Seasons in the Abyss - Slayer

I’ve been debating about whether I should just review all of my favorite albums first and get them out of the way or if I should wait and savor them. In this case I just couldn’t wait. I love this album. I love this album so much. After Reign in Blood this is probably my favorite Slayer album. Some might argue in favor of South of Heaven but for some reason this album always calls to me. This may sound like condemnation, and it certainly is not, but this is basically Slayer’s Black Album. What I mean by that is that it is their most accessible album. But of course this is Slayer we are talking about. Their version of accesible is still lightyears away from pop. It doesn’t take a genius to see that Slayer melded their two previous albums together. And the end product becomes an album that’s part brutally fast thrash metal and part doomy melodic thrash.

Without a doubt the best track on this album is the opener "War Ensemble". It echoes the brutality and speed of both "Angel of Death" and "Raining Blood" while also throwing in the doom and melody of "South of Heaven". It’s followed by two great more melodic songs that really mesh well together: "Blood Red" and "Spirit in Black". "Expendable Youth" is probably the most likely candidate to get radio play but that doesn’t mean its not Slayer but it probably has the most melody. It’s a great song but I’ve heard it enough that it’s gotten a little tiresome.

Now for those of you who are looking for something that could have been on Reign in Blood then look no further than "Born of Fire". This is probably one of Slayer’s fastest songs, not to mention some of their most evil lyrics. It’s all to often overlooked but definitely one of my favorites.

The title track is a good song but I wish it didn’t take so long to really get started. The buildup sort of overstays its welcome but when the song finally gets going boy does it get going. It sort of comes full circle in that its almost as equal parts Reign and South as "War Ensemble" is, although I think this song borrows a little more from South.

This is just a great album. It’s definitely one of my favorite records of all time. If you have a stereo that goes up to eleven and need something to play at that number then this is the record for you.

War Ensemble

Born of Fire

Seasons in the Abyss

Rust In Peace - Megadeth

Oddly enough, it took me a while to really get into this album. I always thought that I liked Peace Sells better but I’ve come to understand that this is the superior album. This is definitely Megadeth’s best album. This is probably prog-thrash at its best. Never before (and never since) had there been an album of such sheer complexity. Now I know that some people will point to …And Justice for All as a prime example of prog-thrash complexity but it’s the complexity in that album that ultimately weighs it down. Metallica seemed to be overreaching whereas this album knows exactly what it wants to do and executes it perfectly.

Everything on this album just sounds tight and clean. All of the songs flow together perfectly. Now every so often an album will contain two consecutive songs that just sound perfect and inseparable. Sort of like the songs are related. Led Zeppelin were masters at this ("Black Dog" and "Rock and Roll" from Led Zeppelin IV, "Heartbreaker" and "Livin’ Lovin’ Maid" from Led Zeppelin II). On this album it’s definitely "Holy Wars" and "Hangar 18". It’s impossible for me to listen to one and not the other. First you have the awesome epic that’s one part pure thrash metal awesomness and one part extremely heavy dirge. Then it’s followed up by one of the best guitar songs of all time. "Hangar 18" is in the same category as "Wake Up Dead" in that it could be an instrumental (and is for the most part) but works great with the lyrics. Follow those two up with "Take No Prisoners" and you have the best three songs on the album. Then there’s "Five Magics" and "Tornado of Souls" to make this one kick ass album. If you even remotely consider yourself a metalhead this album is a must buy.

Holy Wars

Hangar 18 (Music Video Cut)

Take No Prisoners

That Metal Show

Ok so this isn’t an album but there are a few things I want to say about this show. Now before I launch in I should make it clear that I really do like this show and I am so glad that metal finally has it’s own talk show. That said, this show is at many times somewhat of a disappointment. Clearly the show set out with the mindset that they wouldn’t follow the MTV pattern of just interviewing nu metal and metalcore bands. The only person from a nu metal band they’ve had was Corey Taylor of Slipknot. But that was only once, which is good. Most of the people being interviewed are from bands from the 80s. But that’s not the good news it sounds like. The show seems hell-bent on trotting out every member of every glam metal band of the 80s, most of which are now defunct or playing county fairs and monster truck rallies. The weird thing is that the show actually started off fairly strong with guests like Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, Ronnie James Dio, Zakk Wylde, Phil Anselmo, and Rob Halford. But they’ve also had people like Lita Ford, Peter Criss, and Dee Snider. It’s like all the hosts want to resurrect the 80s glam scene even though most of these people are now burnouts. I'm just glad they haven’t had Brett Michaels on yet. I think I’d commit suicide.

For a while I had been wondering “Aren’t we ever going to get any death metal bands? Where’s Vader? Where’s Cannibal Corpse, to a lesser extent?” And to be fair the show actually provided a good answer to my question. This is Vh1 Classic we are talking about. So the videos that they show are going to be classic. The hosts explained that the general rule of thumb is that they never interview a band that wouldn’t be shown on the music video programs. Anyone who has ever seen Vh1’s show Metal Mania knows that most of the bands are old glam bands, the very same you see interviewed on That Metal Show. In fact if you manage to catch a Metallica video, you’re pretty lucky. That’s about the heaviest band I’ve ever seen them play.

So while I want this show to be more metal than it is I can certainly understand where they are coming from. And all in all I'm just glad that we have a metal talk show. A lot of the stuff they do is stuff I really enjoy. Their lists that they make at the beginning of each show are usually pretty interesting and I generally agree with them to a degree. And Stump the Trunk, they metal quiz part of the show, is always intriguing. I’m still trying to come up with a question in case I ever make it on the show.

Welcome to the Morbid Reich - Vader

If there is one band that consistently kicks all poseurs in the nads it would have to be Vader. Vader make up one part of the dynamic duo that is Polish metal; the other part of course being the blackened death metal band Behemoth. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Death and I pray to Chuck Schuldiner but Vader is my favorite death metal band. They always incorporate other genres of metal into their sound but without sounding like a hybrid. I can clearly hear elements of thrash but it still sounds like pure death metal. On this album I can hear a lot of melodic death metal, maybe they were listening to a lot of At the Gates in the studio. But this album still sounds like a purely straightforward death metal album. And it still has that trademark Vader sound to it.

I was hesitant going into this album since their last release, Necropolis, didn’t quite amaze me. But when I first listened to this album I was amazed. It sounds a lot like Litany, which is certainly their best album. The thing is I’m still not sure where to place this album. It definitely makes it into the top five and maybe even the top three.

The best song on here is probably "I Am Who Feasts Upon Your Soul". This is probably where the melodic death metal influences are most noticeable. This album is really well rounded out. Vader really sounds like Vader, not that they ever really diverted from their sound but this album just brings it all back down to earth. Here’s to them making more albums, cause we all know death metal needs it. I’m looking at you Morbid Angel.

I Am Who Feasts Upon Your Soul

Return to the Morbid Reich

The Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden

Now if I told you that one of the best albums ever made has three great songs and six other pretty good songs, you would probably think I’m insane. Well insane I am not. This album has three great songs and six other pretty good songs. If you don’t know which of the songs are the great songs then you probably like listening to Slipknot and cutting your wrists. But if you don’t like masochism and shitty metal and still don’t know which three songs are the best then prepare for education (and under rocks is truly a poor place to live). "The Number of the Beast", "Run to the Hills", and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" all easily place in the top ten metal songs of all time, with the last one probably taking the top spot. In my book, this album easily gets a “Holy motherfucking shit” as in “Holy motherfucking shit, I can’t believe that a band could make an album as amazing as this one.” Of course that statement doesn’t actually do this album justice.

Let’s be honest, this is Maiden’s best album, period. This becomes obvious given the fact that they have been trying to replicate it ever since its release. Now I know I said that the other songs on this album are just good, but that’s only because they are forced to compare with the holy trinity of metal songs. Of course I love "Children of the Damned" and "22 Acacia Avenue" but no one ever get’s tired of hearing "The Number of the Beast", singing along to the chorus of "Run to the Hills", or trying to sustain the word ‘name’ along with Bruce Dickinson at the end of "Hallowed Be Thy Name" only to come up thirty seconds short. Iron Maiden clearly prayed to Satan, asked him to give them three songs and then said they would come up with six more to make a full album. On any other release all of the other six would probably be the hits but given the shear magnitude of the big three here the others are simply outshined.

The Number of the Beast

Run to the Hills

Hallowed Be Thy Name

Kill 'Em All - Metallica

Saying that the 80s were good for metal is like saying that the sun is good for plants. That statement however comes with a gigantic ‘but’ stapled to it. The 80s were good for metal BUT we also had glam metal, which we all know was a piece of shit and gave us insufferable bands like Twisted Sister, Poison, Bon Jovi, and a host of others. So perhaps a more accurate statement would be that the 80s were good for more underground metal (although what was underground in America was mainstream in Europe because Europe took one look at glam metal and kicked it so hard in the balls that it went flying all the way back across the Atlantic and landed squarely on Hollywood Boulevard). While I would love to talk about all of the great stuff that came prior to this album, I have decided to focus this article on the birth of thrash.

First off, anyone who says this isn’t the first thrash metal album can go fuck themselves. No, Venom was not a thrash metal band; they were a speed metal/first wave of black metal band. Thrash is, was, and always will be an American genre. Every single band in the Big Four is from America. So now after that rant let’s take a look at the album.

This album sounds like a debut. I’m not talking about the songs, I'm talking about the production. Probably the best praise I can give the production is well at least it’s not Show No Mercy or Killing is My Business. But given the production value of the debuts of most thrash bands around this time it is by and large forgivable. The interesting thing about this album is that some of the best songs on it are the most overlooked. I’m not saying that "Seek & Destroy" is a piece of shit, god no, it’s probably the best song on this album. No I’m talking about two songs in particular: "No Remorse" and "Jump in the Fire". Metallica had a good twenty-year gap in between performances of the latter. The thing is, you rarely hear either of those songs played even though they are the third and second best songs on the album, respectively. "No Remorse" almost sounds progressive enough to make it onto Ride the Lightning. I’m not saying I dislike the other songs but I like these more and they don’t get the attention they deserve. I do like "Hit the Lights", "The Four Horsemen", and "Whiplash" but they have sort of staled to me. This sounds like a condemnation of those songs but it should not be taken that way at all. I love this whole album start to finish. It’s easily Metallica’s third best album. I just want to give "Jump in the Fire" and "No Remorse" the praise they deserve.

Jump in the Fire

No Remorse

Seek & Destroy