Adorn - Gateway to Eden

Hermóðr- Grav

Atmospheric Black metal has certainly caught my attention over the past year or two. People will think I am insane to listen to this music- but I love it. I'm just your average person- I never do anything extreme to 'show my individuality'. Not that I have a problem with those that do. I never have to prove myself to anyone and I've developed that attitude since high school. Anyways.

Great band and a great track. Hermóðr.

Inquisition: Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm

It's no secret to me, anyways that I've become a fan of black metal. Not all of it sits well with me though. When I say that, I am talking about the continuity and melodic department. For example, bands like Behemoth are inconsistent and just don't sound right to me. Different strokes for different folks I suppose. So what the fuck? from the album cover this band looks... creepy.

Surprisingly, once you get passed the frogman vocals, this band is actually really good. It makes excellent monster slaying music, and definitely adds a new breath of fresh air (fresh?) to my music lineup. I've also gotten into bands recently such as Nasheim and Gallowbraid, both Black Metal artists.

Oh if my mother found out I listened to black metal. It would flip her proverbial whig. Ahh oh well. I'm a fan of most genres of metal.

Great album by the way.

Disturbed: Ten Thousand Fists

Happy Samhain!

Got some Disturbed here with their album Ten Thousand Fists. Their lead singer has a unique voice that I like. The band is Heavy Metal with a bit of Speed Metal thrown in. While I think most of their music is good- some of the songs on this album were ok, with my favorites being 'Avarice' and 'Stricken'. Good album for those who like more mainstream heavy metal, and definitely worth picking up for Disturbed fans, though some songs seemed repetitive due to the beat.

3.86/5.00 (77%).

Breaking Benjamin: We Are Not Alone

This one is from far back: 2004. I used to listen to Breaking Benjamin a lot back then. Today though- I've kind of moved on with my tastes in music. We Are Not Alone is OK- there are a couple of good tracks on there like So Cold and Break My Fall, but it's nothing fantastic. Unless you are a die hard fan of Breaking Benjamin, stick to surfing and buying MP3s over the entire album- or skip it.

3.45/5.00 (69%).

Rob's Iphone

I was hesitant about needing a smart phone- but after getting one I love the damn thing. Here is what is on my Iphone:

Abigail Williams
Altaria
Alter Bridge
Ancient Bards
Apocalyptica
At the Gates
Black Label Society
Bloodbound
Bolt Thrower
Born of Osiris
Breaking Benjamin
Cain's Offering
Canon
Dark Tranquility
Diablo Swing Orchestra
Disturbed
Ensiferum
Fear Factory
Five Finger Death Punch
Gojira
Heidevolk
Korpiklaani
Lacuna Coil
Make me Famous
Maximum the Hormone
Megaherz
Metallica
Nightwish
Periphery
Ra
Rammstein
Ravenscry
Rebellion
Ride the Sky
Sabaton
Silent Force
Skiltron
Sonata Arctica
Stratovarius
4th Dimension

Sonata Arctica: Winterheart's Guild

Sonata Arctica. I happened upon the group on Youtube and said "who are these guys and where the f*** are they from". Turns out that they are a power metal group from Finland. This album was amazing. Two or three of the songs tugged at my heart especially deep- and I'm not one to really discuss my emotions or feelings publicly. Victoria's Secret, The Ruins of My Life and especially Draw Me are some of the best songs I have ever heard in my life.

Not one song on the album scored below a "I really liked it". While some of it breeches the cusp of "amazing", the album is nothing short of. I 'outstandingly' recommend this album. This is a must buy.

5.0/5.0 (100%) This is one of the few albums that will score a perfect 100%. (LOL)

Breaking Benjamin: Phobia

I found it odd that they didn't list the name of this album 'Evil Angel' or 'Unknown Soldier' after some of the songs. Back when I was in high school in 2007 I picked up this album and liked Breaking Benjamin a lot more than I do today. Still, Phobia has some of the better Breaking Benjamin songs on it, such as Evil Angel, You, Topless, Unknown Soldier and Here We Are.

Worth a pick up if you like Nu metal.
4.00/5.00 (80%.)

Breaking Benjamin: Dear Agony

I used to listen to a lot of Breaking Benjamin back in my high school days. I went out and bought this album when it came out while I was in college- and they did an alright job on it. It's nothing too special. Two songs that I would recommend off of Dear Agony would be 'Dear Agony' and 'Into the Morning'. For Nu Metal- I'd pass on this album unless you're a Breaking Benjamin fan.

3.63/5.00 (73%).

Bloodbound: Nosferatu

Here is another badass power metal band for you: Bloodbound. I heard these guys when my roommate was listening to them. I acquired the CD and I loved Nosferatu as well as Holy Cross (future post).

Bloodbound is power metal with a little bit of speed metal thrown in there. The vocals are very well done as well as some of the guitar riffs and the bass playing. I think my only complaint with the album is that On the Battlefield and Behind the Moon sound too similar (non-lyric wise) in the music at times. Regardless, this album is definitely worth a pick up for power metal fans.

4.45/5.00 (89%). Fantastic album.

Altaria: Invitation

Altaria is THE SHIT.

I loved this CD. While I think the song quality dropped off towards the end, this entire CD is worth a purchase. This is symphonic power metal- a lot like a mix of Nightwish and Iron Maiden- though that might be a crude illustration with a band that is very, very refined.

Sample this one below and make up your mind. My favorite tracks were: History of Times to Come, Innocent, Wrath of a Warchild and Kingdom of the Night.

4.27/5.00 (85.4%). MUST buy for Symphonic Metal and Power Metal fans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh7IPW_E9JU

Battlesoul: Lay Down Thy Burdens

When I stumbled upon "Wolf" by Battlesoul on youtube- it lead to an album purchase. While I originally had apprehension buying the album Lay Down Thy Burdens- after listening to it once I am glad I bought it.

Viking/Folk metal is awesome. It just is. It isn't everyone's cup of tea though. For example- the hard core black metal music is too much for me to handle because of the discord in the musical beat itself. I think the closest I've gotten to any of that would be Behemoth or Slayer (Slayer is not black metal).

I didn't count the 2 quick wind instrument songs on this album in the scoring. Except for two songs- Signal the Storm and Lay Down Thy Burdens- I really liked this album. Both of those songs were OK- just not enough to rank them any higher. I likes Warriors In Carrion Kingdoms, Wolf, Wisdom, Silence and Bow to None the best.

I'll give this album a 4.2/5.0 (84%). Definitely worth picking up if you like Viking/Folk metal. It's not for everybody- but it is for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUjCXa5FBgI

Alter Bridge: Fortress Thoughts

Because I support this band (plus, my roommate and I went and bought a bunch of power metal and heavy metal) I went out and bought their new CD- Alter Bridge's Fortress. I've followed Alter Bridge since 2004 and have listened to them evolve their sound over four albums.

I wish they would keep going! I've taken the average quality of each song from each album to see how Fortress stacks up to their earlier releases. So far, ABIII is the king of the hill with an average star rating of 4.667 out of 5. Next would be One Day Remains (4.375) then Blackbird (4.000). That's not to say Blackbird was a bad album- it was a great album- (though I liked the Amsterdam LIVE CD better) but it didn't rank as high.

You've always got good music in my book if the star rating averages better than a 4. The CD isn't that much. With shipping I paid about $14 US from Amazon.com and got it within 2 days standard shipping. You also get the Amazon audio rip- so you can listen NOW while your CD is on the way. I'm not endorsing Amazon digital products because I am anti-DRM, but they give you the option while the physical disk is on its way.

Calm the Fire probably has to be my favorite song on this album- though Fortress and Lover are close behind. It's that different sound that they have going on- it's new, different- but at the same time familiar enough. I wouldn't (ok I would call Calm the Fire mind blowing) call it mind blowing; but it is on the verge.Waters Rising was good enough that I gave it the five star treatment- helped of course by Tremonti and Phillips (Marshall was good too- hell Kennedy was good on this song too).

When the online media sites say that Alter Bridge has pulled it off again- they were right. I'm not one to really trust big corps and reviews, but this time they are right. ABIII was explosive- and so is Fortress. Mark Tremonti did the lead vocals to Water Rising- and he did an amazing job.

These guys are not mainstream in the United States but they are extremely popular in Europe. America has a habit of clinging to its pop, Justin Beibers and Selena Gomez's (ironically, many of them are trained by the same trainer/company and most do not write their own music). Alter Bridge is genuine- they write their own music and compose it. Not only do they do this- but they actively tour and love their fan base- and it grows.

I'm happy to give Fortress a 4.5/5. The only reason it ranks slightly behind ABIII is because when ABIII came out, it was a big departure from the tone of Blackbird and was like getting hit with a 300mph hurricane. In terms of caliber, Fortress and ABIII are equal with Fortress being a little more fast paced. You know what I'm going to tell you. Pick up ABIII and Fortress. If you love the band, pick up all of their CDs.