Okay, come on, this just got accepted today and I can't POSSIBLY see why:

http://www.metal-archives.com/review.php?id=108901

Agreed.

Er ist tot.

Sie sind tot. Or whatever. I will PM a thing to translate to DeathForBlitzkrieg, I need help with... a thing. My 5 years of German 18 years ago have rusted away.

That In Flames thingy was borderline, and took a while of consideration.It's pretty easy to find worse examples, but since In Flames frequently get reviews submissions, it's gone now.

What's The Deal? - 65%
Written by corviderrant on February 18th, 2004

I'm not a big fan of Six Feet Under as a rule, as their music is a bit too basic for my taste. I happen to like this tune, though. It's not great by far, but neither does it suck. It has a good, hard-driving punk feel to it, and it is catchy as well. And I am surprised and disappointed that so many people are being so damned closed-minded and bent out of shape about the lyrical matter--what, have we all become Republican pro-war types now? I thought metalheads were anti-establishment in their own little way, but this is a sad reminder that too many out there happen not to be. Just because Chris Barnes had the nerve to express a dissenting opinion against one of America's worst Presidents and one of the more unnecessary military maneuvers in US history. Just because the music is not the same as before and just because he attempted to write some more intelligent lyrics doesn't mean Barnes deserves to come under such heavy fire for doing something different. Give the man a break, y'all! Extreme metal (thrash in the beginning, of course) was at first inspired by the punk and hardcore scenes, and not just in the speed aspect; intelligent lyrics questioning things were the norm for that genre. So why can't Chris Barnes do that once in a while himself and break up the monotony of all the gore lyrics he normally writes?

I have to confess... - 82%
Written by MikeyC on January 20th, 2007

Okay, I need to say something. I’m metaphorically putting my head on the chopping block here, but I think I should come clean. So here it is.

“Digimortal” is Fear Factory’s best album.

Yes, that’s right. I said it. It’s out there. I can’t undo it now. I really like this album. Where “Obsolete” and “Archetype” are pretty good, this one beats them both. Maybe not by miles, but it’s just better.

Let me tell you why. Yes, “Digimortal” is different from their previous albums, but you need to listen to this album and just take it as it is, and not compare it to their other releases. If you do this, you will fall into the same trap as everyone else who hates this album. Now, to the music, there are 3 major differences that you will notice.

1. The guitars. They’re not as heavy as they were on “Obsolete”, that’s for sure. Pick any song on this album and you can hear the guitars don’t deliver that punch that the previous album had. However, that’s comparing! If you block out any memory of “Obsolete”, you’ll realise that some of the riffs are really catchy. Take the chorus of “What Will Become?” as an example, or the starting riff on “No One”. The guitars mightn’t be as crunchy, and they may sound more computerized, but that doesn’t mean the riffs aren’t thought out or sub standard in any way. They just decided to go down a different path.

2. The vocals. Burton’s growls have been replaced by harsh singing. Now, again, personally this isn’t a bad thing. In fact, the cleaner singing style fits with the music. But I can understand why it isn’t looked favourably upon. It makes the entire album sound much more mallcore than it’s intending to be. The song “Linchpin” is a good example of that. It’s trying to be heavy, but never really makes it. But that’s just personal taste.

3. The track lengths. The album (minus the bonus tracks) contains 11 songs. Nine of these are between 3 and 4 minutes in length, and the other two are above 5 minutes. But is this a bad thing? I say no, it isn’t. The music doesn’t need to be longer. They are shorter because they need to be shorter. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love long, epic songs, but here, they’re simply not needed. The lengths are fine the way they are.

Almost everything else about the album is pretty consistent with their other albums. Raymond’s drumming is impeccable (and slightly predictable) once again. I love his bass drum work on “No One” and his triplet work at the start of “Acres Of Skin”. In my view, it’s the best thing on the album. Even livid haters of this album can’t deny he’s a pretty talented drummer.

Now, of course, the album isn’t without flaws. Here’s 3 of the big mistakes they could’ve rendered.

1. “Back The Fuck Up”. While this track isn’t god-awful, by metal (and rap) standards, it’s below par. Some guy named B-Real (?) does guest vocals, and he and Burton both try their hand at rapping. Unfortunately, the rapping is pretty underwhelming from both of them, and the song falls into a heap. It throws off the flow of the album, and should’ve been placed as a B side, or bonus track.

2. Songwriting. Yeah, some of the song structures are very one-dimensional. Songs like “Digimortal” and “Linchpin” fall into the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus routine, with slight variances here and there. Again, this sort of structure isn’t bad, if used sparingly, but when there are many songs like this, it can get tedious.

3. Outro on “(Memory Imprints) Never End”. This, the final track on the album, could’ve finished two minutes earlier, but it drags on with atmospheric strings and Burton’s computerized whispering, with a few synth sounds thrown in for good measure. For me, this is drawn out for too long and could’ve ended on a stronger note.

However, despite all the hiccups in the album, it is still their most enjoyable, and it’s the one I keep coming back to. I can understand why it is hated, but if you take this album as a separate entity, you’ll end up finding out that it can be quite a good listen.

Best tracks: No One, Acres of Skin, Byte Block, Hurt Conveyer

This review isn't exactly THAT bad... but after reading it am I only one who gets the impression that this kid has never heard Demanufacture?

I'm a Corpsegrinder fan

Apparently he owns all Fear Factory recordings, but off-topic I was surprised to see he gave "Butchered At Birth" a circle. Cannibal's first four albums are worth at least 25% each (can you guess I'm a Corpsegrinder fan?).

That explains a lot.

This is a very strange album! All we know Quorthon as a great metal mastermind: his band, Bathory, touched every metal style, since black to trash, epic, doom, viking metal. But when we listen to this double cd, released after Bathory's viking metal masterpiece Blood On Ice, Quorthon show us a different side of his mastermind's ability. This is a rock'n'roll album, with some very fast pieces (for example the 1st song, I've had it coming my way) and very slow songs, played only with acustic guitar, without drums, bass and electric guitars (for example Just the same). The lyrics are about the everyday life and there's also one love song! I think this is unthinkable for all the Quorthon's fans! It surely isn't a metal masterpiece, however there aren't bad songs. I think that all the rock listeners will love it!
Once again, thanx, Quorthon!

Dream Theater's "Train of Thought" has too many "pissed off fan" reviews, many of which are poorly written, although there's one by OSI should go as well:

http://www.metal-archives.com/review.php?id=31521

The downfall of a great band. - 45%
Written by queen_cyanide on November 29th, 2004


When I first heard Dream Theater many years ago, I was amazed to say the least. I've owned a number of their releases and they are a regular listen in my MP3 player. When I heard that they were releasing a new album I was fairly excited, and when they mentioned in a few interviews that they were going for a more "dark" sound my interest was definitely mustered. To me, DT had always captured a very mellow, soundscape kind of atmosphere - the kind of music I would listen to to relax and marvel at true musicianship.

When I went to the store to purchase the album (#1 mistake of all CD purchases - hear before you buy!) I was a little confused as to why it had been reduced in price so much (about 30%) considering the store wasn't having a sale. After listening to it, I could see why.

Obviously the guys had been listening to large doses of nu-metal and Tool. I never really marveled at their lyrics, but these are just so banal;

"Takin’ in the view from the outside
Feeling like the underdog
Watching through the window I’m on the outside
Living like the underdog
I’ve been trying to justify you
In the end I will just defy you
To those who understand, I extend my hand"

(I've been trying to justify buying this album, heh.)

If I wanted to listen to mundane, inward, teenage angst lyrics I would listen to Mudknot. (One in the same really...) I mean, looking back at other DM releases the lyrics had a bit of thought in them, be they political/social/personal... but it seems as though this album is AIMING to appeal to 15-17 year olds who are going through that "I'm so angry at the world, by the way I'm a total individual and you can't change me ok!" mentality.

There is some hope in "This Dying Soul" with a bit of the old-styled soloing/keyboards but then it reverts to the mundane over distorted guitar. However at 2.15 into this song the guitar effect is EXACTLY the same that Mudvayne use. Then there's that annoying "radio distorted" voice. But the "best" is at 3.50 or so - obviously System of a Down kidnapped them all and made them create that annoying stop start guitar thing with that "radio" voice again. (AKA that Chop Suey mainstream single). GOD. Can I say overproduced or what?? Just listening to this CD again to write a review is pissing me off.

If you like Tool, you will like this.
If you like System of a Down, you will like this.
If you like Mudvayne, you will like this.
If you like any form of Nu Metal or Mallcore, you will like this.

Gone is the obvious Iron Maiden influence. Gone are the flowing melodies. Gone is the originality.

I've never really thought that James LaBrie is amazing. In fact it's the guitar work that makes me enjoy them so. But in this album, seriously, he goes for that "angry rap" that Nu-Metal unfortunately cultivated. And I hate to say this, he cannot angry rap to save himself.

Petrucci's guitar work has definitely spiraled. Don't get me wrong, there are the segments with super technical shredding and so forth, but the ongoing churning of power chords really makes this album slip. Plus, in the few moments when the melody isn't as bad as the rest of the album, the structure isn't really a change from their usual stuff. (In Endless Sacrifice, the intro sounds like it should be from the "Falling into Infinity" album. But that song too slides downwards with the chorus sounding as though it was ripped from Disturbed, seriously.)

Overall, this is probably the biggest disappointment I've had this year. Don't get me wrong, I secretly listen to a bit of Nu-Metal now and then, I enjoy its mindlessness. But Dream Theater shouldn't go for that sound, they can definitely achieve more (musically) than the Linkin Parks of this world. DT are one of those bands that I always thought would produce quality music without trying to please any particular audience. This album is the beginning of the end for Dream Theater.

R.I.P to good Dream Theater.

DT hit home again - 96%
Written by benji on September 25th, 2004


Train of thought is Dream Theater’s latest effort and their heaviest album to date, in prior albums such as falling into infinity and scenes from a memory there were only heavy sections. Train of thought shows Dream Theater in a different light, this album is heavy all the through, rather than in sections. Train of thought is full of obscure tunings, crunching riffs and lightning solos. The great thing about this album is that Petrucci (Guitarist) really lets loose and is able to showcase his shredding ability, this is also the case with drummer Mike Portnoy who produces some excellent pieces of double bass drum work.

The album opens with “As I am” which sets the tone for the album. Lots of bass with Dark heavy and intense moments. The solo in this song is one of the highlights of the album. Portnoy really drives this song with some heavy drumming. By the end of this track you will realise that this album is going to be very strong but different to previous.

Next up is “This dying soul”. The track blasts into a heavy riff, about 40 secs in to the track Petrucci once again shows off his ability with an excellent lead break. Riff after Riff in this song as well as some great soloing by Petrucci shows this track to be of some progressive brilliance.

Track 3 “Endless sacrifice” plays out in quite similar fashion to the previous song, exceeding the 11 minute mark and has many strong moments throughout the song.

The fourth song “Honour thy father” is probably Dream Theater’s heaviest track that they have ever done. Brilliant heavy drumming from Portnoy once again. This song also has some interesting spoken verses and some mean vocals from singer James LaBrie. This song is the darkest on the album.

If you thought Jordan Rudess (Keyboardist) did not have much of a presence on this album you in for a surprise. “Vacant” is the fifth track on the album and is a complete change of pace. Some nice vocals and piano, this song could almost be called an interlude only going for a little less than three minutes.

“Stream of consciousness” is Dream Theater’s instrumental effort on the album and is excellent in exposing the bands brilliant progressive abilities.

Train of thought closes with the epic “In the name of god”. This track goes over 14 minutes and is a very fitting finish to a progressive masterpiece. One of Dream Theater’s best efforts to date, and also shows that every member in the band is amongst the best in the world, if not the best.

To those who understand... - 80%
Written by OJ16 on February 2nd, 2004


I've been waiting a bit to review this, but I think I'm ready. When I first heard Dream Theater was entering the studio, I was expecting another masterpiece. Am I dissapointed? Yes and No.

Train of Thought is a heavy, catchy album (well, about as catchy as 10 minute epics can be). Now, I say this is heavy, and it really is. Song for song, Dream Theater's had heavier, but as far as a full album is, this is a mostly heavy offering.

Dream Theater mixes it up a bit as far as vocals go. The "rapping" on tracks like "Honor Thy Father" is a matter of personal taste. I don't mind it, and I think it adds some variety, but some people seem to despise it.

Musically, the album has some great bass and drum work, and some good guitar riffs. Petrucci's solos a bit lacking, and he relys on his effects pedals too much. Also, I'm wondering if Jordan Rudess is still in the band...because he's absent from a lot of these songs....except for some solos and other parts, he's usually inaudible during the songs.

Overall, I think it's a good album. My favorite tracks are "This Dying Soul", "Endless Sacrifice", and the 14 minute instrumental "Stream of Consciousness." This album is mostly for Dream Theater fans with an open mind (which is basically every Dream Theater fan...or Prog fan in general). I would recommend newer listeners to start somewhere else...but that in no way means this is a bad album.

Sigh, where to begin... I'm sure by now everyone knows who Dragonforce are, and has heard the usual complaints about them. They solo for ten minutes, they have one song, etc etc. Well that's actually not the problem, because if it was good I wouldn't mind! The repetition is incredibly obvious if you listen to a whole album of it, but many other power metal bands pull it off enjoyably anyway. No, the ultimate reason I can't stand Dragonforce is not the formulaic writing, the cliches or the utterly-meaningless-horrible-cheesy-lyrics.

It's because the solos SUCK, plain and simple. They are not fast, they are not creative, they are not technical, and people need to wake the fuck up and stop worshipping them. Certainly the band members have some degree of talent, but it's been completely blown out of proportion. They rarely even go above sixteenth notes, which is decent at those tempos, but seriously. There's been better. What really ruins it is that their phrasing has been identical, in every solo, since the first album. Gee, there's some sixteenths over the verse beat, gee, now the standard double bass comes in for a couple measures and they harmonize. Hey, he just did a squeaky effect. Well that's just dandy. Can we get back to the song yet?

What keeps the album from a 0 is that there is occasionally something worth hearing. The intro to Through the Fire and Flames, the first minute of The Flame of Youth, the occasional short Dragonforce breakdown... well maybe that's it. It always degrades into mind-numbingly predictable crap soon after. The only song this band has ever done that was truly awesome, was Soldiers of the Wasteland. There is no Soldiers of the Wasteland on this CD. If you want mindless shredding that's at least played well, listen to Yngwie Malmsteen. Hell, his songs are even more creative.

They say less is more, but in Dragonforce's case none might be better.

Fecesus in Suctica - 11%
Written by UltraBoris on August 13th, 2002


This album is really fucking mediocre. There are maybe two good songs on here, that have the typical Slayer catchiness, which are Bitter Peace and Scrum. Nonetheless, they would still be the crappiest song by far if featured on any of their 80s albums. At least they're a bit catchy and memorable.

There rest of this album sounds... shudder... MODERN!!! Also known as that fucking shit style that a variety of bands have, ranging from Nevermore to Slipknot, where they disregard the ideals of classical songwriting that were rightfully worshipped in the 80s in favour of a grating, noisy, completely anti-catchy, hideous sonic ear-rape. Abominations like "half-thrash" and "mallcore" all have this sort of diarrhea vibe to them, and even the mighty Slayer has descended to this level.

It's just total shit. Don't play riffs. Don't play fast. Take all reasonable standards of melody and poop on them. Be not menaching. WHINE. Lose track of what key the song is in, that is if you ever had any idea in the first place.

FUCK YOU, KORN. Fuck you and fuck the horse you rode in on, and fuck your countless feces imitators and fuck your downtuning and fuck your modern-ness, and FUCK YOU too, NIRVANA. Everything that is wrong with music. MODERN. I defecate on your goddamn grave.

Fuck you, old Metallica - 85%
Written by AzzMan on April 10th, 2004


This album is the way thrash should have been done. And alot of it now is. And thats a good thing. But back in the days where Metallica released two good albums, then shit shit and larger ammounts of shit, some people waded through that shit and picked this album up, as it gave off an evil aura that us metalheads love, comared to the bad stench of Metallica. This album just rocks the entire damn time and makes you headbang until you have to stop and puke.

Awesome drumming, great solos and riffs, but.. not as good of vocals. Really cute lyrics, by the way. Cute if war and anti-christianity is pretty. you gotta hand it to this band to release borign, over the top "RIFRIFIRIFRIFIRIF" until you just say "Fuck it, this is just too damn fast." This album is actually PACED, and well. Songs like Skeletons of Society are alot slower then someo f the normal thrash songs we hear nowadays, and that dosn't make it bad. Its probably one of the best tracks here, if I had to pick favorites.

Don't let this album slide by, its a real catch from a time when the more "mainstream" thrash was dying or dead.

Slayer's best album - 99%
Written by skolnick on January 18th, 2003


This stands out as one of the best thrash masterpieces ever written. We clarely notice that this band was at the peak of their carrer by this time.It was the year of 1990 and "Seasons in the Abyss" was just released by Slayer. The overall quality of this album keeps demonstrating why the partnership Hanneman/King is one of the best in thrash metal, side by side with Hetfield/Hammett or Skolnick/Peterson. The intensity levels on this album just rip you apart completely and make you have the desire to hang out with this one on your cd player for more than a year...
Really a redemption with their fans who felt displeased with the slower "South of Heaven", this album does not pretend to be a return to "Reign in Blood" but it´s even better...Of course that "Reign in Blood" is somewhat considered the best thrash album of all times but although not having the brutality of that album, it compensates in speed and technique...

It starts with a big kick ass opener "War Ensemble", with that riff that just makes you want to blow your neighbours ears away by playing it so loud on your cd player or even in your guitar. I think Kerry King's solo (the second)stands out as better than Jeff's and that "WAAAARRR" scream at the middle of the song...it's just fuckin phenomenal stuff

"Blood red" is a slow but effective song with a good riff and a good technical solo sequence right in the middle of the song. It wouldn't be my choice for the second on this album, but stands out fine.

"Spirit in Black" is a "South of Heavenish" song but a good ass kicker as well. It has some slow parts until that riff that stands out in the middle of the song and just makes it "BAM!" with that drum beat that puts you in a authentic uncontroled "thrash train"...

"Expendable Youth" is the first of the two slowest songs of the album. It has some good riffs and the lyrics from Tom Araya speak out the life of the fighting between gangs

"Dead Skin Mask" is one of their live favourites and has that evil intro riffs sequence that´s just fantastic. This song has one of the best solo sequences of this album where Jeff and Kerry alternate almost making it look like a contest to see who plays better. The lyrics are disturbing and a brilliant effort by Tom Araya.

"Hallowed Point" is a good old Slayer song that kind of reminds me of "Ghosts of War" from "South of Heaven" with a great vibe and speed and also a great alternated solo sequence right from the middle of it...

"Skeletons of Society" is the second slowest song of the album, having some good riffs it's the only song that doesn't fill my ears of desire completely.

"Temptation", wooow, this song song really moves you from the beginning 'till the end. Great voice effects on Tom

"Born of Fire" is a very fast song that has some of the impact and brutality of the "Reign in Blood" songs. Probably the fastest song on this record

"Seasons in the Abyss" is just pure evil concentrated in a song. This song must have some three killer riffs in it and its just obscure. It begins with a good intro that evolves to a calm interlude right before the killer riff. The two solos of this song are the best solos that Slayer ever put out on a record. Jeff´s solo (the second) it's just fuckin amazing. A real anthem that unfortunately is not played very often by the band live.

This album stands with 99% because Mr. Rick Rubin could have produced this "work of art" a little bit better but still is Slayer at their best...

Pure holocaust!!! - 98%
Written by Leperjesus on June 23rd, 2005

Pure holocaust!!! This demo will fuck up your minds, guys! Vehement is a new death metal group from Ioannina, and I'm sure they will become famous! Let's see these three great songs:
''Holocaust'': THRASH 'TILL DEATH! A fast song that will make you bang your head. A very simple but cool riff, a GREAT guitar solo (Dead Angel must be Malmsteen's lost child) and very brutal vocals from Stillborn. The wall of the two rhythm guitars is heavy as hell, and the rhythm section is perfect, too (it's cool that you can listen to the bass clearly).
Passage to death: this is the best song of ''Abyss unleashed'' demo. It starts with a blastbeat (remember Cannibal Corpse) and it goes on with a FANTASTIC thrashcore riff, one of the best riffs I 've ever heard. The melodic break is very good, too.
D (r) ead: this song starts with a weird riff a- la Morbid Angel, but the verse is like old Megadeth verses. The refrain seems like Carcass (melodic death metal) and it is great, and the break is really powerfull.
The sound of the demo is very good; you can listen to all the instruments clearly. It is a very good first step for the guys.

Good song... - 100%
Written by Leperjesus on February 27th, 2006

I heard this demo and I saw the guys live and they are just great. The song has all the characteristics of a perfect death/thrash song. The riffs are just great, and there is a fantastic oriental melody at the end of the guitar solo. I could say that they remind me of Sepultura, Obituary and Bolt Thrower. The singer has a great death metal voice, and the rhythm section has done perfect work. I hope they will release more songs in the future.

Successor to "Altars Of Madness" - 100%
Written by AUN on September 16th, 2005

This is the album MORBID ANGEL should have released as their official second album instead of "Blessed Are The Sick".
On "Enjoy The Violence" MASSACRA lost some of their Thrash Metal sound and became more Death Metal. With this came more alternating songs than on their debut. "Final Holocaust" was an all out fast Death Trash album while "Enjoy The Violence" varies the the speed and tone of the individual songs more often.
One very remarkable feature of this album is the enthusiasm of the musicians you can feel while listening to the songs. You can feel their enjoyment in every song. It's just fun to listen to and when you just start to relax you realize that you are listening to one of the most brutal and intense old school Death Metal albums.
If you are a Death Metal fan you must have their first to albums.