Random Album Pile-Up 12
1. Biomechanical – Cannibalised (2007)
Chaos, chaos and more chaos. Unlike the band’s 2005 effort The Empire of the Worlds, the groove, extreme melodies and chaos (on a controlled level) are far from being as apparent on Biomechanical’s latest album Cannibalised. It seems the band has gone off the deep end in terms of bringing as much unpredictability to each and every song as quickly as possible, with as much frequency as possible that can be squeezed onto one disc. This reminds me of a little kid on his new bike who gets so much speed going on his bike, which is fun for a little while, but then he loses control of it and crashes. Cannibalised is chaos personified, Biomechanical needs to reel in the beast a bit on their next one. (Pantera, Darkane, The Haunted) GOOD
2. Asmegin – Arv (2008)
Oh man, yet another absolutely incredible folk album that very few people will get a dose of. I love tht this sub-genre of music is becoming more popular because much of the creative spirit in metal today is really being taken advantage of by the folk bands in Europe. Combining clean and harsh vocals, female vocals and instrumentation that ranges from jazz to traditional folk as you’d expect to hear, all with death metal stylings throughout, both vocally and instrumentally. This is simply a great folk album, simple as that. If you are still on the fence about this form of metal, check this one out, it might convince you that this really is some good shit. (Similar Artists: Korpiklaani, Finntroll, Ensiferum, Turisas) VERY GOOD
3. Tyr – Ragnarok (2006)
Despite appearing on the first Paganfest to the United States, I think Tyr’s lack of harsh vocals has caused their popularity to suffer a bit here, which is unfortunate because this effort is quite good. Containing some very subtle melodies that just kind of sneak up on you during anthemic parts of songs (which is almost always it seems), Ragnarok, despite its title, is a relatively jovial sounding album with upbeat instrumentation and vocals that are clean through and through with very little in the way of melancholy. I won’t say this album is poppy or even cheerful, but it is consistently upbeat with its folk rhythms and riffs. Ragnarnok is a catchy good time with the typical epic feel of most good folk albums. (Similar Artists: Turisas, Slough Feg, Wintersun, Eluveitie) AMAZING
4. Nocturnal Rites – Shadowland (2002)
Power metal with power? That’s right, Shadowland is an unrelenting powerhouse of melodic metal, and one of my personal favorites of the 21st century thus far. Despite being fairly popular in Europe, Nocturnal Rites has largely gone unnoticed in America largely because of their lack of evolution into progressive metal which seems to be the latest trend in power metal. Shadowland represents an outpost of quality power metal in a constantly shifting sea of bands and albums vying for the constantly changing new order. Nocturnal Rites knows their place, and Shadowland is a quintessential example of power metal done right, without pretending to be something else. (Similar Artists: Shaaman, Kamelot, Sabaton, Brainstorm) VERY GOOD
5. Solstice – Pray (1995)
1995 was a good year for death metal, and Solstice is a fantastic, underground example of death metal’s invasive, uncompromising style at the time. This is pure, speedy unrelenting death metal with no stops in action. Despite it’s heaviness, Pray does not feature an over-abundance of blast beats, instead the aggression is focused more in incredible bass lines and in the rhythm guitar which is more in tune with early Iced Earth than any death metal peer. This is one of those albums that very few people know, but should be owned by all. (Similar Artists: Sadus, Torture Squad, Demolition Hammer) AMAZING
Reviews by CODY
