Accept - Balls to the Wall

Balls to the Wall is Accepts follow up to 1982s Restless and Wild. It keeps the Priest meets AC/DC influence. Not as much speed metal on this album and a lot more slow, heavy melodic tunes on this album.

Band - Accept

Album - Balls to the Wall

Genre - Heavy Metal

Year - 1983(4?)

Country - Germany

Well that’s certainly an eye catching album cover isn’t it…? Anyway, the album kicks off with the title track. It’s that song that everyone thought was AC/DC for some reason as well as the only Accept song most people recognize. It’s a great, moody midpaced tune and far better then most of what AC/DC ever did… It’s catchy and heavy. The bridge section after the solo is a great sing along part. I love the guitars harmonizing with the group singing. Bass is great in this song as well. Next up is London Leatherboys, yes, LONDON LEATHERBOYS. Anyway, this tune has a pretty catchy verse and the chorus is nothing to scoff at either. Udo sounds pretty crazed in this one. A bunch of good solos in this tune as well. Fight it Back is a speed metal tune. The verse is very vocal driven with single power chords played to back Udo up. The riffing really picks up during the chorus’. By the way, Udo waits like a madman in this tune! Sounds amazing! Soloing is, as usual top notch. Head Over Heels starts off with some bass plucking, the goes into a midpaced riff. It’s a pretty melodic tune, not very heavy for the most part though. Soloing makes up for that though. I swear these Accept guitarists are so underrated! Next up is Losing More Then You’ve Ever Had. Long ass song title but a pretty good song! As with most of the songs on this album it goes more of a melodic route over the pounding heavy riffs of the previous album. It sort of sounds “ballady,” It’s a pretty slow tune and very melodic. Love Child is a great, up tempo tune. Great melodic pre-chorus thingy! I love that part, the guitar and vocals are totally in tune then it breaks into the chorus! It’s a really catchy song as well as some great riffing and soloing. Turn Me On is next. it starts off with a good, heavy riff. It’s also worth noting the riff is a very typical “metal” riff. Lots of people have imitated it and I’m sure Accept weren’t the first to use it either. The chorus is very melodic (and just a little cheesy sounding), then it goes back into the slow, heavy riffing and then more brilliant classical soloing. The bass line really stands out in this tune. It’s nothing special but it’s very driving and heavy so it fills out the sound nicely. Next is the ripping speed metal track Losers and Winners. Ok maybe not THAT ripping but it’s pretty awesome anyway for 1983 and today! In 1983 the only real competition was Metallica, Slayer and Venom when it came to the high speed shit. Nice fast riffing and like the other tunes on this one, really catchy melodies to go with the furious riffing. Guardian of the Night is slow and heavy. It once again shows the importance of Bass in Heavy Metal. Winter Dreams starts of with some acoustic guitar and bass. It’s not long before some electric guitar comes in but it’s still mostly acoustic. This tunes a ballad. It’s a nice, sort of relaxing tune. You can hear a bit of influence from some of Priest’s Ballads.

This album is rather different from the previous. It’s more focused on melody then speed and heaviness. Not to say this isn’t a heavy album, it is, but its heavy in a different way. The riffing is great and the songs are composed brilliantly. The soloing is off the charts amazing! These guitarists should get way more credit for the skills shown on these last two albums. I love the guitar playing on this record. The drumming is good, nothing special though hjust drumming as drumming should be. There are a few cool fills throughout the album though. The bass playing stands out at times more then it did on the previous record, lots of cool basslines on this album. Udo sounds as good as ever. He isn’t quite as maniacal on this record, but he has him moments. Especially in Fight it Back. There are two very badass screams delivered in that tune. Udo really deserves a place with the other great vocalists of metal. Once again, a great album from a very underrated band. Pick it up along with the previous if you dig old school metal. Oh and don't let the album cover turn you off, its a great album.

Here are four tunes to wet your whistle.

Kreator - Endless Pain

Kreator is a Thrash Metal band from Germany. They are very influential, along with slayer, Possessed and the other two Teutonic terrors for the creation of Extreme Metal. Their first studio album, Endless Pain, is a wild ride through the kingdom of Thrash Metal!

Band - Kreator

Album - Endless Pain

Year - 1985

Genre - Thrash Metal

Country - Germany

The record kicks off with the title track. The drummer and guitarist both sing on this record. Ventor, the drummer does lead vocals on this tune.  Lots of great riffs in this tune, along with plenty of time changes as well. Great start to a solid thrash album. Next up is Total Death. This time Millie, the guitarist is on vocals. They switch between each song so this will be the last time I make note of it. Another great head banging tune! I prefer Millie’s vocals personally. Next is Storm of the Beast. It starts with a sweet drum intro and goes into some midpaced riffing. Then it kicks into high gear! The tune slows down again for a cool bridge section and speeds up once again for some awesome shredding! Lots of great riffs as always in this tune. Next is Tormentor. Its fast and relentless and very evil sounding, especially during the chorus where the vocals are downright demonic! Actually scratch that, the whole song is demonic! Son of Evil comes next and with it more speed! Very punky vocals on this tune and a more Speed Metalesqe riff. At the midway point it becomes more midpaced just to speed up again for more relentless thrashing! Wild solo in this tune as well. Flag of Hate comes in with some more badass riffing and more evil vocals from Millie. Awesome song as usual. Cry war starts off slow and heavy, but as usual that never lasts long… It quickly goes into the usual blazingly fast pace and as usual its awesome. They switch back to the slow and heavy as well throughout the song which is great, it makes you anticipate the ball breaking, hand banging fast pace! Another crazy solo in this one as well, this album is a bit of a shred fest not much in the way of melodic guitar playing, but really who gives a shit! Next up is Bone Breaker, and guess what! It kicks ass! Oh and the next two songs? They kick ass too! Living in fear has a pretty epic, heavy intro then goes into, you guessed it fast, heavy riffing with lots of riff changes to keep it interesting! Finally we get to Dying Victims which actually starts with clean guitar! Its odd, but then the sweet riffing truly begins, then the evil ass vocals that Millie always delivers.

I sort of got tired of saying basically the same this for every song, I mean really this is just simply awesome Thrash Metal. Every song here is great. It’s all fast, heavy, evil and has lots of great shredding solos. It’s really everything a good Thrash album should have. The riffing is top notch, lots of different riffs throughout, plenty of riff changes in each song. Soloing is great, bass is decent drumming is top notch. Both vocalists are awesome in their own way. Millie is very harsh, rasp and evil sounding. His vocals are almost black metal sounding at times. Ventor on the other hand, sings slightly cleaner and has a somewhat punky, American thrash sounding style. Both compliment the songs they sing on perfectly. Overall, this is an amazing Thrash album. If you like Thrash then this album is pretty much essential. Get Pleasure to kill as well while you’re at it.

Here are four tunes (Two Millie fronted and two Ventor fronted) for you to check out

Accept - Restless and Wild

Accept is an underrated Heavy Metal band from Germany. The best way to describe their sound is Judas Priest with a gruffer singer and a little bit of AC/DC thrown in for good measure. They have the twin guitar attack down to a tee and the riffs vary from simplistic AC/DC type riffs to speed metal assaults! Their 1982 album “Restless and Wild” is definitely one of their greatest albums and one of the first speed metal albums. NOTE: There are two diffrent covers to this album one a European version another the American version I'm using this one because it looks cooler =)

Band - Accept

Album - Restless and Wild

Year - 1982(3?)

Genre - Heavy/Speed Metal

Country - Germany

The album starts off with some weird German music but quickly comes to an end and you hear quite the scream! Then the speed metal assault Fast as a Shark kicks in! Great, fast riff and an awesome, melodic chorus. The solo is very classically styled as are most of the solos from Accept. Another thing that stands out in this tune are the backing vocals. They’re just really cool… After that relentless tune we’re treated to the title track. Great mid paced, heavy riffing in this tune. The vocals are great, very restless and wild indeed and more well done backing vocals in this tune as well. Ahead of the Pack is another fast tune. More great riffs and catchy chorus section in this one. I really love the riffs in this song and how much they compliment the vocals and fill out every bit of the sound. The bridge section is awesome, lots of great soloing and the complimentary twin guitar attack! Shake your heads is a midpaced rocker with some atypical riffs throughout. Not a very interesting song in my opinion. Perhaps I would “shake my head” more if the song was better… Though, the chorus section and the drumming are quite heavy. It gets better during the solos of course, but that’s to be expected from Accept. Next up is Neon Nights, not to be confused with Neon Knights… that’s a different song entirely. This tune starts of with come clean classical guitar playing, then goes into a cool phaser/warp effect thingy that sounds quite awesome! This is another midpaced tune, it’s a bit of a balled (though the guitars are very heavily distorted still) with some emotional singing which is a change from Udo’s more maniacal singing from the first three tracks. Great solo section, more classical styled soloing as a matter of fact parts of the solo are actually classical pieces.  Afterwards it speeds up to a proper fast head banging speed! Just to end… Oh well. Next up is Get ready, the tune starts of with the Living After Midnight drumbeat… yeah you know the one. Anyway, it’s a bit of a commercial sounding song; the main riff is very “party metal” feel to it as does the rest of the song. Not a bad song per say, but I doesn’t really sound like the same band. Next Demon’s Night kicks in! Now we’re back to some proper Accept! Great song, mostly midpaced throughout the verse but speeds up during the pre-chorus and chorus sections. More great riffs and aggressive yet catchy singing! Next up is Flash Rocking Man. It’s another relentless, fast tune. The main riff is actually one of the most common speed metal riffs out there; the bridge has some very thrashy sounding riffs. At the end is a very badass scream that’s could put Helford to shame, sometimes… maybe. Don’t Go Stealing My Soul Away is a very hard rockish AC/DC sounding tune. The chorus is catchier then the plague! Not much to say about it, good solo catchy chorus. Finally we get to the epic tune of the album, Princess of the Dawn! It’s a midpaced, moody tune with lots of great soloing throughout. Its definitely one of the best songs on the album. The song and album end very abruptly though, like right in the middle of the very last “princess of the princess of the princess of the dawn.” It’s weird.

Overall, a great album from a rather unknown band. The guitar work is simply amazing! Both riffs and solos are top notch and pretty unique and new for their time. The songs are composed brilliantly and very varied throughout the album. We get a good mix of fast, Speed Metal tunes, more midpaced Heavy Metal songs, some epic numbers as well as two songs that are more on the hard rock side. The tunes also have a great mix between aggression and catchiness. Some of the vocal lines and riffs are just catchy as shit! Udo is a very underrated singer. In my opinion he is one of the best in metal simply for this album alone! He sounds crazed and vicious at times but emotional at others. The drumming is very good but the bass is a bit buried. The bass playing is never anything particularly interesting just the same riffs as are being played on guitar Overall an awesome album from an awesome and underrated band, I implore you to track this album down as well as their next release, Balls to the Wall. Speaking of Balls to the Wall, that album will be coming up soon so stay tuned!

Here are three tunes for you to check out.

Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer

Black Sabbath’s 1992 album Dehumanizer is the third studio album to feature Ronnie James Dio on Vocals. It will also be the last until the band reformed as Heaven and Hell in the mid 2000’s. Dio first joined Sabbath in 1980 (after the Departure of Ozzy Osborne due to being a drug addicted child who can’t write music for shit) and with them Recorded two studio albums and a live album before leaving around 1983 and forming his solo band, Dio. During the rest of the 80s Sabbath became a revolving door of musicians and master guitarist Tony Iomi. They had a bit of success, though most people are still very much ignorant that there was even a Black Sabbath besides the Ozzy and Dio eras. Hell most people tend to think that there’s no Sabbath other then the Ozzy era! Those are the people I like to call idiots... Anyway Dehumanizer is a VERY underrated album that doesn’t get enough praise in my opinion. It’s a great album all the way through and it has top class musicians on it. It has the4 Mob Rules line up of Dio, Iomi, Butler and Appice

Band - Black Sabbath

Album - Dehumanizer

Year - 1992

Genre - Heavy/Doom Metal

Country - (technically) UK

The first thing that jumps out as you is that awesome fucking album cover! Seriously, how can you dislike an album that has a cover like that? Any way…

The record kicks off with Computer God. A good example of where this record is going. It’s a very doomy song with great bass, guitar and of course great vocals from one Mr. Ronnie James Dio. After All (The Dead) is another Slow and doomy song with more emotional singing from Dio. TV Crimes is a fast, somewhat silly tune with simply orgasmic bass work! Geezer shows off like a mad man! If there’s any reason to listen to this song is the amazing bass work. Letters from earth is another dark, gloomy slow tune. More heavy riffs for our pleasure! It picks up speed half way through and we get to hear some more solos from master Iomi. Master of Insanity is one of the best here; it starts off with a great bass line and goes into a great, heavy tune. Great riffs all around this song as well as more great singing from the master himself and once again, great soloing from Iomi, not that its any surprise. Time Machine is an upbeat heavy tune with some sweet riffing and soloing. Sins of the Father starts off with some very Ozzyesque singing from Dio which is quite interesting in itself. The first part of this song wouldn’t sound very out of place on one off the early Sabbath albums. The song is another slow doomy one after about a minute or so in. But then it changes again! The song gets a bit faster and a bit more technical with lots of cools riffs. Very heavy tune that one! Too Late starts off with a very cool balled intro and, as usual very emotional singing from Dio. The song proper kicks in around 3 minutes, its still basically a balled tune. But you won’t care one the soloing starts. After the soloing it goes back to being all balledy. It's an alright song. I is another super heavy ass kicker, with some truly angry vocals from Dio. The riffs and drumming are immense, very epic tune. Finally, we get too buried alive, a song far too heavy for words! Very evil sounding vocals from Dio and an even more evil sounding main riff along with lots of little guitar fills from Iomi. The pre-chorus riff is pretty sweet as well, sort of sounding like a much slowed down thrash or speed metal riff. Nice bridge part with some top notch soloing!

Overall, this album kicks ass! If you love Dio era Sabbath, Doom Metal or even Dios solo band this is highly recommended! Iomi’s guitar work is masterful with plenty of shredding along with some very bluesy melodic parts he’s best known for. The riffs are heavy as hell most of the time and very well composed. Butlers Bass work is orgasmic at times. Bass really stands out on this record, it rarely simply follows the guitar and Geezer is almost always all over the place filling out the already heavy as all hell sound. Drums are good, nothing special though. Ronnie James Dio (RIP) is of course, top notch here. His vocals are very emotional and at times, very evil. Dio is simply the greatest vocalist in Metal. Bow down to the master! Great, great album, if you haven’t heard it, seek it out, along with the rest of the Dio era Sabbath albums. Any Sabbath era other then Ozzy’s is criminally underrated as far as most mainstream Metal interests go. Yes even the amazing Dio era is somewhat obscure to most non Metal heads.

Here are four stand outs from this album

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers

Curse of Michael Myers, the sixth entry in the Halloween series tends to get a lot of slack among fans. Now I’m not saying this is the best movie of all time, but it’s definitely not the redheaded step child some would make it out to be. In my humble opinion, its actually one of the best in the series! It’s a very dark, creepy, moody film that finally fills us in on the question of “why” that we have about Myers intentions. Remember when I was bitching about how Rob Zombie fucked up the remake by including an origin? Well this film manages to give him one that doesn’t suck major horse cock!

“Please Michael, don’t hurt me.” That’s the first thing we hear, then we’re treated to some pretty traumatic child birth… A Mysterious women give’s birth in a mysterious facility surrounded by mysterious people. Probably the most Mysterious start to any Halloween film! The baby is taken away from the mother and given to the man in black who popped up rather randomly in the fifth film. We’re treated to a monologue about how Myers and Jamie disappeared 6 years ago. The mystery women is revealed (a little bit later anyway) as Jamie. She escapes (by this point the death toll is already up to 2! You know this movie is going to be good!) and drives off to a bus station. It’s kind of odd… if she’s apparently been missing since the events of Halloween 5 she really shouldn’t know how to drive…. Like Uncle like Niece I suppose… Anyway, she calls up a radio shock jock because the emergency lines are busy due to the epic storm outside. Turns out this is a pretty good idea, as both kinda creepy traumatized Tommy Doyle AKA the little boy from the first film and Loomis happen to be listening to the radio broadcast. Now this shock jock is coming to Haddonfield on Halloween to do a… thing on Halloween in Haddonfield. Jamie leaves her baby at the bus station and runs to a barn. Michael kills her. Next day we see Haddonfield. Apparently Halloween is banned in this town… Yet we see Halloween decorations and Trick or Treaters… must not be a very well enforced rule, despite the fact that a major plot point is this fall festival sort of deal to get Halloween back in Haddonfield. Anyway, we meet John Strode, who is Laurie’s uncle, and his wife Deborah. Living there with them is their daughter Kara and her son Danny. Also, yes. She is a total MILF. They also have a son named Tim. Tommy figures out that Jamie called from a bus station and heads there. He proceeds to magically find the baby and takes him away. He also conveniently heads to the local hospital and finds Loomis. Loomis say’s that Jamie is that last of Myers bloodline, while Tommy shows him living, crying, shitting proof. The middle part of the film is basically classic Halloween. Myers stalks and kills some folks while Loomis and Tommy are on his tail. Later on we find out that Michael suffers from the curse of thorn. Basically, the curse is what causes him to kill his family members. The Cult of thorn is apparently controlling him; possibly from the start. The film doesn’t clarify weather he’s controlled from the events of the first film, all you really know is that he was from at least 5. Thus, the plot is convoluted. Why do they impregnate Jamie just for Michael to kill the baby? Just kill Jamie and that’s it, no more Myers blood. What’s the point of bringing another child into the world just to kill it? Ugh so many questions…

This is a good movie. The plot is sort of convoluted and hard to follow but it’s alright. Plenty of good kills in this one, lots of gore.  This film is actually pretty creepy and suspenseful. This is really the only film in the series that can manage to actually make my feel uneasy while watching. It’s really dark with a gloomy mood to it; you can tell they were going for a darker film after Halloween 5. This film is different from the others, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s a bit of a fresh take on the Series, at least the Cult angle was. The middle “classic” Halloween part was great as well. You can’t go to off the wall with this sort of movies; you have to root the stuff firmly in the series but deviate from the normal style subtly. This film manages to pull it off Very well. Personally I don’t like the thorn story that much, but it does bring some uniqueness to this film that the others lack. Also, the mask Myers uses in tis film looks fantastic, much better then that shit they use in the last film.  The producers cut of the film is more popular with the Halloween fan base then the theatrical cut. Problem is, only way you can get a hold of that is by bootleg. From what I’ve heard, I think I would prefer the theatrical cut anyway… Producers cut sounds pretty lame.

Halloween 5 : The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is yet another addition to the Halloween franchise. It’s a direct sequel to Halloween 4 and takes place a year after the first.

The film starts right where the last left off. Apparently, Myers has been unconscious in a bum’s hovel underground for like, a year. Also, Jamie is now living in a home for disturbed children or something like that after the events of Halloween 4. Her foster parents are out of town and Rachael is getting ready to join them. Loomis is watching over Jamie at the children’s hospital. He seems to be getting progressively nuttier after the events of 4, but really can you blame the poor old guy? By the end of the film Loomis is absolutely insane! Basically, the story is that Myers comes back from his near death on Halloween and once again goes on the hunt/rampage for his Niece, who inexplicably has a psychic link with Myers. The man is quite dedicated to his niece ;) Anyway, he spends the movie stalking teenagers trying to find Jamie, either that or he’s just trying to make her suffer by killing everyone/thing she seems to care about… Thus making him an even bigger bastard then he was in the last film. A bastard with a way shittier mask I might add… Seriously it only looks good in the fisrst shot you see it in, after that… Along the way we’re introduced to a bunch of meaningless, unlikable and annoying characters. Hell, even Loomis is a total dick in this movie. Jamie is far more annoying then she was in the fourth film. She barely talks but always fucking SCREAMS! We also get to suffer with another little kid who stutters every line. We also see a mysterious man in black whom the film makers don’t even know the purpose of. Though, he is explained in the next film.

Over all this one is sort of weak, there’s not a lot of blood (though the blood that is here is pretty cool) to make up for the kind of bland plot. The body count isn’t all that high but most of the kills are pretty interesting. To bad that’s really all it has going for it. It’s not a bad film but it’s not very good either. It doesn’t add much of value to the series and it doesn’t particularly stand out among the other films.  It’s a bit slow really, some scenes drag on a bit longer then they really should. Like the scene in the barn with the kittens and some assholes fucking around. There’s actually a pretty painfully long sex scene (also in the barn, seriously this place gets more screen time then Loomis), and the only nudity you see is the guy’s bare, pasty white, hairless chest… DOES NOT DELIVER! The chick is pretty hot too. Lame. I mean it is pretty sensual and well done but it really didn’t need to be this long. I also like how this is considered a “graphic” sex scene on IMDB (and other places I’m sure, you won’t see that part on TV broadcasts) because he pulls out a condom, implying he’s going to use it. They’re actually having safe sex in a horror movie… Like, the rarest kind of horror movie sex… and it’s considered “too graphic.” That’s hilarious. Anyway, the film is worth watching if you’re a fan of the series or if you just dig slasher films, but it’s not quite as good as one, two, four or six. Oh and Michael Myers never really gets any revenge...

Halloween 4 (1988)

The reason I’m skipping over three and going right to four is because part three has nothing to do with the main Halloween storyline. Instead it’s a stand alone film. For this Halloween season however, I’m focusing on just the Michael Myers storyline. I’ll do three sometime after Halloween. But for right now, Halloween 4: Return of Michael Myers is a great film in this great series. It introduces the character we’ll be following for the next few films, Jamie Lloyd as well as portraying Myers as more of a force of pure evil rather then a human being.

The film starts on October 30th with a prisoner patient transfer. This film takes place ten years after the events of Halloween II. Myers is getting moved to another nuthouse.  After the events of Halloween II Myers is badly injured and bed ridden. Myers is moved into the ambulance where he, unsurprisingly, regains conciseness and full strength. He proceeds to kill the shit out of the doctors in the ambulance. Before he kills them however, they mention something about living relatives. They mention his ten year old niece, Jamie Lloyd. Jamie Lloyd is the orphaned daughter of Laurie Strode, whom died somewhere between the events of this film and the second. Myers goal in this film is to kill her. Its pretty basic Halloween fair, Myers comes back from the dead and hunts a family member. Shortly after Jamie is introduced Loomis comes back, obviously concerned that he wasn’t notified (well, he was, but the guy in charge didn’t really take Loomis seriously) of Myers being moved, shortly afterwards they find out the ambulance crashed and everyone on board was killed. Except Myers, who is missing. This film very much sets up the “He’s not human” angle. Myers has been bed ridden, waiting for his chance to strike again, for ten years at this point. The transfer was his chance. If he were a human being his muscles would be useless at this point, but here he is, seemingly stronger then ever ( he kills a man by sticking his THUMB into his forehead!) and just as crafty as he was ten years ago. He’s also gained an ability ro teleport apparently. Anyway, Loomis confronts Myers in a gas station, trying to stop him from returning to Haddonfield. He fails miserably, Myers escapes and blows up the gas station. He’s not fucking around this time! Jamie is teased by kids for being an orphan and apparently its common knowledge Myers is her uncle (Jamie’s an orphan/Jamies an orphan/Jamie’s uncle’s the boogyman!). Kids are dicks… Anyway, Myers returns to Haddonfield and searches for his prey, killing plenty of other people along the way. The other main character here is Rachael, Jamie’s older foster sister.

Another great entry in the series! It sets up Myers as a more supernatural entity then he was in the first two films. According to Loomis, Myers is indeed pure evil. Some great gore in this one, definitely on par with the second film. The body count is nice and high and blood is plentiful! The plot is pretty basic Halloween, nothing incredibly different from the first two films. Myers goes after a family member; Loomis is on his tail, kills lots of folks along the way. The ending of this one though is dissimilar from the other two films, not to ruin to much there’s no one/two on one face off with Loomis saving the day at the end of this one and there’s a twist as well! Oh, and this is the first time Myers has a little fun and kills an entire police station! He totally takes a level in badass in this one. Seriously, he’s like a force of nature in this film, not only does he leave the whole town defenseless by taking out a police station but he knocks all the power in the town out by throwing a dude on some electrical transformer things. All this, for one little girl. No wonder this bastard is a horror movie icon! Hell, apparently masks that look like Myers are even sold IN THE MOVIE UNIVERSE itself. That would be like the real world equivalent of Halloween stores around the country carrying real life serial killer masks…

This film is highly recommended, get it now! Along with Halloween II it’s the best film in the series and a great way to keep the story going. See this now if you haven’t yet. Tune into AMC fear fest to see the first 5 films. Yes, even three which I’m not going in to right now.

Early Helloween (part one)

Helloween is an extremely influential band for the genre of Power Metal as well as Speed Metal. Helloween sort of created the genre of Power Metal and defined its sound, every Power Metal or Speed Metal band out today owes a little bit to the first two Helloween releases. Today I’ll be focusing on Helloween’s extremely influential self titled EP and their First proper album. A bit odd, both came out in the same year the EP in March and the album in October. 

Band - Helloween

Album - Helloween EP

Genre - Speed/Power Metal

Year - (Early) 1985

Country - Germany

A little intro referencing Halloween III then we’re thrusted into Starlight. As soon as the vocals come in, you notice that Kai Hansen isn’t… really… the best singer… But it’s ok, because the EP has a very raw, underdeveloped sound to it that the sorta kinda crappy vocals complement. It actually seems like the bands getting better as the EP goes on. Anyway, Starlight is a great opener, lots of energy to it. Murderer and Warrior are both short fast songs. Murderer is a little bland to my ears; Warrior however is a great song! Great riffs and a very catchy chorus as well as other great vocal melodies make this song great. Victim of Fate is one of the best songs on this EP. The first part is a speed metal assault and then it goes into a mellow part with some creepy, hissing vocals. Love this part! Then it goes back to speed metal assault mode with lots of soloing, great song. Could be a bit faster though >_> Cry for Freedom starts with a cool ballad type intro, but proceeds to kick into a wild Speed Metal massacre! Awesome riffs and amazing lead work make this song leap out in front of the pack, it’s amazing!

Lots of great Speed Metal riffs and even a few that sound almost thrashy. The lead work here is great, plenty of great leads here. The bass playing really stands out here which is unusual for power metal, then again this EP was kind of the first thing out of the gate when it comes to Power Metal. It’s a shame more Power Metal bands don’t make such good use of their bassists. He doesn’t just follow the guitars, instead going all over the place to fill out the sound. Drums are pretty basic, but get the job done. As I stated earlier the Vocals are a bit crappy at times, but it adds to the raw, unpolished sound of the EP. This is a great release from a very important band I highly recommend it. This is an insanely important release in metal history! It’s pretty hard to find on its own, but it’s usually sold combined with…

Band - Helloween

Album - Walls of Jericho

Genre - Speed/Power Metal

Year - (late) 1985

Country - Germany

Another great release from these wacky German’s! After an intro reminiscent of the one for starlight your ass is immediately kicked by Ride the (fucking) Sky! Such a great speed Metal song. Right off the bat you can tell Kai has gotten better at vocals. The riffs are sweet, the vocal melodies are perfect and there are even some good backing keyboards during some parts of the song. Lead work is great. A perfect song to kick off a great album! Reptile is a bit of a let down after the Immense first track. It’s an alright song but not particularly memorable, it kind of sounds like a song German speed/thrash metalers RISK would do. Guardian’s is a great, fast, melodic tune with great guitar work and very prominent bass. Great bridge bit in the middle too! Phantoms of Death is a bit of an epic tune, with a very similar sounding main riff to Maiden’s Two minutes to Midnight. A fair bit of Keyboards in this tune but they’re never distracting and used tastefully. It’s a pretty long song (hence the epicness), but it holds your interest. All the longer songs on this album tend to hold your interest because it never starts to get old due lots of riff changes and plenty of soloing. The bridge is fast n wild with plenty of soloing. Metal Invaders is another pretty melodic speed metal tune. Actually a very melodic tune, especially when the bridge comes in. The guitars in the middle of this song are a bit overwhelming. Its short and sweet but till has a lot of sweet riffs. Gorgar is a mid-paced, heavy tune, which is a good contrast to the rest of the album which in pretty much a speed metal paradise. Very Cheesy chorus, but its alright, metal should never take itself TOO seriously. I mean the song is about a killer arcade machine anyway so… There’s also a little lead break in the middle referencing the classical score “Hall of the Mountain King” which is a great touch. Heavy Metal (is the Law) is one of my personal favorite Helloween songs. I can’t tell you how much I love this song. I once pulled a muscle in my back I was head banging so hard to this song! It’s just like, a perfect metal song. It’s a mock live song, as in played live in studio with crowd noise added in later. The guitar work is amazing and the bass is even better! Definitely my favorite Helloween song bar none! The album probably should have ended on that note. How Many Tears is kind of weak. Not a bad song really, great lead work as usual and there’s a balladesque part about halfway through. It kind of starts out with nothing special you know? It makes up for it in the later half of the song though! It’s very reminiscent of Victim of Fate. Oh, there’s also a bonus track on some releases called Judas. Great song! Vocals and riffs are very much in tune with each other and lots of sweet riffs and leads. Definitely should have been on the album proper! The album could have used Judas instead of Reptile.

Great album these are pretty much essential if you like Speed, Heavy or Power Metal. These guys did pretty much invent Power Metal as we know it today. If you’re a Power Metal fan and you don’t have these two releases you kind of owe it to yourself to check out your roots. Its way better then any shitty modern “Flower Metal” band out of Europe anyway ;)

Here are some stand out tracks from the EP

Here are a few from Walls of Jericho





Enjoy! Part two will be about the Kiske fronted Keeper of the Seven Keys albums. Expect that next week sometime.

Halloween II (1981)

I SHOT HIM SIX TIIIIMES!!!!

The second entry in this series is another classic; we learn more about Michaels intentions and get to see way more carnage then in the first! Rob Zombie ain’t got shit on John Carpenter!  

Film - Halloween II

Year - 1981

Country USA

The movie starts off right where the first one ends and incorporates the final scene on the first film into the beginning of this one. Michael survives being shot 6 times by Loomis and retreats. After the opening credits, Laurie is rushed to the hospital. For the first half (or so) of the film the action is cut in thirds by Loomis and the sheriff’s (later his deputy’s) search for Myers, Myers looking for Laurie and scenes in the hospital. There’s not a whole lot of story for this one, it focuses much more on the action and for good reason! The first film is, basically, the set up for its sequel. It’s best to watch Halloween one and two as one long film. After searching for a while Myers finally figures out where Laurie is and goes to the hospital. The rest of the film is basically Myers killing off the hospital staff looking for Laurie. Later we learn that Laurie is actually Myers younger sister, who was adopted by the Strode’s, and thus, his reason to hunt her down. This is the film that introduces that plot point, the fact that Myers goes after his family. The rest of the series is based around this.

This is another great film in the series; I actually prefer it to the first. It’s a lot more action oriented then the first one and has a faster pace. It’s probably the best film in the series. There’s A LOT more blood and a higher body count in this one, its pretty great. The blood is never excessive however, which is great too. There are, of course, plenty of scares. I highly, highly recommend this one, its essential for anyone who likes horror. Also, I highly recomend viewing the first film and this one back to back.

Halloween 1978

Halloween is one of the greatest classic horror films of all time. it spawned 8 sequels an awful remake and a sequel to that remake. John Carpenter and Moustapha Akkad are the masterminds behind these great films. This is a spotlight on the original 1978 classic that introduces us to Michael Myers and Dr. Sam Loomis whom we’ll be following throughout the rest of the series as well as Laurie Strode, the main character from these first two.

Title - Halloween

Year - 1978

Country - USA

The film opens up in 1963 with Myers sister, Judith, and her boyfriend messing around on the couch. Quite the horror movie staple now a days, I’m sure it was still somewhat fresh in ’78. Anyway, we see them go upstairs, presumably, to do the nasty. The camera acts as Myers eyes as he picks up a knife and a clown mask, he puts the mask on and proceeds up the stairs. Either Judith’s boyfriend in a minute man or she just likes to brush her hair before sex, when Mike (the camera still acting as his eyes) gets upstairs she’s sitting naked at her vanity brushing her hair. He proceeds to stab the shit out of her. He walks right out the front door and stands on the lawn while his parents pull up. We finally get to see Michael as a little boy dressed in a clown outfit with a bloody knife and some VERY confused parents. Scene zooms out to black, the proper movie starts. That’s it, that’s his origin story and it’s perfect. It’s what makes Michael Myers Michael Myers and its perfect.

Thus, the reason why the remake fails so hard… It tries to give Myers a background story a “more developed” origin story. The problem with that is that he simply doesn’t NEED all that. It completely goes against the concept of the character. Originally the character simply snaps one fateful Halloween and decides to kill his sister. THAT’S IT! His parents are on screen for no more then half a minute and they’re perfectly normal, middle class all American parents nothing abnormal about that. Myers came from a normal suburban family, snaps and kills his sister. This is the basis for the whole character. This is what makes him scary. Rob Zombies version of the back story goes on to piss all over the Myers name. But I’ll go into that some other time.

Anyway, its now current day (aka 1978) and we get to meet Dr. Loomis, who is headed to the nuthouse where Myers has been locked away in for 15 years, When the car gets there all the patients are roaming around outside, Loomis gets out and goes to the gate, leaving the nurse who was driving alone in the car. Myers jumps on top, pulls the nurse out and steals the car. How does he know how to drive? It’s because he’s pure evil and pure evil can get away with that sort of thing. That explanation can be applied to any question you could have about Myers in this film, he’s pure evil, as explained by Loomis, and he’s back to kill on Halloween night. If you don’t like that explanation go watch another movie, perhaps one that requires no imagination. Later we’re introduced to Laurie and her two friends. One is a dumb, bubbly blond chick and the other is a bitchy brunette chick. Later still we meet the blonds boyfriend. Myers comes into town and causes havoc, watch and enjoy =D

Great, great film! An absolute classic and for good reason as it’s one of the first slasher films and an example for all the rest to follow. This film isn’t particularly bloody, it relies more on suspense. Their really isn’t even a huge body count. The plot is great, it may be a bit formulaic but you have to realize that this is one of the first slasher films so it was fresh and new at the time. Not to say this film hasn’t aged well, it’s still a great film. The musical score in great as well, perfect horror film soundtrack! Some nice tits in this film as well, just throwing that in there. Honestly the film is a bit slow, not much really happens till the later middle half but that isn't to bigf of a deal. This movie is sort of a set up for the rest of the series (atleast the next film) so you can forgive it for being a bit slow. If you haven’t seen this, you’ve either lived under a rock since ’78 or don’t like horror movies. If you haven’t seen this I implore you PLEASE watch this, its far better then the awful remake. If you’ve seen it before though, none of this is news to you. Stay tuned because I’m doing the whole (Myers) series this week.

All this week...

Every day is Halloween =)

I'll be posting a feature on one of the Halloween films every day this week so stay tuned! Also, plenty more albums to feature as well!

Demons 2 (1987)

I started off my movie reviews with Demons, a brilliant, gory, horror film with a Heavy Metal soundtrack to boot! Its sequel is no slacker. It holds up just as well as the original. While I personally prefer the original this one is an amazing film that you REALLY need to see if you like gory horror flicks.

Title - Demons 2

Year - 1987

Country - Italy

In the second Demons the action takes place in a 10 story apartment complex called “the Tower.” We’re introduced to shitload more characters then there were in the first film (which is fine because that means more Demons). A security guard, a lonely woman and her dog, a family, a little boy, a gym full of body builders and a trainer played by the same guy who played the pimp in the first demons, a student and his pregnant girl (these two, somehow, end up the heroes in the end), a guy and a chick who are really horny, a bunch of party goers and most importantly, a bitch named sally who’s having a birthday party. Much like the first film there’s a film within a film involved. This time though is on TV in the apartment building. Apparently they only have one channel, or there’s just nothing else on because all of the characters just happen to be watching it. In this (made for TV) film within a film four teenagers go to the “Forbidden Zone” which is apparently the town that was infested by demons in the first film. Short story even shorter, a demon gets resurrected in this “Forbidden Zone,” comes back and kills the luckless teens just like any good film should. Our bitch friend Sally is off alone in her room because she’s having her period or some shit  Ok, so she’s watching this TV right and the demon in the movie FUCKING SEE’S HER FROM WITHIN THE TV AND COMES OUT! Yup, that shit actually happens. Sally is attacked and transforms into a DEMON. Just as the time to sing happy birthday comes she comes to blow out her candles and transforms right over the cake! Sadly, the cake is ruined =( Oh and she totally attacks every one at the party and turns them all into demons. And from there the demon infestation begins! The rest of the movie, just like the first, involves every one in the building trying to stay alive. Though unlike the first film where most of the main characters are all together this film has them all on there own through most of the film. Their stories tend to flip flop around until the final act when there are only like, two people left… The Demons seemed to gain a new ability; they now have acidic blood it seems. For some reason their acid blood ends up shorting all the power in the building out. This also traps them all inside because, apparently, the doors can only be opened with electricity? Later on we’re introduced to another four assholes in a car that, much like the original four, seem to serve little purpose then to take up screen time.

Great movie! The plot is good despite the awful way they had the outbreak starts. The characters actually get a lot more attention in this one then they did in the first but it doesn’t distract from the demon slaughter thankfully. Special effects are awesome as one would expect coming from the makers of the first film. The make up effects for the secondary demons leaves a bit to be desired though, the “major” demons that get a lot of screen time look amazing but the others looks like generic zombies as opposed to the gruesome looking demons you would expect. There’s actually more suspense in this film then the first due to the isolation of characters. Demon make up looks pretty good. The transformation scenes are awesome as usual; I thought the one in the original was better done though. We also get to see a dog turned into a Demon Dog! It looks cool as shit. The dog’s transformation is also pretty sick looking! We also get to see a little kid demon, who gets a chest busting scene where a gruesome looking REAL demon rips out of the kid and attacks the pregnant chick. This scary little shit looks awesome! Just think Gremlins but a bit more gruesome. There are lots of scares in this one to make you jump! Like the first film, lots of great gore effects. The acting is basicly the same as the original; hard to judge due to it being a dubbed film. The movies ending is a tad bit nonsensical but so is the rest of the film so you can forgive it. I was actually expecting a twist like in the first, but unfortunatly it was pretty straight forward. Sadly there’s no Metal in this movie =( Instead we’re treated to 80s British Wave Bands… Eh, could be worse. The theme song though, is bad-ass much liethe first films theme was.

Overall, a great movie that’s right up to par with the first. It’s a very fitting sequel to a great movie. I highly recommend this movie to everyone who likes horror and gore. If you’re a fan of the fist, you need to see this one! Oh, and if you’re slacking and haven’t seen the original, HURRY THE FUCK UP! Watch them both back to back!

Possessed - Seven Churches

Possessed is an immensely influential band in the genre of Death Metal. They’re sometimes called the first Death Metal band and that’s pretty much the truth. Their 1985(!!) Album Seven Church’s is a monster of an album. Not just because of the music, but the year in which it was released; in 1985 there was NOTHING heavier then this album. It predates Death’s Scream Bloody Gore by 2 years making Possessed the first death metal band and this album, the first Death Metal album. I’m not counting demos here, as both Death and Possessed had demos out in the span of 1983-1987 when Deaths debut came out.

Band - Possessed

Album - Seven Churches

Year - 1985

Genre - Death/Thrash Metal

Despite its huge influence to the Death Metal genre by basically kicking the whole thing off, this album is still mainly rooted in good old fashion Thrash! You can hear lots of Venom worship in this album. The album kicks off with the Exorcist, a high speed tune with awesome riffs. Though most of the songs on this record can be described as such. It’s a good example of the rawness of the record during the verse the guitars sound like buzz saws or something due to the massive distortion.  During the bridge/solo area the riffs clean up and are more defined, the solo here is a bit of wah abuse mixed with some good old fashioned shredding and that’s true for most solos you’ll hear here. Jeff Becerra sounds beastly here and defines death metal vocals all in one swing. Pentagram starts off with some backmasked vocals then breaks into a nice mid tempo riff. Lots of cool lead bits in this song! It breaks into a really thrashy bridge section that last for more of less the rest of the song. Once again, plenty of cool lead stuff in this song. The Lyrics on this album are mostly Satanic/Anti-Christian and death related in nature. This is the standard for a lot of old school death metal as opposed to lots of the gore lyrics that would later be popularized by Cannibal Corpse. Burning in hell is a fast, thrashy tune with a mid Tempo part about halfway through. The title Track has a lot of cool lead bits in the middle of it as well as some truly bad ass riffage! Satan’s Curse has a nice, long solo I dig!  The trem picked riff in the middle of Holy Hell drags on a bit to long for my tastes, but all the other sweet riffs make up for it. Fallen Angel’s intro is epic as fuck! It starts with like bells… then the guitar comes in with the bells. After that’s finished up with it goes into thrashing mayhem mode! Great song! The song Death Metal is probably one of the best, simply because it does great justice to the genre named after it.

Most of the songs on this album are short and sweet with the longest song being 5:10 and the shortest being 3:10. All the tunes on this one are simple yet engaging. Despite its huge influence to the Death Metal genre its still strongly rooted in Thrash, which is fine by my, that’s how I like my Death Metal. It’s a bit of a Riff factory, this album. The riffs are a mix of more traditional thrash riffs and driving, trembelo picked riffs. As a matter of fact this might be another example of a first. Trem picked riffs in Thrash, not sure it it’s a real first though. Vocals are brilliant, they fit the music perfectly. They’re harsh and abrasive and probably the most aggressive vocals of 1985. Every extreme metal vocalist probably owes there style to Jeff from Possessed. The lead work is commendable, not so much for the solos but for all the cool lead bits after verses and whatnot. Not to say the solos are nothing special, they’re awesome! You can definitely hear the influence these solos have on Death Metal bands that came later on. The drums are pretty simple but they do their job. Fast, aggressive and pounding drumming is what you can expect here. No crazy technical shit just all the band needs to sound as aggressive as possible.  As for bass, you can barely hear it except for a few places but its fine I suppose, its following the guitars. This album is pretty much essential to anyone who even, kind of like extreme metal. If you dig Death or Thrash Metal then you need this if you don’t already have it. I hope you do ;)

Here are some tunes to give you an idea of the albums sound. Not one sub par song is present on this one!

Edit: For some reason I put the number seven instead of the word in the title... Stupic mistake on my part haha

Demons (1986)

I figure Dario Argento's classic horror film Demons is as good as any to start with here on Heavy Metal horror. It’s really what blog is all about! It’s a great horror film, with lots of gore and a predominantly Metal soundtrack! Read on... IF YOU DARE! Muwahahahahaha

Film - Demons

Year - 1986

Director - Lamberto Bava

Producer - Dario Argento

Country - Italy

The movie starts out with the female lead on a train full of 80s clichés. The Demons theme song is the definition of cheesy awesomeness, but more about the soundtrack later. After getting off the train, our female lead is stalked by some weird cyborg looking dude. He catches up to her and it turns out he was just trying to sell her a movie ticket. She meets up with her friend, they decide to skip class ad go see the movie instead. At the theatre we meet our cast of assholes. A pimp and his two hos, a dickhead husband with his wife, two teenage lovebirds, a blind dude and his horny niece, two typical 80s preppy dudes(who are the love interests of the two female leads) and a creepy usher chick. In the lobby there's a motorcycle and a silver mask. One of the pimps ho, being predictably stupid, decides to horse around and put the mask on. This earns her a dirty look from creepy usher chick and a cut on the face. The movie within a movie starts, the acting in this little movie within a movie feature is pretty horrendous not that the main feature is the most brilliantly acted piece of cinema but still... The characters in the MWM are looking for the Tomb of Nostradamus or some shit. They find it and with it the same Demon mask hanging up in the Lobby. Hmm wonder what that could mean... A character in the MWM puts the mask on gets a cut on the face just like the one hooker did! She obviously, gets a bit concerned about this after another character in the MWM says that whoever wears the mask will become a demon. Our friend, the ho-bag runs to the bathroom to check on her cut, it turns into a lovely festering boil! It bursts in a tasty display of special effects goodness. The other ho goes to the bathroom to check on her friend, only to find the bathroom empty. She checks a stall and her friend, now a DEMON, pops out and attacks her, sending her running. Oddly, the Movie within a movie is more of a slasher flick but the film itself isn't it has more in common with a zombie movie. All it takes is a scratch to transform into a Demon. Next we're treated to a transformation scene of the second hooker chick turning into a demon. Then the rest of the movie is basically characters getting killed off and trying to avoid getting their asses killed. Later on four more characters are introduced. They're some cokehead punks, whose only purpose seems to be taking up screen time, snorting coke and playing crappy, generic 80s music. Oh and Billy Idol.  

AMAZING special effects, the demon transformation scenes are amazingly well done. The demon make up looks fucking awesome! Lots of nice gore effects, this one chick get’s scalped and it is SWEET. There’s some blood vomit, regular vomit, gouged out eyes, crushed skulls, fingers getting ripped off' decapitations, little demons bursting out of peoples backs and lots of bloody, demon inflicted gashes! They even manage to throw in some nudity. Just one nipple though... what a gyp! This is an Italian film with English dubbing so the acting is predictably affected by this. However the dubbing is far better then some other dubbed films. The soundtrack of this film is noteworthy; it’s almost all from Metal bands. It features songs from Accept, Motley Crue, Pretty Maids and Saxon as well as some pretty awesome original synth music from Claudio Simonetti. The Demons theme song in particular is a strong point from the sound track. The plot is simple, but still good and engaging. That doesn’t stop the big rather large plot hole of the cyborg dude (who appears again at the end of the movie) It’s like... what the fuck? What’s up with that dude? Where does he figure into the plot? Despite that, the plot is very good. It may SOUND stupid, but it really isn't once you actually sit down and watch it. Oddly there’s very little in the way of character development or back stories or really, anything that makes the characters much more then vague personifications of personalities to get killed by demons. Not that it’s a bad thing, as this movie probably wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining if they had wasted time doing such things. There’s a hero and there’s a female lead. All the other characters are just cannon fodder. Besides the female lead being the first character we see, we never know who the hero is going to be till the very end of the film. The only reason he’s the hero, is because he’s all we have left! This is interesting, because a lot of movies have a designated hero. Even slasher flicks tend to have someone designated to be the last living character. They’re usually developed to be the least douchbaggy characters from the start. But Demons barely develops any character; this isn’t a character driven story.

I highly recommend this film. If you like Gore, Metal, Horror or any combination of the three you'll probably love this movie. It’s not that hard to find on DVD, your best bet is online. The film also appears to be uploaded to YouTube as well if you would like to watch it there. I suggest purchasing a DVD copy though.

Pantera: Power Metal

When you think Pantera what’s the first thing that pops in your mind? Cowboys from Hell? Walk? Cemetery Gates? Obnoxious tough guy lyrics and sub par riffs with awesome solos to make it a tad bit better? Well all those things are true, but you may have also heard that Pantera were a “Glam” band in the 80s and that’s true, to an extent. I’ve never really put much time and effort into listening to their other 80s output. However, I will tell you that their 1988 album Power Metal is NOT a Glam album. Come to think of it, it’s not a power metal album either… Maybe they should of called it something else =/

Band - Pantera

Album - Power Metal

Genre - Heavy/Speed/Thrash Metal

Year - 1988

Country - USA (Arlington,Texas)

This album sounds like a lovechild of Metallica and Judas Priest! A very good sound in my book! Phil Anselmo is sounding very unlike himself. He stays in a screechy high range throughout most of the album. This is Phil’s first album with the band and in my opinion one of his best performances. This album defiantly stands out among the other Glam bands of the era and would stand up very well against speed metal bands of the era as well. Though they still have too many commercial and glam tunes to make it among thrash bands of the time.Hell, I mean look at the album cover. They look pretty damn metal to me!  You can also hear some grove riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place on some of the later albums. Lots of shredy solos and thrashy riffs, this album is probably the closest they came to being pure Thrash but they don't quite make it. The lead guitar work is amazing on this record. Dimebag is shredding it up like no ones business. His riffs are awesome as well. Far better then a lot of his awful "Famous" Riffs like Walk. Seriously, fuck that song.

The album starts off with Rock the World, a typical commercial rocker. It's, notably, a little heavier then the standard for commercial rockers. Great vocal melodies! Nothing special though. Solos are great, but it’s Dimebag so you should expect as much. The speed metal assault really kicks in once power metal gets going. The title track is the best example of what this album is. A great mix of fast, heavy riffs and plenty of melodic elements. The title Track is blazing, unapologetic, speed metal. Phil sounds awesome here, shame he doesn’t sound like that now a days. We’ll meet again is a power Balled. One again, standing out from the rest of the glam pack it’s a very good song. It’s a tad bit cheesy but it’s not a stinker like so many other ballads from the late 80s. Unlike their peers, this song still has the balls to make it scream METAL! Over and out is a thrash tune with a heavy riff. Proud to be loud is another one of the more Commercial tunes very catchy so it does its job well and as always great guitar work. Death Trap is another Thrashy tune, mid paced for the most part but a real headbanger. When Hard Ride came on I had to do a double take, I thought someone put Priest's Turbo on when I wasn’t paying attention. It’s another Commercial tune. But it’s still heavy and driving, as opposed to most of the Shitty glam bands of the era who put out fifty thousand Ballads an album. Though hard ride sounds a tad bit more commercial then the rest so hat makes it a weak point for this record. Burn eh sorry… Burnnn is another fast one; it has more of the Priest sound as opposed to the thrashy sound of a few of the other songs. As usual great shredding from Dimebag. P.S.T 88 is one of the best songs here, it’s sung by Dimebag and he sounds damn good! I hate to keep comparing this to Metallica but he sounds a bit like Hetfield and it’s basically, a Thrash song. I love the little lightning fast lead thing he’s doing around 1:30 sounds AMAZING! I know he’s just showing off, but DAMN! Oh and these Lyrics are great too, its one of those "I wanna get laid/I get more pussy then you" songs.

Overall a very good album. Very under-rated. When Pantera buried all their pre Cowboys from Hell material they really should have kept this one out in the light. This album has aged well and stands up just fine among the Heavy/Speed Metal acts of the time. Since they buried this awesome album that makes it a bit hard to find. If you dig it the whole album is up on YouTube and it shouldn’t be difficult to find a place to download it online. Some personal favorites are Power Metal, We’ll Meet Again, Death Trap and P.S.T 88

Here are four songs to check out.

Edit: Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on Cowboys from Hell, just Most of Vulgar Display of Power and pretty much everything hat came after that. I dig Cowboys just a little less as I do this album

Metal Church: Metal Church & The Dark

Metal Church was an amazing band that, sadly, were far less know then they should of been. Their first album is pretty much an essential album for anyone who digs classic Heavy/Speed Metal.

Band - Metal Church

Album - Metal Church

Year - 1985

Country - USA (Seattle, Washington)

Genre - Heavy/Speed Metal

Metal Church's 1984 debut album is, rightfully, a classic. Vocalist David Wayne(R.I.P) soars on this album with his unique, badass vocal style. Its aggressive and melodic. His style is difficult for me to describe you'll just have to hear it for yourself. The riffing is also superb. Lots and lots of juicy Speed Metal riffs and plenty of slower, heavier yet melodic riffs. The drumming is excellent, its never boring but never distracting either. Lots of juicy fills after equally juicy riffs and vocal lines. I simply love the drumming on this album, especially in the title track. So many amazing fills in that tune. The lead work is, unsurprisingly, brilliant. Lots of dual guitar attacks on this one, once again the Title Track is a good example of the amazing leads you'll find on this album. The bass, well the bass does its job. There are some moments that the bass shines though. Like in Gods of Wrath during the main verses and several other places throughout the album. Speaking of Gods of Wrath, its a good example of the variety of this album. Gods of Wrath is, for all intents and purposes, a power balled. Not the really lame late 80s glam power balled though. Its the really awesome, well played clean parts building up to heavy parts and a sweet bridge section solo thing, kind of power balled ;) You also get to hear some totally clean singing from Wayne. Hes really good at that as well.

On this album, you'll find a good mix of the heavy, intense tunes like Beyond the Black and Metal Church, blazing speed metal tunes like Hitman as well as the proto power metal song Battalions. A power balled in the form of Gods of Wrath and the instrumental Merciless onslaught. The rest of the songs on the album are somewhere in between. Oh, and there's even a cover of Deep Purples highway star to boot!

Here are my four favorite songs from the album

In closing, an amazing album from an amazing band. Nearly flawless, the only tunes on this album that are particurly forgetable (and even then they're still pretty good) are Merciless Onslaught and In the Blood. The guitar work, vocals nd drumming are amazing. The bass work kicks ass too! Can't recomend this album any higher to fans of Classic Heavy/Speed metal

BUY THIS ALBUM! Its pretty easy to find online and its even not that hard to get in stores. I got my CD versions in retail stores.

Band - Metal Church

Album - The Dark

Year - 1986

Country - USA (Seattle, Washington)

Genre - Heavy/Thrash Metal

Metal Church's second album is another great release. Its starts off strong with the thrashy yet melodic Ton of Bricks. Next it goes into the mid paced Start the Fire. Wayne makes use of dual vocal tracks on a lot of the songs on this album, there are plenty of places here where he would be singing in more of a mid range and hes tracked himself singing in a high screech in the background. These songs are actually a lot more melodic then many of the songs on the first album. The riffs here are a lot more Thrash Metal oriented then the blazing speed metal sound of the first record. Not to say there aren't any fast songs of this album, there are plenty. I meant that they're more typical Thrash riffs as opposed to the sound of sped metal. As usual the guitar work and riffs are great. The vocals are amazing as ever. David Wayne wails and sings his heart out just as he did on the debut. Sadly, he left the band shortly after this album. The drums and bass take a bit of a hit from the previous album. They don't really stand out as much as they did on the previous album. The drums are a lot simpler and the bass is pretty much limited to following the guitar and getting rather buried in the mix.

Its a good release, however its not quite up to the level to the debut, however its a solid listen. Stand out tracks include Ton of Bricks, The Dark, Psycho, Start the Fire, line of Death, Burial at sea and Watch the Children Pray. I recommend picking this one if you liked the debut, its definitely different from the first but its not a bad kind of different.

Here are four of my favorites off this album

After the departure of David Wayne he was replaced my Mike Howe. I'll feature the Mike Howe era of the band another time. Damn this was a long ass post.

Happy Listening!