All customer reviews by Tan M.
Posted on: November 20, 2017
the ultimate
Still aggressive, nasty and raw as HELLHAMMER in the sound, but finally showing some musical refinements on the harmonic structures of the songs, CELTIC FROST became a cult into the underground. But event this way, some critics still seems as a particular persecution to the trio’s work. When you listen to “Morbid Tales”, the clear idea is that it was a step ahead of what they have done before, and maybe the solid foundations of what Death Metal and Black Metal should be in the future.
The album as whole is amazing; there isn't one single bad track on the album. But one song that sticks out like a sore thumb is 'Danse Macabre' as its basically a batch of different noises and sounds which could tie into their later works as they experimented avant-garde. The final product of the song is very chilling and disturbingly inspiring. Aside from avant-garde; the bands sound takes key ingredients from thrash metal, doom metal and black metal. Combinding all those you basically get Morbid Tales and all its holiness. “Morbid Tales” is perfect from the beginning to the end, and an album that time can’t erode, and hope that in the future I do not have to tell anyone who is the true father of Death Metal.
Posted on: October 14, 2017
Essential
Lost Paradise gets released from Peaceville Records, a label that helped doom/death metal make its first and most important steps by signing the most important pioneers of the genre: Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Anathema (the UK Holy Trinity). The death metal grunts straight from the throat expressing mourning and painful lyrics straight from the heart, the bleeding guitar riffing and the imposing rhythm section creating high walls surrounding you form a lost paradise losing itself in its own oblivionOne of the greatest bands in the 90s with personal sound and style had just began its delightful course. Lost Paradise, one of the first doom/death, at a primary phase though, releases - recorded in 1989 and released in the birth of 1990, was just the beginning of what would follow. Sorrow filled blessings
Posted on: September 5, 2017
Must have!
As a blueprint for many future death metal bands to plunder, Covenant is flawless. Listen to the barely-restrained riffs and crashing drumwork of opener Rapture, a neverending tidal wave of metal that easily washes all pretenders away. It almost sounds sped-up in retrospect, fast-paced growls and Commando Sandoval’s typically supersonic battery more than matched by Trey Azagthoth (‘George’ to his parents, of course) and his never-silent guitar. Whether wailing in satanic solo or riffing with malicious skill and style, Trey is for the first time the only guitarist on a Morbid Angel album, and as the band’s lead composer without a doubt the star of the satanic show. His input is what makes the likes of Pain Divine so beautiful with their piledriving bursts of intensity, technical twists and turns adding excitement to an already gloriously action-packed ride.
The fret-board abuse on this album is trademark Morbid Angel. Trey Azagthoth (who also performs keyboards when needed) maximizes rapidness and churns out often incredibly aggressive, hellish, Slayer-influenced licks, crazed tremolo picking and head-spinning leads that will make the listener dizzy. This guy has enough shred in him to cut Yellowstone National Park clean of trees, as in evidence by his maniacal, rabid soloing, which takes over several times throughout the album. Many will dismiss the demented shredding as mindless wankery, but they would be forgetting that it is all part of the Morbid Angel puzzle, and if fits the sound as well as anything else of the album. Not all of the riffs are pure skull-bashing as well, occasionally doomy and/or melodic riffs make themselves apparent, for an example of the latter, check "Pain Divine". Trey seems to know just what is right for the particular situation in which the particular riffs show themselves, enhancing the listener's experience greatly. Vocally, the record is mainly commanded by David Vincent's unhallowed half grunt that sends a chill up the spine. Spoken word vocals also make themselves known, particularly on Morbid Angel discography highlight, "God of Emptiness". Embraced by distortion and creating an almost bubbling sound, David chants out the lines, "Let the children come to me, Their mother loves me, so shall they, Woman, bleeding, ate my gifts, Man was close behind, Just like a snake I'm slithering, Thru my world divine, And like the cat I'm stalking, I'll take your soul and You'll, Be like me, In emptiness, free", which shiver to the bone and really capture all that the album stands for in one passage of malice. As in evidence by that aforementioned statement, the lyrics are often satanic, occult, anti-religious and assailing. They are unforgiving and are among some of the hurdles that listeners will have to overcome if they are to enjoy the full spectrum of a Morbid Angel record.
Anyway, this album is truly one of Morbid Angel's Best works; you already have this on your shelves I'm sure...if not, you're a poser or you seriously need to buy "Covenant" before someone notices this absence.
Posted on: August 18, 2017
Wow great
Running Wild through Branded and Exiled was a power metal/thrash group from Germany that played a darker version of Accept-styled metal or Destruction. This album came along just before Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, et al made thrash metal the popular movement that it became. Once again, we have a fringe band that really didn’t achieve any success away from the underground during that pivotal mid to late 80’s time period. The production on this album is great in that the recording captured sounds raw and aggressive, maybe on par with the early Venom recordings. The mix is a little crazy . . . the guitars are way up front, the drums sound huge and the echo is turned heavily to the right, and the vocals have been baked in a casserole of reverb and garnished with distortion, which gives them a heavier, more menacing tone to them. It’s like Running Wild was flirting with the demonic spectrum of heavy metal, kinda’ like they were peering into the abyss of early death metal, intrigued long enough to put their thoughts to tape, and then ran away screaming in the opposite direction. It was all of these great little elements that made Branded and Exiled one of my cherished childhood memories.
This album is essentially more of the same as their first album Gates to Purgatory. Traditional heavy metal/speed metal, a relatively short running time (approx 36 minutes) and quite a raw sound. The only big difference for me when put up next to their debut is that the songs aren't overly as memorable as ones like Prisoner of Our Time and Soldiers of Hell from Gates to Purgatory.
Posted on: July 31, 2017
Must have!
By 1982, Iron Maiden was one of the up and coming heavy metal bands to look out for. They had already released two fairly successful albums, Iron Maiden and Killers, and were about to release their third album, Number of the Beast, which would feature their new vocalist Bruce Dickinson. Not even the band expected the album to be successful as it was. The album hit #1 in the UK, and various other countries.
In fact, this album contains literature quotes, songs about famous books/movies fusioned in great heavy metal sound. Starting off with the song 'Where Eagles Dare' which repeats the story of the same-titled Clint Eastwood movie of the 70's. Both create an image of what war was like fighting in the bavarian alps during WWII, showing what confident, brave men could do to fight the Nazis. Second song is the half-ballad 'Revelations' with the above mentioned lyrical quotes of famous british writer Gilbert Keith Chesterton. Nearly needles to mention an all time Iron Maiden classic the 'Flight Of Icarus' an odd version of the greek legend of Icarus who burnt his wings as he was trying to reach out to the sun and fell down into the mediterannean sea. The fourth song is 'Die With Your Boots On' a song that has been covered by Sonata Arctica but never reached the original. Next is the timeless 'The Trooper' another song about war, set out on the battlefield fighting the russians. 'Still Life' as the sixth track is about a nightmare (or maybe even a famous book/movie but I do not know), about seeing faces at the bottom of a pool, which are calling and the protagonist feels like joining them down there, though they are not visible for others! Great song, a bit slower, but this sets you in the right mood for a true nightmare. Number seven on the tracklist is 'Quest For Fire' the song about men discovering the fire in prehistorc times and fight to save it from being stolen by other tribes. 'Sun and Steel' the eighth song is about a boy who killed his first man at 13 but who seems not to reflect too much about it. Animal instincts gain the posession of this boy and when he grows up they become his ideal, killing as the right of a warrior. The final song 'To Tame A Land' tells the story of Dune the book (I've never read) or the movie (which I've seen), I have to admit. A plot surrounding the young Paul Atreides who is destined to become the 'Muad Dib' leader of the desert planet Arrakis. The sound is giving the story the cold atmosphere it deserves.
Now to the music: Maybe the music itself is the reason why many people do not like this album. Most Iron Maiden albums have their own sound that flows through all of the songs combining them to a unity. This album is very diverse lacking this special unity in sound. Apart from the use of keyboards on 'Somewhere in Time' and 'Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son' this record sounds kind of experimental though it is not. You get the usual Iron Maiden quality in sound and composition, but you feel like going through different stages of atmosphere. This atmosphere is splitted into several blocks which you will find while listening. They are divided in song 1 and 2, 3 to 5, 6 standing alone and song 7 to 9. You cannot divide other albums into different atmosphere's, might be just my opinion, but you can at least try finding out by listening to this album yourself.
It is definetely great but is somehow different from the other classic Maiden albums, but this is hard to explain in detail.
At the time of its release, Piece of Mind was Iron Maidens best album. Over the years, the likes of Powerslave, Somewhere in Time, and Brave New World would over take it, but the album generally stays fresh, no matter how much you listen to it. Iron Maiden blazes little/no new ground with this release, but they continue to master their style and play the music they want to play. Piece of Mind is easily an album that belongs in your collection.