Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Ghost-Opus Eponymous

Swedish metal band Ghost have released their first album, titled Opus Eponymous. Their has been some hype regarding the album due to the fact that no one knows who the members of Ghost are. The press release from Metal Blade Records says that the musicians names are "???". They come onstage in hooded costumes and the lead singer dresses up like a priest. Their have even been rumors that the members of Ghost are famous black and death metal musicians from Europe. Their goal with this album? To "glorify and glamorize the disgusting and sacrilegious."

When I first put this album into my cd player I had no idea what to expect. I was thinking it would probably be black metal along the lines of bands like Immortal and Darkthrone. I couldn't have been more wrong, though. The album begins with a haunting and sad organ instrumental entitled "Deus Culpa". From there the album goes into the first song, "Con Clavi Con Dio". The first thing that stuck out to me was that this band sounded straight out of the early 1980's. This music wasn't brutally heavy and there were no blast beats to be found. The singer even sings in a clean singing voice. The song has a haunting vibe to it (as do all the songs on the album) that brings to mind Melissa era Mercyful Fate.

The third song on the album, "Ritual" sounds like a 70's prog-rock song with a slightly heavier riff and an extremely catchy chorus. However, the chorus on "Ritual" doesn't hold a candle to the awesomness that is the chorus on "Death Knell". The singer calmly sings "666" as if he doesn't really care that he is conjuring up evil spirits. "Satan Prayer" is probably the best song on the album. It has a harmonizing vocal line that glorifys Satan and the band speaks of how they cannot wait for the Anti-Christ. The album closes with another instrumental in "Genesis".

A band hasn't sounded this creepy and scary without screaming and blast beats since Mercyful Fate were in their heyday. This has to be one the top releases so far in 2011. If you like every song to be about Satan, like heavy mid-tempo riffs and somewhat laid-back drums, then this album is for you. 


4/ 5

Ghost will be playing at Maryland Deathfest IX on May 29, 2011 in Baltimore, so if you are in the area, check them out.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Evile's Third Album Finished

Evile lead guitarist Ol Drake announced through Twitter today that the band has finished their forthcoming third studio album.

 Ol Drake ||:)= 

Evile Album 3 is finished! 100%! Just down to @ to master it now. Metal!!!


 The album is highly anticipated in thrash metal circles as Evile are considered to be one of the most popular of the New Wave of Thrash Metal Bands. The as-of-yet titled album will be the follow up to 2009's Infected Nations and will be the band's first album since the tragic death of bassist Mike Alexander that same year.

Onslaught-Sounds Of Violence



U.K. thrashers Onslaught have released their fifth studio album entitled Sounds Of Violence. I have waited for this album for quite some time as it is the follow-up to their bludgeoning 2007 release, Killing Peace. The album opens up with an intro track that sounds a lot like a war film soundtrack (note the Nazi-style eagle on the album cover. Slayer anyone?) that goes into the first "true" song "Born For War". The song has exceptionally fast riffs and an awesome breakdown that will leave any headbanger ready to snap their neck off. The song has an incredible angry energy to it that makes me want to stand up and punch the next person I see so hard that they won't wake up until next week. The next song on the album is the title track, "The Sound Of Violence". This song continues much in the same vein as "Born For War" with the exception being that the vocals in some parts of the song appear to have some sort of sound effect on them. A nice guitar solo helps to make this song above average, however, this song reminds me a lot of the title track from their last album for some reason.

The fourth song on the album is "Code Black". The one thing that stands out to me in this song is the intro. It sounds similar, if not identical, to Slayer's "Ghosts Of War" intro. Maybe they were trying to pay tribute to Slayer, I don't know, but it seems like these guys are, at the very least, big Slayer fans. This song is once again another fast song that will get you headbanging. The rest of the album continues in this fashion without much variation from the first four songs.

If you enjoyed Onslaught's previous release then you will probably like this one, however, many songs on Sounds Of Violence sound a lot like that release and the band doesn't appear to try to be moving into any sort of new or different territory (maybe they want to be like Slayer?).

 3.5/5

Forbidden-Omega Wave



I know this review is a little late, but I had to review this album because it was one the best thrash metal releases of 2010 and I saw these guys in concert in November and they were awesome. When I first purchased the album I purchased it knowing very little about it. I hadn't heard a lot of hype for this album (other than it was supposed to be about the end of the world) but I decided to go ahead and buy it based on Forbidden's past history with releasing great albums. (For those who don't know, they released two semi-classic thrash albums in the late 80's-early 90's in Forbidden Evil and Twisted Into Form.) Anyways, when I gave this album it's first spin I have to say that I was underwhelmed. However, on subsequent listens I realized that this was an excellent piece of thrash and one that deserved to be considered among the top metal releases of 2010.

The album opens with an instrumental, "Alpha Century", that really helps to build the hype for the onslaught that is about come. The song seamlessly transitions into the first "real" song on the album in "Forsaken At The Gates." "Gates" is one of the best tracks on the album but takes some getting used to as vocalist Russ Anderson sounds quite a bit different than he did in the 1980's (he sort of uses a shout-sing technique as opposed to his often high-pitched wailing that characterized Forbidden's older releases). This song, though, does have one trademark Forbidden attribute. The middle-eastern influenced guitar solo sounds just like the Forbidden of old. The third song on the album, "Overthrow" begins with a slower, lurching riff, before settling into a mid paced thrasher with a chanted chorus of "Overthrow, Overtake!"

Following "Overthrow", is the excellent track "Adapt or Die", another album highlight. This song is very thrashy and has some excellent guitar work in it. This song continues the album theme of the end of the world. Halfway through Omega Wave is a track entitled "Chatter" which features voices of people talking about the different ways the world could end. This sets the stage for the final half of the album.

Following "Chatter" is the song "Dragging My Casket". This song is another excellent track with an awesome guitar solo and great chorus. It also includes a chanted line in the song (almost in the vein of viking metal bands) with people going "ooh-ooh." The eight track on Omega Wave, "Hopenosis", is a stand out track for sure. The song's lyrics deal with how the government and religion gave people false hope that the world would be alright, despite the fact that the end is near. "You gave us hopenosis, elusive pyschosis", vocalist Anderson laments. "Behind The Mask" is the song on the album that reminds me the most of the Forbidden of old. It has Anderson's old style of singing and features a more traditional thrash metal sound than the rest of the album.

While some albums begin to fall off towards the end Forbidden saves their very best for last with the thrash-fest that is the title track. This track is all-out, balls to the wall aggression and as aggressive a track as any young thrash band can put out. The riffs are lightning quick, the drums pound, and the vocals have a very hard edge to them. This song leaves the listener wanting much more Forbidden, which is what any good album should do.

This album is certainly one of the very best thrash discs of 2010 and as such I cannot recommend this album enough to thrash fans.

4.5/5

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The Metalman