COMP SWAP XII Reviews Thread

FOLDER2:

1. Apollo Ra – Crimson Street
Real American power metal opens the second folder from BearOnUnicycle. And as with so many other bands provided here, Apollo Ra delivers a slightly progressive version of the genre. Add to that a very subtle NWOBHM feel, and we have a nice combo that makes the band a band of their own. This is yet another obscure band that fell well under the radar during their short stint in the late ‘80’s.

2. Sortilege – Mourir Pour Une Princesse (Die For A Princess)
NWOBHM from France!! Great song hindered by a language I really dislike (sorry to those who have it as their mother tongue).

3. Amethyst - The Last Prophecy
This songs starts with a cheesy keyboard intro, before it drowns out in the progressive metal that Amethyst delivers. They whole sound screams demo material, and this is not the most exciting track on these comps.

4. Heir Apparent - Keeper of the Reign
I am well aware of this band, and can’t believe that I still not own any of their albums! This is right up my alley. Powerful metal with dynamic songwriting! Easily in league with Lethal, Crimson Glory, Fates Warning and early Queensrÿche! A highlight in this folder, and one that will be added to the wantlist asap!

5. Glacier – Eastern Guns
Isn’t this the band OCI keeps raving about? And deservingly so! This is another fine metal band, that few people have ever heard. This track is from a demo tape they released in 1988. Musically they are, yes, progressive metal. But I hear references from as diverse bands as Iron Maiden and Marillion! Solid tune!

6. Medalyon – Visions
Medalyon is another hard hitting power metal band that delivers another highlight track on this compilation. Visions is the title track off of the bands only album, released in 1995. The music is mid paced, yet very heavy, reminding me of a cross between Morgana Lefay and Sacred Warrior. It’s a catchy number, with a riff that’ll have you banging along in no time!

7. Drive – Kamikaze
It’s insane how many underground gems BoU have managed to dig out! Drive is yet another band I am thankful for having discovered thanks to this comp swap. While not a Christian band per se, apparently Drive wrote mainly about religious and good-vs-evil topics. That makes me even more curious to why I had never heard about them before. Again, think Sacred Warrior styled power/prog. Driving guitars, and soaring vocals, in a song that actually goes somewhere, thanks to awesome songwriting! Very good track.

8. Near Infinity – Nevermore
Near Infinity breaks the mold a little bit here, as they are more straight ahead heavy metal, as opposed to all the progressively tinged power metal usually found on this comp. Personally I didn’t like this song all that much, mostly due to the fact that the singer reminds me of Glen Danzig. I hate Danzig!

9. Kingsbane – Lost In Time
I own this album. Kingsbane was long the number 1 demo only band in the prog/metal circuit, until Stormspell Records reissued this a year or 2 ago. I bought the reissue, only to discover that the band did absolutely nothing for me. I have tried and tried, listened and listened, to no avail. I just don’t find any of the songs memorable. Fates Warning fans should take not though. This band might be for you.

10. Labyrinth – Dreamland
I own this album. Italy’s Labÿrinth is a nice break from all the American metal This is from the band’s debut, when Rhapsody’s Fabio Lione was their singer. I wasn’t too nice to this album on Metal Metropolis, but the song provided here is really good.

11. Siam – Sleepwaves
I own this album also Got the CD signed by Tony Mills even Siam released 2 great melodic prog/metal, and I remember this particular album had me floored when I borrowed it from a friend some 15 years ago. And I like what I hear now as well.

12. Z-Lot-Z – The Road To Nowhere
And back to America. The guitarist in this band has also played for Destiny’s End, Helstar and Leatherwolf. And despite being on Nightmare Records, I have never heard of them. Road To Nowhere is from an EP they released in 1992. It’s melodic metal ala Leatherwolf.

13. Throes of Sanity – Abstract
Folder II ends with more progressive power metal supreme! Throes of Sanity reminds me of Lethal, especially in the vocal department. And that is of course a huge compliment. The music also reminds me a little of Eternity X. Another GREAT song!

Heir Apparent's song is from Triad compilation with "the voice that made God look down on us" Steve Benito at the mic. Basically you must get both albums by them and Triad. MUST. Medalyon has 2nd s/t album of same style.
Funny how I simply adore Amethyst and Dreamlore, and Kingsbane to some degree, but no one seems to like them that much. It's okay to be wrong

indeed, Glacier is some of that great unknown heavy/power from that era, lots of great songs.

And 'No Limits' just kills, that album is exactly what 'progpower' is in that sense and is never 'excessive' or other stuff people think when hearing the term - AND came out in 1996....Huge atmosphere on that record too.

Just came here to say that SideShowDisaster's comps are fairly mainstream. All familiar names (I don't know 90% of the names here). Disc one is a US power comp and the other two discs are a best of Metal Church mix of mine. I wouldn't be surprised if he heard everyone on the first disc. But, at least they were made from the heart (awwww).

Looking forward to his thrash comps, though. I'll definitely review them here.

CITANUL STUFF PART 2:

1. Myrath - Merciless Times.... Here is a band within the hype cloud of we-are-from-the-Middle-East-and-we-incorporate-slivers-of-Middle-Eastern-scales-in-our-metal-and-are-therefore-unique. This song fits the description perfectly. Not thrilling, but I don't hate it exactly, it's just kind of there. Like Rush.

2. Wyzards - Armageddon.... 80's Deep Purple mixed with 80's Yes with Gene Simmons on vocals (not actually Gene, it's a comparison). I loved how it began but it kind of, I dunno, didn't dig this as it went on. Gets kind of awkward..

3. Anathema - Deep.....ooh, I remember this from an older record. This was a transitional thing. IMO this band was better before this and got better after this. On this one, they're very middle of the road with little to no extremes that grab you from either era.

4. Elegant Simplicity - Lost Summer...... Mostly piano, acoustic guitar, and vocals here. This has got a little neoprog feel to it. Not an amazingly solid song, overstays its welcome, but I enjoy the style.

5. Discipline – Canto IV (Limbo)........ The first thing I'm thinking is, King Crimson tribute? The namesake most likely, but this really has mostly to do with some neoprog e.g. IQ or Spock's Beard. Vocal approach is heavy with Van Der Graaf influence. It's a little bit of a genre exercise, but I liked it. Not sure that I'm sold on getting the record.

6. The Merlin Bird - Rhyme To Reason....... Here is something that makes me think of Iona to an extent..some folky prog...or proggy folk? probably the latter. It didn't stick to me, but the guitar work is very cool. They may have better songs.

7. The Great Gamble - Legends Of The Symmetria....... Whoa, where did this come from? Prog metal inspired by something like Symphony X, but in many places, more interesting than a lot of what that band has to offer, truthfully. But this band needs the bazillion dollar production that a band like Sy-X has. That in mind, best song on here so far. Dudes know how to write. Also, the vocalist really must like Corey Glover and that is a blast to hear over this music. This would work well on a label like Cruz Del Sur or Stormspell. Gonna check them out more.

8. Erik Norlander - One Of The Machines...... Proggy hard rock here, kind of makes me think of Aldo Nova..it's got that kind of groove.....complete with cyber-rock hook...this is very hip stuff. You could also make a comparison to Blue Oyster Cult from that decade. Very cool.

9. Headspace - Die With A Bullet....... I remember this band as the band who had a song called 'Daddy F***ing Loves You', hahahahaha, totally bizarre for a super serious InsideOut prog metal group. Listening to this I'm thinking the label should have approached The Great Gamble instead as this attempts everything that band exceeded at, and kind of falls flat. Such is the music game...

10. Echolyn - As The World......... Somebody created a hybrid of Adam Duritz and Maynard James Keenan and had them front a neoprog band. Some jerky prog here, layered vocals, time changes which swing. A band worth checking out even if this song in itself didn't totally seal the deal for me - still good

11. Nightingale - Shadowman........ SWAANNNNÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖ! This is cut from the same cloth as Dan's solo record but with all clean vocals. Slightly melancholy, prog-tinged rock/metal. Oh yeah...and that lead guitar. This is a great project.

12. Secrets For September - To Behold....... this is interesting, reminds me a little of Mazzy Star, but perhaps less inebriated, and also mellotron (always a plus). Could be fantastic if they tightened some things up, would like to hear a full on professionally produced record. Oh man, guitar/moog solo. More of that is what we need.

It's crazy how much me and BearOnUnicyle's tastes overlap. He always throws around some really good shit on here, like Heir Apparent, Sortilege, Titan Force, Glacier, etc.

Orion Crystal Ice wrote:

CITANUL STUFF PART 2:
10. Echolyn - As The World......... Somebody created a hybrid of Adam Duritz and Maynard James Keenan and had them front a neoprog band. Some jerky prog here, layered vocals, time changes which swing. A band worth checking out even if this song in itself didn't totally seal the deal for me - still good.

Awww Maaaan!! They are one of my favorite bands! 1995 prog on the sony music label. After four albums they finally get on a major label..... then get dropped.

Discipline is cool. That isdefinitely some neo prog there. The Great Gamble is only available as a download from their website as far as I know. I forget how I heard of them. It had to be from someone around here.

I will now review jettafiend's first disc:

1.Devastation Suffocation-Absolon. Interesting European flavored power metal, though they hail from the US. Vocals bring to mind Bruce Dickinson at times. Cringe worthy ,hilarious yet endearing casio keyboard solo.

2.Death's Frozen Sting-Absolon. Nice riffing comparable to Cirith Ungol. This song is about a guy trapped in hell. This band shows some promise-I'd like to hear if the singer could extend his vocal range.

3.Tower- Angel. This is amazing hard rock classic 70's stuff. As a teenage thrasher I hated stuff like this.Now I can really appreciate it. This is a terrific song. I knew Angel were the white KISS or something, but I had no idea they were this good.

4.Rock & Rollers -Angel. This song isn't quite as epic as the tower, but it's still good nonetheless! Sounds like Boston at their prime. I really dig this.

5.More the Conquerors-Armageddon More Christian metal. I'm beginning to sense a theme. I enjoyed the singer's voice. Scott, I need a copy of this, lol

6.Liberation from the Blazing Wasteland-Armageddon. Another savage old-school metal anthem. Actually reminds me of Savatage, the Mentors,etc. Nice guitar work. Sometimes the vocals remind me of Nasty Savage.

7.Get Ready for the War-Arnion Modern sounding thrash with gravely unintelligible vocals. It's kinda meh for me, but I can see the appeal.

8.Human Holocaust-Arnion. More meathead metal from our Brazilian heroes. This song has a "Reflections" era Accuser elements, along with Machine Head and Pantera. Chaos AD also comes to mind. Unfortunately, not one of my favorites but enjoyable.

9.Run Away-Bloodgood. This one is from their latest. Another Christian band I knew of but never heard their music. This song is about running away from loose women. Advice I could have used years ago!

10.Run the Race-Bloodgood. Eighties sounding hard rock with terrific Dio-like vocal work.

11.The Agony of Lying-Boarders Definite Megadeth worship with melodic vocals. Turns out they were a Megadeth cover band!

12.4th Reich-Boarders Good song with blazing fretwork through out. Definitely a band to look out for.

13.Metal Kombat-Disaffection THRASH!!!! Slayer-influenced skull-dragging thrash.Nice production, they remind me of Insane on their "Wait and Pray" album.

14.The Mortuary Man-More thrash and that's never a bad thing. This reminds me of Exodus. This band is good.

15.Haunted House-Grave Robber Christians who dress up like demons and sound like post-Danzig
Misfits. Not bad for what it is. Infectious hooks and choruses.

16.Fill this Place with Blood-Grave Robber. Not much to say that wasn't said on the previous review. Not bad at all.

17.A Time of Crisis-Heretic-Ah Heretic. Being a HUGE Mike Howe fan I hold that album in high regard. This is some newer stuff with the original singer. His voice is very familiar but I cant' quite place it. Anyways, a fantastic song.

18.Heretic-Heretic. Unfortunately, I prefer the original to this faster version. Mike Howe's version is hard to beat. This song is good-it just pales to the original.

My thanks to jettafiend for a fun compilation,disc two is on the way!

kmorg wrote:

exact33 wrote:

kmorg wrote:

Come to think of it. Looks like several more tracks are missing ok that comp. I swear I added tracks from In Vain and Cazaver as well. I must look into it to see if anything went wrong with the upload.

getting old is tough....   

Yeah, you should know. You're one year older than me

some of us are not so well preserved   

chewie wrote:

The Great Gamble is only available as a download from their website as far as I know. I forget how I heard of them. It had to be from someone around here.

Yeah, that was how I heard of them.  Their album is available as a free download from Bandcamp.

http://thegreatgamble.bandcamp.com/

Citanul wrote:

chewie wrote:

The Great Gamble is only available as a download from their website as far as I know. I forget how I heard of them. It had to be from someone around here.

Yeah, that was how I heard of them.  Their album is available as a free download from Bandcamp.

http://thegreatgamble.bandcamp.com/

Yeah! That's it!!! Excellent album!!!

kmorg wrote:

Just as I suspected. There should have been 10 more songs in the Norway Rocks folder. For some reason they were never uploaded to dropbox. I have added them now, and yes Olafsto, there is Communic in there

Good work!!   

I got one disc from Short-Fuse and it is quite eclectic in range but fun to listen to.

Tornado - Hate Worldwide> this track simply smokes! This is old-school thrash, but instead of pulling from the usual big-4 influence pool these guys add in some Suicidal Tendencies, especially in the vocals. Not a clone by any stretch but you can hear it in the delivery. I definitely need to check out more of this band s work.

White Spirit -Cheetah> NWOBHM band that I had not heard of before. Fantastic! They mix the speed of early Priest and Motorhead with some John Lord organ tricks. This song is great.

System of a Down - Old School Hollywood> Um... SOAD. Ok, it's not the lost car-keys song and actually sounds nothing like that at all. This was an interesting track but what really stood out to me is the footwork of the drummer. WOW! That guy holds down some pretty odd time signatures, and just smokes. Unfortunately this was the only redeeming factor of the song.

Reverend Horton Heat - Loco Gringo's Like to Party> I have known of this band for awhile, I just never checked them out. This is a really band that has been HEAVILY influenced by the Stray Cats, but are not a clone by any stretch. I need to check out more from these guys and quick.

Rob Cavestany - Heal in Time> The guitarist dude from Death Angel? This song is pretty good. I like it. Sounds nothing like Death Angel, more like it was written in the mid-90's. Pretty good overall.

Cyclone Temple - Why> More Thrash! This song is great, so why have I not heard these guys before? I need to check further into the catalog for more Cyclone Temple.

NFL Gameday '97 Theme Song> An odd inclusion but some pretty sweet funky guitar work.

Zigoku Quartet - The Course of the Existence> A Japanese thrash band. Musically, I would compare them to more modern metal. Not bad, but not sure I would revisit these guys.

Reverend Bizarre - Doom Over the World> I had to check out the track based on the band name alone. This is actually quite good and incredibly catchy as well. Slow, sludgy riffing and uncomplicated music. I rather enjoyed this one. i found myself bobbing the head and tapping the feet along with the beat with every listen.

Melechesh - Rebith of Nemesis> From what I can find out about these guys they label themselves as Assyrian Black Metal. I am not a fan of the genre myself, but some are so you may like this. This track basically reinforced why I don't listen to Black Metal at all.

Hawkwind - Levitation> I knew of Hawkwind as Lemmy's old band, what I heard was not what I was expecting at all. It is very tight, very well played 70's British prog-rock. I enjoyed this track and I will revisit this one again.

Def Leppard - Mirror, Mirror> Oh, Yeah!! High N' Dry Leppard. I love this album. Already own it tho. A solid rocking song. Two Horns up for the inclusion of this track.

Sir Lord Baltimore - Ain't Got Hung on You> This is great. I had never heard of these guys and they are very good. Checking into these guys more as well.

In Vain - Paralyzed> I am not normally a fan of death metal, but I got turned on to these guys during the last Comp-Swap thanks to Kmorg. Both tracks from this band are very well done. I like the variety and technical precision quite a bit and the songs are pretty catchy as well. Good solid tune. Added to the list of bands to check out.

All-in-all I would say that this has been a successful swap, I got some new tracks of bands that I very much want to check out and others, not so much but thats the point. Good mix of stuff, Thanks Short-Fuse.

Short-Fuse wrote:

I will now review jettafiend's first disc:

1.Devastation Suffocation-Absolon. Interesting European flavored power metal, though they hail from the US. Vocals bring to mind Bruce Dickinson at times. Cringe worthy ,hilarious yet endearing casio keyboard solo.

2.Death's Frozen Sting-Absolon. Nice riffing comparable to Cirith Ungol. This song is about a guy trapped in hell. This band shows some promise-I'd like to hear if the singer could extend his vocal range.

13.Metal Kombat-Disaffection THRASH!!!! Slayer-influenced skull-dragging thrash.Nice production, they remind me of Insane on their "Wait and Pray" album.

14.The Mortuary Man-More thrash and that's never a bad thing. This reminds me of Exodus. This band is good.

My thanks to jettafiend for a fun compilation,disc two is on the way!

Bring it ON!! Thanks for the kind words. Absolon's lead singer Ken Pike actually has quite the vocal range, I just wish he would have like to hear him use it a bit more on this album.

Disaffection are a band from Brazil and I HIGHLY recommend buying the album. It is stellar. The lead work is a little weak but it is still a great album.

I believe that Bill Roxx has copies of Disaffection and Boarders for sale on his website at Roxx Records.

I rec'd 2 discs from Martinsane. I listened to each about 3 times without looking at the band names or song titles (so I would not have a bias either way). I do not claim to be a critic or expert-just a fan of metal for over 3 decades.....
Here is Disc 2 (as this is the one I blindly grabbed first):
Paralyzer--Legion of Hate: At first I thought this was a Toxic Holocaust song I had not heard and then it reminded me of (very)old Kreator. Certainly in those veins. Good stuff.

Powergod--Kill with Power: Reminded me of those early 80's underground bands with the less then good production (cymbals had that "wispy"/warped cassette tape sound to them). It reminded me of early Fate's Warning-ish with Halford type vocals. Really like this song. I will try and check out more.

Primal Fear--Metal is Forever: This was a live track and I knew it was a German power metal band when he started talking. I knew it was Primal Fear when the song started. What can say--if you like power metal you love this stuff. If not, you probably don't. I love it.

Primary Slave--Powdered: Don't know what to think. It had a hip-hoppy start to the vocals and some of the choruses/bridges reminded me of Slipknot's first album--just less aggressive and less angry. Not really my style.

Queeny Blast Pop---You wanna be a rock-n-roll star: Straight out of the Ramones/Huntingtons' songbooks (actually more like the Huntingtons than the Ramones). Not bad as I love both of those bands. I will check out more.

Razormaze--Karma In/Karma Out:  Hard for me to describe this. Very up-tempo which I like. The phrase that came to mind was "beer infused" as I can picture this band live. The vocals were kind of loud garage rock singing with metal styles as well. No idea if that is truly accurate. A fun listen.

Sea Hags--Doghouse: I have heard of this band. A fun "storytelling song". The kind of song that starts with "Woke up this morning...", "Last Saturday night..", "I once knew a guy..." etc. Fun song. Vocal style reminded me a deeper toned Faster P*ssycat. Fun song.

Synglin--Looking for some Kitty: Well this title is self explanatory. An anthem "sex tune". Don't know why but in the bridge of the song I started hearing Blue Cheer's Summertime Blues(?). Just the way my brain works, I guess. Never really liked sex songs unless they were clever. This was straight forward. Ha.

Testimony--Transcending Reality: The first thing I heard (in my head) when this song started was Styx' Suite Madame Blue (again, my dumb brain). Really like this song. One of those songs that has a variety of tempos, nice riffing, and just takes you with it wherever it goes. Really nice soloing. Didn't really seem like it was as long of a song as it was. Will check out more.

Tornado--Golpea Tu Corazon: Spanish vocals in a nice up tempo song. Started to try and sing/shout along with the chorus. Very infectious. Really like this song. Will check out more.

Trox--Hungry Hunter: Very familiar voice--just couldn't place it. Very good "4/4 traditional metal".

Veins Iced Over--In Dark Places: This song had some weird vocals (well, I did not like them) and the song seemed to search for an identity throughout the song. One of the songs that, for me, was over way before it actually ended.

Walking with Kings--Mention of your name: Typical of the "4/4 time, big snare metal" you would hear on Mtv in the mid 80's. Very infectious melody. Not a bad song, though.

Woslom--Time to rise:  The guitar in this tune reminded me of the guitar tones on Annihilator's Waking the Fury (not really fuzz-tone but in the same ballpark). Nice upbeat tempo throughout with a slight industrial feel. Really like this song. Will check out more.

Mass--Eternal Warrior:  I have heard of Mass and seen their albums in the used cd stores. Never heard them though. Nice galloping metal. Very 80's sounding. His voice had a weird vibrato to it when he held a note. Would like to hear what their other stuff is like.

The Nasties--Detroit rocks: I assumed when I heard this song that it was a compilation of a variety of Detroit bands, as there seemed to be a variety of singers singing about how Detroit rocks (no, seriously--don't let the title fool you). Didn't click with me.

White Widdow--One More Day: VERY 4/4  metal with that big snare sound. A little too "up with people" for me. This reminds me of bands that would play at my sister's church and she would try and get me to go by saying "the band there really rocks". A "metal band for people who hate metal". Brought to mind, the change in sound, for those that are familiar, that happened when the bands Chicago and Kansas got new singers.

For me, a very nice comp that I have continued to play and enjoy. Thanks, Martinsane.

Wow I haven't heard of half of the bands that people put on their comps haha! I guess I'm listening to more common stuff now than I thought.

I downloaded those comps that exact made and Cintanul gave me some more comps. I made it about half way through the songs but I haven't really found too much more that I liked. Some ok songs here and there. I really have to finish listening to the rest of them. My only fear of finding some really great new bands is that I will want to get everything haha.

allthingsmetal wrote:

I rec'd 2 discs from Martinsane. I listened to each about 3 times without looking at the band names or song titles (so I would not have a bias either way). I do not claim to be a critic or expert-just a fan of metal for over 3 decades.....

For me, a very nice comp that I have continued to play and enjoy. Thanks, Martinsane.

Glad you mostly dug disc 2! Like I mentioned in a pm to you earlier some good, some bad, some funny, some meh.

With the Comps you sent me, which I too am enjoying quite a lot thank you (reviews pending), I would have thought that some of the stuff in my comps would be a little un-metal for you.

To extrapolate on some of the tunes you are enjoying and such, that Powermad "band" is a disc of covers and Kill With Power is vintage Manowar. Testimony, Primary Slave and Woslom are discs I reviewed for Spirit Of Metal and White Widdow for Sleazeroxx. That Mass is an old school metal band not the more Stryper-fied christian metal band with the same moniker. And Syngiin. A tape I found a million years ago of a band from Arizona that are all to cliche and just plain silly but trying to be serious glamsters. I was tempted to put my "favorite" from the tape "Get Off My Hair" but figured that would have been too bad. Queeny Blast Pop is an LA glam band with Talks Cheap, Tramp Alley, Pretty Boy Floyd, Prophets of Addiction bassist/singer Leslie Sanders. It is all around good bubblegum glam pop rock...

Can't wait to read your thoughts on disc 1.

Syngiin band photo:


and the "hit" Get Off My Hair



And if you want to you can download the songs from the tape (this wasn't released on cd, even though I see it is being booted now) here: http://www.foxxbmx.com/mykel_foxx.htm

Here is the photo of the cassette that I posted in this forum:

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

Wow I haven't heard of half of the bands that people put on their comps haha! I guess I'm listening to more common stuff now than I thought.

I think in general the comps do lean towards the obscure stuff, be it slightly or very. That's really just a consequence of trying to avoid things that the other person may have already heard.

Quote :

My only fear of finding some really great new bands is that I will want to get everything haha.

I know the feeling. I still haven't got around to getting everything I wanted to from last year's comp swap.

Wall of text incoming.

2nd comp "Metal Forever":

1. Ultimatum - Blood on a Thousand Hills
First thing I did after discovering NLTM site was checking Ult's band. The cornerstone for me was vocals - the example of acquired taste. Some time has passed since then, this comp brings "Blood on a Thousand Hills" to the table. All I can say is that after repeated listens the song gets better and better. It is completely against the rules, but I'm liking it more and more.

2. Eidolon - Coma Nation
Heard the name, thanks to Kmorg now finally have a chance to hear their music. Fast and agressive power/thrash, which reminds me of, say, Heathen. Eidolon are rahther good, but for now I'm felling comfortable with what I already own of that style, unless the music completly blows me away, which is not the case right here.

3. Sacrament - Hellfire Denied
Thrash, of a kind I usually avoid. Being super picky, this band is way too raw and agressive for my liking. Again, a fine listen in a context of a comp, not that it is terrible or anything, but not something I'll be listening on my own.

4. K-Octave - Authenticate
This is Shawn of Fire's band I guess. Good old heavy metal not going over its head, doing what it is supposed to. An enjoyable listen.

5. Gardenian - If Tomorrow's Gone
Really got into melodeath in winter of 2012/2013. In Flames' Sounds of Playground Fading did the job opening up a whole new horizon. And it is great album, those who ignore everything after The Jester's Race can go home, or thats just me being a newbie not getting "it". Back to the song, Gardenian fits my demands perfectly. Acoustic interludes, lots of cleaning singing, "melodicness" all overthe place - what's not to like?

6. Trampled Underfoot - Into the Night
Shawn strickes back with the brilliance and glorious sounds of USPM. Well, not exactly, as this is, I suppose, an album track with a different singer and hints of neoclassicisms, which I honestly don't care for. And overall this exact song feels a bit clumsy, perhaps due to recording. Still a fine song. I checked an album of theirs not that long ago, but decided to stick with demo, for Shawn's powerful singing works much better with such music, add to that the usual "demo" feel, and we have a winning combination.

7. Ancient Cross - The Queen is Dead
Can't say anything really. The song has nothing bad about it, but there is no character to it to differ from countless other band. Nice listen as a part of a comp though.

8. Temple of Blood - Conviction
Pretty sure I checked all the bands members of HoM are involved in. Best thing about "Conviction" is ToB's mad banshee screams. But the menacing, lightning-fast power/speed/thrash mix is, yes yes, not my cup of tea.

9. Doctor Butcher - The Altar
Now we're talking. Have it, love it. There is not a single Svatage album I don't like. Fight for the Rock I don't remember a song from, so it doesn't count. "The Altar", and whole album for that matter, reflects dark times Jon had been through, and it really feels in the music. Great one.

10. Possessor - Make Them Eat Metal
Completly over the top, completly hilarious. This track is so METAL, you can't really resist liking it. I shouldn't, but the song is fun and feels so natural, quickly switching me from "WTF is that" to headbanging.

11. Malteze - Blessed Are The Strong
Femetal from 1990 of high caliber. I bought a CD of them the day before Kmorg send me his comp :DCommanding vocals, gang chrouses - US traditional metal done right. This is really one of the best albums featuring a female singer.

12. Thunder Rider - Death to Death
I'm sure I've owned a Thunder Rider album. Tales of Darkness and Light Chapter II it was. To be honest, I got ridof it. Thunder Rider is a band Manilla Road fans have to worship, as they share a mighty, mystical and epic athmosphere of the latter, and secondly, they also share a vocalist who falls into acquired taste category. Mark Shelton kills MR for me, and while TR is much more enjoyable, they still failed to impress me some 5-7 years ago.  Now it was my reaction from their 2002 release. "Death to Death" convinces me I owe it to myself to check out the cult classics that is Tales of... Part I and not believeing in MA single reviews anymore. MUCH, MUCH better. Gonna get my sword ready to fight barbarians while the song is playing.

13. Faith Factor - Keep it True
Ski's band. This guy sang on fans' favorite Ascend from the Cauldron by Deadly blessing - a staple in USPM. "Keep it True", as title clearly indicates, is a must-have song for a gig. Ski is still sky-high, the song screams metal, so it can't be bad. A good addition to a comp, but really nothing to write home about. And that flat, muffled recording holds back a lot of potential imo.

14. Onward - The Kindness of Strangers
If there is a band that can compete with those divine sounds of USPM from the 80's, they still might be worse than Onward. MARVELLOUS. I have all of the Onward, sadly it seems they are gone with a death of their singer. In the end, it is a common destiny of that kind of bands, which increase the merit of their small catalogs even more.

15. Messiah Prophet - Master of the Metal
Christain metal's classics. Also had this one many moons ago. A well-crafted mid paced heavy metal with a typical US flavor to it. Enjoyable listen, but in the long run it lacks power and grit.

16. Savage Grace - Sons of Iniquity
I tried and tried to like Savage Grace. Every ingridient of their music is right up my alley. Still, a full album of Savage Grace doesn't grab me. Best thing is both of their CD's are still with me, and this track again makes me go back and listen to them. Well, why not, Leatherwolf took a dozen of listens until it finally clicked, I absolutely love them now, so it is worth the wait.

17. Cage - White Magic
Gave up after previewing some of their songs. Too much stuff to check out and not enough elements to really get me. A pleasant listen, but something holds me back from getting more. They are good, but not good enough.

18. Mass - Voices in the Night
Had it, got rid for the same reasons as with Messiah Prophet. A cool catchy track, but lacks staying power.

19. Brainstorm - High Without Lows
The quantity of their albums always held me back from getting more. So I went with Eternal Reign, who do basically the same Brainstorm do. What can I say, love this mid-tempo crusher. German power done the right way, for it has serious dose of power in it.

20. Destiny's End - Breathe Deep the Dark
James Rivera never dissapoints. That is if you're a fan, which I'm not. Fine with Helstar and Distant Thunder and personally don't feel the need to get more of him, as his latest work with Vicious Rumors was kinda okay at best.

21. Heathens Rage - Knight of Steel
Wanted to pick this one up for a long time. Top-tier US metal with recoding quality adding even more value to the song itelsf. That's my kind of music.

22. Distant Thunder - I Welcome the End.
As mentioned, I've reached a saturation point with all things James Rivera, only difference is that I have this CD. Haven't listened to it in probably 6 years or so :DHas a fresh feeling to it unlike previous JR track, and that makes me want to dust off the CD.

23. Dream Evil - United
A lot of good words have been said about Dream Evil. I avoided them simply beacuse I burnt out on traditional metal pretty much, and modern bands failed to deliver even in my "better" days. "United" slays though. Commanding vocals, crushing riffs, leads doing their job, chrouses resembling Accept's finest. You have to like this song, otherwise these guys will come to your house to take your metal card. Very good song.

24. Antithesis - Deciever Within
Slowing down on here, Deciever Within brings in mellower side of prog/power sounds rooted in tradtion of Sanctuary, with shades of Wicked Maraya. Realized I wanted to get a hold of what Antithesis sound like years ago, but couldn't due to no songs were avaliable by the time. Thanks to Kmorg correcting that.

25. New Eden - Evil Logic.
Fine power metal. Nothing outstaning, but worth a listen. Just guitars and vocals. And power. Guess they would be a good addition if found cheap. I have an Accept tribute CD with New Eden competently covering China Lady on it.

26. Prowler - Say Hello to the Nite.
This must be a hit. Super catchy mid-tempo thrash with James Hetfiled behind the mic :DGreat song.

27. Leviticus - Deborah and Break
Swedish underground heavy metal from 1985. Had them suggested by youtube many times while searching for music. Not big on Swedish bands though, and this song doesn't really prove me wrong. Entertaining, but not amazing.

28. Evergrey - The Masterplan
Had one Evergrey album at some point. We didn't exactly get along, so its gone now. Now, I like "The Masterplan", but will have to see if an album of that kind is going to settle down well.

29. Doomsword - Steel of My Axe
Sharpening my blade getting ready to macrh on into battle!!1 Epic metal in all its glory. Very good song. Ratings on MA are sky-high convincing me I can do no wrong with Doomsword.

30. 3 Inches of Blood - Deadly Sinners
Finally got a chance to hear 3IoB. The name always prevented me to go any furhther than knowing about their existence. Wrong on my side, as they do top-tier level metal - over the top funny and entertaining. Off to buy some music of theirs.

31. Eternity X - The Confession
Tried this band some time ago too :DThe lack of any indication whether they are worth it or not, and what I was able to find didn't exactly made me a fan, put an X on Eternity X. "The Confession" actually works against my inital reaction providing a nice prog metal epic, that tries too hard to be a conceptual piece in some aspects. Still I'd take a closer look on their stuff now.

32. Septer - Transgressor
Good old traditioanl heavy closes this track. Lead guitarist goes off, singer screams at the top, rhythm section is competent - enough to make a good song. Completly by the numbers, but obviously Septer play music which they love and have fun making, so more props to them. An enjoyable ending.

All in all, 32 tracks in a row was a challenge to form opions on :DHave to say this one really flows great as a compilation satisfying my traditional metal needs, even better than individual songs on it. Highlights would be Gardenian, Heathens Rage, Brainstorm, Antithesis, Dream Evil, Doomsword and 3 Inches of Blood, that is not counting those I already have.

Great write-up!!

A few notes: the clean singer ok the Gardenian song is Eirikur Hauksson of Artch fame. He is only a guest on this particular album, but he does like 4 songs there. A killer album, imo. Very underrated.

I would urge you to check out more Eidolon. While the track I put on here is very fast paced, borderlining thrash, most of their other albums are more in a general uspm style. Try Nightmare World next.

I'm surprised you don't like all James Rivera appear on, and the New Eden track

I'll do the 3rd folder you sent soon. Will you be doing the rest of the Norway Rocks trax, that I had to reupload due to some error on my part?

Will do, I posted this first simply for me starting to write about 2nd comp before I recieved the missing part of the first
Not big fan of James Rivera. New Eden is good, but something's missing. That vague ingredient whcih clicks.

My review of Joker's comp will be up soon. I work at a college and have been away on winter break so sorry if I'm slow.
There was quite a bit that I liked on there, I was grooving to it during my holiday travels!

Review of The JokerRiv's comp. This was actually a very useful comp as it's a catchup of new stuff by bands, some of whom I had lost touch with. Helps an old geezer like me stay current, thanks! I really enjoyed it.

1. Fates Warning- One Thousand Fires
Fates has followed a similar trajectory as QR (see song #5 below) for me in that I loved their classic early albums, and then lost interest in the 90's when they got kinda Dream Theatre and boring. This is something of a return to form, more hard riffing and direct than last I heard from them. 8/10
2. Testament- True American Hate (live)
Another return to form I guess, although I'm not a thrash guy really. I did like their Ritual/Low period, which were more mid paced and mainstream.
7/10 but maybe higher if you thrash.
3. A Sound Of Thunder- Murderous Horde
Wow! This is great. People regularly ask my why more female fronted bands aren't on my radar and I don't have a good answer. I'm clearly missing out and need to look into them more. This is great powerful classic metal.10/10
4. Nightwish- Storytime (live)
Ditto. If you can believe it I don't own a single Nightwish album and I feel like an idiot after hearing this. Excellent. 9/10
5. Queensryche- In This Light
Yet another return to form. This sounds like Empire era QR which is an album that I loved. Not as heavy as the Fates new one but very sweet and slick. I hope the rest of the album is this good because I'm buying. 10/10
6. Paper Army- Meltdown
Just a EP, so hard to get a feel, but kind of a punky psych vibe here? I would have loved it at one time but not so much now. 6/10
7. Motorhead- Lost Woman Blues
What a great old bluesman Lemmy has aged into. I didn't expect to be impressed by this so much, but that world weary old voice is just perfect for this basic blues number. Maybe the best song on this comp. 10/10
8. Orange Goblin- Stand For Something
Lost track of these guys since Big Black and Time Travelin'. This is more straight ahead and less doomy than their classic sound. Hard to tell from one song but not all that impressive. 6/10
9. Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats- Mind Crawler
Murky stoner fare. Maybe somewhere between early Kyuss and Big Elf? It's good, I'd like to hear more. 7/10
10. Alice In Chains- Hollow
Sounds similar to their BGWTB songs, which is an album I loved. I'm going to swing past Wal Mart tonight and check for this. 9/10
11. Sasquatch- The Message
I love this. I don't know how this has escaped my radar as I try to stay on top of this type of stuff. This song reminds me of the 90's band Only Living Witness a bit in addition to the stoner vibe. Excellent! 10/10
12. Opeth- The Devil's Orchard
They just keep getting better. The kings of gloomy atmospheric clean prog without any wankery. This song leans more on the keyboards than most that I've heard from them, and I love keyboards. 10/10
13. Blackmore's Night- Dancer And The Moon
I've never been into the pagan/folk stuff, not even in the heyday of Tull and Zeppelin, so this isn't for me. I'm just not interested in Richie unless he's plugged in, and I guess those days are over. I admit Candace has a nice voice. Probably a good song but MEH.
14. John Elefante- This Is How The Story Goes
I have the two classic Mastodon albums that sound like Petra and another CCM album from Elefante. This however sounds just like Kansas, which makes sense since he was in the band. I wonder how many guys from Kansas played on this one? I've always loved Kansas 7/10

Thanks for the very useful metal update! I'll be buying a number of these. I feel guilty that I traded it for a disc full of mostly obscure old psych type stuff, which is probably hard to review as it's not very accessible. I had fun making that disc but consider the review optional at this point.
I'd also like some tips on more of the Nightwish/ Sound Of Thunder type bands if anyone has any. I've been missing out there.

Glad you liked the comp! I'll have my review of your comp up this weekend! And I love checking out obscure stuff!

FOLDER 3:

1. Manimal – Shadows
I own this album also. And like with Kingsbane, this album came highly praised by people I usually share musical tastes with, yet the album totally failed to impress me. This song makes me want to listen to the album again though, as “Shadows” is a catchy metal number, not unlike what a band like Brainstorm sound like.

2. Borealis – Where We Started
We’re going to Canada this time. Borealis is a fairly new band, and this track is from their 2011 album. I’d describe them as melodic power metal, with some somber, dark elements added. Think Evergrey meets Symphorce? I really liked this track a lot, and it keeps growing with repeated listening!

3. Voyager – Lost
Another “new” band, this time from Australia. This track is from 2009. Voyager plays music that fits their band name, so it’s no surprise when I say that this is melodic progressive power metal. They are currently signed to Sensory Records, and that actually tells you much about their sound as well. “Lost” has a very memorable chorus, and for some reason it makes them sound Swedish to me. Weird. I like this song too, but I’m afraid it drowns a bit in between other greater things.

4. Angel Vivaldi – An Erisian Autumn
Instrumental guitar wankery. I believe I got an email from this guy’s promotional team, with a request to review his album on Metal Metropolis. I respectfully declined, seeing that full instrumental albums tend to bore me to tears. This particular track is awesome though! Even though this is clearly rooted in progressive power metal, this guy is not even listen over at Metal Archives. Angel Vivaldi plays circles around most contemporary guitarists. I would love to hear what he could come up with in a band situation.

5. Chroming Rose – Spread Your Epitaph
I used to own this album. Not sure why I traded it away, as I like this melodic metal number. I’m not sure this slow, semi-ballad is representative of the band’s overall sound, as they are listed as melodic speed metal on Metal Archives.

6. Primitai – The Line of Fire
A totally unknown band to me, Primitai is apparently a heavy/thrash metal band from the UK. There’s not an aota of thrash in this track though, but Heavy, with a capitol H, is very much appropriate. This is another newer band, and they sound like a mix between Running Wild and Sabaton. A very catchy track.

7. Sacred Mother Tongue – A Light Will Shine
A brand new track, released in 2013. This is another UK band, playing a more modern form of metal. MA describes them as a blend of Metalcore and Melodic Hard Rock. Hmm, never heard that description before, but it actually makes sense here, sort of. Still, this is not your average emo band. It’s just….. well… modern. While I like the song, I won’t spend much time hunting down this band’s music.

8. Before The Dawn – Sanctuary
More modern metal, this time a goth tinged melodic death metal from Finland. I used to like Sentenced, and this is not too far from what they used to be all about. “Sanctuary” is definitely a memorable song, but this is not exactly my favorite genre.

9. Heed – Corona
Not sure why I never checked out this Swedish band before, seeing how much I loved Lost Horizon. This is the band vocalist Daniel Heiman and guitarist Fredrik Olsson formed after the demise of LH. This song is from a demo they recorded in 2007. Heed sees Daniel bring his powerhouse vocal talent as we are used to, but here he also sings in a much more melodic death metal style! This is not what I wanted to hear from him, yet I can’t deny that this is a memorable tune.

10. James LaBrie – Undertow
Dream Theater’s vocalist also pulls out some melodic death metal vocals in this song, from one of his solo efforts. James solo is actually much heavier than his main band, and this song is really good! Dallas Black sent me several songs from his solo career in a previous comp swap, and BearOnUnicycle just reminded me again that I need to check into this further!

11. Vanisher – Reaction
We are firmly rooted in the modern metal styles with this compilation. Vanisher is from the US, playing melodic metalcore, but without screamo vocals, luckily. Actually, the vocalist reminds me of Rage’s Peavey Wagner! Still, this kind of modern stuff is what my 14 year old daughter listen to, and while I have tried several of “her” bands, they just never seem to click with me.

12. Andy James – Time And Time Again
More shred-metal. Not as enjoyable as the one from Vivaldi.

13. Akeldama – Love Forever Threaded
This was very different from anything else on these compilations. Female vocals, death vocals, melodic death metal, goth…. Is this what they call djent? Well, I sure didn’t like it… sorry.

That concludes the 3rd and final folder of mp3’s from BearOnUnicycle. It was the weakest of the 3, but still with a couple of tunes I really liked. Overall I have enjoyed this comp swap immensely. It has been a long time since I was so excited about hearing bands I never heard about before, and I will be hunting down several of the albums I’ve been turned onto thanks to this swap. So thanks for the swap, BearOnUnicycle!!