All customer reviews by Juan S.
Posted on: February 23, 2018
Metallica - Kill em all
Well here it is ladies and gentleman, the album that started thrash! Metallica successfully took NWOBHM and fused it with hardcore punk on their 1983 debut. This album is pure speed throughout, it just doesn't let up!
Posted on: November 21, 2017
Candlemass - Ancient Dreams
This is perhaps one of the most overlooked Candlemass albums – like other reviewers have said, most people point you to Epicus Doomicus Metallicus and Nightfall as the two best candlemass albums, however, Ancient Dreams is quite a strong release, and perhaps, dare I say, one of the best doom metal albums ever created.
Of course, doom metal takes a lot of cues from Sabbath – and Candlemass is no exception. The riffing here is similar to any early Sabbath. However, Candlemass takes what Black Sabbath had and expands it. They took what Sabbath had and made it darker, longer, and more epic than anything Sabbath put out. Some of the riffs on this album are downright twisted, and the eerie way Candlemass harmonizes a lot of their song’s main riffs makes them that much more creepy. There are no happy riffs here – every riff on here is sinister and morbid. Imagine wading through tar after a heavy dose of psychedelic drugs, and you get the idea of the riffing on this album. At the same time though, Candlemass manages not only to create significantly creepy riffs they also have those soaring, epic sections that really make the songs on this album, such as near the end of “A Cry From the Crypt”, for the best example. The way Candlemass manages to incorporate these kinds of riffs fluently into their songs is what sets them apart from other doom metal bands, which often end up being too slow and plodding instead of heavy and epic, which is what Candlemass does perfectly. On top of all this they also manage to have many thrashy riffs thrown in, obviously nothing as fast as something off of Bonded by Blood or Darkness Descends, but crushing and heavy. Imagine if Sodom or (early) Slayer got extremely stoned – that’s sorta what some of these riffs would sound like. This kind of riffing is most evident on “Bearer of Pain”, or maybe “Incantation of Evil”. It is also obligatory for a metal album to have guitar solos, and Candlemass does this quite well. The solos on this album are perfectly adapted to the songs – imagine a slowed down Yngwie Malmsteen, but more sophisticated. The whammy bar is not used recklessly here, unlike many bands which relentlessly abuse it.
Posted on: October 26, 2017
Sepultura - Morbid visions / Bestial Devastation
Sepulturas first full-length, Morbid Visions, released in 1986 by Cogumelo Records, is one of the most criminally underrated albums ever made by the famous Brazilian band. At those times in Brazil, a little thrash scene was beginning to spawn around Cogumelo Records. In that year, Sarcofago and Mutilator were releasing their demos and would have signed very soon a contract with the most known Brazilian metal label. Most Brazilian thrash bands of that current year used to flirt with most extreme subgenres that were being forged in those years, like death and black metal, and Sepulturas Morbid Visions is no exception.
While Bestial Devastation was one of the most brutal proto-death metal releases of that time, Morbid Visions is ascribable to the so-called first black metal wave, along with some other contemporary speed/thrash bands like Sodom, Bathory, Sarcofago, Necrodeath, Poison, Mefisto etc. That was the year of the monumental proto-black masterpiece Obsessed by Cruelty - just saying. And also in this case, like Bestial Devastation, for death metal, I have to say it: Morbid Visions (as well as Obsessed by Cruelty and I.N.R.I.) overcomes every single black metal album of the so-called second wave (which is the proper definition of black metal for me), including timeless masterpieces of awesome bands like Dissection or Darkthrone.
Posted on: October 2, 2017
Metallica - Ride the Ligthning
Kill Em All was an all-out thrash/speed metal album with a heavy injection of pissed off punk music, whereas Ride the Lightning is far more mature and a bit more technical in terms of songwriting and musicianship. There were no acoustic pieces on the previous album. However, right away, the first-time listener of this album was treated to something entirely different back in 1984. Within the intro to Fight Fire with Fire, the albums opening track, a beautiful acoustic guitar riff sets the tone of the album. Or does it? After some acoustic playing, a bombastic thrash riff explodes all over the place. Im sure many fans of Metallica at this point in time were fearing the worst: oh, no! Acoustic guitars?! They sold out! Of course we now know that couldnt be farther from the truth, but maybe it seemed justifiable at the time. No, Metallica wouldnt sell out until 1991. This was also the first album by Metallica to feature a ballad and its actually one of the greatest songs this band has ever written. Fade to Black is a song dealing with the controversial lyrical theme of suicide. Again, I can guarantee there were fans back in the day that saw this and felt that the band was selling out. I mean, a ballad about suicide? It makes sense. But this song is breathtaking. It starts off somber with a guitar solo and acoustic riffing then the main acoustic riff comes in and its instantly recognizable. The song does end up picking up in pace and turns into what you could call a thrash ballad. The albums closing instrumental number The Call of Ktulu could probably be considered such as well. This nearly 9-minute piece is, in my opinion, the best instrumental Metallica has ever done and we definitely have Dave Mustaine to thank for writing some of the guitar pieces to this track.
Posted on: September 21, 2017
The Somberlain - DISSECTION
The Somberlain is Dissections first full-length album, and definitely their best release to date. The production fits the music extremely well, with the mix not sounding too clean, but showcasing a somewhat rawer and colder sound. The music is also very different from their older material (Reinkaos, Maha Kali, etc.), being more atmospheric and passionate, whereas their songs are more straightforward heavy metal/melodic death in their later work. The Somberlain is also Dissections last full-on black metal release, as Storm Of The Lights Bane introduced the bands further exploration into melodic death metal territory.
Generally speaking, this is a solid melodic black metal