At 5/22/11 04:12 PM, SineRider wrote: What is everyone's opinion on Periphery? Some of my friends have been raving over them for awhile.

Shit band is shit.

At 5/22/11 04:20 PM, Centurion-Ryan wrote: Eh, I don't really like Nightfall in Middle Earth. I think it suffers from the problem that a lot of people say Twist in the Myth had, where none of the songs are really that memorable. It has a 82% average on Metal Archives, however, so I'm probably in the minority. When Sorrow Sang is an awesome song, though.

Yeah, while I think it's a good album it's honestly probably one of my least favorite.

At 5/22/11 04:39 PM, DeIirium wrote: I only ever liked the ballads from Blind Guardian. Lord of the rings, bright eyes, and Bard's song. The heavier stuff I find boring.

By heavier do you mean songs like Punishment Divine, or the thrashier stuff like Majesty?

At 5/23/11 01:38 AM, Sense-Offender wrote:

Walls Of Jericho = Undoubtedly thrash metal.

thrash? I'd say it's heavy/speed metal.

Heavy = traditional = No
Speed metal is basically just another way of saying "oldschool power metal" or "really melodic thrash metal" - it's not really a genre.

And I definitely consider the stuff with Kiske to be power metal.

How do people figure? I really never see any REAL power metal elements in those albums.

At 5/23/11 07:12 AM, Bahamut wrote:

At 5/22/11 03:36 PM, HeavenDuff wrote: I guess... But everytime AniMetal starts talking about Power Metal he makes me feel like I'm a complete noob in terms of Power Metal. He's always like "Sonata Arctica are not liked by REAL power metal fans" or "that Edguy album is not Power Metal, it's Traditionnal Metal."

I'm not going to agree with the last part of the sentence for those thoughts but yeah, he knows an insane amount of power metal bands. I'd like to know which ones he's listened to stand out very well. My problem with lesser known power metal bands are how forgettable they are or I keep feeling there's better bands from the genre I could be listening to instead.

Yeah, kind of like how most black metal elitists you meet hate bands like Dimmu Borgir and whatnot, most power metal "elitists" hate sonata arctica haha. As for Edguy, I just found that hellfire club is totally 100% traditional metal. That being said, I hate that album. Actually I hate all Edguy from Mandrake onwards.

As for a list, i'll make a list of power metal albums that stand out among all the rest soon. One thing that i've noticed is a lot of power/symphonic metal bands tend to have one or two REALLY good albums, but then the rest is sub par. Hence the forgettableness.

At 5/25/11 08:14 PM, Anti-pie wrote: Judas Priest was just on American Idol.

For those who haven't seen it, it's actually really epic.

At 5/26/11 02:15 PM, TheDaemonicPoet wrote:

At 5/25/11 11:43 PM, HeavenDuff wrote: Finaly, Bullet For My Valentine are a Metalcore band.

Hmm, pretty metal metalcore,

They really are. Most of their riffs sound an awful lot like traditional metal riffs, and some of their clean vocals sound almost like they would've fit in an 80's thrash metal band.

That being said, they still suck. haha

At 5/26/11 08:35 PM, Cordyceps wrote: Oh, and it might be relevant to mention that I've seen Megadeth, Testament, Slayer, Iron Maiden, and Dream Theater live.

I've seen all of them live as well except for Iron Maiden, whom I actually dislike.

At 5/27/11 08:01 AM, Haggard wrote: Not bad for a 17 year old. But if all of us started listing the bands they have seen live, the thread would be flooded, lol.

I posted a huge ass post back when I joined back in '08 or so of all the bands i've seen live and I only had like 35 or so characters of text left. If I did that now, it would probably take up three entire posts.

At 5/27/11 06:30 PM, HeavenDuff wrote: Bands i've seen live

The only ones you've seen which I have yet to see but would like to are Agalloch and Stratovarus. Both of whom HAVE played in my area, but I couldn't go to because of age restrictions.

Bands I really want to see in my life
Sonata Arctica

These guys are really hit or miss live. I've seen them six times, and sometimes they can be really good - but the last two times I saw them they were really lame and played way too fucking much off the new albums.

Sunn O)))

Do they even PLAY shows?

At 5/28/11 12:33 PM, HeavenDuff wrote: But what about Helloween? You really want to see them even with their actual line-up? I know they are still good, but it's not the Keeper's line-up.

As someone whose seen Helloween back in 2008: It's like seeing Metallica or Sepultura these days. Sure it's not the classic lineup, but they play pretty much JUST the classics. It's basically like seeing a tribute band, a tribute band that fucking knows how to make the classics kick ass.

At 5/28/11 04:10 PM, Bahamut wrote: In 2011 metal releases news, the new HammerFall is complete garbage, the new Týr album is kickass, especially its covers to pay a tribute to Dio and Timo Tolkki continues to be a laughing stock with his new band Symfonia. I was hoping this would at least be decent considering André Matos and Uli Kusch but Timo only showed he was just recycling Stratovarius tracks for his band.

So Tolkki still makes shit... that's sad....

Doesn't matter, I'm a fan of their later works. I accept the fact that the Keepers era was 20 years ago and the band have well moved on from then.

Hey, I know :P I like their most recent stuff. And I think that their vocalist is awesome. I just didn't knew if you were one of these hardcore Kiske fans who can't appreciate any Helloween albums he didn't do the vocals on.

So, do you like The Dark Ride? I never listenned to it. But I do enjoy Gambling With The Devil

At 5/28/11 09:03 PM, Gobblemeister wrote: I've yet to actually go to a concert in my life and I don't know when I ever will. I'm not even sure who I would want to go see. It's not so much a matter of whether I like a band enough or not but more if I am willing to surround myself with those kinds of people. I mean, for example, I like Watain but I don't think I'd really be comfortable being at one of their shows, maybe that's just me being a little paranoid or misguided.

What band's crowd could possibly make you miss a show? I know that some fans are shit, but most of the metal community is pretty cool :)

At 5/28/11 10:35 PM, AniMetal wrote:

Sunn O)))

Do they even PLAY shows?

Fuck yeah!:

Helloween - Kill It

And here's me, with my post for the page.

I've been getting into the band Sacred Reich lately. I can't even remember where I heard about them, but fans of thrash metal should consider checking them out if they haven't already.

As for Judas Priest appearing on American Idol, I was pretty unhappy with myself. The main reason why I didn't like that show was because I was sure they would never sing anything decent. Then fucking Judas Priest shows up and I'm not watching. Although to make myself feel better, they played some of my least favorite Priest songs.

Can't wait until the Týr album shows up on the site I use for music, I've only known about them for about a week yet I love them so much. And speaking of them, what do you think about using Feroese for a band name? I don't speak the language and I'm not from that area, but I find their language enchanting and most English names that are any good are taken. I wonder if it would be a bad idea considering it's not my language. Not many American bands take up German names, for instance.

At 5/29/11 12:58 AM, HeavenDuff wrote:

At 5/28/11 04:10 PM, Bahamut wrote: In 2011 metal releases news, the new HammerFall is complete garbage, the new Týr album is kickass, especially its covers to pay a tribute to Dio and Timo Tolkki continues to be a laughing stock with his new band Symfonia. I was hoping this would at least be decent considering André Matos and Uli Kusch but Timo only showed he was just recycling Stratovarius tracks for his band.

So Tolkki still makes shit... that's sad....

So it appears i'm the outcast here who actually really likes Symfonia. :/

And bahamut, is the new hammerfall bad? I heard it's about zombies and was a bit turned off myself, but the preorder for the new album is cheap so I thought i'd take a risk... but if it IS bad then I guess not.

Hey, I know :P I like their most recent stuff. And I think that their vocalist is awesome. I just didn't knew if you were one of these hardcore Kiske fans who can't appreciate any Helloween albums he didn't do the vocals on.

I don't even know what I am then.

I LOVE the first three albums to death, and I also really enjoy Chameleon.

I listened to every single andi deris album, except seven sinners, and while I didn't think it was bad at the end I realized how much I wasted my time. haha

So, do you like The Dark Ride? I never listenned to it. But I do enjoy Gambling With The Devil

The Dark Ride is Gambling With The Devil only good, but with less awesome drumming.

What band's crowd could possibly make you miss a show? I know that some fans are shit, but most of the metal community is pretty cool :)

Not going to a show because you dislike their fanbase is pretty weak.

I LOVE Opeth and they're one of my favorite bands, i'd still see them again despite almost all their fans being pretentious and elitist as fuck.

Fuck yeah!:

I was unaware. I must see them. haha

Helloween - Kill It

Worst song on that album. haha

At 5/29/11 01:20 AM, joeyjoah wrote: I've been getting into the band Sacred Reich lately. I can't even remember where I heard about them, but fans of thrash metal should consider checking them out if they haven't already.

Nothing too obscure, i'd say lots of thrash fans know them.

That being said, I don't think too many people here are that into thrash so maybe this is new for a few of you. So i'll reinforce his recommendation: Sacred Reich are really good, especially the albums Surf Nicaragua and Ignorance. Sadly both albums are only 20-30 minutes long.

Can't wait until the Týr album shows up on the site I use for music, I've only known about them for about a week yet I love them so much.

I can't get really into Tyr much. When I listen to them it feels like they come up with awesome song titles, then just make songs to fit.

At 5/29/11 02:01 AM, AniMetal wrote: The Dark Ride is Gambling With The Devil only good, but with less awesome drumming.

I like how you just drop in and say my tastes are wrong. On Metal Archives, reviewers gave an average score of 78% to the Dark Ride compared to 93% for Gambling With The Devil. I guess we are all wrong for liking it...

I don't like all the songs though.

Final Fortune
The Bells of the 7 Hells
Heaven Tells No Lies

are pretty much the only tracks I enjoy from this album.

At 5/29/11 02:50 AM, HeavenDuff wrote: I like how you just drop in and say my tastes are wrong. On Metal Archives, reviewers gave an average score of 78% to the Dark Ride compared to 93% for Gambling With The Devil. I guess we are all wrong for liking it...

Yeah it's weird, for whatever reason the elitist pricks from MA really like that helloween album.

That being said, it fucking sucks. The drumming is really the only stand out thing on that album...

Also, never take MA's opinions seriously.

are pretty much the only tracks I enjoy from this album.

The bonus tracks "find my freedom" "See The Night" "Never Surrender" and "We Unite" are better then any of the songs on the album itself. Not by much though, even the bonus tracks are kind of lame.

At 5/29/11 03:33 AM, AniMetal wrote:

At 5/29/11 02:50 AM, HeavenDuff wrote: I like how you just drop in and say my tastes are wrong. On Metal Archives, reviewers gave an average score of 78% to the Dark Ride compared to 93% for Gambling With The Devil. I guess we are all wrong for liking it...

Yeah it's weird, for whatever reason the elitist pricks from MA really like that helloween album.

That being said, it fucking sucks. The drumming is really the only stand out thing on that album...

Also, never take MA's opinions seriously.

Cause I should take yours more seriously? I don't think so... Your the one who sounds like an elitist prick. Just because you choose one album isn't good, won't make it the "undeniable thruth". Plus, I would really like it if you could consider the fact that most members of the Metal Hell are also reviewers for MA, next time you call them elitist pricks. MA is a vast community of metalheads and isn't filled by elitist pricks. While they do exist, we really aren't all the same.

I know you like to give us lessons on Power Metal all the time. But I find these songs I listed to be rather enjoyable. These may not be masterpieces, but saying that they plain suck is disrespectful. Not to the artist, but to the experimented metal fan I am. I know quite a bit about music.

Maybe you are going to say you were just stating an opinion, but you seem to be determined to convince me that Gambling With The Devil sucks. I suggest you go read some of the reviews written for Gambling With The Devil, and please start considering other people's opinions before saying that something I like "fucking sucks".

Spastic Ink - Eighths Is Enough

At 5/29/11 04:12 AM, HeavenDuff wrote:

At 5/29/11 03:33 AM, AniMetal wrote:

At 5/29/11 02:50 AM, HeavenDuff wrote: I like how you just drop in and say my tastes are wrong. On Metal Archives, reviewers gave an average score of 78% to the Dark Ride compared to 93% for Gambling With The Devil. I guess we are all wrong for liking it...

Yeah it's weird, for whatever reason the elitist pricks from MA really like that helloween album.

That being said, it fucking sucks. The drumming is really the only stand out thing on that album...

Also, never take MA's opinions seriously.

Cause I should take yours more seriously? I don't think so...

Hahaha well, generally speaking - almost everyone who reviews on MA is either someone trolling the shit out of a band, someone cocksucking the shit out of a band, or someone who has no idea what they're talking about whatsoever because they've been listening to metal for two months? Yes, I would say my opinion is more valid then the average MA reviewer.

Your the one who sounds like an elitist prick.

I'm really not, I listen to anything and everything. Fuck I even like tons of ska and punk and some techno.

And i'm not even a power metal elitist, I may know tons but I still like the simpler stuff. I've met some PM elitists are all like "ANGRA FUCKING SUCK, MAINSTREAM SELLOUTS" and i'm like "LOL WUT? BUT I LAHVE ANGRA"

The exception is of course with Edguy, I have an intense dislike for most of their stuff. haha

But anyway, i'm really not an elitist. A prick? Yes.

Just because you choose one album isn't good, won't make it the "undeniable thruth".

Okay well I hope you know that when I say "new helloween sucks" what I really mean to say is "Objectively speaking, it's better then lots of shit out there. But when compared to other things you could be listening to, you're really not listening to anything special"

I actually really enjoyed Gambling With The Devil when it first came out. Then like I do with every album I enjoy, I listened to it over and over... about ten listens in I started not liking it. haha

Plus, I would really like it if you could consider the fact that most members of the Metal Hell are also reviewers for MA, next time you call them elitist pricks.

I know, it sucks. I feel like that's why almost all of you suck MA's mass voting opinion's dick.

MA is a vast community of metalheads and isn't filled by elitist pricks.

....hahahahahahahahahahahaha

While they do exist, we really aren't all the same.

I was generalizing, I always am.

Maybe you are going to say you were just stating an opinion, but you seem to be determined to convince me that Gambling With The Devil sucks. I suggest you go read some of the reviews written for Gambling With The Devil, and please start considering other people's opinions before saying that something I like "fucking sucks".

Oh i'm aware of other peoples opinions, i'm just convinced they're wrong. haha In b4 "LOL AN OPINION IS AN OPINION AND YOU SHOULDN'T THINK THAT WAY YOU EGOCENTRIC JERK" because I know, that is wrong that I think that way. haha

Spastic Ink - Eighths Is Enough

I find it interesting how you can totally change what you're listening to by that much of a degree in a few hours. I tend to stick to a few bands of similar style a day. haha

BUT ANYWAY, the lesson here for you is not to take me as seriously. Reading me comes off like douchebaggery, but almost everything I say is exaggerated in some way. :P

At 5/28/11 05:06 PM, Haggard wrote: If you watch every artist at Heidenfest for 10 years, then that's 100 bands!

Then I'd try and remember who appeared when and go from there. And besides, some bands will appear more than once at Heidenfest.

At 5/28/11 09:03 PM, Gobblemeister wrote:

At 5/28/11 04:10 PM, Bahamut wrote:

At 5/28/11 12:33 PM, HeavenDuff wrote: But what about Helloween? You really want to see them even with their actual line-up? I know they are still good, but it's not the Keeper's line-up.

Doesn't matter, I'm a fan of their later works. I accept the fact that the Keepers era was 20 years ago and the band have well moved on from then.

I really liked The Dark Ride. That might be because I have yet to give any of their other albums a full listen but I still think that I would be more than glad to see them as they are.

Is The Dark Ride the only album you've listened to? There's plenty of great stuff to hear from the guys whether it be the early days with Kai Hansen on vocals or Deris & co. taking a heavier approach for the band's style.

I've yet to actually go to a concert in my life and I don't know when I ever will. I'm not even sure who I would want to go see. It's not so much a matter of whether I like a band enough or not but more if I am willing to surround myself with those kinds of people. I mean, for example, I like Watain but I don't think I'd really be comfortable being at one of their shows, maybe that's just me being a little paranoid or misguided.

I know how you feel. I thought I wouldn't go to any of these concerts in my life since I didn't know anyone who'd be willing to go and see them but then came one weekend down to London before my 18th birthday and I got two tickets to see Iron Maiden live. My sister was a fan of the band and at the time they were one of the very few bands she was into. The others were Metallica, Blind Guardian, Helloween and DragonForce.

My sister's metal horizons expanded when she observed an Opeth album that arrived through the post (i.e. Morningrise). She wanted to hear what it was like but I advised she listened to Blackwater Park instead to get a good feeling of the band's music. I didn't think she'd enjoy the death metal vocals but much to my surprise she really liked it and around six months later we saw them live at the Royal Albert Hall.

Since my sister's discovery of Opeth she's found many bands whether it be stuff I already had or stuff she came across from others. Some of her discoveries ever since are Christian Mistress, Einherjer, Heidevolk, Primordial, Moonsorrow and a few others.

A month before my sister's discovery of Opeth, I met someone who was heavily into Iron Maiden. He still is but since last year his metal horizons have gone beyond the biggest metal acts that everyone knows about. He claims that had it not been for me he'd be stuck with those bands but I'm sure he would have discovered Blind Guardian, Sonata Arctica and such (some of his favourite bands) with or without me. Still, it's great to see he's gone through a lot that I've listened to and he's even found many bands that I don't know about. Although, he does download much more than I do since I just stick to downloading the odd album that I know I'll never get on eBay.

That friend of mine has seen a few live shows with me. Although it's only two so far (i.e. Motörhead and Sonata Arctica), I wouldn't have seen those two shows live had it not been for him. He'll be seeing Maiden and Priest live in July with me and my sister so I'm really looking forward to those shows. I know I've said a lot about these two individuals but I'm so grateful I know them since seeing these live shows wouldn't be possible without them. Hopefully you'll find someone alike somewhere down the road.

At 5/28/11 10:35 PM, AniMetal wrote:

At 5/22/11 04:20 PM, Centurion-Ryan wrote: Eh, I don't really like Nightfall in Middle Earth. I think it suffers from the problem that a lot of people say Twist in the Myth had, where none of the songs are really that memorable. It has a 82% average on Metal Archives, however, so I'm probably in the minority. When Sorrow Sang is an awesome song, though.

Yeah, while I think it's a good album it's honestly probably one of my least favorite.

I always think it's a good sign if you think an album is good but it's one of the weakest from one's perspective. If I only discovered Blind Guardian recently and heard that statement, I'd sure as hell be excited to hear more from them. Funny we're talking about Nightfall being one of the least favourite for you since I bought that album for someone I know who was turning 50 and he asked for an album of any kind. He said it was one of his least favourites from everything he got with it only beating Lady Gaga and despite that, he thought Nightfall was alright. He must have enjoyed his presents very much.

Speed metal is basically just another way of saying "oldschool power metal" or "really melodic thrash metal" - it's not really a genre.

This is what I feel. I always found speed metal to be either too close to thrash or power metal. Any band that could be labeled as speed metal can easily be declared as either thrash or power metal.

As for Edguy, I just found that hellfire club is totally 100% traditional metal. That being said, I hate that album. Actually I hate all Edguy from Mandrake onwards.

You know what sucks? Twice I've made the wrong bet with Edguy. I originally bought Hellfire Club after hearing King of Fools. I thought the album was alright overall but felt I was missing something that made this band highly notable. I heard The Pharaoh on a YouTube video and immediately loved it. That's why I bought Mandrake but there's a fair amount of cringeworthy tracks. Hopefully the stuff before Mandrake is worth a damn. The Pharaoh is still a fantastic track no matter what.

As for a list, i'll make a list of power metal albums that stand out among all the rest soon. One thing that i've noticed is a lot of power/symphonic metal bands tend to have one or two REALLY good albums, but then the rest is sub par. Hence the forgettableness.

I'm looking forward to this list. Hopefully it restores some faith in power metal for me. Not saying I hate the genre but I really need something that stands out, otherwise I may as well forget about discovering any other power metal bands.

At 5/28/11 12:33 PM, HeavenDuff wrote: But what about Helloween? You really want to see them even with their actual line-up? I know they are still good, but it's not the Keeper's line-up.

As someone whose seen Helloween back in 2008: It's like seeing Metallica or Sepultura these days. Sure it's not the classic lineup, but they play pretty much JUST the classics. It's basically like seeing a tribute band, a tribute band that fucking knows how to make the classics kick ass.

I could say I wonder why Sepultura are still around but I realise one could say the same thing about Helloween. I think Sepultura are much less relevant than Helloween are right now, though.

At 5/29/11 12:58 AM, HeavenDuff wrote:

At 5/28/11 04:10 PM, Bahamut wrote: In 2011 metal releases news, the new HammerFall is complete garbage, the new Týr album is kickass, especially its covers to pay a tribute to Dio and Timo Tolkki continues to be a laughing stock with his new band Symfonia. I was hoping this would at least be decent considering André Matos and Uli Kusch but Timo only showed he was just recycling Stratovarius tracks for his band.

So Tolkki still makes shit... that's sad....

Yeah, I find it rather depressing. I was hoping leaving Stratovarius would get him to redeem himself but it's one flop to another for him. I'm now going to call his Dreamspace reunion a flop as well. Well, I don't know what it sounds like but I sure have my doubts right now. His solo project was bad, Revolution Renaissance was bad and now Symfonia is another bomb.

Hey, I know :P I like their most recent stuff. And I think that their vocalist is awesome. I just didn't knew if you were one of these hardcore Kiske fans who can't appreciate any Helloween albums he didn't do the vocals on.

Nah, as a matter of fact, I enjoy just about every release of theirs.... except for Unarmed. I can tolerate Chameleon and Pink Bubbles, I can tolerate their "poppy" cover album but I draw the line at raping their own classics to make it sound like it appeals to Disney Channel.

So, do you like The Dark Ride? I never listenned to it. But I do enjoy Gambling With The Devil

The Dark Ride is very much like Gambling With the Devil. If you enjoy Gambling With the Devil, chances are you'll like The Dark Ride. There's a filler or two in the album but besides that it's a great album. Hell, this song has some of the finest post-Keepers songs ever made. Just listen to the title track and you'll see what I mean.

At 5/29/11 02:01 AM, AniMetal wrote: And bahamut, is the new hammerfall bad? I heard it's about zombies and was a bit turned off myself, but the preorder for the new album is cheap so I thought i'd take a risk... but if it IS bad then I guess not.

Yeah, it's generic as fuck, the song structures feel off and the drumming is utter shit. Well, it's not St. Anger bad but it's a few steps above that. There are some moments in some songs that I liked but get ruined by the rest of the track. An example is the album closer Redemption that horribly ruins itself with its keyboards. It felt like random bullshit DragonForce would throw in their albums.

At 5/29/11 07:12 AM, AniMetal wrote:

At 5/29/11 04:12 AM, HeavenDuff wrote: Plus, I would really like it if you could consider the fact that most members of the Metal Hell are also reviewers for MA, next time you call them elitist pricks.

I know, it sucks. I feel like that's why almost all of you suck MA's mass voting opinion's dick.

Well, ourselves as reviewers on MA are only a minority on there. I've got some reviews on there and while I want to write more, I'm more than occupied with my Metal Monday posts which I'm more comfortable with. They give me the freedom to talk about an individual song whereas MA requires to talk about the album in general and wants to avoid track-by-track reviews at all costs. Not only that, there's an approval system to go through so you could be waiting a week or two just for them to look over your review.

In addition to MA's community, I have come across some reviewers who I thought were really good and have been reading their reviews since. I remember emailing one guy complimenting him for his kickass review for Unstoppable Force.

At 5/29/11 09:04 AM, Bahamut wrote:

As for Edguy, I just found that hellfire club is totally 100% traditional metal. That being said, I hate that album. Actually I hate all Edguy from Mandrake onwards.

You know what sucks? Twice I've made the wrong bet with Edguy. I originally bought Hellfire Club after hearing King of Fools. I thought the album was alright overall but felt I was missing something that made this band highly notable. I heard The Pharaoh on a YouTube video and immediately loved it. That's why I bought Mandrake but there's a fair amount of cringeworthy tracks. Hopefully the stuff before Mandrake is worth a damn. The Pharaoh is still a fantastic track no matter what.

If you want to start looking into Edguy, my favorite two albums are Vain Glory Opera (which features one of the most badass power metal tracks ever, Out of Control [ft. Hansi Kursch]) and Theater of Salvation. These two are very power metal albums compared to their later stuff. But Mandrake is still a pretty awesome album, and Fallen Angels is one of my favorite Edguy songs.

listening to Heirs to thievery by Misery Index, great album.

At 5/29/11 09:04 AM, Bahamut wrote:

At 5/28/11 05:06 PM, Haggard wrote: If you watch every artist at Heidenfest for 10 years, then that's 100 bands!

Then I'd try and remember who appeared when and go from there.

Believe me, after the third festival, you won't be able to remember which band played which year. Not without help, anyway.

And besides, some bands will appear more than once at Heidenfest.

Even worse! "Have I seen them in 2006 or was that 2005? Hm...."
Also, I went to a lot of concerts in my youth (Nightwish, Rage, Six Feet Under, some punk concerts, etc.). I really can't remember anymore which band I saw in wich year. Maybe I still have the tickets somewhere... I had them at a pinboard in my old appartement once, but I took them down a while ago. I don't know if we threw them away when we moved or if they are still lying around in a box.

I like:
Black Sabbath
Pantera
Lamb of God
Slipknot
The Showdown
Children of Bodom
Iron Maiden

At 5/29/11 04:19 PM, HWDog35 wrote: I like:
Black Sabbath
Pantera
Lamb of God
Slipknot
The Showdown
Children of Bodom
Iron Maiden

Do you now?

At 5/28/11 09:03 PM, Gobblemeister wrote:

At 5/28/11 04:10 PM, Bahamut wrote:

At 5/28/11 12:33 PM, HeavenDuff wrote:

Is The Dark Ride the only album you've listened to? There's plenty of great stuff to hear from the guys whether it be the early days with Kai Hansen on vocals or Deris & co. taking a heavier approach for the band's style.

I've heard a little bit of Keeper and other stuff outside of Dark Ride but I never really bothered to give other albums a listen because I am still enjoying Dark Ride. I will probably get around to it at some point once i'm done playing all of the other albums i've been listening to over the recent months.

At 5/29/11 09:04 AM, Bahamut wrote: I always think it's a good sign if you think an album is good but it's one of the weakest from one's perspective.

Yeah, part of the reason BG is so amazing.

if Nightfall was their ONLY album, they'd be amazing.

But it's their weakest album in my opinion... or second weakest, ATITM is their weakest. haha

This is what I feel. I always found speed metal to be either too close to thrash or power metal. Any band that could be labeled as speed metal can easily be declared as either thrash or power metal.

Pretty much. Speed metal is usually just another way of saying "oldschool power metal which hadn't yet branched off from thrash metal" like how oldschool death metal and 1st wave black metal are. haha

You know what sucks? Twice I've made the wrong bet with Edguy.

Don't even bother with them. At all.

Even their good albums aren't worth spending 10 bucks each on. haha

I originally bought Hellfire Club after hearing King of Fools. I thought the album was alright overall but felt I was missing something that made this band highly notable.

Yeah, hellfire club is their most popular album for some reason. I don't see why.

I heard The Pharaoh on a YouTube video and immediately loved it. That's why I bought Mandrake but there's a fair amount of cringeworthy tracks. Hopefully the stuff before Mandrake is worth a damn. The Pharaoh is still a fantastic track no matter what.

Edguy before Mandrake: Generic uninspired power metal, but at least it was good
Mandrake: Generic uninspired power metal with nothing memorable about it, at all
Edguy after mandrake: varying from traditional metal to hard rock, neither of which being any good or worth listening to.

That being said, I do enjoy Edguy every now and then - but it's always in very small dosages.

I'm looking forward to this list. Hopefully it restores some faith in power metal for me. Not saying I hate the genre but I really need something that stands out, otherwise I may as well forget about discovering any other power metal bands.

Don't hold your breath, I can tell you now that near everything on the list will either be borderline thrash metal or "speed metal" or so progressive and technical that you guys don't even consider power metal. haha

Oh, and half the list will be stratovarius.

I could say I wonder why Sepultura are still around but I realise one could say the same thing about Helloween. I think Sepultura are much less relevant than Helloween are right now, though.

Helloween after keepers part 2: Helloween's popularity collapsed, but somehow or another they managed to get a steady and cult-like fanbase in the late 90's/early 00's.

Sepultura after Roots and Max Cavalera's departure: Popularity collapsed everywhere in the world, except south america. Popularity never regained. They sell out stadiums in south america and mexico, everywhere else they usually get crowds of 1-2 thousand.

Both bands are very comparable though:
1.) Both from countries one wouldn't GENERALLY expect a huge band to be from.
2.) Both bands first efforts weren't too popular (First two sepultura albums, helloween's walls of jericho)
3.) Both bands popularity exploded over night more or less
4.) Both bands had albums that went gold (Helloween - both keeper albums, Sepultura - BTR, Arise, Chaos A.D. and Roots)
5.) Both bands popularity COLLAPSED after a single member leaving. (Helloween - Kai, Sepultura - Max)
6.) Neither band ever had an album go gold after that^ member loss in any country other than their own.
7.) Both bands have next to no consistent members, but both bands bassists have been in it since formation.
8.) Both bands today basically play songs from their classic albums with kai/max, filtering in a few new shitfests(songs) here and there

Just thought i'd point out all those similarities. haha

At 5/29/11 07:12 AM, AniMetal wrote: Hahaha well, generally speaking - almost everyone who reviews on MA is either someone trolling the shit out of a band, someone cocksucking the shit out of a band, or someone who has no idea what they're talking about whatsoever because they've been listening to metal for two months? Yes, I would say my opinion is more valid then the average MA reviewer.

I have enough brains myself, to judge if a review is good or not. And the administrators of the website don't just let any review get through.

I'm really not, I listen to anything and everything. Fuck I even like tons of ska and punk and some techno.

And how are fans how Gambling With The Devil, elitist pricks for liking it?

Okay well I hope you know that when I say "new helloween sucks" what I really mean to say is "Objectively speaking, it's better then lots of shit out there. But when compared to other things you could be listening to, you're really not listening to anything special"

Yeah well, I still see a difference between "this shit sucks balls" and "it's kind of generic and there is better stuff to listen to".

I actually really enjoyed Gambling With The Devil when it first came out. Then like I do with every album I enjoy, I listened to it over and over... about ten listens in I started not liking it. haha

I know tons of better Power Metal records. But can you really say that this album didn't have it's own good moments? If you really think it's that bad, then tell me how their other most recent albums are better, will you ? :)

I know, it sucks. I feel like that's why almost all of you suck MA's mass voting opinion's dick.

I didn't say the album was better because of it's popularity. Any metal fan would be a moron to ever do so... Because last time I checked, August Burns Red was more popular then Cynic, and that definitely doesn't mean shit. No, I was not using it's popularity as an argument. I was just poiting out the fact that other metalheads have enjoyed this album. And that by saying "This album sucks PERIOD" you were just ignoring any arguments in favor of this album.

Oh i'm aware of other peoples opinions, i'm just convinced they're wrong. haha In b4 "LOL AN OPINION IS AN OPINION AND YOU SHOULDN'T THINK THAT WAY YOU EGOCENTRIC JERK" because I know, that is wrong that I think that way. haha

It's not wrong to believe that skill and talent is not relative. That's also what I think. You could never convince me that Miley Cirus is a good artist, because she lacks everything that is needed to make good art. I don't believe that "everything is in the eye of the beholder" way of thinking. When I say Agalloch write much more inspired, progressive, emotive, original and unique music then bands like As I Lay Dying, I know I'm not just stating an opinion. No matter how much you can like AILD... they are not as original as Agalloch, nor as skilled on their instruments or creative in their writting...

Spastic Ink - Eighths Is Enough

I find it interesting how you can totally change what you're listening to by that much of a degree in a few hours. I tend to stick to a few bands of similar style a day. haha

I don't remember if I was listenning to the whole album that day, or if I just used the Shuffle mode on my iTunes. But yes, I can easily move from one genre to another :)

Right now I'm listenning to Wolves In The Throne Room and the following tracks are by Gifts From Enola (Post-Rock), Fleshgod Apocalypse (Death Metal), Story Of The Year (don't kill me for that, it's because of my ex-girlfriend), Origin (Death Metal), Nicolas Jaar (Deep House... I really don't know what that means...), Metallica (Shit Metal).

It's interresting to see that some people actually pay attention to that kind of stuff... I find most people to be self-centered and uncarring about what other people do.

BUT ANYWAY, the lesson here for you is not to take me as seriously. Reading me comes off like douchebaggery, but almost everything I say is exaggerated in some way. :P

Same here... I get people mad on the internet all the time. And em... in real life two... I just tease people very hard. Just take a look a the last few pages of the Last Fm Club :P

At 5/29/11 09:04 AM, Bahamut wrote: Yeah, I find it rather depressing. I was hoping leaving Stratovarius would get him to redeem himself but it's one flop to another for him. I'm now going to call his Dreamspace reunion a flop as well. Well, I don't know what it sounds like but I sure have my doubts right now. His solo project was bad, Revolution Renaissance was bad and now Symfonia is another bomb.

I don't think he was the brain behind Stratovarius... like ever. He's a good vocalist, but it seems that he really cannot write good music on his own.

Nah, as a matter of fact, I enjoy just about every release of theirs.... except for Unarmed. I can tolerate Chameleon and Pink Bubbles, I can tolerate their "poppy" cover album but I draw the line at raping their own classics to make it sound like it appeals to Disney Channel.

That last episode of their existence was a complete disaster. But I also have to say that I can't stand their joke albums like Pink Bubbles and other jokes like this. It seems like they only released these crappy albums because they knew they were renowned enough to keep selling more and more albums anyway. These garbage albums would have never be released if they were the debut album of any band.

The Dark Ride is very much like Gambling With the Devil. If you enjoy Gambling With the Devil, chances are you'll like The Dark Ride. There's a filler or two in the album but besides that it's a great album. Hell, this song has some of the finest post-Keepers songs ever made. Just listen to the title track and you'll see what I mean.

I will :)

Yeah, it's generic as fuck, the song structures feel off and the drumming is utter shit. Well, it's not St. Anger bad but it's a few steps above that. There are some moments in some songs that I liked but get ruined by the rest of the track. An example is the album closer Redemption that horribly ruins itself with its keyboards. It felt like random bullshit DragonForce would throw in their albums.

Hammerfall has dissapointed me enough with Chapter 5 to convince me not to look into their future releases. And it seems that I was right to avoid em...

At 5/29/11 04:19 PM, HWDog35 wrote: I like:
Black Sabbath
Pantera
Lamb of God
Slipknot
The Showdown
Children of Bodom
Iron Maiden

Implying that you want to join the Metal Hell?

Wolves In The Throne Room - Ahrimanic Trance

At 5/29/11 09:24 PM, AniMetal wrote: Both bands are very comparable though:
1.) Both from countries one wouldn't GENERALLY expect a huge band to be from.

Lolwut? You wouldn't generally expect a huge band coming from Germany? Have you been living under a rock for the past 30 years?

Going with early Fear Factory this week.

At 5/29/11 10:14 AM, Zodir wrote: Vain Glory Opera and Theater of Salvation

One album of theirs I had thoughts on getting was The Savage Poetry but never got around to it. I should check some songs from those albums before I even buy anything else from them.

At 5/29/11 02:17 PM, Haggard wrote:

At 5/29/11 09:04 AM, Bahamut wrote: Then I'd try and remember who appeared when and go from there.

Believe me, after the third festival, you won't be able to remember which band played which year. Not without help, anyway.

Good thing I write about every live show I attend.

At 5/29/11 08:05 PM, Gobblemeister wrote: I will probably get around to it at some point once i'm done playing all of the other albums i've been listening to over the recent months.

Take your time. I know how you feel if you've been listening to a lot of albums. I have far too much to listen to right now and really need to slow down with getting new albums.

At 5/29/11 09:24 PM, AniMetal wrote:

At 5/29/11 09:04 AM, Bahamut wrote: I always think it's a good sign if you think an album is good but it's one of the weakest from one's perspective.

But it's their weakest album in my opinion... or second weakest, ATITM is their weakest. haha

Well, of course. Still, ATITM is good but pales in comparison to the rest of their albums.

You know what sucks? Twice I've made the wrong bet with Edguy.

Don't even bother with them. At all.

Even their good albums aren't worth spending 10 bucks each on. haha

That sucks, I can't find their albums for a good price. Ah well.

I originally bought Hellfire Club after hearing King of Fools. I thought the album was alright overall but felt I was missing something that made this band highly notable.

Yeah, hellfire club is their most popular album for some reason. I don't see why.

I think King of Fools must have gotten popular somewhere. And besides, there are still some good songs such as Mysteria and The Piper Never Dies.

I heard The Pharaoh on a YouTube video and immediately loved it. That's why I bought Mandrake but there's a fair amount of cringeworthy tracks. Hopefully the stuff before Mandrake is worth a damn. The Pharaoh is still a fantastic track no matter what.

Edguy before Mandrake: Generic uninspired power metal, but at least it was good

Heh, if only Tolkki could write uninspired power metal that's good these days. I could take those albums for granted.

Mandrake: Generic uninspired power metal with nothing memorable about it, at all

Except The Pharaoh. I suppose Tears of a Mandrake is alright as well.

That being said, I do enjoy Edguy every now and then - but it's always in very small dosages.

Same here. It's only a few songs of theirs I really enjoy.

I'm looking forward to this list. Hopefully it restores some faith in power metal for me. Not saying I hate the genre but I really need something that stands out, otherwise I may as well forget about discovering any other power metal bands.

Don't hold your breath, I can tell you now that near everything on the list will either be borderline thrash metal or "speed metal" or so progressive and technical that you guys don't even consider power metal. haha

Just fire away anyway.

Oh, and half the list will be stratovarius.

ughgjbkhbyfu

Both bands are very comparable though:

Those comparisons make far too much sense, except for the first statement. Germany is generally good for rock music.

At 5/30/11 02:51 AM, HeavenDuff wrote:

At 5/29/11 09:04 AM, Bahamut wrote: Yeah, I find it rather depressing. I was hoping leaving Stratovarius would get him to redeem himself but it's one flop to another for him. I'm now going to call his Dreamspace reunion a flop as well. Well, I don't know what it sounds like but I sure have my doubts right now. His solo project was bad, Revolution Renaissance was bad and now Symfonia is another bomb.

I don't think he was the brain behind Stratovarius... like ever. He's a good vocalist, but it seems that he really cannot write good music on his own.

I'd say he still did well in Stratovarius. Dreamspace is one of their finest albums and that had Tolkki on vocals and guitar. The last good Stratovarius effort with him was Destiny. Infinite had its moments and so did Elements, Pt 1 but overall they weren't impressive enough. Elements, Pt. 2 was almost forgettable while the self-titled... I'll leave you with this.

That last episode of their existence was a complete disaster. But I also have to say that I can't stand their joke albums like Pink Bubbles and other jokes like this. It seems like they only released these crappy albums because they knew they were renowned enough to keep selling more and more albums anyway. These garbage albums would have never be released if they were the debut album of any band.

You know, I give Helloween credit here. They've had several downfalls such as losing Kai Hansen and later on Kiske as well as the direction with The Dark Ride almost causing a break up with the band but they've soldiered on and can still write good albums. If it was any other band they probably would have stopped ages ago.

Yeah, it's generic as fuck, the song structures feel off and the drumming is utter shit. Well, it's not St. Anger bad but it's a few steps above that. There are some moments in some songs that I liked but get ruined by the rest of the track. An example is the album closer Redemption that horribly ruins itself with its keyboards. It felt like random bullshit DragonForce would throw in their albums.

Hammerfall has dissapointed me enough with Chapter 5 to convince me not to look into their future releases. And it seems that I was right to avoid em...

I actually thought Chapter V was a good album... I also thought No Sacrifice, No Victory was a decent album. Both albums are generally disliked but I enjoy them both. Infected on the other hand, it can die in a fire.

I'll check out some of the tracks from the new Tyr album if they're on Youtube. I'm skeptical because they've been releasing albums pretty quickly, and I don't remember a single song from by the light of whatever it was called. I have it and I listened to it, but none of it stuck with me. I still think Eric the Red and Ragnarok are fantastic albums, though. I consider them both to be among my all time favorite metal albums.

Also, anybody here who likes old school thrash metal is doing themselves a disservice by not listening to Criaturas del Mal by Disaster. Motosierra del Infierno is a killer freaking track.

At 5/28/11 09:07 PM, JaY11 wrote: Yes, and I dig New Album. From what I've heard Attention Please is similar but a bit less pop-y.

What kind of music is it? more stoner rock/metal? drone? noise?

I start work Friday, You know what this means.

CD and merch hunt!!!!! :D

At 5/30/11 09:10 PM, Sense-Offender wrote: I'll check out some of the tracks from the new Tyr album if they're on Youtube. I'm skeptical because they've been releasing albums pretty quickly, and I don't remember a single song from by the light of whatever it was called. I have it and I listened to it, but none of it stuck with me. I still think Eric the Red and Ragnarok are fantastic albums, though. I consider them both to be among my all time favorite metal albums.

I found By the Light of the Northern Star (see?) to be a really good album. It has a quick flow to it and every track is memorable to me. The Lay of Thrym continues that so it might not be for you.

At 5/31/11 03:05 AM, smeagol1 wrote: I start work Friday, You know what this means.

CD and merch hunt!!!!! :D

Let us know of your finds.

At 5/30/11 09:10 PM, Sense-Offender wrote:

At 5/28/11 09:07 PM, JaY11 wrote: Yes, and I dig New Album. From what I've heard Attention Please is similar but a bit less pop-y.

What kind of music is it? more stoner rock/metal? drone? noise?

Oh, I thought you knew. New Album is pretty much pop/electronic. Wata sings in alot of the tracks. From what i've heard of Attention Please, it's pretty similar but less electronic and more rock, Wata also sings on every track apparently.

Awesome Post-Metal band Russian Circles have made all their albums free to download on their site, so why the hell haven't you listened to them yet?

Apologies if you have listened to them

At 5/31/11 09:19 PM, SomaGuye wrote: Awesome Post-Metal band Russian Circles have made all their albums free to download on their site, so why the hell haven't you listened to them yet?

Apologies if you have listened to them

Slight error they are all free streaming. Still go and listen if you haven't already.

At 5/31/11 04:47 PM, greensucksbluerules wrote: He could have been referring to the Slipknot from Connecticut.

I'm surprised he didn't mention the Disturbed from Minnesota. :P I tried the Connecticut Slipknot once. It wasn't anything memorable but it sounded better than the Slipknot we all know and loathe.

At 6/1/11 07:01 AM, Bahamut wrote:

At 5/31/11 04:47 PM, greensucksbluerules wrote: He could have been referring to the Slipknot from Connecticut.

I'm surprised he didn't mention the Disturbed from Minnesota. :P I tried the Connecticut Slipknot once. It wasn't anything memorable but it sounded better than the Slipknot we all know and loathe.

I actually think the new Slipknot is better.. The connecticut one was awful.

At 5/30/11 09:10 PM, Sense-Offender wrote: I don't remember a single song from by the light of whatever it was called.

I listened to some tracks on Youtube when it came out and didn't like it.

I have it and I listened to it, but none of it stuck with me. I still think Eric the Red and Ragnarok are fantastic albums, though. I consider them both to be among my all time favorite metal albums.

I only have Tyr's first album which I like, I tried to get Eric the Red once and I ended up with only half the songs so I have to try again.

Also, anybody here who likes old school thrash metal is doing themselves a disservice by not listening to Criaturas del Mal by Disaster. Motosierra del Infierno is a killer freaking track.

Gnlayy will have to listen to this.

At 5/28/11 09:07 PM, JaY11 wrote: Yes, and I dig New Album. From what I've heard Attention Please is similar but a bit less pop-y.

What kind of music is it? more stoner rock/metal? drone? noise?

Oooooh the songs are shortish so it looks like Heavy Rocks kind of stuff. I need to hear this.

At 5/30/11 08:18 AM, Bahamut wrote:

At 5/29/11 02:17 PM, Haggard wrote:

At 5/29/11 09:04 AM, Bahamut wrote: Then I'd try and remember who appeared when and go from there.

Believe me, after the third festival, you won't be able to remember which band played which year. Not without help, anyway.

Good thing I write about every live show I attend.

But then again, this falls under the "help" I mentioned above. :P