The Playlist of Life --- Trollheart's resurrected Journal

The Batlord · 10-17-2013, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Thanks Batty. When I say predictable I of course don't mean my reactions, which are all expected --- though some albums did surprise me, such as In Flames and Doomsword, to name but two --- but the expected choice of album. I mean, if I reviewed Motorhead everyone would expect "Ace of spades", "Overkill" or "Bomber", in fact I plan to review "Bastards". I know nothing of the album but like the title, and the fact that I know nothing of the album. Some of the choices were invariably down to title, as in the Bathory one, others were taken in order to move along the timeline: I'd reviewed an album from the 90s, so the next one would be one from the 80s and then one from the 2000's and so on, so that it didn't get too stale. Then of course there are the too-obvious, like Metallica's Black album or Master of Puppets, or Sababth's Paranoid. Sometimes I prefer to veer a little left when choosing albums.

Two things. One, I seem to remember you digging In Flames, but their newer stuff is kind of crap. Not that I'm making a dig or telling you to listen to their more "death metal" records, but if you like their melodic side then their are albums far superior. Clayman was the first album by them I ever heard and I have a soft place in my heart for it. It's no more death metally than their newer stuff, so that shouldn't be a problem, but it has much more of a Maiden vibe. It also reminds me of a vaguely extreme metal version of Cheap Trick with it's relatively simple, poppy approach to metal. This should make your head bang as well as your toe tap.

And secondly, all of the Bathory albums I suggested are about vikings. It was sort of Quorthon's thing.

Unknown Soldier · 10-18-2013, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Thanks Batty. When I say predictable I of course don't mean my reactions, which are all expected --- though some albums did surprise me, such as In Flames and Doomsword, to name but two --- but the expected choice of album. I mean, if I reviewed Motorhead everyone would expect "Ace of spades", "Overkill" or "Bomber", in fact I plan to review "Bastards". Then of course there are the too-obvious, like Metallica's Black album or Master of Puppets, or Sababth's Paranoid. Sometimes I prefer to veer a little left when choosing albums.

This was the point that I was making earlier on with you. For example, you've chosen not to review the really well known Motorhead albums but instead have gone with one of the lesser known ones. The simple fact is, you know the Motorhead discography and so you know how "Bastards" relates to the rest of it. Whereas with Sepultura you don't know and avoided the albums most representative of the band. It's ok veering left of field but it will hardly give you the true picture of the band, if you weren't already familiar with them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Toxicity --- System of a Down --- 2001 (American)

Something concerns me about this band. Wiki lists them as a "rock" band, not a "metal" band, but I believe they're accepted as part of the nu-metal scene? I don't know; like so many bands here this is my first encounter with SOAD, so forgive me if I'm introducing a band who should not be included, but I'm going on popular opinion, so let's see how this pans out.

Choppy guitar chords that start and stop, a whispered vocal, pauses, silence, more guitars then the melody kicks in properly as "Prison song" starts, with a vocal that sounds more like something out of a reggae song to be honest. Okay it's heavy but is it metal? Well, apparently SOAD are supposed to utilise an awful lot of different influences so let's not discount them right away. It slows down in the middle and we get some gratuitous growls while vocalist Serj Tankian carries on. It's energetic, it's almost funny in places. Not too sure if I'm meant to take this seriously? Anyhoo, next track is "Needles", with a big heavy drumbeat and churning guitars, vocal is sort of spoken/shouted almost in a punk fashion, then "Deer dance" has the reggae-ish vocal back, tripping along nicely then Tankian starts shouting again.

Is this metal? I still don't know. I wouldn't categorise it as such, personally. Not so far anyway. "Jet pilot" just flies along at Mach II, then slows down into an almost traditional format, like a folk song in arabic or something, then flies off again. SOAD seem to relish mixing different styles and genres in even one song, which to my mind makes it hard to decide whether or not you like them. Things don't change really until "Chop suey!" has a nice introspective guitar line, but then that becomes a harder one and the vocal is another rapid-fire delivery for part of the song, dropping back on soft piano to an almost balladic style before returning to the original delivery. Quite annoying really.

There's a sense of the innate silliness of some of the vocal performances of The Divine Comedy in "Bounce" and then a rising, sort of intense vocal in "Forest", while "ATWA" is kind of a mess with Tankian snarling "You don't care/ How I feel!" Sort of sums up my mindset on this album, I have to say. I think I'd rather listen to some doom metal. Or even black metal. Yeah. Even Venom would be preferable to this. Well, might be a close run thing. I really don't like this. SOAD are trying to be too clever, too wacky and it's as I said already very annoying. The title track runs on a nice chimy slow guitar run and a decent vocal but of course, as we'd expect by now, that soon gets kicked in the nuts as the rowdy shout breaks out and the guitars and drums go crazy. Sigh. At this point, heard it all before guys and it's not innovative or funny any more.

For me, SOAD doesn't stand for System Of A Down, it means Settle On A Direction! They seem to be constantly flying off at tangents, mixing rhythms, melodies and genres so much that their music just comes across as a confused, haphazard mish-mash, as if they're just trying ideas out to see how they work. Personally, I feel they don't more often than they do. It's exhausting just trying to keep up with the constant changes. There's some nice guitar work in "Psycho", and the closer "Aerials" has finally settled down into a decent tune; it's a pity they didn't just concentrate on playing to their strengths on this album, instead of just jumping around all over the place like a bunch of Tasmanian Devils on crack. By now though I really couldn't care less. Time to write the outro and forget all about this band.

TRACKLISTING

1. Prison songs
2. Needles
3. Deer dance
4. Jet pilot
5. X
6. Chop Suey!
7. Bounce
8. Forest
9. ATWA
10. Science
11. Shimmy
12. Toxicity
13. Psycho
14. Aerials

It's been said that it's hard to pigeonhole SOAD and I can see why. They really don't seem to be able to settle on one genre, musical style or idea and stick to it. Diversity is all well and good, but not in the same song! It's just too much of an effort to try to sort it all out, and really it is sad because right at the end of the album when they calm down and start playing and singing like a "normal" band, they do very well. But by then I'm already on the bus home and have missed the last few tracks of the encore.

Not a gig I'll be looking at ever returning to. As for the original question I posed at the outset: are System Of A Down metal? I still sure as hell don't know, however now I also don't care.

Nice review and I normally call them Alternative Metal (that complicates stuff though as so types of modern metal can fall under this) I still wish you'd give a mark or quick indication of how good you think the album is, as you do on your bite size journal.

Trollheart · 10-18-2013, 03:02 PM

Okay, now somebody is messing me about! What are the chances that on three separate instances I could come up with three separate random bands, all from Brazil? Well it's happened: here's another one, and yes, they're unsigned.

However there is literally no musical output mentioned from them, despite the fact that they have been together since 2001! So moving swiftly on, and this time we have our first Russian band, this time an actual signed band, but I would think the chances of getting any music from them are slim to say the least.

Daemonlatreia have one album, released in 2002, and then a compliation released in 2005 --- hold on a moment! How can you compile from one album?? Well, as expected there's nothing to be had from them, so on our way we go, and the next one up is another unsigned band, this time from merry old England, little closer to home.

Sadly, Taurea only have two demo tapes and the chances of any of their music being on YouTube are, as expected, minimal. Sigh. Fourth time lucky?

Doubt it. We're back in the land of Mardi Gras, with a death metal band who have one EP to their name. Oh cruel Metal Gods, why do you mock me? Is it because I hate death vocals so much, or laughed at Morbid Angel?

Well... surprisingly, I see YouTubes! So let's see how much of it there is. Meh, about three vids. Not enough to even review their one and only EP. Well, from the sound I'm not too disappointed that we can't sample the full delights of "Danse macabre". But here are two videos to give you an idea what Dissidium are like.

Yes, very nice guys but we have places to be, people to meet. We must move on. So push the button baby!
Okay, our last foray into the world of random bands brings us to Italy, and though these guys have an album (released this year) I can't find it and there are only two YouTubes available, which I'll drop in here.

They're shown as "progressive melodic death metal", and hail from Venice. They've been together since 2009, and look to be a sixpiece.

So that's it for another week. Total failure this time around: didn't find even one band with a catalogue, album or EP I could review. Still, took us a little around the world, eh? Yeah I know: you've gotta smile, otherwise you'll be firing up the chainsaw and heading out looking for victims! Ah well, one more week to go. Perhaps we'll have better luck in the final week of Metal Month.

Trollheart · 10-18-2013, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier

This was the point that I was making earlier on with you. For example, you've chosen not to review the really well known Motorhead albums but instead have gone with one of the lesser known ones. The simple fact is, you know the Motorhead discography and so you know how "Bastards" relates to the rest of it. Whereas with Sepultura you don't know and avoided the albums most representative of the band. It's ok veering left of field but it will hardly give you the true picture of the band, if you weren't already familiar with them.

Yeah, but that's cos I know Motorhead reasonably well. If I knew Sepultura I could have chosen a better/more relevant album, but since I didn't, and time was after all pressing on me, I looked in most cases for something that just drew me to an album: I like bright shiny things! Sometimes it's a sleeve, sometimes a title, sometimes the subject matter. Then again I often go for debut or last album, or as I already said it could be that I need an album recorded in a time period different to the one for the album I've just reviewed, ie I don't like to review three albums from the 80s together, or whatever.

Also, I'm not trying to build up a picture of any band I don't know, just attempting to include as many diverse bands and subgenres as I can, so that nobody can say they were left out. Though of course some will --- "Why no pirate metal? Why no stoner doom? Why no ---" SHUT UP!!!

Quote:

Nice review and I normally call them Alternative Metal (that complicates stuff though as so types of modern metal can fall under this)

Thanks! I pretty much hated that album I must say. Had no idea what to expect, which is an interesting position to be in when reviewing. I'm not sure what way you do it, but for new albums, generally, I tend to review on the first listen, so I get all my first impressions down from the word go. Probably not the best way to do it, but it works for me more often than it doesn't.

Quote:

I still wish you'd give a mark or quick indication of how good you think the album is, as you do on your bite size journal.

Oh, okay okay! Watch this space...

Trollheart · 10-18-2013, 03:37 PM

Okay, well as most of you know here I'm a huge Iron Maiden fanatic, and have already reviewed "The number of the Beast" here

http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ml#post1199777,

their debut self-titled here
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ml#post1140045,
"Brave new world" here
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ml#post1049293
and even "Virtual XI" here
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ml#post1101902 (a less than glowing review, I'll admit).

I've even written an entire section on them in my "Taking centre stage" series, back in 2011, here
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ml#post1105793,
and I would not be at all surprised to find me reviewing "Killers" before Metal Month wraps up.

But right now I'd like to take a look at one of their most famous and loved albums. Although it's true that "The number of the Beast" is my favourite of theirs, and is, as the section claims, one of the "Albums that changed my life" and awoke in my heart the delights of Heavy Metal, this must also go down as a very instrumental part of the

Powerslave --- Iron Maiden --- 1984 (EMI)

Any Maiden fan will tell you --- hell, any metal fan will tell you --- this was the album where Bruce and the boys really hit the pinnacle of their creativity. Sure, I love "Number of the Beast" and "Piece of mind" was a great album, and "Somewhere in time" had its moments, but nothing ever quite got it as perfectly on the nose as this, their fifth album overall and their third with Dickinson. After the immense commercial success of the prior two albums, they perhaps took a chance by having one with only eight tracks, one of which was almost fourteen minutes long, but though the singles from this album would not perform perhaps as well as had previous ones, it was a critical and fan favourite, with its varied themes and references to classic literature and history.

With its striking cover fans were left in no doubt that Eddie was back in power; having been depicted as a madman on the cover of the previous album he was now shown as a god being worshipped in ancient Egypt. With no lineup changes and the band seemingly happy to be playing together, this is one of the tightest performances Maiden have achieved on record. It opens with "Aces high", a tribute to the fighter pilots who fought the Battle of Britain during World War II and foiled Hitler's plans to invade England. Kicking off with the traditional twin guitar attack the band has become famous for, it's not long before Bruce screams in like a diving Spitfire himself, his voice never in better shape. Nicko McBrain on the drums sounds like shattering flak in the sky as the clouds light up with tracer fire. Like many of Maiden's songs it has a really great hook in the chorus, and of course a superb guitar solo as throughout the album Adrian Smith and Dave Murray good-naturedly struggle to one-up each other with the most fluid and effective solo. The tempo doesn't slow for a moment (this is an Iron Maiden album, after all!) as we hammer into "Two minutes to midnight", with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

With something more of a sense of boogie in it, it's somewhat less frenetic than the opener but still heavy as hell as Bruce yells "We oil the jaws/ Of the war machine/ And feed it with our babies!" There's a lengthy solo on it which is more like an instrumental break than just a guitar riff, and the song is followed by one of the few Maiden instrumentals of their career. There hasn't, at this point, been one since "Killers", and so far we've yet to hear another one as of the time of writing. It's of course a vehicle for Smith and Murray to show off what they can do, ably aided by the somewhat nuts Nicko, and "Losfer words (Big 'orra)" is good, but I would perhaps have preferred a full song. Still, what are you going to do? It does lead into the powerful "Flash of the blade", which allows Bruce to indulge, at least lyrically, his love of fencing. With a great rolling guitar intro it's mid-paced for Maiden, with guitars changing to grind mode as Dickinson begins the vocal, and the lyric pays I believe something of a nod back to "Sun and steel" from the previous album.

Not surprisingly, it's written by the vocalist, one of two on which he writes solo, though he does collaborate on two others. I must say though I find "The duellists", which comes after it, extremely similar in lyrical theme and yet it's Harris that writes this. It's almost as if he said to himself, well if Bruce can write a song about fencing and duelling, so can I! Trouble is, he's not nearly as good at it, and I say that knowing how great a lyricist Steve is, but Bruce has practical knowledge and experience of fencing, and though this is not the same song it is quite similar. It's almost "Tailgunner" to "Aces high", and I just don't see why two songs so near to each other in theme had to be on the same album? It is a great song though and Bruce excels himself on the vocal, with the boys racking out solo after solo.

Then we're looking back again, to the seminal "Number of the Beast" album, as we find ourselves "Back in the Village", a sequel to "The Prisoner" of course, from that album. It's a continuation in every way, as the protagonist tries to escape from the mysterious place in which he has found himself, knowing it's unlikely he ever will. A big barrage of guitar riffs opens the song, and it trips along at mega-fast speed on the back of McBrain's manic drumming. In structure and melody it's actually fairly close to "Aces high", showing up a slight flaw running through this album, classic though it certainly is. There are a few ideas which appear to be recycled through the album, and I'm not sure why that is. The title track then looms large with its dark voices, wind effects and spooky noises, as a dark evil laugh gets the song going, a definite eastern tinge to the melody as we hear the lament of a god who does not want to die: "Tell me why I have to be a powerslave?/ I don't want to die/ I'm a god, why can't I live on?" The song rattles along on the twin rails of Adrian Smith and Dave Murray's guitars, while Bruce revels in the dark persona of the pharaoh he portrays. Steve Harris keeps an ominous bassline going like a guard at the mouth of the tomb, maintaining watch for the return of the god.

Nice introspective guitar solo in the middle as the whole thing slows down, then the solo changes to a fast metal one (possibly the two lads taking turns, I don't know) as it takes off again, thundering towards its conclusion with a big hammerpunch at the end. At just over seven minutes this would be the longest track on the album were it not for the closer. Closely modelled on Samuel Taylor Coleridge's epic poem of the same name, "The rime of the Ancient Mariner" runs for a total of almost fourteen minutes, twice as long as "Powerslave". It starts with a galloping guitar intro as Bruce sings the opening verses, slightly modified for the lyric, telling the tale of the unlucky sailor who kills the albatross and thus brings a curse down on his fellow crewmen, their ship becalmed in strange seas.

The most effective and memorable part of the song is in the midsection, where Steve Harris's bass takes over, pulsing like a slow heartbeat, and the sounds of creaking timbers and the wash of the still sea paints a deathly scene as the mariner watches his friends die before him as Death extracts his toll, but he does not die himself. Bruce's voice intoning the verse is like a pronouncement of doom upon the head of the Ancient Mariner, as he wonders what will happen to him. By now we're halfway through the song and on the back of guitar it begins to pick up again, Harris's bass still carrying the tune until Bruce screams in triumph as the albatross falls off the mariner's neck and the ship begins to move, the wind starting to blow again, taking him in the direction of home. A fine solo from one or the other (impossible to say which) covers the ninth minute of the piece and takes it into the tenth, then in the eleventh it returns to the original melody from the beginning of the song. A real triumph, the longest Maiden song ever written, a fan favourite and a storming way to close a brilliant album.

TRACKLISTING

1. Aces high
2. Two minutes to midnight
3. Losfer words (Big 'orra)
4. Flash of the blade
5. The duellists
6. Back in the village
7. Powerslave
8. The rime of the Ancient Mariner

Just another of the many reasons why Iron Maiden rose to, and remain at, the top of the heavy metal tree. This album is a true classic, an amazing achievement and a real crosssection of what this band is capable of. Scoffing at the erroneously wideheld belief that metal bands only sing about women, beer, motorbikes and fighting, Maiden showed the power and breadth of their songwriting skills on this album, and that they could stand toe to toe with the best of them. They introduced culture into the lives of fans who had, probably, in the main, not been exposed to or interested in it before. Hordes of headbangers who before this album had no idea who Samuel Taylor Coleridge was, and cared less, now sing at the top of their lungs lines from a poem written in the nineteenth century. How's that for progress?

Read more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Maiden

Powerstars · 10-18-2013, 08:31 PM

I'm starting to think about doing a themed week or month. Any advice?

Unknown Soldier · 10-19-2013, 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

I like bright shiny things! Sometimes it's a sleeve, sometimes a title, sometimes the subject matter.

You sound like a magpie.

Quote:

Thanks! I pretty much hated that album I must say. Had no idea what to expect, which is an interesting position to be in when reviewing. I'm not sure what way you do it, but for new albums, generally, I tend to review on the first listen, so I get all my first impressions down from the word go. Probably not the best way to do it, but it works for me more often than it doesn't.
Oh, okay okay! Watch this space...

I love SOD but I suggest for you to really appreciate the album's quality it needs a few listens. How often do you listen to a new album before reviewing it? I ask this as I often find that I've been too hasty sometimes in dismissing certain albums and also it's important to be in the mood to listen to certain albums as well.

Trollheart · 10-19-2013, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Powerstars

I'm starting to think about doing a themed week or month. Any advice?

Well the obvious would be the beatles, but why not maybe do four (if there are) one on each Beatle's solo work? You know, Lennon one week, McCartney next, then Harrison and ... oh. Well, maybe three.

It's hard to say. Sometimes it's nice to go for something a little unexpected. People knew I was into metal but not the heavier/nastier stuff, which I'm not, so I thought it might be good to do a whole month which would allow me to explore bands I have never heard, see if I could hear what the likes of the Batlord hears when he racks up High on Fire or Morbid Angel (I don't) and also to prove I wasn't afraid to at least listen to bands like Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Slipknot and Carcass. Now at least I can say I have.

But it would have been much more predictable for me to have done a Prog Rock month (may still do) or even an AOR one, because these are my primary areas of interest. I don't know yours, so really, as a certain Samuel Clemens once said, or to paraphrase him, the best person to make that decision is you. You know the music you're into better than anyone. Maybe you're a closet jazz fan? Into punk? Hardcore electro? Without knowing your tastes it's impossible to know. I saw you did a thing on video game music, but would that stretch for a whole month? A month of solo artists? A month of instrumental music? A month of music from around the world, a different country every day?

The possibilities are endless, but if you do a month rather than a week you'll have to bear two things in mind: one, you will pretty much need to update every day to keep the interest going. Two, you'll need more than album reviews or people will get bored. You need some sort of overarching theme to link the weeks, like I did with The Meat Grinder and to a lesser extent The Metal That Made Me. Oh, and it'll need to be a subject popular enough to again keep the interest, so a month of Norwegian Noseflute Music probably ain't gonna cut it. I know, that's three things: I suck at maths.

Just think about it and see what you decide on. Maybe signpost it a while beforehand as I did, see what if any interest there is. And be prepared if you go for the big one: I researched and reviewed for two months before I let Metal Month hit the journal. There's a lot of work involved, and once you start you're in; there's no turning back!

Trollheart · 10-19-2013, 10:50 AM

DEATH: Considered one of the earliest and most revered Death Metal bands. Death (metal band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DEATH METAL: Subgenre characterised by rapid-fire drumming, speed guitar playing and growled vocals. Death (metal band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DEEP PURPLE: Seminal metal band who defined much of the style of what followed. Notable members were Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore and Dave Coverdale. Deep Purple - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DEF LEPPARD: Though later scorned as taking the AOR route to commercial fame, Leppard began as a hard rock/heavy metal band and are seen as one of the leading lights of the NWOBHM. Def Leppard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DeMAIO, JOEY: Bass player with Power Metal band Manowar. Joey DeMaio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DIAMOND HEAD: A band who never quite made it but were very popular initially. Still around today but nobody seems to really care. They were, however, an influence on one of the biggest thrash metal bands of the 80s/90s, Metallica. Diamond Head (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DICKINSON, BRUCE: Frontman and vocalist for Iron Maiden. Bruce Dickinson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DIO: Band formed by Black Sabbath singer Ronnie James Dio which became a massive influence on the metal scene then and afterwards. Still cited as a big influence by most bands. Dio (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DIO, RONNIE JAMES: Creator and founder of the band Dio, Ronnie sadly passed away in 2010. Ronnie James Dio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DOOM METAL: A subgenre that typifies slower, more plodding and grinding music, with melancholic or despairing vocals and lyrics usually about hopelessness, dread, death and fear. Doom metal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DRAGONFORCE: Poster boys for poseur metal, Dragonforce get a lot of stick for "playing at" being metal, running off searing riffs but not really creating much in the way of song structure or melodies, and basically copying other bands. "Metal 101" or "Shredding 101", in other words. DragonForce - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DREAM THEATER: Progressive Metal band who polarise opinion: you either love or hate them. Known for long, convoluted instrumentals in long, convoluted songs. Dream Theater - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

EDDIE: Massive and often animatronic mascot of Iron Maiden, who has appeared on every album cover since the first one, in various costumes and identities. Eddie the Head - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ELLIOTT, JOE: Lead vocalist with Def Leppard. Joe Elliott - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ENTOMBED: Death Metal band from Sweden. Entombed (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

EPICA: Progressive Metal band from Holland. Entombed (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

EUROPE: "Hair metal" band best remembered for the smash hit "The final countdown". Europe (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

EVANESCENCE: US Gothic Metal band who had some chart success initially but have faded mostly away from the public eye now. Evanescence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

EXTREME METAL: Not so much a subgenre as a sort of catch-all description covering the likes of Speed, Thrash, Death and Black Metal, often taking influences from each.

FATES WARNING: American Progressive Metal band. Fates Warning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

FEAR FACTORY: Influential Metal band who disbanded in 2002. Fear Factory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

GIRLSCHOOL: One of the first all-female Heavy Metal bands, they were identified closely with Motorhead and flourished around the time of the NWOBHM era. Girlschool - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

GRAVE DIGGER: German Power Metal band. Grave Digger (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

GREAT WHITE: American Metal band sadly best known now for the tragic gig they played at Rhode Island in 2003 in which fireworks were used and the place burned down, taking the lives of one hundred people. Great White - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

GRINDCORE: An extreme subgenre of an extreme subgenre, Grindcore takes noise to new levels, with incomprehensible vocals, distorted guitars, blastbeats and songs that are often less than a minute long. Grindcore - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

GUNS N ROSES: One of the most famous recent and most commercial Metal bands --- some would say they weren't even true metal. Possibly more in the Bon Jovi category, whom nobody would class as any sort of Metal! Guns N' Roses - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HALFORD, ROB: Legendary singer with classic Metal band Judas Priest. Rob Halford - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HAMMERFALL: Power Metal band from Sweden. HammerFall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HARRIS, STEVE: Bass player, songwriter, creative force and founder of world superstar Metal band Iron Maiden. Steve Harris (musician) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HEADBANGING/HEADBANGER: Also known as Headshaking (though not Headshaker), this is the process by which fans, usually with long hair, shake and sway their heads from side to side and up and down while listening to Heavy Metal music, usually live. Headbanging ranges in levels of ferocity, from gentle swaying to violent, brain-jarring reflexes. Headbanger is also a term for a Metal fan, though these days Metalhead has taken over mostly. Headbanging - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HELLOWEEN: Revered Power Metal band from Germany, a huge influence on the subgenre and on Metal in general. Very instrumental in the rise of Power Metal as a force in Germany. Helloween - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Trollheart · 10-19-2013, 10:58 AM

Super collider --- Megadeth --- 2013 (Tradecraft)

So what would Metal Month be without something from Metallica? Well, that's coming later, but right now I want to look at the new album from their "sister band", which some might consider the evil or ugly sister, Dave Mustaine's Megadeth, who released their latest album a few months ago. It's the first one to be self-released on his own label after he had problems with longtime label Roadrunner, and Megadeth's first return to the studio since 2011.

"Kingmaker" opens the album with an ominous little bassline and the sound of helicopter blades before the guitar and drums crash in, pulling the song along in a nice uptempo but not breakneck speed. I've always liked Mustaine's voice, and prefer it in fact to that of James Hetfield . He has a growly tone to his voice which makes it menacing without descending into the sort of snarls that so often make metal vocalists indecipherable. The guitar work is great too, both from Mustaine and Chris Broderick. I hear little snatches of the melody from Motorhead's "Ace of spades" in here, and it's a great opener, smashing into the title track which rides along nicely on a thick guitar line, and it's guitar that opens "Burn!" which rocks along with a sense of a harder, heavier ZZ Top meeting Deep Purple.

"Prepare for war" is the fastest and heaviest on the album yet, but it's not for me. Bit too simple in its construction and well, just doesn't do anything for me. Even the addition of the Shannon Irish Rovers Pipe Band can't rescue it: hey, I hate bagpipes! Bagpipes? On a metal album? Better believe it! Much better is the almost melancholic "Off the edge", even given Mustaine's frankly annoying rhyming verses. There's cello and violin (yeah) in "Dance in the rain", with a guest vocal from Disturbed's David Draiman. I haven't heard Disturbed before, but I'm not mad about the semi-rap vocal, although it gets a little better as the song picks up.

Great guitar solo and it really kicks in for the last minute, notching up the speed seriously. Great drumwork from Shawn Drover, really driving the rhythm, then a thick dark bass opens "Beginning of sorrow", which actually sounds quite symphonic/gothic. It features some backing vocals from Mustaine's own daughter, Electra, one of two songs she provides backing vox on. Things get weirder with banjo in "The blackest crow", also fiddle, the song providing a dark, dramatic sort of sound. Quite a commercial sound, if that can be said of Megadeth, to "Forget to remember": could be a single maybe? The second track on which Electra sings backing vocals, it's one of the better tracks with a really cool hook that remains with you after the album is over.

Speaking of the end of the album, we're nearly there, with just two tracks to go. A deceptively gentle opening to "Don't turn your back", slide guitar from Mustaine in a very bluesy feel, then it pumps up to full speed, Drover hammering the beat like a man possessed. Great anger in the song, and we close on a cover of Lizzy's "Cold sweat". It's a good version, but nobody's ever gonna beat John Sykes on that solo. Plus given that it was inadvertently part of Phil Lynott's swansong, it just feels, well, wrong to hear anyone else sing it. Great track though.

TRACKLISTING

1. Kingmaker
2. Super collider
3. Burn!
4. Prepare for war
5. Off the edge
6. Dance in the rain
7. Beginning of sorrow
8. The blackest crow
9. Forget to remember
10. Don't turn your back
11. Cold sweat

So it's another fine album from the people who brought you "Peace sells", "Rust in peace" and "The world needs a hero". Nice to see Megadeth experimenting with some instruments usually considered outside the sphere of heavy metal --- unless you're playing progressive metal --- like violins, cellos and banjos. Perhaps not so much of the bagpipes next time though, eh guys? All in all though a good album; perhaps not a great album but certainly not a disappointment. Very solid, with some very decent tracks and some quite excellent ones. Proof that Megadeth can still hold their heads up as one of the major metal bands of the last quarter-century, and go toe to toe with any newcomer who cares to try his luck.

Read more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megadeth

10-18-2013, 03:02 PM	#1963 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Okay, now somebody is messing me about! What are the chances that on three separate instances I could come up with three separate random bands, all from Brazil? Well it's happened: here's another one, and yes, they're unsigned. However there is literally no musical output mentioned from them, despite the fact that they have been together since 2001! So moving swiftly on, and this time we have our first Russian band, this time an actual signed band, but I would think the chances of getting any music from them are slim to say the least. Daemonlatreia have one album, released in 2002, and then a compliation released in 2005 --- hold on a moment! How can you compile from one album?? Well, as expected there's nothing to be had from them, so on our way we go, and the next one up is another unsigned band, this time from merry old England, little closer to home. Sadly, Taurea only have two demo tapes and the chances of any of their music being on YouTube are, as expected, minimal. Sigh. Fourth time lucky? Doubt it. We're back in the land of Mardi Gras, with a death metal band who have one EP to their name. Oh cruel Metal Gods, why do you mock me? Is it because I hate death vocals so much, or laughed at Morbid Angel? Well... surprisingly, I see YouTubes! So let's see how much of it there is. Meh, about three vids. Not enough to even review their one and only EP. Well, from the sound I'm not too disappointed that we can't sample the full delights of "Danse macabre". But here are two videos to give you an idea what Dissidium are like. Yes, very nice guys but we have places to be, people to meet. We must move on. So push the button baby! Okay, our last foray into the world of random bands brings us to Italy, and though these guys have an album (released this year) I can't find it and there are only two YouTubes available, which I'll drop in here. They're shown as "progressive melodic death metal", and hail from Venice. They've been together since 2009, and look to be a sixpiece. So that's it for another week. Total failure this time around: didn't find even one band with a catalogue, album or EP I could review. Still, took us a little around the world, eh? Yeah I know: you've gotta smile, otherwise you'll be firing up the chainsaw and heading out looking for victims! Ah well, one more week to go. Perhaps we'll have better luck in the final week of Metal Month. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

10-18-2013, 03:37 PM	#1965 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Okay, well as most of you know here I'm a huge Iron Maiden fanatic, and have already reviewed "The number of the Beast" here http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ml#post1199777, their debut self-titled here http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ml#post1140045, "Brave new world" here http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ml#post1049293 and even "Virtual XI" here http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ml#post1101902 (a less than glowing review, I'll admit). I've even written an entire section on them in my "Taking centre stage" series, back in 2011, here http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ml#post1105793, and I would not be at all surprised to find me reviewing "Killers" before Metal Month wraps up. But right now I'd like to take a look at one of their most famous and loved albums. Although it's true that "The number of the Beast" is my favourite of theirs, and is, as the section claims, one of the "Albums that changed my life" and awoke in my heart the delights of Heavy Metal, this must also go down as a very instrumental part of the Powerslave --- Iron Maiden --- 1984 (EMI) Any Maiden fan will tell you --- hell, any metal fan will tell you --- this was the album where Bruce and the boys really hit the pinnacle of their creativity. Sure, I love "Number of the Beast" and "Piece of mind" was a great album, and "Somewhere in time" had its moments, but nothing ever quite got it as perfectly on the nose as this, their fifth album overall and their third with Dickinson. After the immense commercial success of the prior two albums, they perhaps took a chance by having one with only eight tracks, one of which was almost fourteen minutes long, but though the singles from this album would not perform perhaps as well as had previous ones, it was a critical and fan favourite, with its varied themes and references to classic literature and history. With its striking cover fans were left in no doubt that Eddie was back in power; having been depicted as a madman on the cover of the previous album he was now shown as a god being worshipped in ancient Egypt. With no lineup changes and the band seemingly happy to be playing together, this is one of the tightest performances Maiden have achieved on record. It opens with "Aces high", a tribute to the fighter pilots who fought the Battle of Britain during World War II and foiled Hitler's plans to invade England. Kicking off with the traditional twin guitar attack the band has become famous for, it's not long before Bruce screams in like a diving Spitfire himself, his voice never in better shape. Nicko McBrain on the drums sounds like shattering flak in the sky as the clouds light up with tracer fire. Like many of Maiden's songs it has a really great hook in the chorus, and of course a superb guitar solo as throughout the album Adrian Smith and Dave Murray good-naturedly struggle to one-up each other with the most fluid and effective solo. The tempo doesn't slow for a moment (this is an Iron Maiden album, after all!) as we hammer into "Two minutes to midnight", with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. With something more of a sense of boogie in it, it's somewhat less frenetic than the opener but still heavy as hell as Bruce yells "We oil the jaws/ Of the war machine/ And feed it with our babies!" There's a lengthy solo on it which is more like an instrumental break than just a guitar riff, and the song is followed by one of the few Maiden instrumentals of their career. There hasn't, at this point, been one since "Killers", and so far we've yet to hear another one as of the time of writing. It's of course a vehicle for Smith and Murray to show off what they can do, ably aided by the somewhat nuts Nicko, and "Losfer words (Big 'orra)" is good, but I would perhaps have preferred a full song. Still, what are you going to do? It does lead into the powerful "Flash of the blade", which allows Bruce to indulge, at least lyrically, his love of fencing. With a great rolling guitar intro it's mid-paced for Maiden, with guitars changing to grind mode as Dickinson begins the vocal, and the lyric pays I believe something of a nod back to "Sun and steel" from the previous album. Not surprisingly, it's written by the vocalist, one of two on which he writes solo, though he does collaborate on two others. I must say though I find "The duellists", which comes after it, extremely similar in lyrical theme and yet it's Harris that writes this. It's almost as if he said to himself, well if Bruce can write a song about fencing and duelling, so can I! Trouble is, he's not nearly as good at it, and I say that knowing how great a lyricist Steve is, but Bruce has practical knowledge and experience of fencing, and though this is not the same song it is quite similar. It's almost "Tailgunner" to "Aces high", and I just don't see why two songs so near to each other in theme had to be on the same album? It is a great song though and Bruce excels himself on the vocal, with the boys racking out solo after solo. Then we're looking back again, to the seminal "Number of the Beast" album, as we find ourselves "Back in the Village", a sequel to "The Prisoner" of course, from that album. It's a continuation in every way, as the protagonist tries to escape from the mysterious place in which he has found himself, knowing it's unlikely he ever will. A big barrage of guitar riffs opens the song, and it trips along at mega-fast speed on the back of McBrain's manic drumming. In structure and melody it's actually fairly close to "Aces high", showing up a slight flaw running through this album, classic though it certainly is. There are a few ideas which appear to be recycled through the album, and I'm not sure why that is. The title track then looms large with its dark voices, wind effects and spooky noises, as a dark evil laugh gets the song going, a definite eastern tinge to the melody as we hear the lament of a god who does not want to die: "Tell me why I have to be a powerslave?/ I don't want to die/ I'm a god, why can't I live on?" The song rattles along on the twin rails of Adrian Smith and Dave Murray's guitars, while Bruce revels in the dark persona of the pharaoh he portrays. Steve Harris keeps an ominous bassline going like a guard at the mouth of the tomb, maintaining watch for the return of the god. Nice introspective guitar solo in the middle as the whole thing slows down, then the solo changes to a fast metal one (possibly the two lads taking turns, I don't know) as it takes off again, thundering towards its conclusion with a big hammerpunch at the end. At just over seven minutes this would be the longest track on the album were it not for the closer. Closely modelled on Samuel Taylor Coleridge's epic poem of the same name, "The rime of the Ancient Mariner" runs for a total of almost fourteen minutes, twice as long as "Powerslave". It starts with a galloping guitar intro as Bruce sings the opening verses, slightly modified for the lyric, telling the tale of the unlucky sailor who kills the albatross and thus brings a curse down on his fellow crewmen, their ship becalmed in strange seas. The most effective and memorable part of the song is in the midsection, where Steve Harris's bass takes over, pulsing like a slow heartbeat, and the sounds of creaking timbers and the wash of the still sea paints a deathly scene as the mariner watches his friends die before him as Death extracts his toll, but he does not die himself. Bruce's voice intoning the verse is like a pronouncement of doom upon the head of the Ancient Mariner, as he wonders what will happen to him. By now we're halfway through the song and on the back of guitar it begins to pick up again, Harris's bass still carrying the tune until Bruce screams in triumph as the albatross falls off the mariner's neck and the ship begins to move, the wind starting to blow again, taking him in the direction of home. A fine solo from one or the other (impossible to say which) covers the ninth minute of the piece and takes it into the tenth, then in the eleventh it returns to the original melody from the beginning of the song. A real triumph, the longest Maiden song ever written, a fan favourite and a storming way to close a brilliant album. TRACKLISTING 1. Aces high 2. Two minutes to midnight 3. Losfer words (Big 'orra) 4. Flash of the blade 5. The duellists 6. Back in the village 7. Powerslave 8. The rime of the Ancient Mariner Just another of the many reasons why Iron Maiden rose to, and remain at, the top of the heavy metal tree. This album is a true classic, an amazing achievement and a real crosssection of what this band is capable of. Scoffing at the erroneously wideheld belief that metal bands only sing about women, beer, motorbikes and fighting, Maiden showed the power and breadth of their songwriting skills on this album, and that they could stand toe to toe with the best of them. They introduced culture into the lives of fans who had, probably, in the main, not been exposed to or interested in it before. Hordes of headbangers who before this album had no idea who Samuel Taylor Coleridge was, and cared less, now sing at the top of their lungs lines from a poem written in the nineteenth century. How's that for progress? Read more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Maiden __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 10-25-2013 at 02:01 PM.

10-18-2013, 08:31 PM	#1966 (permalink)
Powerstars Music Addict Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 450	I'm starting to think about doing a themed week or month. Any advice? __________________ Last.Fm My New Journal Favorite Album Of The Moment: They Might Be Giants - Glean

10-19-2013, 10:50 AM	#1969 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	DEATH: Considered one of the earliest and most revered Death Metal bands. Death (metal band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia DEATH METAL: Subgenre characterised by rapid-fire drumming, speed guitar playing and growled vocals. Death (metal band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia DEEP PURPLE: Seminal metal band who defined much of the style of what followed. Notable members were Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore and Dave Coverdale. Deep Purple - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia DEF LEPPARD: Though later scorned as taking the AOR route to commercial fame, Leppard began as a hard rock/heavy metal band and are seen as one of the leading lights of the NWOBHM. Def Leppard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia DeMAIO, JOEY: Bass player with Power Metal band Manowar. Joey DeMaio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia DIAMOND HEAD: A band who never quite made it but were very popular initially. Still around today but nobody seems to really care. They were, however, an influence on one of the biggest thrash metal bands of the 80s/90s, Metallica. Diamond Head (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia DICKINSON, BRUCE: Frontman and vocalist for Iron Maiden. Bruce Dickinson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia DIO: Band formed by Black Sabbath singer Ronnie James Dio which became a massive influence on the metal scene then and afterwards. Still cited as a big influence by most bands. Dio (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia DIO, RONNIE JAMES: Creator and founder of the band Dio, Ronnie sadly passed away in 2010. Ronnie James Dio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia DOOM METAL: A subgenre that typifies slower, more plodding and grinding music, with melancholic or despairing vocals and lyrics usually about hopelessness, dread, death and fear. Doom metal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia DRAGONFORCE: Poster boys for poseur metal, Dragonforce get a lot of stick for "playing at" being metal, running off searing riffs but not really creating much in the way of song structure or melodies, and basically copying other bands. "Metal 101" or "Shredding 101", in other words. DragonForce - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia DREAM THEATER: Progressive Metal band who polarise opinion: you either love or hate them. Known for long, convoluted instrumentals in long, convoluted songs. Dream Theater - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia EDDIE: Massive and often animatronic mascot of Iron Maiden, who has appeared on every album cover since the first one, in various costumes and identities. Eddie the Head - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ELLIOTT, JOE: Lead vocalist with Def Leppard. Joe Elliott - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ENTOMBED: Death Metal band from Sweden. Entombed (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia EPICA: Progressive Metal band from Holland. Entombed (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia EUROPE: "Hair metal" band best remembered for the smash hit "The final countdown". Europe (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia EVANESCENCE: US Gothic Metal band who had some chart success initially but have faded mostly away from the public eye now. Evanescence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia EXTREME METAL: Not so much a subgenre as a sort of catch-all description covering the likes of Speed, Thrash, Death and Black Metal, often taking influences from each. FATES WARNING: American Progressive Metal band. Fates Warning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia FEAR FACTORY: Influential Metal band who disbanded in 2002. Fear Factory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia GIRLSCHOOL: One of the first all-female Heavy Metal bands, they were identified closely with Motorhead and flourished around the time of the NWOBHM era. Girlschool - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia GRAVE DIGGER: German Power Metal band. Grave Digger (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia GREAT WHITE: American Metal band sadly best known now for the tragic gig they played at Rhode Island in 2003 in which fireworks were used and the place burned down, taking the lives of one hundred people. Great White - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia GRINDCORE: An extreme subgenre of an extreme subgenre, Grindcore takes noise to new levels, with incomprehensible vocals, distorted guitars, blastbeats and songs that are often less than a minute long. Grindcore - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia GUNS N ROSES: One of the most famous recent and most commercial Metal bands --- some would say they weren't even true metal. Possibly more in the Bon Jovi category, whom nobody would class as any sort of Metal! Guns N' Roses - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia HALFORD, ROB: Legendary singer with classic Metal band Judas Priest. Rob Halford - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia HAMMERFALL: Power Metal band from Sweden. HammerFall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia HARRIS, STEVE: Bass player, songwriter, creative force and founder of world superstar Metal band Iron Maiden. Steve Harris (musician) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia HEADBANGING/HEADBANGER: Also known as Headshaking (though not Headshaker), this is the process by which fans, usually with long hair, shake and sway their heads from side to side and up and down while listening to Heavy Metal music, usually live. Headbanging ranges in levels of ferocity, from gentle swaying to violent, brain-jarring reflexes. Headbanger is also a term for a Metal fan, though these days Metalhead has taken over mostly. Headbanging - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia HELLOWEEN: Revered Power Metal band from Germany, a huge influence on the subgenre and on Metal in general. Very instrumental in the rise of Power Metal as a force in Germany. Helloween - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

10-19-2013, 10:58 AM	#1970 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Super collider --- Megadeth --- 2013 (Tradecraft) So what would Metal Month be without something from Metallica? Well, that's coming later, but right now I want to look at the new album from their "sister band", which some might consider the evil or ugly sister, Dave Mustaine's Megadeth, who released their latest album a few months ago. It's the first one to be self-released on his own label after he had problems with longtime label Roadrunner, and Megadeth's first return to the studio since 2011. "Kingmaker" opens the album with an ominous little bassline and the sound of helicopter blades before the guitar and drums crash in, pulling the song along in a nice uptempo but not breakneck speed. I've always liked Mustaine's voice, and prefer it in fact to that of James Hetfield . He has a growly tone to his voice which makes it menacing without descending into the sort of snarls that so often make metal vocalists indecipherable. The guitar work is great too, both from Mustaine and Chris Broderick. I hear little snatches of the melody from Motorhead's "Ace of spades" in here, and it's a great opener, smashing into the title track which rides along nicely on a thick guitar line, and it's guitar that opens "Burn!" which rocks along with a sense of a harder, heavier ZZ Top meeting Deep Purple. "Prepare for war" is the fastest and heaviest on the album yet, but it's not for me. Bit too simple in its construction and well, just doesn't do anything for me. Even the addition of the Shannon Irish Rovers Pipe Band can't rescue it: hey, I hate bagpipes! Bagpipes? On a metal album? Better believe it! Much better is the almost melancholic "Off the edge", even given Mustaine's frankly annoying rhyming verses. There's cello and violin (yeah) in "Dance in the rain", with a guest vocal from Disturbed's David Draiman. I haven't heard Disturbed before, but I'm not mad about the semi-rap vocal, although it gets a little better as the song picks up. Great guitar solo and it really kicks in for the last minute, notching up the speed seriously. Great drumwork from Shawn Drover, really driving the rhythm, then a thick dark bass opens "Beginning of sorrow", which actually sounds quite symphonic/gothic. It features some backing vocals from Mustaine's own daughter, Electra, one of two songs she provides backing vox on. Things get weirder with banjo in "The blackest crow", also fiddle, the song providing a dark, dramatic sort of sound. Quite a commercial sound, if that can be said of Megadeth, to "Forget to remember": could be a single maybe? The second track on which Electra sings backing vocals, it's one of the better tracks with a really cool hook that remains with you after the album is over. Speaking of the end of the album, we're nearly there, with just two tracks to go. A deceptively gentle opening to "Don't turn your back", slide guitar from Mustaine in a very bluesy feel, then it pumps up to full speed, Drover hammering the beat like a man possessed. Great anger in the song, and we close on a cover of Lizzy's "Cold sweat". It's a good version, but nobody's ever gonna beat John Sykes on that solo. Plus given that it was inadvertently part of Phil Lynott's swansong, it just feels, well, wrong to hear anyone else sing it. Great track though. TRACKLISTING 1. Kingmaker 2. Super collider 3. Burn! 4. Prepare for war 5. Off the edge 6. Dance in the rain 7. Beginning of sorrow 8. The blackest crow 9. Forget to remember 10. Don't turn your back 11. Cold sweat So it's another fine album from the people who brought you "Peace sells", "Rust in peace" and "The world needs a hero". Nice to see Megadeth experimenting with some instruments usually considered outside the sphere of heavy metal --- unless you're playing progressive metal --- like violins, cellos and banjos. Perhaps not so much of the bagpipes next time though, eh guys? All in all though a good album; perhaps not a great album but certainly not a disappointment. Very solid, with some very decent tracks and some quite excellent ones. Proof that Megadeth can still hold their heads up as one of the major metal bands of the last quarter-century, and go toe to toe with any newcomer who cares to try his luck. Read more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megadeth __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 10-25-2013 at 02:02 PM.