MANOWAR „Kings of Metal”
I have to confess am not a die hard fan of MANOWAR, but if someday someone ask me for great classic heavy metal albums, this one will stay in that list (along with JUDAS PRIEST – British Steel, WASP – Wasp and (obviously) IRON MAIDEN – Piece of mind (or put whatever album here, Maiden rules!).
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MISANTHROPE „Libertine Humiliations”
Really great effort by this French guys. This band can be described as Avant Garde metal (or Sophisticated Metal hehehe).
LAKE OF TEARS „The Neonai”
Why 10? simple, Lake of Tears has what a lot of new bands of gothic-dark metal don't have. ORIGINALLITY!!! Simple as this, if you listen a song of Lake of tears, without knowing it, you can assure as hell that is LAKE OF TEARS! When I buy this album, was kind of weird, because i thought that they doesn't exist anymore (in their page claim to say that, back in 1998-1990, after “Forever autumn” album).
GATES OF ISHTAR „Dawn in Flames”
I remember when i buyed this album, i said “more a la -dark tranquillity-in flames- at the gates bands!” SO i listen to the album a few times and then it was in between my other albums. BUt then, in 1999, i realized “WHere are the goteburg bands?, where is that agressive and melodic mix that caracterize this bands? what's happenning with In flames and dark tranquillity? at the gates is dead? The haunted is not the same stuff…” this kind of questions and thoughts move me to get this disc again and give it the respect that really deserves.
EVOL „The Saga of the Horned King”
I still wonder why the hell this Italian group is not more famous? A really great album with a mixture of dark atmospheric, medieval music, female vocals, ambient, doom and black metal. And, this is for real, this group is very original, they have a really distinctive sound.
DARK TRANQUILLITY „The Gallery”
This album seems (or it's just plain reality?) to have more melodies than simple metallic riffs. It's just an amazing and astonishing album! For the newcomers, Dark Tranquillity it's one of the pioneers of the “gothenburg” sound (or it is “goteborg”?) that born in Sweden at the beggining of the 1990's.
DEATH „Individual Thought Patterns”
Death never have dissapointings in their albums, every album have their charm and power. But this album have one thing that mark the difference: It has the best musician combo in the band's history (and one of the best in metal history):
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DIES IRAE „Naive”
What about this band? well, first of all they are from Mexico and have a well established reputation down there. To begin this review, i have to say that one of principal problems in metal bands from Mexico is the production issue.
DISGORGE „Necrholocaust”
Disgorge is a gore metal band from Mexico that have a good reputation in the underground of this subgenre. The music have the typical gore stuff that like so much to the followers of this style.
DISSECTION „Storm of the Light Bane”
What can i say about this album. Maybe the perfect mix between aggresion and melody! It is an excellent combination of death metal and black, but not the typical black death metal band of today.
DOMAIN „…from Oblivion”
First riffs of this album remind me a lot that project of Jason Newsted with Devin Townsend called IR8, it's like Celtic Frost going a little bit hardcore and using vocals that wanted to grunt but not reaching that level. The use of acoustic guitars adds a good effect and mark the difference between IR8 and Domain.
DOMAIN „Pandemonium”
An album that melt death metal and doom in a Celtic Frost approach. So there are powerful riffs in a groovy slow motion that usually makes to move your head in a slow motion.
CALLAHAN „Art of…Third Act Zero Two”
To resume, this polish band have a mix between the Rotting christ sound, a bit of Gothenburg stuff and some Chuck's Death riffs with Vocals sounding like a melt of Sakis (Rotting christ) and Mille Petrozza (Kreator-extreme aggresions era-). This guys have good musicianship and technicality, but they don't reach a point where we can say it's a band offering a new stuff in the genre.
CELESTIAL SEASON „Solar Lovers”
When you listen the first metal riff in this effort, you can sense the real feeling of doom in the music ambiance…..and then, that violins take part of it. Just beautiful!.
CIRCLE OF DUST „Brainchild”
I proudly mention that the first time i listened this industrial metal group was in 1994-1995 in Headbanger's Latinamerica (who lived since 1993-1994 to 1998-1999, if my memory not fail). They show the video of the song 'telltale crime', a very cool video.
BLEEDING LIGHT, THE „s/t”
Excellent album!, listen to this album bring to my mind TIAMAT's wildhoney album, but not for the style of music, otherwise the mysticism, ambiance and originality that involve you in the whole album. The Bleeding Light is a mix of industrial, metal and gothic keyboard ambient creating a strange mournful beauty.
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