tomcatha's Last.fm Journal

Best of 2011 (early edition)

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:56:24 +0000

I was making a best of 2011 list for a website and thought i might as well post it here.
However considering it always takes a few years before a i really know the best releases of a year this will change.

1) Autopsy – Macabre Eternal
2) Manilla Road – Playground of the Damned
3) Orphaned Land – The Road to Or-Shalem
4) Volture – Rulebreaker (single)
5) Septic Flesh – The Great Mass
6) Moonsorrow – Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa
7) Crowbar – Sever the Wicked Hand
8) Rudra – Brahmavidya: Immortal I
9) Vintersorg – Jordpuls
10) Primordial – Redemption At The Puritans Hand

honourable mention: Arch/Matheos – Sympathetic Resonance

Autopsy
Manilla Road Orphaned Land Volture Septic Flesh Moonsorrow Crowbar Rudra Vintersorg Primordial Arch/Matheos

The beginning and the end of the retro-death metal movement?

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 11:06:07 +0000

Dead Congregation - Graves of the Archangels

Ahhhh I remember how I felt when I first heard this album. My first reaction can be summed up in 1 word: UAAAAGGGHH. Maybe that is not a word. Whatever this album has so many awesome riffs. In fact more awesome riffs than pretty much every album ever. However this gem is more than just riffs. I’ll tell you what s this album has and why you should buy it. You could also not buy it if you hate yourself for some reason, really really hate yourself. Really, really, really hate yourself. Really, really, rea.... yes I guess you got the point now.

So what do we have here. Well we basically got a new york death metal album that sounds like it came from when the scene in New York was at it's best. However this beast is not from early 90's New York but from Athens in Greece from the year 2008. I personally don't really associate Greece with death metal but like they say RIFFS transcend borders. Read a transcendental death metal joke here.

The Album art is interesting. The band wanted it to look like the music they made. I have to disagree with them on this. The art looks like something from a bad dream and this album doesn't sound dreamy at all. I like the art despite it not looking as the album sounds.

The production, the tones and mixing on this album are modern but only the good sides of modern. All the instruments can be heard clearly but without any sterility that plagues so many albums these days. Everything sounds like how it should. With meat, with power and with atmosphere. It's all perfect.

When it comes to the actual songs. Well like I said earlier they sound like they were made in New York. A mixture between all the big classic bands NYDM bands from the early 90's while at the same time having their really own unique touch. Graves of the Archangels sounds not like a Incantation or Immolation clone. No it stands on its own in fact it stands on a pillar of comparable height as the best of both aforementioned bands. I'm calling it. This is the best NYDM album in years and it is in fact my favorite album of the currently ongoing retro-death metal movement. It's hard to point out specific highlights because everything is of such high average quality. However there are a few moments which give me chills. The intro of Graves of the Archangels with the chanting which just create an awesome atmosphere and the entirety of Teeth into Red and Martyrdoom. Vanishing Faith is also great and and... Fuck it. There are no highlights on this album. This album is like the sun. Even the dark spots will blind you.

In short: A must have, a must buy, a must own. I don't think there are much more enjoyable things you can do with the couple of bucks this album costs. This album indeed might be the alpha and the omega of the retro-death movement but I won't feel sad if it is. This is a modern classic period. Now hopefully they will start touring more soon. If they do start touring, you can find me right in front of the stage headbanging my neck into a whiplash.

Dead Congregation Morbid Angel Immolation Incantation Burzum Darkthrone Manowar Iron Maiden Metallica Arctic Monkeys

Asphyx - Bang for Buck

Sat, 1 Jan 2011 00:18:18 +0000

Asphyx has been releasing quite a few things over the last few year. First the comeback single, then the comeback full length, followed by this compilation, the Abomination Echoes boxed set featuring rare material and their first live album Live Death Doom. What unites all this new material is the fact that it is all kickass and thus Asphyx showed that they are still capable of being what a death metal band is all about even on releases which contain no new material as like on this release and Abomination Echoes.

So what does this compilation offer?
Well it features 2 full lengths namely the self titled and God Cries plus bonus material in the form of a couple live tracks and demo tracks. Basically this is a release in the 2 from the vault style Roadrunner did a while back but simply put quite a bit better.

2 from the vault done right.
The art on this release is really cool featuring art done by Gustave Doré. The booklet itself tells a bit about the story behind both releases featured on this release. All the song's have their own page for their lyrics. Both albums also have their own discs. Frequently when there are compilations of this kind you get a real low budget feel. This is absolutely not the case here. Depths of Eternity shows how it should be done and for a great price as well. I picked this up at their gig here in my town and it was only 10 bucks.

The remaster
This release has been slightly changed sound wise. The remaster made it slightly louder without overly compressing it.

Depths
The self titled is in the same style as the earlier albums, maybe a bit closer to Embrace the Death. The biggest change on this release is the bass heaviness of it. The Bass at times is almost the lead instrument.
The production here is really solid. Everything sounds powerful. The guitar is in the typical Asphyx style but not as loud as on the previous releases. This is compensated by the really loud bass guitar which sounds fairly awesome. The only slight problem here is that the mixing feels a bit off when it comes to the drums. I feel that some parts of the drum are a bit drowned out by the bass guitar.
The songs themselves are all really solid. Not quite up to the same level as on the earlier albums.(Including Embrace the Death) I find that the tracks all have a similar quality level with no filler. The biggest short coming by comparison to the really legendary releases are the vocals. They are well done and definitely above average but they are not as awesome as what Martin van Drunen did or what Theo Loomans did on Embrace the Death.
In the end its a typical Asphyx release just with loud bass guitar and merely great vocals.

Of
The bonus tracks on the first disc are a nice addition but they are completely dominated by the bass guitar and the vocals. I'm not sure who does these vocals. Based on the accent I think it is Ron van Pol. It is interesting hearing him performing the vocals here compared to the originals which feature Martin van Drunen. Basically these bonus tracks are a nice extra but nothing else.
As for the bonus tracks on the 2nd disc. The demo tracks of both song's which appear on the full length as well i'd say the guitar sounds slightly more powerful. However the drum's don't sound as good and there is something else I can't really put my finger on.

Eternity
God Cries might be the least popular Asphyx album and personally I think not really deservedly so. It is an good album. Maybe not as exceptional as the classic 3 releases. It still has enough components to make it a good album. One thing is for sure though, this is the least Asphyx of all Asphyx albums. This album is a bit uplifting in places which is kinda ironic compared to the fact that he supposedly killed himself 2 years after recording this album. This album also has a some groove metal here and there. However Theo who wrote all the song's on this album did try to keep some of the classic Asphyx sound intact. So the end product is a sort of happy groove metallish Asphyx album. The production here is solid. The kick drum sounds a bit triggered but that is the only issue sound wise. The mixing's only problem is the low volume of the bass guitar. Considering a part of the Asphyx strength in the past was the bass guitar it's interesting that this doesn't really end up being much of a problem. I'm not sure what to think of the vocals. They have their merits but at the same time also are a bit of annoying at times. I guess this here is a real question of taste because he Theo does give here an good performance although not as good as on Embrace the Death. The vocals are also completely different. Being much closer to the style of Martin van Drunen. The tracks here are quite consistent with again no filler. In short this is basically Asphyx experimental album which isn't really experimental just different. An enjoyable listen.

So is this compilation worth getting? If you don't own the original releases and like death metal i'd say yes after you've gotten the classic 3 Asphyx albums. There is no reason to get this if you own both originals. The bonus tracks are merely nice extras and the album does not sound drastically different. However I have to add that this is a really good package when it comes to all non sonic aspects. As for the score. Both albums would get an 7.5 on their own sound wise. The package in which its presented boosts the score to 8/10.

Asphyx Pestilence Death Morbid Angel Obituary Behemoth Bring Me the Horizon Radiohead

Asphyx – Awesome Neat Cool

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 02:10:20 +0000

First a note: This review is of the DVD+CD version.

Asphyx are for me local superheroes. Arguably Asphyx are one of the very essential death metal bands that changed and defined death metal. Finally after being around in various states for the last 23 years they finally released their first live offering. Asphyx as a band is known for their great live performances and just sounding like a steamroller so the question is how well did it transfer to live DVD and the 2 CD's?

In short the answer to this question is very well, extremely well even nay even they made a benchmark of how a death metal band should make an live CD + DVD release.

This release is split in several parts.

The DVD:
First there is the center piece of the DVD. The “Live” subsection of the DVD, their gig in Essen Germany.
Then there is the “Death” subsection on the DVD. This part is the interview of the band in which the most important band members through the history of Asphyx talk about their role in the history of Asphyx.
Finally there is the “Doom” subsection on the DVD. This part has various of extra footage.

Lastly there are the live CD's. The material found here is just the audio part of the Live subsection of the DVD.

To start with the beginning. The box you get looks quite good. It has neat art in the traditional Asphyx style. The booklet gives you the standard information as well as the short story behind this release and a few pictures of Asphyx throughout the years. Nothing really exceptional but you don't really need more considering the entire history of the band will be dealt with later but now on to the DVD.

The awesome aka Live.

This is the part around which this release revolves. The actual performance in Germany from 2009. This performance still includes the former bass guitar player Wannes Gubbels who has been replaced by Alwin Zuur from Escutcheon in 2010.
This part is all you could ever want from a Asphyx live CD/DVD. The sound is great, Raw and powerful. The camera is what you want, no constant changing of the camera angle and you can see everyone doing their part. The performance itself is great. Asphyx as usual put their usual energy in this gig thus giving you a real good indication of what they are like if you see them yourself, the best term for this is neckwreckingly awesome.
The total length of the performance is just under 2 hours at 1 hour and 48 minutes. Various tracks from The Rack, Last One on Earth and Death the Brutal Way are played here with maybe a slight focus on the last one. The song's are all performed excellently and there is nothing else really to say about it.
All this material can also be found on the live CD's. Which are handy for when you don't have a DVD player nearby and feel like some live Asphyx or if you want to listen to this on the computer.

The neat aka Death

This is the Hordes of Disgust interview with the band. It basically just consists of most of the important members of Asphyx saying what they did. This interview is fairly low budget and the most special thing you can see is where they briefly walk past the building where they used to rehearse which was in the process of getting demolished. I almost daily saw this building and this gave it something extra for me but sadly other than this you can just watch the the band members talk. It would have been neater if more stuff from the local area was showed or just anything other than their fairly boring faces. Still it gives a good view of the history of the band in a nice amount of detail.

The Cool aka Doom

This part is one of the coolest extra's of any DVD I’ve ever seen. You can see footage of Asphyx performing live at various places throughout their history. The most interesting is watching them from stuff from the “Embrace the Death” era when they were all young kids. The material here could be its own DVD almost. The various performances of the band here are mostly really good as well. The Death the Brutal Way video promo is nice to have as well.

In the end this release is nearly perfect. With my only complaint about a fairly extensive extra. If you are an Asphyx fan or even a death metal fan in general I can only say that I really recommend you getting this as this is the best live release I’ve ever seen. In the end i'm giving this a 92/100.

Asphyx Morbid Angel Metallica Slayer Black Sabbath Pestilence Bolt Thrower

Equilibrium is the worst band ive ever seen live.

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:39:26 +0000

Sun 19 Sep – Heidenfest 2010

Horrible snoozefest, they have just 1 song and keep on playing it for an hour. Everything whats wrong with modern "viking/folk" metal aka keyboardy power metal with black metal influences.
I bet all the kiddies who enjoyed this band left for Twilight of the Gods, which were in the end by far the best act of the day.
Ill just go back to my Skyclad, Cruachan and Moonsorrow.

Equilibrium Twilight of the Gods Bathory

Timeghoul article + interview

Fri, 5 Mar 2010 18:09:20 +0000

written by yours truly

Morbid Angel Obituary Burzum Megadeth Metallica Radiohead Gorguts Demilich Timeghoul

Dies Irae - Sculpture of Stone

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:19:56 +0000

Dies Irae – Sculpture of Stone

Dies Irae from Poland. Not the most well known band from that scene. Half surprising considering its line up consisting of (now) former Vader, Decapitated and various members who are known for their other bands/projects. The reason seems to be because this band has been sort of treated as a side project by Mauser, the last remaining founding member, and absolutely not because of the musical quality as i will explain later on.

The evolution of this band has been fairly standard with their debut album being the most straightforward albeit very competent typically yet unique Polish styled band to an band which evolved their own sound and just became better and different. Allot of comparisons are being made with Vader for this band. Saying that there are no resemblances would be a lie. The band has allot of similar sounding elements but i think that doesn't lie in the fact that they are copying stuff from Vader but because there were 2 now former Vader members(Mauser and Doc) in the band but the 2nd guitarist is mostly known for his work with Sceptic and definitely ads his own touch especially soloing wise.

Of course an album is made by its instrumentation and not by the art and lyrical theme and usually are just extra's which rarely enhance the rest but i think its still important mentioning them in a review especially if you are interested in buying the album. If you do not care about these however you can skip the following 2 paragraphs.

The art of the album is fairly standard non gore based death metal album art. The front has some CGI art of 3 sculptures in stone. The back has a picture of the entire band. In the booklet itself there are shots of every band member. There are also some skulls, gargoyles, a roman/Greek statue head and some Latin in the booklet. All art is pretty much gray. Really nothing exceptional thus art wise.

The lyrics are fairly good despite some engrish. The lyrical themes vary from what seems to be in order for the songs: Lovecraftian, werewolves, death, birth and rebirth of the universe with a anti christian/religious touch, misanthropy, anti-life, death again, about the beginning of sin and finally about the passage of time. The lyrics are thus fairly varied. Novy the bassist/vocalist doesn't pronounce them very clearly and the lyrics are thus not very understandable but if you can still understand them well, they are easily good enough to not cause any annoyance.

Guitarmanship wise this album is very solid but not exceptional. The riffs have allot of palm muting and are somewhat technical. Id say the riffing is a mix between Decapitated and thrashless Vader and are quite excellent. There is some lead work in here but usually there are solos instead of having any lead guitars. The solos are well done and add to the overall experience. The guitar tone is quite clean but not sterile and fits well with the other musical elements and is fairly powerful.

The bass is in the background but is competently played and is cleaner in sound than the guitars. My preference would be that the bass would have been more in the foreground mixing wise and with a somewhat dirtier sound but as it works it works quite well none the less and certainly adds to making this album heavy.

Doc again provides very well competent drumming. Blasts when it fits double basses when it fits and the fills are all well done and again also played when they fit. The drumming other than that is fairly standard and could have been more exciting and less standard but it does work very well with the other instruments.

Vocal wise this band is maybe the most unique. Novy has a really unique sort of slowish drawn out growl and at times sounds absolutely brilliant for example on the track The Beginning of Sin. The tone of the growls are mostly in the mid-low end of the spectrum with some higher growls at some places. The vocals are maybe the best part of the album and are mixed and produced basically perfectly.

A band with excellent individual instruments can still be a bad/boring overall product and luckily Dies Irae's Sculpture of Stone does not suffer from this at all. All songs here are of good quality with everything working well together to create good somewhat technical Polish death metal. There are a couple of standout tracks, namely Beyond all Dimensions, The Art of an Endless Creation, The Beginning of Sin and Sculpture of Stone. With The Beginning of Sin being my overall favorite track. The other songs although also well done don't strike me as much as those 4 tracks i just mentioned.

In the end id say this album is very well made were the individual parts except the vocals are not very amazing but make each other better. The vocals are excellent regardless of the rest of the album. This album's biggest downside is that it isn't really anything new, if this album was released when the Polish death metal scene just came into being it would have been hailed as a classic now. For me it is a classic, this is the album that got me into full fledged death metal. I'm very glad i found this album instead of the Mexican melodic death band of the same name and with almost the same album name and as i look at it with the eyes from a new death metal fan i can look at this album for what it is individually and not as a release from a genre that when this album was released was already over 15 years old.

In the end I'm giving it a score of 85%. It doesn't get the full 100% because it is nothing really innovating. However it is a release that every death metal fan should have in at least some form.

Dies Irae Vader Behemoth Decapitated UnSun Devilyn Death Megadeth Motorhead Morbid Angel Darkthrone Radiohead Lady Gaga Isis

forbidden and helstar

Fri, 5 Jun 2009 19:39:44 +0000

Thu 4 Jun – Hell Over Europe 2009

both rocked.

forbidden seems to ignore their later half of their discography. Which although compared to the first 2 isnt as good. Is still better than about 95% of all other groove/thrash albums.

A Litany of Riffs

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:00:14 +0000

Aeternus – A Darker Monument

Aeternus is a band mostly criticized for their gradual switch of style from folkish black metal with death influences to a more blackened death/ normal death metal sound. While indeed more conventional in some aspects its still 100% Aeternus and in fact they seemingly created something new with their last few releases. Something that seems a bit rock and rolling at times, black/death'n roll maybe? Most of the fans of the older style of Aeternus don't seem to be death'n roll fans at all. In fact Death'n roll in general seems to be a bit hated in the underground metal community. This results in negative reviews and might make people who would like this band otherwise not check their later material out. Which of course would be a real shame. So here is a review which I hope will make more people check this great band out.

Lets begin at the beginning. The album art itself. I find the album cover to be reasonable. A bit too computer generated looking but yeah not everyone seems to be able to afford/find a good artist.

The lyrics are decent and of more than a few songs they seem to be related to ancient mythology. For example The Trident seems to refer to the ancient greek deity Poseidon and Litany of Ra amazingly enough seems to be about the ancient Egyptian god Ra. This doesn't mean the lyrics are pure awesome though. The lyrics vary from decent/good (the aforementioned Litany of Ra) to mediocre (Seen Through Abhorrent Eyes)

Production and mix wise the album is good. With a few flaws here in there with things changing slightly in sound without a real reason but nothing bad. The Guitar tone is heavy and dry and nicely in the middle of the clean – dirty sides of production. The Drums are clear and sound good. The bass is as usual in this genre somewhere in the background. The vocals finally are also well produced. Very audible and exactly loud enough. Thus in the end the mix is basically done just fine were maybe the bass having a more prominent role would be nice but that is common in this style of metal.

Now for the songs themselves. This album has quite a couple of good songs. With The Trident being my personal favorite. The songs always have nice headbangable riffing going on. The solo's are done nice as well but not extraordinary or anything but nicely complement riffing thus done the way solo's should be in extreme metal. The drumming is nicely varied with blasting here and there and of course plenty of double bass. I am personally quite pleased with blasting only being used when appropriate and not entire songs though as what is seemingly common these days in all kinds of extreme metal sadly. The bass is hard to be a good judge on because of it being fairly in the background but is fairly competent none the less. However there are a few problems with some songs being a bit samey while not being filler entirely. Especially for the less stand out tracks like Darkstorm and Seen Through Abhorrent Eyes. This isn't a really big problem because this mostly means similar riffing and song structures and these themselves are still definitely quality. Finally I cant really describe this album as old school death metal or anything. This album is unique with the closest resemblance being maybe The Chasm.

This album in the end is not a revolutionary album yet is still unique. And Certainly better than most death metal released in recent years. In my opinion thus a must have for all fans of (blackened) death metal. In the end I am going to give it a score of 85% flaws being somewhat samey songs, lack of audible bass and a tiny amount of faults of the production. The good being the riffs, the varied drumming, good vocal work and just some songs with just excellent song structure ideas. In the end if all the songs were as good as The Trident and Litany of Ra I would give it a score somewhere in the low 90's.

Feel free to comment

Aeternus Gorgoroth Morbid Angel Metallica Radiohead Britney Spears

My Albums List updated 11/11/08

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:07:58 +0000

It has been a while since i updated my albums list so i decided it was time again. This is going to be a fairly long list though :P

Artillery - Terror Squad

One of the classic 80's Thrash albums. Artillery were and still are one of the top all time thrash metal bands, with their energy, technicallity and not entirely sane sounding vocals. This 2nd album of theirs has improved production compared to their first but without losing any energy and aggression. A definite recommendation to all thrash fans!

Carcass - Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious
Despite this rather horrid album cover this is another classic. In my opinion this is carcass best work and even the best straight up grind/death album of all time. This album has quite allot of catchy songs and awesome riffing. A recommendation for all fans of Death and Grind, even for all fans of extreme metal.

Hellhammer - Demon Entrails
I saw this in my local music store and just had to buy it. This is a good complimation of 3 classic demos by Hellhamer, you can basically hear them change from a rawer venom to something very unique and ahead of their time. To some it might sound aged but i disagree entirely, this stuff wont age ever with its raw energy. This is for all fans of black metal

Hirax - Not Dead Yet
The last release of hirax in the 80's shows them why they became underground legends. Fast, furious crossover thrash combined with..... Christian lyrics! Yes good christian bands do exist! Hirax was one of the first bands to use blast beats, maybe even the first. Seeing Destroy was recorded and released in 1985, which was 2 years before scum by napalm death was released. As a extra this album has footage from a gig by hirax in 1987. Not the best quality but very interesting to watch. This release breathes THRAAAAAAAASSSSHHHH awesomity and is a must have.

Lykathea Aflame - Elvenefris

This is in my opinion one of the most interesting and best metal releases ever. This is Progressive Technical Athmospheric Melodic Death/Grind. Quite a mouthfull no? Well this is album is brutal yet uplifting. This album breathes a positive athmosphere despite you being crushed by blasting and heavy riffing. Its like you are being crushed by a giant group hug or a big carebear. Is that the only reason its good? No, for these do nothing wrong. The song structures are good, the riffing is very nice. The only flaw for some people maybe is the snare tone. I like it but allot of people dont. None the less a real must have.

img]http://img1.liveinternet.ru/images/attach/b/2/24/982/24982383_Manowar_Kings_of_Metal.jpg

Manowar - Kings of Metal

Manowar requires no introduction. This is simply a classic heavy metal album. Nice riffing, good solos quality vocals. Nothing special and out of the ordinary but still a very solid effort. If you like metal there is no reason not to get this!

Manilla Road - Voyager

Manilla Road might be the ultimate definition of a good metal band. Underground, no comprimize of its sound for the sake of selling more albums and always releasing quality albums. Voyager is no different from the past efforts. Quality, and fresh. This time adding what sounds like a bit of death metal. Some say its only because shelton had problems with his throat but i think its more than just some of the vocals. This album however has worse production than Crystal logic, which is quite a feat considering crystal logic is from 1983. However its still very listenable.

Moonsorrow - Tulimyrsky

Moonsorrow struck again.... A year after what i consider the best viking metal release yet. Moonsorrow released again something special, however this isnt the best they have done either, the new title track is good not great. The covers and the new versions of all songs are better yet also not incredible. The production on the kickdrum isnt great either. Sounds too triggered i think. None the less still a very solid effort. Just dont get this before their older albums.

Morbid Angel - Formulas Fatal to the Flesh

Morbid Angel is another band that needs no introduction. A classic floridan death metal act with the most influential death metal drummer of them all. Yet i think this album from 1998 is better than their early ones. Sure this isnt as infuential and groundbreaking but this album just has better songs from a 2008 perspective. Prayer of Hatred was the first song i tried playing on my guitar. I hope that says enough.

Negura Bunget - 'n crugu bradului

Negura Bunget is something different. I picked these 2 Negura Bunget albums up after their (awesome) gig in Hengelo. This is athmospheric/folk black metal at its finest. I cant really go in depth on their albums however due to them being kind of hard to describe and me being mostly with their(out of print) older material

Negura Bunget - Om

The second album i picked up after the gig of Negura Bunget and their newest.

Obituary - Slowly we rot

Ahh yes, Obituary, this is in my opinion the best old school death metal band. Their first 4 albums are just crushing, heavy and awesome. One of the heaviest bands of all time for sure. Obituary always focused more on heavyness than being fast and it works out very well. This debut of theirs is their fastest effort. Yet still really heavy.

Obituary - Cause of Death

This is the 2nd release by Obituary. This album is another great one. The difference between this one and their debut is that this one is slower and has i think better lead guitar.

Obituary - The End Complete

The third album of obituary is quite similar to Cause of Death, this one is however more riffy.

Obituary - World Demise

This is the final album of the classic 4 obituary albums. This one is their more tribal and experimental album and has i think the best Lyrics. The vocals are also less harsh on this one. Being the closest to normal singing of all Obituary albums. In the end all these Obituary are must haves. Awesome Death metal. If you dont like the average death metal band because its too fast, this might also be for you.

Otargos - Ten Eyed Nemesis

Otargos is a underground black metal band from France. They have a very unsual lyrical theme. Its basically satanism meets physics here. However on this album its closer to satanism than quantum physics than their 2nd album. This is my favorite straight up black metal record. This is well produced and has awesome catchy riffs and solos. Something every black metal fan should have.

Mezarkabul - Anatolia

Mezarkabul is arguably the biggest metal band from Turkey. Formerly known as pentagram they changed their name to avoid confusing and getting sued. This is their first of their folk/power albums. No this is not folk/power like Falconer, if anything this is more like US Power metal meets folk. This album differs from their later ones mostly in terms of being less folky. A great album none the less.

Mezarkabul - Unspoken

This is my personal favorite Mezarkabul album. This is their best combination of turkish music and power metal. No real flaws on this album.

Mezarkabul - Bir

This album never got released outside of Turkey. So its rather hard to get. Unless you go to turkey. I dont like this album as much as their previous 2 due to the vocals. However this is still good.

Overkill - Feel the Fire

Thraaaaaaaaaaaashhhhh!!!!. Thats basically what this album is by the oldest Thrash band in the world. This album throws quality thrash riffs at you with more energy than the average thrash album from 1985. This album certainly shows why Overkill should get more praise than metallica for being founders of Thrash metal.

Septicflesh - Communion

Septic Flesh is a big name in the greek metal underground but not so much outside of greece. However this should and must change with this excellent album. This is the best metal album with a orchestra that i have ever heard. No orchestra for the sake of it no, it is combined with the death metalness to make it a excellent album. A real candidate for album of the year 2008.

Full Album list with purchase date if known:

Amorphis - Elegy 1besteld
Amorphis - Am Universum 2 besteld
Arcturus - Aspera Hiems Symfonia 3besteld03/04/08
Artillery - Terror Squad4besteld8/10/08
Anathema - Judgement 5gekocht
Atheist - Elements 6besteld
Atheist - Unquestionable Presence 7besteld
Coroner - Mental Vortex 8 besteld
Carcass - Necroticism9besteld13/8/08
Death - leprosy 10 gekregen
Death - Human 11 besteld
Death - Symbolic 12 gekocht
Death - The Sound of Perseverance 13 besteld
Decapitated - Organic Hallucinosis 14 gekocht
Deep Purple - Machinehead 2cd special edition 15 gekregen
Dies Irae - Sculpture of Stone16besteld10/03/08
Duman - Seni Kendime Sakladim 17 gekocht
Enslaved - Eld 18besteld14/02/08
Entombed - Uprising 19gekocht
Entombed - Morningstar 20 gekocht
Entombed - Unreal Estate 21 gekocht
Entombed - Inferno 22 gekocht
Gorguts - From Wisdom to Hate 23 besteld
Hellhammer - Demon Entrails24gekocht03/07/08
Hirax - Not Dead Yet25besteld11/11/08
Isis - panopticon 26 besteld
Kurban - Insanlar 27 gekocht
Kyuss - Blues For the Red Sun 28 gekocht
Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley 29 gekocht
Kyuss - ...And the Circus leaves town 30 gekocht
Lykathea Aflame - Elvenfris31besteld05/05/08
Manowar - Kings of Metal32gekocht03/07/08
Manilla Road - Crystal Logic33besteld04/03/08
Manilla Road - Voyager34besteld29/04/08
Megadeth - Peace Sells 35 besteld
Megadeth - So Far so Good so What! 36 gekregen
Megadeth - Rust in Peace 37 gekregen
Megadeth - The System Has Failed 38 gekocht
Melechesh - Emisarries 39 gekocht
Mekong Delta - The Music of Erich Zann 40 besteld
Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja 41 besteld
Moonsorrow - Verisakeet 42 besteld
Moonsorrow - Hävitetty 43 gekocht
Moonsorrow - Tulimyrsky44gekocht17/05/08
Morbid Angel - Formulas Fatal to the Flesh45besteld05/07/08
Negura Bunget - 'n crugu bradului46gekocht5/11/08
Negura Bunget - Om47gekocht5/11/08
Neurosis - Given to the Rising 48 gekocht
Obituary - Slowly we Rot49gekocht9/04/08
Obituary - Cause of Death50gekocht9/04/08
Obituary - The End Complete51besteld25/06/08
Obituary - World Demise52besteld25/06/08
Opeth - Morningrise 53 besteld
Opeth - Still Life 54 besteld
Opeth - Blackwater park 55 gekocht
Opeth - Deliverance 56 gekregen
Opeth - Damnation 57 besteld
Opeth - Ghost Reveries 58gekocht
Orphaned Land - Mabool 59 besteld
Otargos - Ten Eyed Nemesis60besteld20/06/08
Pentagram - Anatolia61gekocht9/8/08
pentagram - Unspoken62gekocht9/8/08
pentagram - Bir63gekocht9/8/08
Overkill - Feel the Fire64besteld07/05/08
Pelican - Australasia 65 Besteld
Possessed - Seven Churches 66 besteld
Reverend Bizarre - III: So long suckers 67besteld
Septicflesh - Communion68gekocht25/06/08
Sepultura - Chaos AD 69 gekregen
Slayer - Reign in Blood 70 gekocht
Slough Feg - Hardworlder 71 besteld
Solefald - Black for death 72 besteld
Spiritual Beggars - Demons special edition73 gekocht
Stone - No Anaestheisa!74besteld04/03/08
Vader - Impressions in Blood 75 gekocht
Viikate - Unholan Urut 76gekocht

76 total

Ordered:

Bathory - Hammerheart <--- waiting for a year now, stupid shop
Aeternus - beyond the wandering moon
Kreator - extreme aggressions <--- 8/10/08
Running wild - pile of skulls

Considering getting:
necronomicon - sacred medicines
Arsis - a celebration of guilt
Wintersun - Wintersun
Dark Angel - Leave Scars
In Flames - Lunar Strain
Carnivore - Carnivore
Orne - The Conjuration by the Fire
Portal - Seepia
Massacra - Signs of the Decline
Coroner - punishment for decadence
Opeth - My arms, your hearse
Moonsorrow - Voimaista ja kunnista
Vintersorg - focusing blur
Celtic Frost - Monotheist
Death - Individual Thought Patterns
Slayer - Hell Awaits
Amorphis - Silent Waters

Failed:

Otargos - Kinetic Zero <--- Need to order through several bleeds webshop
Spawn of Possession - Cabinet <---- ill check on internet
solefald - red for fire <--- needs reissue
gorguts - obscura <--- needs reissue

Amorphis Arcturus
Artillery Anathema Atheist Coroner Carcass Death Decapitated Deep Purple Dies Irae Duman Enslaved Entombed Gorguts Hellhammer Hirax Isis Kurban Kyuss Lykathea Aflame Manowar Moonsorrow Melechesh Manilla Road Megadeth Mekong Delta Morbid Angel Negura Bunget Neurosis Obituary Opeth Orphaned Land Pentagram Mezarkabul Otargos Overkill Possessed Reverend Bizarre Pelican Septicflesh Septic Flesh Sepultura Slough Feg Solefald Spiritual Beggars Stone Vader Viikate Bathory Kreator Aeternus Running Wild Celtic Frost Slayer Necronomicon Arsis Wintersun Dark Angel In Flames Carnivore Portal Orne Massacra Vintersorg Spawn of Possession