Quiet Riot - Metal Health (1983)

Most of you have probably heard of Quiet Riot, but incase you haven't, they were a 4 piece Heavy Metal band that formed in 1973. Their last line-up consisted of Kevin DuBrow (Vocals), Carlos Cavazo (Guitar), Rudy Sarzo (Bass), and Frankie Banali (Drums). Their most famous guitarist, Randy Rhoads, died in 1982 in a plane crash, while their founding vocalist, Kevin DuBrow, died in 2007 as a result of a Cocaine overdose, the band then spilt in 2008 as a result of his death. Their last album was signed to Chavis Records, while their album Metal Health was signed to Epic Records. And now to the review.

Metal Health was Quiet Riot's first album not to feature Randy Rhoads. After their album Quiet Riot II, he left to go join Ozzy Osbourne's band, and as mentioned before, died in a plane crash in 1982. The album consists of 10 tracks including "Metal Health", "Cum on Feel the Noize", "Don't Wanna Let You Go", "Slick Black Cadillac", "Love's a Bitch", "Breathless", "Run For Cover", "Battle Axe", "Let's Get Crazy", and "Thunderbird", which was a tribute song to Randy Rhoads. As I listened to this album, the first two tracks themselves, everyone has listened to these at some point, while the rest of the album I hardly ever heard of before. After the first two tracks, the quality of the tracks began to fade. It almost got hard to listen to after the first two tracks. (mind you, this is an album that has gone 6 times Platinum, and is one of the reasons that Metal went main stream). But some of the tracks stuck out as more arena rock type songs, those being Slick Black Cadillac, Run for Cover, and Let's Get Crazy. The one ballad on the album, Thunderbird, actually makes sense when you think about it, as it was about Randy Rhoads. There was also an instrumental track on the album, that being Battle Axe, which consisted of a bunch of scales and arpeggios. It was a great album in the beginning, a semi-decent album in the middle, and an okay album by the end.

Overall, this is one of Quiet Riot's most famous albums with two of their most famous songs on it. If you've ever heard Metal Health or Cum on Feel the Noize, then you should have this album. I'd recommend it to you if you're into Hair Metal more than Heavy Metal, cause it takes on a Hair Metal feel, also if you're into Arena Rock, you should check this out. It was released on February 8, 1983, and is available on Amazon and iTunes.

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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Cannabis Corpse - Blunted at Birth (2006)

Cannabis Corpse, in case you haven't guessed already, is a 4 piece Death Metal band, that takes their name as a spoof off of Cannibal Corpse, though singing about marijuana. They formed in 2006 in Richmond, Virginia and are currently signed to Forcefield Records. Their current line-up is Andy "Weedgrinder" Horn (Vocals), Philip "Landphil" Hall (Guitar & Bass), Nick "Nikropolis" Poulos (Guitar), and Josh "HallHammer" Hall (Drums).

Cannabis Corpse's first album, 2006's Blunted at Birth (taking it's name as a spoof of Cannibal Corpse's 1991 album Butchered at Birth), consists of 7 tracks (all taking spoofs of Cannibal Corpse song names) which include "Blunted at Birth", "Staring Through My Eyes That Are Red", "Reefer Stashed Place", "Force Fed Shitty Grass", "I Cum Bud", "I Will Smoke You", and "When Weed Replaces Life". As a death metal album, this honestly was really well done. It had the good old deep growling sounds like the early works of Death, Cannibal Corpse, and even some sounding like Matt Heafy's screams from Trivium. The guitar work was excellently done, mainly because of Philip Hall (this is his side project, his original band is Municipal Waste). The sound quality on the record was poor, sounded badly recorded, then I read a little into it and found this quote "This recording was done entirely on a Boss BR 900 digital 8 track. I am definitely not a pro engineer, so if you don't like how it sounds, FUCK YOU!" LandPhil, Fall 2006. Other than the sound quality, not that bad of a record, was a bit on the shorter side of albums, but still a good album nonetheless.

Overall, this was an interesting album to listen to. At first, I thought it was going to be Stoner Metal (just by the name of the band, the album, the songs, you get the idea), and was expecting it to have long, kind of mellow tempos. Instead it hit me with blast beats from nowhere and caught me off guard, and I would recommend this album for people who are fans of Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Deicide, Immolation, Incantation, Grave, Monstrosity, Death, and old school Death Metal in general. The album was released on December 19, 2006 and is available on amazon and itunes, so go and pick it up.

Overall Rating 4.0 out of 5

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Cannabis Corpse's Website

Napalm Death - Scum (1987)

Napalm Death, for those of you who haven't listened to them before, is a four piece Grindcore band from Birmingham, England. They formed in 1981 and are considered to be the creators of Grindcore by mixing Crust Punk with Death Metal. They are currently signed to Century Media and consist of Mark "Barney" Greenway (Vocals), Mitch Harris (Guitar & Backing Vocals), Shane Embury (Bass), and Danny Herrera (Drums).

Napalm Death's 1987 album Scum was the first full length release for the band after seven demo tapes. The original founders of the band had all left the band before this release and the lineup on the album consisted of Nik Bullen (Vocals & Bass for tracks 1-12), Justin Broadrick (Guitar for tracks 1-12), Lee Dorian (Vocals for tracks 13-28), Bill Steer (Guitar for tracks 13-28), Jim Whitley (Bass for tracks 13-28), and Mick Harris (Drums). The album consists of 28 tracks that include "Multinational Corporations", "Instinct of Survival", "The Kill", "Scum", "Caught in a Dream", "Polluted Minds", "Sacrificed", "Siege of Power", "Control", "Born on Your Knees", "Human Garbage", "You Suffer" (the current Guiness Book of World Records holder for shortest song ever recorded, at 1.316 seconds), "Life?", "Prison Without Walls", "Point of No Return", "Negative Approach", "Success?", "Deceiver", "C.S. (Conservative Shithead)", "Parasites", "Pseudo Youth", "Divine Death", "As the Machine Rolls On", "Common Enemy", "Moral Crusade", "Stigmatized", "M.A.D.", "Dragnet". When I first listened to this album, it didn't really go over so well with me. I was accustomed to the typical Barney Greenway vocals of Napalm Death and not the Nik Bullen and Lee Dorian vocals, which is why I was thrown off at first. The album is hard hitting and grows on you. Lots of blast beats and fast paced tempos, which slowed down at odd points throughout the songs. The album almost takes on a different feel after "You Suffer", mainly cause of the different lineup. Nik Bullen's vocals on the album are more of him just shouting as fast as he can, where as Lee Dorian's vocals on it are more growl like and fast paced.

Overall, the album was okay the second time around. It takes a few times listening through to fully get the feel of the album. If you're a fan of Death, Obituary, Carcass, or Grindcore in general, you should have the album in your collection. It's well done for their first release. The album was released on May 6, 1987, and you can get the album on itunes and amazon.

Overall Rating: 4.1 out of 5

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Napalm Death's Website

The Birthday Massacre - Violet (2005)

This shall be one of those times where I don't review a Metal album, but something that's good nonetheless. For those of you who haven't heard of The Birthday Massacre, they are a 6 piece Goth Rock/Synthrock/Alternative Rock band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They used to be called Imagica, and got the name from a Clive Barker novel. They formed in 1999, have 3 albums, 1 live album, 2 ep's, and are in the works of their fourth album. They are currently signed to Metropolis Records. They consist of Chibi (Vocals), Rainbow (Guitar, Programming, & Vocals), Michael Falcore (Guitar & Programming), O.E. (Bass & Vocals), Owen (Keyboards), and Rhim (Drums). And now for the review.

Violet is The Birthday Massacre's second album (Nothing and Nowhere being their first release). It was originally released as an EP in 2004, but was re-worked, had tracks added, and was re-released in 2005 as a full length album. The album consits of 13 tracks (originally it had 9 on the EP), which are "Prologue", "Lovers End", "Happy Birthday", "Horror Show", "Violet", "Red", "Play Dead", "Blue", "Video Kid", "The Dream", "Black", "Holiday", and "Nevermind". The album was recorded with their current line-up, but without Owen, and O.E. (the original bassist, J. Aslan, played on this album). This album has a sort of mellow feeling when you listen to it. It's one of those albums you can kick back, put it on, and relax. It does have it's heavy moments though, mainly in the first single released from the album "Blue". You've probably seen the video on YouTube, and if not, click here to watch it. It's got a killer guitar riff that's simple yet profound, and the keyboards throw it over the top. Even Chibi, who normally sings in the higher tones, gets into the lower darker parts of the song, and she even growls the vocals at some points. The album, in my opinion, is one of the best (if not the best) album that the group has put out.

Overall, the album just kicked ass, sure it's Goth Rock and has Keyboards in it, but that just adds to the overall tone of the album. If you're into bands like Mindless Self Indulgence, VNV Nation, Jack off Jill, Zeromancer, Collide, Ayria, Cruxshadows, or Deadstar Assembly, then you'll want to pick this album up, it was released on August 9, 2005 and is on itunes and amazon.

Overall Rating: 4.6 out of 5

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The Birthday Massacre's Website

Anthrax - Among the Living (1987)

Anthrax, for those who don't know, is a 5 piece Speed Metal/Thrash Metal group formed in 1981 in Yonkers, New York. They are one of the "big four", consisting of Metallica, Megadeth, SLAYER!!!, and Anthrax. The current line up includes John Bush (Vocals), Rob Caggiano (Lead Guitar), Scott Ian Rosenfeld (Rhythm Guitar & Vocals), Frank Bello (Bass), and Charlie Benante (Drums). They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast Records while the album in review was on Island Records. And now for the review portion.

Among the Living is Anthrax's third full length album consisting of nine tracks. The line up on this album differs from the current line up in that Joey Belladonna is the singer and Dan Spitz is on Lead Guitar, other than that, the line up is the same. The tracks include "Among the Living", "Caught in a Mosh", "I Am the Law", "Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)", "A Skeleton in the Closet", "Indians", "One World", "A.D.I./Horror of It All", and "Imitation of Life". This album is one of the truly definitive Speed/Thrash Metal albums of all time. It starts out big and fast, going through hit after hit. Joey's vocals soar over the thunderous drums, bass, and guitars, while Scott Ian's vocals almost seem gang like even though it's just him. I couldn't find anything wrong with the album at all. It's just that good, it starts to get a little repetitive, but it just adds to the sound of the album.

Overall, if you're a fan of Thrash Metal, the big four, or just plain out Metal in general, if you don't already have this album, go out and get it now. It was released on March 22, 1987, so pick it up on itunes or on amazon. Definitely a must have album.

Overall Rating: 4.9 out of 5

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Anthrax's Website

Ed Gein - It's a Shame that a Family Can be Torn Apart by Something as Simple as a Pack of Wild Dogs (2003)

Ed Gein is a three piece Grindcore group from Syracuse, New York. They formed in 2002. have released 2 full length albums, and consist of Graham Reynolds (Guitar & Vocals), Aaron Jenkins (Bass & Vocals), and Jesse Daino (Drums & Vocals). Their current label is Black Marked Activities which has their album "Judas Goats and Dieseleaters" and their single "Robert Flaig" on it. The album that I'm going to be reviewing was released through their old label Hex Records. And now for the review.

The album consists of eight tracks with a hidden bonus track at the end of the eigth. The tracks are "You Suck at Life...and I'm Not Talking About The Board Game", "The Marlboro Man is a Douche Bag", "A Way to Kill Old People", "Nice Shoes...Wanna Fuck?", "I Wish You The Best...", "...and by Best I Mean Worst.", "Beating a Dead Horse", and "What is This Monstrosity?!". At the end of "What is This Monstrosity?!" there is a cover of Nirvana's song "Very Ape". The album itself was really fast paced throughout it's entirety. The band just kept going at 110% of their capabilities throughout it all, wether it was the drumming, bass, or the guitar work, it was just going at full speed. The screaming though, sounded a bit like Every Time I Die. Now I'm somewhat of a fan of Every Time I Die, but only in small doses. The same with the screaming with Ed Gein, it got kind of annoying at times. And like with some of the other albums I've reviews, the album has a bunch of sound bytes from other movies, tv shows, or just random things in general. Luckily, they put them in appropriate places (unlike the PTPM album I reviewed), and it works with the album.

Overall, the album was a good production instrument wise, just could have done better with the screaming. If you're a fan of Every Time I Die, Beneath The Sky, All That Remains, The Black Dahlia Murder (earlier works though), or just Grindcore in general, I'd recommend it, but I'm not giving it my full backing. If you're interested in picking up the album, it was released on June 2, 2003, and you can get it on itunes and on amazon.

Overall Rating: 3.9 out of 5

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Ed Gein's Website

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - Danza II: The Electric Boogallo (2007)

Figure I'll give this band a different introduction than the other ones. The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza is currently a 3 piece Experimental Metal/Grindcore band from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. They formed in 2004 and have released 3 albums, two of which are on their current label "Black Marked Activites" (the albums being 2007's Danza II: The Electric Boogallo, and 2010's Danza III: The Series of Unfortunate Events) and one was on their old label "Corrosive Recordings" (the album being their self-titled release in 2005). The band consists of Jessie Freeland (Vocals), Josh Travis (Guitar and Bass), and Mike Bradley (Drums). And now we shall pass from this segment into the review portion.

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza's second full-length album "Danza II: The Electric Boogallo" consists of 13 tracks. Those tracks include "T.R.O.U.B.L.E.", "You Gonna Buy The Beers Or The Whole Damn Bar", "I Don't Mean To Impose, But I Am The Ocean", "Go Greyhound", "Top English", "The Electric Boogaloo", "Crunchy Black Did Me In At Midnight Madness", "Mad Max Beyond Superdome", "Carroll 14 Wossman 7", "Nobody Eats BBQ Two Days In A Row", "Shot Of Whiskey", "Rollin' And Tumblin' On Satan's Rotisserie", and "The Louisiana Dive Bar Massacre". The album consists of 4 tracks that are either the intro track (T.R.O.U.B.L.E.), an outro track (The Louisiana Dive Bar Massacre), or just a short skit (both Top English and Shot of Whiskey). Those four tracks somehow manage to hold the album together and almost tell the story of a man walking into a bar trying to mind his own business (T.R.O.U.B.L.E.). That man then goes to play pool, says that the ball isn't getting enough spin and that it's English (Top English). Later the man sits down at the bar and keeps trying to order a shot of whiskey before grabbing the bartender and the bouncers and beating the living hell out of them (Shot of Whiskey). Then finally he gets a chainsaw, kills everybody in the joint and then cracks open a beer, drinks it, and walks out (The Louisiana Dive Bar Massacre). The songs that aren't skits are unique in their own ways. On a whole, Jessie Freeland's screams sound like the earlier works that Matt Heafy did with Trivium (where it was mostly screams). The guitar work is fast and brutal, and I couldn't really find any negatives with the album, I especially enjoyed the last track (The Louisiana Dive Bar Massacre) because after the skit in the beginning, there's a sort of acoustic/blues jam at the end which oddly enough fit with the album.

Overall, this album was kick ass from start to end. If you're looking to pick up the album, it was released October 16, 2007, you can get it on amazon and on itunes. Definitely pick this up if you're into Trivium, Machine Head, (just because I forgot to in the last two reviews) SLAYER!!!, if you're into Grindcore or the whole Experimental Metal genre, hell, pick this up even if you're a fan of Tony Danza. Why? Cause who's the boss? TONY DANZA'S THE BOSS BITCH!

Overall Rating: 4.6 out of 5

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The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza's Website