BlackSmith

Grave - Into The Grave

Sacrofago - Rotting

Blasphemy - Darkness Prevails

Carnivore - Retaliation (1987)

Deeds of Flesh - Reduced To Ashes
 

I barely use it nowadays despite having an account especially since I got out of High School.

Misdeed - Diabolism 

Spectrum of Death is Morbid Saint's first studio album released in 1990.



When I first came across this album I wasn't expecting too much from it other than for it to be another Death/Thrash album that I'll enjoy but probably won't think much about after unless I listen to it a few more times. You should've seen the look on my face when I actually listened to it for the first time. It's gonna sound generic but this is one of those albums that'll pump you up with adrenaline and make you want to smash & fuck up anything & everything in your vicinity without a care in the world and I don't say that too much for a lot of the other stuff I've checked out. You can see the effort the band members put into making this album and it shows. It will get you to asking "Why isn't this a lot more popular than it currently is?" and I would 100% agree with you. If you want to get a friend or anyone else you know into Death/Thrash metal then I would highly recommend this album as a starting point or at least one of the starting points.


Top tracks:

1. Assassin
2. Damien
3. Scars

9.5/10

Morbid Saint - Assassin

Riffobia - Riffobia

3 hours ago, JonoBlade said:

I don't reckon the Fleming Metallica albums are that well produced. I mean, they're ok sound-wise, they're legendary albums, but I never liked the drum sound - which isn't even a dig at Lars. When I listen to these albums I do think sometimes about the production - which means it isn't excellent production. 

Slayer on the other hand, RiB, SoH and SitA, are almost perfect. Rick Rubin only became a joke much later in his career. 

The recording format (digital or analog) makes no difference today. In fact, recording to tape has so much limitation that it isn't really worth it anymore - except for the kudos. The GEAR does make a difference. Dedicated outboard gear is going to sound better than everything in the box. 

The dumb reality is that it seems common to, even when you recorded in a good studio, to sample replace all the drums and re-amp the dry guitar signal through a processor. It can be done tastefully,

I listened to AiH yesterday from an original vinyl. Actually, the drum sound is a bit 80s boxy which does detract from it. But great overall. Not sure what that guitar tone issue is from the OP.

I'm surprised there are still convos going on in the thread but that's for another time. Anyways I've relistened to the album and I've misjudged the guitar sound. Guess I felt that it was playing the same way throughout the album.

1 minute ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Whoa, a rare late night Deadovic sighting!

Helloween - Walls of Jericho

 

Dude I love that Helloween album.

Dokken, Quiet Riot, W.A.S.P., Loudness, Twisted Sister, Guns n Roses, etc. They're the reason I'm into Hard Rock and Heavy Metal.

26 minutes ago, Arioch said:

"Alice! Go to your room! And put those dolls away, we're going to break our backs if we want to climb upstairs!"

 

 

Perhaps Alice is planning to kill her parents and make it look like an accident.

Finding this album to be a good listen so far.

11 minutes ago, AlSymerz said:

Hi, I'm new here, what is the best example?

 

😑

3 hours ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

funny enough this is the one album of thiers I like, not all thrash has to sound like Spectrum of Death. Having said that I very rarely actually spin AiH.

Yeah AiH doesn't sound bad for a thrash album. It's not the best example but it still does its job.

(This is to make up for my first review on Annihilator)

Alice in Hell is Annihilator's first studio album after their formation in 1984. I'll start by saying that this album is a good start for Annihilator and overall I like it. It has one major weakness which does hurt the album for me. The guitar tone gets repetitive after hearing it in the first couple of songs which does make some songs sound the same but with a faster or slower tempo. I'm sure Jeff got his own style but it could've used a little variety. This doesn't make it a bad album by any means but it does weaken it. Overall it's a good album and worth a listen but if you're into more hardcore kinds of metal only then this ain't for you.

6.5/10

Top Picks:
1. Alison Hell
2. Ligeia
3. Schizos (Are Never Alone) Parts I & II

7 hours ago, Arioch said:

It's also my favourite D.A. album and even better: one of my two favourite Thrash albums (with Twisted into Form by Forbidden).

T.D.N.H, I can listen to this record without getting tired of it. Never.

I know it by heart and I love the enormous amount of work the band has done on this album. Some of the riffs give me a big chill.

For me, Dark Angel can be summed up in 3 fabulous albums:

- Darkness Descends which was even nastier than a certain Reign in Blood.
- Leave Scars and its brutal and so unhealthy side.
- Time Does Not Heal and its ton of riffs, Thrash to the core.

All three albums do have their perks which is awesome. 

Time Does Not Heal is Dark Angel's fourth and final album until their initial disbandment in 1992. In my opinion, this is their best album. The drum work from Gene Hoglan is awesome as usual. Now people say they prefer Don Doty over Ron Rinehart but Rinehart's vocals better fit in the case of this album. It helps set the brutal, pessimistic tone the album is going for. The songs may be long but they're definitely able to make you headbang like crazy for a good amount of time. The only criticism for this album is the cover which I don't know what's supposed to be portrayed on it but it doesn't really affect the music so it's no big deal. 

9/10

Top Picks:
1. A Subtle Induction
2. Trauma and Catharsis
3. Act of Contrition

Rammstein - Mein Herz Brennt

54 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

We all had hair like that back then. What's stopping you? Grow that shit!

Genetics are a bitch. The best I can grow is an Afro hopefully. That's why hair pills are a thing.

On 4/11/2023 at 2:31 PM, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Obviously we've been listening to two different albums Jon-O. Without a clunker track?!? Seriously?? The whole fucking thing was a 38 minute basket of clunkers! Could not find these slightly harsh vocals you referenced either. As far as the album's production is concerned, I don't think the most fantastic production in the world can save an album with bad material. Maybe I'm weird but I don't choose albums to listen to based on their production, I choose albums with the songs I want to hear at that moment. The material on the album in question just sounds much, much too commercial to me, which is an unforgivable sin in my book. I'm talking zero tolerance. And that's without even looking at any band photos. Although obviously it's not a problem for everyone, as I've heard many people claim to really like the album quite a bit. I did like the obligatory acoustic intro though if that helps.

Technical thrash to me is stuff like Coroner, a Swiss band who were also active in the late 80's. Now there's a band that made albums with teeth, with balls, their material had an edge to it. It was headbanger shit as we used to say. American thrash bands back in the day who weren't in the top tier of high volume sellers, (which would be bands like the Big 4, Overkill, Exodus, Testament...) made pussy soft-cock thrash because the record companies demanded to get some return on their investment if they were going to be expected to continue to finance the band's further making of albums. Cock rock ruled the day in '89 so the labels pushed all the little bands to become more commercially viable by incorporating elements of cock rock into their sounds and their looks. Annihilator is very clearly a victim of this record company interference imho. Yes, even on Alice.

They look pretty much like your regular average 80's metal dudes. I won't take points off for the two bleached blonde dudes with the dark roots as I lightened my hair back in the 80's myself. Sorta like the dude on the left with the requisite black leather jacket we were all required to obtain within 30 days when they gave us our metal cards. And we sure were fond of denim back then, weren't we?

If only if I could be able to have hair like they did. On another note, I can't help but feel kinda bad for the bands under the record labels at the time because it was either make something non-commercial and risk getting kicked out or squander their potential to make something commercially appealing that they aren't passionate about to keep the record labels happy.

New Jersey based band Overkill released their third album Under The Influence in July of 1988. This is the album where I felt that Overkill began to diversify the sounds in their songs compared to their previous 2 albums which I appreciate not that I hate or dislike the other two since they're good albums too. It's very noticeable in songs such as Mad Gone World, Drunken Wisdom, and Shred. Now, most of the newer sounds ain't nothing masterpiece worthy but the vocals seem to have a little more range in this album which is a plus and helps the songs sound less the same as each other.

My final verdict for Under The Influence is 8/10.

8 minutes ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

I like AiH fine enough, but its not a masterpiece by any means

Yeah, it's not anything special but it's still worth a listen to. The same goes for Never, Neverland.