I've never heard 'Insanity', but I do suspect it'll end up being pretty unnecessary, having exhausted this realm now for the most part.
After posting that, I realized that while I&G is the thrashiest Gamma Ray album, it's not the thrashiest Kai Hansen album. That would be Helloween's 'Walls of Jericho', which fits your criteria pretty darn well, I think.
Especially after checking that Ulysses Siren (which, yeah, is quite good!) Somehow it really reminded me of 'Walls of Jericho', with WoJ trading a little technicality for some more melody.
I'm checking out the Heathen now. Never listened to them before, but I've heard plenty about them from smart people, and figured that they *would* be one of those rare "thrash" bands that I like. Unfortunately, no, they sound much closer to the Forbidden style, which I don't like at all. The riffing/licks aren't terribly melodic, and then the vocals are mostly a bunch of shouting. They're just too deliberate.
I'd like to explore Rage further. I have "Trapped!" but I find it to be a really exhausting listen. I can't find anything that hooks me into a particular song or chorus line.
Damn, and here I thought we were bonding. Well, fuck you!!!!
But seriously, are you sure you have "Trapped!", by Rage? The German band? Because that's the exact opposite of what I say about that album! The first seven tracks are possibly the seven most hooky tracks to lead off any album in the history of albums! Every one of them could be the leadoff track. The only thing that keeps it from being the best Rage album is that it tails off a bit after that. Of course, I do think that Rage is the best band in the history of all bands, so I don't quite expect you to love that album as much as me, but it's gotta be better than you think it is right now!
Yeah, well obviously the Gothenburg scene tapped into it the style, but the death vocals tip the scales. There seems to be a void here, otherwise I'd have shelves stacked with Annihilators and Megadeths.
Agreed. I guess I already posted my theory here on why that is, right? (hmm...would 'Gallows Gallery' fit here in a really bizarre way?)
I thought of branching out from Arch Enemy, but instead of going backwards through one Amott to Caracass, what about forwards with the other Amott to Armageddon? Especially since my brother always compared the brilliant 'Crossing the Rubicon' to Megadeth. Unfortunately, the clean-vocaled albums, while good, are a bit too prog-metal-sounding.
Neil
