Rate the last album you've heard

Well I expected something that I didn't get. It's from a top albums list at metal_storm though. Best, most trustworthy site though is metal_archives. That one is really great, people really understand metal there.

Judas Priest does. Rob Halford personally does. Ensiferum does. Kai Hansen does. People who like metal of course seek metal so they use a word called metal.

Of course, Metallica doesn't care, in particular, though that's more recently as in the 1980's they really cared about what they did. As their first album was supposedly titled "metal up your ass" but the recording company didn't allow it.

Who cares what genre is the music as long as it's good?

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

Iron Savior - Iron Savior (1997)



This album has been sort of a precious memory for me. It incorporates many of my favorite aesthetic concepts from science fiction to metal and has been a favorite of mine for a decade now. It's labelled as a "power metal" album but in fact, it's power metal in it's old sense, meaning traditional heavy metal played with the speed and aggression of thrash metal. Or in other words, it is a speed metal album. And one hell of a great album in that sense: lot's of great heavy riffs, outer space sounding guitar melodies and a pumping visceral sound. Basically an updated version of traditional heavy metal for the end of the 20th century. And that is among the greatest things a band can accomplish. Being their first it is also their best album, their later efforts have been relatively mediocre and lacked the transcendental atmosphere of Iron Savior's self titled debut.

Falkenbach - ..En their medh ríki fara... (1996)



Falkenbach - ...Magni blandinn ok megintiri... (1998)



Falkenbach - Ok nefna tysvar Ty (2003)



Falkenbach - Heralding – The Fireblade (2005)



And here comes the German Bathory. Their albums have indeed a very "bathory'ish" sound to then and that is great in fact. A combination of folk metal, viking metal and black metal. In some ways similar to Equilibrium but only in some ways, in most ways it is way closes to 1990's Bathory. They are pretty good, though none of them are as good as Hammerheart, that Bathory masterpiece will forever exist unsurpassed as a monument to epic blackish heavy metal.

Darren Hayes – This Delicate Thing We’ve Made (2007)

So in the past couple of weeks I’ve become absolutely obsessed with Darren Hayes (he’s currently doing a hilarious podcast - with a straight friend of his - called The He Said, He Said Show and I highly recommend it if you're a fan of vulgar humor). I’ve listened to all of his other solo albums several times and I’d bump all of my previous ratings up by at least half a popcorn box each. I’d also probably call We Are Smug my favorite overall. I’m in love with that weird ass album now.

But all this time I’ve been waiting for this to arrive – his double album. 25 tracks. Double the songs should mean double the awesome, right? Sadly, that’s not the case here. His voice sounds great (when it’s not being drowned out by way too heavy electronic beats and beeps), but his trademark catchy hooks and soaring vocals are virtually non-existent. There’s weirdness, but for the most part it’s not the fun sort of weirdness like We Are Smug. It’s just strange and alienating. There are softer songs, too, but there just doesn't seem to be anything special about any of them. Nothing here really stands out or strikes a chord with me.

Perhaps with time this will grow on me, but right now it’s a pretty big disappointment. All of his other albums had at least a couple of instant favorites. But here I’m struggling to even point to a single track that I feel more than apathy about, nevermind the 3-4 favorites per album I’ve posted in all my previous reviews. Ultimately I decided on the weirdest track of the album, not because I think it’s actually really good but because it’s the one point in the album when I didn’t feel the urge to press stop.

Favorite Track:
Bombs Up In My Face

Rating: (A generous) -

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Mendelssohn - Symphonies number 4 & 5



I had a quite different experience from these two symphonies if compared to the first three ones. While I found these to be heavier/more active than the first symphonies, more in the tradition of Schubert as well: very dramatic music. But that might be just my ears getting used to his particular symphonic style. Nice composer overall.

Grave Digger - Return of the Reaper (2014)



Now, that's a great album. It has heavy riffs, has guitar solos all over the place, has the highly aggressive vocal performance. It's a generic heavy metal album to the core, even more than Accept's last album, in fact. as if they were still trying to make a new Painkiller (1990). Though that album is impossible to top, being honest.

But it's a nice straight heavy metal album in this age of "folk death black melodic power progressive garbage".

Schubert - Symphony number 8



I don't have his symphony number 7, for some reason. And this symphony is starting to get boring as I have listened to it many times (either directly or in movies and other media which used them as soundtrack). Still it enormously powerful and still fairly accessible piece of classical music. Awesome artistic realization overall.

I've been going through a process of re-assessing pretty much every album I've ever owned. Mostly been fun ... except for Adam & the Ants Very Best Of Haven't got to things like Bros and Pseudo Echo yet so we'll see how that goes ...


Born Dead - Body Count (1994)
I've never been exactly sure who Ice T's target market is but it always seems like he probably appeals most to white teenagers - not that that's a bad thing (I was a white teenager once) and it actually worked well on Body Count's debut album but this one is just more of the same basic guitar riffs and lyrics to make fourteen year olds giggle because he says "dick".

Overall it's very mediocre and highlights what has always been Ice T's biggest problem - trying to offend rather than write good songs. What saves it is that there aren't really any stand out bad tracks (aside from Hey Joe) - just lots of ordinary ones.

Highlight: Probably the title track as it's really the only song that might be called "good" on the whole album - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X-kwNNLmhd8

Lowlight: Definitely this awful cover of Hendrix's Hey Joe - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZKkCH5jrSM

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Top 133 Favourite Films

Asia/Pacific Top 100

Schubert -Symphony number 9



Dividing my post of Schubert's symphonies. Why? Because I decided to talk more about number 9. Also, I found out on wikipedia why I don't have his number 7: because it doesn't exist in finished form. Anyway, the number 9, is a really great symphony, tied with numbrer 6 for my favorite Schubert symphony. It's very heavy, indeed, heavier than anything besides real metal (i.e. way heavier than Opeth's stuff and that cr*ppy shoegaze metal American album I listened too a couple of days ago), it shows that it is possible to make serious music still complex and interesting at the same time. Almost had a ear orgasm listening to this.

Hisaishi - Spirited Away OST (2001)



A near perfect combination of melody, minimalism, romantic style, Japanese style and emotion. It's very accessible but still very powerful and beautiful. One of Hisaishi's best film scores and indeed one of the greatest film scores of all time. One of the reasons why Miyazaki's films are so great are the awesome soundtracks they have. Very simple, beautiful and emotional music.

Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986)



Swedish doom metal masterpiece. Enough said, a true classic of the genre.

Candlemass - Nightfall (1987)



Not as heavy as their debut but still a great doom metal album. Essential for anyone who is into heavy music.

Brahms - Symphonies number 1 & 3



I first listened to Brahms yesterday. Considered one of the biggest classical composers of the 19th century, his compositions are pretty impressive indeed. Very dramatic and powerful music, like other romantic composers.

Brahms - Symphonies 2 & 4



I found this set of two symphonies to be slightly weaker than the symphonies before. Like the others, though it shares the same characteristics of Brahms music: passionate, "heavy" and dramatic music. Like Beethoven's and Schubert's.

Grave Digger - The Last Supper (2005)



Weaker heavy metal effort compared to their newest, 2014 album. Indeed their latest album is considered one of the best heavy metal albums of the year.

Grave Digger - Clash of the Gods (2012)



Grave Digger is similar to Iron Savior in many ways. Both bands are basically modern heavy metal bands that still play like 1980's bands do but with modernize production. Both bands always sound pretty much the same across albums as well. Grave Digger, however, is a straight heavy metal band which plays one of the most pure and simple heavy metal styles, in fact, the compositions are quite simplistic indeed, but still good heavy metal. Specially this album, which was particularly inspired.

Black Sabbath - The Headless Cross (1989)



There exists a reason why some bands are more famous than others inside a genre: Black Sabbath, for instance, is a legendary band for a reason. Though the fact is that their most famous albums are not their best. While their first albums are important for establishing the band's sound and influence the later Black Sabbath albums are actually better IMO. Such as The Headless Cross, featuring amazing performances from the entire band, it's Black Sabbath at their mature form while showing influences from newer metal acts formed up to that point in time. One of my favorite albums by Black Sabbath and indeed one of the finest heavy metal albums of all time.

I've been liking Black Sabbath lately, I just love the dirty old-school guitar tone, but I only have their first two albums and greatest hits album. I'll have to check out some of their later work, if you think it's better.

Heretic!