Exmortus - Ride Forth (2016)

  Cost: $2.00

I'd been patiently stalking this one for about a year until they moved it from the regular priced used discs to the bargain bin. Sadly, it did have a small but nasty scrape mark on the bottom of the disc that I was worried would make it skip, but fortunately it doesn't seem to affect the playing.

Exmortus have never been particularly to my taste, but I can appreciate the use of neoclassical arrangments in something heavier than power metal or shred. As far as the more technical forms of metal go, the neoclassical influences seem like a more natural fit with the metal guitarwork then most of the bands that draw their technicality from prog. rock or jazz sources. They've toned down the death metal influences a lot from the first album, which probably serves the intricate guitarwork better, but they also seem very bound to it. The full-on classically influenced stuff is engaging, and there's quite a lot of it here. The more standard thrash parts are underwhelming, and some of the less inspired riffs feel like unspectacular melodeath.

Never been a fan of Exmortus' vocals, whether they're Baldan's on the debut album or Jadran's since. I obviously have no problem with extreme metal vocals, so I think a large part of this is the way a lot of the lyrics are broken down by syllable and the resulting cadence. Here, they mostly feel like black metal vocals, with the growlier parts being slightly reminiscent of a more monotonous Akhenaten of Judas Iscariot. I also get slight Jeff Walker vibes a few times (but nowhere as good).

Also cool to see that Exmortus has had the honor of getting 3 of the best newer Phil Lawvere covers (Probably my favorite album cover artist ever. The Hirax cover art he did is also great, but seems like a poor fit with the band--wish it had gone to someone else. The Minotaur EP cover is dorky, and the Nocturnal album is basically a mild tribute to Endless Pain with two Kreator demo guys stuck in the back).

Pretty decent stuff, and I appreciate that they're trying to inject the neoclassical elements into the music with a purpose rather than just making kitchen sink metal to be quirky.

Tusk - Get Ready (2002)

 

Cost: $1.00

This CD is available for trade.

 

This is not any of the metal bands also named Tusk, although based on the cover, I was not really expecting it to be metal. It looks like it's going to be proggish (it was later reissued new artwork that seems more appropriate for its sound), but the unserious sounding songtitles made me think it was going to be more in a post-rock or sludge vein. Instead, it's noisy, screamy hardcore/grind from several members of Pelican. I'm not terribly well-versed in this type of hardcore so I'm not sure who this appeals to. There are very vague similarities to Converge or early Neurosis, but it's not quite as experimental or progressive sounding as you'd think with the presence of the Pelican guys.

Some of the later tracks are slightly more interesting since there's a higher concentration of more straightforward grind parts (most notably the short track "Blood"), but nothing worth keeping this over. Unless you are extremely open-minded about grindcore, I doubt this is going to be very satisfying. Probably best left to the weird music aficionados who love the more HC-oriented releases of Relapse, Crucial Blast, and Hydra Head.

Also just a quick warning--I've seen at least two online reviews from people who didn't seem that well versed in extreme metal, and because this was pretty noisy (and admittedly pretty hard to describe), decided it must be death metal (one review hilariously claimed Cannibal Corpse and Deicide influence!). Take it from your friendly neighborhood bargain bin hunter--while this could be classified as extreme in a sense, if you are expecting metal, let alone death metal, you'll be quite disappointed.

Cold War Survivor - Bloodworth (2007)

 

Cost: $2.00

This is one of those discs that's relatively good as a bargain bin find, but outside of that context really isn't that memorable. The band mixes thrash, death, and unfortunately some more modern influences from groove metal and -core. The death metal influences really help beef this up and make it more enjoyable overall, but again, this exists in such an overcrowded metal scene that it's not very hard to find something better without the modern influences. They're also guilty of cutting very decent fast and thrashy parts short with groovy breakdowns or generic stompy mosh riffs--this is almost always the case with the bands that have thrash mixed in as a component with more modern styles, and it's always a shame to hear. Ugh. Vocals aren't super aggro, but they're gruff and feel a bit on the forced side, lending more HC-comparisons (speaking of vocals, just as an aside, I was surprised to learn that the vocalist/bassist was in the mid-'90s DM band Umbilical Strangulation...While not the most original stuff out there, I still think their Wild Rags mCD was better than this Cold War Survivor album, but alas, since I paid 5 or 6 bucks for it, I can't cover it here).

Despite my criticisms, just as a cheap metal indie CD I bought blindly, it's quite ok. Worth the $2.

Hell - Human Remains (2011)

Cost: $2.00

I had been holding out for the deluxe version of this with the bonus disc of '80s recordings, but I obviously wasn't going to leave the regular edition in the store when it was two bucks. The tracks from the band's old 7" EP are fine, but I never regarded them that highly among the NWOBHM. There's a certain weirdness and pompous theatricality to them where I can understand why they are liked, but they just never resonated with me personally the way stuff like Deep Switch did. When I saw their rather silly comeback look, quite frankly, I wasn't in any great hurry to check them out--especially with Kev Bower's dreadlocks, they reminded me of old men cosplaying as a low-budget version of Cradle of Filth. Also, for better or for worse, I noticed that most of the people heaping praise on their reunion material seemed to be fans of contemporary metal who came across the band due to their higher visibility as a Nuclear Blast signee, rather than '80s metal maniacs digging up rare gems.

It's not bad, but unfortunately, as you might expect from a Nuclear Blast release, it feels a bit too polished and overproduced for what it is. As with the original versions, while they're fine to listen to, but I don't think the band is ever destined to reach a particularly favored status in my mind. On the plus side, the vocals are a solid substitute for the deceased Dave Halliday, and I actually enjoyed the end of the album a lot more than the first few tracks.  The new version of "Save Us from Those Who Would Save Us" is a highlight and probably worth the $2 by itself.

Extrema - The Positive Pressure (2007 reissue)

 

Cost: $2.00

If this had been one of the older pressings with no bonus tracks, I don't know if I would have even bothered to buy it. The album itself is Pantera-inspired groove metal, not the kind of thing worth wasting time discussing. But when I saw this was the reissue with the band's 1991 demo as bonustracks, I got far more enthusiastic about picking it up, which turned out to be a mistake.

When Extrema started out, they were a breezy thrash/speed band on their 1987 mLP--nothing particularly great, but still pleasant to listen to. By the time their 1993 full length debut rolled around, there was still some residual thrashiness, but they were clearly interested in following the groove metal trends of the '90s. Sadly, the demo is pretty lightweight thrash, and the overall sound leans more towards the full length than the mLP. What I found most odd about these tracks is the funk bass parts they love to throw in. There's a very Faith No More-sounding section in "Join Hands," and elsewhere there are funky little runs. They don't really capitalize on them by going further into any Mordred style stuff, and they end up seeming like rather forced distractions from the thrashing, which is honestly rather middling itself. Still, at least there's some genuine thrash in the demo tracks, which is more than can be said for the actual album.

Black Sabbath CDs

The bins have yielded quite a few Sabbath CDs lately; $2 each:

 

Black Sabbath - Sabotage 

 

I'm so used to seeing the cheapo Creative Sounds pressing of this, I was a little surprised to find an actual Warner Bros. press. Feel exactly the same way about this as I do all of the previous Sabbath albums--it's a mix of OK to good songs which are largely overshadowed by the really great stuff on here ("Symptom of the Universe" and "Supertzar"). 

Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstasy

 

"Back Street Kids" is a nice heavy rock song that tends to be underrated in Sabbath's catalogue, "You Won't Change Me" is the heaviest tune here (and thus the only thing on the album really reminiscent of the earlier material), and "It's Alright" is a nice Beatlesque ballad sung by Bill Ward. The other tracks don't stand out much, although "She's Gone" is a pretty if largely unremarkable ballad. I know there's mild debate on whether this or Never Day Die is the better album. I'd absolutely pick Never Say Die based on the title track alone, although if it didn't have it, Technical Ecstasy might be a contender based on the first 3 tracks.

Black Sabbath - Never Say Die

I get the impression I like this album a little more than most metalheads, but even then, I would just rate it as OK. I can easily see someone into the heaviness and gloom of earlier Sabbath not liking the 70s rock-isms here, and even the more energetic songs are absolutely steamrolled by the Dio/Gillan eras. The title track is the standout here, although it definitely ranks lower in the pantheon of Sabbath hits. "Johnny Blade" is also a nice tune. Even if less than great, there's something enjoyable to find in just about everything else, although I never really got "Breakout" at all--the intro riff seems interesting, but the big band brass stuff just feels odd, even on an especially "open-minded" Black Sabbath album.

 

 

Black Sabbath - Mob Rules

 

I've never really had a favorite Sabbath album. The Ozzy era has standout tracks for me but no particular album elevated itself above the others. Born Again has some fantastic material, but since almost half the album is rather lukewarm to me, it seems strange to call it a favorite. Eternal Idol is very even quality-wise but doesn't contain any of my top Sabbath songs. I used to just always call Heaven and Hell my favorite for simplicity's sake, but there was a period where I would have legitimately picked Mob Rules. "Turn Up the Night" is a fantastic opener and one of my favorite Dio-era tracks, which largely drove the decision. The title track almost reaches "Heaven and Hell" levels of greatness, and I like something about every other song except for "Slipping Away." All of that said, I've reverted back to saying Heaven and Hell is my favorite--the presence of "Die Young" tips the scales firmly in its favor.

 

Black Sabbath - Headless Cross

OK album but seems a bit lightweight for post-Ozzy Sabbath. The epic title track is a highlight of the Tony Martin years, but overall I don't think the album is as strong as The Eternal Idol or Tyr.

The Tenth Circle - Of War and Reflection (2005)

 

Cost: $1.99

Found this to be pretty boring. Every track seems to just cycle through a couple of technical death metal riffs and then end, with little variation. Musicianship is good but sterile, there's no particularly interesting songwriting, and there's very little to break up the monotony here. Occasionally the riffage feels more groove metal or -core influenced, giving this a modernized edge I don't really like. That said, I don't think I'd find the music that appealing even without those elements. The vocals are a deep-voiced tough talk style that I normally associate with something like Lamb of God and are only another modern element on top of music I'm not that excited about in the first place. A generic DM growler would have served the music better, I think.