Mattowarrior's Metal Madness

And so it starts, for our Texas Metal favorites worldwide. But a humble start it is. The little known fact (to many fans) that Pantera were actually an Eighties band with 4 albums before "Cowboys to Hell". Previously, to that album, the band was an amalgamation of influences from Kiss to Judas Priest on Metal Magic, to Motley Crue and Metallica on subsequent albums. But this album (Metal Magic) is an amateur, sloppy, and calculated attempt at both credibility and commercial potential. Right out of the gate we have "Ride My Rocket", basically a Kiss Tribute (with maybe a bit of Priest thrown in for good measure). Riff for riff, the beginning bass line is the same as "Detroit Rock City". A cheesy robotic voice announces "We need Metal Magic..we need Pantera", and then the song starts. "I'll be Alright" is the second track, and reveals a few more NWOBHM influences than the previous track (we're on a better track overall). Then the ...

I feel that this period of time in Pantera's history has not been explored enough, as far as blogs, and review sites. So I'm going to be going through each of the first four albums, one by one, and giving my analysis of each. As I have stated elsewhere, some of the songs are actually pretty good, and Power Metal (the band's first album and the first featuring vocalist Phil Anselmo) is a bona fide classic. So look forward to this beginning in the next couple of days.

So let us begin again. I wished to review this album a couple months ago and didn't do so, but in reviving this blog's activity I decided it will be my first review in awhile. Anyway, with no further adieu, here we go: Its been four (long) years since Blind Guardian's last album, A Twist in the Myth. Before that, it had been FOUR YEARS since their previous (studio) album, A Night at the Opera. Before that, 1998 was the year of their magnum opus, Nightfall in Middle Earth. So, needless to say, the band releases albums about every four years, and its always awaited by many in the same way that many mainstream metal fans await a Metallica album. In light of this, I must admit that their last two albums left me cold in some ways. I enjoyed Night at the Opera, but in many ways that album was overblown. It was missing the guts, the "balls" if you will that previous albums had. The gutsy thrashy riffs, the heavy rhythm guitars. Also the speed, and the anguished voc...

Reading the article written today- http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=150748 - I wanted to express my best wishes to King Diamond, a Metal Icon for nearly 3 decades. King Diamond and his bands Mercyful Fate and also his eponymous band have remained metal staples for many years. A influence on countless legions of metal fans and who has spawned countless imitators as well. So let's all pray/wish/intend for a clean bill of health for King.