* The Metal Thread *

Anyone got a hold of the new Iron Maiden album yet? Looking for some impartial review here, as the ones I read on teh interwebs are all biased towards two opposing ends, so not sure what to make of it.
 
Cat_In_Pyjamas said:
Anyone got a hold of the new Iron Maiden album yet? Looking for some impartial review here, as the ones I read on teh interwebs are all biased towards two opposing ends, so not sure what to make of it.
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If I'm honest, I'm unimpressed. El Dorado is good, quite pacey and could easily become a song that quickly becomes synonymous with Maiden. However, Satellite 15 takes over 4 minutes to get going, and when it does it's nothing spectacular. Coming Home is average, easy to listen to but nothing special again. The Alchemist sounds bizarrely to Be Quick or Be Dead in parts, but is a good song on the whole. Tracks 7 onwards get very slow and dreary - this works with some tracks with Maiden as in the past but there's just too many here.

6/10 from me.
 
el_dazza said:
If I'm honest, I'm unimpressed. El Dorado is good, quite pacey and could easily become a song that quickly becomes synonymous with Maiden. However, Satellite 15 takes over 4 minutes to get going, and when it does it's nothing spectacular. Coming Home is average, easy to listen to but nothing special again. The Alchemist sounds bizarrely to Be Quick or Be Dead in parts, but is a good song on the whole. Tracks 7 onwards get very slow and dreary - this works with some tracks with Maiden as in the past but there's just too many here.

6/10 from me.
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Ta mate, I'll possibly get it, cause ya know it's Maiden and all, but I won't be as hyped over it.
 
Hi all.

I would like some recommendations if you'd be so kind.

I've only recently begun to get back into metal after getting a bit disenchanted with it all in the early 90's. So I don't really know what's what and who's out there these days. I'd like to discover more bands who take a somewhat psychedelic approach to metal, but a bit more interesting/individual than the usual stoner rock, which I find pretty dull.

Right now my favourite bands are:
Acid Mothers Temple
Zoroaster
Minsk
Manatees
Amenra
Ufomammut

Quite like Neurosis, Omega Massif, Fall Of Efrafa and US Christmas too.

If any of you can recommend anything in a similar vein that would be cool. Also if anyone knows any bands who incorporate jazz into metal á la Yakuza and The Mass I'd be interested too.

Cheers.
 
Crestfallen said:
I would like some recommendations if you'd be so kind.
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On the sludgy side of things:
Isis, Kylesa, Baroness, Bongripper (instrumental fun, beware: here be riffs), Latitudes (more instrumental fun, more spacey), Mastodon (older stuff is heavier, newer stuff is proggier), No Made Sense (progressive sludge fun), Rinoa, Amia Venera Landscape (only have one EP so far, boo).

Other psychedelic-ish stuff:
Tool (prog rock/metal), Porcupine Tree (prog rock/metal), Nachtmystium (black metal)

For jazzy bits:
Zu, Cynic, Exivious, Animals As Leaders
 
[noodle];17195941 said:
On the sludgy side of things:
Isis, Kylesa, Baroness, Bongripper (instrumental fun, beware: here be riffs), Latitudes (more instrumental fun, more spacey), Mastodon (older stuff is heavier, newer stuff is proggier), No Made Sense (progressive sludge fun), Rinoa, Amia Venera Landscape (only have one EP so far, boo).

Other psychedelic-ish stuff:
Tool (prog rock/metal), Porcupine Tree (prog rock/metal), Nachtmystium (black metal)

For jazzy bits:
Zu, Cynic, Exivious, Animals As Leaders
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Thanks for the reply. Nachtmystium is a good shout - I bought Assasins a couple of months ago and it has really grown on me. One of the best albums I've heard all year. I'm 'aware' of Isis and Bongripper and while they're ok they've never managed to grab my attention to any extent. Porcupine Tree I remeber from a couple of decades ago (they're still going?), but they are probably a bit lightweight/melodic for me these days.

I'll give the others a go on myspace (listening to Latitudes right now).
Cheers.
 
el_dazza said:
If I'm honest, I'm unimpressed. El Dorado is good, quite pacey and could easily become a song that quickly becomes synonymous with Maiden. However, Satellite 15 takes over 4 minutes to get going, and when it does it's nothing spectacular. Coming Home is average, easy to listen to but nothing special again. The Alchemist sounds bizarrely to Be Quick or Be Dead in parts, but is a good song on the whole. Tracks 7 onwards get very slow and dreary - this works with some tracks with Maiden as in the past but there's just too many here.

6/10 from me.
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I would agree with this review to be honest. There are a few good tracks but they're all so damn long! I much preferred older maiden - not saying its not good, its just not great if that makes sense. I liked brave new world but after that it all got a bit "meh" for me. Its 1980-1988 that does it for me.
 
On topic of Iron Maiden,

I purchased their new album through iTunes the other night. I've listened to it twice all the way through now, and I'm still trying to decide what I think of it. I think this will be the same as when A Matter Of Life And Death came out - it will take me a while to get used to it / like it. I agree as well - I do feel disappointed with the opening track, though I do like the first 3 minutes a lot. Yeah it is weird in a way but I like it, the rest of the 4 minutes of the song I just cannot get into at all.

El Dorado is a really good track, I near enough got into it straight away when the single first came out a few weeks back but after listening the whole album, I feel that this song is very different towards the others on the album. It's too hard to explain but it's like El Dorado in a way was supposed to be from the Brave New World album. Mother of Mercy - reminds me a lot of the song The Fugitive from the Fear Of The Dark album and I like it a lot (though there are only a few tracks off that album that I do like). Coming Home is a really good track too, very catchy chorus & lyrics. The Alchemist... just a big NO for me, definately a filler track. Isle Of Avalon, really catchy guitars but I feel I still need to understand this song more. Starblind, absolutely love the intro & the choros, overall another good song. The Talisman, another song I can't seem to get into at all - definately a "dreamy" one as el_dazza has already mentioned. The Man Who Would Be King, another great intro to a song but it seems to drag out a bit. Now, this is definately one of the best songs on the album - When The Wild Wind Blows, reminds me a lot of the song Alexander The Great (also coincidentally, is the ending track on the album). The song has a really catchy riff and rythem, there isn't a part of this song that I don't like yet.

One obvious thing I have noticed with the album is that the synth's have been used a lot again, which I like - takes me back to the "Experimental Era" (Somewhere In Time & Seventh Son) which are one of my favourite albums. By far my favourite Maiden years are 1981-1989.

My overal verdict for the album so far would be 6.5/10 but this may change over the next few weeks.

Liam
 
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Crestfallen said:
Porcupine Tree I remeber from a couple of decades ago (they're still going?), but they are probably a bit lightweight/melodic for me these days.
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Their newer stuff has a whole band, and quite a few of the songs have heavy bits in. It's excellent. I heartily endorse Deadwing, In Absentia, and Fear Of A Blank Planet. Their latest effort (The Incident) is quite good too, but it's quite different. My knowledge of their stuff outside of these albums is quite minimal however.

 
Oh my god Catch ThirtyThree is such an incredibly amazing album. Mind blowing.

Meshuggah fans go lay on your bed and put on this album with headphones as loud as you can bear. Close your eyes, and don't move a muscle until the last note of pure bliss is injected into your brain.

Then come back and tell me how you feel :D
 
Going back to The Final Frontier here:

Having had more time to listen to it, (hour in the car every sodding day helps!) I'm certainly got into it more. Perhaps I was being overly critical to begin with.

The intro to Satellite 15 is starting to grow on me. It's still FAR too long, could be 2 minutes quite easily but when the drums really kick in around 3 minutes, it's quite epic. Mother of Mercy's not as bad as I thought it was to begin with either. Isle of Avalon is actually damn good, one song I failed to mention before.

I still don't like The Talisman, The man who would be king, and Starblind.

I'm going to up it to a 7/10 accordingly.
 
LEK-89 said:
On topic of Iron Maiden,

I purchased their new album through iTunes the other night. I've listened to it twice all the way through now, and I'm still trying to decide what I think of it. I think this will be the same as when A Matter Of Life And Death came out - it will take me a while to get used to it / like it. I agree as well - I do feel disappointed with the opening track, though I do like the first 3 minutes a lot. Yeah it is weird in a way but I like it, the rest of the 4 minutes of the song I just cannot get into at all.

El Dorado is a really good track, I near enough got into it straight away when the single first came out a few weeks back but after listening the whole album, I feel that this song is very different towards the others on the album. It's too hard to explain but it's like El Dorado in a way was supposed to be from the Brave New World album. Mother of Mercy - reminds me a lot of the song The Fugitive from the Fear Of The Dark album and I like it a lot (though there are only a few tracks off that album that I do like). Coming Home is a really good track too, very catchy chorus & lyrics. The Alchemist... just a big NO for me, definately a filler track. Isle Of Avalon, really catchy guitars but I feel I still need to understand this song more. Starblind, absolutely love the intro & the choros, overall another good song. The Talisman, another song I can't seem to get into at all - definately a "dreamy" one as el_dazza has already mentioned. The Man Who Would Be King, another great intro to a song but it seems to drag out a bit. Now, this is definately one of the best songs on the album - When The Wild Wind Blows, reminds me a lot of the song Alexander The Great (also coincidentally, is the ending track on the album). The song has a really catchy riff and rythem, there isn't a part of this song that I don't like yet.

One obvious thing I have noticed with the album is that the synth's have been used a lot again, which I like - takes me back to the "Experimental Era" (Somewhere In Time & Seventh Son) which are one of my favourite albums. By far my favourite Maiden years are 1981-1989.

My overal verdict for the album so far would be 6.5/10 but this may change over the next few weeks.

Liam
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Your opinion probably will change the more you listen to it - I didn't really like a matter of life and death at first but it grew on me. This album does the same but it does feel like a couple of songs are purely just there to be fillers.

Somewhere in time is easily my favorite album - followed by seventh son. I have a bootleg for each tour they did from 1980-88 and I listen to them pretty often. Stranger in a strange land sounded pretty awesome live in 86!

On another note...

Testament.


I absolutely love this album - the recording quality is terrible but with a decent enough system its an amazing album.

Testaments cover of Nobodys fault by aerosmith is also fantastic on this album :p
 
Somewhere in Time is my favourite Maiden album as well - there isn't a song that I don't like off that album, Caught Somewhere In Time is probably my all time favourite Maiden song. The entire album really is a masterpiece!

I've got a few old bootlegs too from the 1986-87 tour, as well as a few from dating from 1982 - 1988. Your right there, Stranger in a Strange Land sounded brilliant live. I think all the songs they played off the Somewhere In Time album live sounded excellent - I love that "Walking On Glass" guitar solo that Dave & Adrian did as well on that tour, absolutely love it! The best bootleg from that tour has got to be the "When It's Time To Rock" from Bristol 1986, you may of heard of it but if you havent, you have got to have a listen! Excellent taped recording and a brilliant audience too.

Edit - here is the "Walking On Glass" guitar solo from Philidelphia 1987,


Liam
 
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The new Soilwork album is much better than the last album but I don't think they are as good as they used to be. Natural Born Chaos and Stabbing the Drama were great albums but the last two...not quite up there.

Totally digging Bathory these days.

 
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