A bunch of discs I regularly enjoy and/or have been influenced by. Reviews are taken from all over the Internet, but mostly from the All Music Guide.
Gloomy
Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse
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Opeth's first two recordings, while being way ahead of their time as well as technically and musically brilliant, were still lacking a certain completeness, a missing spark that "My Arms, Your Hearse" had, and this spark is what, at least in my mind, elevated Opeth from an extremely talented progressive death metal band to one of the best bands of ANY genre ever to pick up instruments. It's tought to pinpoint the magical essence that makes this album so special, but for the sake of this review I will attribute it to flawlessly crafted songs with a perfect balance maintained throughout, even though it is obviously much more.
There's never a dull moment on "My Arms, Your Hearse". At every second the listener is forcefully drawn into the song being played, and is made to experience every deep emotion the piece evokes. And indeed a full range of emotions are expressed beautifully throughout the recording; as one song glides into another, the listener also transitions emotional states almost without even noticing. "My Arms, Your Hearse" can often call up memories from my past that have nothing to do with the lyrics, nor had I even listened to the album when the memory was formed. The music is just so powerful, so evocative, that it thrusts old memories back into my mind through the sheer depth of emotion. [...] I don't have to talk about the production, or the technical mastery, because although these elements are all perfect and are essential to the success of the work, the listener is so focused on the emotions he or she is experiencing, that little time is left to notice how skilled the musicians are or how well-produced the album is. Brilliant.
Katatonia - Tonight's Decision
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Tonight's Decision continues in the song-oriented direction of 1998's Discouraged Ones, but with an even greater emphasis on verse-chorus-verse songwriting. The guitars churn more heavily than on that album and the drums are a little more aggressive; however, the production is slicker on the whole, almost to the point of sounding ready for mainstream rock radio. Jonas Renske's vocals are again cleanly sung (as opposed to growled), and he has even added a falsetto to his arsenal. In other words, this album is a pretty far cry from the black metal-leaning style of their earlier records. On the other hand, the depressive melodies and lyrics are pure Katatonia, and the songwriting is solid throughout: "Black Session," "For My Demons," and "Right Into the Bliss" hold their own next to the cover of Jeff Buckley's "Nightmares by the Sea." It won't please fans hoping for the band to return to their earlier style, but taken on its own terms, Tonight's Decision is still a strong record, and one which suggests that greater commercial success isn't out of the question for these melancholy Swedes.
Agalloch - The Mantle
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Agalloch's second album, The Mantle, is a leaps-and-bounds improvement over their first full-length, 1999's Pale Folklore. That wasn't a bad album, but it was hampered by a low-budget production job that didn't suit the sophisticated tone of the music. The improved production is the first thing that stands out here, evident in the more detailed arrangements, the classier guitar tones, and the fuller overall sound. That said, the music itself has also evolved and matured. Along with the Katatonia-inspired guitar work and grim, scratchy black metal vocals also present on Pale Folklore, a number of other sounds work their way into The Mantle, among them prominent acoustic guitar-strumming and cleanly sung vocals, Scandinavian-tinged folk guitar-picking (the middle breakdown during "I Am the Wooden Doors" is straight out of Ulver's bag), timpani percussion, and a few subtle electronic interludes.
It is not just the range of sounds that's impressive, though, but rather how smoothly they are woven together, creating an album that flows from beginning to end, using its entire 68-minute running time to make its point without wearing out its welcome. Agalloch's biggest strength, much like the early work of Ulver and Katatonia, is their ability to create an epic type of listening experience without resorting to bombast or heavy-handedness, and that quality is plainly evident here. Factor in the excellent artwork and packaging (which features photos of the bandmembers looking very poised and European), and you have one of 2002's most accomplished and surprising metal-related albums.
Green Carnation - Light of Day, Day of Darkness
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Light of Day, Day of Darkness is a high-concept album if there ever was one. Norwegian madman Tchort wrote an hour-long goth metal song and put aside his Blood Red Throne project to work with Green Carnation on the track. The results are very interesting, sounding very much like his former bandmates in Emperor jamming with My Dying Bride. What works for the piece is that Tchort manages to keep everything flowing together without too much difficulty. He has not exactly mastered the art of subtlety; in fact, many parts of the song just completely shift gears without warning. But what he lacks in composing transitions he makes up for with the surprising amount of variety on the disc. His songwriting skills are actually quite polished; comparing this album with his previous output only emphasizes that point more. Some parts of the track go on too long, but there is usually something about to happen that keeps the album listenable. Tchort's obvious dedication to this project really pays off; this is a solid album that may only be one song, but is an epic undertaking that works enough to keep forward-thinking metal fans happy.
Paradise Lost - Draconian Time
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Paradise Lost's Draconian Times falls between stark, oppressive goth rock and crunching heavy metal. It's a bit more experimental than their earlier efforts, as it displays subtle industrial influences -- there's the occasional barrage of samples -- as well as more keyboards and a chorus, perhaps appropriately dubbed the "Dead Boys Choir." Draconian Times is intentionally unwelcoming music but those who want to dwell deep inside its twisted corridors will find a few pleasures. Paradise Lost may not be terrific songwriters, but they can create and sustain a mood.
Anathema - The Silent Enigma
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Can you imagine some kind of slow melancholic and progressive metal? If not, Anathema has a perfect definition of these terms for you. This record features superb melodies, slow and sad rhythms, a heavy and low guitar sound, fine angry/raging vocals and great arrangements including a few female vocals. The songwriting is amazing, with most of the tracks moving in several directions. Because it never tries so hard to be pleasant, it's possible to find this album better than Eternity.
My Dying Bride - The Angel And The Dark River
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Rarely does one individual sound so perfectly exemplify the mood of a record like the groaning, distant foghorn on My Dying Bride's third full-length, Angel and the Dark River. This English five-piece pens such bleak, soul-crushing tunes that its use of a lone foghorn to conclude agonizing opening cut "The Cry of Mankind" is strikingly appropriate (and most likely self-indulgent in the hands of a less convincing outfit). At no other time in its long and creatively prosperous career has My Dying Bride been so suicidally self-absorbed, evident by vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe's use of a clean, despairing, and melodic moan throughout, having ditched the death growl of earlier releases; in fact, the rest of the band followed suit, setting aside any death metal influences, carefully using violins and keyboards to enhance the group's brooding excursions, and managing to not sound gimmicky in the process.
Generally, the arrangements stretch out over long, progressive, and swampy plains of powerfully droning, yet still memorable, guitar riffs, patiently rumbling drums, and Stainthorpe's vague and ghastly lyrical drippings, presumably painfully squeezed out of his own slit wrists. Not unexpectedly, songs take their sweet time getting their point across, clocking in between seven and 12 minutes, standouts being "From Darkest Skies," "Black Voyage," and "Your Shameful Heaven," the latter of which actually picks up the tempo beyond a snail's slime-trail-oozing pace, but with the same destination in mind: Pure, utter, unrelenting depression. Most likely, few will appreciate the tortured, pitch-black majesty of My Dying Bride, the band being the withered and shriveled trail's-end of fauna-wilting gothic doom metal, but MDB devotees should agree that Angel and the Dark River is its most effectively poisonous slab of internalized, navel-gazing horror. Other albums in the MDB catalog are more concise (Like Gods of the Sun), experimental (34.788%...Complete), and brutal (Turn Loose the Swans), but Angel and the Dark River stands alone in the center of a misty sea of tears, dolefully bleating its foghorn into the unforgiving wind.
Classics
Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast
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Even though Iron Maiden was on the brink of worldwide superstardom after their breakthrough sophomore effort, Killers, vocalist Paul Di'Anno left the band at the conclusion of their 1981 world tour. Many fans wondered if this would signal the end to one of metal's most promising new bands, but their worries were soon erased after hearing the 1982 masterpiece The Number of the Beast. Ex-Samson singer Bruce Dickinson replaced Di'Anno, and his strong, operatic vocals proved to be one of Maiden's most distinctive trademarks. And while the music on their first albums contained elements of punk, Beast was a 100 percent true heavy metal album, as Maiden's songwriting and sound continued to solidify. Topping the charts in the U.K., and becoming their first U.S. Top 40 record, Number of the Beast spawned a pair of all-time classic metal anthems -- "Run to the Hills" (which dealt with the plight of the American Indian) and the demonic title track (which caused controversy among religious groups, who wrongfully labeled the band Satan worshippers). But, like its predecessor, not a single weak track is included -- "Invaders," "The Prisoner," "22 Acacia Avenue" (a follow-up to 1980's "Charlotte the Harlot"), and "Gangland" were all rocking highlights; the quieter "Children of the Damned" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" were also featured. The Number of the Beast is quite simply one of the best heavy metal albums ever released.
Metallica - Ride The Lightning
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Kill 'Em All may have revitalized heavy metal's underground, but Ride the Lightning was even more stunning, exhibiting staggering musical growth and boldly charting new directions that would affect heavy metal for years to come. Incredibly ambitious for a one-year-later sophomore effort, Ride the Lightning finds Metallica aggressively expanding their compositional technique and range of expression. Every track tries something new, and every musical experiment succeeds mightily. The lyrics push into new territory as well -- more personal, more socially conscious, less metal posturing. But the true heart of Ride the Lightning lies in its rich musical imagination. There are extended, progressive epics; tight, concise groove-rockers; thrashers that blow anything on Kill 'Em All out of the water, both in their urgency and the barest hints of melody that have been added to the choruses.
Some innovations are flourishes that add important bits of color, like the lilting, pseudo-classical intro to the furious "Fight Fire With Fire," or the harmonized leads that pop up on several tracks. Others are major reinventions of Metallica's sound, like the nine-minute, album-closing instrumental "The Call of Ktulu," or the haunting suicide lament "Fade to Black." The latter is an all-time metal classic; it begins as an acoustic-driven, minor-key ballad, then gets slashed open by electric guitars playing a wordless chorus, and ends in a wrenching guitar solo over a thrashy yet lyrical rhythm figure. Basically, in a nutshell, Metallica sounded like they could do anything. Heavy metal hadn't seen this kind of ambition since Judas Priest's late-'70s classics, and Ride the Lightning effectively rewrote the rule book for a generation of thrashers. If Kill 'Em All was the manifesto, Ride the Lightning was the revolution itself.
Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses
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Bloody Kisses was Type O Negative's major step forward, maintaining the long, repetitive song structures of albums past, but adding more atmospheric synths and left-field Beatlesque pop melodies. The quantum leap in songwriting is what really drives the album, but it also coincides with a newfound sense of subtlety. Aside from a couple of smart-aleck rants, Peter Steele's dark, melodramatic songs address heartbreak and loneliness in what sounds at first like deadly serious overkill. But not far beneath the surface, he's also satirizing his own emotional excesses, and those of goth rock in general. Steele's lyrics gleefully wallow in goth clichés -- sex, death, Christianity, vampires, more sex, and death -- and he even sings most of the album in an intentionally vampiric croon straight from the depths of an ancient crypt. Among other things, that delivery lends hilarious irony to a glum cover of Seals & Crofts' soft rock hit "Summer Breeze"; it's also perfect for the deadpan mockery of the goth-girl character sketch "Black No. 1." Hardly any of the songs need to be as long as they are, but that ridiculous excess is all part of Type O Negative's sly, twistedly affectionate sendup of goth rock conventions. Though it sounds like a funeral, Bloody Kisses' airy melodicism and '90s-style irony actually breathed new life into the flagging goth metal genre, and the album is an often overlooked forerunner to alternative metal's limited appropriation of goth style.
Tool - Aenima
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For its third release, Tool explores the progressive rock territory previously forged by such bands as King Crimson. However, Tool is conceptually innovative with every minute detail of its art, which sets it apart from most bands. Make no mistake, this isn't your father's rock record. Sonically, the band has never sounded tighter. Long exploratory passages are unleashed with amazing precision, detail, and clarity, which only complements the aggressive, abrasive shorter pieces on the album. There is no compromise from any member of the band, with each of them discovering the dynamics of his respective instrument and pushing the physical capabilities to the limit. Topics such as the philosophies of Bill Hicks (eloquently eulogized in the packaging), evolution and genetics, and false martyrdom will fly over the heads of casual listeners. But those listening closely will discover a special treat: a catalyst encouraging them to discover a world around them to which they otherwise might have been blinded. If these aren't good enough reasons to listen to Aenima, then just trust the simple fact that Tool delivers the hard rock goods every time the band chooses to release something.
Sisters Of Mercy - First and Last and Always
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With the band itself falling to bits shortly after the March 1985 debut of First and Last and Always, the album's place in the skewed history of the rise of goth rock would, on one hand, be permanently linked with that discord but, on the other, not impacted in the slightest, leaving the fractious set's success and structure to become a blueprint for an entire generation of up-and-comers. With static drumbeats and jangle-angled guitars backing Andrew Eldritch's atonic, graveyard vocals, the songs on First and Last and Always paid to play alongside the ghosts of myriad forgotten post-punkers as well as the band's own goth forebears. From the opening air-fire claustrophobia of "Black Planet" to the melancholy "No Time to Cry," Eldritch continually assured listeners that "everything's gonna be alright" -- but, really, coming out of that mouth, did anyone actually believe him? Even on the occasional wobbly patches imbedded in the now classic "Marian" and the title track, where the song threatens to dissolve into irrelevance despite Eldritch's chirky vocal, they pull up wonderfully on the bass-driven, bee-stung guitar gem "Possession" and the closing "Some Kind of Stranger," an untouchable epic that, clocking in at over seven minutes, is the best of its kind from any time -- period. "Some Kind of Stranger" not only became a love song for the doom and gloom crowd, but was also an anthemic, anemic declaration of intent laid bare in a haze of sonic smoke and mirrors. Copied to death, its brilliance has never been replicated. Indeed, the entire album remains unequaled in the genre, permanently granted top place on a pedestal from which it cannot be toppled.
Grinding
Kyuss - Welcome To Sky Valley
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After creating a classic with their second album, Blues for the Red Sun, desert metal gods Kyuss faced the unenviable task of delivering the goods once again for a new label, Elektra Records. And they almost pulled it off with 1994's stellar, Sky Valley. The album's 13 songs are divided into three "suites" which fully display the band's impressive creative range, from furious metal to psychedelic grooves, and anything in between. The first and most consistent of these suites starts with the huge guitar riff of "Gardenia" (which resembles molten lava flowing down the side of a volcano), continues into the moody space jam instrumental "Asteroid," and culminates in the strangely titled yet superbly diverse "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop." Other highlights include the solid thrashing of "100 Degrees," the prog-rock instrumental "Whitewater," and the rather mellow (for Kyuss standards) "Demon Cleaner." But no song exemplifies the Kyuss sound as well as the aptly-titled "Odyssey," which opens suite number three and provides a veritable blue-print of the band's unique combination of ingredients. The track begins with a cryptic melody, explodes into a ferocious riff, glides into a psychedelic bridge, then returns to full-throttle for its conclusion.
Monster Magnet - Dopes To Infinity
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Expecting Monster Magnet to change from art-sludge-psych monsters into sweet cuddlebunnies from album to album clearly demonstrates a loss of reason. Wyndorf himself doesn't need to worry about losing his reason in particular, given how psychotically entertaining his band already is, and Dopes to Infinity is about as far apart from Superjudge as the original Siamese twins were to each other. Maybe "Dopeheads to Infinity" would have been the better title, but as the title track fires up into another rampage of excessively flanged guitar, storming lead riff, and steady drum stomp, all criticisms get left behind along with any sort of sanity. Wyndorf's singing is a touch crisper in the mix this time out, while the guitar playing is even more powerfully direct and epic amidst all the space-out swirl and rockets to the moon. It's the secret weapon of the album as a whole, turning Monster Magnet's gift for the large scale into something that's almost uplifting, often connecting with a listener instead of dominating one. That Mellotron ("Look to the Orb for the Warning") and strings (the acoustic guitar-led "Blow 'Em Off") are evident along with the sitars, folky strums, and similar acid quease of past albums only makes sense as a result. Then again, songs like "Ego, the Living Planet" and "Theme From 'Masterburner'" do a great job at sounding like Thor battling Galacticus for control of the universe -- no puny humans allowed. Lead single "Negasonic Teenage Warhead" became a minor hit, all the more surprising given how the band's idea of a commercial single features more processed guitar backing Wyndorf on the verses than the law normally allows. The catchy chug and scream of the chorus helps nail it, though, showing that Wyndorf can find the balance between his extreme and less-so sides when desired.
Faith No More - Angeldust
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Warner Bros. figured that lightning could strike twice at a time when oodles of (most horribly bad) funk-metal acts were following in Faith No More and Red Hot Chili Peppers's footsteps. In response, the former recorded and released the bizarro masterpiece Angel Dust. Patton's work in Mr. Bungle proved just how strange and inspired he could get given the opportunity; now, in his more famous act, nothing was ignored. "Land of Sunshine" starts things off in a vein similar to The Real Thing, but Patton's vocal role-playing is smarter and more accomplished, with the lyrics trashing a smug bastard with pure inspired mockery. From there, Angel Dust mixes the meta-metal of earlier days with the expected puree of other influences, including a cinematic sense of atmosphere.
The album ends with a cover of John Barry's "Midnight Cowboy," which suits the mood perfectly, but the stretched-out, tense moments on "Caffeine" and the soaring charge of "Everything's Ruined" make for other good examples. Even a Kronos Quartet sample crops up on the frazzled sprawl of "Malpractice." Other sampling and studio treatments come to the fore throughout, adding quirks like the distorted voices on "Smaller and Smaller." The band's sense of humor crops up frequently -- there's the hilarious portrayal of prepubescent angst on "Kindergarten," made all the more entertaining by the music's straightforward approach, or the beyond-stereotypical white trash cornpone narration of "RV," all while the music breezily swings along. Patton's voice is stronger and downright smooth at many points throughout, the musicians collectively still know their stuff, and the result is twisted entertainment at its finest.
Black
Dimmu Borgir - Stormblåst
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Stormblast, Dimmu Borgir's second full-length album, has all the makings of a future first-tier black metal outfit finding its footing in the misty, cragged mountains of Norway. However, unlike most of its Scandinavian accomplices, Dimmu's sound got progressively more aggressive as its career advanced, making Stormblast a relatively tame entry in its catalog. Still, the band's youthful exuberance would have benefited from a more punchy production; the flat, faceless mix relegates indiscriminately buzzing guitars to the background while keyboards wash over the arrangements -- a big no-no in metal circles, where even crudely recorded albums push guitar grind to the forefront.
Lengthy, melancholy piano instrumentals, too many mid-paced tempos, and an overabundance of goth-flavored synth mush will test the patience of those looking for a more visceral approach (and the Norwegian-language lyrics will leave a lot of listeners looking for an emotional peg, although "Antikrist" isn't tough to translate); the record just doesn't cut it when compared to more influential mid-'90s black metal recordings, especially Emperor's In the Nightside Eclipse, Immortal's Battles in the North, and Cradle of Filth's Vempire EP. Stormblast may be an inordinately rocky peak with few handholds, but it's still a worthy climb for black metal historians, if only to compare and contrast Dimmu Borgir's embryonic state prior to the sonic overhaul that came with its benchmark album, the grand, irrepressible Enthrone Darkness Triumphant.
Cradle Of Filth - Dusk And Her Embrace
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Cradle of Filth may be one of the only recognizable underground metal acts to an average person. Although mom and dad might not know who they are, they enjoyed a streak of notoriety through the late 90's into the turn of the century that would be hard for a music fan to miss. Their theatrical approach to the black metal genre was nothing new, but they turned it up a notch by cutting out much of the humor and bad special effects that groups like Merciful Fate depended on and replaced them with a creepier, nastier stage show. But unlike so many of the bands in this genre, they had the music to back it up, and Dusk & Her Embrace may be their finest moment. What they did more than any other group is take the extreme playing style of the Norwegian black metal scene and apply a Sisters of Mercy-style of melody to the singing.
A hundred different metal bands tried to use goth flourishes in their music, but Cradle of Filth realized that you could make goth conform to heavy metal, not the other way around. This results in some creepy material, just listen to "Heaven Torn Asunder" or "Malice Through the Looking Glass" to hear some of the most important black metal ever made. What is even weirder is how catchy this music is, they really do a good job of incorporating memorable vocal lines and melodies into one of the least accessible genres of the 20th Century. The keyboard intros and flourishes may be a little much for some listeners, but in the field of gothic European black metal, would you really expect anything less? With catchy songs, a brutal delivery, and a great gimmick, this is as good as underground metal gets. Along with Emperor, Faxed Head, and a few other pioneers, this band really helped the black metal genre to reappear after the death metal craze of the early 90's, but more than any other group they also helped to put a twisted, ugly face on the genre for all to see.
Nostalgic
Yes - Drama
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For this one album, ex-Buggles Geoffrey Downes and Trevor Horn were drafted in to replace Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman. It rocks harder than other Yes albums, and for classically inclined fans, it was a jarring departure; but it was a harbinger of Yes and Asia albums to come. A newly emboldened Chris Squire lays down aggressive rhythms with Alan White, and Steve Howe eschews his usual acoustic rags and flamenco licks for a more metallic approach, opting for sheets of electric sound. Prime cuts include the doom-laden "Machine Messiah" and the manic ska inflections of "Tempus Fugit." Despite the promise of this new material, the band soon fell apart; Horn went into production, Howe and Downes joined Asia, and Squire and White toyed and then gave up on a pair-up with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, which was to be titled XYZ (i.e., Ex-Yes and Zeppelin).
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
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Paranoid was not only Black Sabbath's most popular record (it was a number one smash in the U.K., and "Paranoid" and "Iron Man" both scraped the U.S. charts despite virtually nonexistent radio play), it also stands as one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal albums of all time. Paranoid refined Black Sabbath's signature sound -- crushingly loud, minor-key dirges loosely based on heavy blues-rock -- and applied it to a newly consistent set of songs with utterly memorable riffs, most of which now rank as all-time metal classics. Where the extended, multi-sectioned songs on the debut sometimes felt like aimless jams, their counterparts on Paranoid have been given focus and direction, lending an epic drama to now-standards like "War Pigs" and "Iron Man" (which sports one of the most immediately identifiable riffs in metal history).
The subject matter is unrelentingly, obsessively dark, covering both supernatural/sci-fi horrors and the real-life traumas of death, war, nuclear annihilation, mental illness, drug hallucinations, and narcotic abuse. Yet Sabbath makes it totally convincing, thanks to the crawling, muddled bleakness and bad-trip depression evoked so frighteningly well by their music. Even the qualities that made critics deplore the album (and the group) for years increase the overall effect -- the technical simplicity of Ozzy Osbourne's vocals and Tony Iommi's lead guitar vocabulary; the spots when the lyrics sink into melodrama or awkwardness; the lack of subtlety and the infrequent dynamic contrast. Everything adds up to more than the sum of its parts, as though the anxieties behind the music simply demanded that the band achieve catharsis by steamrolling everything in its path, including its own limitations. Monolithic and primally powerful, Paranoid defined the sound and style of heavy metal more than any other record in rock history.
JJ Cale - Naturally
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J.J. Cale's debut album, Naturally, was recorded after Eric Clapton made "After Midnight" a huge success. Instead of following Slowhand's cue and constructing a slick blues-rock album, Cale recruited a number of his Oklahoma friends and made a laid-back country-rock record that firmly established his distinctive, relaxed style. Cale included a new version of "After Midnight" on the album, but the true meat of the record lay in songs like "Crazy Mama," which became a hit single, and "Call Me the Breeze," which Lynyrd Skynyrd later covered. On these songs and many others on Naturally, Cale effortlessly captured a lazy, rolling boogie that contradicted all the commercial styles of boogie, blues and country rock at the time. Where his contemporaries concentrated on solos, Cale worked the song and its rhythm, and the result was a pleasant, engaging album that was in no danger of raising anybody's temperature.