Retro Reviews - May 2026 Part One!!

Here is the first of a very long stretch of retro reviews for 1986.  Turns out, there's a lot I want to review!  This article will be all about German metal, as I guess the metal scene there really picked up through the middle of the decade.  I will also be following up on albums that I checked out last year, so expect a few links to previous articles.  At the very least, it makes for a solid slab of thick, crunchy metal!

Warlock - True As Steel

Let's kick things off with the Queen of Metal herself!  While their first album got them some fans and their second pushed into some heavier territory, True As Steel definitely leans more toward a bigger, more commercial sound.  With new guitarist Niko Arvanitis, they forge another slab of metal that tries to go big, and sort of succeeds.

Right off, the production is thicker, going for this massive wall of sound meant to fill arenas.  Unfortunately, it kind of buries Doro's voice.  There are times where there is so much reverb on it, it sounds like she's singing in a cave.  However, this bigger production makes their songs feel more cinematic in style, as they are often telling stories with the lyrics.  The performances are certainly tight, especially when they play the faster songs, and there are some neat ideas, but I think the production gets in the way more than it should, making it hard to really enjoy the songs on their own.

That being said, once you get used to it, there really is a lot to enjoy.  "Fight for Rock" and the title track are solid anthems, "Love in the Danger Zone" and "Love Song" are decent ballads, and I rather liked "Vorwärts, All Right!" for having good energy.  Having the closer "T.O.L." be instrumental is a curious choice, but over all the album is not bad.  

Rage - Reign of Fear

This is another band I've often seen get grouped with Grave Digger and Running Wild over the years.  They started off as Avenger, releasing an album and an EP.  I listened to them last year, but ended up not reviewing them as I felt I didn't have much to say about them.  They're not bad, just some pretty average German heavy metal.  After a name change, they decided to pick up quite a bit of thrash metal energy.

It really is quite the shift, right from the get go.  The first handful of tracks definitely sound like very early Slayer and Megadeth, eager to go fast and play some very aggressive riffs!  The opener "Scared to Death" starts off with this ominous, symphonic swell, but then blasts right into high speed fury.  "Deceiver" gets even thrashier, while the title track and "Hand of Glory" ease up things a little, but retain a very thrashy attitude.  It's not until "Raw Energy" that the band slows down to something more typical of Judas Priest, but it's right back to speed metal for "Echoes of Evil."  Overall, the album remains pretty fast and aggressive, with few exceptions.  The biggest deviation was the CD-only bonus track "The Scaffold," which starts with some nice acoustic guitar playing before getting into a more doom metal sound as it plods along pretty well.

It's hard to know how much I like this album.  I'm not a big Slayer or Megadeth fan, but there is more melody here than on Hell Awaits or Killing Is My Business.  "Scared to Death" and "Hand of Glory" in particular lean a little into Metal Church territory, so I liked those the most.  At the very least, it's not a boring album as they play with incredible energy and precision.  While the Avenger material wasn't bad, those songs definitely feel like a different band compared to what they've done here, so perhaps the name change was justified.

Grave Digger - War Games

Speaking of Grave Digger, I enjoyed their sophomore effort, though it was pretty rough stuff, overall.  Bassist C.F. Brank joins the band, but it's the same recipe as before as they blast through another chunk of 80s heavy metal.

While much of what worked on Witch Hunter sticks around, with plenty of chunky riffs and shreddy solos, I feel like this album is less experimental and more interested in settling into a conventional metal style.  However, I think they're comfortable with what they've created, making for a more consistent album overall.  Once again, they channel Judas Priest and Accept, and I found I liked the ones that leaned more Accept, like "Heaven Can Wait" and "Paradise."  "Fallout" even has a dark atmosphere as they discuss the destruction of nuclear bombs.  The strange instrumental "The End" that closes the album is really the only piece that seems different, going for a more cinematic little song than anything resembling rock or metal.

However, some tracks do feel kinda paint-by-numbers.  "Let Your Heads Roll" is a pretty standard song about rock 'n' roll, and "Love Is Breaking My Heart" is a very typical power ballad that any other band could have written.  While I don't know whether or not it's better than Witch Hunter, I would say that this one is more accessible.  Whether or not that's intentional, I don't know, but I do know that they would push for more accessibility with their next album.

Digger - Stronger Than Ever

Simplifying their name to just Digger, and replacing Peter Masson with Uwe Luwis on guitars, Grave Digger were certainly courting a more mainstream audience (if the robot duck flexing his arm on the cover art wasn't a clue itself).  I wasn't able to find out if this was something the band wanted to, or if they were pressured by their label/manager/etc.  In any case, the result is a very curious mixed bag of songs.

It's a weird album where their efforts for a more poppy sound are only on a few tracks, while others retain their furious speed-metal sound, making for a very clunky listen.  Things start with "Wanna Get Close," which sounds like a very typical 80s glam metal rocker for MTV, as does "Stay Till the Morning," and the title track wanders into AOR territory.  But then you have songs like "Lay It Own" and "Shadows of the Past" that are full of high-tempo energy, making me think of their messy first album.  Even the mid-tempo songs like "Moonriders" and "Stand Up and Rock" feel more like typical Grave Digger than anything radio friendly.  Chris Boltendahl switches his singing style based on the song, trying to be clean for the more accessible ones, but roaring as usual for the others.  While there have been a few keyboards in the past, the synths are quite prominent here.  They're cheesy, but not out of place.  I did like "Don't Leave Me Lonely," as the uptempo parts made me think of Walls of Jericho-era Helloween, but overall, this album is an awkward listen.  Part of the problem is that the band doesn't seem to be as into things unless they're doing the fast songs, leaving some rather uneven performances (though the production is quite nice).

I can see why fans would be frustrated with this album.  While it does have some of the Grave Digger they know and love, it feels compromised in its efforts to find a bigger audience, which it never did.  After this album, the band broke up, and Chris and Luwis focused on a new project called Hawaii.  That group only ever recorded a demo, but as they carried on, they decided to pick the Grave Digger name again and reboot themselves in the 90s.  I'll probably get to those at some point, as I am curious, but it may take some time before I get back around to this band.

Accept - Russian Roulette

Let's finish this article off with these German legends.  While Metal Heart was successful, it certainly leaned towards a more commercial sound, which ended up being a mixed bag in terms of quality.  Accept decided they weren't completely satisfied with that and decided to go back to their gritty roots with their next one.  They also decided to focus on a strong, anti-war theme, considering it a stupid game, like Russian Roulette.

Not that all the songs talk about war, as they cover other topics typical for them: monsters, empowerment, and masculinity.  They definitely get right to it with the opening track "T.V. War," a solid speed metal track to get things going.  However, songs like "Monsterman," "It's Hard to Find a Way," "Walking in the Shadow," and "Man Enough to Cry" lean into some very typical 80s metal.  They're not MTV fodder, but there certainly is a strong AC/DC vibe on these songs.  The title track gets rather somber, as does the 7 minute "Heaven Is Hell," showing the band's range.  One thing they did keep around was the emphasis on gang vocals, appearing on most of these songs, giving them a more anthemic touch.

While I do think this is an improvement over most of what was on their last album, I also find there is isn't a whole lot that stands out.  It's a good pick-and-mix of their various staples, and it's all played well enough, but it's hard not to feel like I've heard them do each of these better on previous (or later) albums.  It's not a bad album, and perhaps something of a refocus for the band, but not much more.

Retro Reviews - 1985 Edition Part 2!

Yup, another slab of albums from 1985, this time focusing on sophomore releases from bands with two words in their names (I didn't plan that, but that's what happened).  Did these bands succeed in expanding and improving their sound, or did they fall in a slump?  This is the question I asked as I checked out this handful of heavy metal releases, and got some interesting results!

Saint Vitus - Hallow's Victim & The Walking Dead (EP)

This band is one of the classic doom metal bands that helped establish the genre with a sound very reminiscent of 70s Black Sabbath (if their name wasn't a major clue).  I listened to their first album years ago, and found it delightfully Sabbath-y, despite the muddy production.  However, now that I'm working on listening to a bunch of albums for my Top 5 articles, this ended up on the list as something I wanted to follow up on.  Unsurprisingly, it's another chunk of Sabbathy metal riffing and energy, but they mess around with the formula more.

The major thing that's different is that they push into some faster song-writing, with some mixed results.  "White Stallions" is not bad, but the title track is a sloppy attempt at speed metal.  "War Is Our Destiny" shifts its tempo around, starting slow, picking up speed, then shifting back down for the lyrics.  Of course, they retain their Sabbath inspirations on songs like "Mystic Lady," "Just Friends (Empty Love)," and "Prayer for the (M)asses," so the doom hasn't disappeared.  It just seems like they were trying to push their sound in a few different directions to see what their limitations were.  As a consequence, some of the atmosphere is gone, making it hard to just soak into the songs like with their first release.

I saw that Hallow's Victim is often paired with an EP that came out the same year titled The Walking Dead, featuring "White Stallions" again, a song called "Darkness," and the title track, which goes 11 minutes.  "Darkness" goes for more uptempo energy with triplet chugging, but feels a bit sloppy as well.  However, "The Walking Dead" is a plodding doom epic.  It does get a little repetitive, but it's also the song with the strongest sense of atmosphere compared to the rest.

Overall, I think their first album is better, but I can see that this band was trying to blend some new ideas in to see where they could go with their sound.  While I don't think this album and EP are bad, their certainly clunky.  Those looking for more classic doom will find bits and pieces to like, but may not connect with the material as a whole.  

Fates Warning - The Spectre Within

After their first album was a bit of a mess (though some decent US power metal), Fates Warning really come out swinging for their follow-up, establishing a stronger prog metal sound.  This second album is definitely an improvement, retaining what worked before and refining into something that sounds pretty distinct and powerful.

The new level of progressive comes right at the start with "Traveler in Time" with a bunch of mixed meter elements and some pretty curious melodies and harmonies.  The album maintains this proggy attitude throughout, and it feels like a bit of a missing link between early Savatage and Dream Theater's first album, with a heavy dose of Maiden-style riffing and soloing.  Seriously, the guitar work on here is impressive, as Jim Matheos and Victor Arduini really work their fingers off!  All of this would be fine if it weren't for the lyrics.  While John Arch is a great singer, the words feel like they're off by half a measure, not really lining up with the songs' phrasing, so the lyrics sound like rambling as much as singing.  Maybe it's just an attempt to be strange and unique, but the results can feel jarring.  The album ends with the nearly twelve-minute "Epitaph," which is their first attempt at a prog epic, and it's not bad.  I don't think it completely earns its length, as I think some of it is padded just to make it longer, but it was a solid closer.

"The Apparition" and "Kyrie Eleison" were the tracks that stood out the most to me, having some very strong Iron Maiden and Metal Church energy.  Considering the album as a whole, it definitely feels like a band in transition, trying some things to see what works and what doesn't.  However, unlike the Saint Vitus album above, this is clearly a step up for the band.  It's clear that they were settling into their own unique sound with this album, while having some excellent and unique guitar work.

Grave Digger - Witch Hunter

After checking out their latest album, I figured I should dig back into Grave Digger's past.  I listened to their debut years ago, and I thought it wasn't bad, despite being pretty sloppy.  With the follow up, they've definitely tightened up their song-writing and their chops, but once again, they focus on just having a lot of energy to make up for their flaws, and it mostly works.

This is pure 80s German metal, equal parts Accept and Judas Priest, with faster tempos and a harsher attitude, providing mainly by Chris Boltendahl's iconic gritty voice.  The guitar work by Peter Masson is furious and aggressive, and the rest of the band pound out these songs with gusto.  "Witch Hunter" takes a bit to get into with the long intro, but settles into some solid, horror-themed metal, and "Get Away" is a great speedster.  However, some of the other songs tend to have some strange transitions.  "Get Ready for Power" wants to have this anthemic chorus, but the half-tempo approach doesn't match the rest of the song's speed.  "Fight for Freedom" and "Friends of Mine" also have some jarring shifts, going from melodic and slow to thrashy and aggressive on the turn of a dime.  Their cover of Alice Cooper's "School's Out" is quite tame in comparison to the rest of the album.  Of all things, though, I ended up liking the ballad quite a bit.  "Love Is a Game" might seem pretty cliched, but Chris actually croons on it, and he sounds surprisingly good.  I also like that descending riff under the chorus.

Overall, it's a bit of a mixed bag of an album, but most of it falls on the good side, largely because of the energy the band pushes.  This album is an improvement over their debut, and you can tell they're having a lot of fun playing these songs.  Chris gets in some good wails and the solos are often satisfyingly shreddy, making it a bit of a gem that is better for its lack of polish.  Sometimes metal just needs to be metal, and this album shows how that works.

Armored Saint - Delirious Nomad

While I thought their first album was solid, if a bit generic, Armored Saint carried on with a rather quick follow-up, like the other bands in this article.  They ended up getting a producer who worked on Ozzy's first few albums, resulting in an album that has a lot of polish and tight songwriting.  

It really does feel like a blend of what Judas Priest and Ozzy were doing in the early-to-mid 80s, aiming for a more polished heavy metal sound without going full-on glam metal.  John Bush remains a great singer, bringing a lot of swagger to these songs, and there's some solid riffing and soloing.  "Over the Edge" has an interesting bluesy-groove, and "Aftermath" has some curious transitions to different levels of intensity.  Unfortunately, the rest feel very typical for 1985, and I'm surprised that this stuff wasn't put on MTV at the time, as it would have fit right in quite well.   The lyrics do stick to darker subject matter, like revenge, madness, nuclear apocalypse, and isolation, so maybe that kept them out of glam territory at the time.

Honestly, this album feels rather ahead of its time, sounding like some of the later 80s pop metal, like Skid Row, Tesla, and Winger (as there are a few proggy touches).  Like their first, this is by no means a bad album.  Featuring well-written, well-performed songs, you could certainly do a lot worse than many albums that came out at this time.  However, I can't deny that little of it sticks in my mind once I've finished listening to it, making for a bit of a middling release.

New Releases - February 2025!

Well, this came out later than I was planning, though I did come down with some pretty serious colds.  Hopefully I'm over those now and can work on what looks to be a busy year.  I'm trying to get a better start on new releases this time, as there are some big ones right off, and because my retro listening is a bit different this time around.  In any case, here's a trio of interesting metal albums to get things kicked off!

Dream Theater - Parasomnia

While I have covered Dream Theater a few times in the past, this one gets the notable return of Mike Portnoy to the fold.  From there, they've crafted something of a thematic concept album, focused on various forms of sleep disorders (if the title wasn't a clue).  This gives the album a darker feel that's more about mood and atmosphere than heaviness, necessarily.  Still, all of the band members' skills remain on display, which I'm sure will delight their fans.

That darkness kicks in pretty quick with the opener "In the Arms of Morpheus," starting with some cinematic ambience before getting some ominous guitar picking, followed by some heavy riffing.  It's an interesting intro, testing the rest of the album.  From there, the darkness carries on, pretty much through the rest of the album.  "Night Terror" feels like a carry over of the heavy parts from their last album, while "A Broken Man" feels like a throwback to their 90s era.  "Dead Asleep" gets theatrical with the story telling, throwing in a blues-rocking jam for good measure, while "Midnight Messiah" gets thrashy, similar to Train of Thought (which I ought to review at some point).  "Are We Dreaming" is more of an ambient piece that flows into the ballad "Bend the Clock," which features a really nice Pink Floyd segment at the end, allowing Petrucci lean more into his legato style.  The album closes (once again) on a big number, "The Shadow Man Incident," which features the band's typical arrangement of styles and transitions, including a Latin rhythm section because why not?  It's all performed well, with Portnoy getting plenty of time for some rapid fire drum fills to remind folks he's back.

However, I have this sinking feeling that I've heard it all before.  Sure, they have an interesting theme that allows them to explore the darker side of their sound, but compared to the other albums I've listened to, it just feels like more of the same.  Fans will be delighted to get an album they've been waiting for more than a decade for, and I do think it's not a bad album, in fact I enjoyed most of it.  And yet, when it's over, very little stays with me.  Maybe I need to give it a few more spins to let it really sink in (and perhaps the rest of their albums as well), but from my point of view, it's just another (certainly decent) Dream Theater album, just like all the rest.

Grave Digger - Bone Collector

Grave Digger is another one of those bands where I've seen them around, and enjoyed a song or two, but never seriously checked them out until now.  I know they're a long standing German metal band that's had a weird history early on with name changes and break ups, but otherwise they seem to have been a pretty consistent band.  Built on the foundation of bands like Accept and Saxon, they add some speed and a lot of metal clichés, but honestly, I wasn't expecting anything else.

Anything you'd think of when you think of German traditional metal is all here: gruff vocals, chunky guitar riffs, and plenty of energy.  While I'm new to this band, I speculate this is all very much par-for-the-course for this band.  The album starts up with two speed metal songs that go almost too fast for the band.  It's a decent start, but then album drifts into more mid-tempo territory, with "Mirror of Hate" and "Riders of Doom" getting very stompy (in a good way).  The speed picks up towards the end, with "Forever Evil & Buried Alive" featuring some solid energy.  The album then closes on "Whispers of the Damned (The Banality of Evil)," which feels like a Metal Church style power ballad.

While this is all quite fun, the biggest issue is the production.  I know it may be a strange way to describe it, but the songs feel narrow, somehow.  Chris Boltendahl's vocals sometimes get buried (which is strange as he mixed and mastered the album himself).  The lyrics are also a bit on the generic side, which is interesting, as I understand this band has covered more interesting topics in the past.  Still, this is not a bad album by any means, as the riffing remains solid and chunky throughout.  This album definitely falls under the category of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," and that's just fine.

Beriedir - Liminal Spaces

When I saw Beriedir had a new album, I was pretty intrigued.  I liked their last one, as it has a lot of lush layering and interesting ideas, though it wasn't perfect.  Still, I wanted to see what they would do this time around, only to discover that they had taken a pretty dramatic shift.

While much of their sound is still here, with the synths really filling a wall of sound not unlike other melodic prog metal bands, they have chosen to twist it up with a significant dose of classic Gothenburg melodic death metal.  The vocals have both clean and harsh varieties, and the riffing definitely takes a more chaotic turn, resulting in some haphazard songwriting.  I'm not sure what compelled them to add this to their sound, but they're clearly dedicated to it, as it shows up on nearly all the songs.  The lyrics have also taken a level in pretentiousness, making references to Old Testament prophets and German Renaissance artists, among other things.  The band is tight in their performances, even with some pretty jarring rhythms and time signature changes.  I can't imagine this stuff would be easy to play live.

What I will say is that it is definitely not a boring listen.  I may have been caught off guard by the inclusion of some extreme metal elements, but the songs were compelling nonetheless.  I think I'm going to need to listen to this one a few more times to really wrap my head around what they're doing.  Credit to them for at least throwing a wrench into their own sound just to see what they could do with it.  If anyone is interested in a fusion of Evergrey and Wintersun, this album is definitely worth a listen.