#heavy metal music

Saxon: Dogs of War (2013)

© 1995-2013 Angel Air Ltd/Biff Byford/Demon Music Group Ltd.

• —–Professional Reviews—–
• Allmusic.com: 4/5 stars
• Record Collector: 3/5 stars
• MetalCrypt.com: 3.67/5
• Metal-Hammer.de: 6/7
• —–Personal Rating—–
• 8.5 out of 10 (Oustanding!)

The Order: 1986

© 2012 Massacre Records

• —–Professional Reviews—–
• Dangerdog.com: 3/5
• Metal-Temple.com: 8/10 (Excellent)
• Planetmosh.com: 8.5/10
• MyGlobalMind.com: 9/10
• —–Personal Rating—–
• 9/10(Sexy!)

When it comes to the European Heavy Metal scene, living in New York means that we usually get the shaft. Finding certain albums is difficult unless you have a major record label backing you but if you’re a European band, it’s next to impossible to find it in my neck of the woods. I had to resort to pirating sites when it came to this band but how can you blame me? Record labels cry and moan all the time about pirated music and the profits that are being lost but 80% of the time, those same record labels don’t even properly promote or ship the said music outside of the European market which only hurts the artists in the long run. You might as well not have record labels anymore if this continues.

1986isThe Order’s 4th album and it is currently their best effort to date. The album’s title is a reference to both the musical style that was present in the mid 80′s and the actual music in the album. This isn’t hard hitting Metal. It is more Hard Rockish in sound and very similar to bands like Ratt,Van HalenandKiss. In fact, there is a direct reference to Kiss in one of the tracks but I’ll let you figure that one out for yourselves. Everything that was present in the 80′s can be found here. From the cheesiness in the some of the lyrics (songs like Why Dreaming Hollywood) to the so called Power Ballads that dominated MTV (A Kiss Under The Rain) and every hard rockers weakness…. women (Damn Hot Chick) as well as the occasional fast tempo songs (The Power of Love) All of which were done properly but most importantly, with respect. It is also full of catchy choruses that you’ll be singing for days which happened to me with the excellent track “Fire It Up” Lead vocalist Gianni Pontillo sings in a raspy yet effective voice that compliments the riffs very well which are rich in melody and full of groove. He’s no Rob Halford but damn it, you’ll love him after this. 1986 is all about having a good time and it was more or less my style of Metal. Snatch it up if you can find it.It’s worth every penny.

Minotauri:II

© 2007 Minotauri/Firebox Records

• —–Professional Reviews—–
• Metal-Temple.com: 7/10 (Good)
• MetalStorm.com: 8.7
• Metalfan.nl: 62/100
• Bloodchamber.de: 8/10
• —–Personal Rating—–
• 9 out of 10 (Sexy!)

Let me start of by saying that this was not an easy album to track down. Limited copies, virtually no record stores here in New York & outrages prices on both eBayandAmazon made this a mission that was almost impossible. Doom Metal. What can I say? A genre that for so long I’ve ignored only to find out that I had been a fan all along in the form of early Black Sabbath songs like Electric FuneralandHand of Doom.

Hailing from Finland,Minotauri’sIIalbum was actually my introduction to the genre in the form of a complete project. The band didn’t have a great vocalist. They didn’t even have stellar production but what they did have were a set of skills….. no wait. What they did have were a set of slow, heavy, riff driven songs that absolutely worked. The absence of quality production actually helped as the guitars sound even heavier and distorted despite the riffs having quite a bit of melody to them. This the highlight of the album and you’ll be humming the riffs for days. The lyrics and the songs cover a variety of topics such as love and the betrayal that may come with it (the track “Misery”  is an example) or the cliché accusations of worshiping the devil as was the case in the excellent track “Under The Cross”. As with most Doom Metal albums, the lyrics are full of darkness, sadness, satanic imagery and despair which may put off newer listeners but if you’ve listened to Black Sabbath, then it should come as no surprise to you. At only 10 tracks total, Minotaurimanaged to record an album that was nearly perfect from start to finish. If you want quality Doom Metal, this is it.

Queensrÿche:Empire (24 Karat Gold Disc)

© 2000 EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets/DCC Compact Classics

So good I had to buy it twice… or was it? If you’re not familiar with these gold C.D.’s, they’re essentially remasters by Steve Hoffman but done “right” There were certain qualifications to which album would get a gold remaster. I believe one requirement was it had have gone gold or platinum in terms of sales. These were marketed towards Audiophiles and the gold on the disc meant that the laser would read the information more accurately. They were also marketed as having outstanding quality that one could hear without the use of an expensive audio system. They have since been out of print and they command ridiculous prices on eBay. I bought mine at a yard sale for 10 dollars not knowing or caring about the actual sound quality.

What it comes down to is the actual mastering. I own the original as well as the 2003 remastered version of Empire and I’ll be honest, this one is much better. But does it triumph over the original? It’s hard to say. This release does sound much cleanerand I thoroughly enjoyed it. I still wouldn’t pay the large sum of money that some of these releases command online. Gold or not it’s ludicrous. Do not let my opinion deter you however as I am only talking about this particular release. There are other gold discs out that have superior remastering over their original releases such as the Creedence Clear Water Revival sets (for all you CCR fans) and if your are very much into high quality audio then these might be something to look out for in the future.

• —-Personal Album Rating—-
•     9 out of 10(Sexy!)
• —-Audio Quality—-
•     Exceptional
• —-Recommendable?—-
•     Debatable

Heaven & Hell: The Devil You Know (Bonus Best Buy DVD)

I found this in the street while I was on my way to work. I can’t believe someone would throw this out. Although I have the album which is becoming increasingly harder to find, I’ve always wanted the deluxe edition with this DVD as it contains a mini documentary that details how the band got back together and the recording process of the album. What I found most interesting was how the each band member described the soundof the album. It was mixed. Every band member said something different. Dio would say that the album was similar to Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules in certain moments, while Vinny Appice said it wasn’t as dark as their previous releases. The only one who got it rightwasGeezer Butler who described it as a continuation of Dehumanizer which is exactly what I thought when I first gave the then, new album a listen. I’m so glad I found this. I really enjoyed it.

In Flames