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Metallica - Hard Wired...To Self Destruct (Blackened Recordings/2016

11/28/2016

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A long 8 year wait for a new studio album that’s so far sold between 260-280K of records according to the charts.  Was it worth it?  To me, yes but of course there are those strong critics out there including myself to conclude that sad fact Metallica of the 80’s remains gone forever.  Not to say that there aren’t thrash elements to this release, it’s more of a heavy metal album than anything else.  It’s a post Justice sort of Black Album revisited and the Black dates back to 1993!!  So much for reliving the old as I stressed.

What’s the music like?  Well, distorted guitar riffs with cheesy blues leads via Hammett.  Some have same the similar blues riffs reminiscent of the Black Album.  But the rhythms are really catchy, I’d have to conclude those guitar riffs were the best part of the album.  Not to mention the production quality.  So don’t expect super-heavy Metallica because it’s just not going to happen again.  Not in this lifetime.  Some songs that really struck home with me were the first 3 that were featured on YouTube: the title track, “Moth Into Flame” and “Atlas, Rise!”  The rest of the songs were good, but those 3 the most.

Hetfield’s vocals still show that he’s got the flame still and it’s undying.  But in certain songs he’s a bit lame, though the music throughout the whole album.  I would take out and reevaluate Hammett’s contributions in the lead department.  For the first 4 albums, he’s strong then he’s declined ever since.  The overuse of the wah-pedal I think.  Not enough technicality and Hetfield saves the band with his awesome songwriting musically though I think that the lyrical concepts were good only I couldn’t relate to them.  He’s really focused on a dark realm of civilization and humanity, but still quality.

I’m sure that the millennials are loving this one.  Me being in a different generation the Metallica of the old is where it’s at.  But was it worth the wait for this one?  I’d say yes and no.  Yes because they’ve gone back to being heavy metal (though we love those thrash days) and no because of the lead guitar.  If either Cliff Burton (RIP) were onboard or Dave Mustaine was with the band, then Metallica would still probably remain a thrash band.  But it is what it is, so are we happy about them now during this midlife sort of lineup?  I guess yes because they still have the flame.
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The only real album to compare this one in Metallica’s discography is the Black Album, that’s the closest.  That album I think is a better one than this one.  For many reasons but mostly the musicianship and the thicker guitar sound.  However, Metallica members being in their 50’s are still kicking butt.  They to me were predicted to sell that many albums and the biggest streamed heavy metal release in the world.  But do they live up to fan’s expectations?  Some yes, some no.  For me, I’m in-between.  I like what they’ve demonstrated musically, but I still have to be objective and say flat out that Kirk Hammett is way overrated of a lead guitarist.  I still wonder if Mustaine was with them…

Rate: 85%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).  
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Carcass – Heartwork (Earache/1993)

11/28/2016

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I’ve purposely overplayed this album because it’s melodic death to the core.  Michael Amott giving his best possible lead guitar work ever here.  And with Carcass, you would expect death/grind as in their earlier days.  You’re not getting it here.  Jeff Walker is solely on vocals, no backups by Bill Steer.  This, to me, is the best Carcass release ever.  I like all their material though, so I’m sort of biased, but in a good way.  The guitar on here is phenomenal.  It’s classic Carcass playing amazing.

That’s the whole gist of this album is that every single song is memorable.  I especially like the title track, but I favor all of the songs.  They are playing mostly melodic death on here like I said but the music is with B-tuned guitars and the leads are solely blues based a.k.a. Amott.  Steer shreds on here.  Great follow-up from “Necroticism”.  You could kind of tell their style changing or I should say evolving into what it is today.  A shame about Ken Owen though, he can’t even play anymore.

The music is so catchy each song is not without praise.  When I used to play the guitar, my goal was to learn all of the songs on this album.  I was totally immersed in the songwriting.  I’ve never been able to relate to their lyrics, but the music and production here are phenomenal.  I never knew that music like this was possible coming from a death/grind band.  The musicianship is more than quality.  You’ll find every song to be as it is, heavy, but catchy.  Very catchy.  And with soul.

I like all the musicians here are at their musical peak here.  They really took a good 2+ years to write this one and decidedly so.  No compromise, but so darn amazing.  The music is what stole it for me.  I think this album is probably a perfect score no matter what anyone says.  I’ve been following Carcass ever since this release was out.  Not to say that I’m old, but this album is what drew me to the band along with their earlier work such as their first release “Reek of Putrefaction”, then “Symphonies of Sickness”, “Necroticism” and I even enjoy their follow-up from this “Swan Song”.

No album in the history of melodic death has come close to topping this one.  I mean not even At The Gates – Slaughter of the Soul, Dark Tranquillity – Projector, et al.  This just annihilates its opponents.  That I say with firm conviction even though Carcass isn’t even my favorite band to date.  But here, they’re just amazing.  The music, vocals, production, songwriting, etc. just hits home with me.  A classic that’s never forgotten!!  If you don’t have this in your archives, get it now!!
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Rate: 100%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).
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Carcass – Necroticism – Descanting The Insalubrious (Earache/1991)

11/28/2016

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This is a quality, or I should say “high quality” death metal album.  It wouldn’t necessarily fall under the grindcore category even though there are some blast beating going on here though.  The music is what pulled me into this one.  It’s HEAVY.  There are backing vocals to assist Walker on here and Amott has his debut with Carcass on second guitar here.  Pretty damn awesome release.

I’m not exactly sure why this album got a higher rating than its follow-up, probably because it’s more death metal oriented which is what Carcass was notorious for in the earlier days.  The production is pretty good, not as solid as “Heartwork” nor are the guitars, but I still think that they came up with some good riffs.  The whole album is quality music in the death metal community.

The riffs here are heavy, B-tuned guitars and a lot of tremolo picking here.  They mix it up with thick bar chords and all of the compositions are like this on here.  Totally original, heavy, thick, brutal, you name it.  I can’t once again get into the lyrical topics, but I just totally dig the music.  They even have an aura during some songs such as a flanger.  It’s pretty cool.  The leads are quality, though not at their best like on their follow-up.  They are just playing so damn heavy!!

I think that it’s a good trade-off the vocals going from Walker’s higher pitched voice to the backup growls.  It makes the release sound heavier, I mean even more so.  There are melodic bits of guitar here, so this whole band was heading to a more melodic sound via this album.  I’m totally into it here, but I still enjoy “Reek of Putrefaction” even though it’s mostly grindcore and “Symphonies of Sickness” death/grind.  Their earlier work they were trying to establish themselves in the metal world.

I’d have to say this is one of the catchiest Carcass releases to date.  It’s like they’re playing good music alongside heavy, deep throat.  They really delve deep into the core of death metal here.  The production as I said is superb so you get to hear everything involved on here.  Everything fits well together in unison and they achieved what they wanted which was sick ass death metal.  Their follow-up shows quite musical progression not to mention a different kind of metal to it.

Rate” 90%.
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Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).
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Carcass – Swansong (Earache/1996)

11/28/2016

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A different approach here, not saying that Carcass has gone mainstream, but this album is more melodic death with heavy tints of blues feeling to it.  It’s a really good album though, the riffs are still heavy, but the leads are a bit sloppy.  I think that if they just stuck mainly with main guitars without the leads this would be more likable.  But it is what it is still quality Carcass even though I disliked it when I first heard it, probably because I wanted something heavier.

This album also in addition to the blues vibe a tint of jazz feeling too.  The guitars are heavy still, it’s just how they arranged the music.  No death metal vocals whatsoever.  Still quality songs on here.  You shouldn’t give up on Carcass even though they’re melodic metal here it’s still worth picking up.  I just didn’t care for the solos as much as I did the rhythms.  The drums are darn good too!!

Some songs are rather slow, I suppose I’d say this is death and roll.  Not melodic death to clarify.  Even though they are melodic, the vibe is blues.  I’m not sure if that’s Bill Steer’s doing in the change, nothing matches up to the older stuff.  I think that if you take away the band’s name and change it to something else you could appreciate this.  I mean anyone other than Carcass because this one is very slow by their standards.  I’m surprised that they even decided to release this before disbanding.

I can’t say that this is anything other than a “B” rating.  I wouldn’t say it’s lower than that it’s just a medium type of album.  Very un-Carcass like.  It’s just too slow I think for Carcass material they dissuaded fans into just liking the older material.  It had more soul and energy to it.  Some of their older releases hit home for me rather than this one.  I think that their modern-day follow-up “Surgical Steel” is more solid than this one.  I’d have to conclude that this is the least intense Carcass to date.

There are some songs that are more intense than others, but overall it’s still not up to par by Carcass’s standards even though they decided to release an album like this.  Their evolution is grindcore/death/melodic/death and roll.  But at least they’re back in the scene making albums again though it’s been 3 years since the release of “Surgical Steel” came out.  I think it’s heavier and better than this one.  I think that the riffs on here are good, but not heavy enough, even though their guitars are down-tuned.  The intensity isn’t there at all.  Oh well, long live old Carcass!!

Rate: 80%.
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Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).
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Carcass – Symphonies of Sickness (Earache/1989)

11/28/2016

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This is raw, uncompromising death/grind but more on the death metal side I’d say.  One word describes this release: HEAVY.  There are slow points i.e. tempos but overall it has many different elements to it.  And a dark production quality.  It’s really fitting for the music wholeheartedly.  They covered every aspect of death/grind here.  It’s just a way solid album to tell you the truth.  Both Walker and Steer fluctuating on the vocal department.  This album is way underground.

The vocals at some point are muddled and in some points are blended between both Steer and Walker.  Such an awesome release and everything seemed to fit just right.  The guitar is better heard with just headphones to make out the riffs closely.  A solid album!!  I cannot relate to the lyrics though.  Just the music I’m concerned about.  3 musicians on this one before they acquired Michael Amott for their follow-up to this one.  I think that his ideas might’ve been why Carcass went melodic.

This is where they belong though, in the underground.  But that’ll never be again.  Even though they’re still making music, nothing is like the old stuff.  That goes with a lot of bands.  That’s why I was compelled to write about this one for the millennials.  So that they just don’t get the newer material but the old because that’s where the heart of this band was the strongest.  I think Carcass’s first 4 albums are my favorites.  Such a transformation with this band though.  Later on, more mainstream.

The music on here is just heavy as hell the riffs all over the place.  But they’re well blended in with the production aspect and drums as well as the vocals.  There aren’t really many leads here, which is good because it keeps the music just downright kick ass brutal.  You would never think that after hearing this they’d come out with something like “Swansong”, that is way mainstream.  But “Surgical Steel”, their comeback album is quality just not like this though.  This is HIGH-QUALITY.

To sum it up, there are high-and-lows in terms of tempo changes on here, more death metal than anything else.  It’s really quality and I can’t stress that enough.  Probably one of their best releases ever.  Total underground and uncompromising.  They hit-home with death metal fans world-wide with this.  I really enjoy hearing the old material.  Even though it’s pretty grim, it suits their lyrics and musically they were just developing still.  Every death metal fan should own this!!

Rate: 95%.
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Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).
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Carcass – Reek of Putrefaction (Earache/1988)

11/28/2016

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This is sort of a garage kind of recording, Carcass’s first official record.  It’s raw-like production and grind blast beats has me drawn into liking the album.  Of course the lyrics I cannot relate to but the music is what kicks major ass.  It’s just uncompromising and at some points seems like just noise-core.  But I still enjoyed it.  I think that they had to start somewhere, I just think that they should’ve never gone mainstream.  Napalm Death never did, but they have a variable agenda I think.

The music is not too well heard it’s grind bits mixed with some lead overtones and bellowing vocals.  I think Steer contributed a lot to the vox.  But he got his start pretty much with Napalm Death, so he knew what kind of guitar grind licks to dish out and Ken Owen blasting away to his riffs.  The songs are short, reminiscent of Napalm Death’s “From Enslavement To Obliteration” where Steer was in the guitar department.  It’s good that he stuck around in the music industry still writing.

I think that the concept of this album is just to be blatantly obvious non-conformity as was depicted on the artwork to the main album cover.  I just think that it was uncompromising with this album.  That’s what makes it so great, even for a debut.  Noise-core like I said.  Just the early days where the band is working on musical progression they have to start somewhere!!  I like this debut mostly because it’s raw like I said and it was well pieced together in terms of the songwriting.

The music is probably Carcass’s least melodic to date, it’s mainly death/grind.  That’s alright though because it still is incomprehensible.  The most uncompromising Carcass release to date.  I favor their follow-up album though because it’s catchier and you can make out the music totally.  It’s better overall.  This one is still worth getting though if you haven’t already.  It’s almost been in existence for 30 years just about!!  Brutal, raw, fast and blatantly destructive to the eardrums.

Rate: 80%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]). 
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Sepultura – Schizophrenia (Cogmuelo Records/1987)

11/28/2016

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This is probably the most thrash oriented release the band has ever released, and brutal too.  The guitars reflect their ingenuity in songwriting structure.  A lot of tremolo picking kind of like “Beneath The Remains” and “Arise” before the total and utter fall of the band.  This one is about as heavy as its follow-up, though not as catchy.  “Beneath The Remains” remains to be my favorite from the band but this one is not far behind.  It’s an ingenious release.  I like the lyrics as well.
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The production is a bit raw and the guitars are a bit sloppy but this is because they’re just establishing themselves or were as a thrash metal outfit.  Max you can hardly understand even with the lyric sheet because of his thick Brazilian accent.  But the vocals fit the music well.  Tempos are fast and furious at times and others more laid back.  The instrumentals are good too, acoustic melodies but still very well thought out.  This whole album hits home with me.

I’d have to say my favorite Sepultura releases are this one, their follow-up and the follow-up to that follow-up the album “Arise” circa 1991.  The rest of Sepultura’s discography is pretty horrible.  They just went mainstream then with the departure of Max and Igor in the 90’s, they just went down the worst path ever.  But the early days, when they wanted to do metal, they found their niche with that.  This is the worst happening of the band when they abandon their roots.  Even their album “Roots” is not nearly as admirable as their old material.  It’s really just nu-metalish.

I find that “Schizophrenia” has some really good tracks well they all are but the most that I liked were ‘From The Past Comes The Storms’ and ‘Troops of Doom’.  The leads are blazingly fast and the rhythm guitar is just insane.  This beats their follow-up in intensity but not their riff structure.  “Beneath The Remains” is catchier.  But still, like I said their 3 releases that I mentioned are their best.  I don’t think much of their debut but albums 2, 3 and 4 hit home with me totally.

You don’t have to have Schizophrenia to enjoy “Schizophrenia”, that’s like a no-brainer.  This album even though it’s raw production is still well recorded.  Max talks a lot about the early days started out as a musician him and his brother Igor who’s a year or so younger than him were poor and they didn’t like what they saw growing up in the outskirts of Brazil as well as the fact that they didn’t play for money they played because Max especially was angry with this sort of reality.  This album reflects him and his brother’s outlook they both put out a brilliant release here.

Rate: 95%.
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Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).
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Cryptopsy – None So Vile (Wrong Again Records/1996)

11/28/2016

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Talk about brutal, that justifies it with a horrific album cover.  This album is my favorite Cryptopsy release to date.  I’ve said that “Whisper Supremacy” was in the past but have to conclude that this is even better brutal death metal because it has a clearer/cleaner production quality.  It isn’t just noise really, you can hear the guitar riffs and the vocals by Lord Worm are classic.  They so guttural it’s beyond belief.  There are backup screams too which make the album have more variability.
The music is what’s the strongest here.  A lot of tremolo picking and fast paced tempos with blast beating drums.  This music goes well with Lord Worm.  He’s the most appropriate Cryptopsy vocalist in my opinion.  But it’s hard to follow what he bellows even with a lyric sheet in front of you!!  I’d have to say I’m not into their lyrical topics really a little too vile and grotesque for me, but the music is what stole it for me.  The leads are brilliant too.  This album just does not let up.
All of the tracks on here I favor I don’t think there’s any on the list that I disliked.  As I say, uncompromising unreal intensity of pure torture.  This beats a lot of classics of other bands, I’d go far to say it’s about as good as Cannibal Corpse’s “Butchered At Birth” but better.  The music and vocals are what stole it for me not to mention the guitar solos.  They’re brilliant as well.  Just the riffs are so catchy and heavy it’s simply awe inspiring.  This one is their best one of all time.
Now that I’ve said all this regarding the music, is it enough for you to find it on YouTube and say “yeah, this kicks ass!”?  I’d say buy the physical CD because you can play it on your boom box or car CD player or just on your computer.  This album just never lets up.  I would caution though about the lyrics, they’re pretty grotesque.  I don’t think they’re really thought out well but it goes along with the music.  I’d rather not know what Lord Worm is saying.  But just enjoy the music!!
Rate: 100%.
Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).
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Immortal – Blizzard Beasts (Osmose Productions/1997)

11/28/2016

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RAW and uncompromising.  This is the first Immortal release that I took a liking too.  Even though the production is the way it is doesn’t make it a bad release.  The music is outstanding.  Demonaz when he was still on the guitars was simply amazing.  His tremolo picking is like no other, especially on ‘Mountains of Might’.  He takes tremolo picking into a new level.  Amazing guitarist, it’s a shame that he got that tendonitis and couldn’t play anymore.  But he still contributes to the songwriting.

This album is short, under 40 minutes, but all of the songs are good.  The intensity factor is high up there.  Plus Abbath’s unique vocals destroys.  I’m glad that they’ve been able to switch him to main guitars because he has a lot to contribute.  That’s evident in proceeding albums that came.  But this one is still musically grim and amazing.  Probably one of their darker releases, though most of them are pretty dark except “Damned In Black” and “Sons of Northern Darkness”.

The lyrics are well written and the intro is perfect to start off the album.  I really can’t get enough of this album.  It truly amazes me the songwriting i.e. the guitars.  Even though the production is the way it is, flat and the drums weren’t well mixed in.  But they were just getting started in the black metal scene.  It doesn’t take away as I say from the magic that the album has to offer.  It’s really for people that are way into black metal though they’re one of the few bands of that genre that I like.

Their aren’t really any leads on the album which is good because I like the fact that the focus was mostly rhythm guitar.  It makes it a little heavier.  Their music on here is so technical I don’t know how Abbath keeps up on bass (he’s only bass for a short time before switching to main guitar).  So yeah, there are clean elements to the songs but only for short amounts of time.  It’s a lot of fast tempos and blast beating drums.  Then there are milder bits but most fast guitar the whole album.

​If you like raw black metal releases that are grim, this album is for you.  Their lyrics reflect that of the music.  Even some synthesizers on here but not many.  It’s enough to make the band sound more diverse.  But overall, the songs are brutal.  Abbath has one of the most unique vocals in black metal to me in this whole black metal arena.  He really is a great musician.  Even though Immortal has gone through lineup changes, they never fell short of being an amazing band all albums too!!

Rate: 90%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).
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Destruction - Under Attack (Nuclear Blast/2016)

11/20/2016

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I just thought that this CD was mediocre and it seems to me that Destruction hasn't come out with a high-quality release since "Release From Agony", that's my contention though.  They have stayed to their thrash roots ever since they came in to the metal scene though which dates back to 1984 I believe.  The early stuff like "Infernal Overkill", "Mad Butcher/Eternal Devastation" and what I stated "Release From Agony" were their best.  It just seems like they're bankrupt of ideas even though it's still thrash metal.  Their songs on here are simply humdrum.  There's no guitar lines that I really like nothing on here hits home with me.  Some is just that Mike's leads are annoying so they have to bring in guests.

Destruction used to come out with solid records that are catchy and Mike is just using the same guitar gallops as usual he's not doing anything different.  I'm still a fan don't get me wrong, but they're simply ousted of ideas.  "All Hell Breaks Loose" was decent so was "The Antichrist" but maybe they just don't have it anymore like they used to.  During the 80's era was their strongest.  Everything seemed fresh and new always looking forward to each proceeding release. Then Harry quit though he still does guest sessions shredding on leads.  From what I understood was that he used to practice the guitar 15 hours a day! I mean it really showed especially his lead piece on "Live Without Sense", just his contribution to that recording.

You definitely know who's a guest lead guitarist because of the lack of sloppiness.  Schmier is still a kick ass vocalist on here though.  He also was featured on the latest Panzer release which was solid.  But really, listening to this album I think it's given a little too much praise "Spiritual Genocide" and "Day of Reckoning" I felt were very similar.  Again, nothing new.  I really wish I had positive things to say about this album but that would just be lip service to the reader.  I always used to look forward to new Destruction releases even when Schmier had left the band "Cracked Brain" was still again a good album despite his absence.  I thought that when they returned to the metal scene in 2001 they came back with a vengeance.

Even though there are different tracks to each album a band releases, it's just that Destruction seemed to run on and on sort of like a run-on sentence in the English language.  There's nothing that's really new even though it's new material, it just sounds the same.  And boring like I had mentioned, the rhythms are stale and as Mike said in his profile on Destruction's main page that "I smoke too much dope" which is apparent.  The music is mediocre there's nothing on here that is admirable.  It's just the same thing repeatedly.  They were okay a while back as I said with "All Hell Breaks Loose" and "The Antichrist" but now it's like "oh, another Destruction release that's the same as their last release."

I'm really sad to inform the fans to stick with the old stuff, not because even though I'm the age I am, the band was just better in the 80's.  Don't believe me, just YouTube the track 'Under Attack' the title one and see what you think.  I'm sure you'll like the be like "this is stale."  Maybe I'm wrong though because the critics are rating it as about a "B" average.  There just are no melodies here that really hit home with me.  The production, vocals and drums are good but that short-term memory loss Mike is experiencing really shows.  He should not even attempt any leads.  It's pure slop.  If you listen to the old songs they're enough to get you hooked on their sound, just not with their newer releases. Just saying.

Rate: 70%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

Check Out My Website: http://www.secret-face.com/
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