Black Friday Additions to My Collection 11-23-12

Time once again for another exciting installment of Everything METAL! Brace yourselves for a load of new additions to my collections

Testament - "The Legacy" The amazing debut from the bay area thrash maters! It has that classic old school sound I love and plenty of solid riffs. Now my Testament collection is pretty extensive. I'm only missing "The New Order" and once I get that I'll have every cd up to "The Ritual". I will probably wind up getting all their releases eventually, but all in good time.

                                                                           
Sepultura - "Arise" YAYHOO! Finally Max Sepultura! This is actually really good! Now I want "Beneath the Remains" and "Chaos A.D." even more now.
                   "Against" I only picked this up because it was two bucks. I haven't even listened to it yet.

                                                                         
Obituary - "Frozen in Time" Yes, I am aware that this isn't an amazing release like "Cause of Death" or "Slowly We Rot" but this was the only one they had and I really wanted some more old school Death metal."

God Forbid - "Gone Forbid" I've been looking for this album ever since I heard "Antihero" I the bonus sampler disc that came with Shadows Fall's "War Within" record. Finally, I have it and I like it a lot!

Pantera - "Reinventing the Steel" The last album and no where near their best but still a decent effort. It's Pantera so it's going to be better than a majority of what's out there but its not up to par with their better albums. Now the only cd I'm missing is "Far Beyond Driven". I've been contemplating picking up a package where I get all their cds for $20. I would most likely give the ones I already have to my buddy who only listens to crapcore in hopes of getting him into some better stuff. Or I might just keep them for myself because it can't hurt to have an extra copy of some of my favorite cds.

Dethklok - "Dethalbum II" Honestly I was kinda disappointed. I had heard a few song by these guys and even bought season 4 of their show. I think the hype over the show makes them out to be better than they really are.

Dio - "Master of the Moon" If it's Dio then it must be good! I thought that very thing as I picked it out to purchase. Words can not describe how wrong I was. I think this came out in 2004 and you can tell Dio was getting old. The songs and vocals aren't bad but the whole record is just boring. I Love "Holy Diver", "Last in Line" and all those classics but this album sounds like he was tired and I don't blame him since he was getting up there in age.  Cool album cover though.

                                                                          
Battlelore - "Sword's Song" I saw a few youtube videos of this band and they were okay. So I took a chance and I'm not sure how to feel about this record yet. (Probably because I haven't listened to it all yet.) The vocals seem to be drowned out by the symphonic elements and other instruments.

Children of Bodom - "Blooddrunk" When I first heard this I was kinda turned off by the weird implementation of the keyboard. However, after another listen I really liked this cd. It's like a freight train from start to finish. I'm glad I took a chance on it. If they would have had "Are You Dead Yet?" I totally would have picked that one up instead because that's the one I'm searching to find. Oh and this is the special edition of "Blooddrunk" with a dvd that has two different recording styles of the album, the music video for "Blooddrunk" and the making of that video.

                                                                       
Fear Factory - "Demanufacture/Remanufacture" The Fear Factory record everybody seems to love. I was lucky enough to find it with a bonus disc of "Remanufacture" which is nothing more than "Demanufacture" track's remixed. All in all it is a Fear Factory release and it has that awesome 90's feel to it when I listen to it.

                                                                           
Dream Theater - "Awake"
                          "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence"
                          I'm so happy I found these! Now I'm only missing "Octravarium" then my collection will be complete! "Awake" is the 1994 release that came after "Images and Words". These albums share the same sound but "Awake" has heavier sections. Which one is better you ask? I've listened to "Images" so many times its unfair to compare "Awake" to it with only one listen. "Six Degrees" is the 2002 release that came out after their breakthrough album "Metropolis pt 2: Scenes from a Memory". What special about "Six Degrees" is that it has two discs! The first disc has 5 songs, each very lengthy and quality DT material. The Second disc is one entire song lasting about 42 minutes, the title track. Here's a little thing I noticed; upon listening to the 42 min track I noticed that the ending fade out is also the beginning of "As I Am", the opening track on their next record "Train of Thought." I just thought it was a neat little thing I noticed and felt the need to share with the internet.

                                                                                       
                                                                               
That was a lot and most likely the last purchase of 2012 for me. I know it's a sad thing, but Christmas has yet to come and I know I'll be getting some more then and not to mention gift cards to amazon so I get all those hard to find expensive albums I want. Don't forget I'm still working on that best of 2012 list but I probably won't put that out until after the new year. So until next time...keep it METAL \m/

Part 4 of My Collection O-W THE END!

It's been awhile since I added a posted about my collection that doesn't have to do with adding to it. I'm nearly finished so let's see how far we get today.

O
 Once Dead- "Visions of Hell" This is a Christian thrash band that hardly anyone knows about. They have some pretty impressive riffs and put me in mind of Slayer.

                                                                 
Onward to Olympas - "This World is Not My Home"
                                   "War Within Us" Yet another Christian Metalcore band but these guys are actually half decent. Their firts album is their best but I haven't listened to their newest release yet.

Opeth - "Ghost Reveries" Now since I've already told you about all the other Opeth I purchased in my other "Additions to my Collection" posts I'll just put my favorite one here. "Ghost Reveries" is my favorite and out of the ones I've heard their best.  It's perfectly balanced with hard songs and easy softer songs. I enjoy this record from front to back every time I play through it.
                                                     I even bought a shirt with that pic on it!

                                                                       
Overkill - "Wrecking Your Neck LIVE"
               "Immortalis" Classic East coast thrash for the win! These guys were around before Metallica and way better if you ask me. They definitely deserve to be in the big 4. "Immortalis" is so under rated but so amazing. I know I don't have any of their classic stuff from the 80's but those cd are so hard to find. But from what I've heard these guys don't deviate from their sound so it's safe to say what they create today is comparable to what came out in the 80's.

                                                                           
P
 P.O.D - "Fundamental Elements of South A Town"

Pantera - "Cowboys from Hell" Their best effort!
               "Vulgar Display of Power"
                "Great Southern Trend Kill"
               "Far Beyond the Southern Cowboys Vulgar Hits"
               If you want something that sounds different than all those other groove/thrash bands then this is exactly what you want.  "Cowboys" is so fresh and new even still today! The production was so much cleaner than anything else they did after that record. RIP Dimebag.

                                                                               
Prong - "Cleansing" Awesome chunky heavy material, check it out right now!

Q
 Queen - "Greatest Hits"
               "Classic Queen"

Queensryche - "Operation: Mindcrime" One of the best concept albums you'll ever listen to. Like Bruce from Iron Maiden says, " 'Mindcrime' is the proper way to make a concept album." It lives up to the hype.

                                                                               
R
 Rammstein - "Sehnsucht" It has the song "Du Hast" and a bunch of other good ones.

RED - "End of Silence"
           "Innocence and Instinct"
           "Until We have Faces"
           My favorite was the first album but every release after it has been right on spot with the one before it. They are a Christian band that sorta sounds like Linkin Park when they were good.

Rush - "2112"
           "A Farewell to Kings"
           "Hemispheres"
           "Moving Pictures"
           "Clock Work Angles"
           Yep, gotta have some of that awesome prog in you collection to even have a collection worth having. There isn't really much to say about this band because they speak for themselves. But in my personal opinion I think "A Farewell to Kings" is my favorite, but it's so hard to decide!

                                                                     
S
 Sacred Reich - "Independent"  Good newer thrash with a unique sounding vocalist.

Scar Symmetry - "Holographic Universe" Here's band that is turning out solid material! This album is so amazing and the guitar work is mind blowing! Christian (however you spell his last name and I'm not even gonna try here) the ex vocalist is one of my fav singers. He can hit those high notes then drop down to a deep guttural grow. This type of music really puts you in mind of space metal. If such a things exists.

                                                               
Sepultura - "Blood Rooted"
                  "Dante XXI" I lack any of the Max era Sepultura unless you consider "Blood Rooted" is but it's only a collections of rare besides and crap like that. However, "Dante XXI" is a pretty good album and has a really good sound. If I can find these cds cheap enough I'll buy just about whatever they put out and I don't know why. I mean they are ok but nothing mind blowing. Maybe one day I'll figure that out.

                                                                   
Sevendust - "Home"
                   "Animosity"
                   "Seasons"
                    Meh, decent nu-metal but "Home" is their best and only one worth having.

Shadows Fall - "Somber Eyes tot eh Sky"
                        "The War Within" My first cd I ever bought and one of my favorites.
                        "Fallout From the War"
                        "Seeking the Way: Greatest Hits"
                        "Threads of Life"
                        "Retribution"
                        Shadows Fall was originally fronted by All that remains singer Philip Lebonte. (or whatever his last name is.) He was on "Somber" and that album had a more death metal vibe. This band makes pretty good albums and used to be my favorite band when I was a lot younger. The reason they aren't my favorite anymore doesn't mean they got worse but because my taste matured and I found better things. I still love these guys and "War Within" is still an amazing album, one of the best! There is not a bad song on that record. To prove that they are still at the top of their game their new cd, "Fire from the Sky", is in the running for my album of 2012. Yeah it's that good.

                                                                   
The Showdown - "Back Breaker"
                            "Blood in the Gears" Good solid grove metal.

Slipknot - "Vol. 3: Subliminal Verses" This about the only album I like by this band. I has "Before I Forget", "Pulse of the Maggots", and "Duality".

Soundgarden - "Superunkown" A really surprisingly good grunge album.

Stratovarius - "Destiny"
                      "Elements part 1" This is actually a pretty good power metal band. Every album I pick up by them I enjoy.

Symphony X - "Iconoclast" If there is one album you must listen to before you die it is this one. If this came out in 2012 it would take 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. It's by far one of the best things I've ever heard! I would own more of their material but I can't find them anywhere. Go out now and get this album before it disappears like their other releases!

                                                                             
T
  Testament - "The Ritual" when I first went through all my cds, sometime at the beginning of 2012, I only had this record. I'm glad to say my Testament collection has grown significantly! This album is the last with Alex Skolinick before he came back in 2008 to record "Formation for Damnation.", at least I think it was in 2008.  Over all this is a boring record, but I got it for $2 at Halfprice Books so I'm not complaining.

Theocracy - "Mirror of Souls"
                   "As the World Bleeds" One of my top bands right here. Freaking EPIC Christian power metal! The musicianship exhibited here is phenomenal! A must for any power metal fan!

                                                                        
Tourniquet - "Where Rust and Moth Destroy"
                    "Anti-septic Bloodbath" Tourniquet is a Christian thrash band that uses lots of technicality. Although the vocals aren't the best they aren't that difficult to get used to. People are making a fuss about Necrophagist or Wintersun taking so long to release their next album; well those people wouldn't have lasted if they knew about Tourniquet. "Where Rust and Moth Destroy" came out in 2001 I believe and the next release just came out this year. Yeah over a decade to wait and all I can say is that it was worth it.

                                                                     
Trivium - "Shogun" Three words, GO BUY IT! This album a masterpiece if you ask me. I love it and I'm afraid to get "In Waves because I'm afraid I'll be disappointed. How do you follow up an album like this. It would be like Machine Head trying to follow up the "Blackening", nearly impossible.
                                                                        SHOGUN

     
W
  War of Ages - "Fire from the Tomb"
                         "Pride of the Wicked"
                         "Arise and Conquer"
                         "Eternal"
                        Yet another Christian Metalcore band. These guys stand out from the pack because of the melodic and intricate guitar sections and solos. They do have a lot of good break downs which can be entertaining if you're in the right mood.

                                                                     

PHEW! That's all of my cd collection! Now you can read it any time you get bored enough. Now I'm going to make another post about a ton of new cds I just bought, gotta love black Friday deals!

Until next time....keep it METAL \m/
                                                                    

Promised Land PSA

If you read some of my other posts you'll notice I did not care for Queensryche's "Promised Land" album. When I first listened to the record I didn't really like it because it was nothing like "Operation: Mindcrime", it was more like a Pink Floyd-ish album. Upon listening to it with a more open mind I've come to really enjoy this album. Just about every song is a good tune and enjoyable to listen to. So please disregard my first opinion on this album for it is an album that gets better with each listen.

                                                                            

Additions to my collection 09-30-12 through 11-17-12

 I return once again to bring you the new cds I bought. It's a rather lengthy list so let's not beat around the bush.

09-30-12

 

Trivium - "The Crusade" This is the album that came before their master piece "Shogun". I heard this one was more thrashier so I thought I'd try it out. It is more of a hardcore/thrash style record. It an ok album but "Shogun is way better. The title track is an 8 minute instrumental and my favorite off the album.

                                                                              

Tool - "Laterus" It's about time I get a freakin tool album. This is an album you have to listen a few times before you understand what the heck is going on here. It's very progy and confusing listening to it the first time but after a few listens it gets better and I'm enjoying it now. 

10-15-12

For a graduation gift I received a $50 amazon gift card, so while I was searching for DT cds I saw a jewel I HAD to have. For $45 ($47.23 shipping included) I found the "Dark Clouds and Silver Linings" special edition deluxe box set. This originally came out in 2009 (and was $120 I think?) and it was still unopened! If you read my earlier posts you'll notice I already have this album, but I don't have the box set and all the goodies that come with it. It has:

 The album (DUH!)

 A covers cd with covers of Iron Maiden, Rainbow, Queen, Camel, King Crimson, Dixie Dreggs, and others.

 And all instrumental of the entire album

 The whole album on two records (Giant black cds in case you were wondering)

 Expanded art work

 A dvd of producer mixes of each instrument and vocals by themselves for every single track.

 A mouse pad with the album cover 

  And it all comes in a lovely felt box

 So, was it worth $45? (Actually none of my money because of my gift card) I think you know the answer to that.

                                        In the background is only part of my 250 plus collection

                                                                                       

10-27-12

Black Sabbath - "Black Sabbath" Here it is, the album that helped start it all. There isn't much to say about it, I mean its Sabbath so its automatically good.

Black Sabbath - "Paranoid" Now this is a flawless album from the War Pigs to the Fairies Wear Boots. I absolutely love this album. No wonder everybody likes this album, it's so groovy and simple! Every metal head should own this album! I was wasting my time before I bought it. This IS metal!

                                                                            

Between the Buried and Me - "Colors" With a band name like that you'd expect another run of the mill crapcore bands but this is actually good! It's like good metalcore with lots of prog elements. I didn't think progressive metalcore existed but I have been proven wrong once again. This is said to be their best effort but I haven't heard any of their other albums so I can't confirm that speculation, but it is pretty entertaining to listen to.

Iced Earth - "Something Wicked Comes this Way" What can I say I'm loving Iced Earth more and more with every cd I buy of theirs. Awesome heavy metal, enough said.

Immolation - "Majesty and Decay" Some awesome melodic death metal band. They aren't super fast and technical which is a nice change from the other death metal bands I listen too (NILE!). The song "Glorious Epoch" off this album is frikin EPIC! I'm glad I finally picked this up.

Testament - "Souls of Black" Good thrash that sounds like it was recorded in a warehouse. However, the production value does not decide how instrumentation will sound and that is proven on this album. The riffs are pretty crushing, especial on the title track. I have come to appreciate the unique sound (horrid production) Testament has on this and other albums. It would be nice if they re-recorded this album so it sounded newer and beefier because beefier is always better when it comes to thrash! Just ask Gary Holt.

Testament - "First Strike is Still Deadly" The album title says it all. This collection of songs off their fist two cds ("Legacy" and "New World Order") re-recorded in 2001 really shows how good Testament is once you can hear all the instruments! I love this cd because of the sound, its so chunky and groovy.

11-11-12

Megadeth - "United Abominations" This album is pretty good except for the fact that Dave talks a lot. I agree with most of what he says but I don't want to hear him talk over the awesome fret work! Release a solo preaching album where you can speak your mind freely, I know I'd buy it. Other than that its a Megadeth album what more do you need me to say?

Iced Earth - "Horror Show" Here they did an album about horror story characters. It's pretty interesting. But the golden part was opening it and finding it had 2 discs! The second disc and a killer cover of Iron Maiden's "Transylvania" plus an interview with John Schaffer about Iced Earth. I heard that some copies of horror show came with the bonus disc but I didn't think I'd get as lucky to actually get one of the special ones! 

                                                                     

Rush - "Caress of Steel" The album that came before "2112". It's Rush so you should know it's good. I think it's definitely in my top three Rush albums (Other two being "2112" and "A Farewell to Kings"). "The Necromancer" has a nifty riff I enjoy immensely.

Lamb of god - "Resolution" I feel like Randy was turned up WAY too loud on this album. The instrumentation was buried underneath his vocals and I was disappointed. I wish they'd make another album like "Ashes of the Wake".

11-17-12  

Pink Floyd - "Dark Side of the Moon" I finally found this album for less than $30. Since I'm posting this on the day of these purchased these I have not listened to them in their entirety. In fact I haven't even listened to this at all yet, but everyone says its good so I hope they are right.

Between the Buried and Me - "The Parallax II: Future Sequence" Yes, I had to pick up their new one to see if it was worth the hype. I know your on the edge of your seat waiting for my opinion.......it .....is..........not as  good as "Colors". I know what you're thinking, "What?! You listened to this before Floyd? What is wrong with you, you, you musical barbarian!". Well, I just was in the mood for "The Parallax II" ( I seriously have know idea what that even means). While it's not as good as "Colors" is still a good album. I've only listened to it once so maybe it'll get better with another go around. Plus I listened to it on my pc (while I was typing this) without my noise canceling head phones ( I listened to "Colors" with my head phones) so you have to factor that in as well. While it's a better release of this year I still think Shadows Fall's new cd is better along with Fear Factory's and Nile's.

                                                         

Demons and Wizards - "Demons and Wizards" This is a collaboration of Iced Earth's John Schaffer and Blind Guardian's vocalist. I heard about it on the interview on the bonus disc of "Horror Show". It sounds like Iced Earth but with Blind Guardian vocals. Not much really to add.

Voivod - "Infini" I was interested in Voivod because I heard they were a pretty good thrash band in the 80s so I thought I'd try them out. Well, my first mistake was purchasing an album released in 2009. I was smacked in the face when I heard the first track and found out that this was NOT thrash at all! It's like stoner doom metal but really bad stoner doom metal. If you ever see this in the store run, run far away unlike me. I wasted my hard earned cash on this ugly lump of dung. I'm just glad it was only $7. I'm just gonna add a fun fact and let you think about it, Jason Newstead is in this band.

Yngwie Malmsteen - "Marching Out" Neo-classical goodness. I now have "I Am A Viking" stuck in my head. Amon Amarth should totally cover that song but death metal it up a bit. I got this for free because it was part of a buy three get the 4th  free deal (that's why I took a chance on Crapvod because I need one more used cd). 

Well that's it for this time. I'm thinking about doing a post about top albums of this year and one of all my metal shirts and magazines I recently purchased. Oh I also forgot to mention that I am now a reviewer for the sight www.metal-temple.com . I was lucky enough to review Death's "Spiritual Healing" reissue. Reviewing it was the first time I heard it and it is amazing like all Death material. I'm also planning on traveling to a giant FYE in a city far away and making a colossal purchase of cds and vinyl, sort of a last hoora before the new year and tax increases because of the wonderful obama care (I used HIGH levels of sarcasm on that last phrase.)   

Until next time....keep it METAL \m/