Poll #1 Results!

So here are the results:

Bathory - Blood Fire Death	7 (53%)
Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus	8 (61%)
Jag Panzer - Ample Destruction	1 (7%)
Angel Witch - Angel Witch	1 (7%)
Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos	1 (7%)
Possessed - Seven Churches	3 (23%)
Death - Scream Bloody Gore	6 (46%)
Dismember - Like an Everflowing Stream	4 (30%)

The winners are highlighted in red, and I chose them because the polls showed a significant amount of votes leaning towards these three masterpieces.

Also, for the future I'm planning on slowing down on my posts for a few reasons.  Firstly, I really don't have time to post one every single day; some days I just simply don't feel like writing anything.  Secondly, I want to take more time writing them to improve the quality of my reviews, so I can contribute more professionally to both my blog and to the Metal Archives (which I am a big fan of).

~LeetMetalhead~

Taake

Band: Taake
Genre: Black Metal
Album(s): Nattestid Ser Porten Vid 
Sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvukOqFe0wE

So after two consecutive reviews of black metal albums, I'm gonna keep this black-metal-a-thon going until the end of this week.  For this review, I want to go into the uncharted areas of after 2nd wave black metal era, where there are still great gems to be found!  In this case, it is Taake's "Nattestid Ser Porten Vid," which is one of my personal favorites from the black metal genre.

Taake do absolutely everything right on "Nattestid Ser Porten Vid," and all of it without the satanic imagery, which is a bit of a relief since I have been getting bored of that stuff.  Musically, I find their work in "Nattestid..." to be very creative, and they completely fill the music with their own signature sound.  The production is a bit murky and at times it almost sounds like there is static noise interference, and this makes it sound really chaotic (which is typically a good thing in black metal).  Actually, this particular production is what I would call the ideal black metal production no matter WHAT band you are.  Wait, what?  Symphonic black metal?  Get the hell outta here...moving on...

There are a lot of reoccurring themes throughout this album, and this is definitely one of the things I love the most about "Nattestid Ser Porten Vid."  The songs flow together so well, as if they're all a part of one huge story.  Now, don't get me wrong; I'm not saying that the songs blend in, making them sound generic and undifferentiable.  What I mean instead is that there is actually a reason why all of these songs were put together under the same title, which may also be why it was so appropriate for them to title each track with the album title and a Roman numeral at the end (indicating the order, of course).  

Now lets discuss further about these themes. Often times to me they sound like folk-esque melodies: very melodic riffs that paint the natural wonders of our earth, and so on.  I may be wrong in saying this, but I'm gonna take a huge jump and assume this album actually is about the nature (specifically the forests and mountains of Norway), but please do excuse me if I'm wrong as I'm not the best in speaking Norwegian.  These melodies are of course 100% produced by the extensive use of tremolo picking, and are as efficient as ever in creating wonderful black metal.  At some points there is also singing that accompanies the melodies, which also sound a lot like singing in folk music.  So I guess it may seem like they were trying to have that whole "pagan black metal in the forest" image going on, which is completely acceptable!

My favorite thing about this album, along with the melodies, is the extravagant drum work.    I've yet to hear a single black metal band that has such amazing drumming in their music, that doesn't just use a bunch of blast beats.  I hear all sorts of insane fills throughout this album, and even on many of the songs there will be riffs where the guitars repeat the same melody and actually let the drummer have all of the glory!  Especially in some songs, you will find yourself having all of your attention on the drums than the rest of the music.

Darkthrone

Band: Darkthrone
Genre: Black Metal
Album: "Under a Funeral Moon"
Sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn-nIv6m45U

While on black metal, I thought I should put up another essential by the one and only Darkthrone.  Although there's a lot of debate about it, most metalheads would consider them to have three masterpieces in a row:  "A Blaze in the Northern Sky" (1992), "Under a Funeral Moon" (1993), and "Transilvanian Hunger" (1994), all back to back with a year between each release.  The album I've chosen is obviously "Under a Funeral Moon," and this is only because I feel like "Under a Funeral Moon" is Darkthrone's peak in black metal.

"Under..." is truly an amazing listen for anyone who enjoys black metal, or even any metalhead in general.  Being one of the first in the 2nd wave (in fact influencing a lot of other 2nd wave bands), it reaches out to some of the basic elements of black metal that many bands seem to have forgotten nowadays.  There are lots of rich influences from Bathory's "Under the Sign of the Black Mark" (I'm not sure if it was intended for the titles to have such similarities; I might have to check up on that...), where they took very sharp, cutting guitar tones that sound sort of like they're buzzing.  The particular melodies played by the guitars also show similarities with many of Bathory's, as they still have a lot of epic vibe in them (most likely from Bathory's "viking" metal elements).  Also, the vocals definitely resemble Quorthon's (vocalist of Bathory, who also happens to play all the instruments), which are basically the typical black metal vocals that we have all heard of.

However, Darkthrone have definitely built much more on the music which Bathory has spawned (otherwise Darkthrone wouldn't be as important, duh!).  One thing I've noticed in the music is that the drums have been relocated in the texture of the music, so to speak, to the background.  Although the drums still perform very speedy rhythm for the music, they are no longer the same thrash metal drums that would keep beating at a thousand bpm as they do in Bathory's music.  With this difference, Darkthrone took the music towards a different direction: they expanded more on simple-almost minimalistic-melodies which enriched the music with grim, evil atmospheres.    From the complex "epicness" which Bathory had created so long ago, Darkthrone achieved an epic, apocalyptic evil atmosphere.

To wrap it up, I'll end this review by saying that this album has some of the most well-written songs in all of black metal;  in fact, every single track will impress the listener.  And once again, keep an open mind if you're new to black metal, because most likely you will eventually grow into the music (since it's not always the most aesthetically pleasing music for many people).

Gorgoroth

Band: Gorgoroth
Genre: Black Metal 
Album(s): Pentagram
Sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB-iQAddxzo

So now that I'm starting a new week, I've decided to make these posts a bit less formal; I'll give more of my own opinions and commentate a bit more on the actual music. In a sense, yes, they will be more like reviews. As a bit of a change, today I've chosen to review one of 2nd Wave of Black Metal's finest albums: Gorgoroth's "Pentagram."

With those distant shrieks by Gaahl (the lead vocalist) buried beneath the icy cold guitar riffs, this album really can give one chills down the spine (in a good way, of course).  Most of the tracks are relatively short and there are varying tempos between each track; some songs such as "Begravelsesnett" are thrash-reminiscently speedy while others have multiple tempo changes.  Overall, most of the music is fast and tense, but there will be slow sections that have the more "doomy" feeling.

Personally, I feel like the true black metal sound arrives on the second track titled "Crushing the Scepter."  At first, there's the gloomy, slow and atmospheric intro, and as it reels in the listener with its hypnotic timber, the winter black metal riffs find their way into your ears.  These black metal riffs are absolutely amazing, and they are one of my favorites of all time (which is probably why this album is praised so much).  This album creates such atmospheres (as I will elaborate on in a bit), that I can simply close my eyes and feel as if I am in the middle of a cold, snow covered mountain with a massive blizzard storm.  I would highly recommend listening to this album if A) it is winter or you live in a cold place, or B) you want to feel colder (so basically anywhere).

One thing I love about this album is the intense combination of the thick texture, low-fi production, and the distant, evil vocals as I've mentioned earlier, that create a one-of-a-kind black metal atmosphere.  Of course, none of this could work without the melodies played by the guitarist, which are absolutely awe-inspiring.  Song after song, this guy never ceases to amaze me with such memorable melodies that aren't overused nor generic/bland.  Many songs will work with a particular melody and just keep varying it a little, and maybe mess around with the other instruments.  It's a shame that a lot of people don't understand how dissonant music like this can be enjoyed, because in the end it's not only high quality music, but it's also innovative and unique.

Overall, if you want to get into black metal, all you need are two things:  Gorgoroth's "Pentagram" and an open mind.

~LeetMetalhead~

Voting has to restart...

Due to problems with the host (blogger), the previous poll disappeared (I'm not quite sure why, I'm new to blogging, but I assume it had something to do with the issues they were having yesterday).  Therefore, I will restart the voting, and it will be open until the end of next week.

Reminder:  The voting system will allow for you to vote more than once, and the top picked albums will be given a "legendary" status in their post title.

I have decided to do this weekly, and I will not post more albums until next week.  However, I might still post random stuff, so keep on the look out...

~LeetMetalhead~

Voting Time!

From now on, I've decided that we should vote on which bands/albums get to have a special legendary status of officially being part of the Heavy Metal Hall of Fame (as simply being listed on here doesn't mean anything).  I will be putting these polls up almost every week, but this first one may stay up for a while until we get more people here.

So here's a recap of how things will work:

1) I put up reviews of bands/albums on here whether by my choice or by the request of one of you.
2) After 5-10 bands reviewed, I put up a poll with all of the bands on there (since the previous poll).  And you can vote on more than one, so we wont have a situation where there are multiple legendary bands but only one gets picked.
3) There will be a limit of votes that a band needs to get--depending on the total votes--to be put into the legendary status.
4) I will add the word "legendary" on the title of the chosen bands' posts, and I will most likely make a list somewhere of all of the chosen bands.

Please let me know for any suggestions.

~LeetMetalhead~

Dismember

Band: Dismember
Genre: Death Metal
Album(s): Like An Everflowing Stream
Sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0ZCAarIVSI

Dismember is one of my absolute favorites of all time (I'll try to make this as unbiased as possible), and still that is not the reason why I put them on here, as their album "Like An Everflowing Stream" is a well-known classic by most metalheads.  Dismember play the style of death metal that emerged from Sweden, known as....well....Swedish death metal.  And in many ways, Dismember perfected this genre with their album "Like an..." with some of the most classic riffs to date.

Let me explain to you what Swedish death metal is in the most practical manner:  Take old school death metal, and gently sprinkle it with some grim, black metal melodies produced by tremolo picking, and on top of that add the sickened growls of legends such as Matti Karki.  Now all we have to do is further tune down the guitars, drop the quality of the production (to get that right atmosphere), and play some wicked death metal drums from hell (which of course doesn't mean much...but hell, I'm sure you'll understand it when you take a listen).  


Looking at the paragraph above, I feel like I actually made that sound kind of easy!  And of course one thing to realize is that the hardest part is to make it all sound good with original riffing & songwriting, which is where Dismember comes.  Please, take a listen and understand what I mean.   

Death [LEGENDARY]

Band: Death
Genre: Death Metal, Progressive Death Metal
Album(s): Scream Bloody Gore
Sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8U_0SsZXXM

Before putting up any more death metal classics, I realized that I simply had to get this one up first.  The works of the band Death--considered by many to be the first death metal band--have had an astounding impact on both death metal and metal as a whole.  Their music on the album "Scream Bloody Gore" is filled with loads of growls & screams, low-tuned distorted guitars, and brutal drumming.  The main mastermind behind such innovative work is Chuck Schuldiner, who is often renowned as the "Father of Death Metal."  Chuck performed the vocals, guitars AND bass on "Scream..." where he helped perfect the death metal growl while shredding brutal solos on his guitar.  Speaking of the guitar, I feel like the guitar work on "Scream..." plays a major role in distinguishing this album as death metal; from the scales used, to the tempo changes, and even to the solos, everything seems to reflect the ideal death metal mood.  On top of that, the lyrics helped add on to this dark atmosphere with its themes revolving around zombies, gore, death, etc.  Overall, this band and album are a great listen for anyone who wants to get a better idea of death metal, or even for those of us who miss the old school sound.

Possessed

Band: Possessed
Genre: Thrash/Death Metal
Album(s): Seven Churches 
Sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YfOGtXz4wg

Possessed's "Seven Churches" is one of the albums from the historical transition from thrash metal into death metal.  Possessed make it on the list because of their outstanding effort to keep pushing the limits of metal extremity with rawer production and emphasized satanic imagery.  On the other hand, the music itself is full of amazing talent and is considered today as one of the finest of its era.

Bolt Thrower

Band: Bolt Thrower

Genre: Death Metal

Albums: Realm of Chaos (Slaves to Darkness)

Sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xqOf-KjdVY

We can't have the Heavy Metal Hall of Fame without including the infamous Bolt Thrower on here!  These guys truly understand the spirit of death metal: war, death and Warhammer 40k (which is the game their themes have been heavily influenced by, including the band's name).  Each song includes brutal riffs, where the mixture of the guitars and drums sound like the cries of machine guns slaughtering thousands of its victims in the middle of a bloody battlefield.  If you enjoy war and death metal, this one is for you! 

Angel Witch

Band: Angel Witch

Genre: New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM)

Albums: Angel Witch 
Sample:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckW6FH2AGlc

If you enjoy the lighter, and more melodic side of metal, then this just might be for you.  Angel Witch is one of the first in the genre of NWOBHM, and thus you might recognize similarities between them and the famous Iron Maiden, but I wont guarantee anything sounding too alike!  Regardless, there are plenty of guitar solos to go around, and some very interesting tunes.

Jag Panzer

Band: Jag Panzer
Genre: Heavy/Power Metal
Albums: Ample Destruction
Sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FASlLZV4anU

With a mix of heavy and early power metal, these madmen of the band Jag Panzer have made vicious music about the typical war, steel, and other 80's metal elements.  Basically, these guys are the best at creating stereotypical 80's metal, and by no means is the music unoriginal simply because of cheesy content.  In their appropriately titled debut, "Ample Destruction," they've got plenty of unique, heavy riffs and high-pitched operatic vocals to keep you entertained!

BONUS: If you enjoy literature, check out their 2nd album titled "Thane to the Throne," which is a concept album about William Shakespeare's "Macbeth."

Candlemass [LEGENDARY]

Band: Candlemass

Genre: Epic Doom Metal

Album: Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986)

Sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woe_4gkS4XU

Candlemass took the sound of Black Sabbath and took it one step further.  In their debut album, "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus," Candlemass created such a dark and depressing atmosphere that even the most joyful being on the planet would want to commit suicide.  On top of that, this particular atmosphere had an intensely epic vibe; the epic vibe arose from the powerful, crushing riffs in this album that illustrate a sense of impending doom on a grand scale via the emphasis on the pounding drums.  If you are a fan of epic music, you may enjoy this!

Bathory [LEGENDARY]

Band: Bathory
Albums: From Bathory (self-titled debut) to Hammerheart 
Genre: Black metal (first three albums), & Viking Metal (Hammerheart-present)
Sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyYnstGB3rM


Coming in from Sweden, Bathory is truly a one-of-a-kind band.  With just a single band member, whose name is Quorthon, this band produced genre-defining albums such as "Under the Sign of the Black Mark," which is often considered to be one of the first black metal albums of all time, and "Hammerheart," which is the first true viking metal album of all time.  Most of Bathory, however, has very strong roots of raw thrash metal, and when Quorthon mixed that with his "black metal vocals," he ended up making some of the first ever 1st wave black metal albums.

The Opening Ceremony

For years, the metal genre (and its subgenres) have been looked down upon by many as mindless, blasphemous music played and listened to by rebellious and confused young people.  This must be the most misleading fact about the metal genre itself.  Therefore, the sole purpose of this blog shall be the listing and recognition of glorious bands that have far outperformed other musicians from the pop "musicians" to even the classic/romantic era composers.  In other words, this blog shall be for bands that have become gods of metal!  And thus I will present to you the first metal god in this Opening Ceremony of the Heavy Metal Hall of Fame:

Black Sabbath

Band: Black Sabbath

Genre: Heavy/Doom Metal

Important Albums: Black Sabbath (self-titled), Paranoid, Master of Reality, Heaven and Hell 

This band was the first to ever truly play the "metal" sound.  They had the right amounts of all of the metal elements: perfect distortion on guitars, emphasis on loud drums, the "dark" atmosphere, dark lyrics, and an overall feeling of heaviness with lots and LOTS of metal riffs.   

There are also some exclusive recognitions that must be given: Ozzy Osbourne, lead vocalist from the debut, who stayed for several other albums; Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler for their innovative work on the guitar and bass, respectively; Bill Ward, for his metal drumming; Ronnie James Dio for his trademark 80's metal vocals.