2009 Reviews

Slayer - World Painted Blood

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:47:20 GMT

Slayer - World Painted Blood
Thrash Metal
American

1. World Painted Blood
2. Unit 731
3. Snuff
4. Beauty Through Order
5. Hate Worldwide
6. Public Display Of Dismemberment
7. Human Strain
8. Americon
9. Psychopathy Red
10. Playing With Dolls
11. Not Of This God

I was tempted to stamp the genre of this review 'brainless sort of thrash metal' before I even listened to this one. I'm not sure why I still...

Savage Circus - Of Doom And Death

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:46:46 GMT

Savage Circus - Of Doom And Death
Power Metal
Dockyard 1

1. Of Doom And Death
2. The Ordeal
3. Devil's Spawn
4. Chasing The Rainbow
5. Empire
6. Ballad Of Susan
7. Legend Of Leto II
8. From The Ashes
9. Dreamland

Originally put together by Thomen Stauch, formerly of Blind Guardian, Savage Circus' debut bore no small similarity to that band. Originally it was said Thomen Stauch formed this band because he wanted to...

Paradox - Riot Squad

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:45:53 GMT

Paradox - Riot Squad
Thrash Metal
AFM

1. Suburban Riot Squad
2. Hollow Peace
3. Riptide
4. Rise In Rank
5. Evolution Reset
6. Nothingness
7. No Place To Survive
8. Dream Hero
9. Planet Terror
10. Psychofficial

I have to say that it's nice to see another Paradox album so soon. After the band reemerged with Collision Course it took a good 8 years for the follow up, Electrify to come along. Riot Squad follows...

Halford - Winter Songs

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:45:05 GMT

Halford - Winter Songs
Heavy Metal
Metal God Records

1. Get Into The Spirit
2. We Three Kings
3. Oh Come O Come Emanuel
4. Winter Song
5. What Child Is This
6. Christmas For Everyone
7. I Don't Care If It's Christmas Night
8. Light Of The World
9. Oh Holy Night
10. Come All Ye Faithful

Every once in awhile you'll get a compilation of various metal artists doing Christmas songs and it's amusing enough....

WASP - Babylon

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:57:07 GMT

WASP - Babylon
Heavy Metal
Demolition Records

1. Crazy
2. Live To Die Another Day
3. Babylon's Burning
4. Burn (Deep Purple cover)
5. Into The Fire
6. Thunder Red
7. Seas of Fire
8. Godless Run
9. Promised Land (Chuck Berry cover)

WASP are a band who have pretty much settled into a predictable formula for their releases. When you get a WASP album, you mostly know what you're going to hear. That being said,...

Paradise Lost - Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:56:31 GMT

Paradise Lost - Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us
Doom/Gothic Metal
Century Media

1. As Horizons End
2. I Remain
3. First Light
4. Frailty
5. Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us
6. The Rise of Denial
7. Living With Scars
8. Last Regret
9. Universal Dream
10. In Truth

Paradise Lost's last album really took a step back for the band and that is by no means a bad thing. What Paradise Lost managed to do on In Requiem...

Delain - April Rain

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:55:40 GMT

Delain - April Rain
Symphonic/Melodic Metal
Roadrunner

1. April Rain
2. Stay Forever
3. Invidia
4. Control The Storm
5. On The Other Side
6. Virtue And Vice
7. Go Away
8. Start Swimming
9. Lost
10. I'll Reach You
11. Nothing Left

This is one that's been out for a little while now, but I thought it deserved a review upon listening to it. I recently checked out this band's new album since I saw they were...

Ravage - The End Of Tomorrow

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:11:50 GMT

Ravage - The End Of Tomorrow
Power/Thrash
Metal Blade

1. The Halls of Madness (Intro)
2. Reign Fall
3. Freedom Fighter
4. Damn Nation
5. The Shredder
6. Into the Shackles
7. In Shattered Dreams
8. The Nightmare's Hold: Part 1
9. The Nightcrawler (Judas Priest cover)
10. The Nightmare's Hold: Part 2
11. Grapes of Wrath
12. The End of Tomorrow

The End Of Tomorrow marks the second studio release from...

Megadeth - Endgame

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:11:15 GMT

Megadeth - Endgame
Thrash/Heavy Metal
Roadrunner

1. Dialectic Chaos (Intro)
2. This Day We Fight!
3. 44 Minutes
4. 1,320
5. Bite The Hand That Feeds
6. Bodies Left Behind
7. Endgame
8. The Hardest Part Of Letting Go... Sealed With A Kiss
9. Headcrusher
10. How The Story Ends
11. The Right To Go Insane

I had a pretty good feeling about this album going in. It started with the announcement of Chris Broderick as the...

Leaves Eyes - Njord

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:10:39 GMT

Leaves Eyes - Njord
Symphonic/Atmospheric Metal

1. Njord
2. My Destiny
3. Emerald Island
4. Take the Devil in Me
5. Scarborough Fair (Simon and Garfunkel cover)
6. Through Our Veins
7. Irish Rain
8. Northbound
9. Ragnarok
10. Morgenland
11. The Holy Bond
12. Frøya's Theme

Leaves Eyes aren't exactly what I would call one of my favorite bands or even more specifically female fronted atmospheric bands, but...

Rebellion - Arise: From Ginnungagap To Ragnarok

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:01:49 GMT

Rebellion - Arise: From Ginnungagap To Ragnarok
Power Metal
Massacre Records

1. War
2. Arise
3. Asgard
4. Odin
5. Runes
6. Bolverk
7. Thor
8. Evil
9. Loki
10. Prelude
11. Ragnarok
12. Einherjar

Rebellion are a band who I've enjoyed everything they've done up to this point so this new album was a sure listen for me. I wouldn't call them a favorite band exactly, but not every band can be at the...

HolyHell - HolyHell

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:00:45 GMT

HolyHell - HolyHell
Symphonic Power Metal
Magic Circle

1. Wings Of Light
2. Prophecy
3. Revelations
4. Eclipse
5. The Fall
6. Angel Of Darkness
7. Holy Water
8. Mephisto (Instrumental)
9. Gates Of Hell
10. Resurrection
11. Last Vision
12. Apocalypse
13. Armageddon

HolyHell are a new band and one of the first signings to Magic Circle when Joey DiMeo of Manowar first founded the label. There's been a...

Cain's Offering - Gather The Faithful

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:00:23 GMT

Cain's Offering - Gather The Faithful
Power Metal
Frontiers

1. My Queen of Winter
2. More Than Friends
3. Oceans of Regret
4. Gather the Faithful (Instrumental)
5. Into the Blue
6. Dawn of Solace
7. Thorn in My Side
8. Morpheus in a Masquerade
9. Stolen Waters
10. Elegantly Broken

A collaboration between Stratovarius and Sonata Arctica members seems to be at the same time entirely appropriate and fairly boring. This...

Roswell Six - Terra Incognita: Beyond The Horizon

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:14:14 GMT

Roswell Six - Terra Incognita: Beyond The Horizon
Symphonic Progressive Metal/Rock
ProgRock Records

1. Ishalem
2. The Call Of The Sea
3. I Am The Point
4. Here Be Monsters
5. Letters In A Bottle
6. Halfway
7. Anchored
8. The Sinking Of The Luminara (Instrumental)
9. The Winds Of War
10. Swept Away
11. Beyond The Horizon
12. Merciful Tides
13. The Edge Of The World (Instrumental)

Roswell Six is a new...

Praying Mantis - Sanctuary

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:37:24 GMT

Praying Mantis - Sanctuary
NWOBHM/Melodic Metal/Rock
Frontiers

1. In Time
2. Restless Heart
3. Tears In The Rain
4. So High
5. Lonely Way Home
6. Touch The Rainbow
7. Threshold Of A Dream
8. Playing God
9. Highway
10. Sanctuary

Praying Mantis are one of those bands that I've heard of in the past, but never really checked out. As this is my first experience with the band, all I really had to draw on was the Iron...

Crimson Cult - Crimson Cult

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:36:43 GMT

Crimson Cult - Crimson Cult
Power Metal
Dockyard 1

1. Evil Design
2. Undead
3. Land Of The Crimson Night
4. In The Eyes
5. Lava Machine
6. Dirty Demons
7. Misanthrope
8. 2000 Lights
9. Amok
10. Centre of the Universe

A new band formed out of the ashes of Stygma IV, this self titled album marks the first release from Crimson Cult. Stygma IV were a pretty decent power metal band so I was curious what the guitarist &...

Artillery - When Death Comes

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:36:09 GMT

Artillery - When Death Comes
Thrash Metal
Metal Mind Productions

1. When Death Comes
2. Upon My Cross I Crawl
3. 10,000 Devils
4. Rise Above It All
5. Sandbox Philosophy
6. Delusions Of Grandeur
7. Not A Nightmare
8. Damned Religion
9. Uniform
10. The End

Skepticism is the first word that comes to mind when I thought about a new Artillery album without Flemming Ronsdorf. Certainly, I did understand why the band decided...

Saint Deamon - Pandeamonium

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Sat, 30 May 2009 15:53:28 GMT

Saint Deamon - Pandeamonium
Power Metal
Frontiers

1. Deception
2. The Only One Sane
3. Pandeamonium
4. Eyes of the Devil
5. A Day to Come
6. Way Home
7. Fallen Angel
8. The Deamon Within
9. Oceans of Glory
10. Fear In a Fragile Mind

Saint Deamon is a band who came out of nowhere to put together one hell of an awesome debut. In Shadows Lost From The Brave was the most memorable and well put together first album I can...

Cage - Science Of Annihilation

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Sat, 30 May 2009 15:52:46 GMT

Cage - Science Of Annihilation
Power/Thrash
Music Buy Mail

1. The Power that Feeds (Intro)
2. Planet Crusher
3. Scarlet Witch
4. Spirit of Vengeance
5. Black River Falls
6. Operation Overlord
7. Power of a God
8. Speed Kills
9. Stranger in Black
10. Die Glocke
11. Spectre of War
12. Science of Annihilation
13. At the Edge of the Infinite

Science Of Annihilation marks the 5th release from Cage in their...

Amorphis - Skyforger

feeds@yuku.com (StygianSteel) — Sat, 30 May 2009 15:51:15 GMT

Amorphis - Skyforger
Gothic/Melodic Metal
Nuclear Blast

1. Sampo
2. Silver Bride
3. From the Heaven of My Heart
4. Sky is Mine
5. Majestic Beast
6. My Sun
7. Highest Star
8. Skyforger
9. Course of Fate
10. From Earth I Rose

Skyforger marks the third album from Amorphis since the vocalist swap to Tomi Joutsen and the stylistic shift the band has taken. Of course, stylistic changes are not a new thing to Amorphis and...