Megadeth - Th1rt3en (2011) - I thought we were going to get another Rust In Peace, and instead we're getting yet another Countdown To Extinction. I guess it's also parts Youthanasia as well, and they might have even taken a few Risks as well.
The disc starts out like a shred fest, but it only showcases some good riffs throughout it's play time. The quality is well produced and Mustaine's vocals are more audible than anything else. In fact, they're far too loud. The music is also a great deal more contemporary and accessible than past releases. Some would say that this is the beginning of a step backwards. Even still, it's got it's fair share of shred. Of course the only parts I look forward to on the disc are the solos.
To be blunt, this is the kind of disc you could play in a bar and no one would ever know that it was new Megadeth. They would just think of it as "just another Megadeth song." Maybe that sounds good to you, but to me this disc is just another drop in the bucket. It's a solid release, but it's not going to hold a candle to Endgame, or anything released after 2004's "The System Has Failed."
By the way, "New World Order" is probably the worst vocal performance I've ever heard from Mustaine, and it sounds like a parody. People will be making fun of this song for quite a while. This song should have never been released, despite the somewhat good riffs in parts.
The album is for the most part very slow and not anything like the two previous discs. The only fast portions are the solos, and it's more "rock" than anything else. For some odd reason, they wanted to try to make a commercial comeback with this disc. To tell you the truth, every song on this disc sounds roundabout the same. It's really nothing special, and I imagine later reviews will come in with the same reaction. A solid drop in the bucket. (57:42)
3/5
Loutallica - Lulu (2011) - Well, here it is. Metallica's... I mean, Loutallica's new album. It's a fucking good thing that this isn't Metallica's new record, because I'd ex them off my list of bands to care about in a heartbeat. This is a side of Metallica that no one has seen before. A side of Metallica that isn't even metal. This side of Metallica is drone. This side of Metallica is experimental. This side of Metallica is a side that makes me think there's too much fluoride in the water supply.
Perhaps they were getting tired of making heavy albums for a while and wanted to do something different. The riffs are boring, but there are a few standout parts on the disc. There are also glimpses of metal, like in the tracks "The View, Pumping Blood, Mistress Dread, and Dragon." But there's quite a lot of hard rock thump on here also. It's a fusion between metal, rock and everything else.
Lou's vocals get on your nerves quick. Hetfield intervenes in the background with real shitty vocal lines that he probably thought up on the spot. He constantly repeats these things in an attempt to sound cool, but he sounds like an idiot. It is quite obvious that Lou is reading poetry throughout the entire disc, and it almost sounds as if some sort of musical chant session.
The lyrics are bizarre but are focused upon a woman. The lyrics aren't bad, but it's weird to hear him spout them in the way that he does. As I said, the music is very boring with only hints of thrash and plenty of droning portions. This is a different shade of Metallica and despite my obnoxious comments before; I can say that as a reviewer, there will be people who thoroughly enjoy the disc and think it's genius, and there will be those that think it's crap.
It could be comparable to Opeth's "Watershed" album which has mixed reviews even now. It's certainly experimental and not geared towards thrash fans of modern Metallica fans. I have no idea what audience this album was made for, really. I guess I should just give it a 1.5 and be done with it. It's not terrible, but it's not good either. It is what it is... whatever the hell it is. (2 discs, 87:00 1st disc is heavier than the other disc which is more drone, sans "Dragon.")
1.5/5
Animals As Leaders - Weightless (2011) - As everyone would expect, this is another great album from Animals as Leaders. But there's a catch this time around. They weren't afraid to experiment with chip music and I didn't expect to hear video game noise on the disc. This move might have lost them some fans, but I rather enjoyed it.
Even thought the electronics are rather heavy on this album, it's still standard fare from Animals as Leaders. The only reason I could advise against this release is if you don't like electronics. There really isn't a whole lot to say about this one. Every song is just as proggy and djent as ever. The melodies are still flawless and it flows just like a good instrumental album should.
If you're looking for something beautiful and mesmerizing, this album is just as good as their last. Animals fans be pleased, because your gods have not faltered!
What? You wanted a bigger review? Go check it out for yourself! (46:00)
5/5
Tesseract - One (2011) - Tesseract is a band that mixes the same sort of arrangements that bands like Animals As Leaders are known for. Except there's more djent influence here... and oh yeah, vocals.
The vocal style is much more youth accessible, very screamo at times, but his clean vocals are good, sometimes in the style of Maynard James Keenan. There's definite Tool influence here. The screamo vocals don't actually get on my nerves so bad, either. The band has quite a sense of musicality that doesn't get boring (unless you don't like prog) and is a little like Protest the Hero. You should already know what to expect by the band's name and album cover.
The disc contains a six part epic called, "Concealing Fate." Twenty seven minutes of this disc are consumed by this many splendoured track. But I actually like the songs that occur after it, "Sunrise, April, Eden, and Hollow."
I thought I was going to hate this disc upon listening to it for the first few minutes, but after listening to it for a while, I became really interested in it. It's definitely an album that grows on you. Can't wait to hear these guys play this live in December. Definitely worth checking out, screamo vocals or not. (58:00)
5/5
Insomnium - One For Sorrow (2011) - There might be a reason why this latest album from doom/melodic death metal band Insomnium is the number one album of the years so far as voted by the fans on Metalstorm.net. It's because it's fucking great. This has everything I wanted from the new Graveworm, and never got.
The riffs and melodies are more than striking, they fill your ears with wonder. The riffs at the beginning of "Song of The Blackest Bird" is one I'd like to hear just a few hundred more times. Every song on the disc is worth checking out, even the intro (where some major guitar jizzery goes on) and the light instrumental "Decoherence" which is much different than anything the band's done before, but is quite interesting to hear nonetheless.
The disc mainly stays along the roots of their past efforts, but adds so much melody and finesse than the band has ever done before. Sure, you can argue this point, but I just haven't heard the guitars played with as much of a sense of splendor that I've heard on this album. Track by track, this album is a masterpiece. If I went into detail about how great every track is, I'd just sound like a kiss-ass. But I'm not a big fan of this band and thought their last album was quite boring. This album has changed my mind about the band's future. I don't see this being topped.
Throw in the towel now, Insomnium; because your next album will only be half as good. (53:00)
666
Cradle Of Filth - Evermore Darkly (2011 EP) - Cradle tried to pull a fast one with this disc which serves to be nothing more than one of those extra "bonus cd's" that should have come with the limited edition version of their last album. The disc might start out with a good intro and open with a new song that sounds very much in the vein of their previous release, but that's only disguising the fact that the disc is actually a waste of fucking money.
Supposedly a documentary DVD comes with the disc and maybe that makes it worth the price, but this cheap money grab can't sell on it's own. The disc contains three old versions (called "elder versions") of the tracks, "Forgive Me Father, The Persecution Song and The Spawn Of Love and War."
There's an extended version of "Lilith Immaculate" which has a gothic instrumentation portion in the middle of it. There's also the club happy goth trance version of "Forgive Me Father." Thankfully, it's better than their older electronic mixes. But that's not saying much.
The biggest upset is that "Summer Dying Fast" on here is NOT a re-recording. It's a glorified instrumental piece done with over the top symphonics or an orchestra. There's no metal to it. Fuck you, Dani Filth. You got me all excited for nothing... and I mean nothing.
Let's be blunt. Don't fucking buy this. (43:00)
1/5
Galneryus - Phoenix Rising (2011) - Galneryus is a Japanese power metal band. They're kind of like a Symphony X, X-Japan style. if you don't know who that is, you probably won't like this band and should stop reading now. It's also going to help if you like J-Rock, because the lyrics and vocal style are very J-Rock.
The band also adds neoclassical elements to their music (think Castlevania) which is nothing new to fans, since they’ve done this since their debut album. The singer’s voice is actually very powerful and he hits the notes really well for the most part. I think he’s a much better singer than the last one they’ve had and the band has gotten progressively better since their old singer left.
There’s plenty of amazing proggy parts on the disc and some fantastic playing/shredding. The drums also recall Dragonforce, but that style has become ridiculously popular in Japan. I just heard a Symphonic Touhou IV disc and the band almost mirrored Dragonforce (but they also did death metal on the same album. Jap discs know no genre. Wish American bands could play every genre too.)
Every single track on this disc features some absolutely mind blowing guitar playing, great drumming, and good vocals. Whether the lyrics are English or Japanese, it doesn’t matter. This album is an absolute must for fans of modern prog / power metal. Even the fucking ballads are good on this one. Definitely worth checking out if you can find it in the states. If you need more proof, go listen to “Tear Off Your Chain.” This is how a guitar is shredded, folks.
By the way, the disc contains a little bit of harsher vocals in places. Just something to keep your ears on. (As opposed to eyes, because one can’t “see” metal.) (58:00)
5/5
Hammers Of Misfortune - 17th Street (2011) - Though I heavily anticipated this, I'm left with a feeling that it just wasn't near as good as I had expected. The disc has it's moments, like "17th Street, Staring (The 31st Floor), The Grain" and "The Day That The City Died" but I can't help but feel that there are some flaws here and there.
First of all, I just don't care for the ballad " Summer Tears." It's about 6:00 too long and only the outro offers interest. The last track on the disc, "Going Somewhere" is also far too long and drawn out. Channeling Queen was also not something I had hoped for, but how can you really top Church/Fields Of Broken Glass?
Granted there is some worthwhile prog on this disc and some very memorable riffs. Those of you looking for a much heavier Hammers will certainly find what they are looking for here, as there seems to have been more of a focus on the crunch this time around. Vocals continue as they've been with both male and female vocals alternating respectively. There's also just as much organ influence as normal. Thing is, this doesn't sound like it was composed by near as many musicians as I'm seeing on the album cover. Somebody must've sat in the back and made themselves at home.
I will say that most of the songs have their own identity and that identity begins to increase with each song on the disc. However I would've preferred much of what I heard at the beginning of the album which would actually be considered metal, and less experimenting into poppier territory. It just seems that "Romance Valley, Summer Tears and Grey Wednesday" were just not what I would have expected from the band. But that doesn't mean the albums a waste, and it has plenty to offer. I must also mention that the production on the album is still kind of raw, but this is probably the way that the band wanted it to sound.
The guitar solos are also very good on this album, as well as the overall guitar album. There are some great licks throughout the disc. It's a worthy album in the band's catalog which will definitely have to be listened to several times to appreciate. It's certainly much heavier than their last and still offers plenty of experimental prog metal. It's certainly different from the pack and that's certainly a good thing. Pick this one up, even if you've never heard of these guys before. It's as good a place as any to start your journey into their back catalog. (50:00)
4/5
J.B.O. - Happy Metal Thunder (2011) - First of all, this is a PARODY album. Let me be clear about that. Second of all, it's one of the best parody albums I've ever heard. You can't just parody metal by playing it badly, you've got to do it with the right sort of skill. These German clowns certainly have that idea. I might also add that all of the artists that are being made fun of on this disc are being impersonated. Some of them, rather well.
The disc begins with "Rock Muzik" an ACDC parody that really hits it's mark well. "Long Live Metallica" is as you would expect, a complete parody of Hetfield's quirks and Metallica's signature style. "Pabarotti and friends - Roots Bloody Roots" is what you would expect. A near perfect cover of "Roots Bloody Roots" with the singer sounding as close to Max that I couldn't tell. The music then starts to incorporate tenor style singing. I thought it was incredibly funny, but some of you may not get the joke. Oh well.
"A Perfect Day To Die" is a rather funny ballad, about how the guy's day is just turning to shit. I liked it. Their punk version of "Another Brick In The Wall" makes me want to spit though, it's bullshit. But "Daisy Flowers" the heaviest song on the album, is one of my favorite tracks. It's the heaviest the band plays and is something akin to thrashy death metal. The song's lyrics are that of a love song, which proves a point that death metal with love song lyrics instead of something else, is indecipherable. Then the song switches over to the love song, where death metal lyrics are used. But now, it sounds sort of funny.
"Ace Of Spades" is a direct cover, but done acoustically and very slow, like a ballad; which kills the entire point of the song. It's pretty damned funny to hear it this way and the Lemmy impression is dead on. "Kickers Of Ass" is my favorite song on the album, being that I could play it during a team based game - it's power metal sensibility and literal shouting of "We are, the kickers of ass!" is just the joyous march my units would need in battle.
"Let's Have A Party" is a cover of my favorite Backstreet Boys Song, "Everybody" when I was growing up. Don't ask. Anyway, they've changed the lyrics and made the song more heavier. I like it, so fuck you. "War Of The Worlds" is the band's version of an instrumental which goes from metal to electronic to a soothing easy listening style.
"Head Bang Boing" is a rap/rock song which is quite catchy in the chorus, but has the funniest type of rapping I've heard in a while. But it's nothing great. "Raining Blood" is one of my favorites on this disc as well, because it's actually of cover of "It's Raining Men." which is absolutely funny as hell to hear in metal. The only word that was changed from the lyrics was "men." They simply say "It's raining blood, hallelujah, it's raining blood, amen." every other word in the lyrics is still about men.
The real closer of the disc should have been "Rocker's Creed." It's quite good. It's about rock/metal being a religion and those that have passed on being saints. While Randy Rhoads was called a saint, there was no mention of Darrell Abbott. I thought it was a great way to end the disc.
The last song "Angie" is a nonsensical ballad, which isn't even funny. It's stupid. The singer fakes crying during the song and it just gets really ridiculous. They could've left this one off.
All in all, this is one of my favorite parody metal albums in years. Many genres of metal were covered (except for black metal) and they were covered with actual decent musicianship. The covers weren't played poorly on purpose even though they fucked around with them in a few places. All in all, worth checking out if you don't mind laughing a bit. But as I always say, "Laughter is the best medicine." (58:00)
4/5
Skirmish - Through The Abacinated Eyes (2011) - This Finnish death/thrash band sounds to me like a much heavier version of Gwar. That's because the band's lead singer sounds like a fiercer Oderus on vocals. The band plays pretty straight forward death/thrash and isn't the best I've ever heard in my life.
If you're a fan of death/thrash, they are worth picking up as musically the disc has the right amount of thrash and the Oderus style death metal vocals with occasional growls. Definitely try before you buy, but the disc is quite solid. It's also quite short. at forty minutes. Still nothing amazing, especially when the vocals can ruin things. I mean, the guy sounds like a troll and the other guy sounds like a sick goblin.
It sounds like a novelty thrash album. (50:00)
3/5
Old Forest - Tales Of The Sussex Weald (2011) - These English gothic black metallers have definitely caught my attention. While definitely influenced by their countrymen Cradle Of Filth and several other actual black metal bands, they certainly pave their own way by incorporating elements of groove, traditional black metal and electronics to the mix as well as atmospheres and gothic organ sympths.
What do you mean, different? They all do that!
Sure, that might be true - but this band has a few tracks that are very experimental, like "The Bury" which is just altogether different and an instrumental that follows it called, "Rope Of Bramber" which is also just as odd.
Let us also mention the interludes "Cocks Crowing At Poynings", "The Witch of Ditchling" and "Whitehawk Hill" which certainly add structure to the album. The band deals with old English legends and witchcraft, so it's very in the lyrical vein of Cradle, even though I prefer their "Friends Of Hekate" to some of the Lilith oriented songs of Cradle's latest album. I must also mention the unique scowl that the vocalist uses. It's very throaty and seems to work well with the music. Sometimes it's hard to hear the vocals over the instruments though, so they could work on that.
Some may say that there's too many electronic interludes and whispers in between the dirty black metal tracks of the album. But it gives the band a sense of form. It shows that they can do much more with their sound and I feel that if this band were gifted a chance to do another disc, it would be far more focused. But this is a rather promising disc, that I myself personally recommend checking out. This is a band that is very concerned with creating an atmosphere both with instruments and effects, in an attempt to draw you into the mystique of these ancient tales. It worked for me. (63:00)
4/5
The Fucking Wrath - Valley Of The Serpent's Soul (2011) - Any band that calls themselves the fucking wrath are definitely going to be some sort of sludge act, and I was right. The band reminds me much of High on Fire and has that same sense of melody and beer swilling sensibility of vocals. It certainly has a good touch of southern hospitality but throws in a little bit of prog every once in a while.
This is the kind of album where you hear the amps ring when the songs start up, and where the thuds from the bass amps are the main indicator of what the song entails. Sabbath is in every drop of this band's sound and there's no question about that. This is the bluesy sludge that we all known and love. It's good drinking music, smoking music and probably is good for fucking as well.
If you're looking for some rather mighty sludge, these guys can certainly serve up a southern style plate of it, piled high with biscuits and gravy. (39:00)
4/5
Blood Ceremony - Living With The Ancients (2011) - Blood Ceremony is quite simply a very hippie styled Pagan sort of doom metal. But not the depressing kind, oh no. This is the old school Sabbathy doom metal spiced with plenty of hippie prog rock bits that are really quite good, if you like hippie prog rock that is. It's certainly the kind of psychedelic stuff that just missed the 70's by about, I dunno... say thirty years?
But that doesn't mean that this female fronted hippie jam session isn't good. It's certainly catchy, and offers plenty of good flute playing amidst the rocky sort of doom and acoustics used on the disc. Some people are really going to dig it though.
Did I forget to mention the tambourines? Yeah, they are on here too. It sounds like you never left the 70's and is probably PERFECT for getting stoned off your fucking ass. So if you're convinced that the 70's just aren't over yet, pick up this disc to reassure yourself. It's certainly a good disc for those new age hippie metal/rock folks. Definitely "groovy." (51:00)
4/5
Black Sun Aeon - Blacklight Deliverance (2011) - I figured that after a gigantic 2 cd album in 2009, Black Sun Aeon thought it would be better to keep things minimal. But that doesn't mean that they haven't experimented just a little in the span of this much shorter 41:00 release. Now the vocal duties are also being performed by Mikko Heikkila (Ex-Sinamore) and some woman who has not yet been revealed, but she is on quite a few of these songs.
So yes, there's female vocals this time. But all is not lost. The drums pound with a ferocity and the guitars pound out great melodies of which the band is known for. Sometimes it might sound like there's too many vocalists on one track, but everything seems to balance itself out.
"Solitude" for example, begins with a female vocal, goes into a death metal vocal and then a clean vocal from Mikko at the end of the chorus. But "Sheol" that follows it is completely 100% a melodic death metal track with the death metal influence heavily stated. The same can be said for "Horizon" and "Wasteland."
But the opener, "Brothers" contains an altogether more light and melodic sound than I've ever heard from the band, including a nice vocalizing section from the female vocalist amidst acoustics. "Nightfall" continues this sort of female domination, being a much softer closer to the album. Mikko and the woman also duet the chorus. It's a good song, but hardly metal (sans a few pats). It shows that the band is trying to either become more accessible to the mainstream or that they just got sick of doing strictly melo/death/doom.
Whatever the case, I could find few flaws on the disc and that's why I recommend checking it out. That's unless you hate female vocals, because they are quite prevalent here. (41:00)
4/5
Haken - Visions (2011) - Dream Theater, it's time to pass the torch. You've been one-upped by your own pupils. These English gentlemen have been heavily influenced by Dream Theater and one could make a definite comparison to them, but what they do is something that Dream Theater has not been able to do for a very long time. They can still make music a journey, rather than just a simple form of entertainment. Dream Theater seems to be more worried about catchy songs that appeal to the chart, rather than the type of actual progressive wonders they used to make and that's where Haken comes in.
Haken literally blew me away with the progressive power of such songs like "Insomnia", "The Mind's Eye" and "Portals." Of course you could add several other tracks to that mix, like the 13:00 "Nocturnal Conspiracy" and the closer, "Visions." The disc is brimming with talent, as the band uses every little bit of instrumentation and electronic effects to it's advantage. This is the way that prog metal is supposed to sound, when listening to a song with so much variation and form actually allows one to close their eyes and experience the piece in the mind's eye.
I'll be honest. Even though I liked the vocals, I really wish that this had been just one big instrumental trip. "The Mind's Eye" and "Portals" both flow into each other as one big instrumental mind-fuck, and I would have liked the whole album to be like that. The band has as much potential musically as they do vocally, however; so I guess I should give credit where credit is due.
Run, don't walk; to the nearest store and pick this album up. It's simply incredible and well worth any amount of money that they would charge for it. This is the best progressive metal album I've heard in ten years and I strongly doubt that any band will top it this year. You must check out this album, I cannot say this any ore bluntly. This is not a recommend, it is a beg and plead for lovers of progressive metal. If you don't check out this one, you'll regret it severely.
Hand it over, Dream Theater. Haken deserves to carry on your legacy.(71:00)
777
Solstafir - Svartir Sander (2011) - Again, this is something much different than I was expecting. Solstafir have indeed jumped on the bandwagon along with Opeth and Enslaved and created another psychedelic prog metal album. Gone are the black metal sensibilities of the band. Now only the prog and post metal bits remain.
The vocals remind me less of black metal and more of a type of whiny shouting. This got on my nerves quite quickly, and if songs like "Fjara" and the title track hadn't really kicked in with such melodic beauty and elegance and the female vocal harmonies, I would've not been able to stand some sections of this disc. Also, let's give credit where it's due. The musicality and textures of the disc are magnificent, albeit a little long at times. There are even songs I don't care for entirely, like "Kukl" and the nonsensical instrumental with the woman speaking in it, "Stinningskaldi." But that woman continues speaking in a very droll voice even throughout the Floydian rhythms of "Stormfari."
This is also a bizarre 2 disc set in the fact that there's only approx. 78 minutes of music here and that they could have been stuffed easily on one disc rather than two discs of roughly the same style of music. When I saw that this was going to be two discs, I thought that it would be a grand project spanning the length of two discs. Instead, I'm getting two approx. 38:00/39:00 discs that make the package seem more epic than it really is. It also probably would have been cheaper to do just one disc.
The melodies are still good, the singing can be decent at times and the drums are certainly doing what drums should do on a record such as this. It's also very trippy, but a bit less grand than what I would've hoped. Everything the band has released prior is better, but that isn't to say that this is a bad disc. Fans of the band should enjoy it, but you'll be able to easily notice the hits and misses quite easily. Maybe it's one of those albums that takes some time to grow into. The closer track "Djakninn" however; seems to show the band in top form, with some great guitar soloing and drum fills. It reminds me of "Freebird" in the style that it was done. That's the 4:41 mark. (Time span of both discs: (77:29)
(Something funny: The collector's version comes with four frosted shot glasses and an ice cube tray. Yes, an ice cube tray with customized ice cubes. It also comes with a girly. Why just a girly? Is this album made for women?)
4/5
Black Cobra - Invernal (2011) - Black Cobra is a sludge metal band that reminds me quite a bit of Mastodon's old days. Their "Remission" era, to be precise. Most of the songs contain a lot of the same progressive nature that Mastodon showed in those early records, but this has yet to become full blown prog rock. The band comes on at full force, delivering much more aggression that the previous sludge band I reviewed, The Fucking Wrath. Apparently, the wrath wasn't that much of a wrath at all, because these guys topple over everything that the previous album stood for.
The most important thing on this disc is it's proggy atmospheres, which seem to take over most of the song. But this isn't anything like Haken, remember. This is way more like the older Mastodon, which is probably what these guys were aiming for. The drumming on the disc overpowers everything and rightfully so. This band wouldn't really be much of an act without their skinsman, who really seems to be able to nail this point down. Still in the vein of High On Fire, but with much more power and aggression and grittiness, Black Cobra definitely has the bite you're looking for while you're knocking back black tooth grins.
So get yourself some goddamn alcohol and blast this one! (39:00)
5/5
Black Tusk - Set The Dial (2011) - Black tusk is not my favorite band, by a longshot. This sludgy jazzy screamo stuff is alright to listen to every once in a blue moon and the band does have some good jazz rhythms here and there, but it's just not something I think I'm going to listen to all that often. I know some younger friends of mine who play in a few bands that might enjoy it, but I'd prefer something a little more... textured.
The band does do a few decent instrumentals that show some groove, but they're pretty basic. Yes, there's a handful of good riffs on here (mostly jazzy) but compared to the sludge I've been hearing, these guys aren't my favorite. But I will agree that the jazz influence does make the band stand out. Either way, it's just a solid 34 minutes of jazzy sludge and screamo with basic groove riffs. Nothing special, but fans will probably like it. (34:00)
3/5
Giant Squid - Cenotes (2011) - Giant squid is an odd act, incorporating doom, violins and an almost Arabic sensibility. The band definitely sails their way through each of the six lengthy tracks on this disc and makes good use of the time that they're given. If you liked their last disc, I see no reason why you wouldn't like this one, with such unpronounceable track titles as always (at least in the quotation marks.)
There's most certainly an advantgarde element here both vocally and musically, with the male and female vocals both being used in a very experimental sort of way. Hell, the whole thing sounds like one big experiment and it's even got a decent little instrumental piece called "Figura Serpentinata" which again sounds like a band that is trying to make me look like some sort of bleeding idiot.
The experience is a little over a half an hour, but for people looking for avantgarde and doom mixes with the USA stamp of approval, this is a great place to start. Although I wish it was longer than their last one. But that's a minor gripe as the disc is flawless and flows much better than the other one. Yes, I am aware they have a debut album, but have yet to hear it. Reviews aren't quite as good as on some of the later discs.
Go pick this one up with Hammers Of Misfortune and smoke the really good shit. I'm quite sure you'll enjoy life for a few hours. (35:00)
5/5
Marty Friedman - Tokyo Jukebox 2 (2011) - Much in the vein of Marty's last disc, this is going to be more for those people that really like the soundtracks of JRPG battle music or anime. The melodies are very light, very beautiful and sound like they might be something I'd hear while fighting a battle in Final Fantasy. There's still some shredding and maybe some prog, but for the most part, I hear alot of the same sort of happy melodies that I would expect to hear in games/anime.
Yes, it's metal. But it's kind of happy. If you like that kind of thing, go get it. But there's no virtuoso stuff. The melodies however, are quite good. It's also extremely hard to find and very expensive to import, so download it. Just fucking download this one. (44:00)
3/5
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