Trivium - Shogun

Ahhhhhh, finally. Trivium are back to their normal selves. NOT that i didn't enjoy The Crusade because it was still a good album, but it wasn't Trivium. But this album really shows their true style off. Let me start off by saying this is still not my favourite album by Trivium, but it's definately a confidence boost from The Crusade.

So. The new album is meant to be a mix of every style Trivium have used in the past. And i think they've definately achieved this, and then some. Starting out with the powerful "Kirsute Gomen", this song not only captivates all of Triviums previous work, but adds new things into the mix, for example, at one point jsut after the main verse there is a screaming section (and i can't tell you how good it is to hear Matt [Heafy, vocalist] screaming again) backed by an almost black metal riff speeding through. It's hard for me to choose many songs of true notice out of the album becuase tehy are ALL equally amazing. My favourite song off the album would probably be He Who Spawned The Furies. Those who have heard the album may question my choice here. But there is a 15 second or so moment from about 2:10 through into the track which has to be the most powerful, most impressive and mosh-inspiring piece of metal i have EVER heard [super cereal here]. Its jsut mind blowingly awsome, I reccomend RIGHT NOW you go on youtube or whatever listen to the song and taht bit on full volume and i guarantee your head will blow off.

A word of warning would to be wary of the song titles however. Songs such as "Torn Between Scylla And Charibdys" (lol wut) and "Like Callisto To A Star In Heaven" (eh) will probably have to be looked up before you can truly understand them, but tehy are creative nonetheless, as are the lyrics, which are very creative and intruiging, as the song i mentioned earlier (he who spawned the furies) seems to be about babies getting eaten....AWSOME. Another thing to mention would be the so called "catchiness" of the choruses. And Trivium have really outdone themselves on this front. you can find your head bobbing to rpetty much any chorus on the album such choruses can be found on "Into The Mouth Of Hell We March" and "Down From The Sky" (amazing breakdown in that song). And then Trivium top it all off with a blistering 12 minuite epic at the end of the album, which is decievingly different to the rest of teh songs on the album, i'll leave why that is for you to find out.

Overall this album is AMAZING in my opinion and i recommend this album to anyone who likes any type of metal becuase i think it can appeal to almost everyone in any of the songs and i would wager a fair sum of money on this being one of the best metal albums of 2008 (closely in competition with Slipknots "All Hope Is Gone" and Gojiras "Way Of All Flesh". And no. Not the new Metallica album LOL.) but just get it and find out for yourself.

Finntroll - Nattfödd

This is Finntroll's 4th studio album, and is widely recognized as their best ever. And this is probably due to one song. Finntroll are a black metal band mixed with Finnish Polka, also known as “Humppa”, which sounds more or less like an extreme version of folk metal. However, since their lyrics mostly revolve around trolls, they've been labelled “Troll Metal”, of which I think about 2 other bands exist. I'm still in the epic search of finding more Troll Metal, but it's...quite hard.

The thing that I found quite strange with this album, is that is has REALLY peculiar mood swings, one second the album will sound really evil and daunting, the next it'll be all jolly and happy. Of course this doesn't make it bad, at all, it just makes it sound DAMN trollish. They also use some weird folk instruments...I'm not quite sure what they are, but they do help contribute when they need to sound all happy and jolly, as they do. The vocalists vocals are always rough, except maybe the odd chant they put in, such as the Trollhammeren chorus. They tend to be quite atmospheric at times, using wind effects etc., which I suppose makes it...atmospheric. However now for the one song...that made this album totally unbelievably awesome. Trollhammeren. FUCK yes. The song is just amazing, though you should probably take it quite light-heartedly, seeing as it IS a bit of a joke, but then again, isn't all their music? Just, when/if you get the album, make SURE you listen to Trollhammeren first, you won't regret it.

Now I would say this album is worth buying, but not exactly everyone's cup of tea really, it's maybe a bit too heavy for some folk fans (apparently those exist), but a bit too happy for death metal fans. Personally, I HAVE bought the album, but really I only did so as a novelty item. I don't know, check them out first, and if you like them...well...you know what to do.

Children Of Bodom - Bloodrunk

Now, everyone says that this album was “not up to Bodom standard”, or “It's the worst album they've ever made”. Well I've spent FAR too long nodding my head and “agreeing” with them. Because this album isn't bad AT ALL. It's merely a slight style change from what they're normally like. I would say that bands are entitled to change their style, seeing as they MAKE the music, but I'm not really allowed to say that considering the massive amount of bands I've poured scorn on for doing that *cough* Trivium *cough*. The album is merely slightly slower, more down tuned, and sounded slightly thicker then their previous albums. You could see they were heading towards that style a mile away from their album “Are You Dead Yet” anyway. And I for one LIKE their new album. Though I must agree, its probably their worst album, but that's only because their other albums are impossibly amazing. I mean, with this album you get songs like “Banned From Heaven” and “One Day You Will Cry” which have awesome choruses, among others. Unfortunately the use of Warman (their keyboardist) wasn't hugely present, not many harpsichord solos to my dismay, but all well, I can just listen to Warmen if I wanted plenty of those. Still, I'm a bit disappointed with their cover, I don't think Looking Out My Back Door by Creedence Clearwater Revival was exactly the greatest choice, but I suppose it's mildly amusing if you've heard the original...which no one has.

All in all, I don't think this album really gives you the proper Bodom feel, but it's been quite put down for no reason, really. It's a great album, and the motherfucking critics seem to think otherwise because “It's not exactly the same as their other albums”. It may just be because I'm obsessed with Children Of Bodom, but I would so recommend buying this album, it's just dam awesome.

Iron Maiden - The X Factor

Before I start, I'm instantly marking all jokes related to the poor British tv show which retards are told they can sing as UNFUNNY. They have ALL been made before, and the album was out nearly two decades before the show ever was.

Now that's out of the way, the review. This album is universally known to be the worst Maiden album ever to be made. This is because the singer is Blaze Bayley, who released two albums with Iron Maiden while Bruce Dickinson thought it would be hilarious to break the hearts of a few million fans and leave the band for a few years to make an entirely failurous (new word) solo career which only made one famous song. Bayley was no replacement. His voice didn't nearly live up to Bruce's standards, but nonetheless I find it listenable. The two albums were Virtual XI and The X Factor, and though I think this is the inferior of the two, I think it still has a case to argue.

Firstly, the singing is bearable. Sure he's no Bruce, but with the exception of the chorus of 'Man on the Edge', it's not that bad. In some places it can sound better than Bruce would if he were singing, like the chorus to 'Sign of the Cross' and 'Judgement of Heaven'. As much as it sounds like it, Maiden aren't actually obsessed with religion or anything, they're said to be agnostic. Also, if you fully listen to the song 2 A.M, it does prove that some of the good stuff is still present in this album. And of course, there are still the guitarists. At this point in the timeline, Maiden had Janick who has the best stage presence of any musician known to man, and of course Dave, who is the best guitarist of all time, so you can't really go wrong. Two riffs in 'Fortunes of War' and the main one in 'Lord of the Flies' are probebly the ones that realy show it for me. And, of course, the solos are still insane, using both speed and melody in perfect harmony. I can't stress it enough, it itself describes why they are and always will be my favourite band. EVER.

Unfortunately, I'm obliged to mention the letdowns in this album, which I suppose is fair seeing as it is their most disappointing album. The songs can seem kinda boring at times, like 'The Unbeliever' and 'Blood on the World's Hand' but I assure this is ENTIRELY because of Bayley. If Bruce was singing them, they would be normal rockin' Maiden standard, and would make for an awesome album. It also can get on the listener's nerves that in almost every song there is a point where Blaze feels the need to sing so quietly that you have to put the volume up to at least 20 to hear him.

These aside, I wanna say that it isn't all that bad. Yes, it's nowhere near the best that Maiden can produce, and it's probably only really worth your cash if, like me, you're trying to get every studio album on disc (which I have, not a single one ordered online as well xD). However, it is still well made and still shows the skill that Maiden have in creating completely original and frankly amazing heavy metal whilst still holding tightly onto the style which has kept their musical career going on through the decades.

Rotting Cock - My Sister Is Dead And I Fuck Her Corpse Everyday

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One Man Army And The Undead Quartet - Grim Tales

This review is likely to be very unbiased seeing as I think they're one of the best bands ever and love all of their songs. All of them. Anyway, this is One Man Army And The Undead Quartet's (or OMAATQ) new album, Grim Tales. When I first heard that they were releasing a new album I read it would be released in 2010...so to find it like a month later was a ...slight shock. I was also kind of scared it wouldn't be very good, after all, is it really possible to produce 3 amazing albums in 3 years? Apparently the answer's yes. And lucky for me, even the artwork was fucking awesome. I've always thought OMAATQ have the best artwork ever, though no one seems to agree with me. Unfortunately, I've only managed to obtain the promo of the album, so once or twice in a song I'll get a voice cutting in saying "Your listening to a new promotional CD that's property of Massacre Records" it's pretty fucking annoying.

For those familiar with the band, the album still got the same fucking awesome vocals as before, however this time, the album has just become...so dam groovy. That's right. Groovy. You get the slow yet epic songs like “Make Them Die Slowly”, while songs like “Bonebreaker Propaganda” has one of the best riffs I've heard in a LOOONG time. Generally In the album you've got everything awesome to do with OMAATQ that you could possibly want. All the songs are pretty unique In their own right, and all have something that someone will like. Almost guaranteed. The album seems to largely revolve around death, suicide etc., which I personally think is awesome, with songs like “Death Makes It All Go Away” and “Date With Suicide”. For those however who don't really know who OMAATQ are, they're a death/ thrash metal band founded by the ex-vocalist of The Crown. I would tell you some similar artists to them, but their too ridiculously unique.

I'm giving this album a FUCK YES. Because it might very well be my album of 2008 ( better luck next time Children Of Bodom...). If you're into death metal, maybe thrash, that sort of stuff, check these guys out, I don't see regretting it as a possibility.