Dimmu Borgir -- 'In Sorte Diaboli' [review]

Dimmu Borgir
"In Sorte Diaboli"
(Nuclear Blast Records)


As much as Dimmu Borgir's Deathcult Armageddon put the band on the mainstream metal map, In Sorte Diaboli seeks to grab a stranglehold on the newfound fame and cling on for dear life.

That's not to say In Sorte Diaboli is a snapshot of a band "selling out," but more of a band seeing what worked on the last album and ratcheting up only the most successful of elements.

What Diaboli has to offer, it delivers in spades. The vocals are even more sinister, especially the screeching inflections littered throughout "The Conspiracy Unfolds"; the band is much tighter (if that was possible) than on Deathcult; the drumming, truly the highlight of Dimmu Borgir's sound, is off-the-charts -- the double-bass on "The Chosen Legacy" is especially noteworthy; the orchestration, while toned down, is even more "scene setting" in nature, and really adds a special dimension to Dimmu Borgir's attack. Of special note is the U.S.-only bonus track "The Heretic Hammer"; it does little to mess up the album setlist and would actually make for a perfect lead-off single, with some of the best rhythm guitar and orchestration of any Dimmu Borgir song.

The mis-steps, while few, are still impossible to miss. The harmonizing on "The Sacrilegious Scorn" seems way too forced; much of the album's piano interludes detract too much from the song at hand ("Sacrilegious Scorn" is once again most at fault here). The band also skipped any non-English tracks, which is shame given long-time fans' appreciation of DB's roots.

At the end of the day, the band's surprising success with Deathcult and stint on the Ozzfest mainstage obviously had an affect on the group's follow-up effort. Far from a swing and a miss, Diaboli still has that air of "not quite hitting the mark" given the steps taken over the past few albums in terms of the band tweaking and modifying its sound.

Ozzy Osbourne -- 'Black Rain' [review]

Ozzy Osbourne - Black Rain
Epic Records (5/22/07)
Rock / Metal

"You may see the mushroom, but you won't hear the blast."

-- from "Countdown's Begun"

Ozzy Osbourne has been pretty vocal about making sure that it's known that he thinks his latest album, Black Rain, should have been the album to follow-up 1991's No More Tears. While the two releases one would be forced to ignore in that case, Ozzmosis and Down to Earth, were largely commercial endeavors, there were more than a couple of songs that shouldn't be lost and/or forgotten. Black Rain does, however, return to that more raw, rocking, classic Ozzy feel.

It's near impossible to review an Ozzy Osbourne album, given his status as royalty to any rock/metal fan. As with any Ozzy release, what you see is what you get. Zakk Wylde riffs it up throughout the album, and Ozzy's digitally-distorted voice is front and center, but the rest is nothing but pure filler.

The album opener, "Not Going Away", acts as a mission statement of sorts ("I've got nothing to hide, I'm not guilty inside / I won't give up / After all I'm still crazy, I'm not going away") and basically sets the tone for the rest of the disc: riff-heavy rock music, hard-hitting drumming and Ozzy's trademark wail. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. "I Don't Wanna Stop" is catchy enough, even if the lyrics are a little hokey (then again, "Crazy Train" wasn't rocket science), and "Lay Your World on Me" is a sweet enough ballad, but it's no "Mama I'm Comin' Home". "Here for You" is a little too saccharine for the album, while the title track sees Ozzy go after politicians and the war, but it kind of makes you long for the days of Sabbath and "War Pigs" more than anything else.

Of particular note is "The Almighty Dollar", which, at almost seven minutes in length, is probably as close as we'll get to another "No More Tears" (the song, not the album), and Wylde is particularly blistering with the axe on "11 Silver". The album closer, "Trap Door", is the song of the album, grabbing the listener and refusing to let up, as Ozzy hasn't sounded so intense and insane in years.

In the end, with Black Rain you have your basic Ozzy Osbourne album. Fans will eat it up because, well, it's new material from Ozzy. Those not yet converted won't be. Sure, the lyrics may lack a little more than they used to, and there may be a couple more ballads than there were in the old days, but after 30 years I'm pretty sure Ozzy's earned the right to throw some stuff on there for the Missus every now and again. It's not his best, and it's certainly not the album of the year, but there's something comfortable about an Ozzy album that fans can still enjoy, and enjoy it they should while there's still new material to be had.

On a side note, re the packaging: The record company went with a "less is more" motif for Black Rain. I can appreciate that to an extent; however, it was clear other packaging was originally intended (the cover artwork used for the European release, as a specific example). In this day of digital downloads, a cardboard slipcase with no liner notes or notebook, this just doesn't cut it. Fans still into buying albums at a store want something tangible, something to look at, and something worth their money. This was a big misstep in marketing, and the biggest disappointment with the album, in general.

Hatebreed -- 'Perserverance' [classic review]

Hatebreed
"Perseverance"
(Universal)


Fans' usual fears when a band makes the move from an independent label to the big leagues ... especially a band with as loyal a following as Hatebreed. Such fears would prove to be completely unfounded. Sure, the band grew beyond the hardcore label, but hardcore can be a one-dimensional genre for the most part and implementing a metal style to its sound only helped bring Hatebreed to a place the band was surely headed in the long run.

Hatebreed took the core of the hardcore sound its had grown comfortable in and turned everything up to 10. The songs grew from one- to two-minute tastes into complete metal anthems. With notorious (at least in New England circles) producer Zeuss at the controls, the band was able to craft these slick, riff-heavy soundtracks of brutality. Every song has a nice little hook, crazy double-bass drum kicks, bass lines that strangle anything in their paths and riffs that tear through the speakers. Live, it's impossible to not jump into the pit when any of the album's tracks explode: "Proven," "You're Never Alone," "We Still Fight," the title-track, along with my personal favorites, "A Call for Blood" and "I Will Be Heard."

Almost every track has the requisite group sung chorus for added (anthem) effect. Kerry King even graces the band with an appearance.

Could I break down each and every track for the reader? Sure, each has a unique element to love. Is it necessary? Not at all. In short, this is a total package of no-nonsense, pedal-to-floor, heart-stopping metal.

Another Society -- 'Blood Wrong' [classic review]

Another Society
"Blood Wrong"
(PC Music)


Another Society wastes little time on "Blood Wrong," grinding off the starting line with the twisted, deliberate opening riffs of "Let Down." The triple guitar threat (Jason Huckaby and Jim Koster along with lead vocalist Luke John) gives the band a riff-heavy yet thick, murky sound. The down-tuned guitars are kept high in the mix. Add to that the under-produced vocals (not in a bad way -- they just aren't cleaned up to any extent), heavy bass and drumming and you're left with a heady sound you could cut with a knife (to steal an over used cliche).

The lyrics and choruses are as catchy as the (headbanging) music itself. "Let Down" devolves into a steamroller of bass riffs and drumming, building to the crescendo of the chorus. The band has a nice little way of putting together these driving bridges and verses that dissolve away to a hook-filled chorus of riffs and melody without it coming across as jarring or out of place. Every so often there's a tempo shift toward the later half of the song, but it usually used to make room for a solo.

The album chugs along in much the same fashion without becoming boring in any way. "No Time for Speech" seethes with anger and the music compliments the cutting lyrics perfectly. "Little Gypsy" is the catchiest song on the album and was probably the only track to make it out to commercial radio (the band was heavily played in a handful of markets including its hometown and northern New England).

The band slows down a couple of times, but for the most part is settled and comfortable in riding out the dirges.

Talk about a band ahead of its time. Another Society hit the scene at the worst time. The band was incorporating classic metal elements to its sound -- think Prong, Crowbar, Corrosion of Conformity, Life of Agony, early Pantera -- all essentially contemporaries of the group. Yet, as Another Society was toiling on the metal circuit, bands like Coal Chamber, Korn and Rage Against the Machine were dominating the airwaves. Add to that the grunge scene was pretty much sputtering to a halt around the time of the "Blood Wrong" release, and you can see why the audience at large may have overlooked a band that took slight elements from the sound but didn't fit into that category at all either.

Hardcore genre fans like bands across the boards, but the fans at large gravitated toward a more polished, hyper-produced sound at the time (these days it's a sound blended with hardcore and melody). While your Crowbars and Corrosions had a built-in fan-base to weather the down-cycle, Another Society's gritty brand of metal had a tough time catching on. If the band hit the scene today, there's no question it would have garnered far more attention and been better embraced. Instead, after two solid outings, the group just simply faded away.

American Head Charge -- 'The War of Art' [classic review]

American Head Charge
"The War of Art"
(American Recordings)


"I think we probably put a little more thought into arrangements and I think we put a lot of thought into sonics, layering, melody, counter-melody, tempo changes and mood changes. You know you put on a record and the first song sounds like the second and the fourth sounds like the seventh song. Why even make a record? Why don't you just make a single? I'd like to believe our record kinda does this (gestures a peak and valleys motion). We got different moods and textures."

-- American Head Charge bassist Chad Hanks

Give seven guys some guitars, amps and drums, throw in some samples and a heavy dose of metal and industrial noise, and you're left with American Head Charge.

The group's debut album, "The War of Art," was quite literally a wall of sound.

From the opening, foreboding samples on "A Violent Reaction," you can tell you're in for a gritty, down and dirty ride filled with metal mayhem. Martin Cock is a sort of twisted master of ceremonies, growling through track after track with abandon. Each track bleeds into one another, barely giving the listener time to come up for air.

"Pushing the Envelope," with its machine-gun stutter-stop chorus, is one of the most abrasive tracks released in the past decade. Even when the band lets up for a moment (like the keyboard opening of "Song for the Suspect") the relief is short lived. Every track seethes with an abundance of emotion (check out the "Never get caught..." vocal bridge on the song of the same title).

In short, American Head Charge put together a turgid blend of unflinching metal and industrial haze. And with 16 tracks, the band hardly gave up an inch or cut things too short ... this is a full (read: long) album of material that fails to find a niche or ever get boring.

Biohazard -- 'Kill or Be Killed' [classic review]

Biohazard
"Kill or Be Killed"
(Sanctuary)


The album clocks in a little over half an hour, but what a trip. What "Kill or Be Killed" lacks in length, it makes up for with pure Biohazard punch. The band crafted an album that pulled the foundation from the early New York hardcore scene (the heavy, slow, down-tuned riffs) and mixed it with a punk attitude, not in sound, but in attitude. The songs are hard-hitting and to the point.

The group's sound is instantly recognizable -- the ominous riffs, the foreboding sound, the juxtaposed vocals (Seinfield's guttural groans against Billy Graziadei's higher-pitched yells), the bass-heavy grind of each song with everything pulled together by the double-bass drum kicks.

The album opens with "Never Forgive, Never Forget," a pit-anthem if ever there was one (on par with the band's most venomous anthem, "Authority"). The kill or be killed theme runs through the album, mentioned in this track and continued on the title-track (obviously). Throughout the album the band has this knack of steamrolling ahead from track to track, putting the perfect hook into each song to make you long for more. Not only that, but the band manages to change things up enough to prevent the album from becoming redundant or boring. Both of these elements were lacking on earlier (read: mid-career) material.

The one-two crunch of "Never Forgive ..." and "Kill..." is prime Biohazard material, the band switches it up with "Heads Kicked In" (a slower, more deliberate assault) and "Beaten Senseless" (probably the closest the band has ever gotten to hardcore). From there the band never lets up; "World on Fire," the crush of "Make My Stand," the drowning riffs of album closer "Hallowed Ground." In the end, it all ends too fast but leaves an indelible mark on the listener.

Slayer -- 'Diabolus in Musica' [classic review]

Slayer
"Diabolus in Musica"
(American Recording)


Few can string together a metal album like Slayer. A streamlined power-punch of rhythm and a crushing wall of drums, intermingling with intense sociopolitical influenced vocals. Tom Arraya in still album to string together a violent string of choked vocals as good as the foreboding bass riffs he supplies to the band. Add to the proceedings one of the best guitar duos in metal (six-string god Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman) and the vastly underrated drumming skills of Paul Bostaph and what do you expect? Nothing short of "the devil's music."

King's minor key riffs seethe with a sense of foreboding and fans wouldn't want it any other way. The one-two attack opening of "Bitter Peace" and "Death's Head" is one of the best openings of a metal album (ever!). "Bitter Peace" begins with slow, plodding drumming and down-tuned guitar that slowly pick up steam before plowing into the opening riff. King's guitar riffs mid-way through the track are particularly venomous. The track abruptly comes to an end, giving way to the "Death's Head" rumble of heavy bass and guitars opening.

The rest of the album is no slouch either: from the bludgeoning force of "In the Name of God" to the incendiary cry of "Stain of Mind," if it weren't for Slayer classics like "Reign in Blood" and "Seasons in the Abyss," this would be the focal point of the band's storied career. Instead, as it stands, "Diabolus" is simply another reason Slayer is one of the most noteworthy and influential metal bands of all time.