Week 30: Legend - The Golden Bell

The artist: Finishing off American traditional metal month, we have Legend, more specifically the Legend from Connecticut. They are a short lived band who only ever released one album in 1979. Despite their brief time on the road, Legend have had an influence on some of the American traditional metal bands today. The best example is Slough Feg who covered The Wizard's Vengeance on Twilight of the Idols. Whoever looked further in the cover songs by Slough Feg will have come across Legend at some point. The band split up a few years later after Ray Frigon left the band. The rest of the band felt there was no strong replacement for him and split up. Unfortunately, the frontman Kevin Nugent passed away in his sleep in 1983. If it weren't for that, he could have returned to this band and made plenty more great material for the metal world.

The album: Fröm the Fjörds is Legend's only album. Although the psychadelic rock/blues rock elements were strong, it's hard to deny this band as heavy metal considering The Destroyer, The Wizard's Vengeance and the instrumental The Confrontation. There were even a few songs about vikings and this was a time before the term viking metal even existed. You can easily tell there was a lot of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin influences here and while it may seem they were just another band who sounded too much like them, Legend would have further developed their musical style if Kevin Nugent was still with us. Fröm the Fjörds is an extremely rare album on CD but if you ever come across it on eBay or wherever, be sure to pick it up right away as it might be a once in a lifetime chance.

The song: The Golden Bell is the ballad of the album and for 7 minutes this song accomplishes a lot. The moment you hear the intro of the song, you know there's something magical about it. What has to be noted is Kevin Nugent's great vocal performance. He has the emotion to show what's going on through the song and there's definitely something depressing about the line "For our lives may too soon end" which could be seen as harsher in hindsight considering Kevin would pass away a few years later. The song goes in an instrumental phase where the psychadelic rock elements truly show in the album. The second half of the song continues the psychadelic phase with vocals and eventually returns to the soft side of the track to be heard once more.

The lyrics are based on Greek mythology and although many metal bands have covered Greek mythology, hearing a song about Poseidon seems rare for some reason. It's not just about Poseidon, though as it shows Hades taking over the world and the world being saved by pegasus and the golden bell at the temple. Overall, The Golden Bell has to be one of the most beautiful metal songs ever played with some greatly crafted tempo and mood changes. This is a legend that's been forgotten and wrongfully so.

Week 29 - (The Lord Weird) Slough Feg - Death Machine

The artist: (The Lord Weird) Slough Feg are one of the most well known bands from the American traditional metal scene. Mike Scalzi originally formed this band in 1990 to counteract the hair metal scene at the time and bring back the traditional heavy metal sound that was heard in Iron Maiden and Judas Priest's music. Although they didn't release a full-length album until 1996 with the self-titled debut album, Slough Feg have put out nine albums and none of them are short of greatness. Like Manilla Road, these guys are also criminally overlooked but the better availability of the newest album The Animal Spirits as well as a lot of press for it have given Slough Feg some credibility they deserve. Asides from The Animal Spirits, their albums are often more expensive than an average album but it's definitely worth paying extra for fantasic albums, especially Traveller and Down Among the Deadmen.

The album: Down Among the Deadmen is one of the more notable Slough Feg albums considering Warriors Dawn which was featured on Brutal Legend. This might sound like a stretch but Warriors Dawn could be heavy metal's ultimate answer to Bohemian Rhapsody. This song provides a two minute intro, excellent drumming and bass performance, several great sections in a single song as well as a solo frenzy. Even if Warriors Dawn isn't considered at all for Down Among the Deadmen, it is still a fantastic album, especially when the moment you hear the album opener Sky Chariots it's mandatory to listen to the rest of the album. That's not all, though as there's an excellent trilogy with Heavy Metal Monk / Fergus Mac Roich / Cauldron of Blood. This is easily a highlight in Down Among the Deadmen as the three tracks go together so well. With tracks like these as well as Troll Pack, Marauder and Death Machine, there's tons of confidence to put this album in the same ranks as metal classics such as Paranoid, Powerslave and Painkiller.

The song: Death Machine is the closer track for Down Among with the Deadmen and what better way to end this magnificent album than to go out with a bang with a speed metal number? This works in a similar way to some of the thrash metal closers such as Overkill's The Years of Decay with E.Vil N.Ever D.Ies. The speed metal frenzy doesn't start right away but the song goes wild as soon as you hear motorcycle noises. The riffs are highly ideal for the imaginary of racing on motorcycles as well as the crazy solo provided during the frenzy. The song returns to its former pace but it works to wrap it up for the album. The song's lyrics are based on the sci-fi B-movie named Deathsport taking place in the year 3000. This movie won't be familiar to many but the lyrics sure as hell have some lines that define heavy metal lyrics and makes it seem the movie is worth watching. Overall, Death Machine shows one of the greatest ways to end off a heavy metal album with a roaring speed metal track that should be defined as a metal classic.

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 26: Opeth - Nectar

The artist: Opeth have become a big name in heavy metal over the last decade. Not only are they well established for the mixture of death metal, progressive rock and acoustic elements all in one, they made a breakthrough with Blackwater Park in 2001 which in ten years can already be seen as a classic metal record standing next to Rust in Peace, Paranoid, etc. Mikael Åkerfeldt has also become a big name for heavy metal musicians and with his death metal vocals passing back and fourth with clean singing, Even with a formula they've used since day one, Opeth have managed to make some twists and turns with the raw feel of the first two albums Orchid and Morningrise and the all-acoustic and no-metal Damnation (as well as possibly the upcoming album Heritage). Opeth's success has gone as far as putting them in a high class venue like the Royal Albert Hall which they had to make a live CD+DVD for and I feel proud to have seen that special show for them.

The album: Morningrise is the second Opeth album and still contains the raw sound production which Orchid had. Morningrise is very notable for having every song lasting at least ten minutes long minus the bonus demo track. Some may think these songs are long for the sake of long but this album is rich in quality, although Black Rose Immortal (the longest Opeth song to date) isn't a song for beginners. Songs such as Advent and To Bid You Farewell have become Opeth classics and one has to wonder why Mikael Åkerfeldt opposed this album at a later point. Morningrise may not be the most accessible Opeth album but it's still damn good.

The song: Nectar starts off with an interesting intro. Starting with drums then introducing the bass (which is crystal clear here) and then the guitars. The bass proves to be very useful here and is a prime example of how sound productions should be executed to make the bass audible. The song goes through changes throughout with an acoustic piece around 1:33 in which quickly goes back to the metal. There's another acoustic section six minutes in which contains a strong classical feel. It's an unpredictable move if you've not heard the song before and the acoustic section is a personal favourite for Opeth's acoustic elements. It's a very moving part that is favoured very well with the drums and the bass once again which is a huge plus.

There's so much to say about the musical structure in Nectar and the lyrics are just the icing on the cake. The song is a bout a huge negligence of love that is never spoken out to the significant other. Overall, Nectar is an excellent song from Opeth with great appreciation for the bass as well as showing some of the best acoustic pieces from the band. This song is one of many reasons why it's a close second to Blackwater Park.

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.