Week 41: Death - In Human Form

The artist: Death were no doubt an iconic band in heavy metal. They made way for tons of death metal bands and are highly regarded as one of the death metal pioneers along with Morbid Angel and Possessed. Despite the critical acclaim for being a major influence on death metal, the frontman Chuck Schuldiner was always modest about his band and declared it as a metal band and nothing more. Chuck may have disagreed with the death metal label but the rest of the world sure as hell thinks otherwise but not in a way against him. It's very unfortunate that Chuck passed away almost a decade ago and this week's Metal Monday will pay a tribute to the band who did a lot to death metal despite Chuck's modesty.

The album: Individual Thought Patterns is a highly technical album from Death. Technical death metal is described as having more complexity for riffs, rhythms and song structures and Individual Thought Patterns fits that to a T. The amount of riffs this album alone contains is insane. Within 39 minutes, Death have managed to fit in at least 30 riffs in one single album and the longest track out of them all is Mentally Blind clocking in at 4:45. Considering that thought, you know there has to be many changes in song structures throughout the album and to remember every moment in this album as well all the great riffs heard in one single album has to be the best reason to listen to this album many times throughout your life.

The song: Any song from this album can be used to show the insane constant change of paces over a few minutes of music but one grand example is In Human Form. This song starts off with one riff to attack the listener right away but will be far from done. This riff is only an introduction to the song which is immediately dropped just 15 seconds in and it's a riff that could have been used on any other death metal song and stick to it. You're not even given enough time to hear Chuck's extraordinary vocals for death metal. The solo is very, VERY short but you know what, it happens to be very sweet as well. Chuck returns to vocals once again but it's not long until he takes the band to another vocal break and then back to him again. He does pack the second solo together with a lead to prepare yet more barrel rolls for the song. It should be noted that Steve DiGiorgio on bass is crystal clear at all times and you can be sure that he makes some memorable basslines for this song alone.

The lyrics may tell of extraterrestrial going undercover as a human being to fool humanity but actually that was just a metaphor. What he refers to as aliens here are the corrupted human beings that exist in the world. To Chuck, they are not human beings and rather aliens who must be stopped. Overall, In Human Form is a very intense song. The multiple song sections make it feel like Chuck Schuldiner wrote four songs and merged them into one song lasting only or a mere four minutes. For that, there is no padding in the album at all and the pace is so fast that it makes four minutes seem like fourty seconds. That with sinister sounding lyrics, you can bet this is top notch for death metal and this is only one song from the album analysed!

Week 40: Angra - Unholy Wars

The artist: Angra are one of the key metal bands from Brazil along with Sepultura (although they don't have as much fame as them). They've released some killer releases such as Temple of Shadows and Rebirth, a personal favourite. The band would take a more progressive approach with the later releases. However, the change of direction wasn't done well when they recorded Aqua. It was a poor record and had a huge lack of energy and passion. Angra need to listen to Rebirth and remember what made them great.

The album: Rebirth is Angra's first album with Eduardo Falaschi on vocals who has remained in the band ever since. Angra provides fast numbers with Nova Era and Unholy Wars, slower melodic tracks with the title track and Heroes of Sand and then there's the more epic and complex works including Running Alone and Unholy Wars. These make Rebirth a versatile album and doesn't make themselves repetititve.

The song: Unholy Wars starts off with sounds of a Brazilian dance which is followed by the band themselves and with Edu Falaschi making some chanting voices. The band then picks up the pace with the guitar riffs which is where we learn the young warrior fighting his way through the war. The music takes some progression routes, particular in the centre where you hear a bass lead. The bass makes itself prominent during the break and actually gives the listener time to sink in with this segment. The solo makes its fine way to show itself up but it's not long until we're back to revisiting the horror of the unholy wars one last time. Unholy Wars is a beautifully complex track from Rebirth and offers a lot for the listener. It's a shame they didn't do anything this magnificent on Aqua.

Week 39: Týr - Lord of Lies

NOTE: Due to a holiday that wasn't even foreseeable 12 months ago when I originally started planning Monday Metal Treasures, this is posted early so you still get to see the following week's entry, despite it not being a Monday.



The artist: Týr are a particularly interesting folk metal band hailing from Faroe Islands. Their country of origin will easily strike out as it may be a country you've never even heard of. Infact, Metal-Archives only lists seven metal bands who originated from Faroe Islands. That's right, just a mere seven! There's more metal bands that ever found in Saudi Arabia and Syria than in Faroe Islands. Not only do they have an unusual country origin, they also incorporate progressive metal elements to folk metal whereas many folk metal bands have generally mixed their style with black, melodic death or power metal.

The album: Ragnarok is Týr's concept album released in 2006 and already it's been five years since its release. Ragnarok feels like the ideal Norse mythology lyrical-based album, even if roughly a third of the lyrics are spoken in Farose. This album as well as the rest of their albums in general show the world what Farose language is like. As suggested by the album title, Ragnarok covers the future events in battles resulting in the death of the Norse gods. This feels how Norse mythology themed metal music should be done, although the amount of interlude tracks won't make it a straight forward listen and will require patience in order to get the most from the album.

The song: Following the interlude track named Victory which has the sounds of entering a very lively tavern, Lord of Lies shows up right away with the loud folky guitars that makes you think "Damn, this is really good." and then it's succeeded by riffs with a much lower tone. Even with the darker riffs, the song still insists with the brighter atmosphere to march on in the story. It will go as far as showing off some very highly tuned solos and you can sense some power metal from this track. That and Heri Joensen's vocals make for some unique sound from folk metal. The song's lyrics covers Thor and the serpent Jörmungandr. This is closer to the end of the album and forsees prophecies of the true end of Ragnarok. Overall, you have a song with some extremely catchy melodies with some mixed tones to show the dark side of the prophecy but also the confidence to fight on.

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!

Week 37: Carcass - Death Certificate

The artist: Carcass are a death metal/grindcore band from Liverpool, the English city that's most well known for The Beatles. Carcass have been praised for being highly influential in grindcore as well as melodic death metal. They implemented melodic death metal to their music with Heartwork around the same time metal bands from Gothenburg such as In Flames and At the Gates were only starting to record albums. Besides The Beatles, this is one band that makes me happy to live very close to Liverpool.

The album: Heartwork is the album where Carass played death metal in a more melodic style. Although some melodic death metal bands may not sound like standard death metal, Heartwork is one where you can relate to the more traditional death metal with killer tracks such as Carnal Forge, Blind Bleeding the Blind and today's metal song Death Certificate. Heartwork is a melodic death metal album that nicely stands out from the subgenre.

The song: Death Certificate starts with some twin guitars where one has a simple two note riff while the other is a melodic tune that eventually clash each other some fast riffing. Now this is a riff that slays and shows some brutality. The lyrical lines are rather minimal and may not have much to them but it's a good sign since Carcass were more focused on writing some shining guitar work. The song enters a melodic solo phase where both Bill Steer and Michael Amott both play side by side. These are solos that stick out from the album so well along with the crazy solo on Carnal Forge. Overall, Death Certificate is song that will offer many death certificates around due to it being such a killer track with riffs and solos.

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.