UltraMantis Black - UltraMantis Black (2014)

Cost: 99¢

This CD is available for trade.

Apart from the Relapse logo, went in blind on this one.  I had never heard of the wrestler before, so I had no idea the guy on the front was one, or that he was even in the band.  I chalked it up as just being bizarre modern cover art.  Expectations weren't high, but I was figuring on sludge at best, indie rock at worst.

...So of course it ends up being HC/powerviolence.  A couple songs add some grind into the mix too, but it's still nothing that interests me.  Luckily for my attention span the whole album is less than 14 minutes long.

Bloodstream Parade - The Apocalypse In Retrospect (2009)

Cost: 99¢

 This CD is available for trade.

Modern thrash/groove stuff. Initially I'm inclined to say this is (marginally) better than other bands in the style since the vocals are less annoying, and occasionally they come up with something okay musically.  What's frustrating is that these parts are all VERY brief.  Literally every single time I heard potential in a riff, within seconds they'd switch to generic chugging.  Check out "Future Eyes Only"--it starts out as fast, energetic thrash, but that only lasts...11 SECONDS.

On the plus side, their fun crossover-ish cover of The Beastie Boys "Fight for Your Right" is very good and easily the best part of the disc.

Driven by Hate - Done with Life (2006)

Cost: 99¢

Coupled with the band name, that awful cover reeks of hardcore.  Still, the band pic (they're all older, except for the drummer) did look like a metal band, so I decided to take a closer look at the CD.  The booklet was pretty encouraging--there's a tribute photo of their deceased former guitarist where he's wearing a Slayer shirt, and there are credits for an unlisted Black Sabbath medley--so I went ahead and bought the disc.

The first track was pretty much what I was expecting--downtuned, groovy modern thrash.  Since it was metal and the vocalist wasn't a aggro shouter or hardcore barker, I was still relatively okay with it.   Then "Gods of the Severed Sky" starts.  Suddenly they're blazing power/thrash, with the singer doing very Painkiller-esque highs to match (though they're more like a mix of Ripper Owens and David Wayne than pure Halford).  "Outcast" sounds like a Black Album-era Metallica semi-ballad, but most of the rest of the disc is a mix of the groovy thrash with those very cool Painkiller-style parts thrown in.  It's kinda disappointing they felt the need to put in the more modern sounding stuff at all, but it's still way, way better than I was expecting.

Last track is an unlisted 9-minute Sabbath medley: "War Pigs"/a very short bit of "Symptom of the Universe"/"N.I.B."/"Black Sabbath"/"Electric Funeral."  I was kind of surprised as the vocalist's "regular" midrange vox are much stronger here than on the band's original material.  The medley itself is excellent, but unfortunately there's fake crowd noise playing through the entire track.

Baphomet - Trust (1994)

Cost: $1.00

Used to have this one.  Several years ago, it was easy to snag this disc ultra-cheap (I'm assuming Massacre was liquidating overstock of the US pressing).  Pretty surprised to find this--it's still not a rare disc by any means, but it looks like the supply of cheapo copies has dried up.

On its own the music is ok and even if not great, it's a decent album for a dollar.  Still, I can't deny my personal disappointment in their change of style.  I liked the death/thrash of their debut the best, but then they toned that down significantly on their second album, and it's shed almost completely here.  The first two tracks aren't too far from the sound of Latest Jesus, but as things go on it's clear they've switched to a more relaxed and less frantic style of thrash, sounding like a mix of early 90's Bay Area influenced Euro bands (with the use of gang vocals and such) and a lethargic version of '89-'90 Kreator.

The vocals on the earlier material could get pretty wild, which I liked, but unfortunately the higher and raspier vocals of the first two albums are all but gone.  I do still like the main style of vocals here, which are reminiscent of Tom Angelripper, but again, I think the vocals would better serve more extreme music.  The production job and vocals make the album sound aggressive, but it lacks the rough viciousness of their debut.

Flatline - Pave the Way (2008)

Cost: $1.00

Didn't go in with high expectations on this one--most of the reviews I read referenced Pantera and Lamb of God, but interviews and bios seemed to indicate the band themselves saw themselves as some kind of old-school thrash.  Unfortunately, while pretty thrashy at times, it does definitely reek of the former: '90s-style groove metal with the aggro vox I loathe.  The guitarwork often has a melodeath feel.  Not enough here to make this disc particularly interesting for me.  If questioned I could honestly state I prefer this to something like say, Skinlab, but why listen to either in the first place?

As a side note, while most of the graphics and layout here aren't noteworthy (except for the last band photo where they're pretending to beat up their very nu-rock looking vocalist), the skull with bolts used in the artwork is pretty cool (aside from the dumb tribal designs slapped on it).  There's a winged version on the back of the booklet that reminds me of an industrialized version of Overkill's Chaly.

Malsain - They Never Die (2005)

Cost: 50¢

When buying this, I definitely expected something that was either very gothic-influenced or an overly experimental sort of BM.  Thankfully, it's very straightforward contemporary Norwegian black metal.  They were compared to Khold a lot (even by their own label PR, it seems), and while they aren't soundalikes, it's not an unfair general comparison.  Not my preferred stuff, but this was well worth the 50 cents.  I should add that the vocalist is female--since the vocals are done well, it may seem weird to mention it at all.  However, female vox in extreme metal are typically so sub-par, immediately recognizable, and falsely praised in the name of political correctness, that I need to emphasize that here they don't detract from the music.

Ironically, despite the music being very stereotypical BM in almost every aspect, the band tried to differentiate themselves from the black metal scene--for example, the corny statement in the booklet that "MALSAIN performs Claustrophobic Metal exclusively."  The lyrics touch on horror/nightmare themes, but they (the English ones at least) are too scant and simple to be effective psychological horror.   I could see the lyrics working better in conjunction with music like Woods of Infinity (consider the opening lines of the title track--A group of children playing outside/In my van I offered them a ride--hahaha), but there's nothing particularly weird or creepy about the music.  

Devin Townsend - Terria (2001)

Cost: $1.00

Rather disappointing that this was one of the only finds after a long day of CD hunting.  I'm not a fan of any of Devin's material that I've heard (including this), but by the middle of the album everything is extremely mellow and it just becomes inoffensive background music to me.  There are a few little bits of extremity which hint at Strapping Young Lad, mostly in the first few tracks, but luckily, they're rare.  Overall it brings to mind a mix of Dream Theater's most atmospheric material and the oddness/experimental tendencies of Steve Vai (but obviously far less guitar oriented).