Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

So I totally just got done watching Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and I will assure you that it is indeed a most excellent film. There is a humorous and well done plot, decent acting (Even from Keanu Reeves!) and some very humorous scenes. This movie is essentially another take on Wayne's World. The general premise and characters are the same but the plot is completely different. Admittedly there are some major plot holes, but we're not going to discuss time travel theory in a comedy movie. All in all this is a great movie that is indeed most righteous. The premise itself was enough to keep me hooked.

The plot goes a bit something like this. Two best friends are about to flunk out of school, and if they do then Bill will have to go to a military academy in Alaska thus ending him and Ted's dreams to become rock stars. So an envoy is sent from the future were their society is based off the music of Bill and Ted's band. This guy gives them a time machine which they use to go back and time and gather a bunch of famous historical figures. However upon bringing them to the modern world they all quickly manage to get arrested D: . Fortunately Bill and Ted can bring them together just in time for their presentation which they get an A+ on.

The acting in this movie is reasonably well done. Ted is very well done and he brings out a youthful metalhead aura in his acting. However Keanu Reeves truly amazes me. In part due to my low expectations of him I was very impressed by his acting in this film. I mean he truly brings out the aura that Wayne has. An aura of a young metalhead who just wants to get a big break. The other characters are also well played. Keanu's father plays the repressive and angry military dad very well and the portrayals of historical figures where all excellent. All in all this movie has some pretty great acting.

The comedy in this movie is truly righteous. The majority of the time it falls into the same category as Wayne's World. It makes fun of stereotypes and allos hilarity to ensue. However some of the shiningest moments in this film come when the metalheads try and interact with the historical figures. It leads to moments where Abe Lincoln shouts, “Party on dudes!”. Or were Beethoven falls in love with Bon Jovi's classic album Slippery When Wet. This combination of historical figure meets real world comedy with metalhead humor is truly magic and it really creates a great aura for the film.

In conclusion this is an amazing movie that I really like and I think that any metalhead would find humorous. There is a decent plot, good acting and some moments of true hilarity. Also the righteous vocabulary of Bill and Ted has greatly expanded my own. So go ahead and watch this movie, it is sure to be a classic for legions of metal fans.

OVERALL 8.5/10

Roger Waters- The Wall- Live

So tonight I went to see Roger Waters The Wall tour. It was completely remarkable and probably something I will remember forever. Also me and the guy I went with were the youngest people in the audience, which was sad. I made some observations on this whole thing and I am going to share them all with you. Prepare for an essay.

I am glad to note that Roger Waters still has the voice of a god, and I think that he gave his all tonight at Bercy. He definitely retains a passion for music and his vocals still can blow your head off. When he was singing there were very few moments were I was not waving my hands about in the air in his praise. He also remains a solid bass player and he ran around the stage and made lots of eye contact. I had a feeling that he wanted to counteract the relatively sterile setlist and the fence keeping us away from him with a fiery passion. I say the setlist was sterile because while The Wall is a classic album performing it night after night must get a little dull. Overall the vocals and bass of Waters were incredible and incendiary. Roger certainly proved to me that he is still a golden god. At one point he sang However this god is a jerk. He never introduced any of his band members save for the guy who did the Gilmore vocals, and he got barely more than having his name yelled out by Waters.

The rest of the band (none of whom were introduced) was very good, the solos were spot on and in general the songs were perfectly done. The Gilmore vocals were excellent and I really enjoyed them. The guy who sang for Gilmore really captured his flair. The solos were also mindblowing, the Comfortably Numb solo blew my head so far into space I will be lucky for it to fall back to earth in the next three months. The drums were also good however the stage set and the wall typically hid the drummer, this was a tad disappointing but it did not bother me too much. Still I feel that the rest of the band could have had a more prominent spot. I understand that this is Waters solo tour but still, the other band members were practically completely hidden by the stage set.

Ahh the stage set, this was one of my favorite parts of the evening. It was incredible, the building up of the wall which was done in the first half of the show was really well done. The wall was built up at key moments during songs and it added a great feel to the show. The inflatable dolls also made the show awesome because they brought some of the things projected onto the screens and onto the wall become more realistic. The projections were excellent they told a story about the injustice in the world and they preached and anti-governmental message. All in all the stage set was pretty amazing.

Truly there are some memories from this concert that I will never lose. When Roger sang out “Mama should I trust the government?” thousands of people screamed “NO, NEVER”. I will also never forget how he brought out his fake machine gun when he was acting as the evil dictator version of Pink. When he was shooting at people I yelled really loudly and he shot directly at me. In addition his arms crossed pose that he made to emulate the marching hammers is a pose I will never forget. What I really want to say is that Roger despite his obnoxious side did indeed create a wonderful evening for me that I will never forget, and while he may have lost some humility he still puts on a great show. Some of his fans however, are really annoying.

Me and my friend Michael were trying to get closer to Roger Waters. We were sneaking through people to try to get closer to the center stage. Then people started to complain. One man said, “If everyone tried to get close like you guys then it would be insane”. But my question is, isn't that the point? Isn't the entire point of Rock and Roll to be insane, to vent off anger and aggression and hate? If I can not be insane at a rock concert and try to get closer to one of my god's where can I be insane? Aren't I allowed to enjoy a concert as I want too? And Anyway, you guys all have a right to come and try and steal my space at the head of the pit, in fact I invite you to come challenge me. This is not CLASSICAL MUSIC! THIS IS ROCK AND ROLL! BEING AT A ROCK CONCERT IS AN INVITATION FOR INSANTIY AND YOU NEED TO BE ALLOWED TO ROCK! I don't want to ruin anyone's fun but really, if somebody wants to get closer to a rock star then let them! LET EVERYONE ROCK IN THE WAY THAT SEEMS FIT TO THEM!

All in all this was a great show with some slightly frustrating points, still I would strongly recommend going as my fan problems were probably just because the people were French.

Get Behind Me Satan

 Now I am reviewing one of the first ever albums I heard in it's entirety, it remember the album cover, I heard it in last period Ceramics class. I was like 11. This album takes me back to those good ol' middle school days at that performing arts school, actually I loathed them, so nevermind. Anyway, this is a classic White Stripes album with some awesome guitar, and great drums in addition there are some decent keyboards. Of course Jack White's voice is awesome as always, and his lyrics are varied to say the least. Jack White shows his true genius by showing his ability to cover all different genres on this album and that is a big part of what makes it awesome.

The guitar work on this album is mindblowing as anything done by White is. White cracks open some riffs that are like... wow, this man is a golden god. White has the amazing ability to cover a variety of genres on just one album. He can do punk, folk, blues, alt rock and heavy metal, essentially the guitar is some of the most eclectic work you will ever hear. The drums of Meg are interesting because while never overly complicated they serve perfectly for accentuating the music and giving it a nice feel. The keyboards are beautiful and often have a nice jazz feel. Together the instruments create powerful and beautiful combinations that makes this album awesome.

Jack has vocals that are like... wow. I remember hearing this when I was 11 and was like, wow this guy has a weird voice. However when I was 11 I didn't really have taste so I did not realize that I was listening to one of the most amazing bluesmen of the 21^st century. He has a high pitched alto voice and it is unique because it does not need power behind it to make it rock. It just has it's own special beauty. His spoken bits are pretty folksy and inspiring and add a lot to the music. His lyrics are great and most typically talk about love. However, he also discusses religious concepts, other times his lyrics are psychedelic like in his song “The Nurse”.

All in all this is an excellent album featuring a lot of the more folksy stuff that Jack White has written. This album has some amazing guitar parts, the best part of the guitar is how eclectic it is however there are also some excellent solos carrying on the true tradition of Jack White being a guitar god. The drums of Meg are very simply done however they have a great way of accentuating the music. Finally the keyboards rock and provide an awesome feel to the music and make me feel like I am sitting in some cool music hall with punk piano. Overall this is a killer album with great replay value and I encourage you to buy it.

OVERALL 9.75/10

A Vulgar Display of Power-Pantera

 This evening I am reviewing Pantera's classic A Vulgar Display of Power. As soon as the record hits the table you hear a soaring and powerful riff from Dimebag's almighty fingers. This is the album that proved that Pantera was truly amazing. With their previous albums Pantera was rising to power, but with this album they proved themselves as metal gods. Dimebag has an amazing guitar that releases beautiful riffs, the bass is rock steady and well done, in addition the drums are powerful and fast. Anselmo's vocals are amazing and help define Pantera's awesome sound. The lyrics are shocking and powerful and simply awesome.

Dimebag's guitar is, simply Dimebag, there is no other way to describe it. Dimebag is pretty much the best guitarist of the 90's (except for maybe Zakk Wylde) and he proves it on this album. His guitar is hard riffing and very powerful. There is more raw energy in Dimebags riffs than there are on many thrash albums. Considering the energy in Dimebag's riffs one might consider renaming this album A Vulgar Display of Energy. In essence Dimebag's raw energy dominates the music. The bass is solid but uninspiring, Rexx Rocker does have a great stage persona though. Then the drums of Vinnie Paul are excellent, they are fairly original and have an excellent sound in them.

The singing of Anselmo is borders on death growls. His singing is a bit lighter than full on growls though. He has a very powerful voice and he puts a lot of guts behind it, you can sense through the music that he really means what he feels. The vocals of Anselmo are on a similar level of growliness as those of Venom and maybe some harder Zakk Wylde. These vocals define the sound just as much as Dimebag does and they are just as awesome as Dimebag's shredding guitar. The vocals are very dark and often punk like. They reflect a lot of anger against society and call for upending society, the lyrics seek to dominate with their anger. While they are good they are not ground-breakingly original.

Overall this is an awesome album from a great band. There are a lot of things that make this album sound awesome. One of the greatest things is Dimebag's spectacular guitar, it excretes energy as it goes about its riffing business. Of course his riffs are onnly matched in majesty with his incredible solos. The bass is solid but meh, the drums are excellent and incredibly original with a lot of great fills. The vocals are excellent, bordering on death growls they contain a lot of raw anger and this is often reflected in their angry lyrics. All in all this is a great listen and a fun one at that, this is a great album for any metalhead.

OVERALL 9/10

Sea of Cowards

 It's morning here so I woke up, then I decided to write a review of one of the greatest albums of 2010. The band I am reviewing is Jack White's Dead Weather. This album constitutes of some of the heaviest stuff that Jack White has ever done. One could describe this group as being a heavier version of the White Stripes. The guitar is solid and often being a great fusion of heavy metal and the blues. The bass is very well done with some great fills. The keyboards are often present and have a great sound. Finally the drums are pretty original. All in all this is a good album, however they often sound a bit to much like the White Stripes.

The guitar work of Jack White is fairly unique however upon carefully listening to this album I felt that the riffs were a bit to much like the White Stripes. At times it feels like White just took a Stripes riff and embellished it a little to get his riffs for this song. The most unique part is the use of guitar squeals on this album that make the music seem crazy. The bass is great mostly because it frequently gets some really nice Yardbirds style fills. The keyboards are excellent they add a great feel to the music mostly because their alternating keyboardists are so talented and versatile. However on occasion the piano got a bit too repetitive. The drums are original they get a lot of unique fills and use the cowbell a lot. So yeah, the drums are pretty cool.

The vocals are very solid, Dead Weather is excellent at using their two vocalists to create a variety of musical feels. The vocalists seem to share the singing about 50/50 so I will review them both. Jack White's vocals are excellent and always unique, however when he tries to imitate Dylan to much he becomes just a meh vocalist. However when he uses his own style he is good as gold. Alison Mosshart has a great voice and a nice last name. She is always a good singer and can make heavy songs have a lighter feel. Her voice reminds me a bit of Patty Griffiths (touring with the Band of Joy). The lyrics are pretty typical of White. They are often critical of individual people. Another topic of his songs is sadness, which is of course a classic White lyric topic.

All in all this is a pretty awesome album with a good and full sound. This record has everything that makes a Jack White record good, however it occasionally falls a bit short of the mark. The guitar riffs are good, however some sound a bit too much like those from the Stripes. Also there is a dearth of guitar solos. The bass is solid and gets some nice fills, and the keyboards are excellent and provide a great feel to the music. Finally the drums are original and a great listen. The vocals from both vocalists are very solid and add a lot to the music. This is a great album fusing blues and metal and it is an excellent listen, I would recommend it to any hard rock fan.

OVERALL 8.5/10

Land of the Free-Gamma Ray

 Right so, I am working on power metal week again today. (3 more power metal reviews fyi then back to your normal schedule). Today I am reviewing power metal giants Gamma Ray. There is a lot to be said for their classic album Land of the Free. This album has a nice sound, featuring some Zakk Wyldeish solos with nice bends. There are is a good combination of metal genres coming together on this album to create a unique sound in the power metal field. The guitar is great, with a couple of excellent riffs. The bass is fairly good, it can add a thrash feel at times and other times it just keeps the beat. The drums are fairly good but not terribly original. The vocals are good and feel, mean. The lyrics are also pretty good and enjoyable.

The guitar is excellent because it cover several styles. While the majority of the styles fall into the heavy metal genre there are definitely bits that experiment with different effects and contrasting speed metal versus more traditional power metal. Other times the guitar has amazing levels of contrast within just seconds, one good example of this is on the song Man on a Mission where there is an immediate switch from a quieter acoustic bit to a roaring solo. These songs are unique in that they contain acoustic and electric bits but they are not progressive. The bass is solid, but in all honesty it gets very few fills so it does not get a chance to shine. However the bassist is excellent at pushing the music along and giving it a thrash and speed metal feel. The drums are good but nothing really unique. All in all the instrumentalists know what they are doing but asides from the guitar there is not a lot of creativity.

The vocals are also very good. The thing that makes these vocals unique is that they have a mean feel to them. It is almost as if the singer (Kai Hansen) is sneering at you and it adds an angry feel to the album. Because the vocals are mean the vocals seem almost intimidating, it feels as if that Hansen has so much anger in him that he is overcoming the guitar with the sheer power in his vocal cords. The vocals remind me a good deal of those of James Hetfield. It gives Gamma Ray a more angry thrashlike sound than most power metal. The lyrics are pretty good. One of my favorite songs off the album, Time to Break Free, has a punk feel to it s lyrics. It is about leaving the expectations of the world behind and doing as you want. Another good song off the album is Gods of Deliverance a song about waiting for salvation from a god who might not come.

Overall Gamma Ray is a really great band who should be noted for their awesome ability to bring thrash metal and power metal together. The guitars on this album find an amazing blend between thrash metal and power metal. The main riffs are pretty much like thrash metal, however the choruses and the solos reek of power metal. The bass is a big factor in hepling the thrash feel but it is nothing to special and could do with some more creative fills. The drums are also decent but nothing to scream about. The vocals are really nice. Very much in the style of James Hetfield they create an angry atmosphere. The lyrics are excellent and range in themes from fantasy to punk. This is a good album that is definitely worth a listen.

OVERALL 8.5/10

Nightfall in Middle Earth Blind Guardian

 Today I am reviewing what will probably be this week's highlight. One of the greatest albums of all time, Blind Guardian's Night Fall in Middle Earth. It is a concept album based off the Silmarrillion a classic novel by Tolkien, you really should read it. This album is the apex of power metal, this is proof that heavy metal is an amazing and wondrous genre. The guitar is loud and strong and helps to drive the music along, it is very well done and I like it. The there is no bass and that provides a unique feel to the music. The drums are average, nothing extremely amazing but still fairly good. All in all this is one of the classic album that defines power metal as a fantastic genre.

The guitars on this album have an amazing quality. They are often loud and powerful but they also have more somber moments. Part of the guitarists skill on this album is not just the technically insane but also there is an amazing balance between hard and soft. There are the beautiful soft intros and then the explosive loud solos. In general this album has incredible guitar parts and the guitarists of Blind Guardian both have my Kudos. The lack of a bassist is an interesting feature of this album as it means that there sound is not truly 'conventional' however the rhythm guitarist actually manages keeping the beat pretty well so the bass is not overly missed. The drums are decent, but they are nothing to scream about. However all of the instrumentalists know what they are doing and can perfectly reflect the mood of the music.

The vocalist is amazing, there are few singers who can manage to get the same gutsy sound. A bold and brave sound that powerful. The reason that these vocals are good is not just the singers skill (which is notable) but moreover his incredible ability to put power into his yells, his ability to make music that has a greater level of power than other singers can even hope to attain. Also the songs have a catchy feel at time encouraging you to sing a long with them. The lyrics are brilliant, they are good at summarizing the Simallarion a story which I truly enjoy. All in all the vocals on this album are excellent, they are powerful and create a great feel and they have wonderful lyrics to sing about and that is a big part of what makes this album spectacular.

Overall this is one of the best albums that I have ever heard. IT is one of those albums that takes music to a whole new level. This album has everything that makes an album that could effectively change music. It has a loud and powerful guitar that perfectly reflects the mood of any song. Then there is the experimental feel because of the lack of a bassist. The vocals are powerful and gutsy, they have a lot more strength behind them than a lot of vocalists put behind their vocals. The story is beautiful and a classic story by Tolkien. There really is nothing I dislike about this album It is simply beautiful and totally amazing.

OVERALL 10/10

Valley of the Damned-DragonForce

 Today I am reviewing one of the essential power metal bands greatest albums. I am covering DragonForce's classic Valley of the Damned. This is their debut album but they have no difficulty proving themselves as a more than capable power metal band. They have all of the hard and soaring riffs that make DragonForce so good. Also the cover art is pretty darn cool. The guitar has a really good feel, it is constantly escalating in power. The bass is solid and helps to keep up a strong beat. The drums are hard and really fast hitting and thus very impressive. All in all this is an incredible first album from DragonForce.

The guitar has several really great aspects that makes DragonForce one of the best power metal bands. The main aspect that makes DragonForce really good is the sheer speed of some of the guitar solos that are played. The solos go so fast it is almost hard not to label this as a shred album. DragonForce is either really technically skilled, or they speed up their solos. If the solos are real then they are an incredible band, if not then wow they are horrible posers. The bass is steady and provides a good driving feel to the music along with the drums. The drums are really good on this album for two reasons. 1. They keep the beat well. 2. When given a fill the drummer does an amazing job. Essentially the instrumentalists of DragonForce are pretty awesome, if its real.

The vocals are fabulous and you can not question their reality. They have a lot of power behind them, however they are a bit high to have the operatic might of the greats like Dickinson. The vocals do have a certain sing-a-long feel and they really make the music have a great quality. There are some autotuned bits which tick me off a little but asides from that I think that the vocals are pretty awesome. The one thing the vocalist could do is put a bit more soul behind his singing. That would make his good vocals great. The lyrics are primarily fantasy based and have a great sound. They come across well and leave quite a few interesting concepts in their wake.

Overall DragonForce is a great band, if they are real. As I have found no good evidence that they are slowing their tapes then I have to accept that they are real and are thus amazing. They have everything that a good power metal band should have and they rock it well. The guitar is a powerful and fast bird swooping in with insane solos. The bass is rock steady and helps the music a lot and I truly enjoy it. The drums are also magnificent and provide a great feel to the music.The vocals are well done even if they do lack a bit of Umph behind them. The lyrics are excellent and I truly enjoy them. All in all DragonForce is a pretty awesome band with a pretty awesome album.

OVERALL 9/10

Transcendence-Crimson Glory

 Today I am reviewing a band called Crimson Glory and their classic album Transcendence. They are another part of my power metal week, and they totally rock. They take a different more progressive approach to power metal than other bands but they overall do very well. The guitar has a really nice feel, it is soaring thorugh the music on a powerful wind. The bass is solid and rock steady. The drums are good and provide a nice feel to the music. The vocals are powerful, if a bit nasaly and last the vocals are totally amazing. All in all this is an excellent album and a very solid effort. In particular the instruments are amazing.

The guitar is truly amazing on this album. It has a feel, that is almos magical. It seems to be flying on a powerful wind, the wind of the gods. The power and strenght embodied in the guitar is hard to describe, it is just all powerful. Also it has great range, from quieter acoustic bits to hard rocking Hammerfall-esque riffs. The guitar is often headbanging, and headbanging guitar is the best kind of guitar. The bass is decent, it gets a few good fills, otherwise it just boosts the guitar, the bassist does not seem especially important to this band. The drums are good, they are have quite a few impressive fills that make it particularly wonderful. For a while the drums seem simply average, but then when he gets a chance for a good fill it sounds amazing.

The vocals are powerful and have a great feel. They are unique from a lot of other power metal albums because they are nasally and this gives Crimson Glory a remarkably different feel. The vocals have a lot of power behind them however sometimes when the lead singer tries to scream he ends up failing a bit. What he is good at is holding a note, he is not good at ripping out a demonic scream though. Overall however the lead singer is extremely gifted and already one of my favorites. The vocals are very good and cover a lot of different topics, from fantasy to love. All in all the lyrics are excellent.

Overall this is a very good album with an amazing sound .I really like it, and even though it lacks in a couple places the buzz almost entirely makes up for it. The guitar is soaring and powerful and it sounds really awesome. The bass is powerful and steady and when it gets fills it really shines. The drums are powerful and well done, when the drummer gets good fll going he rocks. It seems that all the instrumentalists know their instruments very well and can create some spectacular fills when given the chance. The vocals are powerful and amazing and have a great sound. The lyrics are also beautifully done. This is one of the greatest power metal albums for a reason, it rocks.

OVERALL 9.5/10

Helloween-Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt 1

 So now I am in the car on a 7 hour car ride, what better time to do a metal review?

So now I will review some Helloween baby! I am doing their second album Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 which thoroughly rocks. It has a lot of amazing sounds and it is one of the albums that helped to shape power metal. The songs on this album are great, from the hard rocking I'm Alive to their classic Halloween this album has a lot going for it. The guitar sound is loud and awesome, it makes the music seem a lot more full and beautiful. The bass has a couple good fills but mostly accompanies the drums on finding the groove. The drums are very well done. The vocals are good and have a good feel, the lyrics are great, as it is always with Helloween.

The guitar sound is phenomenal, it features a lot of really great riffs. For some reason these riffs remind me very much of AC/DC type intro riffs. Underneath the verse the guitar usually plays long open chords or keeps a staccato thrash type rhythm. The solos are very melodic and thus excellent, the majority of them are pretty insane sounding. In addition the two guitars combine nicely to create a really good and full sounding album. The bass is decent, asides from a few fills it does not get a lot of time to show off. However the bass keeps the music going and adds a bit of a thrash feel to the music. The drums are very good, there are some excellent fills on this album. All in all the musicianship is awesome.

The vocals are amazing, they have great sound. The vocalist has an alto voice but it is extremely powerful and he can harness it to create a wall of sound. His voice has a force in it that puts him up among the rock gods. It seems to me that if you want to be a vocalist god you need to have a voice with A LOT of power, and then you become something great. This singer has the necessary power and so he becomes elevated to a rank as one of the greatest vocalists. The lyrics are usually fantasy based and have a high powered feel. They are sometimes sad and other times angry. All in all though they are absolutely awesome.

All in all this is a great power metal album that features one of the greatest power metal artists ever. Helloween helps to show how awesome power metal can be on this album. From the soaring guitar solos to the explosive riffs the guitars sound awesome on this album. The bass is powerful and keeps the groove on in an amazing way. The drums are wonderful, creating a good sound that helps to drive the music along. However the thing that makes this album for me, is the vocals. The more I listen to the high powered singing the more I am enamored with it. The lyrics really compliment this concept as well and offer a good range of ideas. Overall this is a classic album, with an amazing band creating a great album.

OVERALL 9.5/10

Glory to the Brave-Hammerfall

 Okay, so I decided that this week would be power metal week. Also I will bet at my grandparents so you will be getting one review a day till Friday folks. The rip off with their song The Dragon is crying and they don't stop roaring. On their debut Hammerfall straight away shows themselves to be a formidable power metal group. They have soaring powerful riffs and a lot of technical skill. The guitar is powerful and possibly the best part of this album, however the bass and drums are also incredible. The singing is spectacular and provides exactly the feel that this music needs. The lyrics also are extremely good. They are mostly fantasy based.

The guitar is very loud, powerful and filled to the max with awesome riffage. If you want an album oozing metal riffage this is for you, every song has multiple colossal riffs and they create a truly beautiful sound. One of the greatest things about the guitar is that it balances harder speed metal type riffs with good symphonic metal parts. Essentially the guitarists of Hammerfall create a very nice sound by finding balance between symphonic metal and speed metal. The guitar has so many good solos you almost want to curl up in a ball in awe of the awesomeness that is Hammerfall. The bass is also very good, sometimes getting amazing fills and other times just getting a great groove on. The drums are fantastic, the drummer is at least as skilled as Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden. The instrumentalists on this album combine to create a spectacular tone that you have to love.

The vocals on this album are beautiful, they create a level of power and sound that is seldom heard on an album. Joacim Cans has a voice that has a certain power to it, a power similar to that of Bruce Dickinson. However the main difference between the two of them is that Cans has a higher pitched and cleaner voice. This allows Hammerfall to have a unique sound. All in all the vocals on this album are some of the best that I have heard in a while. The lyrics are equally good, they are beautiful and powerful. While they are primarily fantasy influenced they can cover a variety of topics. One of the best parts of the lyrics is the sing a long feel that you can often get on this album. The combination of Cans voice and the catchy lyrics allows for you to sing a long (loudly) with the music.

Overall this is an awesome album with so much going for it you almost want to scream. For me everything about this album rocks and it should be like, required listening. The guitar is spectacular unleashing some super extreme riffage, the bass is excellent getting in some awesome fills and otherwise just finding the groove, and the drums are wonderful, adding such a great feel to the music that one has to kneel in awe. This album has wonderful vocals courtesy of Joacim Cans, who is gifted with one of the best voice in heavy metal, and his lyrics make his music all the better. All in all this is a fantastic band with an awesome sound, they have everything that makes a metal band great.

OVERALL 10/10

Under Cover-Ozzy

 Okay, so I wanted to do some Ozzy, also I wanted to listen to other stuff. So I combined the notions and you have today's second review! Yup the album Under Cover, by our beloved friend Ozzy!This album is awesome because it takes some of my favorite 60s and 70s songs and it adds a 80s metal feel. The line up is start studded, it has the guitarist from Alice in Chains and the bassist from The Cult. In short, this is an amazing star studded line up covering amazing songs. The guitar is soaring and powerful and adds a great feel to the songs, the bass is strong and helps the rhythm. The drums are fairly good, but nothing to scream about. All in all this is a really good album featuring a lot of awesome covers.

The guitar on this album is really loud and powerful. This is a solid effort from Jerry Cantrell, he has some solos on this album that simply blow the mind with their might. Cantrell is a dark necromancer calling up the guitar riffs of old legends and turning them into a whole new and powerful creation, a creation filled with malice and might and ready to destroy anything in its path. Yeah, the guitar is that good. The bass is also fairly decent with couple of good fills. IT keeps the groove on with the drums. The drums have a bit of an awkward time trying to find a balance between 60s music and 80s metal, but as a whole it does okay.

The vocals are totally awesome, they are classic Ozzy vocals but it is really weird to hear him singing 'For What It's Worth'. It allows you to see his major influences but it is also odd to contemplate that these songs created the Prince of Darkness. What is probably the strangest selection is In My Life which shows a gentler side of Ozzy as he sings a Beatles song. It is really weird to hear this album but it is also beautiful, because one of the gods of the 80s is paying homage to the gods of the 60s. All in all Ozzy does a good job singing on this album its just vaguely psychedilic. The lyrics are traditional 60s stuff. He chooses quite a few good songs for this album, namely Sympathy for the Devil and Sunshine of your Love.

Overall this is a great album with a unique sound. It is really to here an album of 60s selections with Ozzy singing them and Jerry Castrell adding in amazing 80s style solos. This album has a beautiful aura, it is not a headbanging album, it is more of a nostalgic and sad album. However it is headbanging at times and it does create a really awesome metal aura. However that is not the overall feel of the album, the overall feel is nostalgia and resurrection. The guitar is loud distorted and powerful, the bass is somber and mighty. The drums find a really good balance between hard and light. Then Ozzy has explosive vocals. This album is totally awesome and totally worth a listen.

OVERALL 9.5/10

The Cabbage Conspiracy

Ok turns out I have time for another, this will be a review of the Cabbage Conspiracy (possibly the best band name ever). Their first song starts out with what sounds like a distorted version of Wonderwall. Which is actually kind of cool. They have a hard sound which is a mix of hard rock and heavy metal. The riffs are power chord based and have a good tone. Combined with the vocals this becomes a really nice sound that is definitely worth listening too. The guitars are loud and powerful, they have a firm and solid feel that just keeps the band going. What I want to say is that the guitars exude a very nice aura that helps give the music a good feel often balancing light and dark. There is a lot of power in the guitars though and sometimes I feel like they should just explode into a giant tapping solo. The bass is solid and kind of has a thrash feel at times, it teams up with the drums for a good and powerful rhythm sound. The drums are not to heavy but are still pretty nice. The vocals really really remind me of Pearl Jam. The vocalist just has a voice that reminds me of Pearl Jam's style of music, I like the vocals a lot.

This guy sounds like he should be on an album. All in all this is a really nice up and coming band with a bit of a Pearl Jam vibe. They have a great sound and I think a lot of people would like them.

OVERALL 8.5/10
listen
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCabbageConspiracy?feature=mhum

They Call Us Legion

 Now I'm reviewing a band with an awesome name, They Call Us Legion, you can not argue that that is pretty awesome. They have an amazing sound which features some really nice guitar riffs. This band has one of the greatest death metal sounds that I have heard in a while. The sounds on this album are completely mindblowing. Everything about this band screams awesome death metal. The guitar is roaring and powerful, not only are there your traditional power chord powered riffs there are also some awesome single note riffs that give each song its own special flavor. The guitars are roaring and in short awesome. The bass is powerful and fast and with the drums creates a good drum section. My favoirte part of this band is the awesome guitar riffs. The vocals are great as well, they go along very nicely with the guitar riffs and create an awesome death metal sound. The death growls are totally awesome and the occasional clean vocals are also spectacular. The lyrics are traditional dark death metal stuff. All in all this is an awesome band with a powerful sound and they just need to keep on trucking because one day they will be awesome.

OVERALL 9/10

listen in

http://www.myspace.com/theycalluslegion

Martial Law

 Today I'm reviewing a thrash/speed metal band called Martial Law, which as band names go is pretty cool. They have a hard and fast thrash metal sort of sound. They blow through their songs with fast paced riffs and powerful shrieks from their lead singer. This band has a lot of power and a lot of potential. They play some really awesome heavy metal. The guitar is wailing and powerful. It burns through the songs at an amazing rate. There are some intense solos and a couple most excellent bits of riffage. It hasa bit of a Zakk Wylde feel in places and other times it could be likened to Metallica. All in all the guitar is a beautiful riffing monster. The bass is hard and provides a lot of speed to the music. The bass is a big part of what makes the band so energized sounding. The drums are hard and fast and awesome. They have quite a few excellent drum fills. The vocals are beautiful, however the lead singer should focus less on his growls. While his death growls are very good his regular voice is just so amazing that you have to let it shine through, it has a high piercing and powerful quality, something only mimicked by the rock gods like Dio. The singing is good but if it were clean more often it might be better. Overall this is an excellent band with a lot of potential and a fabulous lead singer, I would recommend them to any metalhead. These guys totally deserve to be signed, they are very powerful and have an awesome sound.

OVERALL 8.5/10

listen

http://www.myspace.com/lawvslaw

Van Halen-Van Halen

 Today I'm reviewing some classic Van Halen. This is one of the first albums to feature tapping as a major soloing technique that set Eddie Van Halen apart from the rest. The album kick starts with 4 Van Halen classic Running With The Devil, the legendary Eruption, You Really Got Me and Ain't Talkin' Bout Love. Those songs set the tone for what was to become the legend of Van Halen. The guitar parts on this album simply blow me away at both their catchiness and technical skill. The other instruments are also given reasonable musical parts. The lyrics are very much in the glam metal style. David Lee Roth has an awesome voice which he showcases well on this album.

The guitar is incendiary and spectacular. There were only a handful of other guitarists in the world at the time who could compete with the skillful master that was Eddie Van Halen. He has memorable riffs that drive a lot of the songs. While the riffs are a big part of the songs they do not dominate like in Black Sabbath recordings. The solos are part of what defines the album, they are amazing and just can not be matched in their speed and explosiveness by any other guitarist outside of those in the handful. The other instruments are given a decent amount of noise as well. The bass comes through a little but it does nothing spectacular. The other Van Halen brothers drums are heavy and strong, but nothing over the top. They do a good job of driving the music though.

The lyrics are either about love or rebellion. They are rather shallow in that regard. The lyrics do perfectly capture the sort of glam rock feel that there is in this album though. There is a power in the lyrics even if they are not deep. They have a poetic power, and power because they are of such high intensity. Part of what gives them their high intensity feel is the shrieking and powerful voice of David Lee Roth. His powerful voice can come out on top of the guitar and help lead the songs on their super charged path.

Overall this is a high powered glam and heavy metal album that shows off one of the best guitarists ever complimented by the spectacular voice of David Lee Roth. This album has several Van Halen classics on it, notably Eruption, Eddie Van Halen's coming out as a guitar god. Anybody into 80s metal would like this album because it features one of the biggest 80s bands at the beginning of their illustrious career. This album as significant replay value and I think anybody could find the sounds on this album awesome. There is spectacular guitar parts and decent parts for the other instruments, the lyrics are good enough and the voice of David Lee Roth is awesome. Go listen to this album now people!

OVERALL 9.5/10

Van Halen

Master of Reality-Black Sabbath

 So now I'm going back to some heavy metal roots. I'm covering the third Black Sabbath album Master of Reality, the first song is titled Sweet Leaf so I think you get a hint as to what its mostly about. There are a couple of Black Sabbath classic on this album like the previously mentioned Sweet Leaf as well as Children of the Grave and Into the Void. There is classic Iommi guitar on this album featuring some insane solos. There are decent bass parts and good drum parts. The lyrics are often drug influenced and Ozzy's voice continues to be ominous powerful, and just overall the voice of heavy metal. The instrumental parts on this album are powerful and loud and don't need solos at times (like Sweat Leaf).

I can't see how somebody could not like the music on this album. There are some really powerful Iommi riffs such as in After Forever. Its hard to remember that before Iommi nobody played this loud or with this much distortion. As I mentioned earlier the riffs just dominate the music and actually eliminate the need for solos at times. When Iommi does solo you are simply blown away. While he may not be as high powered in his solos as his greatest contemporary Page he is still very strong and skilled playing some pretty insane stuff. A lot of his solos do still retain some blues feel though and if you're not into that you might not like them. Geezer Butler has a couple really cool bass lines, especially in After Forever. The drums of Bill ward are good but they are not as explosive or all powerful as the drum's of John Bonham one of his heaviest contemporaries. The guitar is so overpowering though that they can easily be called the heaviest band of the decade.

The lyrics are either dark or drug influenced. Some lyrics are sort of Satanic, for example in Children of the Grave with its dark and disturbing Ooooo part. After Forever is also a pretty dark song from a lyrical standpoint. Then there are tracks like Sweat Leaf, which are basically all about drugs. What I am trying to say is that the lyrics are classic Sabbath and that you can not question them. They are dirty dark and daring you to stand up to them. Ozzy of course can really belt it out and his voice really explodes in some of the songs, he can be seen as the voice of 70s metal if you discount Zeppelin. He is the dark and powerful set of vocal cords that make this album click.

I really like this album. This shows the classic Sabbath line up at their peak and they rock hard. These 4 guys made up the dark rebellion to the light and happy hippie movement that bands like Zeppelin supported. The songs are driven by a riffing guitar that then breaks into some incredible blues metal type solos. The other instruments are given their chances as well to shine and show off. Then the lyrics are dark and ominous, foreboding for the future. Ozzy can belt it like none other and the music simply blows you away. I would recommend this album to anybody, especially people into 70s and 80s metal.

OVERALL 9.5/10

Masters of Reality

Outrider-Jimmy Page

 Sorry about the bit of absence over the past couple days, I had family stuff. Too mark my return I will be doing a review of a Jimmy Page album. Outrider is a hard powerful blues and hard rock explosion with some heavy metal elements. The majority of the album is hard rock with a blues feel, but there are definitely heavy metal overtones. There is still the classic Page riffing and awesome solos, the other instruments are given a chance to show off a little as well and there are some decent vocals but this is a primarily Jimmy Page oriented album.

The guitar is fantastic. Its harder than a lot of Zeppelin, because of course Page got to do whatever he wanted with this album. There are some nice solos and a lot of really good guitar parts that keep on riffing and exploding and just driving the music on. It is a treat to listen to Page show off whatever type of music he wants. There are some really cool things done with bending string on this album that almost reminiscent of his Yardbirds days. Then there are riffs that are more Zeppelin-like in nature. Page does allow the other instruments to have their own parts though. The drums have a lot of chances to show off on this album, especially on the lead track. Also on the lead track Wasting My Time is a memorable but repetitive bass riff. Overall the guitar dominates the music but allows the other instruments a small share of the glory of this album. This album is harder than most Led Zeppelin and shows off a lot of guitar talent on Page's part.

The vocals are decent, but asides from one track are nothing to rave about, they provide a blues feel that counterbalances the heavyness of Page's guitar. There is a balance because we have high powered distorted fast songs but they are played with blues timing and singers so balance can be attained. The track “The Only One” is like Zeppelin reuniting for a bit as we get to hear Plant, Page and John Bonham's son Jason all on one record. That song sounds like any of many other classic Zeppelin songs and would fit right in in any of the albums from Led Zeps glory days. The lyrics are all classic blues type stuff. Nothing particularly sppeaks to me but they are all just well written mournful blues lyrics.

Overall this is a pretty awesome album balancing blues and heavy metal nicely creating a sound harder than Zeppelin but lighter than a lot of 80s metal. There are awesome riffs and excellent solos and if this album were given more exposure it might become a classic. Personally I really love it and think that anybody who likes 70s and 80s hard rock would love this album. Gritty blues guys who like heavy metal (like me) would particularly like this album as this is to some degree really gritty and heavy blues. There are good guitar parts and decent parts for the other instruments. The vocals are overall pretty good and this album is very much worth to listening to as it shows off one of rocks greatest guitarist Jimmy Page.

OVERALL 8.5/10

Outrider

Borrowed Time- Diamond Head

 So after my personal albums release I will review some good WELL PRODUCED metal. Today I'm doing Diamond Head's classic album Borrowed Time. This album features some classic Diamond Head songs like Am I Evil, In The Heat of The Night and Borrowed Time. This is a precursor to thrash, featuring a significantly lighter sound than some darker thrash but its still heavy. This is a good and hard rocking album featuring nice guitars a decent bass, explosive drums, good lyrics and excellent vocals. The riffs are powerful and drive the music and can be both ominous and punk-like often in the same song.

This is a loud and awesome album. Yes the riffs are lighter than on Lightning to the Nations however they are still powerful and drive the music in an explosive and powerful manner. You can definitely hear the influence Metallica got from them. The guitar work is awesome and truly admirable. The bass can be heard well as this is a 4 man group the bass has quite a few good riffs especially in the song Lightning to the Nations. That brings up a slight issues with this album there are remakes of 2 previous songs, which isn't great on a 7 song album. Otherwise the drums are good and can be both high powered and cool and also dark, and ominous foreboding the explosion of heavy metal that is to come.

The lyrics are sometimes dark, like in Borrowed Time, or other times they are about lost love, like in Call Me. Overall they are rather meaningful and fairly deep in content. The lyrics do more than just add atmosphere they are pretty good from a poetic standpoint and convey a lot of emotions. Sean Harris has a voice that can convey a lot of emotion with long sad wails. Actually his wailing can be compared to Robert Plant, he simply has a slightly deeper voice. His voice explodes in Borrowed Time and reverberates in his lordly vocal might. He has a voice that suggests a very Robert Plant like man, his voice is simply spectacular.

Overall this is a very good album with great guitar parts, nice bass fills, excellent drums good lyrics and awesome singing. This is an album that would go on to influence a lot of awesome thrash metal bands like Slayer and Metallica. There definitely are elements of thrash on this album which show you were a lot of these thrash groups found their inspiration. For me the highlight of the album is the singing of Sean Harris, the main problem is that it only has 5 songs worth of new material there are 7 songs and 2 are remakes of old songs. Other than that this is an excellent heavy metal album that anybody who is into thrash should like.

OVERALL 9.5/10

Borrowed Time

some music

heres some stuff i wrote recently and recorded, the production is crap i know these are the first takes and i will be improving them in the future for my album
my band is named octopoda WE SUCK! (like tentacles you know...)
album cover

you can find them at this link
http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/search/song?q=octopoda