what's spinning now!!!!

[Dustin]

It's been a slow and boring holiday weekend so I figured I post a little somthing diffrent today

I haven't bought any CD's for a while and finally went on a small haul....

Devin Townsend - Physicist & Infinty

This guy is a musical genius! Both albums are completely diffrent from each other. One is close to sounding like a Straping Young Lad album... the other is more meloncholy and ambiant.
I am totally digging the Wrath of Kahn sample from the track "Material" off the Physicist album!

Nightingale - I

Why I never bought any Nightingale material earlier is beyond me... I think I have been listening to this more than any other CD I have bought in the hual. It's got everything, every song stands out. I am now officially a Dan Swano fan! This album is a must for fans of the Retro-progressive movement like Spocks Beard or The Flower Kings.

Vanderhoof - A blur In Time

This is the second album from Metal Church guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof. I LOVED the first album, I wore that thing out waiting for this album! This one is quite diffrent from the first album... it's more laid back and more retro in production. I have spun it a few times and it's really starting to grow on me in a big way, but it's got a long way to go to beat out their first album. Don't get your hopes up if you buy this album expecting to hear Metal Church part II....

Nocturnal Rites - Shadowland

This ones taking some time to grow on me. I totally loved the "Afterlife" album, but this one doesn't seem to be matching up to it. The new vocalist who debut on the last album is amazing, reminding me of ex-Loudness/Obssesion screamer Mike Vescera. The songs are pretty solid, but it seems they are going back to the writing style of the first 3 albums, which is okay, but I really liked the raw aggresion and chunk of "Afterlife" which was more in the Angel Dust/Nevermore vein. Either way... it's still a vast improvement since the old days.

Eldritch - Seeds of Rage

I have been hunting fot his album since I got the bands 2nd & 3rd albums a few months back. These guys are becoming one of my favorite Progressive/Power metal bands to come out of Italy! I can't get enough of the vocalist Terance Holler who closely resembles ex-Metal Church vocalist MIke Howe. I even bought Terence & Sean's (Keyboardist) AOR project band Vicious Mary This album is much more Progressive than the others, but it's Eldritch non the less! I still need to get their latest album "Reverse" which I was told is the bands most experimental and heaviest to date!


so... thoughts anyone?

 

[rhavin2112]

Currently in heavy rotation in my player (that I am listening to for pleasure and not for review):

Vintersorg-Visions From The Spiral Generator

A fantastic fusion of prog metal and folk music. This is the first V record that I have completel enjoyed. The Musicianship is outstanding (not surprising with Steve DiGiorgio on bass and Aesigir Mickelson of Spiral Archetect on drums!). V's voice gets better with every release, his balck metal shriek is barely used in favor of his wonderful Swanöesque clean voice. A top contender for album of the year.

Nile-In Their Darkened Shrines

Undeniably the leaders of the American Brutal Death Metal scene, The new Nile is a mixed bag of blastbeat fury and downtuned riffs. Exactly one half of this album shoots by at warp speed, so fast you can barely comprehend what the hell is going on. But the other half, when the hyperactive guitarists slow down and groove, it is absolutely brilliant. Songs like Unas, Slayer of the Gods and Sarcophagus are slow, crushing and groove along enough to make your head sore from headbanging. Demonspell said it best during my radioshow the other night: Nile, without even trying is more frightening than all the numerous Black Metal bands that try so hard to scare.

Dark Tranqulity-Damge Done

The band regresses a bit to their earlier works like The Mind's I, and there is a complete lack of clean vocals. I liked Projecter, and liked Mikeal Stanne's clean singing. Apparently the band has bowed to the fans who screamed sell-out and hardned their sound. Not a progression, a regression and a disappointing one at that. Make no mistake, the songs rock, but it feels like nothing more than a throwback to their past achievements. DT is too good for that, and hopefully they will realize this.

 

[Dustin]

The Vintersorg I have heard nothing but good things about, which is defiantly peeking my interest as a next purchace!

I've heard good and bad on Nile's new album... I have " The catacombs of..." album and it's decent, but nothing that really took me as new or interesting, but I of course never heard the last album or the latest one so to speak.......

Is it just me? or does Mikeal Stanne (vocalist) of Dark Tranquility closley resemble Nick Holms of Paradise Lost???? Coincendince?

 

[zinescene]

I've been listening to the new All To Human disc called Entropy. Thier an unsigned Prog metal band from Texas. I haven't gotten all the way through the discs but I really am impressed with what i've heard so far.

I've been splurging on Ebay lately to and just got Rainbow-The Very Best of Rainbow. I've always been a fan of Ritchie Blackmore and love some of the work that he did with DIO and Graham Bonnet (who was also sounded great on Assault Attack from MSG).

Another disc I've been getting into is an unsigned guitarist from Sweden named Mikael Hanstroem (There's a little write up on hime at http://www.guitar9.com/undiscov31d.html )

John

 

[Demonspell]

Thanks for quoting me on the subject of Nile...it's true, listen to I Whisper...great mini-reviews guys, even if I disagree with the Dark Tranquillity.

 

[ProgMetalFan]

the new November's Doom album!


I was totally suprised by this! It is a very beautiful album of ornate melodic doom... the harsh vocals are so brutal and expansive... the clean vocals are so melancholy and the female vocals are so ethereal...

The music is suprisingly delicate and the production of Neil Kernon is extremely lush.