New Purchases 05-22-12 part 1

I took a trip into town and got a few new cds and the website www.divinemetaldistro.com had a nice sale so I got a few from there as well.

First off from Bestbuy I got the new Shadows Fall record "Fire from the Sky". It came with a bonus making of dvd and anyone who's read my other posts know how I love bonus dvds. The cd is pretty good. I think it's better than "Retribution" which was their last release. Even though I've given it one play through I can tell it's an all around dark record. Just look at the cover. For $10 it's not bad at all and if you get it at Bestbuy you get two bonus tracks and that dvd. I picked it up because I've always been a Shads fan. Their "War Within" was my first album I ever bought and it is a near perfect record, one of my all time favorites. I'll forever compare anything they put out to that cd and compared to "War Within", "Fire from the Sky" isn't as good. Keep in mind I've only given it one play through so I'm sure with time it will grow on me.

                                                                                     
Then I saw Megadeth's "Rust in Peace live"! It was the 20th anniversary of "Rust in Peace" and Megadeth did a tour preforming it in its entirety. They played it from front to back! That's the only way I listen to it.) Being that "Rust" is in my top five albums of all time I had to pick up the dvd, plus it was only $11. I got home and watched it right away. The sound for a live recording was amazing and so was the picture quality. I can say I'm pleased with it and I'll probably watch it again sometime. The only thing that would make it a perfect performance is if Marty Friedman and Nick Menza were back in the band. Then it would be the 1990 line up all over again.

                                                                           
Next I stopped by F.Y.E. Whenever I go there I have a bad habit of buying anything metal out of the used bin. But this time I controlled myself and bought only 1 new cd. Yea, I actually found Exodus' "Let there be Blood". I had been searching for it and I saw it and didn't hesitate picking the cd up. I've already listened to it 4 times, it's just so riffolisious haha. And Gary Holt's guitar is extremely beefy! I really like it. It's actually a re-recording of their classic album "Bonded by Blood" (I'd like to pick that up as well.). So if you like classic thrash but would like to hear it with a modern flavor to it get this album.

                                                                         
I left F.Y.E. and then found a record store(if it can be called that). It's more like a little hole in the wall. It's a small store tucked away almost out of sight. The store, Threshold Audio, sells sound equipment, used cds and vinyl and a cheap price. I picked up 6 things for under $30 so I was happy. I walked in there and I saw Rush's "2112" on vinyl sitting out so I snatched that right away. I also found "A Farewell to Kings" and got that as well. I already had these on cd but I had been wanting to get some vinyl so I could look at the art work and so I could just say, "I own vinyl." haha. Yep these are my first records and it's not a bad way to start a collection if I say so myself.
                                       Look at that, I didn't know that star was a light on water

                                                             
                                  You can't really see it here but the "king" is actually a puppet            

                                                                             
As I moved away from the extensive vinyl section and towards the limited shelf of cds I found a few good ones. First I found a Deceased cd. Let it be known I know nothing about this band. It was only $5 and unopened. The sticker on the wrapper said it was "rare out of print cd" so I figured it might be worth some more moo-la someday. It's the "Fearless Undead Machines" album. I got home and checked out a little bit about the band and found out they are a death/thrash metal band. It sounds like it would be right up my alley but I still held off on opening it. I jump on ebay and Amazon to see how much that cds going for and found used copied selling for about $7. I was a little disappointed but I still haven't opened it and I probably won't....for now at least.

                                                             
Continuing down the shelf I found Dream Theater's "Falling into Infinity"! It's their 97 release, the one before their hit "Scenes from a Memory". I adore DT so I had to get it plus it was only $4. How could I not pick it up? It's okay but not my favorite.

                                                                         
Then I saw "Rosenrot" from Rammstein. I thought I might as well get it because I liked "Sehnsucht" and I wanted to hear some more from the German industrial metal artist. I've only skimmed though it so far and I think I really have to be in the mood for that type of metal. All I'm gonna say is that it's Rammstein. I'm sure once I listen to it I'll appreciate it.
                                                                             

                                                                           
Last I got an odd ball item. Yes' 3 disc "35th Anniversary". I only knew a few songs by Yes and I primarily got it because the Dream Theater guys say that Yes influenced them in their style of playing. I wasn't expecting something like Dream Theater and I was right. It's more of a groovy prog rock band. I enjoy it for when I need some easy listening. I sure got plenty of it, 3 whole discs! I also like the name...Yes.

                                                                         
Now on to what I got at Divine Metal Distro. I don't use this sight that much unless I'm looking for a specific cd that you can't find in you're Bestbuy or F.Y.E. So the guy that runs it sent me an email notifying me that theirs this big sale going on a bunch of cds for $1.99 each. My eye lit up as I clicked on the link and scrolled down through the list of cds. They have just about any genre of metal you could want and I think the majority of it is Christian. I quickly selected a couple I had been thinking about and a few others I wanted to try out. I got Deliverance's "What a Joke". It has that nice old school feel to it. The production is low but on this cd I like it. Their are tracks ranging from 07 seconds to 7 minutes, I guess the it's true to the album name. The open track starts off with the band talking and someone says, "Alright, the label wants us to record another album let's get on it." I just find that stuff funny. Even the cover is amusing.

        

          

New Purchases 05-22-12 part 2

For some reason this blogger thing wouldn't let me type anymore in part 1 so I guess I'll finish it here.

Where was I? Oh yes I also got "Mirrors Within Mirrors" by Michael Phillips. It's a very interesting piece of work. It goes from a thrashy song then a very progressive sounding song then back to thrashy then an all acoustic song. Very very interesting and bizarre.

                                                                     
I selected "Bridging the Gap Between Heart and Mind" from I Built the Cross. Let me tell you, this is some extremely crushingly brutal Christian death metal. I think its on the edge of becoming goregrind. The technicality of it is very tasty. It opens up with a narration from a bunch of different speakers, then the roar/growl/scream comes in a furious attack from the vocalist as he shouts, "Were not going anywhere!". It get's you're blood moving. Just super brutal!

                                                                       
I wanted to check out the band Vengeance Rising so I got the album "Destruction Comes". It's thrash/death metal. I think all the songs sorta sound the same. I like the riff they use but I can't listen to it over and over and over again. If it wasn't 2 bucks I probably wouldn't have gotten it. Although they did send me some neat stickers of their other albums covers.

                                                                               
Taking a drastic step to the other side of metal I got Venia's "Victory by Surrender". It's female fronted Swedish power metal. It's okay but I don't think I'd listen to it that often. It's more of an every once in awhile album.

                                                                           
So that's everything I bought, but then I get an email from DMD saying I get to select any digital download for free. Sweet! I'm thinking I get to chose one song but as I go to the site and read further I find out I get an entire album for free. YAY! It was tough decision. I finally narrowed it down to 2 albums, one from the old school death metal band Morbid Sacrifice and the progressive Israeli band Edgend. I ended up getting the latter's album called "New Identity". It's good and true to what the description says, "Think Dio meets Symphony X.". It's better than the albums I paid for haha! Defiantly check these guys out!

                                                                             

Before I forget again I downloaded an album off of Itunes a few weeks ago and forgot to mention it here. The band Teramaze released their new album "Anhedonia" for $6 on Itunes. For those of you who don't know Teramze is a more rocky and not so progressive (Although prog elements are defiantly there) version of Dream Theater and I believe that are Christian but I am not 100% on that fact. Over all the album has some great riffs and time changes. If you like Dream Theater you might like these guys.

                                                                       
That's it for now. Until next time......Keep it Metal \m/

Additions to My Collection 05-15-12

What a surprise I went to F.Y.E. and picked up a few more cds.

Black Label Society- Mafia (Not too bad of a cd, although it did take a few listens for it to grow on me. I got this cd because it has the track "In this River". I liked that track and decided to take a chance on it.)

                                                                               
Then I found some good old fashioned Blind Guardian! I got "Forgotten Tales" which is a collection of covers (which include "Surfin' USA" and that is a pretty kickin' cover if you ask me.) and other tracks performed alternatively. It's pretty neat. Then I found "Nightfall in Middle Earth" and its a concept album based on J.R.R. Tolkien's Silmarillion. I like albums that do that kind of thing, like an album that has an overall theme. "Operation: Mindcrime" being among my favorite concept albums because it's done so well. Back to the album, I haven't read the book so I couldn't tell you if it followed it or not. It does create the feeling that you are in Middle Earth and traveling on some epic adventure. Few albums have that power but this is one of them. If you like Swedish Power Metal this is a must! They also happened to have Blind Guardian Live so I figured I might as well pick it up as well, aster all it was two discs for $6. After listening to them live I think they are just as good if not better live than on the cd. Another thing that's always a plus for me is the album cover, and BG has some pretty sick covers. Just see for yourself.
                                                                Nightfall in Middle Earth

                                                             Blind Guardian Live

                                                                                         
I had to pick up something Dream Theater related so I got the only thing they had, the "Chaos in Motion" dvd. It's a two disc dvd with one disc having a bunch of songs performed around the world at different concerts and the second is a behind the scenes type of things. I haven't watched them both yet but what little I've seen I like. Luckily it was shot before Mike Portnoy left.

                                                                           
Of course no purchase is complete without some Maiden. That's right I got Iron Maiden's classic "Number of the Beast"! (I'm listening to it as I type this.) It's the first album with Bruce on vocals and it's pretty awesome! (Like all Maiden) The first track "Invaders" is to me a little bit comical. He's singing about invaders raping and pillaging but the music is happy and up beat. I laugh every time I listen to it cause I just can't take it seriously. Then It takes a more serious turn to "Children of the Damned" and the music fits the song perfectly. I'll go more in depth later on the Iron Maiden post I'm planning on doing. But now I almost have all of Bruce's Iron Maiden albums. I think I'm only missing "No Prayer for the Dying", Fear of the Dark", "Brave New World", and "Final Frontier".
                                                                          BUY IT!

                                                                     
This next one is different. My friend bought a used RED cd and turned out that someone had switched the disc. It was switched with a Lordi  disc called "The Arcokaplypse". Of course he didn't want it so he just gave it to me. I think it might be a concept album but I really have no idea. I don't even know that much about Lordi I had only heard of them before this. The music is a mix between death metal and high pitched clean vocals, really different sounding if you ask me. I think it's suppose to be funny, I mean just look at the title. It was free so I can't complain.
                                                    Oh, so that's what the cover looks like haha

                                                                         
Up next I got a classic thrash album from a band that probably no one has heard of, Onslaught. This album titled "The Force" (Nothing to do with Star Wars I assure you.) came out in 1986, the same year Slayer's "Reign in Blood". "The Force", although the production is not the best, the musicianship and riffs are way better than anything on "Reign in Blood". Why am I comparing these two albums? Well they are both thrash albums, they both came out in 1986, and......they are both "satanic" (or so they claim to be). I've listened to both "Reign in Blood" and "The Force" and I can't really say they are out right satanic. They sing ABOUT Satan but it's nothing like Black Metal where they profess their trust in him. What I thought was funny is that one song on "The Force" actually took a passage from Revelations and put it to song. They weren't slamming the Bible just singing along with it. Where "Reign in Blood" was a fast slaughter house sounding record, "The Force" mixed it up and every song actually sounds different. Each song has a unique riff and beat. You can defiantly tell that Onslaught was heavily influenced by Merciful Fate with the high pitched clean vocals they use. So if you want some good old school thrash that's not Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, or any other big named band check this out if you can find it. "The Force" isn't by far a masterpiece of thrash but  it's leaps and bounds a head of "Reign in Blood".
                                                        OH NO! Pentagram must be satanic!

                                                                                     
Finally I got Stratovarius' newest "Elysium". What can I say it's Stratovarius. Excellent Swedish Power Metal. The last album by these guys I got was "Elements Part 1" and I think that was back in 2003 when that came out. They've stayed pretty close to the same sound except maybe getting a heavy sound but that's not a bad thing at all. And the title track is an 18 minute epic so of course I love it.
                                                   

                                                                     
That's all I got this time and I think everything was used except for the dvd. I think used cds are the way to go. Anyways, until next time.......keep it METAL \m/
                                                                             

My Collection as of 05-01-12 Part 2 E-J

I had a few extra minutes on my hands so I thought I might as well add another post of my collection from where I left off.

E


Edguy- Hellfire Club (like I said in my other post, happy feel good power metal)

Exodus- Shovel Headed Kill Machine (Solid album from front to back. It's my first and only Exodus album I have and it's pretty awesome!)
                                                                     What a cover!

                                                               
F

Fear Factory- Obsolete
                      Archetype
                      Mechanize (I love how heavy FF is, but I think Mechanize is their heaviest!!! The guitar sound is so low, I think they might be using an 8 string although I'm not 100% sure. This is one of my favorite albums and I listen to it front to back almost every time.)

                                                                 
Fight- War of Words (If you've read my other posts you know how I adore Fight. This is another favorite of mine. In my opinion Fight is way better than Priest.)

                                                                     
and I have War of Words the Demos

Fires of Babylon- Fires of Babylon (one of many side projects from Rob Rock. If you know his style this won't surprise you. It's so-so for me but I'm not that big a fan of Rob Rock, I only got the album for the song "Lake of Fire" which wasn't available on itunes until recently. Cool album cover though.)

                                                             
Flyleaf- Flyleaf (I'm sure you're wondering, "What the heck, that's not metal?", and you're right but I enjoy it and it's part of my collection and it's my blog so shut up and just skim over it. Other than that, I like her vocals.)

For Today- Portraits (Excellent Christian Deathcore! If I had to pick the most Christian based band these guys and Mortification would be at the top of my list. Portraits basically tells the stories of great figures in the Bible and I REALLY like this whole album. Every song is brutal and in you're face. One of my many favorites.)

                                                                     
and their latest- Breaker (Just as brutal with the message but not as good as Portraits, but still an okay album.)

G


Green Day- Dookie (I know, they aren't metal either but they used to be good back in the day. Take this album. Its my favorite of their's and it came out in 1994.)
                   Insomniac
                   Shenanigans

H


Hope for the Dying- Dissimulation (This epic material, poetic and lots of fancy guitar work. Just very very nice.)

                                                                       

I


Iced Earth- Dystopia (My first IE album and I enjoy it. I listened to it 3 times in one day.)

                                                                     
I, the Breather- These are My Sins (Decent metalcore but without the annoying whinny vocals)

Impending Doom- Serpent Servant (Good heavy dirty sounding death metal)
                             There Will be Violence (Great heavy clean sounding death metal. Brutal from front to back!)

                                                                         
In Flames- Jester Race/Black Ash Inheritance
                  Clayman

In the Midst of Lions- Shadows (Crushing deathcore!)

(HERE WE GO! To keep this post from running on into infinity I'll try to only say a few words about the next albums. I know I'll probably have a separate post just for this artist anyways.)
IRON MAIDEN- Piece of Mind (BUY IT!)
                            Powerslave (BUY IT!)
                             Live After Death ( It's like the best of so far. BUY IT!)
                            Somewhere in Time (The underrated and over looked album. One of my favorite album covers. BUY IT!)
                            Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (BUY IT!)
                           Dance of Death (I know, what a big jump. Still, BUY IT!)
                            A Matter of Life and Death (BUY IT!)
                           Somewhere Back in Time (A best of the 80's. I as I add more to Maiden to my collection this will probably become useless to me. I bought it before I really got into Maiden's back catalog. If you are a casual Maiden listener, BUY IT!)
                            From Fear to Eternity (The best of the 90's to present. This was my first IM cd so just like the album before it I have no doubt that this will become useless to me as well. If you are a casual Maiden listener, BUY IT!)    
                         Iron Maiden being one of my absolute favorite bands will get a solo post so don't fret.

                                                             
J

Jimi Hendrix- Smash Hits (It's what it says. Pretty much the only Hendrix you need. Great Nam music as I like to call it.)
                                                      One of my favorite musicians, rest in piece

                                                                             
Just on a side note I do have his Live at Woodstock dvd. It has his awesome rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner"!

Joe Satriani- Surfin' with the Alien (interesting)

Judas Priest- Ram it Down (No metal collection is complete without some Priest. Although I don't really like Priest that much I do appreciate what they did to help move metal along. I know it isn't classic Priest like "British Steel", "Screaming for Vengeance", or "Sad Wings of Destiny" but it was free so I'm complaining.)    

That's all I have time for right now but I will finish my collection eventually. I'm finally getting to some good stuff. Until next time.....keep it METAL \m/

Additions to my collection 04-17-12

It's been a little bit over a week (and quite a few purchases) since my last post so I figured I'd better get back on here and share what I got!

             First off I got two cds in the mail from Amazon. I got Adrenaline Mob's "Omerta". I ordered this cd primarily because Mike Portony (ex drummer of Dream Theater) was on this album. I didn't know until after I read the booklet that the vocalist and guitarist from Symphony X was on this cd as well. So I thought this was going to be the best super group ever! It's not bad at all. It's not anything like DT or SX it's good work out music, a solid hard rock album. Lots of good syncopation which I love! If you're hoping it'll be progressive like Dream Theater you will be disappointed. If you get it because you wanna hear good music you'll enjoy it. On Mike Portony's presence on the album I'd say his full potential was not shown here. It's good and the drums are defiantly there and he uses them a lot but I want to hear him drum like he did with DT. Sadly those days are over.

  (Just a wee little note, this album is explicit, I didnt know that until I opened the package and saw the black and white "Parental Advisory Explicit Content". Only one song, "Feelin' Me" is explicit the rest is clean.) 

                                                                               
The next cd I got was Machine Head's latest "Unto the Locust". I know I'm a little late to the whole Machine Head party but hey, better late than never. I sure am glad I got into them. I got the "Blackening" off Itunes around Christmas last year and I really like the riffage they use. It's a shame they use the "F" bomb so much. That being said "Unto the Locust" doesn't have an "F" bomb in sight! The album is pretty good, not as good as "Blackening" but still worthy Machine Head material. Of course I had to get the special edition, it was only $5 more and it came with more art work in the booklet and a dvd of the making of. It was a short 30 minute video and I was hoping for some more content but oh well. So I'd recommend this to anyone interested in Machine Head and if you're already a Machine Head fan you should already have this because it did come out last year.

                                                               
Then a few days later I went to our local F.Y.E. and got $80 worth of cds. Yes that's right $80....I think I have a problem. So first off I found Avantasia's "Wicked Symphony". For those of you that don't know, Avantasia is a side project of the vocalist from Edguy. This album, "Wicked Symphony" has a boat load of guest musicians. Such musicians range from Symphony X to Judas Priest. Other than that it's good Swedish power metal. If you like Edguy you'll like this.

                                                                       
Finally I come across something I've been looking for...Death! Of course I mean the old school death metal band Death with the legendary Chuck Shuldiner. Words could not describe my joy upon finding the albums I had been searching for. I picked up "Human" and "The Sound of Perseverance" I would have cleaned them out of Death but all the albums were $15 dollars so I had to leave behind "Individual Thought Patterns". I'm listening to "Perseverance" as I type this. "Human" and "Perseverance" were the reissue so they both came with two discs. The second discs are a bunch of demos, live tracks, and instrumentals which are interesting to listen to. It's a shame Chuck died because it sounded like he had a lot of good innovative ideas still bottled up in his head. I liked the way things seemed to be going on "Perseverance" but alas it was their last. Every death metal band has Chuck to thank for paving the way. Rest in peace.

                                                                The great pioneer himself

                                                                       
I found Destruction's "Day of Reckoning" and I thought, "What the heck, I like the song 'The Price' so why not. I hear that are good thrash, and I love some good thrash." Well they really aren't my kinda thrash. I like a bit more technicality in my thrash and this album just didnt do it for me. Maybe I need to listen to it again but I could have passed. They did put a cover of Dio's "Stand Up and Shout" so that made it a little better.
                                                             pretty brutal cover if you ask me

                                                                  
 Then I found Edguy's "Hellfire Club". I've been looking for this album because it has the song "King of Fools" and I really liked it. It's happy feel good power metal and its pretty good front to back.

                                                                 
Now, being the metal head I am you'd think I'd have some Iced Earth in my collection. But I did not until I got "Dystopia". This is Iced Earth's latest release and I like it (man i say that a lot.) Since I haven't heard any previous Iced Earth I don't really know what to compare it to. It is power metal so I'm probably going to like it and what a surprise, I do. If you want to hear what Iced Earth is all about and if you're a noob to IE (like me) go pick it up, I enjoy it.

                                                                             
Oh yes, I stumbled upon a jewel....Liquid Tension Experiment. I'm pretty sure it's their self titled but just to be sure this cd has the 30 minute jam session called "3 Minute Warning". For the non-prog fan this will be a total turn off. This band is, or should I say was, made up of Mike Portony, John Petrucci (guitarist from Dream Theater), Jordan Rudess(now current keyboardist for DT but at the time of this recording was not) and Tony Levin on bass. I like prog, therefore I like this. I think only hardcore prog fans will appreciate this cd. I am, however, not saying I don't want other metal heads to listen to this because it is a good and different album. It was only recorded within a week! But it's all instrumental for the most part so since vocals were out of the way they didn't have to take the time to write lyrics to fit the songs. Maybe that's why they pulled it off so fast, I don't know because I have really no idea what it takes to record an album. One more thing, reading the booklet it had an interview with Mike and he was talking about how he was trying to figure out which guitar player to pick. He asked Pantera guitar legend Dime Bag but he sadly couldn't do it. Know I love John Petrucci's work and he truly is a gifted musician so I'm not slamming him when I say this. I really would have liked to hear what Dime Bag would have done with this project. I and a huge Pantera fan because of the awesome guitar work! It would have been interesting to see how he would have add his own flavor to the mixture. Plus it would have been nice to have more of his fret work in general. Too bad he's gone.

                                                                                 
Finally I get to the Kreator section and I start flipping though to see whats all there. A copy of "Coma of Souls" and "Hordes of Chaos". I knew Kreator was good but I didn't have any of their albums yet so I grabbed them right away. If you ask me I couldn't tell you which one I like more. "Coma" is classic thrash, "Hordes" is new thrash. Both are in your face Kreator from front to back and it's nice. I was lucky that "Hordes" was the special edition and it came with a making of dvd as well. But all I can say is that they are both good thrash albums, I doubt you'll be disappointed with either if you like Kreator or thrash in general.

                                                                           

                                                                                 
Well that's it all I got in the past week. It should hold me over for a while.....I hope. Until next time.....keep it  METAL \m/

My collection as of 04-14-12 Part 1 A-D

Hey all again, I'm back and this time I've decided it would be a good idea to catalog my entire cd collection since it is up to about 170. So, why not post it on here for all you to see.


A
AC/DC- Back in Black


Alice in Chains- Dirt (pretty good album if you like feeling depressed)


All That Remains- Fall of Ideas (Most of you probably know of this band from Guitar Hero II from their song "SIX". Let me just say that Fall of Ideas is solid album and you should seriously consider picking it. From front to back it's aggressive and keeps it going until the end)

                                                               


Amon Amarth- With Oden on Our Side (This probably has to be my favorite out of the albums I own by them. I'm not saying their other albums are bad but With Oden on Our Side just was more memorable for me. As all their other albums its full of all things Viking. But I'm sure you could figure that out from the title of this album)

    others from Amon Amarth- Twilight of the Thunder god (I got the one that came with a bonus live concert!)
                                              Surtur Rising  (Only adding the cover because it's just awesome)

                                                        
As I Lay Dying- Shadows are Security special edition (came with a dvd with the making of and music videos!) 
                          An Ocean Between Us (Between Shadows are Security and An Ocean Between Us it's hard to pick which one I like more. They are both great!)

                                                        
As They Sleep- Dynasties (Brutal Christian death metal here. Plus they are a conservative band, just listen to  "To the Republic" and you'll know what I mean. The whole cd is good and its an interesting to hear them sing\yell about all the different powers that rose and fell throughout history. From Egyptian kingdoms to Hitler's Reich and to our present day government. I highly recommend it.)

                                                                    
Atreyu- Lead Sails Paper Anchor (A so-so album not really my thing, I'd call it happy feel good metal. No I don't mean glam metal)


Avenged Sevenfold- Waking the Fallen (Really good album)
                                 City of Evil (Definitely my favorite by them, although I haven't heard Nightmare, this cd really does it for me. Guitar work A+, drums A+, vocals A+, bass eh can't really hear it. This is one of those cds I listen to from front to back every time. The Rev's drum work really comes out on the record and its too bad he's dead.)

                                                              
 ....and I have their self titled.... nothing really to say about that cd except PASS! Ok well the first song "Critical Acclaim" was the only one I really liked.


B
Becoming the Archetype- Terminate Damnation (This cd is REALLY good for their first release. Very melodic and a few nice breakdowns here and there. I picked up this cd at one of their concerts and it was a pretty small place just about 15 people were there but they still kicked butt! They even asked me to get up on stage and it was just AWESOME for my first metal concert ever. They are super nice guys, even signed my copy! Now since then their singer and bass left to be with his wife and little boy but they do have a new vocalist but I'm not sure about a bassist. Agian REALLY good album!)

                                                            
their second release- Physics of Fire (For me they sorta lost some steam on this one. It's still good but not as good as their first. It opens with a nice track called "Epoch of War" but then the songs seem to just melt together, they all sorta sound the same. But toward the end the song "Endure" is a nice change up and it's pretty good. If you not a real big fan like me I'd say pass and just download the two songs off of Itunes or Amazon.)


their third- Dichotomy (Now this is their jewel and one of my favorite albums ever. This is the ultimate praise and worship cd! They even do a cover of the hymn "How Great Thou Art", and a song called "End of the Age" telling about what's going to happen to God's enemies. If that song doesn't get you're blood pumping you're dead. I love this album its full of good riffs and time changes and it's a masterpiece of musical talent. Don't wait any longer add this cd to your "Need to Have" list and then go buy it!)

                                                                             
and their fourth- Celestial Completion (This is the last album with their first singer and bass player Jason Wisdom. It's very different from anything else they've done this far, it was very experimental. They even had trumpets and a little jazz breakdown in "Cardiac Rebellion". It's an okay album but not their best.)


a little note- (they did release a single called "Necrotizing Fasciitis" but it was only for download and I wasn't going to add it to this list but I'll say it is brutal old school death metal. I was hoping, since it came out between Dichotomy and Celestial Completion, that their fourth album would be old school sounding but sadly no. But maybe with their new vocalist they'll have a new direction and go that way, who knows.)

Black Sabbath- We Sold Our Souls for Rockin' Roll (Ok who doesn't have some Sabbath in their collection? It's good old fashion doom metal. This is a double cd like a best of with Ozzy on vocals. Although I prefer Dio over Ozzy it's still good, but it's Sabbath of course it going to be good.)

Bride- Snakes in the Playground 

          Oddities 

          This is It (If Guns N' Roses were Christian they'd sound like this. Pretty good band though.) 

C

Corrosion of Conformity- Blind (it has the classic "Voting with the Bullet" on there!)

  

 Creed- My Own Prison 

            Human Clay (one of their best)

            Weathered (My favorite and first rock cd I ever got, I think I was 6. I still listen to it today.)

                                                      

and their latest- Full Circle (Not bad after a long hiatus. Pretty good I enjoy it a lot)

D
Demon Hunter- Demon Hunter (This, or Mortification's "Best of Five Years" I can't remember, got me into metal! I was 11. This album was and still is awesome. It's has nice riffs and few breakdowns and stuff like that. Just really good!)

                                                      
Demon Hunter's second- Summer of Darkness (This album, while still good, wasn't as good as their first. I guess it was just their sophomore slump.)
                                   
their third-Triptych (Oh yeah, my favorite by them if not my favorite album ever! From start to finish it's stuffed with nice chugging riffs and syncopation that really gets you're blood pumping! You can tell just with a few listens that they are influenced heavily by classic metal bands such as Pantera, Prong, Testament, and Fight. The songs sound great and simple so nodding you're head along to the music comes naturally. I wish more bands did more simple songs because they rock harder! I got the special edition that came with all their music videos and interviews and it was totally worth the $16 I paid for it back in '06. I will forever compare anything that DH ever puts out to this album. I cannot say enough good things about this album. Just go and buy it NOW!)

                                                                                 
their fourth release- Storm the Gates of Hell (This album, although not as good as the Triptych it's still great. With the Triptych and Storm the Gates Demon Hunter had their golden line up as I like to say. Just like Megadeth had a golden line up with "Rust in Peace" and Metallica had the line up through "Kill 'em All"-"Master of the Puppets" DH had the "Triptych" through "Storm the Gates" line up. After Gates their lead guitarist left to drum for Reliant K and Ryan Clark's brother, Don Clark the rhythm guitarist left.
                                                               The Golden line up

                                                                    
then came number five- The World is a Thorn (it's heavy and melodic, both pluses! But just not as good as "Storm" or "Triptych". I do like the low Sepultura sounding guitar sound though and that was a nice touch to the DH sound.) 
                                                 World is a Thorn art work. It even looks heavy!

and recently # 6- True Defiance (I just got the box set and I'm pretty happy with it. But like I said before in my other post it sounds like "The World is a Thorn pt.2" That, however, is not a bad thing at all.)


on a side note DH did come out with a dvd documentary called "45 Days". It was about their 45 day tour with Living Sacrifice and a few other bands. But since it isn't a CD I wasn't going to add it to this list.


Dead Poetic- Finest


Diecast- Internal Revolution (NICE metalcore! I'm not a huge fan of metalcore but I really like this band and its a shame they haven't put out anything in awhile. The vocalist can really sing and I actually mean SING! Of course it wouldn't be metalcore without some screaming but he does that nicely as well and its not annoying like so many other generic metalcore bands. And the Breakdowns are just mind blowing but simple. Again simple is good. IR brings it from start to finish! So check them out, Diecast's Internal Revolution.)

                                                            
Dio- Holy Diver
       Last in Line 
       Dream Evil (What can i say, it's Dio....do i need to say more? RIP)


Disturbed- Sickness
                Ten Thousand Fists (Their best in my opinion, but I haven't heard Asylum, Believe or their newest album, I can't remember what it's called. And yes I'm too lazy to look it up.)

                                                       
and I have- Indestructible ( a solid follow up to "Fists" but not equal.)


Dragonforce- Ultra Beat Down (If you like fast power\Swedish metal you'll like this)


Dream Theater- Images and Words (Amazing)
                       Metropolis pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (for all you who don't know much about DT this album is  supposed to be a continuation a track off of "Images and Words" called "Metropolis pt. 1: the Miracle and the Sleeper". Pt. 2 is pretty sweet, it tells a story like Queensryche's "Operation Mindcrime" does. It's one of their best.)

                                                          
then I have- Train of Thought (One of my favorite albums. I listen to it front to back ever time. I just enjoy the 11 minute tracks they put on here plus the 14 minute "In the Name of God" track at the end is just epic. It's by far DT's heaviest album and it was my first by them. This is an album I never get tired of listening to, well I don't really ever get tired of Dream Theater because their music is so vastly different than anything else out there and it always satisfies. It helps when the the band is made up of gods, but that's a different subject entirely. I could make a whole post about nothing but Dream Theater. So anyways Train of Though, heavy melodic, progressive, different, GREAT!)

                                                                 
then- Systematic Chaos (If Train of thought  needed a follow up this is it! Although about halfway through it looses some steam it makes up for it at the end with two 15+ min tracks! It's Dream Theater so it's going to be good)


next- Dark Clouds and Silver Linings (This one opens up with "A Nightmare to Remember" a 15 min track! I got this one after "Train of Thought" and it didn't jive with me right off cause I was expecting something like "Thought" After a few listens I was glad I got it. The last track "The Count of Tuscany" is 20 minute epic! It takes your ear on a journey you won't soon forget.)


and their latest release- A Dramatic Turn of Events (This is the first record in over 25 years that the drummer hadn't been on. I heard this news and was crushed Mike Portnoy is my favorite drummer because he makes the drums feel so there. I don't know how else to put it, but he uses the whole set all the time. You may think its obnoxious but you can't say that unless you've heard him drum. It is amazing. So DT got Mike Mangini to replace MP. I got the special edition just so I could watch the drum audition and see how they picked someone to replace the master. In my opinion they should have picked someone else, but what do I know. With MP gone I held my breath while I listened to this cd. There is a BIG difference you can certainly tell the drums are not there as much as in previous albums. At first I shrugged the album off wishing Portnoy was still in there. Then I listened to it again, and again, and again. It wasn't bad, just different. I actually really like it but it's not their best. I even like some of their slower songs on this cd. James, the singer, really puts a lot of emotion into it as always. If you want something to listen to that different and new this is for you. If you've never heard any other DT albums you'll love this. Even if you are a hardcore DT fan you'll still appreciate it, but you'll still be thinking what I might have been if Portony was still sitting behind the drums)
                                                        The master Mike Portnoy

                                                                 




Ok well that's it for now. This post is long enough and I'll finish it in more posts. Don't want to give it to you all at once, gotta make you want to keep coming back for more.  So until next time.......keep it metal \m/