JamesT

Primal Fear - "Rulebreaker" Primal Fear - "Apocalypse" Primal Fear - "Metal Commando" Absolutely love these guys!

KK's Priest - "The Sinner Rides Again" Accept - "Blood of the Nations" I'll be listening through the 4 most recent Primal Fear albums tomorrow and can't wait: "Rule Breaker" (2016) "Apocalypse" (2018) "Metal Commando" (2020) "Code Red" (2023) Gonna get back to Saxon afterwards, with some modern Testament thrown in. Never a letdown in the world of heavy metal!

HammerFall - "Dominion" HammerFall - "Hammer of Dawn" Primal Fear - "Rule Breaker" Primal Fear - "Apocalypse" KK's Priest - "Sermons of the Sinner"

HammerFall - "(R)Evolution" HammerFall - "Built to Last" Primal Fear - "Unbreakable" Primal Fear - "Delivering the Black" KK's Priest - "The Sinner Rides Again"

I appreciate that, my friend! It's impossible not to feed off of the incredible high that the amazing world of heavy metal provides! All different styles and sub-genres, with something to offer everyone, regardless of their tastes. Here's what I've been listening to today: HammerFall - "No Sacrifice, No Victory" HammerFall - "Infected" Primal Fear - "New Religion" Primal Fear - "16.6 - Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" I'm testing out a new listening pattern for myself that I've never tried before. I'm making my way through the entire discographies of both HammerFall and Primal Fear in chronological order for each band and alternating two albums at a time before I switch between them. And thrown in the mix, I've been playing the two KK's Priest albums. It's been thoroughly enjoyable! Wishing all my metal brethren a good evening!

KK's Priest - "The Sinner Rides Again" HammerFall - "Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken" HammerFall - "Threshold" Primal Fear - "Nuclear Fire" Primal Fear - "Black Sun" Traditional heavy metal abounds!

You didn’t misread, my metal brother! I do like “St. Anger” quite a bit and listen to it regularly. I found it to be a refreshing response to the Load/Reload material, which wasn’t even really “metal” to be honest, although I do enjoy a few songs from those albums. The ferocity was back - my only gripe is with the lack of guitar solos, but I think the songs are still really solid. The drums are actually a part of the sound that I appreciate. Excellent choice! I’ve listened through “The Sinner Rides Again” 3 times today, and it has gotten better with each listen! Well worth the high level of anticipation I had!

KK's Priest - "The Sinner Rides Again" Nervosa - "Jailbreak" Primal Fear - Self-titled debut Primal Fear - "Jaws of Death" HammerFall - "Legacy of Kings" HammerFall - "Renegade"

Haha I can definitely understand the sentiment! I really like Metallica, but I wouldn't say I love them these days. I do think their most recent 3 albums have all been really good. But in general, I'm not crazy about the direction they took with the Black Album and then Load/Reload. I really like "St. Anger", and then they've been back on much better ground since then as well. I don't mind the song lengths, honestly. Metallica are very good songwriters, so they can keep things interesting over the course of longer songs, although that's certainly not the case for everyone! Very cool that you pre-ordered "The Sinner Rides Again"! Man, I'm thoroughly enjoying the heavy metal ride! KK still has plenty of chops, and Ripper has turned in one of his best vocal performances in years - which is saying something for me, because I love everything the guy has done. Can't wait to continue spinning this new terrific slab of goodness!

I appreciate that, my metal brother! I enjoy reading your contributions as well! Glad to hear I’m not the only one who feels less than fond of singles.

I genuinely love the discussion, no matter who may disagree with my assessments or tastes! This forum has been a fantastic discovery for me. I can certainly understand why a lot of music fans consider some albums to be too long. Personally, I would prefer as much music for my money as possible. Give me 12-14 tracks with a run time between 50 minutes and an hour any day over an album that only has 9-10 tracks with a short run time of 38-42 minutes. Unless, of course, there are several songs that are completely subpar - then I would certainly want it trimmed down a bit. Outside of that, though, I never think of greater length to be a downside of an album. I actually wish “Firepower” was even longer! But I completely understand where other fans are coming from when referring to certain albums dragging on a bit too long. Friday can’t come soon enough! I don’t listen to singles - I wait for the full album to be released so I can enjoy it and spend time with the complete product. So I’ll be throwing on “The Sinner Rides Again” with a fresh ear. The new Nervosa album drops that same day, and that is one fantastic all-female blackened thrash juggernaut! What a glorious day Friday will be! How could it get better for a metalhead than that? Two brand new releases from two of your favorite bands! On a random note, 2024 is already shaping up to be an incredible year. New albums from Judas Priest AND Accept?? Yes, please! And if Saxon manages to crank out album number 24…… I’m not sure my metal-loving soul would survive the thrill! On that note, methinks it’s time to make my way through the 23-album catalog of Saxon between now and Friday. And I’m currently on vacation, so how could it get better?!

Flatt and Scruggs are fantastic. Instrumental bluegrass is always a fun ride.

How's it going, my fellow metalhead? Love several of these choices! Rage Against the Machine, Biohazard, and Stuck Mojo have all long been favorites of mine. I haven't checked out much Clawfinger, although I've enjoyed the little bit that I've heard through the years. Although I don't play as much rap/metal as I used to, I definitely enjoy it from time to time. Have you ever checked out a band called Insolence? They're really solid!

Oh my goodness! This I, Destroyer EP is fantastic! I'll be listening through this one multiple times, myself, over the coming week. My wife and I are heading down to the coast for vacation all week (leaving today), so I'll have plenty of time to play this album while relaxing in front of the waves. The recommendation is much appreciated!

I've missed our conversations lately, Mr. GG! I can't really explain it, but "Firepower" just grabbed me from start to finish. Faulkner is a fantastic guitarist in his own right, and I think his work really shines on this album. Halford sounds as good as ever, and the songs have some great variety. It's got some of the faster stuff, some mid-paced stuff, some nice groove, and some facemelters. There's not a single track that I skip, and I've listened to it all the way through numerous times (too many to count at this point). But we all know my affinity for the modern output from classic bands, so I guess this isn't much of a surprise! The triple-headed monster that opens the album ("Firepower", "Lightning Strike", and "Evil Never Dies") sets the tone for a thoroughly enjoyable heavy metal ride. What's your listening experience been like lately? Put on any thrash, by any chance?

Interesting take! I wouldn't begrudge anyone of his or her musical opinion or taste - that's for sure! Personally, I think the modern Judas Priest output is every bit as good as some of the classics. In fact, I have both "Redeemer of Souls" and "Firepower" in my top 5 JP albums in the catalog. "Firepower" ranks #2, only behind "Painkiller" for me. "Angel of Retribution" is in my top 10 as well. "Nostradamus" has some strong tracks, too. The classics are undeniable, though! U.D.O. - "Touchdown" Iron Maiden - "Dance of Death" KK's Priest - "Sermons of the Sinner" Metal Church - "Congregation of Annihilation" HammerFall - "Glory to the Brave" HammerFall - "Legacy of Kings" Loving the traditional metal route these last couple of days!

Glad to hear you're liking the material! "Sermons of the Sinner" is an album that has gotten nearly constant rotation for me ever since its release in July of 2021. At that time, touring was just barely starting to come back after the shutdown, and I remember KK saying at the time that they already had enough material for a second album. They opted to go ahead and release their second album, so they'd have two albums worth of material to play live. Ripper is one of my favorite metal vocalists in existence, so pairing him up with another former Judas Priest member? Yes, please! Judas Priest is my favorite traditional metal band of all time, so they'll never be topped by KK's Priest by any means. However, I love what KK is doing and can't wait for the album next Friday! Very cool that you're seeing Dianno! Sorry to hear about his physical state of health. I haven't kept up with him as much in recent years, although as I type this post, I'm sitting here in my Iron Maiden t-shirt. I'm planning to crank "Dance of Death" today.

Accept - "Stalingrad" KK's Priest - "Sermons of the Sinner" Absolutely cannot wait for the double-feature release date a week from Friday, on 9/29! The new KK's Priest album AND the new Nervosa album are set to be released that same day. What a day that'll be!

Shredhead - "Death is Righteous" Pretty solid groove/thrash with these guys.

Metallica - "72 Seasons" Accept - "Blood of the Nations" Merauder - "God is I" Pretty cool groove/hardcore band. Savage Existence - "Animals" Savage Existence - Self-titled Really good groove with this one.

Black Mood - "Squalid Garden" The Black Swamp - "Foulness" (EP) The Black Swamp - "I Am" Great sludge/groove on tap again today!

Black Tooth - "Drink Drive Go to Hell" Some really good groove metal! Accept - "Blind Rage" The Mark Tornillo-era is my favorite Accept material by far, but this album was the one that took more time to grow on me. It's a bit different from the other 4 albums with Mark thus far, but I absolutely love it now. Tracks like "Dying Breed", "Trail of Tears", "200 Years", and "Final Journey" are just killer.

Primal Fear - "Nuclear Fire" Primal Fear - "Black Sun" Primal Fear - "16.6 - Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" Black Sabbath - "13" Cirith Ungol - "Forever Black" Crowbar - "Zero and Below" Death Destruction - "II" Metal Church - "Congregation of Annihilation" Before the Damned - "Unanimosity" Solid groove metal here!

American Burn - "Black Water" (EP) Great southern/groove metal band. Not sure if they have any other releases at this point, but this has been getting regular rotation lately. Primal Fear - "Code Red" Album number 14 is a fantastic ride! Their best since "Delivering the Black" (2014).

Bonafide - "Somethings Drippin'" Solid rock 'n' roll from these guys. PanterA - "Cowboys from Hell" PanterA - "Vulgar Display of Power" My favorite band of all time never disappoints. A catalog cut far too short by drama.