Human Race - Dirt Eater (2001)

Cost: $2.99

Varied melodic power metal.  Songwriting is all over the place, as some songs have groovy, modern sounding riffs, but others incorporate Deep Purple/Rainbow style keyboards and go for a more '70s feel.  There's a lot of hard rock influence--some of the harmonized choruses made me think of '80s hair bands, and even singer Stefano Marchesini seems more like a hard rock vocalist than a typical power metal one.  I didn't come away from this particularly impressed, but I suppose this is better than another 3rd rate Helloween/Blind Guardian/Hammerfall emulator.

They also pull off a good cover of Rainbow's "Tarot Woman" at the end (despite the fact Stefano pronounces the second t in tarot). 

Bomb and Scary - Black Wishing Well (2008)

First of all, let's get the obvious out of the way...The band's name is ridiculous, and the whole evil clown/circus theme in their pictures is uncomfortably close to a certain rap duo (it should be noted that live, some members wear masks and jumpsuits, which only brings another group of no concern to mind).   Their terrible image instantly biases me against them.

This wasn't a completely blind purchase, as I knew this was ex-Imagika/Marquis de Sade vocalist David Michael's later band, so I threw it in with an online order since it was just 99 cents and postage.  Half the music here is that modern style of thrashy power metal that seems to be popular with California bands.  Think Nevermore/Imagika type stuff, only worse.  The other half is the music with the samples, silly "schizophrenic" vocals, and more modern elements added.  Because there's straightforward metal on here, the album is better than it initially looks, but there's nothing here really worth seeking out. 

There are two decent tracks near the end of the album.  "The Nile" has a progressive metal vibe that stands out among everything else.  The best track is actually the first of two unlisted tracks (the second is just some backwards audio filler), which turns out to be quite a thrasher...The production makes me think it's a demo track, but of course, no info is given for it.  The title may be "Shellshock" or "Face the Fear" since those are repeated in the lyrics (guitarist Eric Beard had another band called Dr. Chunk with a song called "Face the Fear," but after finding it online it appears to be unrelated to the tune here). 

Corum - Riffhead (1997)

Cost: $3.00 (as far as I remember)

Thrashy progressive metal, quite good.  The musicianship seems to be at an especially high level, particularly for an indie release.  Then again, it's doubtful someone just picking up an instrument would attempt progressive metal--and if they did, I assume it would sound similar to Damien Storm.

Autumn Clan - Requiem to the Sun (2002)

Cost: $1.00

Picked this up since I saw it was distributed by Napalm on the back.  Unfortunately this is predominantly gothic rock.  Most of the songs sound like melancholy alternative rock, although the guitars are heavy and usually metallic enough to make everything relatively palatable (at times there are excellent twin guitar harmonies that I would have liked to see used with more metal song-structures).  I think this kind of thing would appeal more to fans of newer Katatonia and Tiamat, although the juxtaposition of metal and non-metal elements isn't as blatant here as with those bands.

Meanstreak - Scitso (1995)

Cost: $1.00

Had no idea what to expect with this one.  The band name, album title, and logo style indicated punk or metal to me, and the cartoonish demon cover art brought Green Jellÿ to mind.  Some songtitles and lyrical themes were not very serious,  making me think it could be some overly experimental stuff like Faith No More or Primus.  The layout has a very minimalist DIY feel which screamed rare indie, so I ultimately picked this up doubting I'd ever get another chance.  I was feeling more optimistic after I got it home, as the live pics in the booklet looked like a '90s thrash band to me.

The CD goes all over the place, although the majority of the disc can be comfortably called metal. The guitars are consistently heavy and metallic through the disc, but the style of the first two songs and the weird vocals (on the first track they're very nasal, on the second they have some loudspeaker effect on them) had me thinking that it was going to be overly quirky.  Suddenly, the title track kicks in with a main riff that sounds like a heavier version of old Dokken.  It's sadly the only song of its type on there, but some songs get pretty thrashy.  Sometimes it's done pretty well, as on "Chess" (I actually kind of like those ridiculously high vocals during the chorus), and at other times it's a more generic chugfest.  It's not all straightforward, though--there's the closing tune, "Mr. Cricket," about wiping out annoying crickets by eating them (yeah...), and that incorporates some slap bass and even a mock-rap section.

Had I known what this sounded like beforehand, I probably wouldn't have bothered to actively seek it out.  Worth the buck, though.

Sekond Skyn - Addicted to Chaos (2009)

Cost: $1.00

This CD is available for trade.

Ugh...Wasn't expecting much with this one, but took a chance hoping this would be modern aggro thrash--instead it's nu-crap.  The cover of Men at Work's "Down Under" is fun, but not worth buying the album for.

Vex - Uncontrolled Aggression (1996)

This German band's logo suggests a more extreme type of metal, which arguably would have been more appealing than what you actually get.  Thrash here, and while some of the guitarwork recalls a more oldschool sound, this is firmly rooted in the '90s modern thrash/aggro thrash trends of the day.  "Destroy Myself" even starts off with a requisite mellow/balladish part.  Not an agonizing listen, but thankfully, this is only a short mCD.