Dio-Secrets of the Moon
(Sanctuary, 2004)


I think it may just be time for Dio to give up. Did anyone think this guy would make a career out of bad heavy metal music? This album is full of bland riffs, terrible lyrics and ever worse vocals. It’s not even that tight most of the time which is just inexcusable. If this is what heavy metal has to offer these days, I’ll crank Master of Reality over this any day of the week.

Resurrecturus-The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell
(Independent. 2003)


Never mind Satan, it’s the cuckoo clocks that are gonna get us. The name of the album is just as odd as the bands musical output though. The bands core sound is definitely death metal, but it’s mixed with hints of rock and thrash metal. It’s an interesting combination that is surprisingly original.

The band has blasting and of course guttural vocals, but it’s how they explore slower tempos that makes this different. They’ll throw in vintage thrash riffs along side riffs that almost have a hardcore like beat to them. In all honesty it sounds like a cross between Metallica’s Master of Puppets and death metal. I’d say they throw in a bit of a modern edge at times as well, bringing to mind bands like Machine Head or Lamb of God. These come during the slower parts, when they interject a bit of melody and the vocals get a bit less guttural.

I wasn’t expecting a great deal because of the album name, but this is definitely interesting and all fans of heavy music would find this worth checking out.

Inked in Blood-Awakening Vesuvius
(Strike First, 2004)


Inked in Blood is as heavy as they are fast and melodic. Breakdowns are met by an almost Shai Hulud style of fast melodic hardcore. All of this is blended seamlessly with a caustic vocal approach and an energetic approach.

They are definitely throwing some unique ideas around. It would be tough to call them just another average hardcore band in anyway. They aren’t truly reinventing the genre, but the spark of creativity is there. They owe quite a bit from Zao, and like I mentioned earlier I hear a lot of Shai Hulud as well.

I do wish the production was a little bit tighter though, especially in the drum department. The bass drums could have stood to be a lot more powerful. In general, it’s a rough mix, but the band manages to keep things together. It’s obvious that they didn’t have much time in the studio, but they keep things as tight as possible, while retaining a good sense of urgency missing from a lot of hardcore these days.

I pretty much expect nothing short of amazing stuff from Strike First and this is another killer release to add to their long list. If you are into metallic hardcore, you can’t go wrong with Inked in Blood.

Across Five Aprils-Living in the Moment
(Indianola, 2004)


This is a band that manages to combine polar opposites. On one hand this band is a melodic rock outfit full of clean vocal lines and catchy melodies, on the other they are a savage breakdown machine with scathing vocals. You might be saying that well, it’s been done before. Granted, it has, but not like this. Without even blinking they switch from the melodic to the heavier side. It’s without any warning and serves as an amazing contrast to the usual upbeat and melodic approach of the band.

It’s somewhat tough to say what they are doing is original 100% though. The number of melodic bands these days is just overwhelming. Granted, these guys are just as good as anything Drive-Thru has to offer and without the radio sensibilities. Certain riffs and the acoustic track are I guess what you would call typical, but they manage to bring in a unique sense of dynamics. Like I mentioned earlier they go from melodic to heavy in a matter of seconds and manage to stay away from the metalcore tag. This is a melodic band with heavy parts, not a heavy band with melodic parts.

Indianola is one of the few record labels that releases this style of music for the right reasons. They find bands that are passionate and offer a unique twist. It’s not groundbreaking but Across Five Aprils are better then most bands playing this style, and leave the pretentiousness at the door.

Gene Simmons-Asshole
(Sanctuary, 2004)


Back when Kiss released their original solo albums, they only sold because they had the Kiss logo on the front. The only one of those albums that was any damn good, was the Ace Frehley album. Gene’s album back then was bogged down by cheesy ballads, and tepid rockers. Low and behold, Asshole is pretty much the exact same thing. The opening track, to me basically sounds like a Domino style Kiss rocker, with everything going downhill, and fast afterwards. There are way too many ballads, and or slower songs. For a guy that dresses like a big fire breathing, blood spitting demon, he sure is a pansy. The title track Asshole, has a more modern radio feel to it and it’s catchy, but the lyrics are just plain stupid. Even the song that was co-written with Frank Zappa isn’t very good. The songs Gene writes for Kiss are amazing, but take this man away from Kiss and he gets far too bogged down in sappiness. I’d have a hard time recommended this to even die hard kiss fans.

Megadeth-The System Has Failed
(Sanctuary, 2004)


With the exception of the Risk album, I’ve pretty much been a fan of everything Megadeth has released over the years. But it’s tough to call the last few albums they did classic Megadeth. The vocals were there, but the technical guitar playing just wasn’t there. As you’ve probably heard, people are saying this new album brings the band back to their glory days. Some have even called this Rust in Peace 2. Is all of this true? To a degree, yes.

Dave Mustaine is back, and with a fire lit under his ass. Gone is the rock influence, and what you have is an album of politically charged and personally pissed off songs. The guitar playing is much more metallic and definitely brings to mind the early days with thrash runs and blistering solos. It’s not as involved as the earlier stuff, but as the first album back this is definitely a good start. Fans of the early days will be pleased to see Chris Poland contributed guitar solos to the album, and while they aren’t as note stuffed as they were back in the Peace Sells days, his style definitely fits like an old shoe. Mustaine also contributes leads and while he may not be up to the level he was before his accident, he is close and with time I’m sure will be back in top form.

The production to me seems to be a bit thin. The guitar could have been a bit denser and possibly packed a bit more oomph. It doesn’t seem like they layered as much as they usually do. The songs are definitely there, but with say the production of Countdown to Extinction this album would have made a much greater impact on my ears I think.

This album definitely gives me hope that there are going to still be mainstream metal records that aren’t easily consumed and made for mass consumption. Hopefully Metallica will take a cue from this and actually write some good music for a change. I doubt it, but at least we have Megadeth back to retake the thrash throne.

Fenriz Presents...The Best of Old School Black Metal
(Peaceville, 2004)


The funny thing about this cd is that it could have been a mixed cd made by any fan of black metal. It has that friend giving a friend a cd to listen to feel. Of course if you are at all familiar with the black metal scene chances are you have heard pretty much every band on here. If not, then it’s definitely a crash course through classic black metal as well as newer bands paying tribute to the style.

You pretty much have the standard bands you’d expect on here. Mayhem, Venom, Bathory, Sodom, Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, Burzum, . The surprises come in the form on Sacofago, Destruction, Samael, Bulldozer, Tormenter and Mercyful Fate. You might say that most of these bands were thrash bands, but there were dark and definitely had a lot to do with starting the black metal scene. The two newcomers on the disc are Nattefrost, and Aura Noir. Both bands play fast metal with both a nod to black metal as well as to thrash. So they both fit in well with the overall feel of the compilation.

Chances are you might have heard these tracks before, but if you are unfamiliar with early black metal then this is a mandatory purchase. The one thing that surprises me is the lack of a Dark Throne track. I guess Fenriz might have found putting his own songs on self serving.