2. Metallica - Ride The Lightning
3. Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood
4. Gorefest - Erase
5. Sentenced - The Funeral Album
6. Tiamat - Wildhoney
7. Motorhead - Orgasmatron
Kristijan is a longtime friend of mine that I made back in the bad old days of college, for the year I was studying abroad in France. Writing this now I'm realising that friendship has extended over a decade, and I'm feeling really old right now. Kristijan is, as you may guess from the list above, a metal head. He's also a librarian, so there's the old sexy wild side of the librarian in glasses confirmed for ye all.
He also could not get his list down to 5 albums. Hell, he couldn't even get it down to 7 albums, I'd heard two of the other albums and that's only way I got out of listening to those. But he did go to the extra effort of writing WHY he choose each album, how much it meant to him and his friends as they grew up, learned together and played together, so screw it, I guess I had to include them all.
Recently I've really let the blogs slide, so I'm gonna up the output a little bit to try to catch up on things. That said I'm not committing to WHEN things are going up - my album listening is now in it's final month, and that has gone according to schedule, the blogs was an afterthought, and will get that at the point whenever I feel the fuck like it. Fuck you Luke.
MEGADETH - Youthansia (Killing Road)
This is exactly every type of metal cliche, and it is absolutely all the better for it.
Fast, aggressive, amazing, I love this fucking album.
Some tracks feel a little flat (Tout le Monde is more than a little meh), but when the highs are this high, it's really very very forgivable.
I've not listened to any other Megadeth albums, but this has definitely opened the doorway.
I have listened to this album over and over (well I've removed Tout Le Monde from the playlist to be fair), it holds up excellently.
There's so many amazing riffs spread throughout.
I listened to Metallica before this a few times, and enjoyed it, but I feel I have absolutely no reason to listen to Metallica when there's some Megadeth on offer.
Metallica - Ride The Lightning
Yep, I'd never listened to a Metallica album. To be fair, I'd not listened to as many albums when I was younger as I probably should have, everything was singles and mix cds from friends, and that's very much a part of the reason why I embarked on this album listening journey. I'd definitely heard at least half this album, and probably can't under emphasize the influence that Metallica has had on the genre (and definitely on how mainstream metal now is). I really enjoyed this album, and was very much ready to make it the choice of the month.
I can see this being like the Ramones for the punk genre, just inspiring people around the world to pick up a guitar and chuck in to some power chords. And that's what we're all about here, the music that inspired people!
Whilst Metallica in particular has had far more influence on to the popular scene than Megadeth, I just have to go with my gut and go with Megadeth. The first listen through of both I had the opposite opinion, but the relative simplicity of Metallica's album doesn't hold up to the more technical album put together by Masitaine's posse. Repeated listening definitely makes Youthanasia better and better. And if you like Metallica and have never listened to Megadeth, you should seriously make it you business to do so!
Motley Crue - Dr Feelgood
When I think of Motley Crue, I guess my mind zips back to when in the states with Kristijan to see them the states.
I'd never listened to them with any intention at all prior, and I guess this album was his way of making me listen in earnest !
I can definitely see where Guns n Roses got some of their inspiration, but it almost feels a little generic nowadays.
Some nice driving guitar, decent rock singing, everything seems good.
This may have been a massive shift in the musical landscape at the time, but now it just seems like another classic rock album.
Good, fairly enjoyable, probably goes in the category of "easy" no brain listening.
not sure I'll ever go out of my way to throw it on again, but I'd never be adverse to it beig in the background.
Gorefest - Erase
The first thing I get from this is that great thumping bass line on from the first track. This shit is old school, makes me think of the Duke Nukem soundtrack from back in the day.
Heavy, but not particularly fast, and some meaty vocals. This is definitely more my kind of metal, just a little on the slow side. Although it does get a bit representative a few tracks in. Not sure I could recommend it in earnest, compared to the other picks this week, but it's definitely above the travesty to my ears that was Motorhead.
Sentenced - The Funeral Album
This is a good fucking album, what an opening. How have I not heard of these guys before. I'm almost tempted to place this above Metallica, but they have a couple of whiny metal ballads in there (I could forgive/forget "Tout le monde" on Megadeth, but the highs here don't reach the highs of Youthanasia). To me this is kind of a soft metal album, it's not really my type of music, but I think Kristijan definitely picked one I could sit through without wanted to drive a nail through my skull. And these guys can lay down some riffs from time to time, so whilst Eagles they are not, they're not some whiny hair metal pussies either.
Tiamat - Wildhoney
You know what's great about this album?
It's only 40 odd minutes long.
That may seem a bit disingenuous, but credit where credit is due, for the style they have these guys had the sense to keep it tight. This is a little like ambient metal, and we all know at this stage my opinions on ambient music. It's probably a little closer to the sentiment "shit or get off the pot". I ain't no stoner, if I want sometime a little slower there's plenty of other genres for me to pick from than some castrated pussified metal.
It does have some heavier riffs in there, but all kind of slow and dragging, not really the thing I like from metal. But that said, for some strange reason I was able to sit through it without desire to end it all. I guess we'll add this again to Thomas's unusual elevator music selection list. Definitely wouldn't want to be stuck in a lift with this for the soundtrack to the ordeal however, that would be quite, quite hellish indeed.
Motorhead - Orgastmatron
Oh god, this was quite the let down.
It's just gravelly loud biker rock, played over and over, the same few chords and drunk shouting.
First time I listened through to this album, I remembering at the start of every track thinking "Oh, this must be the Ace Of Spades", and only realising after listening to the entire album that Ace Of Spades isn't even on this god damned album, and realizing that Motorhead can only play one song with one set of chords, and have most likely done this for the last few decades. It's like listening to Groundhog day, without any humor or Bill Murray. The repetitive nature wears quite quickly, by the third track I'm really starting to ask myself those existential questions again and coming to the horrifying realization that I have to listen to another Motorhead album this year. Definitely bottom of the heap here, and definitely don't want to listen to this again. At least not whilst sober. I'll wait till I'm drunk, depressed and looking for that final straw to make me tie up the noose and get busy.
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