Avantasia - Angel of Babylon

click to enlargeImagine by the book European Power Metal done perfect to the point of having no personality. Then you have an idea of what this band has to offer.

The more serious and epic 'side project' of Edguy frontman Tobias Sammet. Although I love hearing a new Avantasia release I must say that they begin to blur into each other a bit. It becomes hard to tell one apart from another. Sure the production is of the highest quality. The musicianship is top notch for this style. But I think that is the problem. It's too perfect. It's become the victim of the pro-tools generation. It lacks the personality that comes with more raw edged recordings. It's that personality (or human factor as Metal Church once put it) that helps one diferenciate betweem one release and another.

The saving grace of it all is the all star cast Tobias always seems to be able to gather. There is just something to Jon Oliva's voice on anything. He stands out everytime. He has a unique style no one has ever been able to copy.

So if I can't tell one release from another why do I listen to every Avantasia release over and over again well after a review is posted? Well it is top notch stuff. So if this is your kind of Metal you should pick this
one up. Just don’t expect to be able to say anything comparing it to other Avantasia releases. There is nothing that sticks out enough to do that. Kinda of makes for a boring review.


Attackhead - Voices In The Dark - Second Attack

click to enlargeImagine a cross between vintage Nuclear Assault and old school D.R.I. and you get a basic idea of what this band sounds like.

Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? Sure they have a goofy as hell name, but the thrash is about as old school as it gets. If Metallica re-did any of these songs people would think the real Metallica was back. The production isn't the greatest. It sounds like a demo tape from an unsigned band in the very late 80's.

So the band has grasped the vintage thrash sound amazingly well, but are they any good. Hell yeah! You ever hear a band that brings you so far back that it's comical? These riffs and song structures are about as good as it gets. With every song I fall more in love with this band I didn't even know about a few minutes ago.

If I had one complaint it would be that the singer needs to use his diaphragm more. His delivery is a bit to choppy. Where as the old school production makes me like this more (because it fits), his delivery could be better. It's the same choppy delivery that has kept me from loving a lot of the Agnostic Front catalog. But this is a petty complaint because it doesn't take away that much from the overall awesomeness of this release.

If you are over 40 and remember thrash before the 90's this cd is a must have. This is pure old school thrash heaven...or is that hell? Either way you need to hunt this one down as soon as possible!

Attackhead@MySpace
Attackhead

Astrosoniq - Quadrant

click to enlargeImagine about 45% Ministry, 45% Kyuss, and about ten percent Front Line Assembly and you will begin to comprehend what this band sounds like.

The WTF award this week goes to this band. I can think of many reasons why these elements should not be mixed together. I could write about a thousand words on why this shouldn't work. I could show all kinds of bar graphs and charts of why this should suck. The problem though is that somehow this band makes it work. Sure It's some freaked out mixture of sounds and styles, but it turned out really well.

With each song I was reminded of another band. This band was all over the map, but somehow maintianed their core sound. I've heard them called Space Rock, Psychedelic Rock, and many others, but I think those terms are too simple to describe this band.

So if you are the adventurous type and want to try something far away from any status quo, hunt down this release. Strange but brilliant.


Astral Doors - Testament Of Rock - The Best Of Astral Doors

click to enlargeImagine a band with lyrics like the late Ronnie James Dio, vocals closer to Whitesnake, and music that's a cross between early Dream Evil and the band Dio.

Many have shaken their heads at my love for massively maligned movie director Uwe Boll. I love his movies because they are unapologetic cheese and camp. Same thing with this cd. It is everything people point at when mocking 80's metal. They talk smack about 'posers', raise their horns high, and embrace every Metal Cliche as if it was a fat chick inhaling a box of malamars. Almost as if swallowing it was an act of rebellion. It is because they hold nothing back on the cheese that they pull it off so well.  So forget about all those serious political messages, social issue introspective songs, and songs about how evil women are. This band wants you to unplug your brain and have some fun. And a damn fun time you will have.

It was well after I listened to this entire cd that I found out it was a "Best Of" collection. I have to say I'm shocked as all the songs fit well as one studio release. Maybe I need to start hunting down all the past releases covered here? If you want your Metal to be fun you will too. Why does this band get such little coverage?

I will be listening to this cd many times after this review is posted.

A Day To Remember - What Separates Me from You

click to enlargeIf you expect me to accept this as a Metal release stop reading. This review
will only piss you off.

Metalheads: If you expect me to do nothing but make fun of this band because
they don’t fit into your extremely restrictive rules of what 'cool' music
should be stop reading. This review will piss you off even more and I think
that's funny.

Although not my cup of tea, this band has some serious talent. When they are
playing really heavy pop rock they excell to levels that create legends.
Their hooks are as infectious as an std on a really drunk prom queen with
severe daddy issues. These guys can write circles around 99% of the bands
around today.

When they try to be Metal they do come off as a little fake though. They just need to accept what they are good at and embrace it whole heartily. The song "All Signs Point to Lauderdale" is the best sing along anthem I've heard in years.

So open your mind and give this band a chance. It could be the next guilty pleasure you don't want your ultra-tuff Metalhead friends to know about.