Enfold Darkness - Our Cursed Rapture (2009)

Cost: $2.00

Most of the time I find modern hype stickers on metal albums to be a silly waste of printing.  They're often filled with laughable hyperbole, they offer ridiculous sound comparisons based in marketing and not in reality, and they quote reviews, ratings, and people I don't care about.  Here, the sticker mentions Cradle of Filth and The Black Dahlia Murder, which is surprisingly spot-on in terms of the vocals (the music, not so much).  

The overall vocal style and range quite literally scream CoF--high and exaggerated raspy main vocals (with accompanying screams), deep DM-style backing vocals, and a couple cases of those gothic narration/deep-voiced spoken word vox.  The main vocals aren't always as piercing or as consistently high and shrieky as Dani, and that's where the TBDM comparison comes in, the Nocturnal album specifically.  I realize those vocal comparisons bring to mind all sorts of negative associations, including with me, and while I probably would have preferred vocals that weren't so high, they're tolerable.

The music itself is blackened modern melodic death metal--not necessarily a description to be terribly excited about, but I can't stress how much the excellent guitarwork carries this album.   There are lots of tasty leads, and the dual harmonies are some of the most interesting I've heard in recent extreme metal.

Candiria

These have been sitting in the "to be listened to eventually" pile for quite some time.  I never actually heard the band before (that I can recall--due to the name similarity I used to mentally associate them with the Relapse band Candiru) but may as well throw these on and give them a fair shot.

Post-listen spoiler alert: they suck.

Candiria - The Process of Self.Development (1999)

Cost: $1.00

This CD is for trade.

A prescient warning of unfortunate musical trends to come.  I know the band is still going, but this album could easily sit among contemporary stuff as avant-garde -core or jazz-influenced mathcore.  I remember a big fuss (both pro and con) being made about the rap influences here, so I was half-expecting something like Stuck Mojo.  The core (pun intended) of the music is relatively standard -core--perhaps with throatier vox--but of course with all sorts of disparate elements added to the mix.  On paper, with rap sections, pure jazz instrumental parts, trumpet, a bagpipe outro to one song, etc., it sounds way more chaotic and experimental than it actually ends up being.  Due to the fusion aspects, I can see where comparisons might be made to Mr. Bungle or some of the jazzier stuff on Ipecac, but this completely lacks the fun and zany atmosphere.  Also, the album isolates and compartmentalizes some of the influences it brings in.  There are entire rap tracks and entire jazz instrumental tracks (given the history of the band members, keep in mind it's not just a jazzy rhythm or jazzy bassline like you might find on a DM or prog. metal album--this has pure instrumental jazz sections).  So ironically, rather than hating all of the fusion elements from a purist standpoint, I thought the jazz parts and mellow instrumental tracks were well-played and completely overshadowed the rather boring -core part of the music.  But since I'm not combing bargain bins for jazz discs, this ended up being pretty uninteresting.

Candiria - 300 Percent Density (2001)

Cost: 50¢

 This CD is for trade. 

This is far more angry and NYHC sounding than the previous album, so I immediately liked it even less.  The fusion influences seem more directly integrated into the music, and have also been changed up a bit.  There's more of an emphasis on rap and hip-hop influence and rap-like vocals, and while there are still jazz influences, there are no longer any dedicated jazz tracks.  There are also more world/tribal music and ambient influences.  Yet again, an instrumental piece outshined everything else.  There's a hidden track at the end that uses ambient guitar and bongos to create a very dreamy soundscape that makes me feel like I'm on a tropical island staring at clouds.  It's not the main focus of their music and not what I'm looking for when I buy music though, so no reason to keep this.

Just from a few minutes of poking around online, it's embarassing how often this band is called metal--without any extra descriptors, no less--and by people who should probably know better.  I'm not sure if it's just sheer ignorance, or a lazy way out of trying to describe the band's multifaceted sound.

Dead World - The Machine (1993)

Cost: 99¢

Surprised how long it took for a cheap copy of this to show up.  Personally, I find The Machine less interesting than the debut, which mixed death metal and strong Godflesh influences.  This throws out the death metal elements and is more standard industrial metal fare--very percussion heavy (now using a drum machine) and with distorted spoken/whispered vocals.  Not really my thing, but I prefer the weird and atmospheric vibe this gives off to the stereotypically mechanical and angry industrial acts.  Even the layout (factories and bridges) and the lyrics (social commentary) fit more with a bleak industrial theme than the usual bio-mechanical schtick.

One element that did survive from the first album is the inclusion of ambient tracks, although there they existed as short interludes.  Here two sizeable tracks are dedicated to sample-laden ambient.

Wonderfully, "Blood Everywhere" contains audio samples of James Vance (of Judas Priest trial fame).

Darkside - Masquerade (1999)

Cost: $1.00

Impossible not to have high hopes when you find something in the bargain bin with Judas Priest in the thanks list ("for the influence") as well as W.A.S.P. and Lizzy Borden.  It's okay overall compared to some of the dollar disc garbage I come across, but it's far from the traditional HM I was hoping for.  It's in the 90s style of contemporary HM, with downtuned guitars and lots of groovy riffs.  Obviously for me, the less modern influences, the better, but here they aren't overboard enough to make me instantly hate it.  Also, this is just straightforward '90s heavy metal.  No thrash parts.  No power metal influence.  No forays into non-metal stuff either.  Metal-archives calls them "progressive heavy metal"--perhaps some isolated bits here and there, and there's a short bass solo track, but I think any sort of progressive tag is a huge misnomer.

One of the biggest strikes against the disc is the vocal performance.  The guy uses an inoffensive midrange and isn't bad per se, but the first time I listened to the CD, the vocals began to annoy me more and more, and I couldn't immediately pinpoint why.  First, they're monotonous.  The vocal cadence sounds similar in most of the songs, and beyond some sparingly used growly backing vox and gang choruses, there's not much variety.  They do a cover of "Jenny" (yep, the 867-5309 song),  and it's sung in the same style and flat tone as the rest of the CD.  It's played pretty straight-up as a metal version, but the growling chorus vox suggest some tongue-in-cheekiness.

There are also some corny vocal mannerisms which seem more fitting for a hard rock or alternative rock vocalist.   He's fond of extending the very ends of vocal lines for emphasis--either drawing them out, repeating them, or throwing a "yeah" in there, like Hetfield.  Wouldn't be hard to build a drinking game around it.  Unfortunately his vocals still come off as monotonous and fairly uncharismatic, and coupled with some of the groovy riffs, I think this makes the music seem more inclined towards '90s trend stuff than it actually is.

Without Face - Deep Inside (2000)

Cost: $1.00

The majority of the music here is progressive gothic metal with dual male/female vocals.  What stands out rather negatively are the occasional "aggressive" parts, which have rumbly, groovy riffs and kinda overly forced vocals that would be better suited for an unlikable '90s thrash band.  This is a relatively minor part of the music, but the core of the music here--the gothic metal--is alright, not great.  With so many gothic metal bands around that utilize this same basic style, I'd rather listen to one that doesn't have the out of place elements.

Random purchases

Here's some random older bargain bin purchases.  Don't remember all of the specific prices, but everything was 2 bucks or under.

Anterior - This Age of Silence - $1.00

Monotonous, super-forced screamed vocals here, which really put me off as they unfortunately make the band seem far more -core sounding than they really are. Other than a few breakdowns and some limited modern groovy stuff, the underlying music seems to be decent lead-focused melodeath, but it's not noteworthy enough to make up for those vox.

Asterisk* - Dogma
Grindcore, compilation of various material.  The majority of the tracks are the noisier sort of grindcore, although individual songs vary and some are a more metallic type of grind.  The short "cover" of Queen's "Ogre Battle" is quite fun even though it becomes barely recognizable after the intro.

Artimus Pyledriver - Artimus Pyledriver - $1.00
Based on descriptions that I read that this was "Southern metal," I was anticipating something more like Alabama Thunderpussy, later CoC, or some of the NOLA bands.  This is more upbeat, less sludgy, and has far more of a rock'n'roll influence than I was expecting, especially since the vocals seem quite Brian Johnson influenced.  I'd say this is more like a heavier Nashville Pussy or a Southern rock influenced Fireball Ministry.

Corporation 187 - Perfection in Pain  - $2.00 
Modern death/thrash.  Everything Swedish in this style inevitably gets compared to The Haunted, although this is more aggressive and has less direct melodic DM influence in the guitarwork, so I hear more general similarities to something like Carnal Forge or The Forsaken.  The vocals are quite vicious but the aggression here doesn't translate into interesting songs, and I don't really see listening to this again.

Ewigheim - Mord Nicht Ohne Grund - $1.00
The logo and band name had me hoping for black metal.  Since this was on Prophecy Prod., I realistically expected something more avant-garde, but this still ended up being pretty disappointing.  This is primarily gothic rock that mixes in electronic rock and some EDM-ish rhythms, some metallic guitarwork, and some Neue Deutsche Härte influences.  Out of the 8 tracks, the title track is the only one that that genuinely qualifies as gothic metal due to the consistent guitar riffage (it also happens to have more extreme vocals).

Masakari - The Profit Feeds - $1.00
Bought this since it was a buck and on Southern Lord, which usually doesn't indicate quality but does usually indicate something metal or metal related.   However, this is crustcore.   Pretty raging stuff, but not up my alley at all.  The first and 9th tracks have low/sludgy sections which I thought the disc could have used more of (probably because they're as close to metal as it gets).

Piss off - Authority - $1.00
Pretty sparse inserts here without a band photo or thanks list, so this was a totally blind purchase. CD is from 2007--I hate the term "alternative metal" (I think it's a complete misnomer) but yeah, this is that sort of heavy '90s rock stuff.  Songs vary quite a bit and their guitar sound is surprisingly heavy at times, but rather than actual metal, it's more like a slightly heavier Godsmack.  Three tracks of note:

1. "Tazer Tag" - Intro skit, hokey but not cringeworthy.  The production is impressive since it legitimately sounds like a zany morning zoo bit from a local radio station. 
2. "U.S. of M." ("United States of Mexico, if you were wondering)  Nice prog. metallish intro.  Unfortunately the rest of the song isn't as good as the intro, although it's probably the most metallic track on here.  I'm not against the anti-illegal immigration message but it's very ham-fisted here...The "THEY'RE BRINGING IN THE DOPE" chant just made me laugh.
3. "If Tomorrow Were Yesterday" - Mellow, atmospheric outro instrumental.  Stood out positively just because it's so different from the rest of the disc.

Rivendel - The Meaning - $1.00 
Based on the record label and band name, was hoping for folk or prog. metal.  Progressive rock.

Sender Receiver - Plague Notes - $1.00
Grindcore.  The songtitles are meant to be cutesy and tongue in cheek, but fall way short of 7000 Dying Rats or Anal Cunt standards (the actual lyrics have nothing to do with the titles and are actually overly melodramatic dreck better suited for emo or metalcore).  Should also add the CD only lasts four and a half minutes--I would have been pretty livid if I'd paid more than a buck for it.

Watchmaker - Erased from the Memory of Man
Willowtip press.  Admittedly I'm not a big grind fan (aside from the usual classic suspects), but this is even less interesting than I thought it would be.  I'd heard quite a lot of hype about them and was expecting something over the top, and while this certainly grinds in a noisy and chaotic way, it falls way short of totally destroying for me.  I suppose I was also expecting them to be more or less pure grindcore along the lines of say, Insect Warfare, but this has quite a bit of noise and crust influence too. 

Asian Typhoon - Wings (2008)

Cost: 99¢

Ok, so this is actually the US re-release of X.Y.Z.→A's Wings album under the less cryptic Asian Typhoon bandname (which was also the name of their first album).  I found it odd the spines read "Asian Typhoon / X.Y.Z.→A" to stress the name change while neglecting the actual album title.

I knew Minoru Niihara was the vocalist beforehand, but didn't realize until reading the liner notes just before listening that Fumihiko Kitsutaka was the guitarist.  That got my hopes up, since Minoru did some guest vocals on Fumihiko's Never Ending Story album, which were the best tracks there.  His guitar playing is the highlight of the CD, and his largely neoclassical style gives the album an extremely strong power metal edge at times, although there's a lot of more rocking material here, and a hard rock undercurrent in general.  I suppose in a general sense, like current Loudness, you could classify it as some kind of contemporary heavy metal, although it doesn't get either as groovy or thrashy/extreme as newer Loudness, and the guitar playing is very different from Akira Takasaki's.  In some ways I'd say this is musically closer to Sly or Niihara's solo stuff than any era of Loudness.

My first impression wasn't that great as the first track is a ballad, and the second has off-putting barked gang backing vocals which are used in a couple songs.  It did grow on me, although the album is a bit uneven at times, and I definitely preferred the speedier/heavier material as a whole.  There is some token Japanese weirdness with "Optimism-Self Therapy"--the verses are essentially spoken word motivational speech/pep talk stuff in Japanese, with a chorus of "Wo wo wo, let's get happy."  Yeah...