JUSTIN'S ROCK REVIEWS W/C 04/11/02
RAISE HELL / WICKED IS MY GAME
Thrash seems to be going through a bit a resurgence at the moment and Raise Hell are a prime example of the updated mid 80's Thrash that seems to be emerging.
Their sound is based on Exodus, Anthrax and early Metallica, full of crunchy riffs, thunderous drums and urgent vocals. You cant help but get swept away by the sheer energetic drive of what is Classic Metal, the epic 6 minute "An Other Way" is pure joy to listen to starting off with a slow style before launching into the attack.
Stand out tracks; "Hellborn", "Night Watcher", "Haunted House" and "Wicked Is My Game".
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 45 mins + 9 TRACKS
PARADISE LOST / SYMBOL OF LIFE
Paradise Lost were my favourite band when they did Gothic, Icon and Draconian Times, they were UNtouchable, One Second was quite good then Host and we all wondered what?! And then Believe in nothing we all said why!?
So who’s going to buy this? Well me!! And others who were so moved by their earlier work and want a return to form and it’s the form I want to talk about here. Why did we love them?
1. those incredible Guitar God melodic leads.
2. the passion in the voice.
The guitars are back and they are heavy. The leads less so but the sense of melody is back "Erased" track 2 is one of the best things they’ve ever done and includes female vocals and backing vocals from Lee Dorrian!! The voice is beginning to sound passionate again and if the weekly mags tell you to forget about this band tell ‘em to f**k off because art like energy cannot be destroyed.
Paradise Lost will return and this is proof because it’s the best thing they’ve done since 1995. I tested the ground the least you guys can do is follow me it’s safe.
By Arathorn
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 53 minutes + 13 TRACKS
OPETH / DELIVERANCE
This is a much heavier album than Blackwater Park as the opening tracks "The Wreath" demonstrates perfectly. Their Death Metal roots are far more obvious and to my mind a very smart idea, Blackwater is such a good album and the only way to follow something as successful as that is to do something different.
There are slower moments incorporated into the tracks and all the tracks except one are over 10 minutes long. This allows the band to explore the natural ambience of each track but somehow they don’t seem that long. The title "Deliverance" starts off very heavy with the gruff vocals and then slows into a more melodic piece with some very impressive vocals giving the song a very grandiose feeling.
If you buy this CD thinking it's Blackwater Park part 2, you could be disappointed, but this does not distract form the fact that Opeth have come up with another superb album that defies pigeonholing and genre. The power and the majesty of their sound cannot be denied and it wont go away.
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 62 minutes + 6 TRACKS
METAL BLADE 20TH ANNIVERSARY / VARIOUS
Metal Blade has been around for 20 years and their back catalogue looks like the who's who of Metal. They started off with the now legendary Metal Massacre compilation featuring some up and coming band called Mettaica and that track is featured on Disc One.
Everything about this 9 x CD and 1 DVD box set is gargantuan, it looks very impressive with the label logo and the grime reaper looking back at you but it's the music that is totally awe inspiring. I wont go through tem all it would take too long but here is just the cream, Metallica, Slayer, Mercyful Fate, Fates Warning, King Diamond, Lizzy Borden, Armoured Saint, King's X, Galactic Cowboys, Cannibal Corps, Six Feet Under and that’s just some of them. The booklet included is full of pictures, release information and even interviews and a discography.
Their current signings are at the cutting edge of Metal and the future looks very bright indeed. This 10 Disc box set is limited to 5.000 world wide but it is a fantastic piece of Metal history all nicely packed up in one box and just in time for Christmas.
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 11.5 HOURS + 140 TRACKS, 9 DISCS + 1 DVD
