no country for old wainds
Active Member
- Nov 23, 2002
- 26,672
- 9,650
- 113
1. Leviticus - Borat and Obama
pretty much the platonic form of heavy metal right here. on a basic level this is somewhere between motorhead and manowar, kinda like an even better version of tyrant (US) for lack of a better comparison right now. the verses are obviously vast and thunderous but it's the chorus that really makes it, it's incredible in an indescribable way that'll probably seem stilted to some. 9/10
2. Stormwitch - Jonathan's Diarrhoea
theatrical and tense and emotive, stormwitch’s best song evokes its narrative perfectly. like a european helstar, they're essentially distilling the essence of 'phantom of the opera' in a somewhat more germanic way. you could argue that not all the parts cohere into a single entity, but most bands go full careers without having passages as good as several in this song alone. 9.5/10
3. Revocation - Opus Badness
ozz is the new arg. 2/10
4. Triptykon - In the Sleep of Death
it's a tribute to emily bronte, i'm gonna allow it as a creative pick. it's kinda lame though, or, as one of my RYM friends put it, "Has been nonsense from a sour old Swiss douche". i try to avoid using the word 'pretentious', but honestly it was invented for a purpose and that purpose is nowadays tom g. warrior. he's aight (if not generally particularly interesting) when he's just sludging out, but every time he starts trying to be experimental (which usually involves sprinkling reductions of other genres on top of his sludging out) it just comes across as kinda tacky and embarrassing to me, partly 'cause of how seriously he's taking himself. that said, this isn't one of the worst offenders. the spoken vocals are laugh out loud funny and the post-rock squealing+acoustic passages are pretty old hat and no different from the likes of opeth, but for the most part he's just, yknow, sludging out. which is tolerable, if monotonous. 5/10
5. Ahab - The Cunt
i'm picky when it comes to funeral doom and this doesn't really cut it. i just feel like i've heard the same basic song many times before - there isn't a surprising moment in the whole ten minutes, there isn't much nuance to the textures or originality in atmosphere. it never does anything actively annoying either and it sets a basic mood, just never grabs me. 5/10
6. Fates Warning - Giant's Lore
the third of AWAKEN THE GUARDIAN’s holy trinity that also features 'fata morgana' and 'guardian'. exceptionally vivid and beautiful music with some of the best soloing in the history of the universe. i don't have a lot more to say given that we only just did the song survivor. learn to love it gayheads, it should be a nailed on 10. 10/10
7. Sabbat - A Cautionary Tale
this is a shit youtube which makes it sound as bad as DREAMWEAVER does, but it’s actually one of the better songs off their superior album. where sometimes this brand of relentlessness equates to a lack of dynamics or direction, here the song progresses as a narrative and gathers momentum, with every transition carrying dramatic weight, especially the one from “to burn in Hell for all my days...” into the song’s best riff. walkyier’s vocal performance is varied and suitably unhinged, and obviously he’s pretty much the most eloquent thrash lyricist out there for what that’s worth. 7.5/10
8. Summoning - Mirkwood
a quality song from ‘97, their finest era to my mind although i do hope to revisit all their more recent stuff sometime. i’m not as fond of the part beginning 1:54 as phylactery but i adore everything up to that and the part beginning 3:50. it’s just an overwhelming soundscape pure ‘n simple. i struggle to listen to full albums of theirs these days, so these mixtapes are the perfect context for a revisit. 8.5/10
9. Eternal Champion – Retaliator
like the playlist's opener, this IS heavy fucking metal. the sweet vocals glide across the huge physicality of the guitars most satisfyingly. 8.5/10
10. Jag Panzer - Tragedy of Macbeth
ah man, the initial duet chorus gives me shivers. it isn’t super interesting when it gets heavier though, too bombastic and kinda generic. by one of the board’s biggest AMPLE DESTRUCTION fanboys this can only be viewed as a disappointment. 6/10
11. Blind Guardian - Imaginations of the Other Side
the only blind guardian album i’m intimately familiar with is NIGHTFALL... (my first ever power metal album haha) but pompey linked me to a really good BG song a while back (from their sophomore i think) which got me excited for more, and yet... i’m not sure there’s been a single one i’ve much liked in this mixtape game yet. so yeah i should probably get on that album. 5/10
12. Iron Maiden - To Tame a Land
i’ve only just noticed how much this sounds like adramelch in places haha. 9/10
pretty much the platonic form of heavy metal right here. on a basic level this is somewhere between motorhead and manowar, kinda like an even better version of tyrant (US) for lack of a better comparison right now. the verses are obviously vast and thunderous but it's the chorus that really makes it, it's incredible in an indescribable way that'll probably seem stilted to some. 9/10
2. Stormwitch - Jonathan's Diarrhoea
theatrical and tense and emotive, stormwitch’s best song evokes its narrative perfectly. like a european helstar, they're essentially distilling the essence of 'phantom of the opera' in a somewhat more germanic way. you could argue that not all the parts cohere into a single entity, but most bands go full careers without having passages as good as several in this song alone. 9.5/10
3. Revocation - Opus Badness
ozz is the new arg. 2/10
4. Triptykon - In the Sleep of Death
it's a tribute to emily bronte, i'm gonna allow it as a creative pick. it's kinda lame though, or, as one of my RYM friends put it, "Has been nonsense from a sour old Swiss douche". i try to avoid using the word 'pretentious', but honestly it was invented for a purpose and that purpose is nowadays tom g. warrior. he's aight (if not generally particularly interesting) when he's just sludging out, but every time he starts trying to be experimental (which usually involves sprinkling reductions of other genres on top of his sludging out) it just comes across as kinda tacky and embarrassing to me, partly 'cause of how seriously he's taking himself. that said, this isn't one of the worst offenders. the spoken vocals are laugh out loud funny and the post-rock squealing+acoustic passages are pretty old hat and no different from the likes of opeth, but for the most part he's just, yknow, sludging out. which is tolerable, if monotonous. 5/10
5. Ahab - The Cunt
i'm picky when it comes to funeral doom and this doesn't really cut it. i just feel like i've heard the same basic song many times before - there isn't a surprising moment in the whole ten minutes, there isn't much nuance to the textures or originality in atmosphere. it never does anything actively annoying either and it sets a basic mood, just never grabs me. 5/10
6. Fates Warning - Giant's Lore
the third of AWAKEN THE GUARDIAN’s holy trinity that also features 'fata morgana' and 'guardian'. exceptionally vivid and beautiful music with some of the best soloing in the history of the universe. i don't have a lot more to say given that we only just did the song survivor. learn to love it gayheads, it should be a nailed on 10. 10/10
7. Sabbat - A Cautionary Tale
this is a shit youtube which makes it sound as bad as DREAMWEAVER does, but it’s actually one of the better songs off their superior album. where sometimes this brand of relentlessness equates to a lack of dynamics or direction, here the song progresses as a narrative and gathers momentum, with every transition carrying dramatic weight, especially the one from “to burn in Hell for all my days...” into the song’s best riff. walkyier’s vocal performance is varied and suitably unhinged, and obviously he’s pretty much the most eloquent thrash lyricist out there for what that’s worth. 7.5/10
8. Summoning - Mirkwood
a quality song from ‘97, their finest era to my mind although i do hope to revisit all their more recent stuff sometime. i’m not as fond of the part beginning 1:54 as phylactery but i adore everything up to that and the part beginning 3:50. it’s just an overwhelming soundscape pure ‘n simple. i struggle to listen to full albums of theirs these days, so these mixtapes are the perfect context for a revisit. 8.5/10
9. Eternal Champion – Retaliator
like the playlist's opener, this IS heavy fucking metal. the sweet vocals glide across the huge physicality of the guitars most satisfyingly. 8.5/10
10. Jag Panzer - Tragedy of Macbeth
ah man, the initial duet chorus gives me shivers. it isn’t super interesting when it gets heavier though, too bombastic and kinda generic. by one of the board’s biggest AMPLE DESTRUCTION fanboys this can only be viewed as a disappointment. 6/10
11. Blind Guardian - Imaginations of the Other Side
the only blind guardian album i’m intimately familiar with is NIGHTFALL... (my first ever power metal album haha) but pompey linked me to a really good BG song a while back (from their sophomore i think) which got me excited for more, and yet... i’m not sure there’s been a single one i’ve much liked in this mixtape game yet. so yeah i should probably get on that album. 5/10
12. Iron Maiden - To Tame a Land
i’ve only just noticed how much this sounds like adramelch in places haha. 9/10
