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Abraxas

Review and Rating
Tomorrow's World Fairly unknown German power progressive metal. Decent playing and fairly catchy songs, though not always that memorable due to the progressive nature. Good whilst your listening but nothing that makes you want to play it repeatedly.

Rating - 7

AC/DC

If you want blood....you got it.

This is the world famous live album from AC/DC and includes the now deceased singer Bon scott. The sound quality is pretty good here and you get a great feel of the concert as the audience participation is given plenty of room in the mix. The track listing includes some of AC/DC's most well known tracks and fans will love this. One or two of the songs tend to bore me a little but the songs that rock the most such as whole lotta rosie get the old air guitar going. I think this is a good album for listening to at a party!

Rating - 7

Who made Who

This is not a proper AC/DC album as it is a mixture of various AC?DC songs that were used on the soundtrack for the film 'Maximum Overdrive'. The songs here are some of AC/DC most catchiest and will have you singing along to them in no time. The title track who made who is a great start. One or two of the songs are not that great and will have you reaching for the skip button. However the other songs make up for it.

Rating - 6

Accept

Steel Glove

This is my one and only Accept album. I don't know a great deal about this band only that their singer is Udo Dirkschneider and that he has had a number of heart attacks! Accept is your average simplistic Heavy metal band that deals in simple catchy tracks. The vocals are similar to AC/DC in many respects and will definitely not win any awards! The songs are fairly standard and catchy and much faster than AC/DC at times. This CD is a 17 song compilation that features many of their classics such as Fast as a shark and I'm a rebel. The sound quality is average but it doesn't really matter as it's the songs that count. If you want to try Accept, maybe this sort of compilation is the best thing.

Rating - 6

Alice Cooper

Brutal Planet I've never been a fan of Alice Cooper's stuff but thabks to Napster I bought this album after hearing the tirle track. what got me interested is the sheer heaviness although it does have a faint whiff of trendy metal overall it is just well written, classy heavy metal. The lyrical content is quite ineteresting and amusing. I love the choruses in most songs as well especially the song Sanctuary. The female vocals in the title track are very melodic and taper the heaviness of the track with that much needed melody! Alice himself is in fine voice too!

Rating - 8

Alice in Chains

Dirt Supposed Grunge band but this sounds almost heavy metal in places. Them Bones is proper heavy metal song with great catchy vocal hooks. The rest of the album is also pretty good, still this is far from what I'm listening to these days!

Rating - 7

Altura

Mercy Prog rock with some very metal moments. The Magna Carta label is well known for producing this type of band that deals in heavy prog rock and this band is probably one of their best. I prefer Magellan though!

Rating - 6

Am I Blood

Agitation

This band is from Finland and they play a fairly melodic form of thrash metal. This album features fast to mid paced riffs and double bass drumming. This band obviously like Metallica a great deal as many of the songs sound similar to the men in black. The vocalist is also a dead ringer for James Hetfield. This is a decent album and any metal fan who is upset with Metallica over their recent style would enjoy this CD. I don't listen to this CD often however some of the tracks are very good and leave my thirst for thrash metal well satisfied!

Rating - 7

Amon Amarth

Once sent from the Golden Hall I've heard this described as Viking Metal, but to me it sounds like good old melodic Swedish death metal. Perhaps there is ahint of epicness in the lyrical department which leads to the viking description. The music is pretty good and the song victoriuos march is very epic and melodic. The vocals are very coarse and can be alittle bit irritating but the music is high quality stuff if not quite comparable to the best Swedish Death metal bands.

Rating - 7

Amorphis

Elegy

Melodic Death metal with Folk elements mixed in. Clean and Harsh vocal are also used in conjunction. Good stuff, but not all the tracks are good.

Rating - 7

Anathema

Judgement

This is Anathema's latest album and speaking as someone who never appreciated their music before I have to say that this is a great CD. The songs here are beautifully crafted and it is obvious that this band likes to take pride in their songs. The opening track here is the best of a good bunch in my opinion. It features a spine tingling solo mid-section that cannot fail to move. The vocals are very good as well and help make the songs sound very personal. The subject matter as with most Anathema albums seems to be about the various forms of depression and loss. The sound quality is also excellent and everything sounds great. This disc is worth buying for the first song alone!

Rating - 8

Angel Dust

Bleed

Angel Dust are a German power metal band that peddle a heavy brand of power metal. They have heavy catchy riffs and feature a great powerful vocalist who shows great range. This is not typical of German metal as they are much heavier than many of their countrymen. The songs here are also mixed with slower tempos and acoustic guitars. This is a great effort from this band and will please fans of heavy music.

Rating - 8

Enlighten the Darkness

review here

Rating - 8

Angra

Holy Land

Angra are a very famous power metal band from Brazil. They play a very symphonic brand of metal and feature a top class high pitched vocalist. The first song on this CD is very good and is perhaps most indicative of the Angra sound. This album features some Brazillian instrumentation which is quite interesting to hear at times and works quite well. Some of the songs are not of the same standard as the first song. Overall this is an enjoyable CD for power metal fans and the sound quality is top notch. If you are a fan of bands like Rhapsody, Stratovarius, Gamma ray etc then you need Angra!

Rating - 8

Annihilator

Never, NeverLand The second album from Annihilator. This is fairly decent thrash metal that is good for headbangers to give themselves neckache to. The rest can also enjoy it as well!

Rating - 7

Anthrax

Sound of white noise Anthrax used to be a big metal band and this album although not from their early period is a decent effort. maybe not that inspiring for me. some good songs though.

Rating - 6

Apocalyptica

Plays Metallica Metallica songs played by classical players. Very interesting. I like the fact that they use an instrument to represent the vocal lines. It is quite heavy in its own way and I can just imagine these guys headbanging next to their cellos!

Rating - 7

Arch Enemy

Black Earth

This is the first Arch Enemy album and is basically a great melodic Death metal CD. The riffs are top quality and the solos are straight from the classic solo manual. The songs themselves are very catchy. The vocals are fairly gruff although you can make out what they are saying from time to time. The sound is great and everything sounds heavy and crisp. An enjoyable melodic death metal CD!

Rating - 7

At the gates

Slaughter of the soul

This is a great Melodic Death metal CD. At the Gates are no longer a band however before they packed up they released this great powerful death metal mastetrpiece. There's not a lot to be said about this CD other than it is one of the best Melodic death metal CDs that has ever been recorded. Only In Flames can live up to this in any shape or form. Come back At the Gates!

Rating - 10

Terminal spirit disease Another high quality melodic death metal album from these swedes. The sound is not as refined as it is on Slaughter of the sould. But there are some great songs on here with memorable riffs as usual. There are some live tracks tacked on to the end of the album to give it some length as this is a fairly short album. Overall this is decent stuff for fans of the style.

Rating - 8

Atheist

Unquestionable Presence This is the 2nd album from atheist and sees them doing extremely technical deah metal. The rhythms on this disc are super complex with plenty of amazing bass lines thrown in for good measure. The vocals are a bit annoying at times but overall I would say that fans of bands like Cynic and Death or any technical metal fans would enjoy this album.

Rating - 7

Elements This is the 3rd and final album from these technical metal dudes and sees them at their most strange. I would say some of the technicality is less intricate although they are still way more complex than your average Death metal release. I don't like all the songs on the album but some of them feature many great moments of melodic technicality.

Rating - 7

Piece of time The 1st Atheist album is less technical than the later albums. It is more of a straight Death metal album with the tyical Florida death metal sound. On this CD, Atheist prove that they can seriously play their instruments well. There are plenty of riffs that are fairly technical and definitely use melody. I prefer the vocals here than on the other albums and also the songs are slightly more memorable as there is less in the way of technicality.

Rating - 8

Avalon

Vision eden Progressive metal from Germany of a fairly high quality. I am not a massive fan of progressive metal and it is only the very best bands that I enjoy. This is a fairly decent effort with a pretty good vocalist. The songs feature heavy riffing that is both melodic and groovy at times. The vocalist has to be given credit for not being annoying as some prog metal singers can be. Good stuff for fans of bands like Dream Theater, Fates Warning and othr famous prog metal bands.

Rating - 7

Axel Rudi Pell

Oceans of Time This is a very melodic rock/metal album from Mr Pell. The singer is absolutely fantastic. The songs are very memorable with choruses to die for. Some songs are a bit too long and could have been shorter, but this is a small problem. The best song is called Carousel which features a chorus that will have you singing in no time.

Rating - 9

Magic This album is fairly similar to Oceans of time, but the songs are not quite in the same class in my opinion. There are some good songs but I find the rest to be quite boring and mediocre. The sound and playing is still very good. The singer is the famous Jeff Scott Soto who sang with Yngwie Malmsteen so you know he can hit all the right notes. However the singer on Oceans of time, Johnny Gieoli has him beat hands down. Get Oceans of time!

Rating - 6

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