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Zelkiiro
Pounding the world with a fish of steel

Joined: Sat Apr 18, 2009 5:30 pm
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Location: Pennsylvania
PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:37 pm 
 

I will forever maintain that DeFeis on Invictus remains one of my all-time favorite vocal performances in metal. Fierce and grand, restrained yet furious.
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colin040
Metal freak

Joined: Sat Dec 08, 2007 6:00 pm
Posts: 7609
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2019 5:34 pm 
 

The second part of ''Mind, Body, Spirit'' has my favorite performance of him on there - so passionate and versitale on that one. The soul is the power, your blood is my wine AND I KNOOOOOOOOOWWW!

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MetlaNZ
Veteran

Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 6:45 pm
Posts: 2695
Location: Lost in Necropolis
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 1:15 am 
 

I find it interesting that Virgin Steele "Ghost Harvest - V1" has two polar opposite reviews, a brutal 13% from Empyreal and a whopping 85% from frankmenapace. I'm a big fan of VS and I'm waiting for my Boxset to arrive and I've resisted listening to it online, but after reading these reviews I decided to give the song "Seven Dead Within" a crack and yeah... dammit I'm disappointed yet again.
DeFeis yelping, yowling and whatever the fuck all over it like a bad rash. Subtle is not his middle name. The song underneath has potential but the man has no sense of restraint left. He ruins it. He can still sing but needs to tone down the vocal theatrics.
Now I've been a fan since about '02 and I mostly dig everything up to that point and "Visions..." was pretty darn good but the cracks were starting to show even then. It's been downhill ever since for this once great band, with each release showing potential at times but ultimately being rendered near unlistenable by DeFeis.
A shame.
Also I see on their band page here that "The Book Of Burning" is down as a Full-Length when I believe it should be down as a Compilation.

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Jophelerx
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2010 2:22 pm
Posts: 1462
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 1:31 am 
 

Defeis has just lost his damn mind. I don't think there's any coming back from that shit...I think Visions of Eden is and always will be the last great VS album. RIP to a once great band turned into something a 14-year-old would be embarrassed to show his friends.
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Acrobat
Eric Olthwaite

Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 8:53 am
Posts: 8854
Location: Yorkshire
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 5:03 am 
 

MetlaNZ wrote:
Also I see on their band page here that "The Book Of Burning" is down as a Full-Length when I believe it should be down as a Compilation.


I dunno, re-recording album rather than a re-recording comp.
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MetlaNZ
Veteran

Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 6:45 pm
Posts: 2695
Location: Lost in Necropolis
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 6:06 am 
 

Acrobat wrote:
MetlaNZ wrote:
Also I see on their band page here that "The Book Of Burning" is down as a Full-Length when I believe it should be down as a Compilation.


I dunno, re-recording album rather than a re-recording comp.


Actually after further consideration I guess it technically is a Full-Length. I've always seen it as a stopgap compilation of sorts. It's awesome though, one of my favourites of theirs.

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Acrobat
Eric Olthwaite

Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 8:53 am
Posts: 8854
Location: Yorkshire
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 6:39 am 
 

It's their last release with a 'real band' feel to it!

On other news, Paragon's Law of the Blade rules. It's impressively German. As if they were raised on bratwurst, beer, Priest and Running Wild. I mean, they probably were.
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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
Posts: 35179
Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 11:05 am 
 

I never heard Book of Burning. Guess I should check that out.

Paragon were always a favorite of mine in that old German power/heavy/speed chimera style. Law of the Blade and the follow-up Dark Legacy were killer. And their last two albums have had some of their best songs.
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Nahsil
Clerical Sturmgeschütz

Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 2:06 pm
Posts: 4577
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 6:49 pm 
 

Law of the Blade is a power/speed classic IMO.

Also I'm really surprised that Lich King's cover of "Agents of Steel" is pretty solid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq5z2wKoK4Y
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Trashy_Rambo
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2008 8:04 pm
Posts: 1821
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 5:44 pm 
 

I've never liked Lich King, but that wasn't bad at all. Strong falsetto!
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wildcard
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2012 2:23 pm
Posts: 29
PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2019 3:46 pm 
 

I can see why Virgin Steele's style since Visions of Eden can be such an put off. I don't mind it and I find something enjoyable on all of their releases. For all those looking for something akin to their older style check out Fallen Angels, Anger Never Dies, West of Sumer, A Greater Burning of Innocence and The Birth of Beauty off of Nocturnes of Hellfire and Damnation. Off of the new boxset I would recommend the covers of UFO's Profession of Violence and Alice in Chain's Nutshell. They are not really like VS's older style but still good IMO.

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colin040
Metal freak

Joined: Sat Dec 08, 2007 6:00 pm
Posts: 7609
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2019 5:14 pm 
 

Some of those bonus tracks are good. DeFeis even sounds good on them, but come on man, without Eddie they're lost - David has lost his mind and as sad as the result is, there's no way he (they?) will even come back with a vengeance.

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wildcard
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2012 2:23 pm
Posts: 29
PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2019 6:12 pm 
 

colin040 wrote:
Some of those bonus tracks are good. DeFeis even sounds good on them, but come on man, without Eddie they're lost - David has lost his mind and as sad as the result is, there's no way he (they?) will even come back with a vengeance.


Yeah I get you. In interviews David has referred to the last few years as him being in his "Brian Wilson phase". LOL

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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
Posts: 35179
Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2019 6:42 pm 
 

It's not about the fact that they switched styles - I like a lot of goth/blues stuff. I just think the new material is baggy, directionless, lacking in hooks, etc.
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colin040
Metal freak

Joined: Sat Dec 08, 2007 6:00 pm
Posts: 7609
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 7:32 am 
 

wildcard wrote:
colin040 wrote:
Some of those bonus tracks are good. DeFeis even sounds good on them, but come on man, without Eddie they're lost - David has lost his mind and as sad as the result is, there's no way he (they?) will even come back with a vengeance.


Yeah I get you. In interviews David has referred to the last few years as him being in his "Brian Wilson phase". LOL


:lol: I also loved how he claimed that ''not many bands have the balls to do what we do and just did!'' when he referred to this boxset, yet the comments on their YouTube videos are always disabled and the negative comments on their Facebook page get deleted. :lol:

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Marcohateshipsters
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed May 09, 2018 9:25 am
Posts: 44
Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 8:33 am 
 

https://travelermetal.bandcamp.com/album/traveler

New song teased from Traveler! This whole album rips and I'd be surprised if it wasn't the "new hot thing" of 2019.
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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
Posts: 35179
Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 9:29 am 
 

Those guys can riff pretty well, but honestly I found myself bored by the chorus and it didn't seem like they had many interesting ideas.
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Marcohateshipsters
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed May 09, 2018 9:25 am
Posts: 44
Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 5:16 pm 
 

I think that's totally fine, sometimes that's all I'm looking for in music - it's kind of like musical comfort food.

Some great new bands will push the boundaries and really have their own distinct sound, i.e. Wrathblade. Others just riff well and write damn good, but familiar metal, i.e. Satan's Hallow, Outlaw, Black Viper, etc. Traveler fit into the second group for me and personally I've been.
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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
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Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 5:28 pm 
 

For me the standard for this style is Sumerlands and Demon Bitch so far... Black Viper sounded great from what I heard and I used to like Wrathblade; should check their recent album out too.
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Oblarg
Veteran

Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2009 2:59 pm
Posts: 2974
Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 10:51 pm 
 

Marcohateshipsters wrote:
I think that's totally fine, sometimes that's all I'm looking for in music - it's kind of like musical comfort food.

Some great new bands will push the boundaries and really have their own distinct sound, i.e. Wrathblade. Others just riff well and write damn good, but familiar metal, i.e. Satan's Hallow, Outlaw, Black Viper, etc. Traveler fit into the second group for me and personally I've been.


I'm not sure how one can call Traveler "familiar." No one really sounds all that much like them. The closest comp I can think of, at least as far as riffs and aesthetics go, is Terminus - and they're pretty recent, too.
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Marcohateshipsters
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed May 09, 2018 9:25 am
Posts: 44
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 7:43 am 
 

Oblarg wrote:
Marcohateshipsters wrote:
I think that's totally fine, sometimes that's all I'm looking for in music - it's kind of like musical comfort food.

Some great new bands will push the boundaries and really have their own distinct sound, i.e. Wrathblade. Others just riff well and write damn good, but familiar metal, i.e. Satan's Hallow, Outlaw, Black Viper, etc. Traveler fit into the second group for me and personally I've been.


I'm not sure how one can call Traveler "familiar." No one really sounds all that much like them. The closest comp I can think of, at least as far as riffs and aesthetics go, is Terminus - and they're pretty recent, too.

Great comparison, I don't know why it never crossed my mind. It's really similar to Satan's Hallow - no exact 1:1 copy, but stylistically this isn't pushing the boundaries and that's what I mean. The main influence I hear coming out of the demo and full length is Riot including both their early era and Thundersteel/PoP era.
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Nahsil
Clerical Sturmgeschütz

Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 2:06 pm
Posts: 4577
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 3:26 am 
 

New Iron Savior song sounds pretty good!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYcxJbz4fUI
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Element_man
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2005 2:37 am
Posts: 1021
Location: Vancouver, Canada
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 7:01 pm 
 

New Gatekeeper song "Grey Maiden" on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjkrt6Y6YZA

Playing 21 dates in mainland Europe + UK starting end of Feb.
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Oblarg
Veteran

Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2009 2:59 pm
Posts: 2974
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 11:16 pm 
 

Element_man wrote:
New Gatekeeper song "Grey Maiden" on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjkrt6Y6YZA

Playing 21 dates in mainland Europe + UK starting end of Feb.


Sounds fucking amazing. I love how JP really cranks the aggression on this one, and the use of some less-typical chords in the main riff is very welcome.
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manowar are literally five times the band that fates warning are: each member is as good as fates warning alone, then joey's bass solos are like an entire extra fates warning

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Marcohateshipsters
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed May 09, 2018 9:25 am
Posts: 44
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 11:25 pm 
 

It's easily my favorite Gatekeeper song to date. The pacing of it works so well and the riffs/melodies are so damn memorable - a full length of tracks of this caliber would be absolutely deadly.
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Oblarg
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 11:36 pm 
 

Marcohateshipsters wrote:
It's easily my favorite Gatekeeper song to date. The pacing of it works so well and the riffs/melodies are so damn memorable - a full length of tracks of this caliber would be absolutely deadly.


After a few listens, I think I'm still personally partial to Bell of Tarantia, but this isn't far behind it at all.
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manowar are literally five times the band that fates warning are: each member is as good as fates warning alone, then joey's bass solos are like an entire extra fates warning

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narsilianshard
Veteran

Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:22 pm
Posts: 3618
Location: PDX
PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2019 12:44 am 
 

I cannot stop listening to the new Ancient Bards. By far the best symphonic power metal album I've heard in years.

https://ancientbards.bandcamp.com/album ... aga-part-2
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Festivus
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2014 4:26 pm
Posts: 1433
Location: Portugal
PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2019 1:40 am 
 

So, I'm looking for some German/Austrian/Swiss Traditional Heavy Metal and Power Metal bands that sing in German in order to be more exposed to the language. My German got a bit rusty lately so I'm trying to listen to as much German as a I can, so a few metal artists with clear vocals would fit the bill fine.

Thanks in advance.
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in_the_sign_of_metal
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2019 8:10 pm
Posts: 178
Location: Where the Sunrise Breaks the Darkness
PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2019 10:46 pm 
 

narsilianshard wrote:
I cannot stop listening to the new Ancient Bards. By far the best symphonic power metal album I've heard in years.

https://ancientbards.bandcamp.com/album ... aga-part-2


Ancient Bards is a great band! Wasn't aware they released new material recently, but I'll have to check it out. Are you familiar with
Seven Kingdoms by any chance? They're a bit similar, but with the symphonic element toned down.
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Sepulchrave
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 7:29 pm
Posts: 1994
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 6:20 pm 
 

Noob question, perhaps, but what are some straight-up, not particularly extravagant (at least vocals-wise) heavy metal albums with an obvious focus on melody, catchiness and choruses without necessarily leaning towards hard rock, glam metal or anything very commercial? Remind me of some obvious recs, too, please, I haven't listened to heavy metal in some time. Something like this:

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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4266
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 6:46 pm 
 

Accept

Just found this: Lethal Steel

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Marcohateshipsters
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed May 09, 2018 9:25 am
Posts: 44
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 8:03 pm 
 

Lethal Steel's 2016 album was great and they're a super promising band - Really damn catchy one too!

Also important new teases:

Magic Circle - Departed Souls:


Twisted Tower Dire - Light the Swords on Fire (the lyrics on this are tongue in cheek and a little over the top):
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Oblarg
Veteran

Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2009 2:59 pm
Posts: 2974
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 9:27 pm 
 

Marcohateshipsters wrote:
Lethal Steel's 2016 album was great and they're a super promising band - Really damn catchy one too!

Also important new teases:

Magic Circle - Departed Souls:


Twisted Tower Dire - Light the Swords on Fire (the lyrics on this are tongue in cheek and a little over the top):


Oh dear, that new Twisted Tower Dire track is pretty fucking awful.
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manowar are literally five times the band that fates warning are: each member is as good as fates warning alone, then joey's bass solos are like an entire extra fates warning

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kytokinesis
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Nov 08, 2016 5:42 pm
Posts: 206
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 10:50 pm 
 

Yea Lethal Steel is definitely killer

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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
Posts: 35179
Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 5:51 pm 
 

That Twisted Tower Dire song was a lot of fun. Not up to "Axes and Honor" standards but it was good - hoping there are even better ones on the album. Johnny Aune is great and the guitars are as kickass as ever.
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Hardworlder
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2015 10:42 pm
Posts: 238
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 6:37 pm 
 

I like that new TTD song as well...but I also really like Johnny's voice so...

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Hardworlder
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2015 10:42 pm
Posts: 238
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 6:51 pm 
 

For someone that has never listened to Virgin Steel, where should they start?

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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
Posts: 35179
Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 7:11 pm 
 

Hardworlder wrote:
For someone that has never listened to Virgin Steel, where should they start?


Marriage I and II - the most straightforward of their best run of 90s albums, but still epic as fuck and full of pomposity.
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Hardworlder
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2015 10:42 pm
Posts: 238
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 8:26 pm 
 

Thanks man!

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Marcohateshipsters
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed May 09, 2018 9:25 am
Posts: 44
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 9:29 pm 
 

I have faith on TTD to deliver something solid overall. We'll see though!

I also recommend Marriage I and II, but also check out Invictus. It's almost on par with the Marriage albums IMO. The next two albums are also worth a listen if you enjoy that trilogy.
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