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new aquisitions

 
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Jake



Joined: 02 Mar 1999
Posts: 4963

PostPosted: Mon Dec 30, 2002 11:32 pm    Post subject: new aquisitions Reply with quote

Some new cds I either purchased or received recently:

Crimson Glory- Astronomica. This is the type of progmetal I dig. The bass and guitar lines are interesting, but the core of the bands sound is regular heavy metal. I'm not even sure why this is considered prog. Anyway, it's got plenty of melodies that made their earlier stuff like Transcendance good. Not quite the same caliber but still good. Jeff Lords and Ben Jackson have some new talent on their hands with Wade Black. He's got a somewhat interesting voice comprised of obvious influences from Ripper Owens, Rob Halford, John Artch, Chuck Billy, and maybe some Layne Staley. He's got a good range, but I don't think he holds a handle to Midnight. But as I said above, everything is played well, and songs like Astronomica are pretty cool. Rating: (8).

Mago De Oz - Finisterra. Wyvern turned me on to these guys(saw one of his reviews on the net). They are Spanish and play powermetal with some folky violin stuff on top of it. At times it reminds me vaguely of Skyclad(one track on the first cd actually has a very similar violin part to that of Penny Dreadful off of Irrational Anthems(Skyclad)) at other times it's more like Blackmore's Night's rock moments. My favorite song thus far is Fiesta de Paganos, but the others are also fun. I think this band may be on to something. Additionally, because the lyrics are not in English, I'm not turned off by the usually cheesy powermetal lyrics. Rating: (8).

Black Sabbath - S/T. Not such a humble beginning for what everyone knows became an even greater band a couple albums down the line. Black Sabbath may be overplayed, but great songs like Wicked World and The Wizard shouldn't be overlooked. Geezer Butler has his first(and to my knowledge) only bass solo here, and on one track there are two different solos going at the same time! I thought that was really cool. There isn't much too say really. It's Sabbath and it's almost as good as Paranoid. Rating: (8).

Black Sabbath- Vol 4. If it hadn't been for the weak instrumental tracks and Changes this would walk off with the best Sabbath album title(current title goes to Sabotage). Album opener, Wheels of Confusion, is a powerhouse of riffs and melodies which just blows away the listener for 8 minutes at the beginning of the album. Nothing on the rest of the album matches that type of ingenuity, though Tomorrow's Dream, Under the Sun, and Snowblind all pack a hard punch. Cornucopica is sludgy and heavy as hell, and Ozzy's yelp is great all over here. Rating: (8.5).

Black Sabbath - Mob Rules. This album starts off beautifully with Turn up The Night(a speedy song kindof like Neon Nights) and Voodoo(a midpaced song with some of Dio's best vocal work- love the line "Say you don't love me- you burn") Sign of the Southern Cross holds it's own but after that the album doesn't hold up as well. It's still decent, but I wish their was more killer stuff like Voodoo. Country Girl is fun and Over and Over is good too, but this could have been one of Sabbath's best. Still it's a good album. Rating: (8).

Black Sabbath- Dehumanizer. Ok, aside from the commercial appeal to Sabbath with rehiring Dio in '92, it was a bad idea. Tyr was a stupendous Sabbath release, best since Sabotage, in other words top three best Sabbath albums. Sabbath did not need to get rid of Tony Martin! Well in comes Dio and as Dio changed the sound of the band in the early 80s so he does now. The sound is more grungy(not grunge but you know heavier and dirtier than it was before), and Dio has his evil voice now that we also get to hear on such solo Dio albums as Strange Highways. This is a big letdown. Dio's voice can't carry the band like it did in the early 80s, and the songs aren't as cool in the first place. But, taking this album on its own, it's alright. Time Machine, Tv Crimes, and Master of Insanity have enough energy to keep things going while the other songs just keep the heaviness flowing. I think technically this may have some pretty good Sabbath riffs on it, but the songs don't work as well as they did on the last few albums. And as I mentioned above, Dio turned this into his band again and that means that, like all Dio albums, this is alright but not spectacular. Rating: (7).

Decent haul. My Sabbath collection is almost complete(lacking Never Say Die, Technical Ecstasy, and Seventh Star). Mago De Oz is fun stuff and Crimson Glory is a talented band. Good to hear this stuff.
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JosephC



Joined: 26 Apr 2000
Posts: 1074
Location: Middleton, WI

PostPosted: Tue Dec 31, 2002 12:26 am    Post subject: new aquisitions Reply with quote

Crimson Glory-
I was disappointed with Astronomica, but I will admit that I probably had completely unrealistic expectations for it (the first two CDs were all-time metal classics). I will say it was significantly better than the Strange and Beautiful disaster. I still say that Wade Black sounds EXACTLY like Mark Slaughter on most of this CD.

Black Sabbath-
The Mob Rules - Go back and listen to Falling Off the Edge of the World, one of Sabbath's best tracks ever.
Dehumanizer - Other than TV Crimes (the TV evangelist thing had already been done by every other metal artist by now), I thought this was a very strong release. I liked it much better than Tyr, which I still don't care for much to this day.
-Black Sabbath - I would have to give this one a 10!
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Ug



Joined: 26 Oct 2002
Posts: 1028
Location: Down in a Hole

PostPosted: Tue Dec 31, 2002 12:42 am    Post subject: new aquisitions Reply with quote

Nice reviews, unless you are a die hard (Ozzy era) Sabbath fan, I suggest you forget Never Say Die and Tech. Ecstacy. Personally I think Master of Reality was the best Ozzy era album but everyones got their own taste. As for Seventh Star, it was suppose to be Iommi's solo album but for commercial reasons it was relesed as "Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi". So if you treat Seventh Star as a Sabbath album you might not like it, otherwise it's not bad. Glenn Hughes did a pretty good job with vocals, espacially on track like "In for the Kill", the title track and the cheesy ballad "No Stranger to Love" (love that song [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] ).
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Wyvern



Joined: 03 May 2002
Posts: 2214
Location: Costa Rica

PostPosted: Tue Dec 31, 2002 1:10 pm    Post subject: new aquisitions Reply with quote

I disagree, a good Sabbath fan has all the albums including the dreadful "Forbidden".

"Technical Ectasy" is a great album, some of the best songs I have ever heard are in that album. "Never Say Die" is just the last with Ozzy, but has some decent moments, besides with the coming of "Heaven And Hell" who cares about Ozzy anymore?

"Dehumanizer" is a really good album, sadly it wasn't meant to be a new beginning for the Mk.2.
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Jake



Joined: 02 Mar 1999
Posts: 4963

PostPosted: Tue Dec 31, 2002 1:17 pm    Post subject: new aquisitions Reply with quote

quote:
Originally posted by JosephC:
Crimson Glory-
I was disappointed with Astronomica, but I will admit that I probably had completely unrealistic expectations for it (the first two CDs were all-time metal classics). I will say it was significantly better than the Strange and Beautiful disaster. I still say that Wade Black sounds EXACTLY like Mark Slaughter on most of this CD.

Black Sabbath-
The Mob Rules - Go back and listen to Falling Off the Edge of the World, one of Sabbath's best tracks ever.
Dehumanizer - Other than TV Crimes (the TV evangelist thing had already been done by every other metal artist by now), I thought this was a very strong release. I liked it much better than Tyr, which I still don't care for much to this day.
-Black Sabbath - I would have to give this one a 10!

Haven't heard Slaughter besides Up All Night(that's theirs right?) so I didn't realize Wade sounded so much like him. although I think Wade has a good voice I don't care for it as much as Midnight's. I think if Midnight had sung on this I might have raised the review at least half a point.

Black Sabbath's S/T is technically flawless, but not all the songs grab me in all the way. So I think it's still a good album, but not a masterpiece. vol 4 on the other hand would have been a masterpiece except that there are flaws- FX, Changes, and Laguna Sunrise. Too bad. But I enjoy the rest of the album.

Love Tyr. Didn't get to me so much at first, but then stuff like Odin's Court and Valhalla just sucked me in. Love Tony Martin's voice. Not original, but he has all the range and emotions needed to make a perfect match for Sabbath's moodiness.

Like I said with the Dehumanizor review, I'm not a huge fan of Dio on his own, and I think when he brings his solo sound to Sabbath it weakens things. But I can see how, to a Dio fan the album would actually be good, because to me it sounds like Dio's solo stuff of the period.

Yes, I've heard Seventh Star wasn't really supposed to be Sabbath, but at this point I'd kindof like to own Technical Ecstasy, and Never Say Die for completion purposes. I wouldn't mind owning Seventh Star either though I'm not sure I can find it.
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Ug



Joined: 26 Oct 2002
Posts: 1028
Location: Down in a Hole

PostPosted: Tue Dec 31, 2002 11:06 pm    Post subject: new aquisitions Reply with quote

Wyvern-

I have all the Sabbath albums...yes even the dreadful Forbidden. For some reasons I hate Never Say Die and Technical Ecstacy(Ozzy sound reallllly bored on these two album) more than Forbidden. That's why I only recommend NSD and TE if the person I'm talking to considers himself a big Sabbath fan.

I wonder if I'm the only one who likes the "Changes" on Vol 4, it's seems like no one can stand it.

I'm feelin' happy
I feel so sad
I lost the best friend
that I ever had
She was my women
I loved her so
but it's too late now
I let her go
I'm going through changes... [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
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iwarrior



Joined: 05 Apr 2002
Posts: 3526
Location: Pittsburgh,PA

PostPosted: Wed Jan 01, 2003 6:44 am    Post subject: new aquisitions Reply with quote

The first Sabbath album is the only Ozzy-era record that bored me.

All of the Dio-era records were excellent at the very least IMO. Even Dehumanizer was better than just about all of the Tony Martin albums.
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Wyvern



Joined: 03 May 2002
Posts: 2214
Location: Costa Rica

PostPosted: Wed Jan 01, 2003 8:27 pm    Post subject: new aquisitions Reply with quote

quote:
Originally posted by Ug'stoneage genius'Ogson:
Wyvern-

dreadful Forbidden. For some reasons I hate Never Say Die and Technical Ecstacy(Ozzy sound reallllly bored on these two album) more than

I wonder if I'm the only one who likes the "Changes" on Vol 4, it's seems like no one can stand it.

a) Ozzy wasn't bored, was totally wasted on drugs and alcohol! That's why some of the songs are handled by Bill Ward, but since Bill was going the way of Ozzy, he wasn't suitable to pick the place of singer besides being the drummer.

b) 'Changes' is a beautiful song and for personal reasons touch me deeply everytime I hear it. Besides it proves that BS was much more than just domm riffs and obscure lyrics.
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