Manilla Road to the World - Part 11: Teacher (Mark of the Beast)

Mark of the Beast was originally going to be Manilla Road's second album. It was recorded in 1981 but wasn't met with satisfactory so it was left in the dark to make way for Manilla Road's Metal. It was reflected back 20 years later and picked up by Monster Records to clean up the sound production of the demos and provide an official release for the fans. For what was a bootlegged release back then, the outcome of the sound production has managed well. Mark of the Beast takes a more rock approach as opposed to metal, although there do exist some heavier songs, including a speed metal rocker. For the most part it's not in your face and feels laid back but despite the band scrapping this album in the early 80s, it has become a common favourite.

Teacher ups the tempo of the overall mood of Mark of the Beast and keeps on running throughout. The raw atmosphere of the song fits to make it feel very retro and despite it not seeing the light of day until 2002, this should be an early example of speed metal. Half way through the song takes a different turn but the pace remains. The song talks about a Christian teacher wanting to take advice from the lord about how to explain the prophecies of Eschaton. It feels like there's an attempt to escape from it all but in the end, there is sadly defeat. Overall, Teacher is one that stands out from Mark of the Beast. This doesn't reflect the overall energy of the album but it's songs like this that make you wonder how all 66 minutes of this album even got rejected.

Manilla Road to the World - Part 6: Return of the Old Ones (Out of the Abyss)

Out of the Abyss continues the thrash metal roots that were incorporated in Mystification. Although the thrashy elements from Mystification worked like a charm, this record wasn't as lucky. Manilla Road may have altered the atmosphere and overall sound to make it feel refreshing, most of the songs don't tend to stick. While you have many great songs from Invasion to Mystification, there isn't a whole lot that makes Out of the Abyss memorable. This album does make it the first for where Mark Shelton works on harsher vocals and although he can provide some rough voices that add to the music, here it's not so effective. Maybe this was just working on that style and hoping the Shark could work from it later on. Out of the Abyss may not be a bad album but it certainly pales in comparison to everything else they've done (except for The Circus Maximus but that doesn't really count).

Return of the Old Ones starts with some notable drumming from Randy Foxe to show that he's not just some drummer to assist the band with them. Mark Shelton plays some rougher tones on his guitar as opposed to the previous work but still manages to play some shrieking solos. The riffs are more subtle than its predecessor but some quality guitar performance can still be picked up from here. The lyrics are based on HP Lovecraft and Cthulu but that isn't anything particularly new for the band nor is it their greatest moment of singing about said themes. Still, this is one of the better songs from an album that offers very little for the band and listeners in comparison to everything else they've done.

Week 38: Fates Warning - Pirates of the Underground

The artist: Fates Warning are one of the early examples of progressive metal, even though the early albums were more traditional/power metal than progressive metal which is what they would turn to later on. The first era is much different to the later works of Fates Warning and even the vocalists show how different they are to each other. Unfortunately, Fates Warning have produced a lot of mediocrity during the Ray Alder era but No Exit is still a fine album. As for the albums when they had John Arch, The Spectre Within and Awaken the Guardian are highly praised and rightfully so. The band as a whole have been quiet for a while now and the guitarist Jim Matheos has recently been workng with John Arch on a new band called Arch / Matheos but honestly, they should just call it Fates Warning.

The album: The Spectre Within is Fates Warning's second album. With only seven tracks, Fates Warning show a lot of potential. From Traveler in Time to the grand finale Epitaph, the songs are nothing short of excellence. To keep it short, John Arch shows a lot of passion with his singing, there are many high quality riffs and solos that show a great variety throughout and there are some magnificent intros, especially The Apparition and today's song feature Pirates of the Underground. Even the simpler intros such as Traveler in Time and Kyrie Eleison have just a clock ticking and bells ringing for the former and a chanting "Kyrie Eleison" for the latter but are still highly effective for the representing songs. From a personal view, this album easily hits the top 20 picks for heavy metal albums and it's a damn shame the John Arch era was a very brief time for Fates Warning.

The song: Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day! You were probably expecting Alestorm or Running Wild but it's not just those two bands that have written songs about pirates. Pirates of the Underground starts off with a elaborate intro section. Jim Matheos and Victor Arduini have a lot to offer with their dual guitar display with throwing a few solos around along with some catchy riffs that even have a slight thrash vibe to it. By two minutes in, only then John Arch kicks in with his shrieking vocals. Multilaying for John Arch is used to increase the effectiveness of his vocal performance. After two verse lines, the guitarist duo are back to play yet more solos that show so yet more power and to have roughly five solos in a single track with all of them being highly memorable is quite an achievement. Although the riffs are still something to wow about, the solos are even more impressive and none of the many solos show any signs of weakness. Overall, Pirates of the Underground is a solo-maniac song that only reminds every metal fan why this album gets a lot of praise. Having some speedy riffs as well as a lot of power from John Arch makes this even more of an incredible song!

Manilla Road to the World - Part 5: Children of the Night (Mystification)

Mystification is where Manilla Road take a thrashier route with their music. In 1987, many thrash metal bands were becoming big so it's understandable that you'd hear a stronger sense of thrash metal during that time. Hey, it could have been worse and they could have jumped on the hair metal bandwagon which is what almost every big band was doing at the time. The album takes a lot of inspiration from the legendary writer Edgar Allen Poe. The album went through a different track listing with the same songs on the re-issue in 2000 along with a whole new album cover which looks a lot better than the original one. Mystification is on par with The Deluge and with songs like Up from the Crypt and Valley of Unrest, you can be sure to bang your head when hearing it.

Children of the Night is the song one of the big four wish they wrote. Right away Mark Shelton is showing no messing around with this song by taking it off with some rapid pace riffs and this will make those 7 minutes listening to this song fly by without you even noticing. Of course, with that length you expect the band to take some breaks and not wear them out entirely if they were to play this song live. Roughly 3 minutes in, they introduce some clean guitars but it's not long until you're thrown right back to some heavy thrashing and this second main riff Shelton plays for this song is one hell of a headbanger. Having these two riffs played in the same song shows some interesting movements. Not only that, there are some wailing solos heard halfway through and this puts the song at its very peak. Overall, Children of the Night is one hell of a song from Manilla Road that sure as hell will pump up the live audience for putting those riffs right in their faces.

Manilla Road to the World - Part 4: Shadows in the Black (The Deluge)

The Deluge was released in 1986 and is one of the classic Manilla Road albums that are often highly praised by fans. The album proves to be a fast paced album with only clocking in at 39 minutes and having a strong factor in fast pace songs, especially with some speed/thrash metal elements. The title track is the slowest track on the album but has the strongest epic feeling out of all ten tracks. The only flaw that can be spotted from The Deluge is the interlude known as Morbid Tabernacle that doesn't really contribute anything to The Deluge. At least the other instrumental track Rest in Pieces nicely finishes off the album despite the bizarre noise right at the end. That aside, The Deluge is a brilliant album and with it being recently re-issued by Shadow Kingdom Records, now is a great time to pick it up.

Shadows in the Black starts off with a clean intro which gradually rises in intensity and then launches a heavy metal frenzy. The direction could have been a doomy song which the band experimented with for some of the previous releases but instead they take a thrashy route and this song is easily one of the fastest they've ever played. Although Mark Shelton is the only guitarist for this album, at times the song is multilayered to hear the riff and solo played together. Even so, the solos are damn fast and show how Mark Shelton can fucking shred on his guitar. It isn't just Shelton that makes the song, Scott Park has some sweet basslines and Randy Foxe does what he can to pound those drums fast to keep up with the pacing of the song. From these aspects, you can tell Shadows in the Black is a fantastic and gets you pumped up as fast as this song goes.

Manilla Road to the World - Part 3: Road of Kings (Open the Gates)

Open the Gates is the second album in Manilla Road's "classic trio". It features several songs that would become fan favourites such as Metalstorm, the title track and Witches Brew. Personally it's the weakest album in the classic trio and there's a lot of other works outside this album that strikes out better than the songs here overall. Still, it's one album that deserves to be picked up.

Road of Kings starts with a lengthy intro that should bring a lot of enjoyment to the song. What easily stikes out here is the riffs as well as the rhythmatic drumming which is well played by Randy Foxe. The intro even features a solo at around a minute in that's very short but sweet. Mark Shelton does kick in with his vocals and this has to be one of his better songs in terms of vocal performance. The echo from his vocals adds an atmosphere to the song that should clear away the doubt of what many have had troubles with when listening to Manilla Road. The vocals in general of the band may need an acquired taste but this song should be easy to settle in with such great singing performance here. Most of the album's songs are based on the legends of King Arthur and this song is one of them. This song shows the younger days of King Arthur and his future to become king someday. Overall, Road of Kings is an excellent song and one of the more accessible songs by Manilla Road to get new listeners to sink in with their music.

Manilla Road to the World - Part 2: Dreams of Eschaton/Epilogue (Crystal Logic)

Crystal Logic is Manilla Road's third album and starts to show the true style of the band moving away from the progressive rock and space rock elements that were present previously. Crystal Logic also gave the band the most recognition they ever received throughout their career with the hit song Necropolis. There was even a song that made a radio-friendly attempt which only ended up as being a song that sticks out like a sore thumb in the album and would have been better off as a bonus track. Despite that, it's still a decent song but the rest of the songs are better by far.

Crystal Logic contains tempo changing tracks such as The Riddle Master and The Ram to add a lot of interest to the songs as well as the title track that contains a thrashy feel to it and has even had the same riff used by several thrash metal bands. The absolute jawdropping moment has to be the album closer Dreams of Eschaton which happens to be today's Manilla Roadkill song. Crystal Logic is the most accessible Manilla Road album and is definitely an album worth picking. The only flaw that can be found in the whole album is the placement of Feeling Free Again.

Dreams of Eschaton is the 12 minute album closer that certainly deserves to be described as epic. The song starts off with an acoustic folk-ish intro where the lyrics speak of a vision of a nuclear apocalypse. Just after two minutes in, the song changes to heavy riffages and the lyrics describe the true chaos of the apocalypse where the antichrist will soon rise up and destroy everything. The lyrics even have a bizarre mix of Ragnarok of King Arthur but if everything is going to hell, you'd expect chaos to happen. The third section of the song at six minutes in is an instrumental section with an awesomely song that gradually fades out to the album's epilogue.

Although the epilogue track was originally an individual track (not heard on the embedded video), the song transition from Dreams of Eschaton to the ending flows so well that merging the two tracks together on the re-release makes a lot of sense. The epilogue track is somewhat scary with the piano and the screaming you hear right at the end but again, this is concluding a song that pictures the end of the world and the screams at the apocalypse are to be expected. Overall, Dreams of Eschaton is an excellent song in Crystal Logic and if the world is about to end, this should be the last song to be listened to before it all goes.

Week 28: Brocas Helm - Prepare for Battle

The artist: Brocas Helm were quite a big name in the American traditional metal scene yet they seem to have done so little. Bob Wright formed the band in 1981 and only released three albums. The first two were in 1984 and 1988 while the most recent one Defenders of the Crown was released in 2004, 16 years after Black Death. Unfortunately, the band recently broke up after making their final show in April. It's a damn shame they never even made an appearance in the UK since their song appearances in Brutal Legend. I would have taken the one and only chance to see them live.

The album: Black Death is the second Brocas Helm album released in 1988. The album is short but sweet with a 29 minute duration in total. All eight tracks are great rocking tunes with the highlights being the speed metal frenzies Fall of the Curtain and the title track, the flute ballad Prophet's Scream and the strong medieval feel of The Chemist. This and Defenders of the Crown are worth picking up.

The song: Prepare for Battle might be rather simple in terms of lyrics but damn, if you want to have a song that makes you feel ready to go in a battlefield and slay whatever fiends try to get in your way, this is the one to hear. The riffs in this song are very fast as well as having some sweet basslines by Jim Schumacher that even SHRED during the solo at the end. The speed of the song and the song structure with the solo at the end makes it very fast pace and you'll be surprised at how fast a mere three minutes go with this song. Overall, Prepare for Battle is a great song by Brocas Helm and shows what they were capable of doing. It's a damn shame the band didn't stick around to make just one more album.

Manilla Road to the World - Part 1: Cage of Mirrors (Metal)

Metal is Manilla Road's second/third album released in 1982. The band recorded an entirely different album a year before that never saw the light of day until 2002 when it was picked up by Monster Records to clear up the master tapes and release it under the name Mark of the Beast. Metal shows a heavier approach to the band from the debut album. Although Mark Shelton's vocal performance was still lacking here and there, he definitely improved in this album. The songs overall had more reasonable track lengths which makes it an easier listening experience. Most of the tracks aren't some of the greatest performance by the band but the speed metal opener Enter the Warrior, the shortened and improved Far Side of the Sun and the epic Cage of Mirrors (today's pick for Manilla Roadkill) are worth additions to the Road.

Cage of Mirrors stands as the longest song in Metal. The song stars with a slow acoustic intro and with Mark Shelton's soft voice with a great echo. After the intro section, the song is struck with a damn heavy riff and for heavy metal's standards in 1982, these riffs are extreme and not many songs from that year were as heavy and loud as these riffs. There's a touch of doom and thrash to the riffs as well and this was around the time when thrash metal was starting to rise in the metal scene. The song's structure goes back and forth with the acoustic and heavy sections of the song but it works for the more intense parts of the lyrics which cover the story of a dark sorcerer making his attempt to open the gates of hell and summon Lucifer. It's a fantastic song and not only is it one of the greatest songs from the album, it's also one of the finest Manilla Road songs ever written!

Week 27: Manilla Road - The Dream Goes On

The artist: Welcome to American traditional metal month which pays a tribute to all the great yet overlooked music from USA. These are the bands that keep the traditional metal feeling alive even today and Manilla Road will start off this themed month. If there's only one word to describe Manilla Road, it's underrated. Although their name is popular amongst underground metal fans, they're severely underrated in the outside world. The mastermind of the band Mark Shelton formed Manilla Road in 1977 and released the first album Invasion in 1980, the same year Iron Maiden would rise up with their self-titled debut.

Manilla Road seem to be America's ideal answer to Iron Maiden yet they only get 1/1000th of Maiden's popularity which is a damn shame since with the exception of their best selling album Crystal Logic, they've been completely under the radar. You'd think a song of theirs would have made an appearance in Brutal Legend considering that game had Slough Feg, Omen and Brocas Helm in it but no. Manilla Road have so many great and underrated tracks that the whole of Monday Metal Treasures could have been dedicated to them. Infact, this will be the start of Metal Monday's spinoff series called Manilla Road to the World!

The album: Invasion is Manilla Road's debut album released in 1980. This album doesn't quite show the band's musical style that would be established from Crystal Logic. Invasion contains progressive rock and space rock elements that would be absent in Manilla Road's music starting from Crystal Logic. This album is one of the weakest efforts by the band for Mark Shelton's not so great vocal performance and having overdrawn songs that could have easily been shortened. A great example is Far Side of the Sun which had half of the song omitted in its remake in the following album Metal. Despite these flaws, most songs are still worth listening to but they do require patience. The highlight from the albums are Street Jammer which would later be covered by Slough Feg on Hardworlder and today's Metal Monday song The Dream Goes On.

The song: The Dream Goes On is the album opener for Invasion. The song starts off with some strange guitar noises but then breaks with a crazy fast solo and then followed by the main riff. The riff for the song is also strange but damn catchy and good to headbang to. Despite this song being 6 1/2 minutes long, it doesn't feel like it drags on like some tracks do in this album which is a good plus. The lyrics are a typical love song involving some musical differences between a man and a woman and his dreams to be live on stage. Nothing too special but it does justice to the catchy chorus. Overall, The Dream Goes On is one of the better songs on the debut album and gets some credit for its strangely awesome riff.

Week 25: Saxon - Machine Gun

The artist: Saxon are one of many bands who were part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement in the late 70s/early 80s. Although they never had the critical acclaim Iron Maiden and Judas Priest had during their golden days, Saxon have managed to stick around since the formation of the band and have released 19 albums throughout their time and recently released Call to Arms. Saxon have their top hits with 747 (Strangers in the Night), Princess of the Night and Wheels of Steel. However, there is more to Saxon than that. Listen to Battalions of Steel from Into the Labyrinth and realise the great material Saxon have going beyond their classics. The later days of Saxon have a touch of power metal to their music and considering they have Charlie Bauerfeind for their sound producer (also the producer for Blind Guardian, Helloween and HammerFall, some of the biggest power metal bands out there), the slight change of direction is no big surprise.

The album: Wheels of Steel is part of the Saxon classic trio (Wheels of Steel, Strong Arm of the Law and Denim and Leather). Unfortunately, the lesser known songs don't stand out that well in the album barring one. With songs like 747 (Strangers in the Night), Motorcycle Man, Machine Gun and the title track, it's still an album worth hearing for traditional metal fans.

The song: Machine Gun kicks off with a short solo which is immediately ended by the killer speed riff for the song. This song is another fine example of ending off an album with a speed metal number. That's not all to the riffs, though as the vocal breaks show an even better riff that would go well with action movie sequences like bread and butter. When hearing this song, it's hard to not think of an Arnold Schwartzenegger or Sylvester Stallone action movie when listening to this part as well as the lyrics. The lyrics sound like Rambo going through an enemy base and doing what it takes to kill his enemies. Why hasn't this song been used in any action films? Overall, Machine Gun is one of Saxon's greatest songs for being the speed metal closer of the album and all around sounding like an ideal song for action films that make you want to go through a battlefield and start killing enemies like crazy yourself.

Week 20: Dio - Egypt (The Chains Are On)

The artist: Ronnie James Dio was an icon in both heavy metal and hard rock. Ronnie was in several bands before forming Elf which is where he put his foot in the world of rock and roll. After Elf disbanded, Ritchie Blackmore approached Dio to be the vocalist for his new band Rainbow. Dio left Rainbow after musical differences with Ritchie Blackmore. Dio disagreed with the wind of changes and found himself replacing Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath. His time with Black Sabbath in the 80s was short but sweet with Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules. Dio's next musical direction was to form a band of his own with Vinny Appice and release Holy Diver which the title track, Stand Up and Shout and Rainbow in the Dark have become metal anthems.

Today marks the day Ronnie left us all after a long battle with stomach cancer. 2010 was a bleak year for heavy metal with losses such as Dio and Peter Steele from Type O Negative. To pay a tribute to the holy diver and the man who popularized the devil's horns in rock music, here is metal song of the week for Ronnie James Dio.

The album: The Last in Line is the follow-up to the classic Holy Diver. Although The Last in Line doesn't quite a hold a candle to Holy Diver, it's still a great album with yet more classic Dio songs such as We Rock, The Last in Line, I Speed at Night and the epic album closer Egypt (The Chains Are On) that shouldn't be underestimated.

The song: Egypt (The Chains Are On) addresses the exploitation of the people of ancient Egypt. The song starts off with an oriental intro which perfectly fits with a song about Egypt. The riffs are slow in this epic number but not everything can be rushed with fast riffs. This is one of the slower songs from The Last in Line and it's a song that finds the right tempo. One of the highlights from this song has to be the following lyrical section with "You've seen them walking on the water / You've seen flying through the sky / They were frightening in the darkness / They had rainbows in their eyes" This is where Dio truly shows the beauty of his vocal talent as well as great songwriting. The last line with "They had rainbows in their eyes" is hard to avoid relating it to Rainbow and be seen as a nod to the band. The solo following this section has an Egyptian feel to it which is why the slow tempo of the song is highly appropriate.

Egypt (The Chains Are On) is one of the most epic works by Ronnie James Dio and although he passed away a year ago, this is legacy he left us with and we have to be grateful for what he has done in the realm of heavy metal.

Week 17: Overkill - E.Vil N.Ever D.Ies

The artist: Overkill are a big name in thrash metal and even heavy metal in general. These guys have been around as long as Metallica have but have been more popular underground. No matter what situation they were in, Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and the other bandmates carried on their career. Their persistence has been rewarded with the success of their latest album Ironbound where they were kicking ass more than ever. Don't believe that statement? Then listen to The Green and Black and The Head and Heart and give the album a second thought.

The album: The Years of Decay is one of the classic Overkill albums from the 80s. This was the album where Overkill developed a more mature sound as well as exploring into longer tracks for the band. The Years of Decay holds the longest Overkill song ever with Playing With Spiders/Skullkrusher clocking in at 10:15. Not only that, the song experiments with doom metal elements which is rather odd for a thrash metal band to do but it works nonetheless. Even with their musical adventures for The Years of Decay, Overkill still provide straightforward thrash metal tracks such as Elimination, I Hate and Time to Kill to make the fans at the time to feel right at home.

The song: E.Vil N.Ever D.Ies is the closer to the Overkill saga which they started on their first album Feel the Fire. The song has a rather creepy intro but is then struck by the mid-pace bass and guitar riff and then comes the metal thrashing mad which is what should be expected from thrash metal. Other bands may go for a slow or epic number for their last song but when it comes to thrash metal, you've got to end it off with a thrash frenzy. Another great example of this is Metallica's Damage, Inc. This isn't all fast, though as the bridge slows down the pace and D.D. Verni shows off his great bass performance. Not only that, the guitar riff is also menacing and that's the one word you can describe the entire Overkill saga. The next part of the song gradually gets faster, thus going back to the fast and aggressive thrash closure containing plenty of shredding on the guitar. The song ends with "Evil. Never. DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIES!" Overall, this is a fine thrash metal closure and this is the sort of song you should have in mind when writing a thrash metal album. Aggression, speed, shredding and menacing bass lines, what more could you ask for in thrash metal?

Week 15: Manowar - Guyana (Cult of the Damned)

The artist: Manowar are a very recognisable heavy metal band. However, recognition doesn't always mean praise. While many metal fans love their music, many others hate it. One of the common complaints about the band is their apperance and accusing them of being homosexuals which is rather absurd. Not only does their album cover Gods of War contains naked women on the album cover, bashing a metal band for being "gay" is downright disrespecting Rob Halford and his sexual preference. Anyone who's this ignorant shouldn't be associated with metal in any way. Whether Manowar are gay or not doesn't determine their musical quality and these guys have written great tracks.

Last week, Scott Columbus passed away for unknown reasons. He's played in all the Manowar records so far except for Battle Hymns and The Triumph of Steel. It's sad to see a metal brother like him going at the age of 54 and my sympathy goes to all his family and friends. For this week we will cover Manowar to pay tribute to the late drummer.

The album: Sign of the Hammer is one album that can slip under the radar. From the early Manowar days, Battle Hymns and Hail to England are more praised while Into Glory Ride has become infamous for the "homoerotic" album cover (Anthology is worse, though). That just leaves us with Sign of the Hammer and there are tracks in the album that prove to be worthy additions for Manowar's library of music.

The song: Guyana (Cult of the Damned) is based on the mass suicide by Jim Jones in 1978 who was full of conspiracies and a lot of bizarre things he did with his cult. The song starts off with Joey DeMaio's crystal clear bass, Ross the Boss on guitar and an orchestral feeling it gives off which shortly moves onto a bass solo. The verse soon begins with Eric Adams singing about Jim Jones who claimed to have been Jesus and the people asking about his individuality. Eric Adams has a great vocal range and with that he sounds high and mighty with the chorus. The song provides a marching riff as well as a rocking solo which are the ingredients Manowar needed to make an epic closure for Sign of the Hammer. This along with Battle Hymn, Bridge of Death and Blood of the Kings are how Manowar should end their albums.

Week 11: Blind Guardian - Fast to Madness

The artist: Blind Guardian have a well established heavy metal band. They may not be as famous as Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath but their musical quality has certainly been on par with metal's biggest names. Blind Guardian are the most well known band in the power metal scene even going as far as appealing to those who don't really like power metal to begin with and that is a sign of a really good band! There is more to this band than the power metal classics such as Nightfall in Middle-Earth and Imaginations from the Other Side. In the earlier days of Blind Guardian, they were under the name Lucifer's Heritage and had a strong influence of NWOBHM. They later changed their name to Blind Guardian offering a speed metal onslaught with their first two albums.

The album: Follow the Blind continues the speed metal style heavily influenced by Helloween's Walls of Jericho from Battalions of Fear. These guys weren't power metal quite yet here. Infact, this album sounds more thrash than power. Markus Siepen even admitted to the thrashy feel of the album after listening to a lot of thrash metal bands at the time. Even so, there were still some hints of the Blind Guardian style the fans now know and love with Valhalla. It has become a popular song to play theirs shows as a result as well as the extremely catchy chorus that can go on for minutes after the song even ends. Follow the Blind is an excellent album and is highly recommended for all Blind Guardian fans and even thrash metal fanatics.

The song: Fast to Madness is one of many tracks in Follow the Blind that puts the pedal full speed ahead. With a song title like Fast to Madness, you better expect the album to be a speed metal attack but not before the band warms up in the intro. Fast to Madness is based on the Eternal Champion book series which is very unlikely to be familiar to non-readers such as myself. Still, the lyrics have a strong fantasy feel as well as feeling fast to madness. Infact, this should have been the title track and would easily describe the album in general. Overall, this song provides a structure to maintain the listener's attention with the slow intro turning fast to madness as well as a variety of fast riffs, simple yet effective and catchy chorus from Hansi Kursch and colourful solos provided by the Olbrich and Siepen duo.

Week 9: Annihilator - Schizos (Are Never Alone), Pts. 1 & 2

The artist: Annihilator are a classic thrash metal band not from America or Germany but Canada. Annihilator have released 13 albums since they started and went through many changes but the one man who keeps the band alive is Jeff Waters. Although from a personal view I've only listened to two of their albums, the first two (i.e. Alice in Hell and Never, Neverland) are some good stuff.

The album: Alice in Hell is Annihilator's debut album and easily their most recognisable one from their catalogue. This is the only album to have Randy Rampage on vocals for the band. Randy left the band after the tour for this album. Annihilator found Coburn Pharr to take care of the vocals but he doesn't quite shine a light in the candle like Randy did for the band.

The song: Schizos (Are Never Alone), Pts. 1 & 2 is the instrumental of the album along with the intro track Crystal Ann. Although the lines "Schizos are never alone" are spoken several times throughout the track, it's still considered as an instrumental for the band to be metal thrashing mad without relying on any vocals for 99% of the time. There's always a charm in thrash metal instrumentals and Schizos (Are Never Alone) is one of them. The song starts off fast-ish but the whole band then turn up the pace and Jeff Waters offers you fast and catchy riffs. The instrumental changes its tempo a few times giving it some nice twists to it. Overall, Schizos (Are Never Alone) is a metal instrumental that needs to be heard and shouldn't make the listener bored at all with its various changes throughout.

Week 8: Diamond Head - Sweet and Innocent

The artist: Diamond Head are both well established in heavy metal and underrated. Some may easily overlook the band as a whole but they have been known for not having much of a success after the release of Lightning to the Nations. The later commercial failure may have been the result of the band not getting enough recognition as they probably should for their first album or two, especially the debut album.

The album: Lightning to the Nations (sometimes known as The White Album) is Diamond Head's debut and most well known album. Containing seven kickass tracks with some of them being metal anthems (i.e. The Prince and Am I Evil?). Like Budgie, it's sad to think that Metallica's cover of Am I Evil is at least 10x more popular than the original. Sure, it's a good cover during the Cliff Burton days and The Big Four pulled off a great show with this song live but Diamond Head are the ones who write the damn song, they deserve just as much credit, if not, more.

The song: Sweet and Innocent is the song just right after Am I Evil. Starting off with the main catchy riff from the performance of Brian Tatler which has to be one of many highlights in Lightning to the Nations. The lyrics are a rather typical love song but to put it in a speed metal track such as this and sounding heavy as hell makes it a nice twist. Sean Harris does an excellent job singing this song as well as providing a chorus that will stick in your head the first time you hear it. Overall, Sweet and Innocent is an awesome song and makes a contribution to the album as great as the other songs.

Week 7: Agent Steel - Rager

The artist: Agent Steel easily define themselves as speed metal, especially their first two albums. While many bands who get the term speed metal thrown at them easily fit in thrash (Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer) or power metal (the first few albums for Helloween, Blind Guardian and Running Wild), Agent Steel definitely fit in as speed metal for Skeptics Apocalypse and Unstoppable Force. Agent Steel broke up after the release of Unstoppable Force but they reformed in 1998 with a new vocalist Bruce Hall. He was with the band until last year when he left, thus making a way for John Cyriis' triumphant return. That reason alone gives one person every right to hype up for their next album, even if very little has been said about it so far.

The album: Unstoppable Force is an incredible album with seven extremely fast songs and two ballads. Apart from the ballads to slow the pace, Unstoppable Force defines speed metal so much that if you look up this particular term in a dictionary, you better see this album mentioned. Otherwise, inform the dictionary company of this mistake. Many bands may have had a fistful of speed metal down your throat such as Slayer's Reign in Blood and Blind Guardian's Follow the Blind but Agent Steel manage to do it in a way that makes every song stand out from other

The song: Picking a rather "lovely" song for St. Valentine's Day, Rager is a fast pace number in Unstoppable Force. What makes this song stand out very well is the catchy galloping riff, John Cyriis' unlimited amount of energy he unleashes with his voice and shouting out some badass lyrical lines such as "HAMMERING METAL INTO YOUR HEADS" and "He's coming to town, he is THE RAGER" If that isn't metal, I don't know what is. Rager also contains a fast and melodic solo. Unstoppable Force is full of them but each one always sounds different to others. Agent Steel's lyrics mostly consist of aliens and conspiracy theories so this song about THE RAGER coming from space and hammering metal into your heads fits the song very appropriately, especially when it gives you the vision of a powerful alien terrorizing a city. Again, very appropriate for Valentine's Day.

Week 6: Accept - Neon Nights

The artist: Accept are one of the most recognisable German metal bands. These guys played a huge role in 80s metal for Germany with bands like Helloween, Running Wild and Grave Digger gaining inspiration from them as well as Scorpions' 70s material. Accept broke up in the mid-90s but recently returned with a new vocalist named Mark Tornillo. That's right, the band went on without Udo but surprisingly enough their new album Blood of the Nations has been a hit. Just shows that just because you don't have one certain person in the band doesn't mean that they're going to flat out suck. If you find this unbelievable, listen to Teutonic Terror.

The album: Restless and Wild is the fourth Accept album most known for having Fast as a Shark which has been covered by big metal acts such as Helloween and Rage as well as making an appearance in Brutal Legend. The rest of the album is also worth listening to with great tracks such as Ahead of the Pack, Princess of the Dawn and our metal song of the week Neon Nights.

The song: Neon Nights is actually the ballad of the album but does that make it a bad thing? Absolutely not, this song is a nice change of pace in the album after being struck down by mid-pace to fast tracks. Starting with an acoustic intro and leading onto a heavily distorted guitar to fit the mood of the song. Udo makes an excellent performance in this song, especially for the catchy chorus. It's somewhat repetitive for saying "neon nights" many times but you'll easily be singing to the chorus right after hearing this song. The last highlight to note is the solo at around 4 minutes in. It's slow but it goes with the rhythm of the song as well as making it a fantastic solo for a ballad. Overall, Neon Nights is a wonderful song that shouldn't be underestimated. A song like this missing in Restless and Wild would make the album feel incomplete.