Criteria for assessing metal albums

In about a week (give or take a few days), I will be posting the first part of my annual "top metal albums of the year" list. I spend the entire year keeping up with all the new metal releases each week, and listening to as many of them as I can. As such, I feel my lists are fairly thorough and they cover all subgenres and all levels of popularity--from mainstream all the way down to unsigned bar bands.

However, before I publish this year's list, I wanted to lay out the criteria by which I judge the albums I hear. My lists tend to be radically different from all other lists out there, and I'm hoping that by writing out these criteria, not only will my readers better understand from where I am coming, but I can also better evaluate the albums for my list.

As such, there are four main criteria by which I judge an album: 1) technical ability, 2) innovation, 3)consistency and cohesion of songs across the album, and 4) the ability for the music to please my ear. These criteria are each given mostly equal weight, with the exception of the fourth one. I will lay each of them out in more detail.

1. Technical ability

This is, in many ways, the easiest to asses. Insane guitar and keyboard shredding, vocals with massive power or range, complex and/or creative drum and bass arrangements, nontraditional song structures, etc. are all things I look for that indicate a band possesses exceptional technical skill. Though technical talent is mostly meaningless on its own (see: Dragonforce), when combined with the other elements listed below, it can mean the difference between a good album and a transcendently great one.

2. Innovation

I think this is where I differ from many other music critics out there. Let me first say that I love innovation--without it the genre would grow stale and die off. One of the bands that will be on my list is called Kvelertak. They're from Norway and their self-titled debut is probably the most innovative and creative piece of metal I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. It breaks so many conventions and rules of the genre and yet...I can't help but love it. But, like technical skill, innovation means very little by itself. You won't find Mastodon or Anthrax on my list because their new albums are simply not any good. It's that simple. And on the flip side of that, a band that shamelessly copies the styles of bands that came before them will not be penalized by me as long as they create good music in the process. Innovation is important, but it is not the be-all-end-all of the metal scene.

3. Consistency and cohesion of songs across the album

Despite the long title for this criteria, it's actually very simple: If an album contains no weak songs, that is good. If the songs work together to create an atmosphere that stretches across the whole album and enhances the listening experience, that is even better. Doom bands really excel in the cohesion and atmosphere criteria, and to a lesser extent so do prog bands and any sort of well-executed concept album.

4. The ability to please my ear

This is the most subjective, hardest to define, and also most important criteria for me. The clearest way I can define this criteria is to say that if any part of an album makes me tap my foot, bang my head, throw the horns, or smile uncontrollably, it counts for a lot. And if a band can make me laugh out loud in joy, that's automatically a contender for album of the year. And I don't mean a happy, cheerful joy, but rather an amazed joy, where the sheer brilliance of a composition causes such a rush of emotional power that it needs to be released by either laughter or tears (or both). I find a handful of albums like this every year, and it is the biggest reason why I love metal music. The ability that metal artists have to blow your mind with the power of what they have created is unparallelled in the world of music, and is a joy that all metalheads are able to share.

Most Essential Scandinavian Metal Bands

Scandinavia. When viewed on a world map, it appears as little more than a pimple on Europe's forehead. Consisting of three small countries, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, it seems unlikely that much of consequence could happen there. And yet, for the heavy metal universe, Scandinavia has been a hotbead of activity for nearly thirty years, producing countless quality bands, and quite a hefty number of transcendentally great ones. Following are some of the most absolutely essential bands for understanding the Scandinavian scene and how it has evolved over three decades:

#8 - Amon Amarth

Amon Amarth, hailing from Tumba, Sweden, haven't been around as long as the other bands on this list, but they deserve to be here because they have arguably achieved the most success. Releasing their first album in 1998, they started as more of a straightforward death metal band. Over time, however, they evolved their sound in a totally unique direction that has garnered them massive success.

#7 - Dimmu Borgir

Dimmu Borgir (Icelandic for “dark cities”) took the primal, indecipherable noise that early Norwegian black metal was and turned it into something beautiful. Darker than Hitler's soul, mind you. But beautiful. Dimmu blended the primal nature of black metal with the elegance of symphonic orchestration and airy, atmospheric song structures, making them (along with Emperor) the masters of symphonic black metal.

#6 - Hypocrisy

A band that apparently suffers from multiple personality disorder, Sweden's Hypocrisy have moved all over the metal spectrum since their formation in 1990. Mastermind Peter Tagtren has traversed this band's sound from straightforward death metal, to a more melodic direction, to nu-metal, and then back again to melodeath. The lyrical themes have evolved as well, starting out mostly satanic, and then somehow transitioning to strange alien abduction stories. But Hypocrisy have delivered absurd amounts of quality metal over the years--powered by Tagtren's inhuman vocals, arguably the best extreme metal vocals ever--and are still going strong today.

#5 - Bathory

The formation of black metal is credited a number of different places – namely Switzerland's Hellhammer and Britain's Venom – but Scandinavia also gets in on the action with Sweden's Bathory. Their four albums released between 1984 and 1988 came to be recognized as crucial foundations for the black metal genre that would blossom in Scandinavia in the 1990s. In particular, their anti-Christian lyrics and shrieked vocals were both extremely influential to the black metal bands that would follow them.

#4 - Entombed

Entombed were the first Swedish death metal band to release a studio album. Even more significantly, they recorded said album (1990's Left Hand Path), at Sunlight Studios--which would eventually become the most famous recording studio in the industry--and created the distinctive buzzsaw guitar tone there, something that would immediately become a signature of Swedish death metal. Though Entombed quickly evolved their sound away from true death metal, Left Hand Path remains the most influential and essential album of the scene it pioneered.

#3 - Mayhem

Though there were many bands that were integral parts of the early Norwegian black metal scene (Burzum, Emperor, Immortal, etc.), none were more essential--nor better embodied the infinitely disturbed nature of the scene--better than Mayhem. Formed earlier than any of their peers, they had their original vocalist murdered by fellow black metaller Varg Vikernes of Burzum, and their guitarist blow his own brains out, followed by his fellow bandmates making necklaces from the fragments of his skull. Despite that, Mayhem have survived to this this day and are probably the most influential band of the black metal genre. Go figure.

#2 - Dark Tranquility / In Flames / At The Gates

I list these three bands together because it was together, between the three of them, that the melodic death metal, or “melodeath” genre was created. Over the years, each band evolved the genre in a unique direction. Dark Tranquility, formed first, incorporated keyboards and operatic clean vocals, effectively evolving the genre in a more gothic direction. In Flames were the masters of Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy influenced dual-guitar leads and moved the genre in a more accessible and mainstream direction. At The Gates were the heaviest of the three, and kept the genre grounded to its death metal roots. When looking at the melodeath genre, it is necessary to view all three of these bands together, and together they make for some of the most essential listening in all of Scandinavian metal.

#1 - Mercyful Fate

Little Denmark is saved from heavy metal obscurity by this monumental band. Mercyful Fate formed in the early 80s and has been influential on countless artists, including the mighty Metallica, who often cite Mercyful Fate among their biggest influences. Vocalist King Diamond's powerful falsetto was their trademark that influenced countless power metal vocalists to come. Their heavy, speedy, but melodic guitar style would be strongly influential on thrash and speed metal. Their innovative song structure would lead to prog metal. And their anti-Christian lyrics would be a major part of the future black metal movement. All-around, there are few heavy metal bands in the world--much less Scandinavia--more essential than Mercyful Fate.

Iced Earth "Dystopia" Review

These days a new Iced Earth album stirs mixed feelings in me. On the one hand, they have produced some of the best music to have ever graced my ears, but on the other hand their last couple of albums were rather disappointing, especially when viewed in light of the rest of their discography. It seemed like Jon Schaffer had lost his passion and fire for making music. He was merely going through the motions. His heart just wasn’t into it anymore.

But then in 2010 came Sons of Liberty—Schaffer’s politically themed side project. Suddenly it seemed like he had rediscovered the fire that made albums like Burnt Offerings, The Dark Saga, and The Glorious Burden so transcendently great. The riffs were fiery, the vocals were powerful, the songs were both memorable and creative. But most important of all, Schaffer had a message he was passionate about delivering, rather than some abstract pseudo sci-fi story about an alien antichrist.

I hoped and predicted that rediscovered passion would carry over to the new Iced Earth release. There was one other positive omen prior to Dystopia’s release as well, and that being the band’s track record when introducing a new vocalist. John Greely’s first (and only) album Night of the Stormrider, Matt Barlow’s debut on Burnt Offerings, and Tim Owens’ arrival with The Glorious Burden have each marked the three best efforts by the band to date. Something about having a new toy to play with just seems to get Schaffer’s creative juices flowing. So with the announcement that Barlow was leaving the band again and would be replaced by Stu Block from extreme prog metallers Into Eternity, my hopes were quite high for the new release. And Schaffer et al do not disappoint.

Since we’re on the subject of vocalists, let’s first talk about Block’s effort in that area. I’d be understating things to say his voice is monstrous on this album. If you’ve heard Barlow’s powerful baritone or Owens’ ridiculous four-octave range then you know that when I say Block is the most talented vocalist ever to sing for the band, it means a lot. A hell of a lot. And he is. His range is equal to (if not better than) Owens’, and he manages the gruff baritone with equal gusto and forcefulness of Barlow. Having been a fan of his work with Into Eternity before, I literally did not believe that it was him doing most of the vocals here. I thought that Schaffer was finally stepping up and taking on the majority of the vocals responsibilities again like he did during stretches on Night of the Stormrider. But no—live videos confirm that those sounds do, in fact, come from Block. Incredible, to say the least.

As for the songs themselves, they are generally very high in quality. There’s a definite NWOBHM vibe on this album, often hearkening back to segments from Night of the Stormrider. There are numerous examples of dual-guitar leads that are very Iron Maiden-esque, such as the extended instrumental sections on “Dark City” and “Equilibrium.” And substitute Block’s vocals for those of Bruce Dickinson on album closer “Tragedy and Triumph” and it could easily have been a track on Powerslave. But the old-school thrash aggression also remains, especially on “Boiling Point” and “Days of Rage.” The complaint I have is that those two songs are far too short (“Days of Rage” clocks in a barely over 2 minutes) and straightforward to be very interesting.

The highlights here are mostly the mid-tempo tracks. Though Schaffer is but a shadow of his former self when it comes to writing interesting riffs—often just resorting to generic galloping triplets rather than trying to write anything creative—“Dark City” does contain some of the well-written lightning-wristed rhythm work for which Shaffer has become legendary. And “V,” easily the highlight of this album, contains a number of the best riffs on the whole album, on top of being very catchy and well-written tune overall.

Not every song on this album is a winner, though. “End of Innocence” is quite boring and repetitive, and if you have the limited edition then it is followed by the decent-but-not-spectacular “Soylent Green,” creating a bit of a lull in the second half of the album during which your attention may wander. Also, as I’ve mentioned it before, throughout the album the riffs are often very bland and generic, making me pine for the days of Burnt Offerings when Schaffer was a god of the rhythm guitar.

Those few flaws aside, though, this is a very solid album and a worthy addition to the extensive and (mostly) exemplary Iced Earth discography. Its diverse sounds make for an interesting and memorable roller coaster ride, and most of the tracks stand out on their own merit and stick with you long after Stu Block's lion roar has faded to silence. Definitely recommended.

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Albums from 2011 (so far) to check out

Three months into 2011; we've reach the one-quarter mark of the year already! I've been keeping up with all the new releases so far this year and have compiled a list of the best ones to date. In no particular order, here are ten releases from the first quarter of 2011 that I highly recommend checking out:

V by Vreid (Indie Recordings)

Amazing progressive black metal. Arguably my favorite so far this year.

Stoned by Acid Witch (Hell's Headbangers)

A unique mix of stoner metal, death metal, psychedelic keyboards and Sabbath-inspired riffs. Great "drinking beer and grilling out" music.

Subvert the Dominant Paradigm by Noisear (Relapse)

This is as grindcore as grindcore gets. Very technical, chaotic, fast, and insane. In terms of having your brain cells violently rearranged, this is an album that shines.

Blood on Snow by Eastern Front (Candlelight)

I'm a huge history nerd, so maybe I'm biased, but this black metal band from the UK blows me away. They have WWII-themed lyrics and a rythmic attack that even Immortal would be jealous of. Highly recommended.

Surtur Rising by Amon Amarth (Metal Blade)

It's Amon Amarth. Need I say more? Okay, so maybe it's not as good as their last two albums, but it's still effing awesome. Your metal collection is simply not complete if it doesn't include the latest offering by these Swedish melodic metal masters.

Onyx by Ava Inferi (Season of Mist)

Mesmerizing gothic-influenced doom metal. The female vocals only add to the immersive experience, while the Mastodon-influenced riffs and mournful piano melodies make for a surprisingly memorable experience.

 Kvelertak by Kvelertak (Indie Recordings)

Easily the most innovative and creative album I have ever encountered. This makes Mastodon look like stale trend-followers by comparison. Their sound is mostly dominated by black metal and punk influences, but they manage to blend a dozen other sounds in as well, all while maintaing an improbable coherence. Worth checking out for its ground-breaking qualities, if nothing else.


Firefight by Blackguard (Victory)

Commencing an enormous leap from their debut album, Blackguard succeed where their debut failed by translating their considerable live energy to the studio as they create an album that sounds like a mix between Children of Bodom and Ensiferum. It's epic, it's extremely energetic, and it's catchy as all hell.

Relentless Reckless Forever by Children of Bodom (Universal)

Speaking of the devil, here are the masters of Finnish melodic extreme metal with their latest release. While this doesn't match Follow the Reaper or even Are you Dead Yet? in quality, it's still much better than their most recent releases and shows that, even at their most mediocre, Children of Bodom still rank among the best modern metal bands.

Asylum Cave by Benighted (Season of Mist)

Call it brutal death metal, deathcore, technical death metal; I don't freaking care. This is awesome metal no matter how you paint it. I'm not normally a fan of hardcore breakdowns or "pig squeal" vocals, but both are used sparingly and tastefully enough on this album that they don't impede the considerable musical talent of Benighted.

New Arch Enemy track

For anyone who was lucky enough to download Arch Enemy's new track "Yesterday is Dead and Gone" off of their upcoming album Khaos Legions while it was still available, you may have caught a glimpse of what I suspect will be among the best metal albums this year. I apologize for not reposting the link before it had expired, but rest assured, this should be one monster of an album. Keep your eyes peeled for it.

Review of Acid Witch's "Stoned"

Acid Witch Stoned (Hell's Headbangers, 2011)

It drives me nuts when I see a really good, totally unknown band that is getting poor reviews simply because they promote themselves incorrectly. This is one such band. Hailing from the strange and foreign land known as Michigan, Acid Witch consists of only two members, who simply go by the names Shagrat and Dave. The cleverly-named Stoned is their second full-length album.

On their Myspace and other pages, they claim to be doom metal, and that is a mistake, because they clearly are not doom. This is more like psychedelic stoner metal with death-grunt vocals. They have a campy, goofy sense of humor (see: "Metal Movie Marijuana Meltdown"), but the songs are extremely catchy, with great riffs that are tailor-made for handbanging. They also have a unique bend of stoner themes, Sabbath-inspired riffs, and psychedelic 70s keyboards that I've never heard before.

The keyboards are what really makes this album stand out. They are used sparingly, but they are extremely effective when they are used, such as in “Live Forever.” They yank the listener out of the sludgy trenches being dug by the weight of the guitar riffs, and send you soaring for a few brief moments before the combined mass of the Dave’s massive riffs and Shagrat’s deep, gruff vocals drag you back down to earth.

This is a really good album and I recommend checking it out. Just don't expect doom metal, because that's not what they are. This is more of a "have a few beers and cookout with your buddies" album than anything else, so grab a case of imported beer (I recommend Newcastle Brown Ale or anything brewed by Hoffbräu), fire up the grill, and enjoy this for what it is.

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Top 10 metal albums of the 80s

When your average American thinks about heavy metal, he immediately envisions the 1980s era of big hair, spandex, and music videos. “Hair metal,” as it was known, was metal's glorious moment in the spotlight. Ironically, it also happens to be a source of incredible shame for metalheads. See, hair metal was an abomination - a perversion of everything that heavy metal stands for. It's disgraceful that MTV, record labels, and Hollywood all made absurd amounts of money in the name of heavy metal. Absolutely disgraceful.

Thankfully, there was also an abundant crop of quality heavy metal blooming throughout the 80s. For the most part, these were bands who didn't get MTV air time or inspire Hollywood docudramas and movies. What they cared about was making quality music. And what they created was the sturdy branches that each grew into the myriad of metal subgenres - branches that continue to grow and thrive to this day.

I normally embrace the challenge of making lists that include rankings. However, I feel like there's no way to rank any of these legendary albums above the others. As such, I present to you the ten best metal albums of the 80s in chronological order:

Heaven and Hell Black Sabbath (1980)

Four months into the new decade, the most influential band in the history of the genre kicked off the most successful decade for the genre with this beast of an album. Combining Tony Iommi's signature riffing with Ronnie James Dio's virtuoso vocal talents made for an album of pure sonic ecstasy. Talk about starting the new decade off with a bang!

Blizzard of Ozz Ozzy Osbourne (1980)

Pulling himself up out of the gutter after being dumped by Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne struck absolute gold when he found young guitar virtuoso Randy Rhoades. Powered by Rhoades' neoclassical soloing and Ozzy's penchant for writing catchy-as-hell tunes, Blizzard would go on to reach four times platinum, making it one of the most successful metal albums of all time.

Number of the Beast Iron Maiden (1982)

Maiden ushered in a new era of heavy metal with this landmark album. Though the dual guitar sound had previously been pioneered by Judas Priest and Thin Lizzy, this album is the quintessential monument to dual-guitar melodies. Furthermore, the songs are among the catchiest of all time. And then there's Bruce Dickinson's vocals. There's just so much to say about this album. Many consider it to be the best metal album of all time, and for good reason. Just an unbelievable piece of work all around.

Holy Diver Dio (1983)

After a brief stint with Black Sabbath, Ronnie Dio went his own way and formed this self-named group. Dio's vocals are legendary, but in case you've been living under a rock your whole life and aren't familiar with him, he is widely considered to be the best vocalist in the history of the genre. Of course, Rob Halford/Judas Priest fans might have some beef with that (and rightly so), but the fact remains that Ronnie Dio's vocals are an orgasm in your ear and this album is easily one of the most revered of all time.

Ride the Lightning Metallica (1984)

Metallica introduced the world to the concept of thrash metal with their 1982 album Kill 'Em All. But they perfected that concept two years later with this album. If you ever find yourself searching for a definition of the term “thrash,” simply listen to this album. Never before or since has the genre been so clearly or powerfully defined. This is a legend among legends.

 Powerslave Iron Maiden (1984)

Everything that Maiden did right on Number of the Beast, they did even better on Powerslave. Of particular note is Steve Harris' bass lines, which have always been extraordinary, but on this album they seal the deal that he is the best bassist in the history of the genre. I could literally listen to this album ten times in a row, doing nothing but focusing on the bass each time. It's that good.

Metal Church Metal Church (1985)

Unlike the other albums on this list, this one has slipped through the cracks a bit. Metal Church were never as popular as groups like Ozzy or Sabbath. Nor were they as innovative as Maiden or Metallica. But when an album is this well executed, it doesn't need those other qualities. Simply put, this is a flawless collection of songs, and it deserves to be ranked up with the other albums on this list, even if was neither as popular nor as influential as the others.

Master of Puppets Metallica (1986)

If you took a poll of ten metalheads and music critics asking them what was the best metal album of all time, you would probably get ten different responses. However, if you polled a hundred or a thousand of them, it's likely a winner would eventually emerge, and that winner would almost certainly be this album. On March 3, 1986, the official bar for heavy metal music was set. Ever since then, every great album is inevitably compared to this particular masterpiece. Can there be a higher honor than that?

Peace Sells... but Who's Buying by Megadeth (1986)

Megadeth may be Metallica's redheaded stepchild, but it is the one that grew up to be that really hot redheaded chick with the perfect freckles and body - absolutely sublime. And this is arguably the sexiest of that redhead's albums from the 80s (though all three albums released by Dave Mustaine and company this decade were very, very good). If you don't get the song “Peace Sells” stuck in your head at least once after listening to this album, there's a good chance you weren't born at all, but rather grew in a lab, because you definitely do not have a soul.

Hall of the Mountain King Savatage (1987)

Modern prog metal bands like Dream Theater and Symphony X owe vast amounts of credit to this album. The title track in particular exhibits a very special combination of intricate songwriting, amazing musicianship, and a just flat-out badass guitar riffage (seriously, that is one of the most incredible riffs of all time). But that magical combination isn't limited to one track, as every single song here shines in its own eclectic way. Oh, and if Jon Oliva's vocals don't get your blood roaring, you need to have an autopsy because you are clearly not alive anymore. All-round, a spectacular album in every facet.