Post a song, I will comment on it

Lari wrote:

James B. wrote:

"Toccata" by Mekong Delta

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.

The song title is a term describing a classical music technique. Classical is very prominent in a lot of the band's music, but definitely is not all that they bring to the table.

You said you'd be indulging so I thought it would be cool to throw something unexpected at you..

Anyways check out "Sphere Eclipse" by the same band. It showcases something else they do. I remember their being a video of some kind for that on YouTube is Azzhow.

It's Independence Day and I'm a little intoxicated, but I'll see if I can listen to some of the songs tonight.

SideShowDisaSter wrote:

Thumping thrash metal, I like the way the song starts. Cool sound, not totally super fast. The singer does gravely clean vocals, but struggles to reach any notes. Very monotonic. I suppose it's on purpose? Then there are gang shouts, Anthrax style.

The change of riffs around 2:00 is so cool. But the singer comes on too strong again. It's a bit of a tough guy way of singing, ain't it? Can't sing, don't care. It works to a degree. Is it Chris Jericho? But the rest of the band does well in the musicianship department, so I'm not sure it's a 5/5 hit for me. Composition and feel of the song is very good though. This would go down well with a cool beverage, which I unfortunately do not have at this moment.

I see the same poster offered another song, but let me do this one here in between, just in case I don't have enough time or energy to listen to all of these.

metalken wrote:

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.

This is a nine minute song and there's already a lot of setup here. What am I getting myself into?

It's a fast, very intricate song. Superb guitar work (though I hate that guitar synth the other guitarist carries). It looks ugly and probably also sounds ugly. But the playing is... intricate. Did I say that enough? It's intricate. And fast. The singer is also talented and stays in the high range.

It's all good and worth listening to for sure. But maybe not totally my thing. But it could be my thing, I dunno? Maybe they win me over?

Halfway through there is a break. A dramatic break. With a cool pan out and then a pan in. Just like metalken warned me.

The second half kicks ass, really. How does one come up with this kind of stuff?

I think it's brilliant. Maybe I should pay more attention to the Japanese metal scene. So these guys are called Unlucky Morpheus? I see their CDs are not available for cheap.

And how do they have 32 albums already (according to discogs) if their debut came out in 2009? Maybe it's too weird for me. I was taught not to put my... thing... in crazy. Maybe it applies here, too?

Troublezone wrote:

Iced Earth! One of my favourite bands of all time. Maybe the best band ever!? Close enough, at least.



I've seen them live with Barlow (Horror Show tour) and with Stu Block (Dystopia tour), but they rescheduled their show with Ripper, and I was out of the country for the rescheduled date. I was in college in the Netherlands in 2004.

This is one of Ripper's finer performances on the album. He sounds evil. The song is NOT the best Schaffer creation, but I like it well enough. It's very heavy. The album itself falls towards the bottom of Iced Earth catalogue, but I remember being quite happy about the change in the band back in the day. Iced Earth needed a jolt.

I remember being in a summer metal festival in 2003 (2002?) and got into talking with another random Iced Earth fan, and I clearly remember saying the band should try something different, maybe HIRE TIM OWENS (recently fired from Priest). Because they're getting stale. Barlow is getting boring. Schaffer is getting too much into Blind Guardian -style layered vocals. Back to old school metal would be the best for them.

Oh well, this was not old school metal. But there were a couple of great tracks on the album. Greenface was not a top highlight though. But I'm glad I got to share this story with you. Even if I really didn't give you almost any opinions on the actual song in question. Nice lyrics, too. Though plain and quite simple, they represent something great. Especially the way Tim Owens delivers them. American soldier. Worth saluting, absolutely, with no sarcasm. Freedom is not free. And these guys didn't just risk their lives for their own nation, but for all of us in the Western world, defending values worth dying for.

One more before I have to make supper for the twins.

Gilbert wrote:

Whoa! Cool sound! Heavy. A massive riff starts the song. This is classic heavy metal. Emphasis on heavy. The lead singer has a terrific voice, he sings in Japanese (maybe?) and I don't understand the lyrics, except for "Lay down! Coming to get you!". But it's kickass nonetheless.

Great voice, great riff. A simple song, but it works so well. I immediately see the risk of this being called pedestrian or 'stock', but to me it's about the whole experience and the performance of the song - this one was delivered with passion. A whole album of songs like this might be a little risky though. I think only AC/DC could pull that off.

This is a song I like a lot, but repetitive spins might get tiresome. I hope their albums have great variety.

They classify these guys as Thrash Metal but I would say somewhere between Thrash and Power Metal. Anyway, they’re awesome!

SideShowDisaSter wrote:

The title and cover made me expect another thrash metal song. The intro too. But this is really more US power metal, right? Or at least somewhere on the border. The singer is awesome! He has the pipes, but also a sense of melody. I love the vocal melodies.

The music is very heavy. Thrash/speed/power all in one. Awesome semi-fast riffs. I love this song. Mid-80's sound.

The main melody is catchy too. Nice chorus. I could listen to more by this band.

A great song! Thank you. I'm going to play that again. Only louder this time! And I might need a beer

Damn, that was good.

Let's do another one.

Thrasher73 wrote:

They classify these guys as Thrash Metal but I would say somewhere between Thrash and Power Metal. Anyway, they’re awesome!

A modern sounding recording here. A very full soundscape. Melodic singing, a little bit in the background. But he's got a decent voice, no doubt about it.

After a slow/quiet first 90 seconds, it gets to the heavy part. Rapid riffing, the singer shows another side of him when he does a few lines with an aggressive growly voice. Then goes back to melodic singing. The song alternates between melodic and aggressive, and an epic chorus. I think it's okay. It's not something I normally listen to. The slowness combined with the growls put me off a little.

I'm sorry I don't really hear much thrash or power in this. It's actually not far from maybe Amorphis? What do you call Amorphis? Heavy metal?

It's pretty impressive, epic, but not my favourite. Maybe it's the modern production. I'm a cave man. I like simple things.

Thanks for posting though. The idea here isn't to post songs you know I will like easily. More challenging stuff is good too. You can even post songs you know I will hate! (Doesn't mean I will listen through the whole song though)

I couldn't find the track by its lonesome, so here's the full album. The track I was looking for is song one anyway Name of the song is Total Impact.

Not sure if you are familiar with them but this is my favorite album by them. Urban Breed is a great vocalist.

Here’s one from a little known thrash band from Slovenia. Great album!

I see there's several new songs to comment on. I'll do a few now, at least.

Gilbert wrote:

Cool album cover. It's obviously power metal. Up-tempo, with a nice guitar sound, the singer has some grit to his voice. And a bit of rock. A little like Jorn Lande, or something.

I like the (long) solo and the harmonies. Everything is done very well. And they have a slightly warmer sound than the 999 other bands doing the same music in Europe.

It's a fast, forward moving song that doesn't let up. It didn't need to be nearly 5 minutes long, but it's definitely very, very good. I do like this kind of power metal. Thanks for this.

SideShowDisaSter wrote:

I couldn't find the track by its lonesome, so here's the full album.  The track I was looking for is song one anyway     Name of the song is Total Impact.

What's going on in the album cover?

This is technical thrash metal. Early 90's sound. A very good, heavy sound. I love it. I like the guitar fills, the drum fills, and the singer is surprisingly powerful. He has a range where he could do believable low singing and then reach those very high notes as well. Impressive stuff.

Classy, intricate thrash metal. I know very little about drumming, this sounds like quite challenging for the drummer. I'll try and keep the name Carbide in my mind. But judging by your difficulties of finding it on Youtube, I doubt I'll find their albums on CD from the nearest hypermarket or anything!

I'll do one more right now. I'll mix things up a bit and take Thrasher73's song before another by Sideshowdisaster.

Thrasher73 wrote:

Not sure if you are familiar with them but this is my favorite album by them. Urban Breed is a great vocalist.

I am familiar with Tad Morose, but I don't own their albums on CD, and I am not sure I have heard this particular song. But I know what they sound like, and it's pretty good stuff. I've even seen them live one time, and yes it was with Urban Breed. The only Urban Breed CD I own (and love) is the first Serious Black album.

It's a great sounding song that's both heavy and melodic. Some sick guitar work. Basic beat. It's not very fast, it's traditional heavy metal -leaning (and neo-classical?) power metal. And Urban Breed has a majestic voice and he controls the power so well, singing the story. It's very dramatic, operatic.

It's not the most memorable song in the thread, but it's world class. I could do with an album full of this style of music. At least if there's variety. A few faster tracks mixed in, and you know, maybe even a pussy ballad or two.

SideShowDisaSter wrote:

Wow. This slaps you in the face straight from the first few seconds. Hooky. What is this?

I'll answer my own question: it's rough around the edges power metal. I love the energy. The pace is frantic. This works when you're in a certain mood. But more time at the rehearsal room and especially more time at the studio couldn't hurt. From me, this is coming lovingly. I couldn't play this stuff myself.

I bet they kick ass live, but this is not a favourite from the ones I played so far. But it is different. Kudos.

I'm going to play it again another day, but I'll make sure to have a beer to go along with the experience.

Thrasher73 wrote:

Here’s one from a little known thrash band from Slovenia. Great album!

Slovenia? Nice. I have one CD by a Slovenian band (SkyEye).

Panik (or Panikk? I can't quite tell from the logo) has modern production. I was a little afraid of by-the-numbers metal. But this actually breaks into a quality song, with lots of interesting parts. Pace is fast, riffs palm-muted, gang shouts aplenty, all is good in the world. I like it.

The Blackhawks used to have a player called Panik. Richard Panik aka Dick Panik. But he wasn't from Slovenia, he was from Slovakia. Which is like a totally different thing. Or something. Slovakia loves hockey, Slovenia doesn't. But then again, the best current player from either country is probably Slovenian (Anze).

But I digress, the song is good, and the performance is real good. Singer did his best and is 'okay'. I don't know what he sang about though, but does it matter? I enjoyed it. Good shit.

DallasBlack wrote:

Alright, a little change of pace. Which is welcome! Achelous? I could think of at least four different ways to pronounce that name. And I have no idea which one is correct.

And it comes with a video, of some sort.

But, ooh, the slow intro has a melody that makes me think of... hmm... where is that from? Very familiar. Axxis or Iron Maiden or something. Gamma Ray? I'm sure I've heard it before, and it's killing me I can't remember where it's from. No wait, I got it, Therion - Arrow from the Sun! And it's not even that similar. It's just that one run of notes.

And damn, this shit is EPIC! I love it! Absolutely love it! At first I was like, well it's just Therion + trad metal clone with simple riffs, but that singer is so good. Therion worship? Maybe partially, but the SOUND is just perfect. I am right now ordering this CD. It's new, it says 2022. How about that. $13.50. LOL the band is Greek, singing about northern winds. I just experienced a ghastly blizzard today, skin still windburnt, car is already now under 2ft of snow and I have to shovel like hell tomorrow morning. Just like I did this morning. Not sure the Greeks know what the northern wind is about. Oh well, at least these guys know how to make epic music, and that's enough for me.

A bit of Manilla Road, a bit of Therion, a bit of just being kickass (studio) performers. No idea how this translates live. A lot of times I don't like slower tempo songs like this. But this one just works.

As a side note, I love the shirt you're wearing in your profile picture. I own the album, Warning of Danger, two times. I actually bought both copies recently. Two exact same prints, by accident. I had just gotten into Battle Cry after I got a cheap CD copy from Amazon, and thought "wow what a great band, I need to get more by these guys and ordered Warning of Danger one night. The very next day I was working from home and the mailman came around 1pm and I was surprised to find he had a parcel with Warning of Danger. Very cool. How good is Jeff Bezos anyway?! Man.

Until about 4-5 days later when I received another copy of Warning of Danger in the mail. This one was the one I ordered that night. I went back to look at my order history, and sure enough, one weekend night I don't remember much about, I had ordered a bunch of CD's including Warning of Danger. So it was more about my drunk ass being an idiot than Jeff Bezos being superman.

But yeah, Achelous are awesome. Now somebody tell me how to pronounce it