1989

1. From Out Of Nowhere
2. Epic
3. Falling To Pieces
4. Surprise! You’re Dead!
5. Zombie Eaters
6. The Real Thing
7. Underwater Love
8. The Morning After
9. Woodpecker From Mars

Faith No More was hugely important to the music scene. While they may not seem to be very visible nowadays, they were one of the many bands that snuffed out the glam metal scene at the end of the 80’s, when all the kinds of rock were switching over to ‘alternatives’. And while they would never be as famous as Nirvana was in the 90’s, they were well received by the heavier-loving public. And they may have single-handedly pioneered the rap metal scene, though that is under much debate. 20 dollar bill, ya’ll.

That reference was really obscure… And I don’t even like that band. Moving on!

Perhaps my favorite thing about any album is if it’s really hard to label, and this album does that just perfectly. Just what is it? There are a lot of heavy metal riffs all over this, but it’s also being mixed with a lot of 80’s style synthesizer riffs, hip hop beats, and rap vocals. And my golly does it all mix together well. It’s like making the perfect chocolate, but this is chocolate you can put into your ears. Yeah, like that.

Through this odd mix of music the band managed to pull up their own quirky personality. There a lot of memorable songs on this one, from the classic ‘Epic’ to the less appreciated ones such as ‘Falling To Peaces’, ‘From Out Of Nowhere!’, and ‘Surprise! You’re Dead!’. There’s only so much I can say about this album in words. And it’s so hard to describe. So if you can find this album, pop it into your player and see what I mean. 

If there is one way I can describe this album, they managed to mix hard, metal-style guitar riffs with synthesizers, creating a good sort synergy that hadn’t been used until then. And the way they write it is so memorable, there are few that have surpassed them. They don’t sacrifice their music for the sake of innovation, is also another thing I could say. I’m not sure what people might think of this album now, but I think it’s aged well.

So yeah, get this. :*

Cover Review:

What’s the first thing you think of when you see that album cover? Weird, right? A flipped top world where it rains fire Oreos permanently being dipped into floating milk.

Faith No More was a band so hard to describe that even a cursory glance to their cover art couldn’t help you. :P

2005

1. Black Dwarf
2. Seven Silver Keys
3. Assassin Of The Light
4. Copernicus
5. Man Who Fell From The Sky
6. Witches
7. Born In A Tank
8. Spellbreaker
9. The Day And The Light
10. Mars And Volcanoes

If you call yourself a metalhead and don’t know who Candlemass are, then strap yourself in boy. They weren’t just a huge influence on the doom metal genre, but they were a huge influence on the metal genre as a whole. They showed that metal doesn’t have to be all growls and screams and fast paced drumming and strumming. Though to be fair, there were a lot of bands before them that took it slow and heavy… I guess the doom metal pool was just dry in the 80’s? 

…They were pretty popular, okay?

After a ten year hiatus where the main band had broken up, and after an odd period where the bassist, who had his own band back then, fabricate a new lineup called ‘Candlemass’, the old members finally got back together and sat down to make what would be there return to form. That was their self-titled endeavor. I can… See the reason for it. People would see the album on the rack and be all ‘Candlemass is back?’.

What is there to say about this album, though? I like it. It does sound a lot like their old stuff, but at the same time, it just isn’t there. It’s delightfully sludgy at points, nicely heavy, and of course full of the fantastic elements that metal used to be known for.

At some points, it ends up playing the same riff over and over again for way too long. Some songs do seem to stretch on past the point where they would be fun to listen to. It’d be good if all of the riffs were good memorable riffs you could hum/rock out too while driving your bus full of nuns to the mountain monastery every morning. But that’s not really the case. A lot of the riffs sound good, but are forgettable.

A good thing about this is that it’s the kind of metal that is ‘headbangable’; Yeah, I’m putting that right in the dictionary; but is also pretty catchy to sing along to as well. While it does lack a lot of the doom and dread from their early days, it’s still there, just a tiny bit. Messiah’s voice is still ominous, but the instruments seem to be drowning out the dread that all of them could really play.

As the conclusion, it’s a good album. But if it wasn’t a Candlemass album it’d be amazing. It’s certainly missing the trademark doom, but it still rocks out nonetheless. If you’re a budding Candlemass fan, start with Epicus Doomicus Metallicus. You won’t be disappointed. 

Witches is my favorite song off of this, by the way. :x Seriously, give it a listen. It kicks so much ass. The Day And The Light is also very nice, gloomy and doomy. So yeah. :D

Cover review:

Nice, simple, and white. What more do you want? What, you want it all black and then with white letters and a big white cross in the middle? They’re Candlemass, what could be more ominous than a single cross?

1991

1. Repetition
2. Rude
3. Bad Mood
4. Sinatra
5. FBLA
6. Blacktop
7. Distracted
8. Make Room
9. Murder

Helmet! The cult classic band from the quaint little state of New York. They had some mainstream success with their next album, Meantime, which had their biggest hit, Unsung. Still, they have a big enough following to have fans sing their praises every time you mention them to them.

If anyone has ever listened to Meantime, or even just Unsung, they would notice a slight difference in the sound of this record than to the other one (And I’m just basing this off Unsung T.T). This album is much rawer in its sound. With a dose of noise rock in here, it goes without saying that this record is noisy — But in a good way.

Most importantly of all, this album is pissed that you’re listening to it. No sooner have you put the CD in have your ears been assaulted with the opening riff and killer drums of this band. Page Hamilton’s hardcore shouting just flows over the top of it all. This is the perfect album to buy if you really want to annoy your parents; back when teens were ‘angry’ more than they were ‘sad’. Still, one track sticks out like a sore thumb: the rather gloomy Sinatra, while still heavy, doesn’t carry the same pissed-offness or energy the rest of the songs on this album have.

The most amazing part of this record has to be the drums. The drums are amazing. Its really hard how to describe it, so if you’re curious, you’re going to have to give it a listen. I still think that John Stanier’s best drum work is either on Unsung or Wilma’s Rainbow, but he is in no way a slouch on this record.

Even though the record is noisy, you can still make out the superb guitar work. While it may not be technically superior to, say, Skolnick’s or Santana’s playing, people will find themselves bobbing their heads or thrashing violently to the catchy heavy metal-influenced riffs.

Best songs? I happen to really like Bad Mood and FBLA because of their catchy riffs.I think it’s much better to listen to this angry mess from start to finish than to isolate specific tracks. It sounds better that way.

Cover review:

I’m not sure what that is, but no, I’m not going to strap it on. Sorry, Page.

Still, this cover is a bit disappointing. It gives no clue to what anger pervades this album. Or maybe I just don’t get it.

Again. -_-

1994

1. Meat Plow
2. Vasoline
3. Lounge Fly
4. Interstate Love Song
5. Still Remains
6. Pretty Penny
7. Silvergun Superman
8. Big Empty
9. Unglued
10. Army Ants
11. Kitchenware & Candybars

Ah, the Stone Temple Pilots. Who doesn’t know the Stone Temple Pilots? A little band from San Diego, California, voted as the Best New Band by the Rolling Stone in the 90’s? One of the decade’s most successful bands? The guys who sang Plush? Anyone?

While they may not be too fondly remembered today, there was no denying this band’s influence and widespread popularity back in the 80’s.They broke into the mainstream with their debut album Core, and it certainly takes talent to pull that off. Or maybe aggressive overmarketing. Or luck. I’m getting off track.

This album is what happens when the band takes Plush, their most commercially successful single from their debut and think, “Yeah, let’s do it more like this.” Slow and mellow is what marks this album, though, with its loud guitars and drums, it is still rather offensive to parents who have only listened to Tony Bennett and… Cher? I don’t know many mellow artists.

Sure, it’s heavy, but it’s heavy in the sense that… Creed is heavy. Sometimes. And at some points in this album they dip real close to sounding like some 90’s bands such as Creed and the Calling. I’m not really sure what to call that genre. It’s really a departure from the band that wrote ‘Sex Type Thing’. Songs like Big Easy, Kitchenware & Candybars, Interstate Love Song and Still Remains are the big offenders of this. They go back to their more dirty grungey roots on songs like Silvergun Superman and Army Ants, but those tunes aren’t really memorable.

I like the more… Experimental tracks on this album, you could say. Songs like Lounge Fly with that psychedelic feel, and Pretty Penny with that annoying earworm of a melody. The rest of the tracks on this album are okay to me at best. STP aren’t really the greatest band in the world. :x 

In conclusion, give this album a listen if you’re into mellow 90’s rock like Creed and the Calling. Or better yet, you could just get the singles if you’re not too interested in wading through the experimental tracks and the more grungier tracks. If you aren’t into that, you won’t be missing much.

Cover Review:

I don’t get it. o_o

I’m sure there’s a perfectly good explanation on Google as to why there’s a baby riding a dragon horse through the realm of the five nice Asian cloud ladies.

But I like to just stare and wonder.

1993

1. Machine Screw
2. Christian Woman
3. Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)
4. Fay Wray Come Out And Play
5. Kill All The White People
6. Summer Breeze
7. Set Me On Fire
8. Dark Side Of The Womb
9. We Hate Everyone
10. Bloody Kisses (A Death In The Family)
11. 3.0.I.F.
12. Too Late: Frozen
13. Blood & Fire
14. Can’t Lose You

I really need to set up a schedule for these album reviews… Anyways, let’s get started.

Type O Negative was a band from Brooklyn, New York. I say ‘was’ since they have since broken up after their lead singer and bassist Peter Steele’s untimely death. His incredibly deep voice still resonates in the hearts (and ears, though not in the way you may think) of millions of metalheads around the world today.

This is a longest record I’ve listened to so far for this blog, clocking in at 1 hour and three minutes (For perspective, Trash was only about forty minutes long). The fact that many of these songs are actually just little instrumental interludes, and three of the songs clock in at at least ten minutes are responsible for that. Being a gothic metal release, it relies more on ambiance and atmosphere, so this is a good record to have in the background of a long stretch of doing stuff.

But it still is a gothic metal release. Gloom and doom is what perpetuates this album. Even the lyrics, which one would expect to be about demons, swords and witchcraft, are more about love lost and heart breaks (Compared to an earlier Type O Negative hit, the eloquently titled ‘Unsuccessfully Coping With The Natural Beauty Of Infidelity’ or, as it was renamed, ‘I Know You’re Fucking Someone Else’). That makes this album more gloomy and depressing than it ought to be.

Still, this album does have its own bursts from energy from time to time. Steele regains his roar with tracks like ‘Kill All The White People’ and ‘We Hate Everyone’; songs that have the aggressiveness of his days in his old thrash metal band, Carnivore. Many of the lyrics are also darkly humorous and sarcastic. A song called Kill All The White People is never going to be serious, no matter who releases it; the same goes for We Hate Everyone. A more subtle one is Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All), a song about being in a relationship with a goth girl. It has a line that I’m going to tell all my exes from now on: “Loving you was like loving the dead.”

Less depressing songs include their cover of Seals and Croft’s Summer Breeze, and the odd hybrid happy-sad song Too Late: Frozen. The interludes, while interesting, aren’t really all that great. Machine Screw turned me on a little but that’s about it… 

This album is a rather heavy, ambient exploration of the heart broken, marked with amazing periods of loudness and aggression (Much like an actual break up is. Hey!). The instruments are played well, and Steele’s voice is still great. I highly recommend picking this up. Still, if you want the whole gloomy, atmospheric trip, you can find a release of this album that doesn’t have the instrumental interludes and the two most angry tracks; ‘Kill All The White People’ and ‘We Hate Everyone’. 

Those two are the best tracks in my opinion. D:

Cover Review:

That is… Two ladies doing something, alright. Considering their first release was called Slow, Deep and Hard, it shouldn’t be hard to guess what. Still, its monochromaticness and graininess gives a subtle hint of what might be inside the sleeve/CD tray.