New Album Reviews!!!(New to Me Anyways!!!)

[Mjolnir]

This is where i will review Albums that i have just recently found...Hence the new in the Thread title!!
Some of the Albums may not be the Artists newest but again if it's New to me then it goes in the New Album Thread!!

Ok then,Straight into a Review of a 2010 Album by Falckenback
Called Tiurida....

First off, I have heard of Falkenback already and new i liked em but this album caught me off guard with it's mind blowingly simple Folk/Pagan/Viking Metal...I say simple in a way that Quantum Physics
is simple to a Quantum Physicist...(some people can make the Hardest thing seem soo damn easy!!)

Track one is a haunting intro which sets the scene for the rest of the Brilliance to come...

Track two is a Folk humdinger which i thought to myself that if the rest of the album sounds like this i am a very happy camper(van man,my wife calls me!!)

So onto track 3 thinking more of the same please but oh no....
Falkenbach throw me a massive fuckin curve-ball in the shape of the Great and Iconic Quarthon...Yes it's true i Dare nay double dare Anyone with an ounce of Metal in they're veins to NOT compare this and many other songs on this album to the late Great Bathory...I mean this with goosebumps all over my arms,this is possibly The best Album Bathory/Quarthon Never recorded...
Track 4 is soo haunting that i am now thinking and this is a complement to Falkenbach that were they related to him or was one of the members possessed by Quarthon or they had a walk in by him just to tell them to do this album...

Again this is not derogatory to Falkenbach but this is The Best album Quarthon never wrote...i know i said that already but song after song of pure brilliance in the style(this is what i will say now ok)
of Bathory is just soo enjoyable and listenable that the Boys of Falkenbach deserve a big Trinklehorn of Mead for recording this album and whether they did it on purpose the songs that remind me of mrQ are just Sublime and the songs that sound like Falkenbach are also fantastic Pagan classics in they're own right!!!

To summarize then...Tiurida Is one the best albums i have heard in a long time and Only Powerwolf and Amon Amarth come close to this Brilliance at the moment...

If you have a Sense of peace while walking through a Forrest then this album does the same for me and i am sure many more as this is a very Masterful Atmospheric 9.7/10...
(I reserve a full ten for Rare Albums like Break the Oath,Reign in Blood,Gods of War or Nostrodamus etc...)

[MetalBlade]

Ha! I've had this album for ages and never made the Bathory connection!
I just thought it was some fucking cool wiking metal.
A new listen beckons, armed with this new insight. I will undoubtedly make the same connection now that you have mentioned it.

Just got the new Opeth album, and as with all Opeth albums, one listen is never enough to present an honest review. So I will need to immerse myself in it further before I can comment.

Here is a review though, and this is an album that has truly become a part of me.

PRIMORDIAL - Redemption At The Puritan's Hand

1. No Grave Deep Enough
With a customary intro which we have come to expect from the Dublin paganists, the album opener adds layer upon layer of atmospheric beauty, with a roaring chorus that gets the blood pumping in preparation for what is to come.

2. Lain With The Wolf
Although I consider this one of the weaker songs on the album, that's almost akin to weeding out the weaker song from Slayer's Reign In Blood album - THERE ARE NO WEAK SONGS ON EITHER! A pounding tribal drum beat with an incredible set of lyrics make this a song which continues the tradition set by the opener.

3. Bloodied Yet Unbowed
Much has been made of this song being the centrepiece of the album, but I have to disagree. More on that later.
This song contains one of the best and most depressing riffs I've heard from the band since Coffin Ships, with a tale of individuality and isolation and rebellion woven within the words, you will emerge from this song feeling strong and full of integrity. Kind of like when I saw Fight Club at the cinema... but without the anger.

4. God's Old Snake
A super-intense double bass drum lead-in brings this song into life spitting pure black metal hatred which hearkens back to their earlier work. Vocally, Mr Averill has rarely sounded more harsh.

5. The Mouth Of Judas
Now this is the centrepiece of the album as far as I'm concerned.
Lyrically, from what I can interpret, the song tells a depressing tale of those poor souls sent on the prison ships to Australia centuries ago. After a haunting spoken word middle act - as this song indeed comes across as a story of three acts - it builds up to a heartbreaking climax which, vocally, at times is reminiscent of Blackie Lawless. The final verse "The soil, so red and barren. It burns! So red and barren", had me truly goosing like a bastard, and by the song's acoustic outro, makes me want to listen to it again. Truly a masterpiece of songwriting this, and deserves the title of Greatest Primordial Song Ever.

6. The Black Hundred
A nice departure from the more folky and sombre elements of this record, this is a relatively up-tempo account of a war-torn Soviet Union. Again, as in God's Old Snake, the black metal roots of the band emerge. A pounding black-hearted little number.

7. The Puritan's Hand
This plodding, emotional epic title track is possibly the most depressing on the album, returning to the themes of a famine-stricken Ireland of centuries ago. Musically, this is amongst the strongest the band have produced to date, with a tremendously heavy riff and a particulary eerie guitar sound. The song picks up pace halfway through and finishes with a frenetic final minute.

8. Death Of The Gods
After an acoustic intro with a lot in common to the aforementioned Coffin Ships, the song structure both lyrically and thematically is remeniscent of some dark epic poem. Averill here displays all the vocal emotion he has become renowned for. Oh to see these songs performed on the live stage, what I would not give for that experience.

So in closing, this is my album of 2011 so far, and although we are only one year into a new decade, envision this remaining in my top five of the next ten years. I fail to see how Primordial could possibly ever improve on this, their masterpiece.

A 10 out of 10 if ever there was one.

[Mjolnir]

Ha!!
I have had this one for ages also and due to me finding Powerwolf and Falkenbach etal i forgot about this Grim Beauty...
I will immerse myself into this this very day..
Although in 90degree heat it loses some of it's grimness i'm sure but can relate to the poor souls who went to oz all those years ago and theyre struggle with the damn heat...
Oh well it'll soon Be Samhain and cooler weather to be sure...
October is a mad month also as it's Sabaton time on the 5th then i have to Endure Evenescence on the 10th in Oakland(There will be Smoke to deaden the pain though,which is nice!!)
And then we go see The Priest in an Outdoor Ampetheatre in Concord which is nice(also armed with Smoke to highten the experience this time though!!)
Primordial is on my Watch list for over here so looking forward to seeing the Grimness live sometime soon!!!

[Mjolnir]

ICED fuckin EARTH......Are Back....

I know i know i know!!!!that noise!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes my Buddy Matt left to persue his life elswhere and good look to him but my matt fixation was fullfilled now i saw him live and he did two nice albums with Meister Schaffer...

Now onto the Present...Fuck me sideways with a rotten Pineapple??
I am at this precise moment listening to the new Iced Earth Album
called Dystopia...Only my first hearing but f**k me it's good and this Guy Stu Block is a f**kin Awsome singer apart the Ballady stuff which sounds like a heavier Whitelion type band but this is a small
Critisism of an Album that sounds Mature and is as Confident as Mr Shaffers hair is now Grey...
I can honestly say that this album has a touch of influence from other bands unlike other IE Albums...i hear Agent Steel and Annihalator on this one but trust me this is not derogatory in the slightest as i bloody love both of those bands with a passion...
Lyricly its about as good as you can get with songs like Soylent Green(yes it is about That Movie!!)
V (er,i think Jon watches the same programms as us dude!)
Dark City(Jons been watching way too many movies on his days off,tee hee!!)
Overall a fantastic Album that only gets better with each listen and Welcome aboard my Block..you are most Welcome
Stues vocals are a cross between Iced Earth(youll get it im sure)
Annihalator,Agent Steel and Accept...
My rating is a very pleasing 9.5 out of 10

[Mjolnir]

I have listened to Dystopia a few times now and fave song at the moment is a Monster 8minutes of Tradegy and Triumph which is actually a Bonus Track and is Awsome....
The Track Anthem is Awsome and My other favorite is Equilibrium but the most Powerfull track for me up to now is Anguish of Youth lyricly this is a very sad song but its power and anger makes this a standout track and Mr Blocks Vocals are best on this one as its a slow starter then bursts out like a Great White leaping for a Seal off the coast of Oz...Excellent album now ive listened to it 3 times and will reaward a score of 9.6/10....

[MetalBlade]

I've listened to it dude!
Didn't even know it was out till you mentioned it.
It's a mighty album too, with Monseur Block's vocal style very much akin to his forebear Mr Barlow, with some high-end Mr Halford thrown in. I do hear the Agent Steel thing too, possibly also because in the Cyriis era they reminded me so much of Priest - that band even covered The Ripper to great effect.

I think this record is very strong indeed, though I thought you a little harsh with your White Lion reference. He has some pipes this one, but will he just be another Interim Tim?

Anthem has such a great chorus, one of the band's catchiest to date, and I think this is terrific opener (and closer if you include the bonus version at the end). I can see me playing this album many times over.

[Mjolnir]

You Think me Critical when I'm awarding it a 9.5 and then re-award it a 9.6...If thats being critical then i wish Shaeffer would read this and seeing as a 10 is Nostrodamus or Bible of the Beast and Individual songs every now and then get a 10 ala Loch Ness
and One Road to Asa Bay or Day at Guyana...I think a 9.6 is fuckin fantastic,do you realize that Even Iron Maiden don't get a 10..
A matter of life and death got a 9 from me so i rate this higher than the Best Maiden In recent years....

So do you still think me Critical Brother??

[MetalBlade]

Eh? I never said you were being critical at all...

[Mjolnir]

Sorry you said I was being a little harsh on him about the white lion sta.tement!!
i never said he wasnt a good singer but i did make a good point though didnt i!!tee hee

[Mjolnir]

Today i have a Triumverate of Greatness to give a review of..
These 3 albums are from Hard Working Legends and theyre newest efforts to date!!
(i can only give an outline at the mo as ive only listened to em Once im affraid!)
First up is a great Album by Gamma Ray called To the Metal
This Album is a mighty fine power Mekal Monster that if you like Early Helloween then there is no reason why you wont like this slab of Power Mekal also!!
The Opener Rise is a barnstormer and Classic Kai Hanson with his unique vocal stylings...
If you like Walls of Jericho then this is a must.....8.6/10

This Had to Happen i suppose didnt it....
Now im reviewing Helloween's Newest Platter 7 Sinners
This is a good Album although to compare it to Gamma Rays Newest i would have to say that Kai won this Battle...
7 Sinners is a good album and is pretty much formulaic though in a Power Mekal 123 sort of way but dont let that put you of though as this Album has some great moments as all Helloween albims do but this is nowhere near the glory of Seven Keys but it certainly has a good go!!! 8.1/10

Next up and No connection with Helloween is the Newest showing from the Mighty Blind Gaurdian called At the Edge of Time
I have only heard half this Album but if you like em already then you will contiue to like em as this is a solid showing from the Masters of Power/Folk/Pagan Metal......So far a 8.5/10