Category: Classic Album Review

Reviews of older and classic albums

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Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: Upon A Burning Body – The World Is My Enemy Now (2014)

Upon A Burning Body (UABB) is one of my favorite bands of all time. They were one of the first heavier bands I first started listening to and I have been a fan ever since. Their album, The World Is My Enemy Now, is one of my favorite albums by them. The majority of my favorite UABB songs come from this album!

The World Is My Enemy Now is the third studio album from UABB, released in 2014. This album has received backlash and negative attention for a publicity stunt to promote the album. The stunt involved UABB’s lead vocalist, Danny Leal, and reports that he was missing. The band later posted the album cover which showed Leal tied up, revealing the reports of Leal being missing was a joke. Since the stunt, the band has not apologized. Regardless of the negative attention, this is a great album. There are so many smashing hits that come off of this record.

This album is aggressive, with lower-tuned guitars, a combination of the speed and the technicality of metalcore, and death metal style vocals while keeping a musical structure that derived from hardcore. There are some tracks on the album that have deeper and lower vocals that could be classified as more of a death metal style, even though it isn’t the traditional style of death metal vocals. The hooks and anthems that are on this album make it enjoyable to play over and over again; you won’t get tired of. The album is not that repetitive, so it never gets boring!

The opening track, Red Razor Wrists, kicks off the album on a high note, starting off with the screaming of violence and brutality that is yet to come from the album. Pledge Your Allegiance is very anathematic and will be sure to make you move around. The title track,The World Is My Enemy Now, has a more hardcore sound to it due to its riffs. There is a lot of variety on this album and there is a song for everyone to enjoy!


Favorite Songs:

Judgement

Bring The Rain

Scars

The World Is My Enemy Now

Fountain of Wishes

What are some of your favorite songs off of The World Is My Enemy Now?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: Six Feet Under – Haunted (1995)

Chris Barnes (my favorite Death Metal vocalist) was still in Cannibal Corpse when his side project, Six Feet Under, debuted their first album, Haunted (Metal Blade Records; 1995). While with Cannibal Corpse (the first four albums – Eaten Back to Life, ’90; Butchered at Birth, ’91; Tomb of the Mutilated, ’92; and The Bleeding, ’94), Barnes wrote some of the most brutal subject matter in all of Metal. With hardly an understandable syllable on the first three records, Barnes changed his style on The Bleeding, his last with Cannibal Corpse. This slower, gravelly, rumbling, gutteral style is what he carried over to the first few Six Feet Under records.

With Six Feet Under, and particularly on Haunted, Barnes dials back the more offensive subject matter, while retaining the beatings, blood and guts, and torture of classic Death Metal material. What a record this is, still! Barnes sets the standard for Death Metal vocalists, and his form and style are recognizable anywhere. As “Hammer Smashed Face” (from his days with Cannibal Corpse) is forever a classic, so “Remains of You” stands beside it as premier Chris Barnes performances. To be honest, Chris Barnes IS Six Feet Under!

With that said, Barnes has quite a lineup on Haunted. On guitar he has Allen West (Obituary), the bass is played by Terry Butler (Obituary; Death), and on the drums is Greg Gall. While this record is void of typical Death Metal blast beats, there is a more classical style time-keeping and smooth double bass under West’s patented groovy riffs, with Butler’s powerful bass tracks. Obviously, with West and Butler present, this record reminds me of Obituary (another of my favorites).

Rating: 10/10! …Just a perfect Death Metal record!! Classic!!!

Favorite Song: Remains of You

But every song, here – The Enemy Inside, Silent Violence, Lycanthropy; Still Alive; Beneath a Black Sky, Human Target, Suffering in Ecstasy, Tomorrow’s Victim, Torn to the Bone, and Haunted – is Awesome!

Stay Metal, 

THE SAW 

Categories
Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: Whitechapel – A New Era of Corruption (2010)

Okay, can we first just appreciate how badass this album cover is? I am getting Pinhead vibes!!! On June 8, 2010, Whitechapel released this beating and 10 years later, I’m still jamming out to it! There is something about Whitechapel; they have a sound that is timeless. The connection that the band members have with one another is insane and you can feel it when they play together. The grooves and breakdowns on this album cannot be beat, and Bozeman’s vocals??? Untouchable.

A New Era of Corruption is the third studio album by Whitechapel and it was released through Metal Blade Records. In the United States, it sold just under 10,700 copies in the first week AND placed at No. 43 on the Billboard 200 chart. Guitarist Alex Wade stated, “I think this record truly represents where we are as musicians at this point in our career.” When looking at Whitechapel’s discography, the albums do represent where the band is at in their lives and it is cool to see how much they have grown both as men but also as musicians.

The name of the album is derived from a passage of the lyrics in their song “Possession,” which appeared on their second album, This Is Exile. A New Era of Corruption is the first Whitechapel album that does not have a title track. The concepts and lyrical themes of A New Era of Corruption travel into new boundaries where previous album did not. With The Somatic Defilement being a narrative of Jack the Ripper and This Is Exile containing political and anti-religious themes, A New Era of Corruption is not a concept album. It focuses on negative themes: the devolution of society, the corruption of society, and the death of Phil Bozeman’s mother.

This album is awesome. I would definitely recommend it to anyone in search of heavier music. I am a Whitechapel fan so I may be a little bias, BUT this album is really, really good.

Favorite songs:

Single File Dehumanization

End of Flesh

Reprogrammed to hate

The Darkest Days of Man

Rating:

9/10

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: Deathless (2015) – Miss May I

Ahhh yes, one of my all-time favorite records by Miss May I. This band is the band that got me into heavier music when I first started listening to metal. My brothers and cousin used to play Miss May I all the time, and I thought that this band would be the perfect opening to get into heavier music, and I was right.

I remember when this album was released. I was leaving the beach with my dad and on our way back home, we played this album over and over again. To this day, I still go back and listen to this album. In my opinion, it is one of Miss May I’s most dynamic records. It is very technical in its overall sound. While listening to each song on this album, you can hear the different riffs being layered onto one another along with the drums. Deathless showcases that Miss May I is a force in the metal world to be reckoned with.

With this record, Miss May I went back to their traditional, old school sound that’s reminiscent of their 2010 single, “Relentless Chaos.” It appeared that on this album, the band returned to the roots and evolved their songwriting skills. Deathless is the most dynamic record the band has ever released, and the title track reflects the nature of the complexity put into the album. From thrash riffs to symptomatic “woahs,” Levi Benton (vocalist) and Ryan Neff (bassist and clean vocalist) play off one another to bring the best of both worlds.

There is no argument that Miss May I are talented musicians, however, the musicianship displayed on Deathless breaks new ground for Miss May I’s skill set. I would argue that Deathless is the best record Miss May I has released to date and will reach listeners far beyond the metalcore genre.

Favorite Songs:

Deathless

I.H.E.

Bastards Left Behind

Turn Back The Time

The Artificial

What is your favorite Miss May I record? What is your favorite song off of Deathless?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Classic Album Review

Classic Album Review: Snoop Dogg – Doggystyle

On the heels of the breakthrough release of The Chronic (Death Row Records) by Dr. Dre (1992), Doggystyle (Death Row Records) by Snoop Doggy Dogg was released on November 23, 1993. Having contributed, to a large extent, on The Chronic, you know that Snoop had his own debut to drop! That “lazy drawl" – G-funk style of rap – reigns supreme, again, here; but, on a whole new level. If you’ve never heard Snoop Dogg, and his swaggering vocals, you are missing out!

Snoop explains that the hook to this record is its realism, which is based on his own personal experience. Dre would come up with kick ass beats, and Snoop would sit right there and write lyrics on the spot. The album is littered with skits, because the distributors were demanding a finished product (before it was finished). Dre finished the songs they had, inserted the skits (within 48 hours), and sent it off. Desiring not to stretch G-funk any further yet, Snoop and Dre decided to produce layers in the style beyond that of The Chronic. Doggystyle is less about heavy, slow beats and more about high-tempo, lean tracks.

The album artwork (obviously) refers to the sex position, and is also a play on Snoop’s name. Technically, the cover illustrates some lyrical quotes from George Clinton’s 1982 single, Atomic Dog. But the artwork also expresses the culture of the Gangsta ethos – self-indulgence; drugs, cars, sex, and money.

Doggystyle debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling 800,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week, making it the fastest selling hip-hop album of all time. “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?” was the first single released from the album, and it peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles, and reached #1 on the Hot Rap Singles. It was certified Platinum in mid 1994. “Gin and Juice" was released as a single on January 15, 1994, reaching #8 and #1 like the previous single.

This record is pivotal for the hip-hop community, a classic “must have" album that Mark’s the evolution of the genre to a more melodious, synthesized, funk beat. Its controversial subject matter and lyrical content only help increase its appeal. Like The Chronic, Doggystyle is dangerous. And how wonderful that danger is!

Favorite Songs: Gin and Juice ; Lodi Dodi ; Murder Was the Case

Rating: 10/10!! Just a “must have" record!

What are some of your favorite songs off of Doggystyle?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Classic Album Review

Classic Album Review: Dr. Dre – The Chronic

The breakout solo debut for Dr. Dre, The Chronic, was (and still is) a timeless banger in its own right! This record revolutionized west coast hip-hop, setting the standard for everything in the genre that followed. Not only does this album showcase the groundbreaking production talent of Dre, not to mention his powerful lyrical style and delivery, but it also introduces us to some upcoming talent – namely, Warren G, Nate Dog, and (a certain) Snoop Doggy Dogg.

Fresh off his split with N.W.A., Dr. Dre released The Chronic on his own Death Row Records on December 15, 1992. The album cover pays tribute to Zig Zag rolling papers and the title is slang for high grade cannabis. On this record, Dre patented a new style of hip-hop, a sub-genre of sorts, called G-Funk. This style incorporates “fat, blunted beats" with old school soul/funkadelic grooves and rolling bass lines with single line synthesizers. But the key to this new style was the lyrical delivery. The form would later be called a “lazy drawl;” a laid-back delivery – controlled and measured – but containing ferocious, offensive, aggressive content. The new combination launched Dre and Death Row (and every single guest performer on the record) to the top of the hip-hop field.

My dad (the O.G. Metalhead) remembers this record’s release. He says, “We’d go to [metal] head parties where it’s usually the newest Metal album being played, and hear this new thing called ‘Gangsta’. I’m not exaggerating when I say, almost every single Metal Head was into this new stuff! It related well to the Metal community, with its swaggering style and crushing lyrics. The delivery was strange at first, but the words were all-too familiar.” There are many Metal shows I go to today where, when music is played between bands, Dr. Dre or Snoop Dogg or Coolio, etc. is played over the speakers.

The Chronic peaked at number three on the Billboard Top 200. It was certified triple platinum by RIAA, selling over three million copies. The records three singles reached the Top Ten on the Top Ten Billboard singles. “Nuthin’ But a G Thang" reached #2 on Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on both Hot Rap Si goes and Hot R&B Singles charts. The album ranks 138th on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of all Time. In 2020, The Chronic was selected by The Library of Congress to be placed into the National Recording Registry because of its “cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.”

Favorite songs: F*ck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody’s Celebratin’), Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang, Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat

Rating: 10/10!! One of the best records ever!

What are some of your favorite songs off of The Chronic?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: AC/DC – Back in Black

On July 25, 1980, one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) Hard Rock records was released onto the world; Back In Black (Atlantic Records). It Mark’s the 7th studio album (6th international album) by Australia’s AC/DC. It was recorded in April and May of that year at Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas. The record was produced by the legendary John “Mutt" Lange, and is the band’s first album to feature Brian Johnson (Geordie) on vocals.

Following the breakthrough record, Highway to Hell, AC/DC was prepared to hit the studio again to record their next record. However, in February of 1980 Bon Scott was found dead of alcohol poisoning. Rather than disband, the remaining members – Angus Young (lead guitar), Malcolm Young (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), Cliff Williams (bass and backing vocals) and Phil Rudd (drums) – decided (on March 29) to hire Johnson and continue on. None of Scott’s lyrics were used on Back in Black, because the band did not want it to seem they were profiting off his death. The album’s all black cover was a sign of morning for Scott.

Back in Black is, literally, an unprecedented album. It has sold more than 50 million copies, making it one of the best-selling albums in music history. Typical of the era, over half the songs on the record concern sex, written in innuendos, metaphors, and/or double entendres:

“Shoot to Thrill”; “What do You do for Money Honey”; “Given the Dog a Bone”; Let Me put My Love Into You”; “You Shook Me All Night Long” ; “Shake a Leg.”

One of the best songs offered is about drinkin’!! – “Have a Drink on Me”

“Hell’s Bells” is a reference to all the storms passing over the island during recording. The title track is a celebratory bop of the bands return, and “Rock ‘N’ Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” is purely self-explanatory.

Favorite Songs: Given the Dog a Bone; Have a Drink on Me; Back in Black

Rating: 10/10!!

*Special Note* In 2014 Malcolm Young was diagnosed with Dementia and, on November 18, 2017 died from the disease at the age of 64.

What is your favorite song off of Back in Black?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Classic Album Review

Hidden Gems brought to you by The Eclection

ALBUM REVIEW: Koenjihyakkei – Angherr Shisspa (2005) 

 BEST TRACKS: Rattims Friezz, Quivem Vrastorr

 FCC Clean 

 LISTEN TO IF YOU LIKE: avant-garde, experimental, jazz

 Before we get into this album in particular, it’s important to mention what “Zeuhl” is which is the musical genre this falls into. Born from 60s and 70s krautrock and coined by the band Magma’s constructed language Kobaian, there are only a handful of groups that have been able to consider themselves under this genre umbrella. As Pitchfork once put it, Zeuhl can be described by “sudden bursts of explosive improv and just as unexpected lapses into eerie, minimalist trance-rock.”

 I would go on to say it is some of the hardest music to describe as it is to find. Koenjihyakkei is the side-project of Yoshida Tatsuya of Japanese Zeuhl group, Ruins, which is heavily influenced by 60s and 70s progressive music in general. This group also includes Aki Kubota (on vocals and keyboards) from another modern krautrock group, Bondage Fruit.

Koenjihyakkei’s “Angherr Shisspa” is one of the best albums to get into this genre with though. 

This would be my own attempt to describe this wild album: experimental opera jazz with intensive complicated time signatures that boom and burst from huge orchestral and choral hits to single xylophonic beats. If you are looking for something like you’ve never heard before and crave the subtle balance between dissonant chord structures and ear candy, this is certainly an important listen. 

The album has this way of being able to add this playful tone to something extremely avant-garde. Sometimes I feel when listening to this album that I am surrounded by a bunch of fairies that are screaming, dancing, and performing various rituals.

It is also another one of those albums that grows on you the more you listen to it, because it draws from so many different types of progressive and experimental music, it’s hard to keep track of it all on first listen. I’d consider this a hidden gem, simply given it’s status of being representative of a genre that does not get a lot of representation. Check it out if you want some new avant-garde music to listen to. 

 – Artzoid (Host of the Eclection)

Categories
Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: Diary of a Madman – Ozzy Osbourne

When John Michael “Ozzy" Osbourne was effectively fired from Black Sabbath in 1979, I don’t think anyone (except the “Prince of Darkness" himself) knew what would become of an Ozzy solo career. In 1980 he released his first record, Blizzard of Ozz, and there was, in fact, something to pay attention to, here. He had found a young guitar player by the name of Randy Rhodes (Quiet Riot), who played in classic fashion but with uncommon precision and style. “Crazy Train" and “Mr. Crowley,” the two singles from the album, give the listener a clear view of both, Ozzy’s future and the talent of the young guitarist.

On November 7, 1981 the greatest Ozzy record (IMO) was unleashed onto the world, Diary of a Madman (Jet); and it was a clear and powerful sign that there would be no containing this madman, later to be called, The Godfather of Heavy Metal! The two singles, “Flying High Again" and “Over the Mountain" give an immediate glimpse of Ozzy’s Genius and the evolution of that young guitarist, Randy Rhodes. The production of the entire record is thick, in a good way! It helps to portray the power of this duo as they were getting wound up to revolutionize the metal world. But it is the title track, “Diary of a Madman" which casted Ozzy’s vision the clearest, I think; with the incorporation of a choir and keyboards, this track is huge when speaking to what was to come – Dark and Eerie.

Unfortunately, it would not be the duo of Ozzy and Randy that would conquer the world. Ozzy would have to foster another relationship when Randy Rhodes was tragically killed (1982) in a plane crash while on tour with Osbourne in Florida. Three Ozzy guitarists would follow, Brad Gillis [Night Ranger] (1982), Jake E. Lee (1982-87) and Zakk Wylde (1987-present). But for this masterpiece entitled, Diary of a Madman, its Ozzy (vocals, obviously), Randy Rhodes (guitars), Bob Daisley (bass), Lee Kerslake (drums) – though neither of the last two are credited anywhere but the original release. Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot; Whitesnake) soon took over bass and Tommy Aldridge (Whitesnake; Ted Nuggent; Thin Lizzy) the drums for the American tour to support the album.

Ozzy has had MANY great songs during his career, but the ONE great record is Diary of a Madman – Triple Platinum in the US!

I got to see Ozzy in 2018 in Bristow, Va. His stage presence, along with Zakk Wilde’s, is the best I’ve seen. Of the “big bands,” this was definitely one of the best shows!

Favorite Songs: Flying High Again, Over the Mountain, S.A.T.O., Diary of a Madman

Rating: A Masterpiece 10/10!!

Stay Metal, 

THE SAW 

Categories
Classic Album Review

Hidden Gems brought to you by The Eclection

Tasseomancy

ALBUM: Ghost Bees – “Tasseomancy” 2008

 BEST TRACKS: Sinai, Erl King

 LISTEN TO IF YOU LIKE: ethereal folk, pagan folklore 

 FCC 

Clean

If anyone reading this is a fan of Grouper, think about if Grouper was to make music similar to Agnes Obel or Joanna Newsome. Oh, and if Grouper obsessively wrote lyrics about pagan myths and sacrifice.

At any rate, the group now called Tasseomancy (based on the title of the album they released under the name, Ghost Bees), the sisters Sari Lightman and Romi Lightman produce some of the most lyrically intriguing modern folk. Their first album under Tasseomancy, Ulalume (2011) attained some significance in the underground music community as an experimental folk album dedicated to poems about death… but before that, they released “Tasseomancy” in 2008, and this is truly a hidden gem.

Some background on this Toronto based group: their great great grandmother was a Russian Jewish tea-leaf reader so the name “tasseomancy” and the album cover for this album are dedicated to her. In general though, their lyrics have an extreme pagan influence, with songs like Tear Tassle Ogre Heart with lyrics like “But god, I trace your guts and wear them as a beauty mark.” Tracks like Erl King refer to the legend of the “Erlkönig,” or king of the fairies (written by Goethe) about an anxious young boy who is lured by the fairy to be murdered. Some example lyrics from this track are “The gifts I could give to you, the wind and the wild river spring. Child, you’re beautiful, come quiet, come willing.” A truly disturbing, but remarkable track.

The vocals are just absolutely haunting on this album, both in terms of tone and lyrics. Certainly check out this album if you want to hear some folk music with dark under and overtones sung by two women who are great a capella performers as well as guitarists.

 -ArtZoyd (Host of The Eclection)