Today I am listening to the new Epica album, Requiem for the Indifferent. If you are unaware of Epica, the are a Dutch symphonic metal band whose vocals are a combination of clean vocals by Simone Simons and growls by guitarist Mark Jansen. That said, the emphasis is on the vocals of Simons . . . as it should because she is amazing! As with most European symphoic, progressive, power metal bands, there is an emphasis on melody while American metal is more focused on thrash elements.
In short, I find Epica to be a refreshing brand of metal.
This is their fifth studio album, and one of their best. It works on two levels. The individual songs are good enough to stand on their own; however, the complete album works as a unified concept. Based on all of the world's problems from economic disaster, religious conflict, and natural disasters; the band posits that we all need to come together before its too late. While the album is titled Requiem for the Indifferent, the band argues that there is possibility for a new beginning. All in all, this is a very intelligently written and ably performed album that I highly recommend. I give this album an A+++.
For your listening pleasure I have attached two wonderful clips.
Today I am looking at the Dark Roots of Earth, the new album by the legendary thrash metal band Testament. While Testament is not included in the same breath as Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax, they most definitely are just as important in terms of their influence in the genre. Unfortunately, their sales are quite on par with those other bands, so they likely will never achieve the same recognition. This is too bad because Testament is amazing!
Dark Roots of Earth is Testament's tenth studio album, and one of their best efforts in years. This album combines intricate musical arrangements, wonderfully evil lyrics, and lots of thrashy goodness. This is vintage thrash metal at its best! Quite frankly, it kicks ass from the beginning track until the end. I simply loved the songs True American Hate and Dark Roots of Earth. I give this album a solid A+.
For your listening pleasure, I have included the two tracks that I enjoyed the most.
Today I am looking at the most recent Heart album Red Velvet Car. I know what you're saying . . . Heart isn't metal. Perhaps, but if it wasn't for Heart, you wouldn't have Halestorm, In This Moment, Evanescence, etc. In other words, my justification for including Heart in my metal blog is simple: They are the greatest and most significant female-led hard rock band in music history and deserve our respect. Plus, I don't think that there has ever been a singer, male or female, who can compete with Ann Wilson's voice . . . it is simply incredible.
Also, I know that this album has been out for two years, but I haven't been as up to date on new releases while I was attending graduate school. Now that I am finished, I can concentrate on listening to new-ish materiel. Hell, if I haven't heard it, its new to me. Right?
Anyway,
After giving this album a quick first listen, I have to say that this album is pretty damn good. It has something for everyone. If you like the classic hard rock Heart, then WTF is the song for you. If you prefer their poppy 1980s-early 1990s stuff, then the title track may be for you. In addition, there are several acoustic tracks that make this album one of the most diverse and rich works that I have heard in a while. I was not expecting that from Heart. The one thing that I got out of this album that was expected was the wonderful vocals of Ann Wilson. Even in her early-60s, she continues to amaze.
The notable tracks on this album are WTF, Wheels, Death Valley, and Closer to the Sun; however, I did not enjoy the title track or the opening track, There You Go. Despite the interesting mix in styles, the album is rather uneven for my personal tastes.
If I were to give Red Velvet Car a grade, it would receive a solid B.
For your listening pleasure, I have included a clip of WTF.
For today's post, I will examine the ten best performances by metal icon Ronnie James Dio.
Dio's career spanned five decades working with such acts as Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath/Heaven & Hell, and he had a successful solo career. He was known as having one of the most powerful voices in music history. In addition, he was equally famous for the introduction of "metal horns" into the metal culture while he was the vocalist for Black Sabbath. On a personal note, Ronnie James Dio was one of my favorite performers and I regret never having seen him in concert.
While Dio had a wonderful solo career, and his work with Rainbow was epic, it was his time with Black Sabbath . . . later Heaven & Hell that was momentous. Due to issues with drugs and alcohol, Black Sabbath fired their longtime vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. That said, the last few albums that Sabbath released with Ozzy were terrible. Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die! were simply horrible and uninspiring. Late in 1979, Sabbath hired Ronnie James Dio to replace the legendary Ozzy Osbourne. When Ronnie James Dio took the over on vocals, he essentially helped reinvented the stagnant Sabbath. Despite the drastic different vocal style, the combination of Dio's powerful voice with the gritty heaviness of Sabbath created a perfect power quartet. Longtime drummer Bill Ward, who could not get over Ozzy not being in the band, quit the band, and was subsequently replaced by Vinny Appice.
This set the stage for Sabbath's second classic lineup: Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice. This lineup would release four classic albums: Heaven and Hell (1980), Mob Rules (1981), Dehumanizer (1992), and, as Heaven & Hell, The Devil You Know (2009).
In addition to being a tremendous vocalist, Ronnie James Dio was a wonderful human being. With the success of Band Aid's Do They Know Its Christmas? and USA for Africa's We Are the World, and noticing the lack of participation of hard rock and metal stars, Dio co-wrote the song Stars for a one-time project called Hear' n Aid. Uniting many stars of metal, this project was able to raise over one million dollars to aid in famine relief in Africa.
The Last album release by Ronnie James Dio was The Devil You Know with Heaven & Hell, and was one of his best efforts of his long and prestigious career. On one of his last public appearances, Dio accepted the Best Metal Singer award at Revolver's Golden Gods Awards in 2010. At 67 years old, he was the oldest recipient to have won the award. The last song that he recorded was a wonderful rock anthem simply titled, Metal Will Never Die which was made available late in 2010.
Sadly, Ronnie James Dio passed away on May 16, 2010 as a result of complications of stomach cancer.
As a way to honor the great legacy of this metal icon, here are the top ten performances (in no particular order) by Ronnie James Dio.
10. Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell
9. Rainbow, Stargazer
8. Black Sabbath, Falling Off The Edge Of The World
7. Black Sabbath, The Mob Rules
6. Dio, Holy Diver
5. Dio, Don't Talk To Strangers
4. Black Sabbath, I
3. Black Sabbath, After All (The Dead)
2. Heaven & Hell, Fear
1. Dio, Rainbow in the Dark
Extra Track: Dio, Metal Will Never Die (2010)
I hope everybody enjoyed the clips, and as always,
thank you for reading,
Marty Sabin
Last week, a friend at work recommended the band In This Moment. I decided to start with their latest album Blood. It took me a while to get to it, but I finally found the time to listen to the album this afternoon, and it was pretty cool.
If you are not familiar with In This Moment, they are a metalcore band out of Los Angeles, California. They are fronted by the wonderful Maria Brink. She has one of the best screams in metal that I have ever heard, and quite frankly, she is very attractive.
Anyway, Blood is In This Moment's fourth album, and it is notable because the band has dropped some of its usual metalcore elements in favor of keyboards and synthesizers. This is a normal progression for many metal bands, and in this case it works very well. In addition, these new elements seem to highlight the wonderful voice and screams of Brink. I enjoyed the full album, but the tracks that stand out to me are Rise With Me, Blood, and From the Ashes. This is one of the best metal albums of 2012.
For your listening pleasure, I have attached three clips.
Just for fun, I thought that I'd share five of the silliest heavy metal videos ever made. I am sure that there are more ridiculous videos out there, but for now, here are five that come to mind. Then, I will share five videos that I actually like. To clarify, there is a thin line between cheesy and good videos. In my opinion, cheesy videos are just as fun to watch as cool videos. This is mainly because many great songs have terrible videos, but also because it must be difficult to make a music video that makes sense anyway. On the flip side, even the best metal videos are still a tad on the silly side.
Hello all, This week's top ten is the top ten thrash albums. On a personal note, I listened to close to a hundred albums last week in preparation for this list, and I have learned that I'm not as big of a fan of thrash as I thought. I prefer thrash bands that incorporate some of the complicated musical arrangement usually associated with progressive metal. I know that many excellent thrash albums have been omitted, such as Megadeth's Symphony of Destruction, Metallica's Kill Em All and Death Magnetic, Slayer's Seasons in the Abyss and Show No Mercy, Anthrax's Worship Music, Testament's Practice What You Preach, Sepultura's Arise, Pantera's Cowboys From Hell and Far Beyond Driven, Overkill's The Year's of Decay, Machinehead's Burn My Eyes and The Blackening, Annihilator's Alice in Hell and Destruction's Release from Agony. I'm also certain that there are many other great thrash bands that have released stellar albums that did not make the cut for the top ten. Without further ado, the list with a few random thoughts:
10. Annihilator, Never, Neverland (1998)
Never, Neverland is the second album released by Canadian thrash band Annihilator. What stands out about Neverland is the intricate arrangements and wonderful the guitar work of Jeff Waters (also the lead vocalist). The vocals sounds like a more melodic Pantera, but with more range. While the entire album is fantastic, the tracks that stand out are Imperiled Eyes, I Am In Command, and Road To Ruin.
9. Mercyful Fate, Melissa (1983)
Mercyful Fate was one of the most influential metal bands in terms of the many bands that they influenced such as Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeth. Melissa is not only their best album, but my personal favorite of theirs. What I find wonderful about this band is that no other band sounds quite like Mercyful Fate. Lead vocalist King Diamond's unique use of the falsetto scream really compliments the thrash quite nicely. Every song on this album is amazing, but the 11 minute Satan's Fall is epic.
8. Anthrax, Persistence of Time (1990)
Anthrax's Persistence of Time is the fifth album by one of thrash's big five, and their final album with lead vocalist Joey Belladonna . . . until the 2011 release of Worship Music. I love the vocals of Belladonna, and every album Anthrax released with him is a treasure for sure. Combine the wonderful vocals with a more progressive sound which creates a wonderful end product.
7. Machinehead, The More Things Change . . . (1997)
Machinehead is one of metal's most underrated bands. Their albums are consistently great with a combination of thrash and groove that perhaps only Pantera does better. The More Things Change is their second album and one of their heaviest. The tracks that stand out are Ten Ton Hammer, Take My Scars, and Down To None. On a personal note, this is one of my all-time favorite albums.
6. Megadeth, Rust in Peace (1990)
Rust in Peace is Megadeth's fourth album, and perhaps their best effort to date. This album focuses on such thematic issues ranging from the fallout of a nuclear war to religion. This is easily one of the most important and influential albums in metal history.
5. Pantera, Vulgar Display of Power (1992)
Vulgar Display of Power is the definitive album in "groove metal." While some call Pantera "groove metal," I think that is a silly classification. Pantera is a thrash band through and through that happen to have elements of groove. Anyway . . . As with any Pantera album, its all about the guitar work of the legendary Dimebag Darrell. This is most evident in the classic tracks Walk, A New Level, Hostile, and This Love.
4. Anthrax, Spreading the Disease (1985)
Other than having a really cool album cover, Anthrax's Spreading the Disease kicks serious ass! From beginning to the end, it is balls to the walls, crazy metal goodness. Again, the vocals of Joey Belladonna are amazing! I can't say enough great things about how much I love this album. I came real close to making this album number two, but deemed the top three albums slightly superior. If you haven't heard this album, I highly recommend it!
3. Metallica, Master of Puppets (1986)
Master of Puppets is Metallica's third studio album, and such a legendary and interesting piece of music. Unfortunately, it is also the last with bassist Cliff Burton who died while promoting the album in Europe. The tracks that stand out are Battery, Master of Puppets, and my favorite, Welcome Home (Sanitarium).
2. Slayer, Reign In Blood (1986)
I almost put this album at number one, but I believe that the right choice was made. Slayer's Reign In Blood just kicks ass! If the was a soundtrack in hell, it would be this album. This album exemplifies organized chaos with its intricate arrangements combined with many disturbing and dark subjects most notably Nazi doctor Josef Mengele in their song Angel of Death. I can't think of a thrash metal album that epitomizes the sub-genre quite like Reign In Blood.
1. Metallica, Ride the Lightning (1984)
Ride the Lightning is one of metal's truly great albums. From beginning until the end, this is arguably Metallica's most complete album. This album is perhaps the best blending of progressive and thrash metal. This album also contains my two favorite Metallica tracks, For Whom the Bell Tolls and Fade to Black. Other notable songs are Fight Fire With Fire, Ride the Lightning, and Creeping Death.
What are your thoughts on the list? What is your top ten? Please leave comments below or on my Facebook page. Also, for your listening pleasure, I have attached four clips from Annihilator, Anthrax, Mercyful Fate, and Metallica.
