Seventh Angel - "The Dust of Years"

Seventh Angel - The Dust of Years

2009, Bombworks

1. Chaos of Dreams

2. The Turning Tide

3. Exordium

4. Weep Not For Us

5. Abelard and Helois

6. In Ruins

7. Lamentations

8. The Raven Sky

9. Oswiecim

Here's the problem with Seventh Angel's newest disc. If you go into it expecting the thrash you heard and loved on The Torment and Lament for the Weary you will be sorely disappointed. The Dust of Years has far more in common with Ian Arkley's other band My Silent Wake. Like chunky infectious riffs? Too bad. Like lyrics you can understand the meaning to? Too bad. Like Ian's thrash vocal style? Too bad. Yeah... now objectively this is not a bad album at all. The songs, while not necessarily full of hooks, are interesting and appropriately moody and gothic. There's hints of thrash here and there, but for the most part it's doom metal. Not a bad album, just go into it with the right expectations.

Oh... there's been a lot of fuss about the album being downloaded more than it's been bought. I can understand why someone would want to download it. The band's sound has changed and I think people really wanted to preview this one. They did, then found it wasn't the Seventh Angel they'd loved, then didn't buy it. It's sad but I don't think Believer had many problems with downloading because they still sounded like Believer. The Dust of Years sounds more like My Silent Wake than it does Seventh Angel. Oh well... I bought mine on Itunes and am planning to buy a hard copy someday.

Useless Fact: According to an interview in HM Magainze, drummer Tank is now a Buddhist and the band no longer considers themselves a "Christian" band. They also inherited bassist Mark Broomhead, formerly of Detritus.

Seventh Angel - "Heed the Warning (Demo and Live Recordings)"

Seventh Angel - Heed the Warning (Demo and Live Recordings)
2005, Bombworks

1. Forbidden Desires
2. Seven Angels
3. I of the Needle
4. Heed the Warning
5. Tormented Forever
6. Seven Angels
7. Dark Shadows
8. Dr. Hatchet
9. Woken By Silence
10. Life in All Its Emptiness
11. Katie
12. No Longer a Child

As the title indicates, this album is basically the band's Heed the Warning demo with a bunch of live tracks thrown in. The demo stuff is hands down the best demo stuff I've ever heard. The sound quality is probably better than their full length debut. Though the two "new" songs "Seven Angels" and "Heed the Warning" were already a compilation that I can't remember the name of (it was called Last Ship Home or something...). The live tracks are decent but the drums are way out front so the quality is listenable, but not perfect by any means. Though it's nice to have both the demo and these tracks on CD.

Useless Fact: The cover art was done by Rexorcist. He's done cover art for Tourniquet and some other metal bands.

Seventh Angel - "Lament for the Weary"

Seventh Angel - Lament for the Weary

1991/2008, Metal Mind

1. Recollections of a Life Once Lived

2. Life in All its Emptiness

3. No Longer a Child

4. Full of Blackness

5. Lament for the Weary

6. Woken By Silence

7. Falling Away From Reality

8. Dark Shadows

9. Passing of Years

10. Secure in Eternity

11. Farewell to Human Cries

Bonus Track:

12. The Turning Tide

Seventh Angel's second album is a progressive thrash masterpiece! The band slows down just a bit and I think the guitar is a bit chunkier and more "full" sounding if that makes any sense. Lament is an album full of infectious riffs and the little melodic touches here and there. I've never heard anything official but I'm pretty sure this is a concept album about a person struggling with the effects of sexual abuse. In fact, someday when I have time I'd like to write a little column about the "story"... if I ever find some free time.

Metal Mind's reissue of Lament is similar to that of The Torment - a digipak with a bonus track from The Dust of Years on it. The liner notes are the same as the ones from The Torment which I think is kind of lame. Oh well... good to have this on CD again!

Useless Fact: Rodney Matthews painted the cover for this one like he did for the previous. If I ever make a metal album I'm totally getting Rodney Matthews to paint the cover.

Seventh Angel - "The Torment"

Seventh Angel - The Torment

1990/2008, Metal Mind

1. Tormented Forever

2. The Charmer

3. Forbidden Desires

4. I of the Needle

5. Expletive Deleted

6. Dr. Hatchet

7. Locked Up in Chains

8. Acoustic Interlude

9. Katie

10. Epilogue

Bonus Track:

11. Lamentations

Seventh Angel is a thrash band with a distinctly British flavor to them. The Torment knows how to be fast and heavy but can also be melodic and reflective. The album also contains some beautiful acoustic passages. "The Charmer," "I of the Needle," and the epic "Katie" are all highlights for me. But really the album is full of great thrash. One thing I noticed listening to this the other day is how great the bass is. Usually in metal bass doesn't play that big a part and it's usually played using a pick to create a rumbly sound. I'm sure the bass in this disc hasn't been played with a pick because it's too precise. It's also very melodic and really lends a unique sound to the band.

I finally got to replace my defective copy with the Metal Mind reissue this Christmas. It's a digipak but the artwork is good and the liner notes are informative and it also includes the lyrics. The bonus track, "Lamentations" is actually on The Dust of Years.

Useless Fact: The rumor mill says that vocalist and guitarist Ian Arkley hates the lyrics to this album. I'm not sure why... I don't think they're that bad.

Scaterd Few - "Sin Disease"

Scaterd Few - Sin Disease

1990, Alarma

1. Kill the Sarx

2. While Reprobate

3. Beggar

4. Lights Out

5. Later (L.A. 1989)

6. Groovey

7. Glass God (No Freedom in Basing)

8. As the Story Grows

9. U

10. A Freedom Cry

11. Scapegoat

12. Wonder Why

13. DITC

14. Self

15. Look Into My Side

16. Kill the Sarx II (Apocalypse)

Sin Disease is an amazing, awesome album. Even if it were released tomorrow it would still be ahead of its time. Its raw, dirty, frenetic, and dark. Completely infused with an urban vibe the album captures moments of life in the ghetto. From gang bangs to drug addictions every note delivers a painful message that's genuine and pulls no punches. There's almost an "otherworldy" quality about this disc which comes to a head in the album closer "Kill the Sarx II (Apocalypse)." It's a sprawling seven-minute track that starts off as a lounge version of "Kill the Sarx" but ends up a disconnected mess that's very off-putting. Not to mention the spine-warping bass guitar that actually takes center stage while the psycho guitar flies over everything. Then you've got Allan Aguirre's voice which sounds a little like David Bowie mixed with... I don't know... a cat being strangled. I know that doesn't sound like a good thing, but trust me, it totally works to make this one of the most interesting vocal performances I've heard on an album. Is it punk? No, it's far too progressive for that. Is it rock? No, it's far too agressive and caustic. It's not metal either, it's its own mixture of all these elements that had never before been done and hasn't been to this day.

Useless Fact: I think some of that "otherworldy" quality I was talking about was due in part to the fact that the band was toking up some fatties while making this record. For those who don't know that means they were smoking marijuanna.

Sacred Warrior - "Live at Cornerstone 2001"

Sacred Warrior - Live at Cornerstone 2001

2001, M8

1. Intro

2. Children of the Light

3. Remember Me

4. Rebellion

5. Holy Holy Holy

6. Little Secrets

7. Wicked Generation

8. Heavens Are Calling

9. Come On

10. Day By Day

11. Prince of Peace

12. Temple's On Fire

I really hate to say this about a Sacred Warrior disc but.... meh. I was really disappointed when I listened to this disc. Ray Perra's vocals just aren't up to snuff and at the time I thought the band cut short some of their songs. I also didn't care for the new stuff much. So yeah... not much more to say about this one.

Useless Fact: From what I read on the Firestream Vault the band was having trouble with their monitors which might explain why Ray's voice doesn't sound so good.

Sacred Warrior - "Obsessions"

Sacred Warrior - Obsessions

1991, Intense

1. Wings of a Dream

2. Sweet Memories

3. Turning Back

4. Obsessions

5. Kamakazi

6. Remember Me

7. Fire From Heaven

8. Temple's On Fire

9. Mad Man

Rack up another metal classic for Sacred Warrior. This would, sadly, be their last disc. I confess that I didn't like this one nearly as much when it first came out. It seemed a little too "ballad-y" for me. "Sweet Memories," "Turning Back," and "Remember Me" always put me off because they were so slow. There is no logic in that I know, but I was young. I appreciate these tracks far more now as an adult. Still can't really say that this is one of my favorites from the band but it's still a tight consistent metal offering.

Useless Fact: As stated before this would be the band's last disc. Intense Records released a disc called Classics that was a generic "best of" comp with no new material specifically designed to wring some more money out of Sacred Warrior fans. They also did a live album back in 2001 and there have been rumors of a new album, but nothing concrete yet.

Sacred Warrior - "Wicked Generation"

Sacred Warrior - Wicked Generation
1990, Intense

1. No Happy Endings
2. Little Secrets
3. Standing Free
4. Are You Ready?
5. Minister By Night
6. Miss Linda
7. In the Night
8. Warriors
9. Wicked Generation
10. War Torn Hero

Wicked Generation is a loose concept album about an abused young woman trying to find peace. She tries just about everything until she finally finds God. As far as concepts go it's alright but not every song has to do with that story so it's not as cohesive. That being said this is my second favorite right behind Master's Command. I was listening to "Little Secrets" the other day and couldn't help but think of Queensryche's "The Mission." Yes, Sacred Warrior were pretty much the Christian Queensrcyhe... but they did it so well! Though since Queensrcyhe modified their sound so much the description only applies to the early 'Ryche stuff. Anyway... I love songs like "In the Night" that are so melodic yet still manage to rock hard! Then there's full throttle offerings like "Warriors." It's nice to have a band like Sacred Warrior whose musical quality never deteriorated from album to album.

Useless Fact: So... I'm guessing the person on the cover is the girl the album is about but for the longest time nobody in my family knew whether it was a girl or a boy. I mean... she does look pretty androgynous.

Sacred Warrior - "Master's Command"

Sacred Warrior - Master's Command

1989, Intense

1. Master's Command

2. Beyond the Mountain

3. Evil Lurks

4. Bound in Chains

5. Unfailing Love

6. Paradise

7. Uncontrolled

8. Many Will Come

9. Onward Warriors

10. The Flood

11. Holy, Holy, Holy

This is the first Sacred Warrior album I heard and it has remained my favorite to this day. The songs are just amazing and Ray Perra's voice is on point. I think the production on this is not very good but then again, back in the day, none of the production was good on some of this old Intense records stuff. I think my favorites off of this one are "Beyond the Mountain," "Many Will Come," and "The Flood." "The Flood" features vocals by one Roger Martinez (Vengeance Rising).

I saw these guys a couple of times at Kingdom Bound and if Roger was there selling Vengeance merch he could always be goaded on stage for a rendition of "The Flood." Gotta say, it was pretty awesome.

I also remember giving this tape to an old pastor of mine so that he could look at the lyrics. My cousin and I wanted to have a "Headbanger's Ball" in the church gym but the pastor had to check all the lyrics to make sure they were okay. So my cousin and I sat in his office trying to defend this music. He asked asinine questions like, "Why does there have to be an instrumental?" and his wife asked, "Why does it have to be so worldly?" Ugh! You kids have it easy these days!

Useless Fact: On my CD copy the little keyboard intro is marked as its own track but I don't think that's how it was originally.

Rose - "Into the Unknown"

Rose - Into the Unknown
1995, REX

1. Fading Away
2. Past
3. Into The Unknown
4. Do You Know My Name?
5. Past Gone
6. Grass
7. Season of Pain
8. Die to the Flesh
9. Walking For Miles
10. Satan's Calling

When this first came out I didn't like it at all. I don't know why. After the crappy Crazy Little World Randy returns to the stoner rock that all us fans dig. I think the production is somewhat muddy here. Also it might just be me, but the songwriting seems just a tad tired as well. I mean you've got the song "Past" then a few tracks later "Past Gone." Um.... would it really been hard to come up with better names for these songs? Anyway, despite all that I quite enjoy this album now. Not as good as Healing but worth having in your collection.

Useless Fact: This would be Randy's last album under the "Rose" name. He would go on to have some other bands, one called Mothership, that were more alternative rock.

Rose - "Healing"

Rose - Healing

1993, Intense

1. R.I.P.

2. Fallen

3. When I Let You In

4. Seeds of Sorrow

5. My Lies

6. Hooked

7. Healing

8. D.O.P.

9. Demons

10. Never Enough

11. On My Knees

Randy's second release is not quite as heavy or dark. It has more of a 70's stoner/doom rock vibe, but the Danzing vocals are still present. The riffs are very simple and the production seems pretty stripped down... at least to my ears. This is an underrated classic I think. Some of the highlights being "When I Let You In," "Never Enough," and the acoustic closer "On My Knees." This is readily available for cheap so check it out!

Useless Fact: Some of the guys that play on this record went on to play for Mad at the World on The Ferris Wheel record.

Rose, Randy - "Sacrificium"

Rose, Randy - Sacrificium

1991, Intense

1. Pain

2. Oppression

3. Fire

4. I Was Alive

5. Wicked Ways

6. Black Harvest

7. Marshmallow Land

8. Walls of Hate

9. Death

10. Sacrificium

I'm a huge fan of Randy Rose. Don't care whether he's in Mad at the World or doing his own thing - I usually love what he puts out. I got this solely because I loved the songs on M.A.T.W.'s Boomerang so much that he did. It's a lot heaver than M.A.T.W. The album is full of dark, slightly-goth, doom rock songs. Randy's voice is a dead-ringer for Glen Danzig and/or Jim Morrison. Most of the songs are mid-paced which is not a problem because they have a little groove and swagger to them.

Useless Fact: The album features almost the entire Rose family helping Randy out in some way, shape, or form.

Queensryche - "Promised Land"

Queensryche - Promised Land
1994/2003, EMI

1. 9:28 AM
2. I Am I
3. Damaged
4. Out of Mind
5. Bridge
6. Promised Land
7. Dis Con Nec Ted
8. Lady Jane
9. My Global Mind
10. One More Time
11. Someone Else?
Bonus Tracks:
12. Real World
13. Someone Else? (Band version)
14. Damaged (Live)
15. Real World (Live)

Queensryche has always been kind of pretentious. I think most of that's due to Geoff Tate. Well, since ol' Geoffy took the reins on this one the pretentiousness kind of went into overdrive and it hasn't abated. They had all this success with Empire so what do they do? Turn around and write a song like "Promised Land" about how fame wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Puh-lease. Give me a break. Would you like some cheese with your whine Geoff? You didn't have to be famous! But anyway... about the music. They slowed it down quite a bit here. This isn't power metal or hard rock, it's sort of a mish-mash of hard rock, alternative rock, and some Pink Floyd-esque experimentalism. Does it work? Eh... sometimes. "Damaged" actually sounds like the Queensryche we know and love and I like "Bridge" and even the introspective "Out of Mind." Oh, "Dis Con Nec Ted" is pretty interesting too. However, "Promised Land" as I said, is a bloated, boring examination of fame and "Someone Else?" is a "meh"-tastic piano ballad. The bonus tracks here are similarly forgettable. I pretty much lost all interest in anything Queensryche after this and I came to the party pretty late so that's saying something.

Useless Fact: "Real World" was on the Last Action Hero soundtrack. Yeah, I don't care either.

Queensryche - "Empire"

Queensryche - Empire

1990/2003, EMI

1. Best I Can

2. The Thin Line

3. Jet City Woman

4. Della Brown

5. Another Rainy Night

6. Empire

7. Resistance

8. Silent Lucidity

9. Hand on Heart

10. One and Only

11. Anybody Listening?

Bonus Tracks:

12. Last Time in Paris

13. Scarborough Fair

14. Dirty Lil' Secret

Queensryche makes no attempt to compete with the success of Mindcrime. Empire has no theme, no concept, it's just an album full of solid stand alone songs which ended up being the most commercially viable music they'd ever made. MTV played "Silent Lucidity" and "Jet City Woman" constantly - enough to make someone hate those songs. In fact usually if someone says their favorite Queensryche song is "Silent Lucidity" I have to restrain myself from rolling my eyes. That's not to say this is a bad album...far from it! I don't quite listen to this one as much but it's still a good commercial hard rock disc. Empire also boasts the finest bonus tracks of any of the reissues. So good, in fact, that they could have been on the album originally and you'd never know the difference. I especially love the moody take on Simon & Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair."

Useless Fact: "Last Time in Paris" was on the Ford Fairlane soundtrack. The band also made a home video around this time called Building Empires which I have. It's a good collection of the band's videos up until that point though it's definitely heavy on Empire material naturally.

Queensryche - "Operation: Mindcrime"

Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime

1988/2003, EMI

1. I Remember Now

2. Anarchy - X

3. Revolution Calling

4. Operation: Mindcrime

5. Speak

6. Spreading the Disease

7. The Mission

8. Suite Sister Mary

9. The Needle Lies

10. Electric Requiem

11. Breaking the Silence

12. I Don't Believe in Love

13. Waiting For 22

14. My Empty Room

15. Eyes of a Stranger

Bonus Tracks:

16. The Mission (Live)

17. My Empty Room (Live)

So I hear this is the album that finally broke the band into the mainstream. MTV played 'em. They were featured in magazines. Man, wish I could have been there for that. Operation: Mindcrime is probably one of the finest concept albums this side of Ayreon. It succeeds in doing one important thing - tells an engrossing and compelling story. At the end you'll feel like you've been on a roller coaster ride. For those completely unfamiliar, the story is about a drug addict named Niki. He gets mixed up with an anarchist movement and falls in love with a nun. There's more detail of course but I don't want to spoil it. I want you to go out right now and buy yourself a copy. Then you are to sit in your smoking room in your smoking jacket with a nice cigar and glass of wine and enjoy an hour or so of complete awesomeness. Aside from the story this disc also has some rippin' tunes with hooks big enough to catch Jonah's whale. Back in the day "I Don't Believe in Love" was my jam... before I got married. This is my second favorite just behind Rage and it occasionally changes places with it depending on what mood I'm in.

I'm going to take a minute to do you a favor. Don't bother with Operation: Mindcrime II. It's not that good. It was supposed to answer the question "Who Killed Mary?" but I never got the answer to that through the lyrics. Also, the music is nowhere near as interesting and the story completely unravels at the end. I'm not even sure what the point of the thing was other than to sucker old fans to check out Queensryche's new sound. Newsflash guys: there's a reason we don't listen to your new stuff.

Useless Fact: The band made a video for "Eyes of a Stranger." It's pretty cool. It sums up the story quite nicely.

Queensryche - "Rage For Order"

Queensryche - Rage For Order

1986/2003, EMI

1. Walk in the Shadows

2. I Dream in Infared

3. The Whisper

4. Gonna Get Close To You

5. The Killing Words

6. Surgical Strike

7. Neue Regel

8. Chemical Youth (We Are Rebellion)

9. London

10. Screaming in Digital

11. I Will Remember

Bonus Tracks:

12. Gonna Get Close To You (12" version)

13. The Killing Words (Live)

14. I Dream in Infared (Remix)

15. Walk in the Shadows (Live)

This remains my favorite Queensryche platter. The band isn't quite as heavy on this one and they've left behind all the soldier/war/fantasy lyrics and traded them in for a darker, gothic sound. The lyrics this time deal with order in the government and for more than a few songs - vampires. I think this is the one CD where they really starting to come into their own in terms of writing hooks. I can sing just about every song on here from memory and Tate's voice is just mind bogglingly powerful. The soaring choruses of songs like "Neue Regel" and "London" never fail to move me. "Screaming in Digital" is amazing (ever so slightly industrial) as is the album closer "I Will Remember" which I think is the best ballad they've ever done (not "Silent Lucidity"). The bonus tracks on this one are pretty cool. "The Killing Words (Live)" is from MTV's Queensryche Unplugged I believe. The only one that's kind of crap is the 12" version of "Gonna Get Close To You." Basically it's the same song with a few choppy edits in there.

Useless Fact: This disc has a cover variant featuring the banners in a blue marble color. If you just can't sleep tonight without seeing it head over to Scott Waters' (Ultimatum) site, nolifetilmetal.com and peruse his Queensryche page. I think he's still got it up there.

Queensryche - "The Warning"

Queensryche - The Warning

1984/2003, EMI

1. Warning

2. En Force

3. Deliverance

4. No Sanctuary

5. NM 156

6. Take Hold of the Flame

7. Before the Storm

8. Child of Fire

9. Roads to Madness

Bonus Tracks:

10. Prophecy

11. The Lady Wore Black (Live)

12. Take Hold of the Flame (Live)

Sometimes I wish I could have been born a little bit earlier. I first heard this album around 2003 or so when this reisuue came out and I really wished I would have been able to hear it when it first came out. It would have been so different from what was out there before - especially considering what most bands were singing about at the time. Granted, it's not too terribly different - swords and sorcery and war. There's a little electronica in "NM 156" about a robot and emotions which foreshadows "Screaming in Digital." Geoff Tate's voice is on point here - heck, he practically invented a style that's been copied by numerous bands (especially Christian ones) like Deliverance, Sacred Warrior, and Veni Domine. While I don't go back to this one as much as some of the others I still believe it is a smokin' metal album. Not quite as heavy as their debut EP, but good all the same.

When I got this I was showing it to a college friend of mine and made a remark about Tate's facial expression in the artwork - puckered up like he was either a) a tough dude or b) going to kiss his grandmother. He dubbed it "The Pucker of Justice."

Useless Fact: This reissue contains "Prophecy" which I don't believe was ever on any official album that I know of - only the Live in Tokyo video.

The Presidents of the United States of America - "The Presidents of the United States of America"

The Presidents of the United States of America - The Presidents of the United States of America
1995, Columbia

1. Kitty
2. Feather Pluckin'
3. Lump
4. Stranger
5. Boll Weevil
6. Peaches
7. Dune Buggy
8. We Are Not Going To Make It
9. Kick Out the Jams
10. Body
11. Back Porch
12. Candy
13. Naked and Famous

If you're familiar with this band at all it's probably for either "Peaches" (which was once featured on King of the Hill) or "Lump" OR the Weird Al parody "Gump." Either way you probably enjoyed the songs and never thought another thing about them. Granted the fact that the bass player only has 2 strings and the guitarist only has 3 just kind of screams "gimmick" to me but the band proves that they can do a lot with a little. Most of this disc is a novelty, but I think the music is fun and interesting enough to warrant repeated listens. I especially like the bass grooves in songs like "Boll Weevil" and "Dune Buggy" (the latter being a song about the Spider-Man's Spider Car). I think this band did one more disc which went unnoticed, then fell off the map.

Useless Fact: "Kick Out the Jams" was originally a song by an old band called M5, I think. I'm pretty sure the lyrics have been changed in the President's version.

Pyramaze - "Melancholy Beast"

Pyramaze - Melancholy Beast

2004, Nightmare

1. Sleepy Hollow

2. Forsaken Kingdom

3. Melancholy Beast

4. The Journey

5. Until We Fade Away

6. Legend

7. Mighty Abyss

8. The Nature of Triumph

9. The Power of Imagination

You know, sometimes you can judge a book by its cover. I saw the cover above as someone's avatar on a message board and I was like, "That's probably awesome." So I tracked it down and you know what? It IS awesome. It features Lance King on vocals. It's sort of like Balance of Power (which Lance King sang for before this) in that it's proficient power metal but I think the keyboards are a little more upfront. It's also a good deal less commercial (at least compared to the one BOP album I've heard) but there's some great hooks here. Most of the songs are about fantasy stuff - "Sleepy Hollow" is about the story of the same name, "Legend" is about that Tom Cruise movie with the devil and the girl from Faris Bueller.

Before you get to wondering, yes, I know that Pyramaze has more albums out. To tell you the truth I don't like them that much. I think they used up whatever hook/riff writing energy they had on this album because none of the subsequent releases has succeeded in reeling me in at all.

Useless Fact: After Lance King left, Matt Barlow (Iced Earth) stepped in, now he's gone and they've got some other guy whose name escapes me.

Precious Death - "If You Must"

Precious Death - If You Must

1994, Metro One

1. You Can't Break Me

2. You're Gone, I'm Here

3. If You Must

4. All Over Now

5. Blindside

6. Oscillating Fullwave Bridge Rectifiers

7. Some New Song

8. E

9. Death Trap

10. Outside My Window

11. I Remember

12. So Far Away

13. Moments

The band jettisons most of their groove elements and focuses more on heaviness and experimentation. Check out the novelty track "Oscillating Fullwave Bridge Rectifiers" or the um... "unique" album closer "Moments" (the odd stop/start rhythm is a tad jarring as well as the strange downtuned chord). Still this disc is still pretty good but can't overcome the sheer awesomosity of the debut, unfortunately. I like it alright but it's far from a timeless classic.

Useless Fact: After this disc all the original members left the band leaving Chris Scott by himself. He proceeded to turn Precious Death into an alt-rock suckfest and, unlike Blackball, I have no happy, fuzzy memories to make that steaming pile seem better than it actually was.

Precious Death - "Southpaw"

Precious Death - Southpaw

1993, Metro One

1. Southpaw

2. Shine

3. Hello

4. No-Can-Do

5. Strange To Me

6. Talk About the Weather

7. King of Siam

8. Force Fed

9. One Day to Live

Precious Death was a unique metal experience. At once crushingly heavy yet melodic and full of groove these guys were unlike any metal band out there. I was sold the moment the guitars kicked in with that crunch riff in "Southpaw." Not to mention just a pinch of funk that the band injected into their sound on songs like "Shine" and "Strange to Me." Part of that has to do with the awesome, spine-warping and prominent bass guitar. Chris Scott has an awesome voice that, yes, while a little reminiscent of Cher, was also completely unique in the metal scene. You're just going to have to track some down to see what I mean.

Useless Fact: On "Shine" Chris Scott sings lines from "Fall On Me" by King's X.

The Prayer Chain - "Whirlpood EP"

The Prayer Chain - Whirlpool EP

1992, Reunion

1. Mercy

2. Some Love

3. Shine

4. I Believe

5. Follow Me

6. Whirlpool

I used to be a pretty big Prayer Chain fan but not so much anymore. Out of all the Prayer Chain stuff I had this is the only thing I ever have the desire to listen to. I don't think Shawl has aged very well and it's depressing to boot. I was never that into Mercury in the first place so I don't ever listen to that either. That leaves this little EP. It's buoyant, bouncy alt-rock with some atmospheric elements added in. It's pretty cool and when it first came out my friends and I were all waiting with anticipation for a full length. "Shine" was most people's favorite though I really liked the lyrics to "Some Love" which was a call for acceptance for people whom the church at the time didn't really care about. Steve Hindalong of The Choir produced.

Useless Fact: The band got to hating "Shine" so much that when they finally did put together a full album the lyrics in the very first song went "Shine is dead!"

The Police - "Every Breath You Take: The Classics"

The Police - Every Breath You Take: The Classics

1995, A & M

1. Roxanne

2. Can't Stand Losing You

3. Message In a Bottle

4. Walking on the Moon

5. Don't Stand So Close To Me

6. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da

7. Every Little Thing She Does is Magic

8. Invisible Sun

9. Spirits in the Material World

10. Every Breath You Take

11. King of Pain

12. Wrapped Around Your Finger

13. Don't Stand So Close To Me '86

14. Message In a Box (New Classic Rock Mix)

So if you haven't guessed by perusing my collection I'm a sucker for these "best of" deals. Usually it's because, once again, I love some songs but don't really like the band enough to track down all their crap. Such the case is with The Police yet again. Though I really do enjoy this collection and its nice to hear a band that's influenced some of my favorite bands like King's X and The Choir. I don't know why they thought the two tracks at the end were necessary as they're just alternate mixes of songs already on the album. Ugh! My Ipod stops with "Wrapped Around Your Finger."

Useless Fact: I guess Sting went off and did some obscure solo stuff after his stint with The Police (note: sarcasm). I also have a friend that says Sting plays the bass the wrong way.

Pink Floyd - "The Wall"

Pink Floyd - The Wall

1979/1996, Columbia

Disc One:

1. In the Flesh?

2. The Thin Ice

3. Another Brick in the Wall (Part I)

4. The Happiest Days of Our Lives

5. Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)

6. Mother

7. Goodbye Blue Sky

8. Empty Spaces

9. Young Lust

10. One of My Turns

11. Don't Leave Me Now

12. Another Brick in the Wall (Part III)

13. Goodbye Cruel World

Disc Two:

1. Hey You

2. Is There Anybody Out There?

3. Nobody Home

4. Vera

5. Bring the Boys Back Home

6. Comfortably Numb

7. The Show Must Go On

8. In the Flesh

9. Run Like Hell

10. Waiting For the Worms

11. Stop

12. The Trial

13. Outside the Wall

I'm a newcomer to the whole Pink Floyd party so I heard this whole album only a few years ago. I still like it - a definite second behind Animals. I love the gentle acoustic passage in "Goodbye Blue Skies" which is combined with this sinister sounding synth part. So cool. It's too bad most people are only familiar with "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" because there's so much great music to be had here. A co-worker and I were once driving back home from a job and "Comfortably Numb" was on the stereo. When it ended my co-worker said, "It just doesn't get any better than that." True words if there ever were any. David Gilmore's solo in that song is amazing.

Useless Fact: Oh, I think this one is about Syd Barrett too.

Pink Floyd - "Animals"

Pink Floyd - Animals

1977/1996, Columbia

1. Pigs on the Wing (Part One)

2. Dogs

3. Pigs (Three Different Ones)

4. Sheep

5. Pigs on the Wing (Part Two)

This is probably the most underrated and under-appreciated offering in all the Floyd catalogue. Usually I tell people this one is my favorite and they say, "Which one? Never heard of that one." Indeed, this one is my favorite. It's much more guitar-centric and even though "Dogs" goes on for seventeen minutes it never fails to keep my attention. Such interesting guitar parts in this one! One time I was spinning this disc while I was doing some chore and when the dogs started barking in "Dogs," my own dog started barking along with it. It was amusing and fantastically annoying all at the same time. If you'll notice, this one has two really short songs to start and end the disc then the long ones are in the middle - a flip-flop from the last one.

Useless Fact: The concept for this disc is that each song is taking aspects of humanity and comparing them to various animals.

Pink Floyd - "Wish You Were Here"

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

1975/1996, Columbia

1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part One)

2. Welcome To the Machine

3. Have a Cigar

4. Wish You Were Here

5. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part Two)

I think Dark Side of the Moon is terribly overrated. I prefer Wish You Were Here much more than that one. I like the more commercial direction. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" (both parts) are immediately more listenable and enjoyable than anything off Dark Side. If you listen to any classic rock station you'll hear the three middle tracks off this disc. Definitely a rock classic.

Useless Fact: I'm sure everyone already knows this but all of the songs were inspired by the addictions and mental meltdown of founding member Syd Barrett.

Keaggy, Phil - "Crimson and Blue"

Keaggy, Phil - Crimson and Blue

1993, Myrrh

1. Shouts of Joy

2. World of Mine

3. Everywhere I Look

4. Love Divine

5. Reunion of Friends

6. All There is To Know

7. When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God?

8. Stone Eyes

9. I Will Be There

10. Don't Pass Me By

11. John the Revelator

12. Doin' Nothin'

13. Nothing But the Blood

As much as I absolutely love this disc I've never been compelled to listen to any other Phil Keaggy stuff. I heard a bit of True Believer and absolutely hated it. This, on the other hand, is a great classic rock disc with the virtuoso guitar talents of Keaggy. Keaggy... who has only nine fingers I should add. This guy does things with the guitar that boggle the mind. He's not an effects guy either - it's pure technique. "When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God?" is a Van Morrison cover. "John the Revelator" and "Doin' Nothin'" are long jam songs that show why Keaggy is considered a true guitar hero.

Useless Fact: There's another version of this release simply called Blue. I think it's supposed to be the "rockier" version. I haven't heard it so I can't say.

PFR - "Goldie's Last Day"

PFR - Goldie's Last Day

1993, Sparrow

1. Walk Away From Love

2. By Myself

3. That Kind of Love

4. Dying Man

5. Spinnin' Round

6. Goldie's Last Day

7. Satisfied

8. I Don't Understand

9. Mercy Man

10. Shine

11. Wait For the Sun

I've never been a huge fan of PFR but I do enjoy this one on occasion. Their sound is a little bit too much... um... "Christian radio" for me, if that makes any sense. Still they've got great harmonies and the title tracks is about their poor dog. I have dogs myself so I relate. "That Kind of Love" is an acoustic track with a shoebox providing the percussion.

Useless Fact: Drummer Mark Nash was married to the vocalist for Sixpence None the Richer for a time.

Gabriel, Peter - "Hit"

Gabriel, Peter - Hit
2003, Geffin

Disc One:
1. Solsbury Hill
2. Shock the Monkey
3. Sledgehammer
4. Don't Give Up
5. Games Without Frontiers
6. Big Time
7. Burn You Up, Burn You Down
8. Growing Up
9. Digging in the Dirt
10. Blood of Eden
11. More Than This
12. Biko
13. Stream
14. Red Rain
15. Here Comes the Flood

Disc Two:
1. San Jacinto
2. I Don't Remember
3. The Rhythm of the Heat
4. Love to be Loved
5. I Grieve
6. Family Snapshot
7. In Your Eyes
8. The Drop
9. The Tower That Ate People
10. Lovetown
11. Father Son
12. Signal to Noise
13. Downside Up
14. Cloudless

I remember loving the videos to "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time" when they played them occasionally on MTV. This is another collection I got because I'm a casual fan. This naturally has all the "hits" on it with some other tunes that I was unfamiliar with because I was just too young when they came out. I ended up liking some of these more than the ones I knew! The cool thing about Peter Gabriel is his support of world music by which he is influenced. It makes the songs a bit more interesting and unique than the average pop assemblage.

Useless Fact: "The Tower That Ate People" is a new song if I remember correctly and there is some multimedia on the disc too.

Passafist - "Passafist"

Passafist - Passafist
1994, REX

1. Emmanuel Chant
2. Glock
3. Christ of the Nuclear Age
4. Love-e900
5. Appliance Alliance
6. Street Fighting Man
7. The Dr. Is In

After the sad demise of Chagall Guevara a couple of the members went on to form Passafist. Passafist is an industrial band that, thankfully, sounds nothing like Mortal, Circle of Dust, Under Midnight, or even NIN. They have a bit more of an alt-rock sound - sort of a techno Chagall Guevara. There's some dang good music here to be had including a cover of "Street Fighting Man" originally by Rolling Stones, I think.

Useless Fact: There are two different covers for this one. The one above I have but some of my fellow Christians got their panties all in a bunch over it so there's another one that's all black.

Panic at the Disco - "Pretty. Odd."

Panic at the Disco - Pretty. Odd.

2008, Fueled By Ramen

1. We're So Starving

2. Nine in the Afternoon

3. She's a Handsome Woman

4. Do You Know What I'm Seeing?

5. That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed)

6. I Have Friends In Holy Spaces

7. Northern Downpour

8. When the Day Met the Night

9. Pas De Chavel

10. The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know

11. Behind the Sea

12. Folkin' Around

13. She Had the World

14. From a Mountain in the Middle of Cabins

15. Mad as Rabbits

Um... Okay... so I guess they want to be the Beatles. They want to be the Beatles really, really bad. Eh... I'm game. I was actually pretty interested in this one because Panic decided to emulate 60's British pop. The results are a mixed bag. The album isn't bad but it's not nearly as catchy or infectious as the last. I like "Nine in the Afternoon" and "That Green Gentlemen" and I especially like "Pas De Chavel" and the slight country vibe of "Folkin' Around." "Behind the Sea" probably is the most Beatles-esque tune and reminds me of "Yellow Submarine" a bit. I'm glad they tried something new, but this is one time where I think they should have just stayed bratty, pretentious emo kids.

Useless Fact: I've heard that the band wanted to do some epic concept album about faeries or some crap before they decided to ditch that idea and do this.

Panic at the Disco - "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out"

Panic at the Disco - A Fever You Can't Sweat Out

2005, Decaydance

1. Introduction

2. The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage

3. London Beckoned Songs About Money Written By Machines

4. Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks

5. Camisado

6. Time to Dance

7. Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off

8. Intermission

9. But It's Better if You Do

10. I Write Sins, Not Tragedies

11. I Constantly Thank God For Esteban

12. There's a Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Thought of It Yet

13. Build God, Then We'll Talk

Good heavens, here we go with the song titles again. Pretentious lyrics? Check! Long song titles that have nothing to do with the song? Check! Effeminate men with emo haircuts? Check! Yeah... at first Panic at the Disco seems like the latest in the cookie-cutter Hot Topic crap to come out...and they are. But you know what? I like it. I think there's a little more variety than the average emo band and their look is obviously influenced by burlesque and they have an interesting retro vibe going on. This grew on me when my wife and I listened to it on our honeymoon. The songs are catchy and full of hooks and I find myself going back to it more than a self-proclaimed metal head should.

Useless Fact: Singer Brandon Urie is absolute crap live.

P.I.D. - "Back to Back"

P.I.D. - Back to Back

1989, Graceland

1. Back

2. Bible Stories

3. Current Affair

4. Get Into It

5. Flys

6. Vince's Jam

7. Exclusive

8. B Movement (Movement of the Body)

9. Slide

10. Racism

11. Word From the Body

I got this online for $1.50, and you know what? That's about how much entertainment I got out of it. I had this when I was younger on tape and I don't think I ever listened to the second side. To this day I still think this disc pretty much fizzles out after "Vince's Jam." Those first few tracks are pretty solid rap though and "Current Affair" was mildly successful because it was a no holds barred, frank endorsement of abstinence (Quick rant: abstinence is NOT unrealistic!). These guys made several more albums and even changed their name to "Preachas" but I never got into them. I heard one of the guys became a Muslim at one point.

Useless Fact: Okay, I get it P.I.D. stands for "Preachers in Disguise." You know what it also stands for? "Pelvic Inflammatory Disease" which is sexually transmitted. Also, I'm glad they put that note in the title for "B Movement" because I would have though that meant something else!

Novella - "A Liquid Earth"

Novella - A Liquid Earth

1992, Starsong

1. Story

2. Bad Place

3. Don't You Run

4. Fire in the House

5. Heaven's On My Mind

6. Let's Talk About Love

7. Right In the Middle

8. Colour of Love

9. Missionary

10. Stranger

I didn't like the first one as much until recently... so it would stand to reason that I liked this one a lot better when it first came out even though it seems like everyone prefers the debut. Still, it's hard to argue that this isn't one solid rock platter. I don't think it's quite as hard as One Big Sky though. This disc still gets many spins even though it's old. I got to see these guys on tour at Kingdom Bound and they were pretty decent. They were scheduled to play an encore but nobody cheered for an encore. We all just sort of slowly dispersed. I bet that made them feel like crap! To be fair, it was in the afternoon and afternoon shows usually didn't have encores. They also had this huge world-shaped balloon that had "A Liquid Earth" printed on a banner hanging over their merch tent.

Useless Fact: Novella pretty much disappeared after this one. I've heard that the vocalist went on to do some solo stuff but I've never seen nor heard any of it.

Novella - "One Big Sky"

Novella - One Big Sky

1991, Starsong

1. Do We Just Surrender?

2. Running Home

3. Fire Eyes

4. I Need You

5. Whispers in the Night

6. Give Me Love

7. Lay It On Me

8. Who Are We To Say?

9. Sweet Rising Sun

10. Big Sky

I first heard Novella on a video called Metal Missionaries. It had songs from Whitecross, Bride, and Xalt as well as these guys. I absolutely loved the two tracks, "Do We Just Surrender?" and "Give Me Love" - solid late 80's/early 90's hard rock. The rest of the album I wasn't much impressed with for some reason. What can I say? I was young. These days though I think this is a fantastic rock disc. Definitely worth checking out even though it's out of print. Vocalist Jonathan Pagano's voice is smooth. For some reason this album makes me think of Richard Marx but I have no idea why. They don't really sound similar... Oh, this one has really cool cover art too!

Useless Fact: In the Metal Missionaries video they would cut to an interview with the band during the leads. Ugh! I didn't mind it when I was young, but now it annoys me.

Norma Jean - "O' God, the Aftermath"

Norma Jean - O' God, the Aftermath

2005, Solid State

1. Murderotica

2. Vertibraille

3. Bayonetwork

4. Dilemmachine

5. Coffinspire

6. Liarsnic

7. Disconnecktie

8. Absentimental

9. Charactarantula

10. Pretendevor

11. Scientifiction

You might be wondering why I bother to put this Norma Jean puke up on my site given my contempt for their music. The reason is simple... my hatred must have a voice! This album sounds exactly like the last one. I don't even know how you'd tell them apart. If there's one band that proves I'm an old man then this would be it. I don't even know how someone can even listen to this. What's with the rhythms? It's all stilted jerking and never seems to settle into anything remotely resembling a song. Ugh!

Useless Fact: There's more to the song titles that what I've typed, but it's just more drawn out pretentious nonsense that I'm sure the band thought was really cool and deep but is, in actuality, just stupid.

Norma Jean - "Bless the Martyr & Kiss the Child"

Norma Jean - Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child
2002, Solid State

1. The Entire World is Counting On Me and They Don't Even Know It
2. Face:Face
3. Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste
4. Creating Something Out of Nothing, Then Destroying It
5. Pretty Soon, I Don't Know What, But Something Is Going To Happen
6. Shotgun Message
7. Sometimes It's Our Mistakes That Make For the Greatest Ideas
8. I Used to Hate Cell Phones, Now I Hate Car Accidents
9. It Was as if a Dead Man Stood Upon the Air
10. Human Face, Divine
11. Organized Beyond Recognition

Do you want to hear my impression of Norma Jean? Ready... Here we go:

*downtuned chord* *downtuned chord* *dissonant chord* *dissonant chord* GROWL! GROWL! GROWL! GROWL! GROWL! GROWL! *downtuned chord* *dissonant chord* GROWL! GROWL! GROWL!

Yeah... that's what you get with Norma Jean. No hooks, no riffs, no melody, no actual song structure of any kind, just pure chaotic noise. It's crap...and the song titles are stupid too.

Useless Fact: These guys used to be known as Luti-Kriss.

Mortification - "Primitive Rhythm Machine"

Mortification - Primitive Rhythm Machine

1995, Intense

1. Primitive Rhythm Machine

2. Mephibosheth

3. Seen It All

4. The True Essence of Power

5. Toxic Shock

6. 40:31

7. Gut Wrench

8. Confused Belief

9. Providence

10. Killing Evil

Blood World was a pretty disappointing album to me back in the day. Strangely enough, this one seemed like a return to form. It's just ol' Stevie boy this time around with help from the likes of George Ochoa and some others. This is another return to more of a thrash sound with bits of hardcore and groove thrown in for good measure. "The True Essence of Power" has the coolest groove section. "40:31" almost reminds me of the debut and "Providence" is a soaring classic metal-esque tune with guest vocals from Vett Roberts (Recon). The production is a little thin on this one but it still remains one of my favorites from this band. In my opinion, this was the last great Mortification disc that I truly loved.

Useless Fact: There are some slight differences between the Intense records version and the Nuclear Blast version of the disc. The BlabberJesus vault says the inside tray liner art is different depending on which version you have.

Mortification - "Live Planetarium"

Mortification - Live Planetarium

1993, Intense

1. Grind Planetarium

2. Distarnish Priest

3. Brutal Warfare

4. The Destroyer Beholds

5. Inflamed

6. Scrolls of the Megilloth

7. Symbiosis

8. Time Crusaders

9. Black Snake

10. From the Valley of the Shadows

11. Human Condition

12. The Majestic Infiltration of Order

13. This Momentary Affliction

I got this for Christmas way back in '93... so guess what makes me think of Christmas that year? That's right... Live Planetarium! Reminiscence aside, this is probably one of the best live albums of any band I have ever heard. This was recorded at Australia's Black Stump Festival. The sound quality is excellent and the band is in top form! The music is performed flawlessly! Definitely captures what it would have been like to be there. This disc also has, what to me, is the definitive version of "Symbiosis.""Time Crusaders" is a new speedy tune that has a good crunchy riff. Heck, I even like the cover of Bloodgood's "Black Snake" even though the solo isn't very good. And by saying "not very good" I'm wildly overpraising it. Let me take a little time to praise Jayson Sherlock's drumming... it's phenomenal. Definitely a highlight of the disc.

I remember hearing Steve Rowe's speaking voice for the first time on this record. I thought it was funny how he can do this low, throaty growl but his speaking voice is all high tenor. It's especially funny when he introduces a song. "This is off our first album and this is *switch* BROOTAL WARFARE!!!"

Useless Fact: This was the last time Jayson would play drums for the band. So sad... he was the best drummer they ever had.

Mortification - "Post Momentary Affliction"

Mortification - Post Momentary Affliction

1993/2008, Metal Mind

1. Allusions from the Valley of Darkness

2. From the Valley of the Shadows

3. Human Condition

4. Distarnish Priest

5. Black Lion of the Mind

6. Grind Planetarium

7. Pride Sanitarium (reprise)

8. Overseer

9. This Momentary Affliction

10. Flight of Victory

11. Impulsation

12. Liquid Assets

13. Vital Fluids

14. The Sea of Forgetfulness

Bonus Tracks:

15. Butchered Mutilation

16. Grind Planetarium (live)

17. Distarnish Priest (live)

18. From the Valley of the Shadows (live)

I'm glad these guys decided to move away from the grindcore. Post Momentary Affliction is actually a good mix of the previous album's death metal/grindcore sound with the catchy thrash of the debut. When it works, it totally works. "Distarnish Priest" and "Grind Planetarium" are awesome songs. As well as "Human Condition" and "Impulsation." However, "Overseer" is a 9-minute long epic track that's not nearly interesting enough to justify its length. Also, the album has a lot of filler - interludes like "Black Lion of the Mind" and "Liquid Assets." For me, the disc kind of falls apart during the second half, with not as many "real" songs on it. The stilted rhythm and structure of "Vital Fluids" kind of ruins the momentum established by the other tracks. Still, I pull this one out more often than Scrolls.

*Update* This disc, especially the second half has grown on me with repeated listens. I used to hate "Overseer" but now I'm okay with it. Likewise, the momentum isn't nearly as broken as I seemed to think it was at first. I'm actually enjoying it far more than I ever did originally!

My edition is the Metal Mind reissue that has been remastered with extra tracks. I don't care much for the live tracks (as I already have Live Planetarium) but it's great to have "Butchered Mutilation" on here. That track is brutal and heavy. I wish they would have done a few more technical songs like this one. I should also mention that there are several misspellings on the track list, and the person who wrote the liner notes obviously has English as a second language. It's disappointing, but there's no problems with the music.

Useless Fact: There were two covers for this album. One was drawn by Jayson Sherlock and was used for the Christian market. The other, pictured above, was used by Nuclear Blast in the secular market. Truth be told, I like Jayson's better. This was also his last studio album with the band.

Mortification - "Scrolls of the Megilloth"

Mortification - Scrolls of the Megilloth

1992/2004, Soundmass

1. Nocturnal

2. Terminate Damnation

3. Eternal Lamentation

4. Raise the Chalice

5. Lymphosarcoma

6. Scrolls of the Megilloth

7. Death Requiem

8. Necromanicide

9. Inflamed

10. Ancient Prophecy

Bonus Tracks:

11. Terminate Damnation (Demo)

12. Lymphosarcoma (Demo)

13. Necromanicide (Demo)

14. Scrolls of the Megilloth (Demo)

This disc is usually hailed as the band's best but I don't care for it as much. Seems to be a pattern with me. This one is full on death metal and it's all about speed and blast beats and less about riffing and hooks. I think that's why I don't enjoy it as much. Loved the hooks on the debut but this one is just pounding. Granted, there's still great songs here. I like "Nocturnal," "Scrolls..." and "Inflamed." "Ancient Prophecy" is the band's first try at an epic tune but I think it's just boring. I've just never been one for death metal or grindcore so I only spin this once and awhile.

My Soundmass rerelease has some cool demo bonus tracks that I ended up liking more than the studio versions.

Useless Fact: Jayson Sherlock drew the cover for this disc too.

Mortification - "Mortification"

Mortification - Mortification

1991/2007, Soundmass

1. Until the End

2. Brutal Warfare

3. Bathed in Blood

4. Satan's Doom

5. Turn

6. No Return

7. Break the Curse

8. New Awakenings

9. The Destroyer Beholds

10. The Journey of Reconciliation

11. The Majestic Infiltration of Order

Man... when Morty first arrived on the scene in '91 I didn't think there was anything more intense. They were billed as death metal but really they were just a tight thrash unit with death metal vocals. I still think to this day Steve Rowe's growl is the best growl in metal. The guitars are downtuned and dark and the whole album just has cool riff after cool riff. Jayson Sherlock's drumming is simply amazing. He's just all over the place. I usually listen to the guitars when I'm listening to metal but on here... I listen to the drums too. How could you not? Not only can he play fast but he's got this cool rolling style to his playing that just makes the drums really seem like another instrument unto themselves instead of just a backing for the rest of the band. This debut is truly an amazing, groundbreaking record that remains one of my favorites today.

Soundmass recently reissued this CD in a digipak. The disc has been remastered and I think it makes the disc sound heavier than it did before. The sound quality on the original was nothing to write home about. There's no extra tracks unfortunately. Still a good buy if you can't find the original.

Useless Fact: This album had two covers. One was plain black with the band's logo and the other one was pictured. At one point I had both covers on tape. Now I just have the one pictured.

Mortal - "Wake"

Mortal - Wake

1994, Intense

1. Paradigm One

2. June First

3. Mother's Day

4. Vial

5. Speed of Sound

6. Filter

7. Oceanful

8. Serpent-Teen

9. Moons & Suns

10. Fall

11. Sold

12. God of 3 Strings

13. Nowhere Man

14. To My Darling Whipporwill

I remember reading some interviews of these guys back around this period. They were saying that they'd taken industrial as far as they could and that guys like Scott Albert (Circle of Dust) could take it further. Then we get Wake, which is not industrial at all but alt-rock...scratch that... it's Mortal doing it's best Nirvana impression. It didn't really work for me when it first came out. I remember liking "June First" and "Mother's Day" and I still like them. The rest of the songs are okay but Mortal really excells at ballads. "Speed of Sound" is an enchanting little tune that reminds me a lot of "Bleeder" from the Brow Beat comp. It's so weird because the electric songs are so forgettable but I LOVE the ballads here.

Useless Fact: "Nowhere Man" is a Beatles cover. Also, after this record the band broke up and reformed several times. Each time they said that "God told them" to break up. Uh... okay.

Mortal - "Fathom"

Mortal - Fathom

1993, Intense

1. Alive and Awake

2. Neplusultra

3. Rift

4. Jil Sent Me

5. Ex-Nihilo

6. Above and Beyond

7. (silence)

8. Rainlight

9. Bright Wings

10. XiX

11. Promulgate

12. Electrify

13. Godspeed

Just about everything about the band has improved on this disc. The vocals are cleaner and the guitars are heavier and more prominent. However, I find myself not like this one as much despite the fact that just about everyone agrees that this is their best album. I like the haunting "Rift" and the gentle ballad, "Jil Sent Me." Also... "Bright Wings" which is based off the poem "God's Grandeur" is probably my favorite track. The rest of the songs? Eh... they're alright. I do like Mark Solomon's (The Crucified) guest appearance on "Neplusultra." I don't know whether I was just going through a rough patch in my life when I got this or what, but it just doesn't really capture me like the debut did. Oh well...

Useless Fact: Track 7 is silence and is actually found at the end of track 13 as a rap "thank you" song. It's kind of stupid. I laugh when they try to make the phrase "Alive and Awake" sound cool. It's just them going, "Yeah.... The Crucified is Alive and Awake. Deliverance is alive and awake" and so on. It just sounds hilarious because they sound so serious!

Mortal - "Lusis"

Mortal - Lusis

1992, Intense

1. Enfleshed (The Word is Alive)

2. Mytho-X

3. If Ever Maria

4. Fisherman

5. Painkiller

6. Tuesday Assassin

7. Rescinding

8. Cryptic

9. Miracle Man

10. Santa Cruz

11. S.F.N.

12. Sinister

13. Enfleshed (Alive is the Word)

Lusis has the distinction of being the very first industrial record in the Christian market. After this was released Circle of Dust, Under Midnight, and a few others were able to get off the ground. I was just amazed by it when it was first released. It sort of sounds a little like Nine Inch Nails but with some pop flavor to it, not unlike EMF. The guitars aren't quite as crunchy or as upfront as other bands but that's okay because I think there's a bit more going on in terms of beats, samples, and other techno sounding stuff. "Mytho-X" and "Painkiller" have some infectious beats and hooks. I still love this one just as much as I did when it first came out.

Useless Fact: There are several samples from Star Trek V: The Final Frontier so the album gets an extra point or two in my book.

Minier - "Minier"

Minier - Minier

1990, REX

1. Do Not Be Deceived

2. The Skeptic

3. Price

4. Killing of the Innocent

5. Prophecy

6. Philosophy of Man

7. The Secret Song

Sometimes record companies actually know what they're doing. REX wanted to release this collection of songs from The Crucified's Greg Minier as is... so that's what they did. This is straight-up thrash and it's pretty dang good. Greg is a decent vocalist in his own right and his trademark penchant for awesome riffs is there. I wonder how this would have sounded if they'd have thrown a bunch of money at it? The world will never know.

Useless Fact: Greg played all the parts on this disc and there is no bass guitar.