Diamond Head, the "White Album". Favorite track: "Am I Evil?" Why that one sounds familiar: Metallica covered the song and Lars Ulrich got inspired to start his own metal band after hanging out with Diamond Head for a couple of months in 1980. Thus, Metallica was Diamond Head's golden child. Diamond Head is either a metal band playing really good hard rock, or a hard rock band struggling to play heavy metal. Their singer sounds like Steven Tyler from Aerosmith.
Mastadon, "Blood Mountain". Favorite track: "Colony of Birchmen". Yeah, I know it is the popular choice and I don't care. This whole CD is HEAVY! Ok, another awesome track from this album is "Capillarian Crest". It isn't dredged in Satanic crapola, either. The 120 dB's credo is anything that takes you and beats the hell out of your senses and these guys do it well--in a way that is original as well.
Dissection, "The Somberlain". Favorite track: "Black Horizons" Why? Because once in awhile I need to be scared...very scared! Look for the post in the archives that Vera did on this group and you will know what I am talking about. Beware of the messages in these songs--these guys meant everything they said and actually went about proving it.
King Crimson, "Starless and Bible Black". Favorite song: I lump the last three songs into one menacing trio, "The Mincer", "Starless and Bible Black", and "Fracture". These guys were exploring very dark and intense material with this lineup of Robert Fripp (guitar), John Wetton (vocals/bass), David Cross (violin), and a very powerful Bill Bruford (percussion). I know that the violin player seems a bit out of place but it seems to make all the sense in the world when you are listening to a band named after old Beelzebub.
Celtic Frost, "To Mega Therion". Favorite song: "Necromantical Screams". Oh, these guys are totally demented thrash metal and their album art is offensively cool. Some consider them to be of the "first wave" of black metal, but I think their first incarnation "Hellhammer" (not the drummer dude of the same name who came later on to play for Mayhem) was where that distinction came from, not so much Celtic Frost. CF were just plain grating and explored weird ideas not normally found in metal--such as using a brass band in some songs. Their middle period was truly dire. Their drummer took over and kicked Tom Fischer and Martin Eric Ain out of the band. That was a big mistake and it nearly ruined Celtic Frost forever, playing hair metal in hopes of getting rich. Celtic Frost reunited with the classic lineup and made a huge comeback in 2006 with "Monotheist". This comeback more than made up for the dreadful music that had almost ruined them for good.
I would add some punk in here but I haven't listened to punk in a long time. It just isn't punk season for me yet.
Play it loudest!
Saturday, April 28, 2007
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