Post a song, I will comment on it

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Fat Freddy wrote:

Griffin, cool name. I never listened to them. Let's see what they've got...

Very enjoyable, thank you Freddy

Griffin is an old band, but a recent discovery for me. I learned about 'em from a documentary about the forgotten bands of the San Francisco Bay Area metal scene, before Metallica came to town and put San Fran on the metal map.

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I will keep this song in mind. And play it again when I want to hear an honest kickass tune. But I doubt I'll be hunting down their discography and rare vinyl EP's any time soon.

Just in case you decide you DO want to hunt down their discography, they only released two albums, which were reissued by Golden Robot Records in a really cool mini-box set a couple of years ago. I greatly prefer the first album (Flight Of The Griffin, where the track I posted came from) over the second (Protectors of the Lair).

Glad you liked them too!

Fat Freddy wrote:

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Icarus with photoshopped abs on the cover... okay, must be super fast cheesy power metal from Italy or something, right?

Nope, they're American. From Pittsburgh, to be exact.

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A melodic intro, it's pretty, and then it kicks into something I would describe as traditional heavy metal. Mid-tempo, big riffing. The singer doesn't sound Italian

The singer is Tim Aymar, who some of you might remember from Control Denied (Chuck Schuldiner's melodic prog-metal side gig) and Psycho Scream. This is his current band, the album this track comes from was recently released by our old friend Stormspell Records.

Glad you liked it!

Yes! I do remember him! He is very good. I was wondering what he was up to. I love that Control Denied CD.

How about this?

I'll get back to listening once I get my kids to bed. It's 8:30PM Finnish time.

Lari wrote:

I'm back at it.

Wrecked Neck wrote:

I never even heard of this group. Let's see what they've got. The sound of the intro is atmospheric. Sounds nice, and easy to play. Makes me want to pick up the guitar.

There's progression, and it's like a dreamy song. The singer has a warm voice. I like it a lot. But I do not know if I could take a whole album of it. This is 9 minutes long and it's already a bit of a challenge (or I have ADD).

I like the short outro, when the singer lets loose after the solo. The song is sort of minimalistic, but the sound is still full.

Pretty cool.

I like this band a lot. They are from Greece, and you can definitely hear the accent in the singers voice. This is from their second full length album, the first being sung in their native tongue. The whole album is pretty much done at this pace, so you might not like it. This particular song has a lot of meaning to me on a very personal level. Gives me chills every time I hear it.

Let's go!

Troublezone wrote:

Solitude, I do not know the band, but let's hear 'em out. Named after the Black Sabbath ballad, I suppose?

It's muscular thrash metal. I can feel my biceps growing just by listening to this. The clip shows concert posters with names like Forbidden and Sacred Reich, so these guys are old school and true (and possibly San Francisco bay area based).

The song is a riff assault! So cool! The singer uses a voice that's somehow between singing and barking, not terrible, but there were better and more talented ones doing what he does.

But it's a great song, it takes you on a thrash metal journey, then drinks you beer, kicks your ass and takes your money. I don't see how anyone even remotely interested in thrash metal could possibly not like this. It's a little by the numbers, unsurprising, but the quality of riffs and the way it grabbed me is a sign that it is good.



It's not that stock really either. I mean, there are tempo changes, changing riffs, different techniques... it's a quality song, no doubt about it. I just got me a bunch of 80's thrash CD's so maybe I'm not in a hurry to add more, but I'll keep Solitude in mind, if all their songs are anywhere near this quality. With a glass full of beer at least, this song slaps. Isn't that what the kids say these days? Solitude slaps.

metalken wrote:

I am going to throw this song at you- no ENGLISH vocals, but this band is pretty killer on their instruments. All female band.

No ENGLISH to me meant I was expecting Greek or French or something, but no, this is Japanese. The first 50 seconds is pretty much what I expected to get, melodic heavy metal, and then *boom* what the heck, these chicks are doing metalcore or something?! That transition was pretty cool. The metalcore was not. It's not really metalcore though, is it? It's like industrial metal with pop keyboards and vocal lines?

It's interesting, I appreciate the contribution here. I think this is exactly why this thread exists. I honestly don't know what to think of this. Caught me off guard. I'd have to play it again. The lack of distinguishable guitar in the mix usually makes me dislike a song. The "wall of sound" that buries everything. It's here. But the lead singer has a great voice, even if I don't understand her lyrics. This has some potential. I know I am probably not the target audience though.

I'm left with mixed feelings. The singer and guitar player are hot. She has a great voice. The melodies are real nice. But the style is not my thing. I would not buy their CD if I came across it. But I don't regret hearing this. It's a good song.

Witchfinder wrote:

How about this?

You know, I've been thrown some really good songs in this thread. But this right here kind of encapsulates my true taste in music. That indescribable thing that I really like that just feels 'right'. That guitar tone is perfect. The singer is good. Song itself is not complex, it's a super simple song, but the sound makes me think of all the good parts of Manilla Road, and a little Savatage there too.

It's an instant hit for me. I don't know this band, but I would have loved to catch their show live if they ever even toured.

I also have a feeling I would love a full length CD by these guys.

Thrash metal you say? I can play this game

Lari wrote:

Let's go!

Troublezone wrote:

Solitude, I do not know the band, but let's hear 'em out. Named after the Black Sabbath ballad, I suppose?

It's muscular thrash metal. I can feel my biceps growing just by listening to this. The clip shows concert posters with names like Forbidden and Sacred Reich, so these guys are old school and true (and possibly San Francisco bay area based).

The song is a riff assault! So cool! The singer uses a voice that's somehow between singing and barking, not terrible, but there were better and more talented ones doing what he does.

But it's a great song, it takes you on a thrash metal journey, then drinks you beer, kicks your ass and takes your money. I don't see how anyone even remotely interested in thrash metal could possibly not like this. It's a little by the numbers, unsurprising, but the quality of riffs and the way it grabbed me is a sign that it is good.



It's not that stock really either. I mean, there are tempo changes, changing riffs, different techniques... it's a quality song, no doubt about it. I just got me a bunch of 80's thrash CD's so maybe I'm not in a hurry to add more, but I'll keep Solitude in mind, if all their songs are anywhere near this quality. With a glass full of beer at least, this song slaps. Isn't that what the kids say these days? Solitude slaps.

I discovered them through Divebomb records. Shawn Pelata (who used to post here) would sometimes post links advertising albums. “Say Uncle” by Uncle Slam was another great one! “Poisoned Population” is their collective works package. It’s remastered and sounds fantastic! They’re becoming hard to find because they were probably a limited run…

But there is some copies of their full length album “From Within” floating around. Too bad they disbanded only after the one album and some demo material. The whole album is great! They definitely were influenced by Sacred Reich and Testament. Two of my favorite bands!

I like your describing it as muscular thrash. That’s a good way to put it!

Scott Waters used to say in his reviews of albums that kick ass… “this may cause uncontrollable fits of moshing” or something like that.

"Toccata" by Mekong Delta

Alright, let's go again!

SideShowDisaSter wrote:

Thrash metal you say?  I can play this game

PRESIDENT. Thrash metal, nice sound, good tempo. Basic power chords aplenty. Nothing intricate, but it flows well. I kind of like the singer. It's not super angry, but the image makes me think of a political band opposing corporate power and that dollar sign makes me think of a certain former president.

It's beefy heavy. Everything works pretty well here. I could listen to this more. But it's maybe not terribly interesting. Then again, I am not an interesting person myself. Suits me.

The instrumental break that comes is much expected and it does kick ass. The highs are poor in the mix though. It's mids and bass all the way. I prefer a mid-heavy mix in my thrash usually. But different situations call for different solutions. I liked the way this was composed and performed. It's not my favourite, but I wouldn't mind listening to more by these guys. I am being honest here and I am not going to hunt down these guys' releases any time soon. That's the equivalent of the dating trope of "it's not you, it's me".

I'm also not thrilled about the title of the song. I'm not 15 anymore. I didn't really pay attention to the lyrics enough to say if it was that bad all the way or not.

And now I already over-analysed the song. It's good, and I enjoyed listening to it once at least. Let's leave it at that.

NEXT.

James B. wrote:

"Toccata" by Mekong Delta

Mekong Delta! This was an unexpected... gift? I am going to listen to it. But I'll preface this by saying that RAGE is possibly my favourite heavy metal band at the moment, and thrash/speed metal is my current mood, and I know Peavy Wagner was in Mekong Delta at some point, AND this band's CD's are very high on my wishlist. I just haven't been able to find their CD's at a decent price, and I've been holding out on listening to their songs as a consequence (I have a lot of CD's I DID buy that I haven't listened to that are on my plate right now).

But I will play this one. Let's see how I like it. I have high expectations.

Enough said... Youtube has the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsK-AjfF-JQ

Eerie intro. Intriguing. Then about 35s in the heavy guitars hit you. But it's a... what is this? Prog? The tempo changes, the drum patterns, the beat keeps changing. The guitars make me think of Piggy from Voivod. Just chaos. Madness. How do they even know how to play this? Is this a song or band practice? Then the silence and the lone drum beat to keep us all awaiting for what happens next.

I'm expecting something glorious.

Oh no, well, it's more band practice. Are they serious? This is really a song? The song then ends with more dissonant playing.

What did I just hear? I am left baffled. I think it was kind of shit, but maybe I just didn't understand it? I kind of felt the same the first time I listened to "Killing Technology" by Voivod. So maybe it's musical genius? Whatever it is, it's beyond me tonight. I'll need to come back to it. I've heard some kickass instrumental tunes in my life. Some of them I didn't comprehend the first time around.

GrandNational wrote:

Rapid black metal bass, chainsaw guitars, and then some surprisingly modest minor pentatonic riffs get thrown at my face that sound like old school 70's or 80's heavy metal, just when I was expecting screeching extreme black metal voices.

Well, after a break with some chords freely ringing out, the extreme singing does eventually start. A shame, because I am not a fan of this kind of 'singing'. The frentic black metal pace is enhanced with some 70's style guitars and exotic riffs (middle-East?). The beat sets in to a nice groove. I could get behind this. Chainsaw guitars, big riffs, but the vocals do ruin it for me, unfortunately. It's my burden to bear, I know. If you can enjoy this, good for you.

The guys can write an interesting, rhythmic tune, and perform it at an insane pace. Let's not take that away from them. But I'm sorry, I'm not running out to purchase the next Melechesh album on CD.

But it was interesting to listen to this. I've listened to black metal in my life, especially in the mid 90's when the Norwegian scene was at its most legit

But I understood it always required a certain specific mood to be in. I am not a black metal warrior no longer. Maybe I'm missing out, but it is what it is.

SideShowDisaSter wrote:

Oh hey, I don't know Vulture. The music is thrash metal. The guitar sound is excellent. The singer is awesome! All the fundamentals are here. Quick riffing, coming right at you.

This reminds me of Annihilator. And I LOVE Annihilator.

A great song. Everything is just right here. What can you complain about a thrash song like this? The riffs are there. The band sounds like they are about to raise hell. They sound dangerous. Great stuff. Thank you.

Gilbert wrote:

X Wild? What's the X stand for? Oh well, let's try it.

Oh and this is a manly sound, isn't it? Accept is the obvious influence. Grave Digger and Running Wild, too. They sound so German. It's very good. The lead singer nails that gravely rock voice. The riffs are catchy. The solo is classy. These guys are professionals. Nothing raw or amateurish about this.

A catchy traditional heavy metal tune, performed extremely well. Sound is not unique but works for me. I would be interested in a full album by this band. I bet they put on a killer live show with catchy tunes like this.

Lari wrote:

Gilbert wrote:

X Wild? What's the X stand for? Oh well, let's try it.

Oh and this is a manly sound, isn't it? Accept is the obvious influence. Grave Digger and Running Wild, too. They sound so German. It's very good. The lead singer nails that gravely rock voice. The riffs are catchy. The solo is classy. These guys are professionals. Nothing raw or amateurish about this.

A catchy traditional heavy metal tune, performed extremely well. Sound is not unique but works for me. I would be interested in a full album by this band. I bet they put on a killer live show with catchy tunes like this.

This is a German band, founded by 3 former members of Running Wild, thus the name X-Wild.

I realize that I am tipping my hand a bit on my appreciation of J-rock and J-metal with the choice of videos and songs I am presenting. Shiren is the main composer for UM and is one of the guitar players in this progressive power metal band; and was intrigued by reading stories on alternatives to traditional burial in the west ie. mushroom gardens, cremation remains turned into objects, etc. and wrote this song(s) as a result. It is 9 minutes long, but what is unique is that the second half the song is played with the notes in reverse to the first half. Even the vocalist sings the notes  (not the words) in the second part in the composition.  You can tell me if his experiment works for you. You have to give him/them credit for attempting it. Even the video is well thought out as they just play the video in reverse at the mid point with the new take on the music. Once again, no ENGLISH.
Btw, the violin player has a killer version of Eruption played live on Youtube.