Yes, I'm still working my way through 1986, this time with some more obscure metal bands. While I've reviewed many of them before, it is interesting to see them change and evolve through the decade. It's very clear that metal was definitely expanding as the decade went on, as different bands had unique ideas of where to take the genre. In any case, here's a handful of interesting albums from the middle of the 80s!
After the relatively successful King of the Dead (which I thought was decent, and an improvement over their debut), the band marched on with another slab of heavy/doom epicness and more Michael Whelan artwork on the cover. While the lineup was the same, this third album definitely shows some interesting changes.
Right off, this is a much shorter album. While King of the Dead surpassed 50 minutes, this one barely gets past the 35-minute mark. The production is also a little cleaner on this one, and the songs do have a bit more energy, leaning more into epic metal with the occasional doomy moment. Tim Baker's iconic voice wails as usual, which I've come to really enjoy, as it fits the story-telling of their lyrics. The guitar solos have some interesting variety, not just doing typical 80s shreddy, but often mixing things up with melodic sections, or even having two guitars wailing over each other, which works weirdly well. However, this shift into traditional metal territory does mean their songs aren't quite as impactful. They're not bad at it, but when most of the choruses are just repeating the title over and over, it leaves me to wonder if some of these songs weren't given enough time to really develop, especially since many of them are shorter than what they've done before.
Overall, it's another decent album, but there have been some trade-offs. While I do like the uptick in energy and the cleaner production, they do take a hit to their doomy atmosphere, which King of the Dead had in spades. I liked the opener "Blood Iron" and the very Sabbathy "Doomed Planet," but "The Fire" and "100 MPH" don't feel as inspired. The closer "One Foot in Hell" is classic Cirith Ungol, though. It's a solid listen, as the band expands their sound, but those looking for classic doom metal might be a little disappointed.
Despite feeling their debut album was pretty lackluster (but not terrible), I decided to give their follow-up a shot as well. Losing nearly everyone but singer James Rivera and guitarist Larry Barragan, this is quite the shake-up. Nevertheless, they charge on ahead, this time picking up some thrash and US power metal elements.
The biggest change is in the song-writing, as conventional structures are mostly abandoned and many of these songs don't even have choruses. Instead, they've chosen to focus a lot on tempo changes and shifting moods, even messing with the time signature from time to time. The riffing is also more complex and the guitar solos shred all over the place. Barragan and newcomer Robert Trevino play some pretty solid stuff all across this album. The rest of the band play with energy, and the wails of Rivera work here, as they push into more dramatic territory, singing about wars and betrayal, nightmares and evil (and even have moments that sound like Cirith Ungol).
While this is certainly an improvement over the debut, as this is more interesting, it also tends to occupy the same space across the album. There are more thrashy elements, and the change ups do help, but at the same time, the songs do feel interchangeable after a while. The title track adds a nice touch of doom metal, and I liked the more melodic chorus of "Dark Queen," but otherwise, these tracks are a little too jumbled to really get into it right away. Maybe if I give this a few more listens, it will click, but for now, it's some pretty typical US power metal, with plenty of noodles for guitar fans to enjoy.
After trying to expand their sound with their sophomore effort, only to result in a mixed bag, their singer Scott Reagers decided to leave the band, so they picked up Scott "Wino" Weinrich. As for the music, they go back the fuzz-heavy doom they had for their debut, but with a slight psychedelic haze over everything.
Yes, we're back into the plodding riffs and atmospheric tones of doom metal, and I think the band is better for it. However, they keep the decent production around, as the band sound pretty good this time around. Wino brings a great sense of drama and angst to the songs, especially since the lyrics have more grounded subject matter, like social isolation, mental illness, and drug addiction. Dave Chandler's guitar riffs bring back a lot of classic Sabbath vibes, but with a lot more effects to warp the sound quite a bit, giving the songs a bit more of a jammy feel, especially when his solos sound as much like noise as they do music, which is not a bad thing here.
I admit it took me a minute to get back into the right headspace for this, but once I did, I was grooving along quite well. The title track that opens the album definitely captures the feel of the whole thing, as all the songs have a strong 70s style to it. "Dying Inside" and "The War Starter" both express their Sabbath-inspirations very well. While I don't think it's as good as Epicus Doomicus Metalicus by Candlemass (as I do love their epic sensibilities), but Born to Late shows a band really maturing as songwriters, creating a pretty solid stoner doom album.
After stepping up their proggy chops with The Spectre Within, the band carried on, replacing guitarist Victor Arduini with Frank Aresti. While they maintain their blend of prog and US power metal, they really push the technical chops of their playing on this one.
The first two tracks make it quite clear that this band has a concrete vision of what they want to be. Noodly riffs, weird rhythms, mixed meter sections, atonal harmonies, and an atmospheric sense of being at the mercy of some mythological power. The lyrics for the album definitely drift into myth and fantasy of a few different kinds, supporting this atmosphere. Despite this, I think there is something wrong with the production. While it's not muddy, it doesn't seem to gel together as well as I'd like. The guitars are thick, providing a decent wall of sound, but the drums are rather dry in comparison, like they're playing in a different room. And poor John Arch sounds like he's shouting from the end of a tunnel, often buried by the other instruments. It's a shame because these are some decent (if highly complex) performances, and Arch's wails are quite solid this time around. I just kinda wish the band wasn't so focused on trying to sound so technical at the expense of songwriting.
Still, there are parts that I liked. "Fata Morgana" is probably the most conventional song, and I liked how it switched from verse to chorus with a different tone. "Giant's Lore" had some interesting riffs, and the closer "Exodus," despite being a slower song, built up a decent amount of epicness. I also get the idea that I will need to listen to this one a few more times to really wrap my head around what they're doing. I don't know if I like this one more than The Spectre Within, but this album certainly shows a band willing to expand and explore their progressive elements.
Despite being best known for where Metallica found Jason Newstead to replace Cliff Burton, this band had its own quiet run through the 80s as a thrash metal band kicking around the west coast. While the band had a bit of a rocky start, they were able to stabilize in the mid 80s to record some demos, which led to being picked up by Metal Blade for their debut album (the only one Newstead played on for them) that's been considered an underground thrash classic.
Sonically, this is very much a fusion of what was going on in thrash metal in the 80s: the speed of Slayer, the sing-song vocals of Anthrax, the dark epicness of Metal Church and Metallica, the technical chops of Megadeth, and some Maiden-inspired guitar work for good measure. Pretty much US power/thrash metal stone soup. Unfortunately, there is a bit of sloppiness in the songwriting, as there are times where the lyrics are mushed together, and many of the riffs and transitions feel like the band is trying too hard to sound edgy and weird. The performances are pretty tightly played, but almost too tight, like every note is played with tension as they want to get it right, making for a bit of an anxious listen. The lyrical topics are all over the place as well, drifting from raunchy lyrics to drug abuse, and from infamous historical figures to Satan starting the nuclear apocalypse only to be beaten by a monster named "Flotzilla" (which explains what the cover art is about). However, they also like their long intros, often blending acoustic and electric guitars in interesting ways.
For what it's worth, there is some good energy here, as the band is clearly playing with their heart on their sleeves. I ended up liking their two long songs in the middle, being the title track and "Metalshock," as I felt they showed their proggy Maiden influences the most on those. The rest of the songs play at a furious, near-unrelenting speed, to the point that it's almost too much. Still, it wasn't a boring listen, and I'm certainly interested in where the band develops from here, as I'm loosely aware that they shift into more of a US power metal sound later on.
