I was randomly browsing through reviews and got to this one by gabometal86:



The only musical description he speaks of is that it is stupid and ludicrous. The rest is bashing Slipknot and making lame gay jokes (the reviewer seems to have a lot of them, wonder if he is a closet gay and ashamed of it) and saying that it is not metal.

Brutality - Concept = The Codex Necro - 75%
Written by PaganWinter_44 on December 29th, 2005

I like Anaal Nathrakh's brutality within their music. When I heard "The Supreme Necrotic Audinance", I thought to myself, I need to get this. I popped it in my CD player and I loved what I heard. Yet after awhile, it dawns on you...maybe the reason they don't have lyrics is because they themselves lack the vision or concept of what they play. I doubt they're even saying lyrics on most songs. It's all brutal screaming. They're more death metal than black metal. The only remotely black metal song on that album was "Human, all too fucking human". The rest of it is the general "Necro metal"...which is a fancy word for death metal. If you like brutality and some earsplitting guitars then this is the album for you. If you're looking for an album with a sense of what they play....don't bother.

AMORPHIS - Elegy Review - 97%
Written by Equimanthorne on June 24th, 2004

AMORPHIS - Elegy
(Relapse)


How can I make you understand how great this album is? Well I can say that musically this album leaves the last album Tales Of The Thousand Lakes in the dust. It's just that the overall song writing is 100% better than anything on Tales... And the vocals make things all the more better, the clean vocal style of Pasi Koskinen is the icing on the proverbial cake if you will. Many fans were expecting Ville Tuomi (Iron Maiden-ish vocalist) to make a return appearance as the main vocalist, but these vocals are leagues better than that of Ville Tuomi. Never fear long time fans that growly vocals still appear hear and there throughout the album, but you'll never be calling these guys death metal again! The Finnish sextet delve even further into Finnish literary history with their lyrics based on The Kanteletar. The Kanteletar is compromised of ancient Finnish poems and ballads, some of which are thousands of years old. On this album the keyboards seem to actually fit the music, and so have become and even more prominent in virtually every song. The keyboards on the last album seemed a bit forced at times and a little silly at others. So you ask if they're not death metal anymore what do we call 'em? I'll call Amorphis a heavy metal band with a lot of melody, and retro-classic rock stylings. How's that? The Finnish past comes alive on Elegy, Amorphis have definitely outdone themselves with this master piece of musical genius!

Trying to pick up the pieces - 56%
Written by UltraBoris on August 14th, 2002

Okay, new vocalist, new drummer, and maybe they can get their shit together. Sometimes, they can. Sometimes, they just cannot. Some of the songs on here are very nicely done, while others are just plain boring, or totally silly.

The good: "Sole Survivor" and "Where the Rain Grows". The first two songs (other than the intro), and they are definitely the best. Then "Perfect Gentleman" has a nice melodic main riff.

The average: "Mr. Ego" drags on a bit too long, and "Still We Go" is a decent but unspectacular closer.

The bad: "The Game is On". See "Future World" for silly noises, and the song isn't nearly as good. "In the Middle of a Heartbeat" - obligatory crappy ballad. They would get far better at that.

So this is Helloween trying to figure out how to suck less. Well, sucking less than Chameleon wasn't exactly difficult, but this album is certainly not the be-all end-all of Helloween. Skip this.

Artist: Wind of the Black Mountains
Album Title: Black Sun Shall Rise
Label: Moribund

This is the second album of Wind of the Black Mountains, who play Black Metal.

This band's first album, "Sing Thou Unholy Servants", is something of an underrated classic of American black metal. This being so, I was quite interested to see how the new album compared.

Unfortunately, where their debut was eerie, biting, and clever, this album is a rather sad collection of overdone cliche. I'm not sure what happened, but it's hard to recognize this as the same band - the musicianship is on the same level as before, but the songwriting has seriously deteriorated. Most of these songs are highly monotonous, and those that aren't have only a few outstanding moments. Even the best songs here make me feel as if I've heard it all before.

If you haven't heard their first album, I'd recommend picking it up, and skipping this. In any case, get this one via tape or CDR trade, and see what you think before spending your cash on this.

Standout tracks: "Bride of Lucifer", "Seduction of Eve"

Review by Vorfeed: http://www.vorfeed.net

Abominatrix approved that one... I'm at a loss why. It's way too minimalist and generic.

Abom?

it doesn't say anything clear about HOW THE MUSIC ACTUALLY IS.

Power Metal Perfection - 100%
I must say, this cd is one of the best power metal, and even heavy metal in general, releases of all time. This is concept album perfection, you really get the sense that this album is something straight out of Middle Earth. Thats not to mention, however, that this album is also one of the catchiest albums of all time.

Theres no real shredding on this album, however the playing is all very good and adds to the music incredibly, rather than pointless wankery found on many power metal albums. The melodies are many (i dont know how they could possibly come up with so many little melodies that catch your ear here and there).

The highlights for me include the opener, Into the Storm, Mirror Mirror, Nightfall, Time stands still (At the Iron Hill), and the Curse of Feanor. The songs are all good, however. There are many small interludes that push the story of the album, and they are all effective and well-done.

The only complaint I really have about this album is that the rythm guitar is a little low in the mix, taking away from the heaviness a bit. It still remains a damn near perfect album however, and I reccomend it to anyone who can appreciate good metal.

Don't Mess With The Master Of Albums! - 100%
Amazing, beautiful, absolutely brilliant, and nearly indescribable, save for the few words I could scramble together! It's sad to see that Blind Guardian decided to head in another direction when they released A Night At The Opera after reaching their absolute peak and must-own metal highlight on Nightfall. Hansi's voice is dynamically perfect and the backing vocalists blend very well as a choir should. André's guitar work is smooth, crisp, and upliftingly melodic. Magnus and Oliver stir in the rhythm sections with liquid transitions. Thomen's drums are as clear and as forceful as Tolkien's fantastic warriors in armorment and battle! Highlights include "Thorn", "The Eldar", "Blood Tears" and "A Dark Passage" although I can't compete with the altered state and fluidity of the entire album experience! My only complaint would be to make things a bit more understandable to those like me who have only read a bit of Tolkien's work and haven't put a dent in The Silmarillion yet. Who is this Fëanor and what's Sauron the ring-forger doing in cohorts with some Morgoth guy? I just can't say too many negative things about the most amazing metal album in the universe!

Metal Masterpiece - 97%
Few bands capture the aural magesty of Blind Guardian. With this release, the band paints an epic masterpiece based on JRR Tolkien's "The Silamarilion". I've not read the book, as I've not been able to attain a copy, nor find the time to do so, but what I know of Tolkien's work is that it is very good. This album captures the world of Elves extremely well, making one feel as though the world is actually there.
The cover art and title are incredibly inspired, and prove once again that metal isn't simple or repetitive.
Perhaps a little too happy at times for some people, I find this album to be a perfect balance of glory and defeat, which reflects the works it is based upon. Each track summons up a new feeling. Especially moving are the sad, dark tracks such as "Noldor" that, more so than any sterile collection of letters can do, makes you feel for the characters involved. Truly an intelligent masterpiece from the Bards.
There are downfalls to this album, which are seen in the form of interludes between most songs. Spoken, sound effects, and other short interruptions temporarily break the feeling of the songs, but at the same time, do set up the mood for the next song. I know not where the opening and closing tracks came from, but I would imagine they are done by voice actors for a cartoon of the original book.
Regardless of the small down points of the album, it still remains a classic masterpiece that gives a clear, powerful story to the listener. Certainly more than a lot of bands can lay claim to.

This fucking rules! - 100%
Written by Warriorofmoderndeath on February 15th, 2003

This cd is excellent,I cant even think of a way to begin talking about it the cd is just great,the cd kicks off with the track "Hammer Revelation"the track starts off with this static-like thing and then it says "Welcome to the world ov worms" and the brutality kicks off,the drumming is insane..I mean come on Trym is drumming! what else can you really say about the drumming?The drumming is excellent at all times.
the next track is "Deduced to Overkill" the drumming is godly as usual Trym as a machine fast and heavy as hell,blastbeats up the ass on this one and the guitar work is top notch it seems that Zamoth and Destructhor really took their time with it,and the solo is great! just the way i like the solo mostly very quick nothing to technical.
"Chaos Deathcult"arrives next starts with this really cool intro and then it just turns heavy,the vocals are more like Death metal on this one and the guitar work has some very good sounding pitch harmonics throughout the song that make the riffs extra cool,the drumming isnt as fast as in the other songs but is deffinetly more technical.
"Storm Detonation"is a pretty good track,it has a very cool little intro and the vocals are in the middle of death metal and black metal most of time,Tryms drumming is slower on this one but it dosnt make the song any worst it goes well with the speed of the song and the the way that the vocals are placed in I must say.
"Zycloned" has a very intense intro,you can hear this chant saying "ZYCLONED!" and then a little drum part comes in and then it starts,it starts off slow but as it goes the music gets quicker and faster which is deffinetly a good thing.
"Terrordrome"is a good track,we are back to the fast drumming and the heavy black metal-like vocals and the double bass by Trym is excellent the riffs are rather catchy on this track and it will catch your attention most of the time you listen to it.
"Worm World"is another good track but if i had to pick the track that I least the like is this one,its good but is just not as special as the other ones still kicks ass though.
And then comes the final track,this is personally my favorite one "Transcendental war-battle between gods",the drumming is fast and the guitar work works out well and the vocals are excellent the lyrics are also well written.
I think if you like Death metal you will like this album,if you like black metal you might want to check this out but i would suggest checking out a few songs first before buying it,I forgot to mention that the lyrics are very well written on this album by Faust.

You'll have your ass handed to you!!!!! - 95%
Written by Violent_Offender on February 24th, 2004

Well, these guys have taken everything accociated with gore grind and have taken it over the top! With the exception of the cover art (not a simple rotten.com bodoe pic) these guys have expertly taken "Reek" era Carcass early Regurgitate, and a splash (splat) of Gut and threw them into a bowel filled blender to create one of the best gore grind albums in a good many years. They achieve the dirty sound that so much epitomises the above mentioned bands, and they do it well. With the ever ridiculas track titles and ultra-sick gurgle vocals (at least 3 different styles) these guys devastate with a grinding maelstrom of gore metal. No lyrics included, but I doubt there are any at all for the tracks. The song titles are just a bunch of made up over extended medical type bullshit. I do ahve a complaint with the fucking stupid japanese movie intros to almost every song. That shit is highly annoying. The music and vocals more than make up for it though. This is some pretty killer shit. Highly recommended to gorehound grind heads!!!

Human666 reviews/

So there is no standard for use of the English language as long as you describe the music "adequately." Sad, very sad.

Oh well, no big deal I just thought those were an awkward read, with very poor Engrish.

Out of the Dark... Into the Garbage - 0%
Written by ErikG on September 17th, 2007

What a fitting fucking tribute to one of the labels most apt at, and dedicated to, killing heavy metal as we know and love it. The cynicism of this album's conception is absolutely overwhelming; fucking seriously, think about this for a second: Nuclear Blast pays Nuclear Blast artists to release a Nuclear Blast tribute/anniversary album. On Nuclear Blast. Way to suck your own collective cock and swallow the big fat moneyload.

Unsurprisingly, all the music on this album is some variety of modern (in the worst, most insulting sense of the word) fecescore, the kind you would expect from members of SCAR SYMMETRY, IN FLAMES, SOILWORK, ANTHRAX, MNEMIC and other peddlers of soulless, market-friendly crap, except with even less fucking personality than the individual bands. Stupid PANTERA reject stop-start riffing and "brutal" blastbeats (from what I've gathered, this seems to be the latest trend in MTV-core -- pretend you're being metal/brutal/aggressive by playing blastbeats on top of riffs you found in the dustbin outside the studio while AT THE GATES was recording "Slaughter of the Soul.")

Superficially, the songs seem slightly different by merit of the different singers but when it all comes down the line (and the lines they turn to greed) it's all made from the same mold; inoffensive, bland, well-produced pop music with absolutely nothing meaningful to communicate. How could an album like this ever have any artistic integity whatsoever? Jesus fucking Christ; you have one guy writing ten different songs for other vocalists to sing, and to be released on a promo album with a 100% commercial purpose; meticiously designed to sell more Nuclear Blast records. How could there be any real feelings or honesty involved in the songwriting on this album? This is NO DIFFERENT from Britney Spears (or whomever the flavor of the day on pop radio is when you're reading this) singing songs that a professional songwriter wrote for her and that her managers and label people selected for maximum commercial viability. No soul, no emotion, no integrity, no ideology, no danger... Is this what you want heavy metal to be?

CD 2... Nominally, this double album celebrates Nuclear Blast's 20th anniversary but somehow the second part, the compilation CD, contains nothing but a collection of modern shit from the label's last five years or so... Remember when Nuclear Blast was a half decent label? Remember when they released "Like an Ever Flowing Stream"? DEATH STRIKE? Anything that wasn't a trend-pandering pile of utter trash? Apparently, Nuclear Blast itself doesn't.

Summary: TOTAL SHITFEST; NO SUPPORT. Literally nothing on this album is worth listening to, ever -- which, I gotta hand it to them, sums the label roster up perfectly, so I guess this album is an unequivocal success after all?

Unsurprisingly, all the music on this album is some variety of modern fecescore. Stupid PANTERA reject stop-start riffing and "brutal" blastbeats.

Superficially, the songs seem slightly different by merit of the different singers but when it all comes down the line it's all made from the same mold; inoffensive, bland, well-produced pop music with absolutely nothing meaningful to communicate.

Vile - 10%
Written by BM_DM on September 19th, 2007

Be in doubt as to the musicial abilities of this outfit. This release abounds in virtuosity, and the rating vastly understates their collective talents. This demo is also absolutely vile. The occasional harsh vocals, blast beats and screaming riffs are about as out of place on 'The Aurora Veil' release as you would be were you DJ-ing a set at a born-again christian's birthday party.

Simply put, this can only appeal to those who don't listen to any other music other than metal. If you want jazz fusion, there are other avenues of enquiry you would do better to pursue. Alternatively, if you have let to lay hands on this demo, you could reproduce the experience of listening to it by going up and down in an elevator and punctuating the piped muzak with occasional blasts on your MP3 player set to shuffle.

Perhaps I am biased, as the mere words 'jazz violin' want me want to beat the offending party to death with a Stradivarius. If you thought Cynic's 'Focus' was the apogee of death metal, then you'll enjoy this. If not, steer clear.

http://www.metal-archives.com/review.php?id=152048#64241



This says absolutely nothing about the release except for the mention of 'harsh vocals, blastbeats, and screaming riffs' then rambles about jazzy violins. No musical description+short review=bad.

He's saying that the combination of 'harsh vocals, blastbeats, and screaming riffs' and jazz fusion don't work here. The fact that he kept the review short and didn't ramble onward without saying much else made it all the easier to get through. It's also an antipode to the length of the thing's other reviews. I thought it was worth 3 points, if not by some teeth skin, but it can go if others agree.

"Simply put, this can only appeal to those who don't listen to any other music other than metal."

Doesn't this make literally no sense? Because if it has all these supposed jazzy influences, why would it appeal to pure metalheads?

...but having both listened to (10+ times) and reviewed this demo, I can say that his already minimalistic descriptions of the music are highly inaccurate, the 'harsh vocals/blastbeats/ screaming riffs' are used barely half of the overall time.

"Simply put, this can only appeal to those who don't listen to any other music other than metal."

Not to mention calling it 'Vile' and giving it a 10% rating, which doesn't make any sense at all.

He needs more fuel next time around - 76%
Written by demonianray on September 21st, 2007

I'll begin this review by telling you this isnt exactly a heavy power metal album, it has his moments but not quite what some people maybe looking for. Ari Koivunen has a nice mid range voice. I disagree that its bad that this guy won The Idols competition (its like an American Idol in Finland), maybe u got scared, but if you read his bio you will notice that he won the competition singing heavy metal songs most of the time, which is quite impressive. Anyways the album opener God of War kicks out with nice guitars and has a very catchy chorus. The album as a whole I would describe it as a commercial melodic metal album, yes it sounds weird but when u listen to it you'll know why.
Next is the best track and first single: Hear My Call. This song has everything, from a nice melody to a very catchy chorus, so if u like sing alongs, this is your song. Definitely this track is the 10/10 of the album.

Other standout tracks is the power ballad Angels are Calling, I fly,Heartstealer, Stormwind and Stay true. Overall the album is listeneable and enjoyable, I'm definitely looking forward to his next album to see if there's gonna be some improvement. But if you are expecting a Sonata Arctica or Stratovarius style album better not listen to it, but is actually a nice blend of melodic metal and commercial music. This album even though is not a gem, its a fun album that can entertain your ears for an hour or so. Let's hope for an improvement next time.