Manilla Road, Masque of the Red Death - 7.5/10, I applaud the Edgar Allan Poe reference, he doesn't get done right in music enough if you ask me, but given this is Manilla Road, it's all but unequivocally been done right. Church bell introductory, the chiming steadily growing more pointed, forceful, and distorted, until it erupts into its classic opening riff. One of their thrashier songs by far, an almost Metal Church vibe with the clear trad and thrash elements. Good peak and valley style rhythmic transitions, warm, masculine vocals, lovely how the rhythm and melody begin to snake and sway for a bit before the guitar solo, which positively melts the air asunder. That quick legato arpeggio is neat too.
Colosseum, Aesthetics of the Grotesque - 4.5/10, Synths, alright, they've some quirky melodic flourishes, me likey. Acoustic guitar to add to the effect. Then a key instrument of sorts adds another layer while the other components pursue their usual progression. Then we get drums and electric guitar crashing in, not bad. But it reeks of some meh symphonic metal to an extent now. Little bit of cookie monster in the vocals, but not to an unbearable threshold. The electric guitar starts doing some bent and jagged melodies I kinda like. Soloing ain't half bad, and I almost hate to say it, but newsflash, you mooks aren't Rush. 12 minutes of this is just not that musically intriguing. It doesn't work when your melodies, tone, and arrangement, while not bad, aren't qualitatively above the Averageville mark. If I want Colosseum, I think I'll go with the jazz rock band.
Satyrasis, The Imp of the Perverse - 5/10, My, that was brusque. My kind of guys. Standard thrash metal guitar opening, vigor and bounce aplenty however. Vocals are reasonably decent, he's no Tom Araya or Paul Baloff, but hey, few are. That solo a smidgen after the 2:00 mark was authentically original. Drummer knows how to drum tastefully without lovetapping the kit, good stuff.
Immortal, The Call of the Wintermoon - 8/10, A dusty, grimy old gutkicker classic. Vintage Demonaz/Abbath chord progression, poundy drums with a groove, and Christ could Abbath's throat produce some pristinely guttural shriek-ery back in the day. Rare guitar solo, good one too, buried in the mix creating a fascinating, but decidedly black metal sonic effect. The fast to slow to fast to slow tempo switching creates just the right amount of dynamism without abandoning the primitive beauty of its nature. Chromatically eye-catching guitar after the five minute mark.
Enforcer, Scream of the Savage - 7/10, Keeping the spirit of the classic 70's trad and NWOBHM movements alive, simplistic but skillfully placed for suspense chord progression, high tessitura wailer vocals, agilely turning on a dime from mid to high range with grace to spare. The drums becoming a live action carjack and jackhammer in one. Melodic shreddery ensues as the speed metal rages on, reminds me a lot of Savage. Pun unintended.
Saritap, Tower of the Black Moon - 7/10, Hooky riffage, good groove and melody, bouncy, punk rock esque rhythm. A more than competent black metal vocalist. I actually truly enjoy his technique and tone. A little growly, a little shriek-ish, all animal. Extra guitar licks supply tasty melody. I want more of these guys, recommended releases anyone?
Death Breath, Coffins of the Unembalmed Dead - 7/10, Foul, grimy, and enraged, my kind of stuff. Death metal Tom Araya on vocals, wickedly percussive riffer guitarist, knows how to rip a mean solo too, bass guitar provides a noticeable bottom end backbone, which gives it just the proper amount of heaviness in addition to the drummer's "take a sledgehammer to stainless steel" approach.
Abbath, Root of the Mountain - 8/10, By far one of the better tracks on his solo debut, which, overall, I have to say I found ennui-inducing. Guitar gives sweetly cultivated strains of tender melody while the other one pounds. Got a boogie and headbang-ability to it. Superb croaker style vocals from Abbath, better diction than most black metal vocalists, but hey, it's black metal, diction isn't exactly a priority. Soundscape reminds me of what a fusion of King Diamond and Immortal might come out like.