Muthas, that unstoppable wrecking crew – Overkill – is back with their
eighteenth (!) album and it’s an absolute skullcrusher. The Grinding Wheel was originally slated for a November 2016
release, but thankfully it was delayed due to some scheduling issues. Why thankfully you ask? Well, because it had
the potential to be lost in the shuffle during the old school thrash-o-rama of
2016. Overkill didn’t have to
compete with Metallica and Testament for the limelight last
November. The band has all eyes on them and they deliver the goods and then
some. Did anyone doubt they would?!
The band possesses a signature sound much in the same way Motorhead did - you know what you are going
to get - but they always manage to make it interesting. Overkill
never really succumbed to trends in any sustained way, and because of this
tenacity they’ve enjoyed a long career while the vast majority of their peers
packed it in decades ago.
The Grinding Wheel
is a bit different from their last couple of albums in that the songs are
longer and feature a good bit of variety.
I wouldn’t say the tracks are progressive, but rather they approach the
epic with many tempo changes and vocal nuances.
The opening track “Mean, Green, Killing Machine” ably demonstrates what
the album is all about. It sounds like classic Overkill with a couple of tempos and Blitz uses a couple of
different vocal styles including some actual singing at the midpoint of the
cut. All of this unfolds over seven and a half minutes of excellence. Check out the lyric video:
“Goddamn Trouble” is one of the best songs on the album and
it’s quintessential Overkill - loads
of fun, a bit of punk, a bit of thrash and hooks for days. I’m not surprised that
it’s already featured in their live set and I would imagine it’s going to stay
there for a while. Check out the equally fun video:
“The Long Road” has a great intro that is begging to be
played live because of its sing-along woah-oh vocals and blistering riffs. The lyrics feel autobiographical because they
are about never stopping and always moving forward. Onward and upward indeed!
Another noteworthy cut is “Come Heavy” which is groovy and
swaggering with loads of Black Sabbath
influence that the band usually features on a couple of tracks per album. This song will definitely get your head
bobbing while you sing along.
The title track closes things out in epic fashion with a
mid-paced groove and then finishes off with a another sing-along chant/chorus
and then dissolves into a mournful string section. It almost reminds one of something Iron Maiden would have come up with,
believe it or not.
I should also note that the production by Andy Sneap is
stellar and the album sounds amazing. If you were looking for some dirty thrash
sounds you are out of luck, but if you like razor-sharp, clear production than
you will be thrilled. I hope he’ll be on
board for future albums as he really captures the band’s sound well.
Also the album is wrapped in nice artwork that features a
stylized Chaly in between interlocked green gears with sparks flying. It definitely evokes the sounds contained on
the album and it a step up from the usual Overkill
artwork which can be uninspired. Well done fellas.
The Bottom Line: This is a great album and certainly equals
their recent classic Ironbound if not
some of their 80s albums. If you are a
fan of the band, a thrash fan, or a fan of heavy metal you should enjoy this immensely. Go buy it and catch them on tour!
Muthas, 2016 has bit the dust and I’m back with a list of
the best albums, live albums, reissues and album covers. Enjoy!
The Best Albums of
2016
Bat – Wings Of Chains
Do you like greasy, dirty, raw thrash metal that sounds like
Motorhead + Venom + Warfare? If so, you will love this LP. I previously reviewed their demo and this
picks right up where that left off with a refreshing and fun blast of speedball
metal. Another great band from Ryan
Waste. Check out “Primitive Age.” Raw future indeed!
Diamond Head – Diamond Head
Well what do you know? After releasing a couple of crappy
albums that didn’t reflect their classic sound, Diamond Head comes roaring back
with a cracking album that is replete with good songs. Thankfully, the vocalist – Rasmus Bon
Andersen – sounds a lot like Sean Harris, and Brian Tatler has penned some
great songs. Check out “Bones.”
Grand Magus – Sword Songs
It seems that Grand
Magus wanted to answer some of the complaints about their last album being
too “epic” because Swords Songs is a
return to more straight ahead, faster material.
It’s a very good album that features many anthemic cuts that will be
sure to get your head banging. Check out
“Forged In Fire – Crowned In Iron.”
Gygax – Critical Hits
Arising from the ashes of the now sadly defunct Gypsyhawk is the excellent Gygax which play a tasty selection of
heavy-70s metal that is heavily influenced by Thin Lizzy. Sinewy, twisting dual guitar leads are everywhere and
the songs are catchy as all hell. Oh,
the splatter vinyl is quite simply the most stunning I have ever seen. Check out “Draw Breath.”
Metal Church – XI
The long awaited return of Mike Howe did not disappoint in
the slightest! XI is a phenomenal album that is one of the better comeback albums
in the history Metaldom. It’s great to
hear Mike’s powerful voice ladled on top of choice power/thrash compositions
once more. The songs are excellent and Metal Church are back to reclaim their
rightful throne! Check out “Killing YourTime.”
Testament – Brotherhood Of The Snake
If you’ve liked the previous two Testament albums you will love this one. It’s in the same vein as Formation and Dark Roots –
Chuck Billy roaring over a superb rhythm section and great guitars. There’s lots of thrashing to be heard here
and several of the songs form a sort of concept album about lizard people?(!)
The songs are heavy and catchy with several memorable choruses that will worm
their way into your brain. (It’s probably because of unholy influence of the
lizard people.) Check out “Stronghold.”
Striker – Stand In The Fire
Fun! Fun! Fun! Striker once again unleash an album
that is just damn fun and high energy! These guys know
how to craft great power metal in the vein of Vicious Rumors or Leatherwolf and the cuts are full of great hooks. The songs
are very upbeat and positive and are sure to lift your spirits. More people should be talking about these
Canadians, so get out there and buy this album.
Check out “Too Late.”
Metal Massacre 14
A compilation in a best of list?
You’re damn right! Metal Blade
has finally released a worthy follow up to their classic 80s series of compilations by
focusing on lesser- known traditional metal bands on small or independent
labels. If you are a fan of the NWOTHM
many of these names will be familiar to you, but there are several gems here by
Stone Dagger, Savage Master, Crypt Sermon, Gatekeeper and others. Check out “The Demented Force” by Assassin’s Blade. Buy or die!
Megadeth – Dystopia
Maybe the album of the year.
Full review here. It’s so much
better than the other Big Four releases it’s not even close. What about Metallica you say? It was a big pile of meh. Not list worthy.
Eternal Champion – The Armor Of Ire
Sweet Odin’s Raven this is good! I’ve had a hard time listening to anything
else for the last three months. Eternal Champion is from Austin, Texas
but they may as well have been born in the Hyborian Age because their music is
a virtual soundtrack for Conan and Kull.
This is the way epic metal should be done – songs with fantasy based
lyrics and killer music. Thick,
pummeling rhythms abound and the songs are very catchy. I have nothing to criticize here – the artwork
is great and there’s even a map included!
Album of the year? Sure, why the
hell not? Check out “I Am The Hammer”
and buy this album you knaves!
The Best Live Album
Dirkschneider – Live
– Back To The Roots
Good old Udo is back with a live set of Accept classics and some not so classics to close the books on the Accept stage of his career. Udo sounds great here and so does his backing
band, and he even pulls out some tunes that haven’t been played in years - when was
the last time you got to hear “Monsterman” or “T.V. War” live? Pick this up and
you’ll be able to compare it to the soon-to-be-released Restless and Live from Accept. Check out "Breaker."
The Best Reissues
Banshee – Cry In The Night + Race Against Time
Divebomb Records thankfully released the debut EP and LP
from Banshee with beautiful
remastering and a nice, thick booklet.
This is top notch USPM that was mostly lost in the shuffle back in the
day and deserves to be heard by the metal faithful. Definitely pick up this absolute gem of a two
CD set. Check out “We Want You.”
Skol Records NWOBHM CD
Replica Single Series
Great idea from Skol Records and Bart Gabriel to release
these cd replicas of NWOBHM singles.
Each CD has the original cover art and tracks from the vinyl singles,
and they haven’t picked totally obvious singles either - who thought Hellrazer would ever be reissued for
instance? I hope they continue with this
series in the future!
The Biggest
Disappointment
Anthrax – For All Kings
What a mess. I had
high hopes, but they crapped the bed.
Full review here.
The Best Album Cover
Megadeth – Dystopia
Robot Samurai Vic Rattlehead in a dystopian future? Yes
please! Stunning cover art for an
excellent album. Kudos!
Muthas, 2013 was yet another great year for Metal and we have
picked a Baker’s Dozen of the best metal albums of the year. We’ve also picked the best live releases,
best reissues, best concerts and the biggest disappointments of the year. Read on!
The Thirteen Best Albums of 2013
2013 brought an avalanche of quality steel to abuse your
tattered eardrums. These are the thirteen albums that dominated our turntables,
CD players, and MP3 players at The Metal Blog of Metal.
Enforcer – Death By Fire
Swedish speedsters Enforcer crush skulls on their third LP with
a stellar mixture of U.S. Speed, NWOBHM and Scandinavian Glory Metal. This is a very focused, all killer-no filler
collection of ripping Speed Metal and at just under 40 minutes, it's the perfect length for vinyl. Take a listen to the awesome triumvirate of
“Mesmerized By Fire,” “Take Me Out of This Nightmare,” and “Crystal Suite” if
you want to hear superb traditional metal done like the titans of ye olden
daze. If only Iron Maiden could conjure up something as compelling rather than
being an old man prog band.
Orchid – The Mouth of Madness
The Band That Can Do No Wrong continues their dominance with
their latest full length disc of 70s doom.
The Mouth of Madness is what everybody wanted 13 to sound like, which of
course, it didn’t. Orchid serves up more amazingly hooky traditional metal as if they’ve been doing this since 1971. Damn
these guys are good. Once again, Theo
Mindell’s art matches the music and adds to the overall experience - believe it
or not, things like cover art and fonts matter. You should immediately buy this platter of crushing doom mastery.
Holy Grail – Ride The Void
California metallions Holy
Grail return with an album chock full of guitar wizardry and catchy
anthems. It’s easy to see that they will
be one of the modern traditional metal bands that will gain a large
audience. Once again the songs are loaded with insanely tasty riffs, leads and solos, as well as a pounding bottom end and the masterful vocals of James Paul Luna. They also have an amazing work ethic and are tireless road
warriors. We managed to catch them twice this year alone in two separate cities. Hailz to them for cranking out
a disc that simply announces – WE CAME TO SHRED!
Saxon – Sacrifice
Speaking of road warriors, Saxon has released yet another album of rock hard traditional metal.
This time they have returned to more of the power metal sound they had on Metalhead, rather than the midpaced
material of their last album. The result
is excellent and another solid entry in their lengthy catalog. All hail the mighty Saxon!
Hell – Curse & Chapter
Hell’s second
official album is about 80% new material with a few re-recorded ancient demos. It’s a great follow up to Human Remains and dispels any fears that
Hell wouldn’t be able to put out new
material to match their 80s output. Once
again they offer up a riff-packed journey through diabolically dangerous
metallic landscapes. Definitely worth the coin and
one of the best of the year. Buy it!
Night Demon – Night Demon
This is absolutely our favorite release of 2013 here at The
Metal Blog of Metal. Our opinion of the
album hasn’t changed since we reviewed it here back in May. It’s an amazing EP that showcases a superb
NWOBHM sound akin to Grim Reaper, Iron Maiden and Diamond Head. It’s a goddamn
metal masterpiece in every way possible!
We eagerly await their full length LP in 2014 and it should kick much
ass. Hailz boys and thanks for a great EP!
U.D.O. – Steelhammer
U.D.O. the band
and Udo the man finally crank out an album to match the ferocity of the latest Accept releases and ditch that shitty
electronic guitar sound that had marred their last couple of albums. There are a couple of weird diversions on the
album, but it is dominated by vicious, pounding steel the majority of the
time. Check out our full review here. This is definitely worth adding to
your U.D.O./Accept collection.
Witch Cross – Axe To Grind
Who ever thought Witch
Cross would release another album? Not us, that’s for sure. 1984’s Fit
For Fight is one of the crown jewels of Danish metal, so it would be tough
to follow up. Unfortunately, original
vocalist Alex “Savage” Nyborg Madsen did not take part in the reunion, but, fortunately, the band chose Kevin Moore as his replacement. Moore is a former touring member of Oliver/Dawson Saxon, and as a result, Axe To Grind has a heavy Saxon influence. This is straight down the middle, meat and
potatoes, traditional heavy metal. It’s
nothing fancy, but it’s executed brilliantly and is very enjoyable. Sure, it doesn’t sound like “Tears of a
Clown,” but it still kicks all kinds of ass.
Pick it up!
Motorhead – Aftershock
So who thought we might never hear another Motorhead album? Thankfully, Lemmy and the boys managed to
record one hell of a great album considering Lemmy’s health problems. Amazingly it’s much more aggressive than the somewhat
lackluster The World Is Ours and
there’s not a dull moment on it. It’s
probably their best since Inferno and we have you banging your head with wild
abandon. Isn’t that what you’ve come to
expect from Motorhead? Damn straight it is.
Vicious Rumors – Electric Punishment
Vicious Rumors
continues down the path that they forged with Razorback
Killers and put out another excellent album that showcases their superb
USPM sound. Unfortunately, this album
has gotten lost in the shuffle do to vocalist Brian Allen having to leave the
band due to family issues. Don't let that dissuade you as there are
many killer cuts on it such as “I Am The Gun,” “Electric Punishment,” and
“Thirst For A Kill.” Get it!
Black Sabbath – 13
We expected this album to be an unmitigated disaster, but,
amazingly enough, it’s a good album.
Certainly the cover art is completely lazy bullshit and the album title sucks
ass. Also, the lack of Bill Ward is very
noticeable and the album is another victim of shithead Rick Rubin’s loudness
wars. However, Tony Iommi’s riffs are
amazing as ever, Geezer’s bass is crushing and Ozzy’s voice is acceptable. The tracks sound like either a very good
early Ozzy album, or a Dio Sabbath album with Ozzy on vocals. 13 doesn’t invoke memories of the Sabs 70s mastery (if you want that, listen to the new Orchid), but it’s
not a black mark on their legacy
either. Be sure to pick up the special edition with the track "Naivete In Black" on it, as that song is excellent.
BAT – Primitive Age (Demo)
This was a late entry to the list, but it’s very worthy of
high praise. BAT is made up of Ryan Waste from Municipal Waste and Volture,
Felix Griffin of DRI fame, and Nick
Poulos of Cannabis Corpse and Volture. What we have here is greasy, dirty speed
metal/thrash that pays a great amount of homage to the mighty Venom.
Waste does his best Chronos on vox and bass and the result is cranking
steel fury that will please both the oldest and youngest Thrashers alike. It might only be a demo, but it’s better than
the majority of slickly produced albums that are constantly foisted upon the
Metal buying public. Go here and
download it for free! I hope they do a
7” vinyl release asap! Total wreckage indeed!
Satan – Life Sentence
Well holy shit, this is awesome! One usually cringes when an old NWOBHM band has
a reunion and promises a return to their original sound. Normally the result is a sub-par collection
of middling garbage that fails to re-capture the magic of their early
material. That couldn’t be further from
the truth with Life Sentence because
it’s a face-melting collection of NWOBHM excellence. Brian Ross sounds great and the songs will
wreck your neck like it’s 1982. This
should have been the follow up to Court
In The Act back in the day. Buy this
album immediately if not sooner! Damn it's good!
Live – In the Raw! - The best
live albums/DVDs
Testament – Dark Roots of Thrash
Bay Area bruisers Testament
deliver a new live album/DVD that perfectly captures their current live
set. The camera work on the DVD is
particularly good and it is one of the most cinematic treatments we have seen
of concert footage. The setlist is
evenly split between classics and current material, but omits most of their 90s
output. Thankfully the mix is much
better than the last couple of times we saw Testament live, because you can actually hear Chuck's vocals! If you like Testament then you should definitely add this to your collection.
Dio – Finding The Sacred Heart – Live In Philly
1986
This CD/DVD features Dio at the height of their popularity
with their massive stage show featuring lasers, knights in plate armor and a huge,
animatronic dragon. The band sounds
great and Ronnie is in fine voice.
Viewing the DVD is a somewhat melancholy experience because it will
remind you that the Man On The Silver Mountain has taken his final bow, but
seeing him at his ferocious best helps take your mind off of it. Long Live Rock n Roll!
Iron Maiden – Maiden England ‘88
Another in a long line of Maiden archival releases that really illustrates that Maiden knows how to make money like
Gene Simmons. What you get is the
legendary Maiden England ’88 show on CD/DVD that showcases Maiden on the cusp of slipping into disarray, but still at their peak. They still sounded great at this point and Seventh Son was a decent enough album,
but mediocrity was waiting in the wings.
The second disc of the DVD is especially nice because it features part 3
of the history of Iron Maiden as
well as the long out of print 12 Wasted Years documentary.
Best Reissues
2013 featured several excellent reissues that were long
awaited in the Metal world.
Heretic– From
The Vault…Tortured and Broken
Finally!!! Metal Blade
Records released this excellent box set that includes the Torture Knows No Boundary EP, the Breaking Point LP along with tons of bonus tracks and a DVD! It’s well worth the cost for the EP alone,
which had never officially been released on CD. Grab this one before it
goes out of print!
Jag Panzer – Tyrants, Ample Destruction, Shadow Thief,
Dissident Alliance
We never thought there would be official reissues of Jag Panzer’s early catalog due to disagreements
between former guitarist Joey Tafolla and the rest of the band. Somehow that was all worked out and not only
do we get these reissues, but Joey is back in the band! You can pitch your shitty bootlegs in the
trash and snap up these reissues from High Roller Records in a variety of
formats – CD, colored Vinyl, Picture Disc and even a luxurious Picture Disc
box set. All the releases have been nicely
remastered with loads of bonus tracks and restored artwork. Buy or die!
Y&T – Earthquake: The A&M Years 1981-1985
This is a very nice 4 disc box set with the best output form
San Francisco legends Y&T. The set includes the Earthquake, Black Tiger, Meanstreak, In Rock We Trust, and Down For The Count studio albums along
with the Open Fire and BBC Friday Rock Show live albums. This release showcases Y&T at the peak of their careers and is fairly cheap as
well. If you don’t already own these
albums, you should definitely buy this and enjoy the hard rocking excellence of
a band that should have been huge.
Witch Cross– All
That’s Fit For Fighting
This superb 3CD/1 DVD box set essentially purges the vaults
of everything Witch Cross did before
their new album Axe To Grind. You get the ultra-classic Fit For Fight along with all their 80s demos and, amazingly enough,
a DVD of a live show and music videos(!) that had never seen the light of
day. It’s all wrapped up in a very nice,
thick, flip top box with a magnetic closure.
Truly an exceptional release and a must have for fans of classic Metal.
Best Concerts
Metal Alliance Tour –
4/7/13 Cincinnati, Ohio
Great package tour featuring, Anthrax, Exodus, Municipal Waste, High On Fire and Holy Grail
ripping it up for 5 hours! All the bands
sounded great and it was a real treat to get our copies of Among The Living and Worship
Music signed. The only complaint was
that Holy Grail didn’t have a very
long set as it would have been nice to hear more from them.
The mighty Orange Goblin tore it up on Halloween weekend in the Steel City. They played an energetic set featuring songs from most of their albums. It was their second swing through town in just 6 months and they did not disappoint. Holy Grail once again was excellent and proved that they should be making the step up to headliner soon.
Biggest Disappointments
Ghost
– Infestissumam
It’s become fashionable to hate on Ghost
because of all the coverage they get in the music press, but the problem with
their new album doesn’t have anything to do with hype. The real problem is Infestissumam is
mostly boring and forgettable. The album
sounds pleasant enough, but nothing really sticks in the memory after the album
is done. In fact, the If You Have Ghost
EP is more interesting and it consists of cover songs. Try working on some more memorable hooks
guys and better luck next time.
Newsted
– Heavy Metal Music
We really wanted to like this album and it pains us to have to write
this. Jason is a great guy and his
enthusiasm for his new band and metal is
obvious. Unfortunately, Heavy Metal Music is
rather bland and generic and Jason's vocals leave much to be desired. The whole album sounds like a heavy/alt
record that would have been released in 1994. Blah. Also, what’s with all the
stupid song titles like “Soldierhead,” “Ampossible,” “Kindevillusion,” and “Futureality?” Stop that shit Jason, it's goofy. Here’s hoping that his next album is killer. Have a great 2014, and, as always, MAKE MINE METAL!
Muthas, 2012 was a great year in Metal, and we here at The Metal
Blog Of Metal have picked the twelve best albums of the year. We have also picked the best reissues of the
year, the best concert of the year, the best live albums of the year, and the
worst releases of the year. Read on!
The Twelve Best
Albums of 2012
2012 proved to be a very good year for Metal and we got
great releases from across the various genres.
We won’t number these this year, but encourage you to check out all the skullcrushers
below. These twelve dominated the
turntables, CD players and MP3 players at The Metal Blog Of Metal.
The Sword - Apocryphon(Razor & Tie)
Back with more 70s influenced awesomeness, The Sword cranked out the excellent Apocryphon.
It’s another superb entry into their growing discography and
features the band really exploring the power of the mid-paced song. Every track is superb and we have
listened to this album countless times.
Get it.
Gypsyhawk – Revelry & Resilience(Metal
Blade)
Another band that channels all that was great about 70s
Metal, Gypsyhawk kills it Thin Lizzy style with this awesome
disc. Check out the snaking and twisting
guitar melodies, as well as the sweet fantasy based lyrics. These guys are doing it right.
Orchid – Heretic(Nuclear Blast)
This band can do no wrong.
Period. Sure, it’s only a 4 song
EP, but damn, do they know how to craft witchy, hooky and crushing Doom
Metal. We love this band and eagerly
await their next LP.
Testament – Dark Roots of Earth(Nuclear Blast)
Thrash legends Testament
really know how to write wicked good songs that are both melodic and heavy as
hell. There’s a reason why they were
able to soldier on when so many other lesser Thrash bands shit the bed in the 90s. Dark
Roots of Earth is an excellent platter that surpasses their previous album and
is a fine addition to their legacy (Get it? See what I did there? Ah, forget it.)
Accept – Stalingrad (Nuclear Blast)
Damn fine follow-up to Blood
of the Nations, which erases any doubts about the new Accept lineup (not that there should have been any doubts.) Stalingrad kicks ass as only Wolf and
the boys know how, with anthemic, rifftacular, melodic Metal. Poor Udo, his latest album, Rev-Raptor, really sounds like complete
shit next to this.
3 Inches of Blood –
Long Live Heavy Metal (Century Media)
Canadian crushers 3IOB
came roaring into 2012 with a killer album that celebrated all that is great
about Heavy Metal. Long Live Heavy Metal featured tracks reminiscent of Priest, Dio, Rainbow and other
legends of the genre, as well as 3IOB’s
own brand of shredding Metal. Check out
the infectious “4000 Torches,” “Metal Woman,” “Leather Lord” and “Look Out” for
a taste of their steely mastery. Posers
leave the hall!
Van Halen – A Different Kind of Truth (Interscope)
This was easily the biggest surprise of the year. We expected this album to be a crapfest of old
man rock. You know, a mid-paced
collection of boring garbage that some out-of-touch 50 year-old would pen in
hopes of staying relevant. The first
single, “Tattoo,” did little to change our opinion because that song is complete
shit. Why in the hell was that chosen as
the lead single? Thankfully, the rest of
the songs are absolutely primo DLR-era Van
Halen. The swaggering, balls-out
hard rock that everybody wanted them to make was finally delivered! Sure, Dave’s voice is a bit limited by age
and Michael Anthony’s harmonies are sorely missed, but the songs are damn
good. Ed had the good sense to go back
to all of his old demos and pull out some 70s and 80s cuts and flesh them
out. Well done gents, now get back out
on tour.
Cauldron – Tomorrow’s Lost (Earache Records)
Canuckistani Metal maniacs, Cauldron, forged another LP that celebrates the glory of mid-80s
Heavy Metal. It’s great that there is a
band out there that eagerly embraces the more commercial side of classic
Metal. Jay Decay and Ian Chains know how
to write a memorable and heavy mid-paced tune that would fit beautifully on Metal Massacre’s I-IX. Buy the LP, get their patch and sew it on
your vest. We did!
Grand Magus – The Hunt (Nuclear Blast)
Do you like Vikings and Metal? You do?
Well go buy this album immediately because Grand Magus loves both more than you do and are masters of their craft to boot. The
Hunt features nothing but songs about Vikings, wolves, Odin, Thor, ravens,
longships, etc… You’ll want to grab a
longsword and run out to the nearest monastery for some plundering! Think of them as the traditional Metal
brother of Amon Amarth and you’ll
get the right idea. The band has
completely moved away from Doom Metal and focuses entirely on Scandinavian
Glory Metal a la Heavy Load, Overdrive or Torch. Join them in the mead
hall, won’t you? To Valhalla!
Ugly Kid Joe – Stairway To Hell (UKJ Records)
Yes, that’s right, Ugly
Kid Joe actually made it into the best albums of 2012 with this awesome EP
of new material. UKJ have managed to record six cuts of snarling, venomous hard rock
that has Whitfield Crane sounding like Bon Scott. Damn it’s good. Check out “Devil’s Paradise” or “You Make Me
Sick” for a taste of hate, or get the funk out with “I’m Alright.” It’s good to have these guys back and we hope
they crank out a full length LP soon.
Overkill – The Electric Age (Nuclear Blast)
New Jersey’s favorite bangers unleash another superb album
that harkens back to their more groove oriented late 90s albums. It’s a bit more From The Underground and Below and a bit less Ironbound. Overkill never fail to deliver the
goods and they do it once again. Fuck the
Big Four, Overkill has been
defending the faith while those assholes meandered aimlessly from one mediocre album
to the next. Hello from the gutter!
Icarus Witch – Rise (Cleopatra Records)
Want a more modern sounding album stuffed full of anthem
after anthem? Well, then Rise is exactly what you are looking
for. The album was a real shocker
following the tired-sounding Draw Down
The Moon and the departure of former vocalist Matthew Bizilia. All signs pointed to Icarus Witch disappearing into obscurity, but instead they roared
back to life with this LP of peppy and hooky melodic Metal. New singer Christopher Shaner fits the new
style perfectly and adds much needed energy to the songs. Hopefully Icarus Witch will continue rocking for
years to come!
The Best Reissues
Dio – Holy Diver & The Last In Line (Audio Fidelity Reissues)
If you want to hear
how remasters should be done, check out these two releases from the sonic
wizards at Audio Fidelity. We have all
heard these albums a million times before, but these remasters uncover all
sorts of sounds that were previously buried in lesser versions of this
album. Superb!
Dio –Holy Diver, The Last In Line & Sacred
Heart (Deluxe Editions from Universal
Music)
More Dio?
Yep. These UK Imports have nice
mastering and tons of bonus tracks.
Essentially, you get every single and B-side released by Dio during this period, as well as the
entire Intermission EP. They may be expensive imports but the value
is incredible for what you get. Buy!
Dammaj – Mutiny (Skol Records)
It’s awesome! We
reviewed it here and we still urge you to buy this album of rock-solid,
blistering, U.S. Power Metal. This is
Heavy Metal at its very best. Hailz!
Desolation Angels
– Desolation Angels (Buried By Time
and Dust)
Another very late NWOBHM album that got lost in the Thrash
deluge. Thankfully, the Metal archivists
at Buried By Time and Dust records have resurrected this gem in both vinyl and
CD formats. They have also included the Valhalla/Boedicea single as a bonus in
both formats! We will review this in
depth coming up, but get out there and buy it because supplies are
limited.
Witch Cross– Fit For Fight (Hells Headbangers)
It’s about damn time that this legendary 1984 album from the
not-so-melancholy Danes of Witch Cross
got reissued! Hells Headbangers serve up
Fit For Fight on CD, vinyl and, believe
it or not, on cassette, with good remastering and lyrics for the whole
shebang. We’ll review this album in the
near future, but get out there and buy it.
The Best Live
Albums
Pickings were a bit slim this year so we only picked these two:
Saxon – Heavy Metal Thunder – Live Eagles Over
Wacken (UDR)
Bangers, gorge on this metal feast from the venerable Saxon!
This is an essential release because it includes a DVD that features 31 tracks
from three different years at the massive Wacken Open Air festival. The band sounds great as they crush and
destroy the huge crowds of Metalheads. Also included are two bonus CDs recorded at a
Glasgow show in 2011, which feature many new songs from their latest studio
effort, Call To Arms. It’s well worth the coin.
Vicious Rumors – Live You to Death (SPV)
Keeping up their momentum from last year’s Razorback Killers, Vicious Rumors offers up this single disc live show that was
recorded on their 2011 European tour.
The album features nine live cuts, including two songs from Razorback Killers alongside other
classics such as “Digital Dictator,” “Down To The Temple,” “Abandoned” and “Don’t
Wait For Me.” The band is tight and
Brian Allen does a commendable job on both the new and old material. The album also includes two new studio
tracks: a cover of Black Sabbath’s “The
Sign of the Southern Cross” and Judas
Priest’s ”Running Wild.” Pick this
up if you are a VR fan or if you like
music that’s not terrible shit.
Best Live Show
Accept – The
Newport Music Hall Columbus, Ohio 9/14/2012
The Teutonic Terrors absolutely killed it on a beautiful
Friday night in Ohio and blew the roof off the place with pure Metallic
fury! Wolf Hoffman appeared to be having
the time of his life as he blasted out riff after riff of molten steel. Mark Tornillo was in fine form and sounded
great. Udo who? Poor old Kreator
was a mere afterthought when Accept
left the stage. The only complaint was
they still didn’t play ”Midnight Mover.”
Damn it! Even so, it was a great
night of Metal in the Buckeye State!
Catch them live if you can.
Worst Shit Foisted
on Metaldom in 2012
Metallica – Beyond Magnetic (Warner Brothers Records)
We reviewed it here and it still sucks ass. Sometimes talent just dries up like an old turd left in the sun.
Chris Holmes– They All Lie And Cheat
Holy shit! This makes
Beyond Magnetic sound like a choir of
angels. What the fuck is going on
here? Holmes looks and acts like the alcoholic,
toothless bum that he was always destined to be (see here.) Who is the random crackwhore swearing in the
video? Is this the worst lip-synching since
Milli Vanilli? Why was this made?
Baffling.
