then-current state of death metal, let's face it, these guys never rose above being a prominent second-tier band, and were usually  regarded as sort of a Midwest version of Cannibal Corpse (and rightfully so).  But for all their generic-ness, I find there's something more immediately likeable about the first two albums that just isn't here.  Jeremy Wagner's lyrics and lyrical themes are as brilliant as ever, though (just look at "He was Raped").  One thing I do appreciate  is that while other gore-themed DM bands were ham-fisted in their attempt to write brutal lyrics, Broken Hope lyrics were well-written and almost playfully articulate, which made the over-the-top scenarios they described even more hilarious.

Claustrofobia - I See Red
Modern death/thrash.  I assumed this was going to be straightforward thrash, so I was quite surprised at the amount of death metal influence in the music and vocals.  The cover of Sepultura's "Beneath the Remains" is well done.  Apparently some copies also have an Ultraje a Rigor cover, but my US pressing does not.

Corpus Christii - Rising
Let's summarize the thought process (which took around 3-4 seconds total) that went on here.  I see the name/title on the spine, and for a millisecond, think of the correct black metal band due to the immediate name association.  I obviously didn't pay attention to that all important extra "i" at the end, because I mentally dismiss the idea of finding one of their CDs locally as a farfetched notion.  So I figure it's probably the metalcore band Corpus Christi.  I pull it out, and the cover has no identifying information, just the stylized sun artwork and some Hebrew lettering--certainly occult-inspired, but that kind of imagery has been appropriated by some metalcore and avant-garde bands too.  I finally flip it over to see the familiar Portuguese band's logo.  This is the Candlelight version, which explains finding it there.  Their older stuff wasn't unpleasant but didn't leave much of an impression.  This album doesn't do much to change that opinion, although  "Untouchable Euphoria" and "Revealed Wounds" are pretty good.  Standard black metal fare.

Deeds of Flesh - Crown of Souls 

Disavowed - Stagnated Existence

Disgorge - Parallels of Infinite Torture

Divine Eve - Vengeful and Obstinate
Despite this post's title, I will confess this one was $2.50 and plucked from among the normally-priced used CDs.  No way I was leaving it there for that price.  After such a long hiatus, they're still doing the slow/mid-paced Frost worship wonderfully.  Initially I was a bit put off by the vocals on the first track, which seemed cleaner and weaker than on the old demo/mCD.  The vocals got raspier and sounded fine on the next two tracks, and then they reverted again on the last track, but seemed to fit better there.  "Whispers of Fire" is quite fast (particularly for Divine Eve) and black metal influenced--I thought it was the weakest song.  The Crimson Relic album had some faster stuff on it that worked, but here it sticks out badly.  I should also add that the occasional blast of the viking-style horns in the last song really gives off a great To Mega Therion vibe.

Early Man - Early Man
As you will no doubt see me mention constantly on this blog, there is something to be said for using tried and true/cliche elements in metal layouts.  Had I not already known the band, I probably would have passed over this or chosen to look it up at home before buying it.  This is their first release, a 3-track EP.  The first track is slightly thrashy heavy metal (the overall sound brings to mind a mellower, less thrashy "No Remorse") and is closest to the vein of their later stuff.  "Death is the Answer..." was quite a surprise...The vocals suddenly switched to a very nasal, slightly distorted, slightly warbly style, not unlike Zeeb Parkes.  The music itself is actually quite Witchfinder General-ish too, very doomy and filled with '70s Sabbath influence.  Last track is an early version of "The Undertaker is Calling You" that runs long because it's indexed as one track with the guitar intro--an early version of "Through Chemtrails," I presume (reminds me of the Halloween movie theme a bit before it segues into a more classical style guitar harmony).  The song itself has the slight thrash influence show up again in lieu of the Sabbath doominess, although they keep the Zeeb Parkes vocals so it ends up sounding like a heavier NWoBHM tune.  Nothing mind-blowing, but I found I enjoyed this a lot more than Beware the Circling Fin.

Embalmed - Exalt the Imperial Beast
Black/death metal of the relentless yet monotonous variety.  The vocals bring to mind older Mexican death metal, and I was initially reminded of the Demolition (US) vocals a bit.  At times this brings to mind a less guitar-focused and more drum-focused version of Blasphemy and all the war metal emulators, but this is even more one dimensional.  Don't get me wrong, I liked this at first, but there's just not enough variety here between songs--the CD is only 25 minutes and I thought that was a bit long.  Would have preferred to see 2 songs on a 7".  

Exciter - New Testament
Yes, one of those dreaded albums where old tracks are re-recorded.  What's a bit strange is they chose to re-record some tracks from the two albums prior to this that already had Jacques Bélanger on vocals, and these don't sound that much different from the originals.  Since John Ricci is the only original Exciter member left, Unveiling the Wicked and the self-titled album were skipped since he wasn't involved with those--ironically, those are the two albums that have the most room for improvement and that re-recording may have helped.  As for the other songs, we all know Bélanger isn't Beehler--he can belt out a decent falsetto, sure, but it's just not at the level of Dan's over the top wails.  The Heavy Metal Maniac material fares the worst here.  However, I thought "Violence and Force" and "Long Live the Loud" were pretty good.  There's no instance here where I like a re-recording better than one of the Dan Beehler-era originals, but this was better than I thought it would be.

Godless Rising - Battle Lords
The new (well, at the time) band of Jeff Gruslin and Paul Flynn from Vital Remains.  Unfortunately this falls short of recapturing the classis Let Us Pray sound, although I will say this comes closer than any subsequent Vital Remains album.

Horde of Hel - Blodskam
Primarily black metal, with some industrial/ambient/martial sections.  Rather than industrialized black metal like Helheim or Mysticum, think a standard black metal band with Puissance type interludes.  Some of the samples in particular create a very disconcerting atmosphere at times and the non-metal influences do help keep this from being monotonous.  The juxtaposition of styles was effective at creating an atmosphere, but this didn't stick with me after it ended.

Immersed - In the Ire of Creation
Semi-technical death metal.

Mortal Decay - Cadaver Art
The cover art is pretty good, although it definitely would fit better with a more technical DM band rather than Mortal Decay.  I'm somewhat amused there's actually a song called "Ruthlessly Scissored."  Is it evident I'm purposefully trying to sidestep discussing the actual music yet?

Nattefrost - Blood & Vomit
First, let's get it out of the way--while there are obviously some similarities at times, for the most part this isn't directly comparable to Carpathian Forest.  Stripped-down-to-basics black metal--fast, furious, and raw.  It's pretty simplistic, although not to the extent of say, a Von clone.  The music is fairly repetitive, although catchy enough to avoid being monotonous.  I was slightly disappointed because I was expecting this to be more old school, especially considering how such influences show up in Carpathian Forest.  Other than being straightforward in the way early black metal was, there's really no pre-'90s feeling here.  The Beherit cover ("The Gate of Nanna") is alright, but it's done as a typical black metal song...It lacks the hypnotic, strange feel of the original, and even makes me miss Holocausto's robotic sounding vox.  The first ambient half of the outro is well-done, and of course you get the requisite audio of Nattefrost vomiting and pissing.  Good for what it is.

Pagan's Mind - God's Equation
2CD version--still had the slipcase, sticker, and poster. Of course, the Japanese version has a bonus track that's not on the bonus disc.  Grumble grumble.

Sayyadina - The Great Northern Revisited
Knew nothing about this but picked it up since it was on Relapse.  That should have been the obvious hint.  Was expecting some sort of experimental or avant-garde black metal (based on the cover art and a couple of Swedish titles) or some sort of Dis-core (based on the other titles and sheer number of tracks).  Can't remember why I didn't just look through the booklet...My hands were full of other discs and/or I knew I would get it anyway, I guess.  Anyway, this is grindcore.  A discography compilation, in fact.

Severe Torture - Sworn Vengeance
This is the one of the supposedly "limited" versions with 2 bonus tracks in the form of Cro-Mags and Entombed covers.  Verdict on the covers: "It's the Limit" works pretty well as a death metal version...I somewhat dislike the vocals on the original, so even the death vox are something of an improvement.  "Eyemaster" isn't so bad where it's worthy of ridicule, but without that famous guitar tone, it pales in comparison to the original.

Skinless - Foreshadowing Our Demise

Summon - Fallen (CD w/ bonus DVD)
Never really got excited when these guys started mixing death metal into their sound and that stands for this album, too...Much preferred the black metal on the demo and 1st CD as well as the Masochist stuff.  They should have just gone total retro, as the best song here is "Loud as Hell, Fast as Fuck," which is just a short black/thrash number that's nothing like the rest of the album.  The DVD has Dolby Digital and surround sound mixes of the album and 3 videos.  Nice extra, but I doubt I'll touch it again.

Vader - More Vision and the Voice DVD
DVD re-release of the Vision and Voice video.  The majority of the content here is an '98 live gig, and there are some additional promo videos, bootleg live footage, and interview footage with Peter (definitely the most interesting part of the package) as bonuses.  Musically it's alright, although past Sothis I've never been terribly enthusiastic about Vader.  The '98 gig (filmed in a Kraków TV studio, I believe) seems extremely calculated and lacks spontaneity.  The band seems energetic with their playing and headbanging, but everything comes off as dull.  It's filmed in that way (I can't remember if it indicates high frame rate or low frame rate) where some of the footage seems slightly slowed down.  Stage lights flicker on and off.  As with a lot of Metal Mind video productions, constantly changing stage lighting is overused as a stage effect.  The front of the stage has a transparent section that can be underlit for additional effects (didn't Kat do that in some '80s performance vid?  I thought so but I couldn't find it.)  Mr. Shambo windmills crazily at times.  Yeah, that's about as exciting as it gets.

Valhall - Red Planet
The majority of the material here is vaguely psychedelic stoner doom, very heavily '70s influenced, but with a few interesting deviations here and there..."Rohypnol" is a short jazz interlude..."Mister Know-How" sounds quite uptempo and poppy especially due to the vocals..."Made in Iron" is a galloping tribute to you-know-who (with a main riff that sounds suspiciously similar to "Wasted Years").  Quite good except for the exaggerated faux power metal vocals in the background.  I also liked "Liberation" since with the Hammond organ style keyboard use it sounded very much like a metalized version of Uriah Heep.  Overall, this is good, but this is one of the cases where I appreciate the atmosphere a band creates more than their actual music.  Oh yeah, and lest someone point out I overlooked it, Fenriz plays drums here, like on all of their full-lengths.  I say: so what?

Voivod - D-V-O-D-1 DVD
This was totally pristine, one of the best finds.  I'm going to mention some criticisms, but I will fully admit that paying $1.99 was more than worth it for the "Voivod" video alone.   This has video clips, live footage, and some behind-the-scenes footage, with a little something from every album through Angel Rat.  Due to the inclusion of a short '89 live-in-studio set, there's a definite bias towards Nothingface...The DVD really spreads itself thin by trying to cover every album of the original lineup, so for someone like myself who prefers the first two albums, it's a bit lacking.  I was initially excited by the promise of "Ravenous Medicine" video shoot footage on the back of the DVD...Away doing the art for the video backgrounds?!?!?!  Perhaps some footage of the infamous AIDS syringe prop being made?!?!?!  No.  All you get is footage of another camera shooting footage of Away playing drums in front of a blue screen.  On the plus side, the "Psychic Vacuum" video shoot footage was more along the lines of the behind-the-scene stuff I was expecting, showing how some of the low budget special effects were done.  The other extra/bonus footage is just separate clips of Piggy and Snake recording Nothingface.  I should also point out the Morgoth Invasion and Spectrum '87 live tapes are included as audio extras.  While I appreciate the gesture of throwing in some old Iron Gang tapes, it seems kind of strange to include Morgoth Invasion since Metal Blade had just included it in the War and Pain 3-disc reissue, and the space could have been used for something else.

Witchsorrow - Witchsorrow
This was better than I had initially thought it would be--classic doom metal with nary a stoner or drone-influenced section to be found.  The songwriting wasn't strong enough that anything left any significant impression on me, and they're nowhere near the level of any of the essential doom bands, but they have a great guitar tone and it was satisfying enough while it lasted.

This is Hell - This is Hell (2005)

This CD is available for trade.

Wasn't expecting this to be a keeper going in, but I got it just in case it turned out to be tolerable metalcore or sludge.  It's modern hardcore, through and through.  Ironically, I've seen a lineup pic of the band where members are wearing Down and Queensrÿche shirts, but there's no hint of any sort of metal influence here.

Ekove Efrits - Conceptual Horizon (2011)

Cost: $1.99

I already had the band's debut album, which was fairly standard black metal...The main point of interest there being that it was from an exotic country by metal standards (Iran).  There are undiluted black metal sections sprinkled throughout this album, sure, but the album has all sorts of varied avant-garde influences and soundscapes and frequently leaves the realms of metal.  In a very general sense, the bulk of the music here is a sort of ambient rock utilizing some unusual background sounds.  When I say ambient, I must stress it's definitely not the typical dark ambient synth stuff usually incorporated into black metal.  Also, I suppose there are some similarities in the way this mixes black metal with non-metal elements, but I don't find this to have all that much in common with the new breed of shoegaze/post-rock influenced "black metal" stuff, which tends to be more immediately accessible. 

 

In a way, the bizarreness has a greater appeal than the actual music itself.  If nothing else, it's certainly more unique than their older black metal material.

Ääritila - …Ja Kaikki Kuitenkin Päättyy Kuolemaan! (2003)

Cost: $1.00

This CD is available for trade.

Some Swedes and Finns playing old style Finnish crusty hardcore.  Unbeknownst to me when buying this, the bassist is Mr. Jocke Hammar of Chronic Decay fame.  Not going to bother blindly namedropping all the previous bands members have been in since I'm pretty unfamiliar with most of them except for Dischange.

The day God was not with me: Believer - Extraction from Mortality (1989)

Cost: $1.00

 

As an avid used CD hunter, I've had my share of triumphs (some to be blogged about shortly).  This was one of my biggest disappointments.  Why, you ask?  Let's go over what happened in my head:

The spine is sighted on the rack.

Oh, Sanity Obscure is in the bargain bin.  Already have it, but it's cheap, so that's cool.  I'll pick up an extra copy to trade or sell.

I pull it out and look at the cover.

Hell yeah!  Extraction from Mortality!  I need this!

Wait...

WHAT?

 

Yeah...The booklet was for Extraction, but the back insert was for Sanity (creased down the middle, no less).  I went through the bargain bin a couple times, hoping to see the correct back insert with a Sanity Obscure booklet, but no luck.  On the plus side, the disc inside was Extraction from Mortality, so at least I got the music with the correct booklet. This had always been a minor want I was hoping to find in a bargain bin--it would have meant I got all 3 of the first Believers for dirt cheap), making the initial letdown worse.

 

Getting to the actual music, this is my favorite Believer release. By far. Even saying that, it doesn't come anywhere close to being one of my favorite thrash recordings, but it's still pretty good.  Despite the technicality here (though nowhere near as much as the succeeding albums), it's still fast and furious with a lot of bite. The vocals are a little shoutier than what I normally prefer, but not terrible. In fact, the vocal style coupled with the type of thrash they play reminds me of little bit of Devastation's Idolatry. 

 

They never really cross over into death metal territory, but the album often seems right on the cusp of being death/thrash. I've mentioned this before, but the first time I heard Believer (on the R/C At Death's Door compilation), I think I assumed they were some sort of death/thrash or death metal, since that's how I thought about them early on, and they didn't seem significantly different than the other bands. In fact, they fit quite well considering Sadus and Exhorder were also on there. I don't remember what I thought of their track back then and my only specific memory of them from the comp. was thinking Joey Daub's side-shave in the thumbnail band pic looked weird. Listening now, the song they chose for the comp., "Not Even On," isn't awful or anything, but there's much better stuff on the album.The first three tracks are all great ragers, and I love the eerie intro of "Shadow of Death."

 

P.S.  Anyone got a spare back insert for the original R.E.X. pressing?  And does anyone need a spare back insert for the R.E.X. pressing of Sanity Obscure?