#music collector

Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are: Black Star (2002 Reissue)

© 1998-2002 Rawkus, Priority, EMI, MCA, Universal Records

• —–Professional Reviews—–
• Allmusic.com: 5/5 stars (Album Pick)
• Entertainment Weekly: A-
• Sputnikmusic.com: 4.4 (Superb)
• Rolling Stone: 3/5 stars
• Spin Magazine: 10/10
• The Village Voice: A-
• —–Personal Rating—–
• 8.5/10(Outstanding!)

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.