FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
As for the bulk of the original album, it’s what you would expect from a former member of Within Temptation (Westerholt): soaring vocals, bombastic guitar solos, pounding drums, lush keyboard and symphonic string arrangements. All played with subtlety and an attention to contrast that it seems only those in power or progressive metal remember any more
This reissue of Raw Power is satisfying because, unlike so many of the more “adventurous” re-workings of the material, this release stays true to the original; even leaving some of the noticeable flaws (like the clipping that might be from volume or from a little bit of tape left mangled in “Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell” intact) in place to imply the rough, warts-and-all initial recording process.
Boasting the most robust guitar tone of the band’s career, Trouble shifted to a riff-heavy approach and embraced the almighty groove. Trouble did not abandon its zeal for all things 70s so much as it reconciled this enthusiasm with a straight-up metallic punch. However, what truly allowed Plastic Green Head to stand out was its songwriting.
As previously mentioned in Albert Mansour’s recent Wolfbane review, Hellbound.ca has a pretty deep respect for the excellent job Pittsburgh’s Shadow Kingdom Records is doing chronicling long lost metal gems for modern day consumption. The long line of obscurities they have dug up in the past three years is admirable and this new reissue by legendary DC doom crew Iron Man is no exception.
To celebrate the recent tour edition reissue of this album, Adrien Begrand revisits Testament’s The Formation of Damnation for Hellbound.ca
By Navjot Kaur Venturing into the turbulent realm of Celtic meets traditional black metal (streaked with essential melody) is Primordial. None too surprising, as…
Shadow Kingdom Records is like the Energizer Bunny. It keeps going and going and going with great releases one after another. One of their newest gems is this compilation by Wolfbane.
For Kunsten Maa Vi Evig Vike is very much a product of its time, but it is a product that is not discoloured by the bitter taste of symphonic black metal’s subsequent indulgences. What Kvist brings to the table is quite simple: balance.
This 1978 full length debut album by the Vancouver, British Columbia based artist known only as Thor was an original RCA vinyl release and it has never made too much impact on my heavy metal ears. I really don’t call Thor’s first album real metal, instead I’ve always considered it glam rock like the Sweet, New York Dolls and Slade