AxeWound, Vultures (2012)

Hello all,

Today, I am briefly looking at the first album from British-Canadian supergroup AxeWound titled Vultures. The band consists of singer Liam Cormier from Cancer Bats, guitarist Matt Tuck from Bullet For My Valentine, guitarist Mike Kingswood from Glamour of the Kill, bassist Joe Copcutt from Rise to Remain, and drummer Jason Bowld from Pitchshifter.

Their sound blends aspects of several sub-genres of heavy metal from grindcore, thrash, power metal and groove metal. Lead vocalist Liam Cormier does an excellent job of combining clean vocals with a variety of growls and screams. For an initial release, the album can be considered a success. The first single from this release is titled, "Exorchrist." I loved this song, so I downloaded the entire album (legally), and thought the album was pretty good.

Some of the high spots on the album include "Exorchrist," "Vultures," and "Collide."

I give this album a grade of B+.

Here is "Exorchrist."

Thanks for reading!
Marty Sabin

Metal Mayhem's Top 100 Metal Bands of All-Time, 40-36

Hello Metal Maniacs,

In this installment of Metal Mayhem's top 100 Metal Bands of All-Time we will look at a German power metal band, an industrial metal icon, an underrated thrash band, a progressive metal band, and hard rock/metal band from California.

40. Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial metal project formed by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. As the only permanent member, Reznor is the primary songwriter, producer, and singer of the band. NIN's albums have been considered some of the most important and influential of the 1990's. These albums include Broken, The Downward Spiral, and The Fragile. On a personal note, Nine Inch Nails was one of the most important bands of my youth because I identified with the thematic direction of the band especially The Fragile. One really cool thing that Reznor did for his fans was he made NIN's album The Slip available for free via download on the band's website back in 2008. Hopefully, that wasn't the final album for the band as Reznor seems to have been preoccupied with film scores as of late.
Here is "Help Me I Am In Hell/Happiness in Slavery."

and "Mr. Self Destruct."

39. Machinehead

Machinehead is an American thrash/groove metal band from Oakland, California that formed in 1991 by vocalist/guitarist Robb Flynn and bassist Adam Duce. Inspired by early thrash bands like Metallica, Exodus and Slayer, and groove metal bands like Pantera; Machinehead was able to create their own unique style. Their albums Burn My Eyes, The More Things Change, The Blackening, and Unto the Locusts have become metal classics of the groove/thrash metal sub-genres  However, when Nu metal became popular in the 1990's, they tried their hand at it with sub par albums The Burning Red  and Supercharger which featured much simpler guitar riffs, and if I remember correctly, Flynn may have rapped on one of the tracks.
Here is "Davidian."

38. Symphony X

Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey that formed in 1994 by guitarist Michael Romeo. They have release four of the best prog metal albums of all-time with The Divine Wings of Tragedy, V:The New Mythology Suite, Paradise Lost, and Iconoclast. The band's sound is like a heavier Dream Theater combined with elements of symphonic metal. Great band!

37. Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock/metal band from Los Angeles that formed in 1985. The classic lineup of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler released the best selling debut album of all-time with their release of Appetite for Destruction in 1987. Along with the popularity of grunge, Guns N' Roses no-nonsense rock music were both responsible for the demise of hair-metal. Currently, only Axl Rose remains from the original lineup due to constant in-fighting among the band due to Rose being a giant douche. 
Here is "Welcome to the Jungle."

36. Accept

Accept is a German power metal band formed in the late 1960's by former lead singer Udo Dirkschneider, guitarist Wolf Hoffman, bassist Peter Baltes. They were a huge part of the German metal scene is the late-1970's to 1980's along with The Scorpions that were partially responsible for inspiring speed metal bands. Their album, Balls to the Walls, was a huge commercial success along with one of the worst album covers in music history. The band also received much criticism and praise for their songs "London Leatherboys" and "Love Child"as a gay anthems which the band has wholeheartedly embraced. In 2009, the band returned after a brief hiatus with a new lead singer, TT Quick's Mark Tornillo. The two albums released with the new singer (Blood of the Nations and Stalingrad) have been their best efforts since the early 1980's. 
Here is "Balls to the Walls."

Thanks for reading!
Marty Sabin

HammerFall, Infected (2011)

Hello everyone,

Today we are going to take a brief look at HammerFall's latest album 2011's Infected. This is the band's eighth studio album, and a minor departure because they abandon their usual themes for a more modern theme about a virus being unleashed on society.

HammerFall is a Swedish power metal band that formed in 1993. They are known for their clean vocals by Joacim Cans who is one of the best vocalists in all of metal. If you haven't heard these guys, I highly recommend them.

Back to Infected. This may be their best effort yet.
I rate this album A-.

Here is "Patient Zero."

and "One More Time."

As always, thanks for reading!
Marty Sabin

Metal Mayhem's Top 100 Metal Bands of All-Time, 45-41

Hello everyone,

In the latest installment of Metal Mayhem's top 100 metal bands of all-time, we examine five unique and wonderful bands that includes one of the first commercially successful extreme metal bands, a band that employs the use of an electric violin, a Dutch symphonic metal band, a German industrial metal giant, and Black Label Society.

45. Cradle of Filth

Cradle of Filth is a British extreme metal band that formed in 1991. This band combines elements of extreme metal with Goth metal, symphonic metal and progressive metal. Lyrically, the band finds inspiration in horror films, literature, and mythology. The vocal work of Dani Filth is one of the highlights of the band. I especially enjoy the way he combines screams and growls . . . unique vocal range. While the band uses satanic imagery in their music, its mostly used for shock value.
Here is "Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids."

44. Black Label Society

Black Label Society is an American metal band from Los Angeles formed by Zakk Wylde in 1998 due to the initial failure of Wylde's solo career. (In case you didn't know, Zakk Wylde has been Ozzy Osbourne's long-time lead guitarist from 1988-1995, 2001-2008). The band released their initial album Sonic Brew later in 1998 to rave reviews. The band has released nine studio album with all of them being excellent works of metal goodness. Their best album to date is 2005's Mafia which included the masterpiece "Suicide Messiah."
Speaking of which, here is that track.

43. Within Temptation

Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band that formed in 1996 by lead singer Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. The band has combined melodic vocals with songs in the folksy, Celtic tradition. The band has currently transitioned into a more poppy, electronica sound similar to Evanescence which has drawn much criticism from log-time fans. In my opinion, the band's new material is great, maybe not as good as their earlier music, but still excellent.
Here is "A Demon's Fate."

42. Turisas

Turisas is a Finnish folk metal band that formed in 1997 by Mathias Nygård and Jussi Wickström. They are named after an ancient Finnish god of war. I love that! They combine elements of power metal with symphonic metal, but what stands out about them is their use of the electric violin for solos instead of a guitar. 
They are a really cool band!
Here is "Stand Up and Fight."

41. Rammstein

Rammstein is a German industrial metal band that formed in 1994. They are arguably the most successful German metal band since The Scorpions in terms of worldwide success. One of the coolest things about Rammstein is that their entire musical catalog is in German. I like this because it shows that they have never sold out their principles to make money, but were successful regardless. Plus, there is something mysterious and melodic about the songs being sung in German that makes me excited about this band. 
Here is their biggest single "Du hast." 

Thanks for reading!
Marty Sabin

Metal Mayhem's Top 100 Metal Bands of All-Time, 50-46.

Hello all,

Here is the latest installment of Metal Mayhem's top 100 metal bands of all-time. In this portion of the list, we include a groundbreaking death metal band, a solo project from a metal god, a "grunge" band that is more metal than grunge, a heavy metal superstar that has gone on to have incredible success in horror films, and the first metal band to have an album reach number one on the Billboard Charts.

50. Quiet Riot

Quiet Riot is an American metal band that was formed in 1973 by guitar god Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni. The band also featured vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew Forsyth. With the untimely death of vocalist DuBrow, Quiet Riot features none of the original members of the band, but does still tour and release new music . . . albeit not very good. Quiet Riot was famous for being the first metal act to have an album reach number one on the Billboard Charts with their classic release Metal Health which featured the classic tracks "Cum on Feel the Noize" and "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)."
Here is "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)."

49. Napalm Death

Napalm Death is a British extreme metal band that formed in 1981. Like Quiet Riot, none of the original members are currently with the band; however, their current lineup has been fairly consistent since the early 1990's. Their sound is a combination of elements of grind-core with death metal and hardcore punk. While I do not enjoy the vocals of the band, I do like the sociopolitical aspects of their lyrics and the musicianship of the band is stellar. 
Here is "Suffer the Children."

48. Halford

When legendary front man of Judas Priest Rob Halford was fired from the band in 1992, he formed a band called Fight. After several years away from metal, he decided to return to his metal roots and formed Halford in 1999. The first album, Resurrection, was one of the best metal albums that I have ever heard. It features a song titled "The One You Love to Hate" which features Bruce Dickinson. I am a huge fan of this band!
There is also a video clip on YouTube of Ron Halford, Bruce Dickinson, and Geoff Tate performing this song live. I thought I was gonna have a stroke due to the sheer power of the vocals.
Here is "The One You Love to Hate." 

47. Soundgarden

Soundgarden is an American grunge/metal band from Seattle that formed in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Ben Shepherd replaced Yamamoto in 1990 and Matt Cameron became the band's full-time drummer which established the classic lineup. Soundgarden was the first of the "grunge" bands to sign with a major label, and, in my opinion, were the best band from that era. While they will always be associated with the "grunge" movement, Chris Cornell's vocals epitomized the metal sound rather than the punk sound that bands like Nirvana, Screaming Trees, and Mudhoney championed.
Here is "Outshined."

46. Rob Zombie

Rob Zombie is an American metal icon that began his journey as the lead vocalist and main catalyst of the band White Zombie in 1985. The band broke up in 1998, and Zombie released his classic solo album Hellbilly Deluxe the same year. The cool things about Zombie's work with both White Zombie and his solo efforts was that thematically, the lyrics were based completely on fantasy. There were no social commentary, no statements. Just horror inspired metal which is awesome!
Here is "Dragula."

and "The Lords of Salem."

As always, thanks for reading!
Marty Sabin 

Metal Mayhem Top 100 Metal Bands of All-Time Recap

That wraps up the bottom half of the list. Here is a reminder of who made the cut.

100. Slipknot                                              

99. Five Finger Death Punch                         

98. The Deftones                                          

97. Sodom                                                     

96. Beyond Fear                                                

95. Mushroomhead                                            

94. Exodus                                                         

93. Mudvayne                                                   

92. Linkin Park                                                  

91. Static X                                                       

90. Lacuna Coil                                                  

89. Saxon                                                          

88. Gwar                                                            

87. Skid Row                                                     

86. Tyr                                                               

85. Dokken                                                        

84. Down                                                           

83. Spiral Architect                                             

82. Dominici                                                       

81. Metal Church                                                

80. Destruction                                                   

79. In This Moment                                             

78. Demons & Wizards                                       

77. W. A. S. P.                                                   

76. Deicide                                                          

75. Dragonforce

74. Avenged Sevenfold

73. Twisted Sister

72. Blind Guardian

71. Kreator

70. Enslaved

69. Type O Negative

68. Circle II Circle

67. Heathen

66. Kamelot

65. Halestorm

64. Dragonland

63. Fates Warning

62. A Perfect Circle

61. Primus

60. System of a Down

59. Fear Factory

58. Ministry

57. Diamond Head

56. Suicidal Tendencies

55. Alice in Chains

54. Korn

53. King Diamond

52. UFO

51. Delaine

Do you think that some of these bands should be higher? Should they have been excluded altogether? Let me know.

Thanks for reading!

Marty Sabin

Kreator, Phantom Antichrist (2012)

Hello everyone,

Today I am going to take a break from the Metal Mayhem's Top 100, and do an album review. Yesterday I had the pleasure of listening Phantom Antichrist which is the latest effort from German thrash giant Kreator. In case you missed it, Kreator was listed at #71 on Metal Mayhem's top 100 metal bands of all-time. If I had listened to this album, I would have ranked them much higher.

If you are unfamiliar with Kreator, they are often cited as one of the big three of German thrash along with Destruction and Sodom. The band formed in 1982 and have been considered huge influences of the rise of European death metal.

In my opinion, Phantom Antichrist (along with Born Villain) may be the best metal album that has been released in 2012. This is the band's thirteenth album, and by far, their best. This album is the first evidence that Kreator has grown as a band in the thirty years of their existence. I say that because while there is definitely aspects of thrash evident, but this album is more of a hybrid progressive-thrash album.

One problem that I always had with Kreator is the vocals of Miland Petrozza. That said, the combination of clean vocals with a variety of screams and growls is much improved.

I have always thought that Kreator was an incredibly talented band, but they have never reached their full potential . . . until now. I highly recommend this album.

I give this album a grade of A +.

Here is "Phantom Antichrist."

and "Death to the World."

As always, thanks for reading!
Marty Sabin