getting now. d-word

[b]Dark Tranquillity - The Same[/b]

Well it gets right into it with a distorted chord and tom-roll. Then a melodic cascading heavy riff, and growly vocals.. not too hard to make out, though I still dont know what he's saying as it's my first few listens. It sounds much like In Flames, just a bit slower.

The chorus is even more melodic, I can work out some of the words here. Theres synth strings weaving nicely with the lead guitar. The chorus plays twice, then theres a marchy bit before the next verse.

Verse and 2x chorus again, then the marchy bit is built upon for the bridge and theres a bit of lead guitar, not too tricky sounding. Back to the chorus and ends at the end of that.

It's fairly easy to listen to for metal and the growly vocals. A lot like In Flames, but not as fast or trebley. I'd also guess that it's not as technical, I reckon I could work this out fairly quickly.

Sounds nice and flows well, though its typical in structure. I also prefer slower stuff in metal, so it was good in that respect. The music sounded a bit too simple for my liking though, still it didnt make it sound bad, I just noticed it not sounding as fiddly as I'd hoped.
7.5/10

______________________________

[b]Zero Hour - Stratagem[/b] - progressive power metal, for fans of weird time sigs. 8 minutes
[b]Wumpscut - Black Death (French Concept)[/b] - ambient techno meets heavy industrial. about 5:50

dibs

****, well i had a nice review written, then i got a DNS error and it was forever lost, time to rewrite it.

[B]Zero Hour - [I]Stratagem[/I][/B]

The bass intro is very nice, and i enjoy the off time drums in the background. The guitar builds up behind it. The following riff is a modification of the original riff, with a lot of double bass. The intro continues in this fashion for quite a while before the vocals come in, making slight variations all on the same riff with at least one instrument. There is a nice little bass lead thrown in there which i enjoy a lot. It's a shame the bassist of this band spends most of his time following the bass drum it seems, as opposed to doing his own thing, because he sure has some good ideas. The guitar lead that follows the bass lead does not impress me much, it isn't bad, but it isn't anything amazing either.

Finally the vocals come in, with a talking voice. Pretty standard here. A quick bridge after this, and the verse begins. The vocalst is obviously pretty talented, but he isn't extremely stand out. Does very well for the genre though. The drumming in the verse is very well done.

A quick bridge ensues again, and another verse follows. The melody between the guitar and bass is nice during the bridge. Good interaction between the members of this band. The second verse is the same as the first one, so nothing new to report here.

Another bridge comes in, much heavier than anything else in the song thus far, a lot of stuff going on here, you will have to listen a few times to get everything. They throw one line of vocals over it in the middle. i really don't like the vocal effect used at all.

It then slows down, very tastefully slows down. Almost in a gordian knot type fashion. The singer's low quiet vocals are remniscent of Russel Allen of Symphony X. I enjoy this whole mellow part quite a bit, it is probably my favorite part of the entire song.

It speeds up, and once again, a lot is going on. Off time beats on the drums, the bassist following the drummer, and the guitarist off doing his own thing. The vocals really tie the whole part together.

Another heavy part ensues, with some really cool drumming in my opinion. I like the snare-bass drum trade off.

The following riff is an eh riff in my opinion. I think it's just not up to par with the rest of the song. However when the vocals fade out there is a really sweet riff going on in the background that is easily missed if you arent paying attention.

Insert gallop beat, but lets make it off time as well. The bassist begins to do something again, and the drumming style reminds me of Dream Theater a lot.

Another verse, and it ends.

Overall a very good experience, I would have liked more of a bassline though [B]8/10[/B]

Now it's my turn.
Swallow the Sun - Through Her Silvery Body (8:40 - Doom Metal)
Arcturus - Kinetic (5:25 - Prog/Avant garde black metal)
Arsis - The Face of My Innocence (5:33 - Melo black/death)

If you have any trouble finding any of these let me know, i have all 3 on my computer, i can send them through AIM and MSN.

If nobody wants any of them ill post new ones later on.

dibs

[b]Swallow The Sun - Through Her Silvery Body[/b]

Starts out with a piano intro. That grabbed me in quickly. Very nice. At 50 seconds, the guitar, drums, and bass come in. Very well harmonized. Very doomy. :cool: At around 1:33, a very slow guitar solo/verse (I can't tell yet) comes in. Good stuff. I'll definately be listening to this again if the rest of the song is as good.
2:17, the guitar changes again, and the vocalist comes in. Very nice growls. Fits very well with the music. The original chorus comes back in at around 3:00 minutes. 3:25, the vocalist comes back in. I'm really digging this vocalist. Maybe I just need to get into more of the doom/death/black metal scene. I only listen to a few select death bands, yet I have a lot of their albums. Back to the music. At 4:00 minutes, the chorus comes in, and the vocalist gets really into it with his closed-throat scream. They have an orchestra (don't know if it's real or not) in the background that mixes in very well.
4:51, a solo. Slow, but awesome. Aha, 5:15, I find out that it isn't a solo, but just an addition. The vocalist came back in, and is singing over it. Now back to the chorus.
This is definately a good song.
6:18, the verse comes back in again. Same stuff.
7:01, chorus again. Same stuff. Vocalist is getting intense again. I think it's coming to a close now. Less than a minute to go. It's rapping up.

It ends with a growl, a few taps on the crash/china cymbal, and the orchestra and guitars fade out.

Great song man. Overall rating: 9/10



Suggestions: Spiral Architect - Conjuring Collapse
Edguy - Power and Majesty
Praxis - Cold Rolled and Iron Dub

Mine!

DVG.

Spiral Architect - Conjuring Collapse

**** this is an ugly song. Heh. Nothing like anything ive ever heard, and not to say its bad, just... ugly.

Starts off with the double bass for a few seconds, then everything else comes in. The intro riff has got some weird chords, but it works. This goes on for a bit, with some cymbal crashing, but the drumming still v. good. It very suddenly changes, with the guitar going into a strange lick and the drums just having fun with the guitar.
Now some trace of melody, then it disappears as the vocals come in. The guys voice is also a bit strange.

If anything the song fits together in itself. There is SOMETHING that holds it together, i think its the chords that sort of follow the tune that the guy is singing. Alot of start and stop. The guitar isn’t that heavy. The drummer likes his cymbals and hi-hat. Have to admit, the guitar doesn’t exactly sound easy to play, and its definitely unique. The solo is also heaps strange but... again, SOMETHING is there that holds it together.

I’m still pretty 'wowed' that a band could even really conceive a song like this. The bands got a lot of skill, if anything. It’s a strange song, but I can see why people like it.

Overall rating: 5.9/10

Ill Nino – With You (spanish/flamenco stuff done by a metal band)

DVG.

[b]Ill Nino - With You[/b]

Yawn. That is all I will say about this song. The classical guitars are cool, and the bongos are cool. Spanish music is mostly enjoyable. But then this terrible 'singer' comes in and ruins everything. It would be a decent instrumental, but this random comes in and completely ****s it up. And his lyrics are crap. "My tears will set you free" What the hell is this, an Enrique Iglesius song? Because that's what it sounds like, a mediocre Enrique Iglesius song.

2/10.

-------------

Darkthrone - Sempiternal Sepulchrality (Death Metal)
Coroner - Suicide Command (Technical Thrash Metal)
Melvins - Honey Bucket (Stoner/Sludge Metal)

EDIT: I take it back, soulseek isn't working for me today

dibs then

[b]Darkthrone - Sempiternal Sepulchrality [/b]

Starts off with a slower guitar riff and drumming, and soon gets faster. This sounds like either a really old song, bad production, or maybe I just got screwed on the download.
The main verse is a bit strange. The vocalist has more of raspy vocals, which isn't a bad thing. Fits in well. Music is sounding good though. 1:20, it's slowed down a little bit, and changed. 1:34, goes back to the fast verse. 1:50, there's blast beats going on. Sounds good. The guitar riff changes frequently, I'm liking that. In fact, it's changing extremely frequently.
2:50, it changes again, with another half-blast beat type thing.
Around 3:00 minutes, a sweet solo starts. I didn't even realize how much towards the end of the song that was. A bit shorter than my taste. Not bad overall though.

The drumming was nice. Good fills, with that nice blastbeat right in the middle. Guitar was tight. I liked that short solo towards the end. The bass fits in very well actually. I can only hear it in specific parts of the song, but it's still good.

I wanted to make this review longer, but it's too short of a song.

Overall rating: 7/10



Suggestions:

Praxis - Cold Rolled / Iron Dub (I know it's a bit hard to find, so contact me on AIM. I'll send it. My AIM= Mekkalayakay :) (experimental. Buckethead side-project)

Kataklysm - Stormland (death metal)

Kataklysm - Stormland (death metal)

Dibs.

Edit: Its taking along time to download, if I don't have it within half an hour, I'll revoke.

[B]Kataklysm - Stormland (death metal)[/B]

Right, I finally got this song downloaded...

Song begins with the main guitar riff thats used throughout the duration of the song, it sounds kinda scratchy and like a typical death metal riff. The riff is quite catchy.

The drums in the song are good, the guitar work fits well with the drum work to keep the song tight, theres quite alot of double bass when the drums come in and during the song.

The vocals quite good, the screams are alright but I've heard better screams.

At around 2.12 there is a pause then then a long scream and some guitar/drum work.

The bass isn't very audiable in this song.

Seeing as I'm not really much of a death metal fan, this song is one of the better ones I've heard.

7/10

I know the review is a bit short, its my first one so they should improve over time.

My suggestions:

[B]Fourwaykill[/B] - [I]Reclamation Rite[/I]
[B]Falconer[/B] - [I]The Coronation[/I]

[QUOTE]After the verse dave mustaine does a middle eastern-sounding riff that really gives you a "holy wars" vibe. The guitar solo is great, dav mustaine is an incredible guitar player, it has speed yet it doesnt loose the melody which is something some great guitar players tend to do. [/QUOTE]


Actually, Friedman did the mid-eastern acoustic solo before the punishment due. I'm pretty sure Mustaine doesn't know most of the crazy scales Friedman structures his solos on, they show the unique style Friedmans has.Good review though...

[QUOTE=extreme_191]After the verse dave mustaine does a middle eastern-sounding riff that really gives you a "holy wars" vibe. The guitar solo is great, dav mustaine is an incredible guitar player, it has speed yet it doesnt loose the melody which is something some great guitar players tend to do.


Actually, Friedman did the mid-eastern acoustic solo before the punishment due. I'm pretty sure Mustaine doesn't know most of the crazy scales Friedman structures his solos on, they show the unique style Friedmans has.Good review though...[/QUOTE]


Read the rules of the thread again. You can only do reviews on one of the songs of the person above you, and that's only if you call dibs first.

[QUOTE=Bass_Rocker_Andy]

My suggestions:

[B]Fourwaykill[/B] - [I]Reclamation Rite[/I]
[B]Falconer[/B] - [I]The Coronation[/I][/QUOTE]


Since nobody else is taking it, dibs

[QUOTE=mekkalayakay]Read the rules of the thread again. You can only do reviews on one of the songs of the person above you, and that's only if you call dibs first.[/QUOTE]

He wasn't reviewing, he quoted someone without adding a quote and commented. :thumb:


I will edit the quotes in.

[center][b]Falconer - The Coronation[/b][/center]

I have heard of this band, but just haven't checked them out.


Starts out with this sweet guitar intro :eek: Then goes into the first verse. Quite gallopy. I'm thinking Power Metal here. The singers voice isn't bad at all. Chorus now, and there is another voice along with the singers one octave up. Fits well. This song is badass so far. Back to the main verse. The guitar in this song is quite sweet. And the drummer is doing a very good job of not getting in the way too much.
Chorus again around 1:40. "And then we will prevail" "VAIL"
2:07, it goes into the bridge. Guitar is superb, along with the drums adding the galloping bit. Another guitar starts to overlayer it. It turns into a solo now. Nice.
At 3:00 minutes, it goes back to a pre-chorus. Then the chorus comes back. It's rapping up. A little pre-solo towards the end on guitar. It closes almost the same as it opens. Nice.

Definately a song I'll listen to again. Overall rating: 7/10


Suggestions:

Praxis - Cold Rolled and Iron Dub aka Cold Rolled / Iron Dub (experimental metal. One of Buckethead's side projects.)

Symphorce - Face of Pain (Power metal)

Katatonia - 12 (Doom metal)

Bumpage.

Dibs on Katatonia. Been meaning to check em for a while now....

[QUOTE=mekkalayakay]Read the rules of the thread again. You can only do reviews on one of the songs of the person above you, and that's only if you call dibs first.[/QUOTE]



Sorry, I was replying to a post and deleted the first half including the quote: thing.

No problem. I mistunderstood what you were doing anyway, so it was my bad.

Right.....I used both Limewire and SoulSeek, and could not find ANY of those 3 files. Pretty weak. So, since the point of this is to get people into new bands, I'm going to review what DID come up for Katatonia, with good, reliable matches. I'm sorry if this song is a bad representation of them.

[B]Katatonia - Ghost Of The Sun[/B]

Starts with a wah riff that soon turns heavy. It's pretty repetitive and doesn't show much imagination, but that doesn't detract. The vocals lack a little charisma, as does the songwriting. There's a lot of swearing in the chorus.

"That's all I hear/A [B]f[/B]ucking lie/Don't give a sh[I]i[/I]t"

On the plus side, the band have a good control of dynamics, which keeps things interesting. An acoustic passage with ethereal backing vocals appears around 2.30 into the song, which I really liked. And, I must say, I really like the melody - the one thing, above all, that stops it being bland. It's a very accessable song, too; not something that needs work to understand. Whether that is good or bad depends on your view, really. I can't imagine it would have much longevity, though.

6.5/10

Verdict: I'd certainly be interesting in hearing some more of their stuff. You can hear the band's potential in the song, for sure. And seeing as it's the most popular mp3, it's probably their most commercial song. Quietly impressed.

And now I offer up -

Heaven Shall Burn - The Weapon They Fear (Black metal-inspired metalcore)
Lullacry - Don't Touch The Flame (Very commercial sounding gothic rock)
Nevermore - The River Dragon Has Come (Seattle thrash)
Jack Off Jill - Devil With The Black Dress On (Marilyn Manson's perverted little sisters)
Queensryche - I Don't Believe In Love (80s prog metal)

The first three can be found here - [url]http://www.centurymedia.com/audio/MP3/mp3.html[/url]

Mel Dibson...

Nevermore - The River Dragon Has Come
 

OK, the intro has just kicked in. Has a nice, mellow rhythym to it. A second guitar just hit in with a flowing lead solo. Wow, the rhythym guitar and lead guitar are harmonizing nicely. It kind of reminds me of the acoustic intro from Metallica- Battery for some reason, except there not acoustic guitars.

Alright, there we go. The distortion just kicked in, and this part is heavy. It's got a good fast rythym, and I'm noticing the drums. Ok, the singer and verse just kicked in. Hmmm, his voice is a bit high-pitched, and it sounds like he's forcing it a bit too much. The verse is pretty sweet though, a nice, crushing riff. OK, we're a little over two minutes in the song, and I'm really digging the lead guitar. It's keeps popping in with these killer scales, and I like how even though each riff is different, it keeps with the rythym.

I can't say the same for this guy's voice. It just sounds too forced and not natural enough, if you follow my festival. But anyway, we're about 3:30 into the song, and they've just started kicking into a breakdown. [B]D[/B]amn, I'm really in love with this lead guitar. It's just all over the place, and it sounds great. Just went from a quick thrash-y solo right into a lead riff and back again. The drums also do a great job with the changing rythym. OK, here we go back into the chorus and singing, proceeding to outro.

I really dug this song, especially the lead guitar, and the intro in the beginning was fantastic. I would have given this song a 10 out of 10, if the singer's voice just didn't sound as forced. It sounds like his voice would stiil be good if he just loosened up a bit.

Score:9/10

Rage Against The Machine- Beautiful World (This song is much different from there usual stuff. It is a cover, and it consists of just a guitar and Zach's vocals. Not screaming, or rapping, but singing, and it sounds really raw. Morello doesn't use any of his trademark effects in this song, just a nice, haunting chord rythym.)

Dib-Dab.

[B]Rage Against The Machine - Beautiful World[/B]

First, what I'm expecting - a cover version that strips all the subtelty of the original away and ends up sounding like the epicenter of an earthquake. Sorry, I wasn't a big fan of Renegades. I'll say this up front.

According to the official site, this song does not appear on any official release. The last time I downloaded a Rage song that wasn't on the official site, it turned out to be a KISS cover by Shandi's Addiction (read - RATM and Tool). And I loved it.

I feel like I've heard these chords before. They're very reminiscent of both Snow Patrol's 'Run' and Damien Rice's 'Cannonball' without the capo. Not what you expect, eh?

I would never have placed the voice as Zach's without knowing it was Rage before. You can hear it, though. Again, he sounds like the singer of Snow Patrol, but the inflections are there.

Apparently this is a cover, but it's not a song I've heard before. I was expecting the original to appear on my Limewire search too, but it didn't. Unless it's a Jimmy Eat World cover. Which I doubt.

It's a fairly atmospheric song, and, as mentioned above, it does have a raw quality to it. The sound quality is pretty good - to be honest, I was expecting demo quality. It does, however, contain what sounds like somebody shaving in the background about two-thirds of the way through. It's okay, though, it helps build tension.

The lyrics are nothing mind-blowing, but they're more than adequate. Overall, a fine departure for Rage. There's none of the pyrotechnics, it won't persuade a kid to pick up the guitar, it's not especially inventive - but it's a good song, and at the end of the day, that's what counts.

7/10.

So, to add to those I suggested earlier, I'll put -

X-Japan - Rusty Nail. (Japanese Metal, very melodic)

Start suggesting more than one song...Especially for a band as rare as that. I didn't find any results for X-Japan.

[QUOTE=Iai][B]Rage Against The Machine - Beautiful World[/B]

It does, however, contain what sounds like somebody shaving in the background about two-thirds of the way through. It's okay, though, it helps build tension.[/QUOTE]

:lol: I never notcied that until you mentioned it. It either sounds like that or someone using a tablesaw while they were recording.