CD of the Month
  • Mudvayne
    Mudvayne
    by Mudvayne
Inspiration
  • Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground New Edition
    Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground New Edition
    by Michael Moynihan, Didrik Soderlind
  • Retribution
    Retribution
    by Shadows Fall
  • Brutal Legend
    Brutal Legend
    Electronic Arts
Thursday
Nov102011

Charred Walls of the Damned - Cold Winds on Timeless Days

I was pretty excited when I heard that Charred Wall of the Damned was releasing their sophomore effort Cold Winds on Timeless Days on Metal Blade Records.  I was a big fan of their self titled debut, so when this one was released I ran right to the CD player to put it in.  The record starts off a little slow with the track Timesless Days which almost has an Aerosmithish intro ala Dream On, before kicking in.  This record picks up where the last one left off, but with a little less gusto.  It took me until the 3rd track Zerospan before I started really digging my teeth into this one.  This CD is a little more of the same, but on a high note, it does dive into more of a power metal vibe than the first one, which pleased me.

The songs are well written for the most part, but in some instances, certain tunes began to drone on, which started to loose me.  I found that this occurred primarily at the beginning of the disk, with the exception of Zerospan.  The latter part of the disk definitely contains the stronger material.  The songs are classic power metal with some thrash thrown in for good measure.  There is a nice variety on the record, which kept the CD interesting, but it was the songs that lacked substance, that took away from the overall product.  It was refreshing to see that Richard Christie (Ex-Death, Iced Earth) re-assembled the line up form the first record, to record this second opus.  All in all, not a bad record, but not a great one either.

Bottom Line: Charred Walls suffering from a bit of the sophomore jinks.  There are some exciting things happening on this record, but just not enough of them.  Had this one trimmed some of the fat, it could have been a contender for CD of the year.

Standout Tracks: Zerospan, The Beast Outside My Window, Bloodworm and Admire the Heroes

-Ragman wonders how Richard faired on Halloween.

Wednesday
Nov092011

Thin Lizzy - Live in London

To say I was disappointed that John Sykes left Thin Lizzy, would be the understatement of the year (Well at least in 2009).  Being such a Sykes fan, it was hard to accept that he was out, and a new incarnation would carry on without him.  Once Sykes left Scott Gorham recruited Vivian Campbell (Dio, Riverdogs and Def Leppard) to fill the missing axe roll as well as Ricky Warwick (The Almighty) to take over the vacant vocal slot.  If you're not familiar with Warwick, he was with the band The Almighty, back in the 90's.  The band had moderate success but never really made an impact.  Warwick's vocal style, at least in Lizzy, is very close to Phil Lynott's.  Just like many of the classic band's from that era, as they carry on, they move away from any sort of new identity and stick to the old sound, at least vocally.  Hence, the addition of Warwick. 

I was prepared to scrutinize this new line up, but knew in the back of my mind it would be great, because Gorham, wouldn't have it any other way.  I had seen some footage of the band, fan shot, but never got a true idea of how the band would sound, until their new release Live in London.  The band sound really good and Warwick is solid doing his Lynott style vocals.  The band is tight which made this release an enjoyable listen.  This won't replace the classic Live and Dangerous, but will fill the void of no new material from the band.  The songs are updated with current production techniques, but do not hold the same magic as only the original lineup could produce.  The band did a nice job on tracks like Are You Ready and Dancing in the Moonlight.  The set list is standard Lizzy and should make any diehard happy.

Bottom Line: The latest incarnation of Lizzy killing it live.  With Sykes out of the band there is a new dynamic to the band, which takes them back to the classic sound. 

Standout Tracks: Dancing in the Moonlight, Jailbreak, Still In Love With You and Are You Ready.

-Ragman wonders if there wil be a new studio record from the band at some point in time.

Wednesday
Nov092011

Jim Florentine - Cringe "N" Purge

Hot off the heels of the success from VH-1 Classic's - That Metal Show, Jim Florentine has just released his comedy album Cringe "N" Purge on Metal Blade Records.  Florentine and his TMS counterpart Don Jamieson were both signed to MB this year for the first ever comedy releases on the label.  Unfortunately Jamieson's release was disappointing, so hopefully Florentine has more in his arsenal than his counterpart.

Florentine's release starts off strong and finishes strong without a hiccup.  The jokes are funny, racy and totally offensive; all the ingredients for a solid effort.  Jim's brand of comedy is on the lines of the great Andrew "Dice" Clay, but in his own style.  Jim touches on his metal side, but does not make it totally prevalent in his act.  I know a lot of us know him from TMS, but the dude has been on the circuit for awhile, and is known more for his comedy than his love of metal.  I like that he didn't use that as a crutch during his act, and stuck to the jokes about his family, and his jokes about kids.  This CD had me rolling in several parts.  My only critique is that is was hard to hear him at times.  It seemed like he was stepping away from the mike and then he would come back in, which made it more audible.

Bottom Line: Some of the best racy comedy I have heard in a while.  Jim showing his game outside of TMS and succeeding.

-Ragman had his reservations about this one, but then was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

 

Wednesday
Nov092011

Anterior - Echoes of the Fallen

It is hard to believe that it has been 4 years since Anterior's debut record on Metal Blade Records.  Anterior was a shining star, which stuck out in 2007, and I vowed to follow them, if they were to make it to a second recording.  Their sophomore release Echoes of the Fallen, picks up where their debut The Age of Silence left off.  These guys are all about the Swedish Death Metal, even though they're a British band.  The sound is that of the great At The Gates, but with a modern twist.  The songs are well structured and the musicianship is out of this world. 

Guitarist's Leon Kemp and Steven Nixon are absolutely amazing.  These guys rip like no other.  Their intricate rhythms matched with their melodic solos will have any guitar aficionado creaming their pants.  These guys are monsters.  The vocals by Luke Davies are your standard death growls, which do not venture into clean territory.  Unlike many of the bands in the genre today, Anterior has decided to keep the gutteral vocals and have resisted the clean style.  The music is so strong on this release, that the vocals don't really matter.  All in all, a solid release that will stay in the rotation for awhile.

Bottom Line: Anterior are back and do not suffer from the sophomore jinks.  The new CD actually surpasses the debut, which is a tough thing to do.  Solid melodic death metal with guitars for days.  Gets better with each listen.

Standout TracksBy Horror Haunted, Blood in the Throne Room, Sleep Soundly, No More and Venomous.

-Ragman's fingers are tired from air guitaring.

Tuesday
Nov082011

Lust for Vengeance

Always the sucker for the cheesy slasher movie, I decided to check out the recent MVD release Lust for Vengeance.  The film, if you can call it that, is a throw back to the 60's/70's slasher flicks.  The director's vision was to re-create a Giallo type film, which is an Italian thriller.  It is the typical story of 5 friends that have a dark secret from their past.  Once one of the friends end up dead, the others start to think and reminisce of their dark secret.  As you have probably guessed, the cast starts dying off, one by one, until the killer is revealed. 

In theory, this could have been an entertaining watch, but due to the poor filming and bad acting, this one never had a chance.  The film itself looks like a security tape.  The motion is staggered and becomes annoying really quick.  If that weren't bad enough, the color tones of the movie keep changing, making some scenes unwatchable.  The movie does contain elements of the genre they were shooting for, but due to the poor picture, bad acting and lack of gore, this one never stood a chance.

Bottom Line: B-rated movie, that scored an F.  Good idea, but poor execution.  Typical slasher flick with nothing exciting to help it stand out.  Bad acting and even worse cinematography, are a recipe for disaster.

-Ragman needs some aspirin.