Mattowarrior's Metal Madness

I am going to be posting a video on this blog soon. I go into the reasons why X Japan as a band are wholly underrated, and that while I disagree with the way they are being marketed, I think they deserve the success they get. This comes right on the heels of their very first US tour and a successful appearance at Lollapalooza 2010. As a result, a lot of voices on the internet are proclaiming the band to be "overrated" and use many ad hominem arguments against the band in general. I will go into this, as well as what I think about the major US fanbase of X Japan (which I am not part of, I am a metal fan first and foremost) as well as what I think of "Visual Kei" bands in general. Coming soon.

In 1990, Iron Maiden were at a crossroads. Longtime contributing songwriter and guitarist, Adrian Smith had quit the band over "musical differences". The band was doing studio sessions on what was to be "No Prayer for the Dying" and Adrian had had enough. He also had a solo project "A.S.A.P. which had released its debut album (may do a review on this as well, not sure). But either way, things weren't the same for Maiden. Steve Harris in particular had decided to go back to his roots, and Iron Maiden's as well, in doing a more "raw" back to basics album. Smith wasn't satisfied with this (especially after the phenomenal Seventh Son of a Seventh Son), so this factors in the story as well. Smith was then replaced by former White Spirit and Bruce Dickinson (solo) guitarist Janick Gers, and his placement caused controversy (which strangely, continues to this day).  But we can also look at the history of metal to find more answers to what was...

In this series I will delve into the albums in Maiden's career which are (accepted as by the masses) mediocre. I will go into what my favorite album of the No Prayer-Virtual 11 era is, as well as what I think of individual moments or songs. This era is a subject of debate among many Maiden fans, and also this includes the controversial addition of guitarist Janick Gers, who replaced Adrian Smith in the early nineties. I would argue that Maiden stuck to their guns, and many of the moments on the modern albums are similar to this era, despite being closer to the "classic eighties lineup". The first album I will review and critique is No Prayer For the Dying, and this will be up soon!

First of all, want to apologize about the delay in getting this interview posted. Its been a hectic last couple of weeks, but you can all expect the interviews to get posted in faster succession from now on. A special thanks goes out to Georg and Olly of SPV Records, as well as Mr. Angelripper himself for giving me time to interview him. Introduction: For nearly 30 years, Tom Angelripper and his main band, Sodom have been spreading their evil and brutal metal to all four corners of the globe. One of the primary influences on the extreme metal scene, Sodom burst forth in the mid eighties, with albums such as Under the Sign of Evil, and Agent Orange. I recently caught up with Tom, who with Sodom has been working on a new album. Mattowarrior: So what's new on the horizon for Tom Angelripper? Tom:  Working on a new album. We have a new producer, Waldemar Sorychta of Grip Incorporated. He's like a fourth band member- I told him I wanted Sodom to go back to our roots, and ...