Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum

 

Cost: $2.00

This copy was a bit beat up, but the price was right and it was nice to finally score it on CD. When I was getting into metal, this album still had some semi-mythical status as the origin of--or a major template for--heavy metal, depending on who you asked. While they were certainly loud and heavy for their time, I think the internet has made a lot more '60s and '70s stuff accessible, making them seem less groundbreaking. Also, I'd personally consider rather un-obscure stuff like Sir Lord Baltimore and Bang to be closer to the codified heavy metal sound even if they came a bit later. So yeah, while I can see this being one of several influences on the genre, I don't consider it to be actual metal, and for better or worse, whatever actual influence they had on heavy music was completely eclipsed by Sabbath. Truthfully I'm not into the whole fuzzed out heavy rock thing in general very much, and it's too blues-based for my taste, but I'm glad I got to finally hear the album in its entirety.

Kairos - Wicked Callings (2015)

 Cost: $1.99

Was super excited to find this, as NWOTHM tends to be scarce in the bargain bin, and it looked quite promising. I had never heard of the band before, and unfortunately it's kind of obvious why they didn't generate the amount of buzz that other bands from around the same general time like Ambush, Witch Blade, etc. did. It often feels unfocused and sometimes reaches WAY too far into the overground. Just to be clear, I don't need every band to just emulate obscure NWOBHM and USPM, and I actually find well done Priest/Maiden/etc. worship to be extremely enjoyable. But I'm not talking about a case of just having some more "rockin'" tracks--a lot of the overly poppy and saccharine choruses here whip this right into hair band-sounding territory. It just feels weird in tracks like "Satisfaction Heaven," where proper heavy metal just segues into a chorus that sounds like Steel Panther sans humor. "One Man Army" also feels out of place--I think they were going for a slower, grittier Accept/Priest type anthem, but the riff ends up sounding more like '90s groove.

On the plus side, the cover of Ozzy's "I Don't Know" is very solid. The band are at their best doing the speedy or mid-paced late '70s/early '80s Priest-influenced stuff, like in "Fatal Race," but the overly sappy stuff just feels weird. Not awful, but just kind of disappointing given my high expectations. Still worth the 2 bucks for the Ozzy cover and the good parts, though.

Coma - Mindless (2013)

 

Cost: $1.99

The aesthetics here made me think this was going to have death metal influences. To me, the logo looks like something a technical DM or melodeath band might use, and while the old anatomical illustrations on the cover and in the booklet are very cool visually, they seem like a poor fit with the actual music, which is pretty straightforward thrash. It's much better than I expected and quite above average for a bargain bin find, but it doesn't particularly distinguish itself as a thrash album beyond being a decent listen. While the riffage is clearly inspired by '80s US thrash, it doesn't feel overly old school or retro-obsessed (which I probably would have liked more). There are a few touches of modern grooviness I could have done without, but thankfully most of the modernity remains in the production, rather than the playing. 

While the faster tracks like "Under Attack" are pleasant to listen to while they're on, unfortunately this album is largely carried by speed and energy rather than great songwriting. At 0:45 there's a slow riff that kinda reminds me of Pentagram's "Demoniac Possession," but sadly they never revisit this and there's nothing else anywhere near as evil sounding on the rest of the album. Aside from that part, there's pretty much zero memorability for me here. The vocals tend to get kind of screamy but remain serviceable (though the cleaner vocals are more reminiscent of someone like Peavy Wagner), although most of the gang vocals seemed unnecessary. Worth what I paid, but admittedly not great, merely competent.

Rachel Barton / Stringendo - Storming the Citadel (1998)

Cost: $1.99

Novelty album of violinist Rachel Barton performing metal/rock covers as part of a string trio. I bought this purely as a cheap curiosity, which I suspect is what the record label intended (minus the cheap part), and luckily I didn't have to pay much for it. The issue with something like this is shared by a lot of prog metal, technical stuff in general, and shred--virtuosity may be impressive on a technical level, but it doesn't automatically make for good listening.

The chosen selections are about what you'd expect for an album like this from the '90s. I was mildly surprised about the inclusion of Rush's "The Spirit of the Radio" and the lack of a Guns N' Roses song (especially given their logo is on the instrument case on the cover). The arrangements are definitely skewed more towards serving the instruments than staying strictly faithful to the original songs, although almost everything is immediately recognizeable (I wasn't familiar with the Soundgarden tune, so no comment, and I could only identify U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" from the chorus part).

The main problem I have with the album is that aside from the two actual classical pieces, everything feels overly sparse because it's all being performed live on just three string instruments, and nothing else. Orchestral arrangements might be workable, but most of the songs here just feel too stripped down. Aside from the classical pieces, I did like Metallica's "One," since the heavy/soft contrasts within the song translate well here.

So yeah, I feel violin/string enthusiasts curious about metal/rock arrangements or orchestra kids who were into some of these bands would probably get a lot more out of this than an obsessive metal fan looking for CD deals. Perhaps an ambitious idea at the time, but this is just gonna be a one-listen novelty for me. I'll take The Great Kat over this anytime!

Black Propaganda - Black Propaganda (2011)

 

Cost: $2.00

When putting this on I was momentarily confused because the first real track opens with (and reuses) a very black metal sounding blastbeat and riff combo. Most of the earlier tracks have more of a modernized thrash vibe influenced by Slayer (the first song has some riffage slightly reminiscent of "Postmortem," and then riffage elsewhere reminded me more of South.../Seasons... material). Not the best, but fairly in line with what I was intitially expecting. Sadly, with track 7 they really begin increasing the groove metal and core influences to where it's not really just thrash anymore, and sounds vaguely to me like Derrick Green-era Sepultura stuff. The vocals--which are the expected hoarse yelling at their core--are broken up with a lot of hysterial screams, which while not my thing, do break up the monotony. Even without the less thrashy tracks, there's nothing particularly special here. I have higher expectations even for more modernized thrash, although this is far from the worst I've heard for something in the style.

Black Sabbath - Live at Last (1996 reissue)

 

Cost: $2.99

 

This is in fact the very same copy of Live at Last I mentioned in the Wrekking Machine post--I finally decided to clean the old store stickers off and shelve it properly. Ironically, I've been finding lots of Sabbath discs in the bargain bins lately, which would have been absolutely unheard of back when I got this (this was the only Sabbath CD I ever saw for under $5-6 for YEARS). I even remember being a little annoyed at having to pay an extra buck over most of the other Wherehouse clearance discs for a decidedly cheap looking version (one-panel front insert, no liner notes, no band pics), but I also knew it wouldn't last in the store long.

Musically it's ok. "Children of the Grave" is probably my favorite Ozzy-era Sabbath song, and just by virtue of its inclusion I consider this to be a satisfactory live album. It's not a bad release, but it doesn't seem like a particularly noteworthy live performance, and I think it tries to cover too many albums in too few tracks.  It is nice to hear "Into the Void" as a part of the medley in the middle of "Wicked World," but at 19+min., the whole medley seems like a waste of space, especially the "Sometimes I'm Happy" bluesy jam stuff. I would have much preferred a couple of additional full songs.

Pandemic - Face the Enemy (1998)

 

Cost: $2.00

Was fully expecting this to be some sort of hardcore/punk. Nearly everything about the aesthetic and layout screamed HC to me, especially the picture of short-haired moshing fans that could easily appeared on any '90s Victory Records album. The band pics very much fit that bill too even with two longhairs. I would have likely bought it anyway since 3 more discs got me to $25/20% off at the store, technically making this a freebie. The thanks list does mention keeping "the METAL scene alive," which momentarily gave me some hope until I realized that it likely meant this was some sort of nu-metal no-metal.

Much to my surprise, the music is just straightforward groove metal (with a mellower balladish track to close out).  Far from my first choice, but certainly way better than what the album artwork or songtitles might suggest.  Of course, there's a catch. The vocals here are atrocious, especially if you hate the aggro style as much as I do. They seem very uncontrolled and aside from some chorus shouting, don't sync very well with the music. At times, the enunciation and delivery bring to mind the affected angry voice older wrestlers would use in promos.

Though the music isn't entirely to my taste, if this had better vocals, I could absolutely flaunt it as one of my most surprising "you can't judge a book by its cover" bargain bin finds. Sadly, as it is, Face the Enemy just gets an unenthused "not quite as bad as it looks" from me.

Mercyful Fate - Melissa (1997 gold disc remaster)

 

Cost: $2.00

I've always gravitated towards Mercyful Fate's pre-album output; I love the mLP (and by extension The Beginning) as well as most of the material on the Return of the Vampire compilation, and somewhat prefer them to Melissa overall (I was never able to get into Don't Break the Oath that much beyond a few songs, but that's a story for another time). Make no mistake though, "Evil" is one of my favorite MF songs ever.  "Satan's Fall" and the title track are also undoubtedly top tier. I've gradually learned to appreciate the album as a whole more than I once did, and while the remaining songs are fairly good, nothing ever rose to a "Corpse Without Soul" or "Doomed by the Living Dead" level for me.

Was happy to upgrade my old BMG club copy to a retail version of the 1997 remaster, although I've never been a fan of the modernized fonts (and some of the wonky layout choices) used for the Mercyful Fate/King Diamond remasters (and which unfortunately persisted on subsequent CD pressings). Of course, the real travesty is the wonderful Thomas Holm cover being darkened and oversaturated into oblivion, although that's a flaw hardly exclusive to this version. I remember thinking the darkened cover of later pressings was actually how the album was supposed to look--it was shocking to see the amount of detail on the teeth and horns the first time I saw an original Megaforce LP!