As I said before, also get Live In The Raw, because all songs from ITEC sound better and more powerful there. I Don't Need No Doctor too.

Well, yeah, "The devil's begging to burn" is probably my favourite line on Dominator. I'll never forgive myself for missing W.A.S.P.'s gig here last autumn.

Heh they never came around here so...but I would love the see them playing some songs off Dominator and throwing in some classics too!

My absolutely favourite line from Blackie has to be "Who's the darkest motherfucker on the planet?!".

i need some really good traditional metal, anywhere between 70 and about 85 that sings about satan or the occult (not exclusively, but a fair bit) please.

Stormwitch's first three albums are your choice.

Yes, I remember you mentioning that. I haven't talked with him in years but I know he is/was into a great deal of metal, even some black and death metal stuff and he wanted to make something that sounded like raw speed metal ..Venimish in other words. I think that after disbanding Cauldron Born he told me that he didn't want to make any kind of metal anymore and was fed up with the business side of things and not receiving appreciation in his own country, which ieally does suck when you can'tt afford to take trips to Europe all the time to play. Anyway, it's good to see he's back in the fold, as it were.

Holy shit, Failsafeman and Zdan, Crush is awesome stuff. That lead guitarist is just unearthly and I really dig the vocals, too.

I've also been getting into Damien Thorne a good deal. I don't own any of their albums but have downloaded songs from all three of them. Even the modern stuff seems really good to me .. love the rather crazed vocals and the production and riffs are just really pleasing. I think someone on here said that "Wrath of Darkness" was really boring, but judging from what I've heard at this point, I can't agree with that.

Xeogred, was it you who said that about Damien Thorne? Yes, I think so! Anyway,, I don't mind cardboard drum sounds at all, but I hate obviously electronic percussion that can't even stay properly in time. The guy was playing on some kind of electronic kit and it just sounds atrocious .. listen to that goddamn snare .. maybe being a drummer this bothers me more than it would most, but I really, really can't stand it. There's even a drum solo spot in one song (is it "People of the Black CIrcle"? I can't quite remember) and it makes me want to bury my head in my hands. What a mess. I'd happily endorse the album, while still feeling it was somewhat weaker than the debut, if they re-recorded the drum tracks altogether one day and did them right.

Crikey, there's not nearly enough love for the completely awesome "Thane to the Throne" around here. I think most of hte post re-unionn Panzer stuff has been really solid. Sure, it doesn't sound that much like "Ample Destruction', but so what? I believe it still stands head and shoulders above most modern power metal, and the arrangements are really big and sweeping without being ridiculous or overly bombastic .. occasional violins and choirs work really fucking well for Jag Panzer in the modern era.

Isn't it based on Macbeth or some other tragedy by Shakespeare? I remember hearing something along those lines. Anyway, I guess I'll give it a spin tomorrow. I'm rather keen on epic themes nowadays.

I love modern era Jag Panzer, just as much as their earlier material. Thane to the Throne and Casting the Stones; both very good albums.

I love the part in Dark Quarterer's Colossus of Argil where the vocallist goes completely off the chart with a yell and the recording crackles.

Yes, I remembered after posting that (hah, not the first time in this hhread is it?) that you liked the newer albums, too. I'd rather listen to any of the modern albums than "Chain of Command", to be frank ... sure, that guy is a decent singer, but for me, the Tyrant is an essential part of their sound. And yes, "Thane to the Throne" is indeed based upon Macbeth. It's one hell of a fine concept album. Even the ballad at the end is fantastic .. so majestic and sums up the story very well.

I love Mercyful Fate, but as many are saying here, the 90s albums are really not so great. I really wouldn't bother with "Into the Unknown", despite it being the source of the first Fate song I ever heard .. I might dig it out again someday, but I remember buying it years ago, putting it on once and falling asleep, it was so dull.

Hey, I posted I like it!


Yes, it's based on Macbeth.


I love that part which is the whole song.

The songs "Tempest" and "Battered and Bruised" from Casting the Stones are really good, I think. I think Conklin performs the best on these two songs out of the entire record, and out of most of the new stuff too.

that too! It's a fucking monolith in heavy epic prog.

I can't agree there. Part of my dislike for the work is the biased, childish reason that I just can't get over AD being better. The other part, which I mentioned in my review for Mechanized Warfare, is just that I find the albums unexciting. Casting the Stones has the potential to grow on me, and Thane to the Throne doesn't suck or anything, but as of right now I can't say I particularly enjoy them at all. They all have good playing and some cool riffs, but I just don't like them much compared to similar bands of their ilk like Angel Dust or Tad Morose. I seem to be in the minority here.

"Thane to the Throne" was one of the first modern albums from them that I actually enjoyed. I can enjoy their others, but I do get bored pretty quickly and hardly listen to them on my own free time. I know we've talked about this a lot, but I still can't really get into new Jag Panzer and I'll just accept the fact that I probably never will.

Coming from a Conklin fanboy too.

I think Jag Panzer should be more like Ballistic or something.

Yeah, we need something new to talk about. Where's the new Hibria?

I think like Heathen's new album ... it'll never exist!

But yeah, we seriously need new Hibria.

So I'm listening to "Thane To The Throne" right now, halfway through the album... I certainly like it, but sometimes it's not heavy enough and the keyboard parts are quite annoying.

Exactly why I think Jag Panzer should just take the Ballistic approach to their music, just balls to the wall heavy metal. That's pretty much what Ample Destruction straight up is anyways.

Yes, definitely .. love this band, and Gianni is one amazing singer who should really get more credit among proud and strong metal vocalists. By the way, their new album is a really superb, if rather inaccessible, piece of prog metal .. I don't know if any other of the thread's regulars would really enjoy it, but I definitely do ... it still has some of those epic metal riffs every now and then, but they use keyboards a lot more (they were on the last couple as well, but played a pretty subtle role) and the songs are all really long and full of different parts, keys and so on. I think "SYmbols" is quite a bit heavier than "Violence", but doesn't sacrifice any of the progressive qualities that album had.

Meh, I really think modern Jag Panzer should sound like modern Jag Panzer. I certainly have no problem with bands who decide to stick to their original sound, if it's a good sound, but bands that can change and do it fucking well are even more rare, so I have the ultimate respect for that. They might get bored today playing stuff that was like "Ample Destruction" all the time, and I'd rather have a new, evolved Jag Panzer than a tired and stale one, you know?

Hibria from Brazil... really fuckin great power metal band !!

There's no problem with this at all, it's just that I wouldn't call Jag Panzer one that can "change their sound and do it fucking well" ...

I guess some of us are torn on this though.

I wish Powergod would do another album. "Nemesis" is a fantastic album. Futile request, but can anyone think of anything that sounds like "Evilution Pt 3"?

I actually really like Powergod, though I thought I remembered liking their second album more than the third, I'm not sure ... it's been awhile.

Their tributes are excellent too.

The 3rd is a bit more messed up (which is probably why I like it more). I just wish they'd release something... anything. They seemed to vanish off the face of the planet.

I know Alex has been doing vocals for other bands lately (Winter's Bane, Scenes), but he always truly shined with Powergod (his performance with Spiral Tower was pretty good too - ST's album is a good one to get, if you haven't heard it already).

I've still got to listen to their newer stuff, so far I've only listened to their first two, though they've gotten lots of spins so I'm likely to enjoy their new stuff, even if it is less metal and more prog. Hell, prog rock is probably my favorite genre after metal, so it's not necessarily a bad direction, as far as my tastes go.

I've still got to write some reviews for DQ, they get altogether too little recognition considering how fantastic they are. At least we've got our little group here who enjoys them.

Heh, at last I found a band remotely similar to Chasar - and that is Screamer with their "Target: Earth". A fantastic album. Moderately heavy, with lots of blazing solos, pretty good and consistent songwriting, and the vocalist sounds kind of like Mark Shelton, only less nasal, and overall his voice is higher. I think it was originally FSM who recommended it in one of the USPM threads? Anyway, my total recommendations.

By the way, I finally decided what albums I'm going to review next month: Chasar "Gypsy Roller", Screamer "Target: Earth", Mysto Dysto "The Rules Have Been Disturbed" and Warrant (Ger) "The Enforcer / First Strike".

Just got Grave Digger's Tunes of War, good fun stuff. The vocals are silly but I like them. One of the songs has a riff near identical to Virgin Steele's blood of the saints. The Scottish history vibe is pretty cool too. Probably check out Rheingold album by them next. I'm going to have to check out Ample Destruction and Thane to the Throne by Jag Panzer as well. Turns out Ample Destruction isn't available in the UK. So it'll have to be Thane to the Throne instead... well, I do like Macbeth.

Listening to Serpent's Knight now... some really good early USPM. And it turns out Warrel Dane can actually sing. I never listened to Sanctuary, though. Funnily enough one of the songs is called "No Sanctuary".

I'll have to check that out then (Spiral Tower). I've heard that Winters Bane album and it's pretty awesome, Alex's vocals are great too.


Chances are since you like "Tunes of War", you'll enjoy a great deal of Grave Digger's releases, since they're overall pretty consistent if you ask me. "Rheingold" is very amazing, a bit more epic than some of their mid-era releases but it absolutely works. Definitely one of their best in my opinion.

Also ... you've heard "Ample Destruction", right?

Looking forward to the reviews Catachthonian! I suspect most of them will be nice? (since that's all awesome stuff you have planned to review! haha).

Serpent's Knight is amazing. I just wish that album had some damn production. I'm not a big fan of Sanctuary honestly, but many might say elsewise... I'd say get their 1986 demo I reviewed for their greatest tracks. Their two albums are worth hearing though. Also, Dane sounds like a completely different person by the time he gets to Nevermore (not a fan of them at all personally).

Also, I got that promo of Helstar's newest album. You guys really aren't liking it? I don't think it's that bad, I'll need to give it sometime to grow on me probably (but that was the case with most of their stuff honestly). I think the only issue I have is the riff speed, it's clearly not like Nosferatu's constant, swift, fast, speedy melodic rhythms. The solo's really shine though, it's definitely Helstar at those moments.

But ... maybe I'm crazy, but am I hearing breakdowns in my Helstar?

Edit: Yeah, I'm insanely tired and couldn't even attempt to explain it technically, but there's clearly a huge difference in the riff styles between this and Nosferatu. Also seems riddled with "wammy" effects, squeals, and whatnot (like a lot of modern stuff). Again I can't explain it, but the riffs in Nosferatu are literally like ... constant, not so much here with their newest stuff.

id love to hear the new helstar :O :O :O

I couldn't even find the promo online, so I figured I'd just wait and buy it. It sounds great to me so far, though, killer guitar tone and even better vocals from James Rivera - he sounds ever the narrator of the end of the fucking world. Breakdowns? Eh...I bet they're done well enough.

I don't know, the second one I heard wasn't bad but the first one on the first track was extremely generic, like core generic. Rivera kind of saves it.

Still, this isn't terrible at all or anything. Just need to give it time.

I like a lot of heavier modern shit, so I probably won't mind so much.

I think Vicious Rumors' Warball might have an edge over it.

Well, I'm going to rate Screamer and Mysto Dysto as high as 90-100% (more likely between 95 and 100) and two others between 80 and 90. But this is going to be my first attempt at writing reviews, so it'll probably take quite a time, especially considering a new semester starting next Monday.


Haha, the production is almost non-existent, but I heard far worse, so I'm generally used for that type of thing. Doesn't distract me from the music much. And Warrel really sings with emotion and passion, unlike in most of later stuff.


New Helstar is kind of faceless, unmemorable and trying too hard. Rivera is as good as always, but that's a given. Honestly, I'd prefer Distant Thunder putting out new album instead of Helstar.

I kind of missed this above:

Said that "Wrath of Darkness" is boring? Hmmm, if that's what you meant ... maybe, I'm not sure. I've been a fan of all of their stuff, though I certainly love their debut the most.

That's gotta be one of the craziest fucking albums ever. The vocalist is absolutely amazing, perfect for the style. As Gutterscream puts it best in his review though:
Unfortunately, the production is flat like a bus driver’s ass.

I really wish that weren't the case though. I'd probably rank that stuff up there with Agent Steel if it weren't for the horrendous production.

@Catachthonian: You checked out Dark Age right? I just bring them up because they always remind me of Mysto Dysto for some reason.

Also I don't know why, but I just feel like I need to recommend you Cyperus, if you haven't heard them. Godlike USPM.
(first two demo's)

Yeah, you recommended Dark Age a while ago, and I listened to it last month. Fun stuff. Probably next on the list of reviews.

I have plenty of USPm on my hard rive still to be listened to. In fact, I'm trying to choose what I'll listen to now among a dozen of albums: Gargoyle, Messiah Force, Ruthless, Witch Cross, a couple of different Damiens and Steeles, and others.

Oh, I forgot to add I'm also going to write one for Legend's "From The Fjords". Godlike album. Probably 99% (or even 100).

Bloody typos, annoying the hell out of me.