Album Review Roulette

[BloodoftheKings]

Open your itunes and press shuffle on all songs, and then review the album that the song is from. Write a full review in the style that most of us here do it with the picture, paragraph, and recommended track(s). You Can re-roll as much as you wan't until you find an album you think you can write a good review for. And don't review anything you have already reviewed on this website. I'll start.

Alice in Chains - Dirt (1992)


A landmark grunge release and quite possibly my favorite in the history of the genre. This album is what mainly got me into grunge some time ago. I would hear some of AiC's big songs like Man in the Box and Them Bones from time to time and I figured "yeah this is pretty good" but never bothered to listen to the full albums. One day I was at the community library sifting through the cd rack looking for something new to listen to (this method is now obsolete thanks to spotify) and while I couldn't find any metal I did find Facelift and this album and figured it would be worth checking out since I already knew some songs and liked them. I listened to them over the next couple days and while Facelift was good and all this one was something special. There isn't a weak track on this album. The first to tracks are more upbeat but by track 3 it's more of the depressing sound that Alice in Chains is known for, usually you don't use that as a good adjective for something but the depressing tone of AiC's music is what makes them so great. and After hearing this I went on to explore the grunge genre and found more albums I now love. At a time where I wasn't listening to much outside of the metal genre this helped expand my horizons, although many would argue it is pretty much a metal album.

Recommended Tracks:
Dam That River
Rooster
Dirt

[Indestructible]

Great album. Why is that no one ever calls AIC metal when they are metal? Why do they always call them grunge when they are not?

[BloodoftheKings]

Originally Posted by Indestructible

Great album. Why is that no one ever calls AIC metal when they are metal? Why do they always call them grunge when they are not?

They are metal but they are also grunge. Grunge is actually more of a movement then a genre. AiC is more of a metal band and Nirvana is more of a punk/alternative band but you can't deny that there is similarities in the sound of these bands as well as other bands that are considered grunge like Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. If a band is considered grunge, it doesn't necessarily mean they aren't metal or punk or whatever.

[ShatteredFlame]

Well it's not a metal album.

Carissa's Wierd - Songs About Leaving (2002)



My friend recommended me this band a few months ago and I have been loving them as well as a lot of other slowcore bands. While the song names and album cover are comical, this album is actually really depressing. I am not someone who finds home in depression but I do find this album to be quite beautiful. Their main strategy is combining dual vocals (both male and female) with chamber influences(piano, violin etc.). I love it when dual vocals are implemented well. Here the two vocalist take turns in delivering one depressing line after another, it almost sounds as if they are trying to outstage the other with who can brake you down first. I enjoy how self destructive they sound, like they are pissed and want to make everything around them feel miserable. Both of their voices are great btw. The chamber influences/acoustics sound incredible. Songs like "Ignorant Piece of Shit" are meant to be depressing but honestly I find the instruments to be quite lively. The lyrics are what seem to unease people the most, especially those who have been dumped or lost someone. I can't really relate and I honestly enjoy the lyrics due to the vocal deliveries but still I do find warmth inside this albums depression.

Recommended Tracks:
Ignorant Piece of Shit
You Should Be Hated Here
Sofisticated Little Fuck Princess

[BloodoftheKings]

3 Inches of Blood - Advance and Vanquish (2004)


From What I hear most people consider Fire Up the Blades to be 3IOB's bestwork but this is definitely my favorite album by them. I really dig 3IOB's unique blend of thrash, power, and traditional heavy metal. While I do like the most recent album they did their music just isn't the same without Jamie Hooper's screams to complement the high pitched vocals of Cam Pipes. Another thing I love about this band is their epic "true" metal lyrics.

"mighty warriors with metal on their side!
enemies of metal, your death is our reward!"

Sure it's kinda silly but when I listen to this album I can't help but get pumped. This is one of my favorites to listen to at the gym.

Recommended Tracks:
Deadly Sinners
Wykydtron
Destroy the Orcs

[christopher]

Originally Posted by ShatteredFlame

Well it's not a metal album.

Carissa's Wierd - Songs About Leaving (2002)



My friend recommended me this band a few months ago and I have been loving them as well as a lot of other slowcore bands. While the song names and album cover are comical, this album is actually really depressing. I am not someone who finds home in depression but I do find this album to be quite beautiful. Their main strategy is combining dual vocals (both male and female) with chamber influences(piano, violin etc.). I love it when dual vocals are implemented well. Here the two vocalist take turns in delivering one depressing line after another, it almost sounds as if they are trying to outstage the other with who can brake you down first. I enjoy how self destructive they sound, like they are pissed and want to make everything around them feel miserable. Both of their voices are great btw. The chamber influences/acoustics sound incredible. Songs like "Ignorant Piece of Shit" are meant to be depressing but honestly I find the instruments to be quite lively. The lyrics are what seem to unease people the most, especially those who have been dumped or lost someone. I can't really relate and I honestly enjoy the lyrics due to the vocal deliveries but still I do find warmth inside this albums depression.

Recommended Tracks:
Ignorant Piece of Shit
You Should Be Hated Here
Sofisticated Little Fuck Princess

I'm really digging this, thanks

[mankvill]

Judas Priest - Metal Works '73 - '93



The first piece of music by Judas Priest that I owned. A two-disc set spanning their first 20 years of albums, and it's nearly perfect. Including live cuts from Unleashed In The East, possibly the best live metal album ever. I can't listen to the regular version of Victim of Changes because of this record. Great cuts from across the board, gets all the classics and some deeper stuff too. If you're looking to get into Judas Priest, I can't recommend this enough.

[BloodoftheKings]

Austrian Death Machine - Total Brutal (2009)


Austrian Death Machine is a side project of As I Lay Dying vocalist Tim Lambesis. The bands gimmick is that all of their songs are about Arnold Schwarzenegger movies and have an Arnold impersonator doing skits and additional vocals. I personally believe that ADM is far superior to AILD. Total Brutal is essentially a thrash metal album with some core influence. Most of the vocals here are handled by Tim but thankfully we don't hear much of his lame metalcore clean vocals. Additional vocals and speaking during the albums many skits comes from Destroy the Runner vocalist Chad Ackerman who delivers a rather impressive Arnold Schwarzenegger impression. While the whole gimmick of this band can grow old after a while some of the music is actually pretty damn good. I'd recommend it to metal heads who dig music with a sense of humor, not a masterpiece by any means but it's all good fun.

OF COURSE ALL THE SONGS SOUND THE SAME. THEY ALL SOUND BRUTAGHL!

Recommended Tracks:
Get to the Choppa
I Am a Cybernetic Organism, Living Tissue Over (Metal) Endoskeleton
If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It

[jhdeity]

This is quickly becoming my favorite thread on here. Cool concept and content! That Choppa video was f'n great

[Nick_to_the_face]

Originally Posted by BloodoftheKings

Most of the vocals here are handled by Tim but thankfully we don't hear much of his lame metalcore clean vocals.

He doesn't do their clean vocals