Metal Hurricane

W.E.T. - W.E.T. (2009) (feat. Jeff Scott Soto of Talisman, Yngwie Malmsteen, Axel Rudi Pell, Trans Siberian Orchestra)

2012-01-07T12:14:00.001-05:00

Genre: Melodic Rock / AOR
Quality: 192kbps MP3
About: I have no idea why this isn't on my blog. Quite simply the greatest Melodic Rock album ever. It features a lot of things not in most melodic rock, such as a great atmosphere, powerful vocals and great guitar solos resembling those found in heavy metal. Rather than me talk your face off, you should just give it a try! I hope they make a W.E.T. 2 (or perhaps W.E.T.T.E.R.) soon!

In-depth track-by-track review.

W.E.T. is a supergroup featuring:
Robert Sall (Work of Art)
Erik Martensson (Eclipse)
Jeff Scott Soto (Talisman, and: Yngwie Malmsteen, Axel Rudi Pell, Takara, solo, Trans-Siberian Orchestra)

Finally, here is a music video of "One Love" i just found. I actually dig the 90s-esque green screen and kaleidoscope effects.

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Please support the musicians that spent so much time, effort, and money to make this great music for you - Buy their albums and go to their concerts (if possible)!
You owe it to yourself to buy this on vinyl; Digital media doesn't do it justice.
Buy Picture LP from Inner Wound Recordings (Pictured above, limited to 299 copies (because I have one of them :D))
Buy CD from Frontiers Records
Buy MP3s on iTunes

A Very Strange Christmas (by hurricane_mario)

2011-12-17T22:25:00.003-05:00

About:
It's the week before Christmas
and all through the house
Everyone is stirring and saying
"wtf are you listening to?"

This compilation consists entirely of bizarre versions of the classic christmas songs you know and love (or hate), as well as a lot of original christmas songs you've never heard. And if you have any sense at all, will never hear them again. But if you're weird like me, you will love them a lot better than that garbage they play on the radio every year (And you are inevitably very tired of by this point).

As with all my playlists, a good number of them are heavy metal, but not all of them.

Track List:
1. King Diamond - No Presents for Christmas [Original, but includes I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus] (Thrash/Heavy Metal)
2. Psychostick - Red Snow [original] (Humor / Hardcore)
3. Dio - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen [classic] (Heavy/Doom Metal)
4. I Fight Dragons - Alien for Christmas [original] (Rock / Chiptune)
5. Steve Vai - Christmas Time is here [classic] (Guitar Virtuoso / Instrumental)
6. Jordan Rudess - Andelusion [original] (Piano Virtuoso / Instrumental)
7. Halford - Get Into the Spirit [original] (Power / Thrash Metal)
8. Abney Park - Little Drummer Boy [classic] (Steampunk / Darkwave / Gothic / Industrial)
9. Alice Cooper - Santa Claus is Coming To Town [classic] (Heavy/Shock Metal)
10. Keith Emerson - Troika [classic] (Keyboard / Fusion / Instrumental)
11. Austrian Death Machine - Jingle Bells [classic] (Humor / Metalcore)
12. South Park - Woodland Critter Christmas (5 second interlude)
13. Spinal Tap - Christmas With the Devil [original] (Satire / Classic Rock)
14. Tankard - Fuck Christmas [original] (Thrash Metal)
15. HeimatAerde - Veni Veni Emmanuel [classic - Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel] (Darkwave)
16. Afroman - I Wish You Would Roll A New Blunt [classic - I Wish You A Merry Christmas] (Humor / Hip Hop)
17. Jingle Cats - What Child Is This?/hava Nagila [classic] (Uhh... I'm not sure. Here's the top 3 tags on last.fm: motherfucking christmas cats, psychedelic, death metal)
18. NanowaR Of Steel - Christmas with Nanowar [original] (Satire / Power Metal / Ballad)

As usual, a .m3u file is enclosed so click an option such as "import playlist" in your music player of choice, then select the file. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'll try to get back to posting albums regularly.

For those wondering about the image. Sort of picked it at random. But "Santa" is an anagram for "Satan", and given track 13 it seemed appropriate.

Merry Christmas! ;D

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Please support the musicians that spent so much time, effort, and money to make this great music for you - Buy their albums and go to their concerts (if possible)!

A Black Metal Hurricane

2011-07-01T23:55:00.000-04:00

Genre: (Atmospheric) Black Metal
Quality: Mostly 256 or 320kbps
About: I was up one night last week, feeling alone and slightly drunk. I decided to make a playlist for my girlfriend which I've been meaning to do for quite some time. Basically she used to listen to Black Metal but not enough to know bands by name. I also do not know what specific subgenres she listened to... I mainly listen to atmospheric/ambient/melancholic types of black metal, songs that make me FEEL.

So this playlist has songs that I feel are really easy to get into. It's aimed at people who have never tried the genre much or at all. Most of the songs are melodic, atmospheric, folk, and post-black metal... rather than raw, depressive, extreme, etc. If you're a fan of black metal you probably have all of these with the exception of Azeroth, an unknown Russian melodic black metal band (who you should definitely check out - I have the discography on this blog). Or, if you just want to hear a good playlist.

More actual albums coming soon hopefully! My life has been hectic lately. Just wanted to get this playlist on here cause... it's amazing :)

Track List:
1. Moonsorrow - Ukkosenjumalan Poika ... One of the first black metal songs i got into

2. Azeroth - Great Warriors Of Shadows ... This band was so amazing live, and the production is much better than on the studio albums! Also, this song's somewhat boring 3 minute intro is left out.

3. Woods of Desolation - Darker Days ... Current nominee for best song of 2011

4. Agalloch - Falling Snow ... Another band I got into when I first discovered black metal

5. Alcest - Ciel Errant ... Same as above, but it took me quite a while before I started to like this specific song, now it's my favorite by him.

6. Lunar Aurora - Die Quelle Im Wald ... Favorite BM band, really hard to pick a song, I picked it because of the clarinet solo.

7. Drudkh - When the Flame Turns to Ashes ... Again hard to pick a song but I picked this one because of, well the whole song sounds like flame gradually turning into ash!

8. Lantlôs - These Nights Were Ours ... One of the best songs of 2010 especially within this weird ill-defined post-blackened shoegaze genre.

9. Dimmu Borgir - Kings of the Carnival Creation ... I've tried their old stuff (its ok), their new stuff (its ok), but never thought to try the stuff in the middle before now. OH MY GOD.

10. Austere - Just for a moment... I was thinking for a long time that Black Metal and Emo would be complementary, then I found this. I'm not the typical emo/poser-hating metalhead; I listen on occasion. And the line between metal and metalcore is pretty blurry, as is the line between metalcore and posercore... So I just try not to think about it and listen to whatever I like.

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2011-06-23 Shuffle (by hurricane_mario)

2011-06-24T00:56:00.000-04:00

About: Let's play a game.
1. Turn shuffle (of your entire music library) on
2. Start by playing a song of your choice
3. Save every song that plays onto a playlist, until you reach sub-74 minutes (If the next song puts it over 74 it's not part of the playlist)
4. Upload (link in comments or on your own blog)

That's what I did here. It was my old library on my desktop which has not been touched since March 30th. It has 94,510 songs totalling nearly 600GB and 287 days of playtime. It worked out pretty well. For some reason all of the songs seemed to have a dark and mysterious feeling. I guess I just like that kind of music.

Track List:
1. Yngwie Malmsteen - As Above, So Below
Well this was vocalist Jeff Scott Soto's debut, who has since gone on to sing in bands such as Talisman, W.E.T., and the most well-known being Trans-siberian orchestra. He started when Malmsteen was equally unknown (And arguably still is... he was not even on Rolling Stone's top 100 guitarists... I hate that magazine). It's the only song with vocals on this album, Rising Force. The vocals are just so amazing as well as the guitar solos.

2. Nocternity - Onyx
Never really listened to this band. It's some brutal, raw black metal but theres some nice melodies to be found.

3. The Meads of Asphodel - Weeping Tears of Angel Light
It starts with an 8-bit sounding melody and goes into some decidedly solid melodic black metal.

4. Finch - Mad World (Acoustic Cover)
An emo band with a really nice acoustic cover of this song.

5. Paolo Nutini - Million Faces
Some indie artist I had no idea I had, but I like it alot.

6. Beatallica - Ce So Precisa Sangue (Portuguese)
So this a band I've followed from near their beginnings. They gained popularity due to the fact they do Beatles covers in the style of metallica. They are so good, even Lars Ulrich of metallica encouraged them to continue. This is the song "All You Need is Love" and as you know, Beatles had all kinds of different languages in their song. So Beatallica released a mega-single with the song in about 15 different languages. :) I don't know which metallica song they are spoofing off-hand, though...

7. Ian Stuart And Rough Justice - Having A Good Time
This shuffle continued to get more obscure. Here's an unknown white power rock band. Not sure what more to say.

8. Ring of Fire - You were there
I'm glad itunes picked another one of my favorite vocalists. Unfortunately I had this album in really low quality, but whatever. This is a nice ballad. Mark Boals was ironically also in Yngwie Malmsteen, for three albums I believe. As well as Avantasia, Revolution Renaissance, way too many others to list.

9. Devin Townsend - Life
So itunes crashed here. I hate this program but it remains the best music organizer. I love how it automatically organizes it into subfolders when I add it. Anyway, this is the album it had picked, I'm not sure about the song. But I skimmed through the whole album and I loved this song instantly. Devin Townsend made way better albums when he was on drugs...

10. The Beloved - The Sun Rising
I got this from some compilation. Techincally called "Synthpop" it's just really chill and relaxed.

11. Blutengel - Schmerz 1 - Liebe
German darkwave band, but this song serves more as an interlude than a song. But I like it.

12. Senmuth - Indriyas
Unknown solo artist who primarily makes egyptian and ambient music. Well, that's what this is. Yet another dark, ambient, chillout type song.

13. Johansson - Fading away
I swear the itunes shuffle algorithm is alot smarter than you'd think. This is the solo project of a keyboardist who is best known for Stratovarius, but was in Yngwie Malmsteen's band from 1983 to 1989 and was in fact on track 1 of this playlist. And it's yet another ballad.

14. Vader - Nomad
Here's a well known death metal band. From a live album. I never really got into them but I should.

15. Joe Jackson - Fools in Love
He's best known for songs like "Stepping Out" and "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" but this song more resembles Ska. But again I like it.

16. Talisman - System Of Power
Hey guess who sings here. JEFF SCOTT SOTO. Out of nearly 100,000 songs here's the third song (out of 15, not counting track 1) in this playlist with a member of Malmsteen's band in it. Coincidence? I think not. I think Apple programmed iTunes with a human brain and are preparing to take over the world. >:D

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Woods of Desolation - Torn Beyond Reason (2011)

2011-03-24T19:15:00.001-04:00

Genre: Atmospheric/Depressive Black Metal
Quality: AAC @ 256
About: So, I had heard of this band before but not gotten into it much, similar to Lantlos last year. It was formed in 2005 by a person simply known as D. (not to be confused with Desolate AKA Mitch who was the third member of Austere) as well as a few Austere members. Now, it is the exact same two members as Grey Waters, who had a fantastic debut EP last year. While that is symphonic depressive rock with emo vocals (you read that correctly), this is a pretty straightforward black metal affair. I say "pretty" because you will have surprises all over the place, the biggest of which being "November" (which I will not ruin).

So, this pretty much is still the heart and soul of Austere, it feels like a natural progression of their sound, similar to how Timo Tolkki has progressed since leaving Stratovarius (last blog post). Instead of about an hour of blast beats with howling (majority of Austere songs), there are 6 songs each with different themes creating an album which will take you to the depths of your soul and back.

There are ambient parts (such as synthesizer or acoustic guitar) serving as an intro to the next section of a song, something I have not heard since Lunar Aurora broke up in 2005. Then your face is melted off. And it happens in nearly every song. Things like this that make this album so great. Every time I listen, I hear new things.

Yet within the darkness and madness you find strands of hope, a melody which soars towards the sun...

Keep on the lookout for the new Grey Waters release, although a completely different style, it's the same two members.

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Buy (CD. Vinyl coming later 2011, which I will probably buy.)

Symfonia - In Paradisum (2011)

2011-03-24T18:13:00.002-04:00

Genre: Neoclassical Power Metal
Quality: 320kbps MP3
About: It is my day off, I choose to spend part of it sharing the awesome stuff I have found in the past few months. First is Symfonia. This is the ultimate supergroup of ex-power metal band members.

* André Matos (ex-Angra, ex-Shaman, ex-Viper) - Vocals
* Timo Tolkki (ex-Stratovarius, ex-Revolution Renaissance) - Guitar , Producer , Mixer
* Jari Kainulainen (ex-Stratovarius, ex-Evergrey) - Bass
* Mikko Härkin (ex-Sonata Arctica, ex-Kotipelto, ex-Solution .45) - Keyboards
* Uli Kusch (ex-Holy Moses, ex-Helloween, ex-Gamma Ray, ex-Masterplan) - Drums

Style-wise, Tolkki continues right where he left off after 2010's fantastic album "Trinity" by Revolution Renaissance. It's power metal, but more deep than classic power "cheese" metal such as Stratovarius's "Episode" or Kamelot's "The Fourth Legacy". So, it's not just "Stratovarius with the old Angra singer". You will hear a lot of power chords held for 3 seconds while there is a power metal beat and soaring vocals. You will also hear slow and introspective parts. My favorite from first listen would have to be the final track.

Still, there are times where you think you've heard it before. Worse off, it doesnt sound like Stratovarius. The beginning of Forevermore sounds like System of a Down's "BYOB". Pilgrim Road sounds like Helloween's "Future World".

As a side-note, look at the flowery-looking thing above the logo.

It first appeared in Stratovarius - "Visions" when they switched from their darker and slower sound they had since Fright Night, to their mainstream power metal sound. When stratovarius peaked.

And every album since.

It increased in importance, as if it was a symbol for the strength of the band. It was featured predominantly on the Elements CD's which I own both of.

Then they broke up after this album.

Then got back together.

Then Tolkki left.

Where's the flower? Here it is.

Changed the logo here, not sure why. This album was great but did have a much grittier sound than all these other albums. Maybe that's why the change.

But it's back again.

Now you have earned your download. LOL.

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Songs From The Best Albums of 2010 (by hurricane_mario)

2011-01-09T18:29:00.000-05:00

I have had this idea in my head to do this since about february. I realized that there were so many releases that come out every year that I needed a way to keep track. So, I kept this journal. I ended up making a top-20. 20 songs in this compilation are from the 20 albums there. Disk 1 contains songs 20-8, Disk 2 contains 7-1 interspersed with 7 other noteworthy songs. I will probably do a disk 3 "EP" later because SO MANY great songs came out in 2010.

On that note, I feel the need to discuss some major points music-wise this year.
- My year started with the frantic anticipation for Alcest and Les Discrets albums, due to the split album they put out in 2009. They both exceeded my expectations.
- Then, I found out the new Burzum album had been released, which was at the top of my chart for a month. Then came Kalmah which replaced that, then came Angra which replaced that and stayed there, because they are my favorite band.
- There were a lot of big-name bands that had released amazing albums a few years ago, but released really disappointing albums this year. Kamelot, Helloween, Blind Guardian, Astral Doors, Wuthering Heights, among others.
- At this point I was still playing Alcest and Les Discrets repeatedly and needed more of this genre - so I found Lantlos, Grey Waters, the new Drudkh album (Soliness also stood out but they did not release any material this year). I also tried a lot of regular shoegaze and of the dozens I tried, Depreciation Guild and Amusement Parks on Fire stood out. I still hope to find more.
- Also in here are just a lot of my favorite bands that cannot possibly make a bad album for my ears. Rhapsody, Joe Satriani, Sofa Surfers, Heimataerde, ~~Stratovarius~~ (Well, the composer of Stratovarius -- Revolution Renaissance), and finally the return of Mr. Big (technically released in 2011 but it leaked)!
- Shining I found completely by accident, I was looking for the Depressive Black Metal band, and instead I found this really unique and exciting journey of an album with the same band name.
- Tetsuo Sakurai is Jazz Fusion, if you don't know what that is, check it out! Basically speedy jazz fused with progressive rock. It features my favorite drummer, Dennis Chambers, and TS is a really great bassist virtuoso.
- Cee Lo Green gets my vote for the biggest surprise of the year, and only "mainstream" album I enjoyed this year. You may know him from "Gnarls Barkley" with their one-hit wonder "Crazy" a few years ago. This album starts with a nice intro, and each song is just captivating in it's own way, while at the same time feeling like a coherent album. Like, each song fits together in this order perfectly and it makes sense.
- Just wanted to note how clear and loud the Bass line is in Lantlos. Had it blasting one day and the guy upstairs complained that the floor was shaking, that it sounded like a vaccuum!
- Angra's song is not a "power ballad" in the traditional sense, I cannot explain it, but I guess that is why I like it so much.

Anyway, here is the track list below. The bitrate is mostly 256kbps and higher, except for (ironically) track 1-1 and track 2-13, which are 192kbps. They are all MP3 except track 1-7 and 2-2 which are AAC. The downloads are the songs themselves along with a m3u file. My interpretation of the genre of each song, which is somewhat subjective, are listed next to the song. I arranged them in the order that sounded best as a playlist, not in the order of my top 20.

As it turns out, completely by chance, Disk 1 is more chill and atmospheric and rock, and Disk 2 is more "metal." They are sub-74 minutes so they could easily be burned to CDs. As usual, I made these playlists for myself but figured someone else might enjoy them!

Disk 1 (Play time - 1:12:51)
1. Mr. Big - Undertow (Melodic / Hard Rock)
2. Pretty Maids - Cielo Drive (Thrashy Heavy Metal)
3. Analog Rebellion - Brain ≠ Heart (I Need To Know) (Downtempo / Indie / Rock)
4. The Depreciation Guild - Dream About Me (Downtempo / Shoegaze / Chiptune/8bit)
5. Heimataerde - Maarat An Numan (Darkwave / Electronic Body Music)
6. Tetsuo Sakurai - Another Kingdom (Jazz Fusion)
7. Sofa Surfers - Heavy Water (Progressive Rock-ish? / Trip-Hop? / Difficult to Categorize)
8. Mar de Grises - The Bell and the Solar Gust (Epic/Atmospheric Death/Doom Metal)
9. Les Discrets - Song For Mountains (Atmospheric / Blackened Shoegaze (Clean Vocals) / Post-Black Metal)
10. Lantlôs - Pulse/Surreal (Shoegazened Black Metal >:D (Black Vocals))
11. Alcest - Percées De Lumière (Shoegazened Black Metal)
12. Amusement Parks On Fire (Shoegaze)
13. Alex Band - Never Let You Go (Alternative Rock)
14. Dexter Freebish - Shine On (Alternative Rock / Electro)

Disk 2 (Play Time - 1:13:19)
1. Joe Satriani - Premonition (Instrumental Rock / Guitar Virtuoso)
2. Rhapsody of Fire - Sea of Fate (Power Metal)
3. The Last Days - Make The Change...Are Your Last Days (Atmospheric Instrumental / Blackened Shoegaze / Post-Black Metal)
4. Senmuth - Под знаменами Тэтишери (Symphonic Ethno Industrial Metal)
5. Shining - The Madness And The Damage Done, Pt. 1 (Progressive/Avant-Garde Rock with Black Metal, Electronic and Jazz influences)
6. Drudkh - Twilight Aureole (Post-Black Metal / Shoegazened Black Metal)
7. Kalmah - Godeye (Epic/Melodic Death Metal)
8. Cee Lo Green - Bright Lights Bigger City (Produced By Ben H. Allen Co-Produced By Graham Marsh) (Symphonic Hip-Hop / Melodic Vocals, not Rap)
9. Rage - Empty Hollow (Symphonic/Epic Power Metal)
10. Grey Waters - The Truth is in Your Eyes (Depressive Rock / Emo Vocals)
11. Arid - Custom Gold (Melodic/Progressive Rock)
12. Revolution Renaissance - Crossing the Rubicon
13. Angra - Lease of Life (my #1 song of 2010 / Power Metal "Ballad")

Mediafire Download (Disk 1)
Mediafire Download (Disk 2)

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A Metal Hurricane, Vol. 4

2010-11-12T16:28:00.001-05:00

Genre: Varies, see description and track listing.
Quality: Mostly over 192kbps MP3, one is AAC.
About: I believe this is my best playlist to date. If you're here, likely you already have bands like Alcest (Track 8), Angra (10), Revolution Renaissance (14), and Grey Waters (9). But you probably don't have Yearning (1), Far Beyond (3), Enter My Silence (7), Pay No Respect (12), or Shadow Gallery (15). These are all great and very underrated metal bands! I won't say more specific things about the aforementioned bands, you should experience them for yourself.

Because of bands like Alcest, Austere and all related bands, I've been getting more into shoegaze. It is called that because founding artists generally stared straight down during live performances. I used last.fm shoegaze radio to find bands like The Depreciation Guild (5), who became an instant favorite. This song has such a great beat and I wish I was in a band because it would be such a nice candidate for a power metal cover!

I've always been into very melodic music, whether it's rock or metal or anything else. I was randomly browsing a blog, and I usually hate when music is played on music-blogs because people are probably already listening to music while browsing! But in this case it was a very good thing because I heard another instant favorite - Brother Firetribe (2). This is melodic rock but it is somewhat heavy at times, and it is interesting because it was actually founded by the guitarist/composer from nightwish! Annette is even in one song (not this one). The singer here is absolutely incredible, he is like a combination of Mark Boals and Michael Kiske which are my two favorite living singers. Powerful yet clean.

Kymera (6) is another unknown amazing melodic rock band, with another vocalist who reminds me of Kiske.

Glen Hansard (4) is an amazing singer-songwriter and the best decision he ever made was to release a movie called Once in 2006. This is direct from the movie and I'm not sure why but just seemed to fit very well in that spot in the playlist.

Serj Tankian (11) is of course the singer from System of A Down. I consider their first album a metal album, but since then the band and the recent solo projects have shifted more to a mainstream alternative sound. Here, he experiments which I really like. The album as a whole is too slow and uneventful, but this track grabbed me. I guess the disco-type beat.

Billionaires Boys Club (13) is the epitome of unknown hard rock. It features Mark Boals on vocals, and had some really enjoyable songs such as this one. It's just one of those bands that remained unknown for some reason. Lack of promotion and touring. This band would have done really well today now that we have internet to find all this great music!

Track List (1:13:22 total time):
1. Yearning - Bleak (Atmospheric Doom/Death Metal / Clean Vocals)
2. Brother Firetribe - I'm on Fire (Melodic Hard Rock / AOR)
3. Far Beyond - My Way Of Endless Grief (Melodic Power Metal)
4. Glen Hansard - Say it to Me Now (Acoustic / Singer-Songwriter)
5. The Depreciation Guild - Crucify You (Shoegaze / Chiptune / 8bit)
6. Khymera - No sacrifice (Melodic Rock / AOR)
7. Enter My Silence - Thin Red Line (Melodic Death Metal)
8. Alcest - Tir Nan Og (Atmospheric/Acoustic Black Metal / Shoegaze)
9. Grey Waters - The Truth is in Your Eyes (Depressive Black Rock/Metal / Shoegaze / Emo)
10. Angra - Lease of Life (Power Metal / Ballad)
11. Serj Tankian - Deserving? (Symphonic/Alternative Rock/Pop)
12. Pay No Respect - Only the Brave (Hardcore / Beatdown)
13. Billionaires Boys Club - Send Your Fat Friend Home (Hard Rock / Glam Metal / AOR)
14. Revolution Renaissance - Crossing the Rubicon (Power Metal)
15. Shadow Gallery - Colors (Melodic Metal / Ballad)

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*As usual, the music files are included as well as a .m3u file. If you have problems, let me know.*

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Yearning - Frore Meadow (2001)

2010-11-08T00:02:00.000-05:00

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal / Shoegaze / Doom Metal
Quality: mp3 @ 192 kbps

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Dexter Freebish - Shine On (2010) (mp3 @ V0, 100% .log, .cue)

2010-11-05T16:49:00.002-04:00

Genre: Alternative Rock / Electro-pop
Quality: mp3 @ V0 with .log and .cue
About: In the long awaited followup for a small group of dedicated fans (it has been 6 years since their last LP), Dexter Freebish moves in more of an electro-pop direction while still retaining their unique rock sound. I was upset they changed their style at first, but upon many listens it just sort of "clicked" and I found the songs running through my head. As you progress through the album they use the Pop-beat less (and not at all) which is good because it makes for variety. The best ones are "Everybody Knows Somebody", a more hard-rock sounding "Shine On", and the final track "Come Down" is completely acoustic.

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The Depreciation Guild - Spirit Youth (2010)

2010-11-05T16:32:00.000-04:00

Genre: Shoegaze, Chiptune
Quality: VBR mp3 @ 256ish (maybe v0?)
About: I have been getting really interested in shoegaze thanks to bands like Alcest, Les Discrets, the new Drudkh album.... So I put on shoegaze tag radio on last.fm. Of everything I heard I liked this the best. I have been getting progressively more addicted to this album. Every song will have something you like. The best songs are "Dream about me" and "crucify you".

Side-note: Sorry for lack of updates. Really busy with school and stuff. This may be my last update until the semester is over, mid-december.

Second side-note: Switching back to mediafire, I haven't gotten a broken RAR from them in a long time so maybe they FINALLY fixed it!

Mediafire Download

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Buy (Amazon - CD, MP3, or Vinyl)

A Gothic Hurricane (by hurricane_mario)

2010-09-18T16:18:00.001-04:00

Genre: Melodic Death/Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Symphonic metal, related genres.
Quality: Varied
About: I had a few of these songs going through my head the other day so I decided to make a playlist. I tried to steer away from non real gothic bands that idiots tag as gothic just because there's a female singer. But a few crept in towards the end when I ran out of ideas. I don't listen to gothic much, but when I do it's songs like these.

1. The Old Dead Tree - Start the Fire
2. Ava Inferi - Colours Of The Dark
3. To/Die/For - Guilt Ridden State
4. Flowing Tears - Godless
5. Moonspell - Everything Invaded
6. Rapture - (About) Leaving
7. Krypteria - My Fatal Kiss
8. Lacrimas Profundere - A Pearl
9. Theatre Of Tragedy - Silence
10. Aesma Daeva - The Camp of Souls
11. Xandria - Now & Forever
12. The Sins of Thy Beloved - My Love
13. HIM - Your Sweet Six Six Six
14. Sirenia - The Last Call
15. Within Temptation - What Have You Done (Feat. Keith Caputo)

Same as last time. The songs and a .m3u file. Hope it works right. Definitely will work in VLC though.

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A Metal Hurricane, Vol. 3

2010-08-17T00:08:00.004-04:00

Genre: Various... see each song
Quality: Various, sorry can't be helped.
Length: 72:25 minutes
About: This is even more a conglomeration of genres than my first two. But it just shows how varied my taste is and I hope there's something in here for everyone. This is basically the soundtrack to my summer, with the blanks filled in with some stuff that was running through my head one night and some stuff I haven't heard in a couple years.

There's a few songs in here I know most people have so I tried to pick a less known version. There's also some completely unknown stuff that everyone needs to hear. So, yeah hope someone enjoys it! If not, I know at least I will.

Note: I created a .m3u and threw all the files in one folder with it this time to try it (it should be easier). Any media player should have an import playlist option. iTunes's is (stupidly placed, as usual) File, Library, Import Playlist.
(Edit: After experimenting I found if m3u's work is completely dependent on the player you use. With my original upload, VLC worked, Windows media player missed like half the songs, itunes misses Beer Mosh. Removing the accent in "Prision" made it work. Seriously? Well if you have problems I'm sorry and you'll have to add them to the playlist manually, but I do not want to retag all my music like I did with the first two all my previous compilations.)

Track Commentaries:

(These descriptions were written at 4am so apologies for poor grammar and such.)

Kalmah - One of Fail (Melodic Death Metal)

Well this band proves they can do no wrong, as it is their 6^th album and they continue to get consistently more amazing. Take low growling aggressive vocals, combine it with guitars which are equally aggressive but make beautiful melodies during the choruses, then keyboards to complement with insane countermelodies, and the drums drive the song forward so you can’t not listen. One of those songs you quite literally cannot get tired of.

Munetaka Higuchi with Dream Castle - What Cost War (Heavy / Thrash(?) Metal)

Ever since Dio’s untimely passing I have been working towards getting every guest recording he ever did (since I already have all of the projects he was a permanent member in… I promise I will share it someday! It’s on my to do list, way down on it). Well here we have quite possibly his most impressive vocal performance of his life. Ridiculous screams and just downright aggressive vocals. Most people, even really hardcore fans probably don’t know about it so, here it is. I’m like having chills and shaking a little by the end of this song.

Sarah Brightman - Here with me (Chillout, Classical, Pop)

So after that we need a chill down song. Probably everyone breathing has heard this. Quite simply Dido is one of my favorite female vocalists and songwriters. But I am presenting the version off one of my favorite albums of all time, from one of the few vocalists I like better than Dido. The album is “La Luna” (2000). Even though it is primarily (or entirely) cover songs it has this magical yet melancholic atmosphere about it.

Wildfire - Summer Lightning (Traditional Heavy Metal / Hard Rock)

I cannot get enough of unknown 80’s traditional heavy metal/hard rock. It’s like, 1000 of these bands formed in mid 80s, whipped out an album then broke up after making 2 dollars profit. But they are all so awesome and I keep finding them, on vinyl in perfect condition for 1 dollar at record stores. And I’m so glad I do. Perhaps these bands were before their time? This genre is so awesomedfjask;glf.

Led Zeppelin - Good Times, Bad Times (Classic Rock)

I’m not a hardcore Zeppelin fan and in fact my favorite song is “When The Levee Breaks” by them. But this song was running through my head and actually is what inspired to make this playlist. What more needs to be said about them that hasn’t been said in the past 40 years? It’s short, simple, and sweet. I looked for a live version but there honestly isn’t one. Do they not like this song? Well I sure do… sorry if you have it already.

Black Sabbath - War Pigs (Classic Rock / Heavy Metal)

And here’s another classic everyone knows. It was made one year after and in fact was the next song that came to mind for this playlist. But I don’t want to provide the Ozzy version everyone and their grandmother have in their library already. I thought about the Dio live version, but I honestly think the band goes way overkill… both Dio with his random shouting of words and the band for extending the song by like 5 minutes with random riffs. So here’s the 1983 live version during the short time former Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan was in this band. He does love the sound of his voice, lol. It’s somewhat cheesy but I find this particular version more enjoyable than the original.

Lee DeWyze & Crystal Bowersox - Falling Slowly (Acoustic, Pop, Rock)

Well my two favorite contestants from American Idol Season 9 (the first season I have ever watched by the way) were #1 and #2 and they had a duet together. How perfect can you get. Honestly the live version was more passionate but I can’t find it. I just… speechless. It’s from the 2006 movie “Once” which I have been meaning to watch ever since I heard this song, just hasn’t happened yet. I was hoping I could get a girlfriend to watch it with as it seems like that kinda movie. But anyway, next song.

Jeff Scott Soto - Our Song (Melodic Hard Rock)

Honestly do not like a lot of his solo stuff as it’s too poppy and wanna be mainstream and lame. But this song is a straight up hard rock affair and man it rocks.

Heaven’s Guardian - Slaves of Reality (Heavy / Power Metal)

Quite literally the most unknown heavy metal band of all time for how awesome it is. The singer Carlos Zema is my #3 favorite singer ever as he can have a beautiful clean voice or the most insane screams you can ever hear, or a low growling voice which is more what is in this song.

W.E.T. - One Love (Melodic Rock)

The cover art does describe it as well as anything, it’s like standing out in the heavy rain but amidst the water you hear this beautiful music. Too cheesy of a description maybe. Well this is actually Jeff Scott Soto singing, but it’s hard to tell as he sings a lot higher range that in most of his other stuff. It sounds like he’s straining a little through the whole album but it makes it sound more passionate and genuine.

Eric Martin - Fly (Melodic Hard Rock)

Here’s IMO the greatest solo song from the Mr. Big singer. Better than much of what Mr. Big has done and that’s saying a lot.

Space Odyssey - Despair and Pain (Heavy / Power Metal)

Well I’m not sure how well known this is but every power/fantasy metal fan must hear this song. This particular composer has done so much amazing music but has gone MIA since about 2006 and me and much of the community is upset. Anyway, this is as great of a power metal song as you could hope for but makes it stand out is the vocals. Nils Patrik Johannson, also an unknown singer but he is my #4 favorite for sure. He has the most beautiful clean voice I have ever heard, but unfortunately he rarely uses it as he sings metal. Still he has the greatest growling voice that can effortlessly go to a ear piercing scream. Often he sounds like a dog barking though especially in recent years, but not in this album! Well that was an unexpected rant.

Pretty Maids - Old Enough to Know (Melodic Heavy Metal / Power Metal Ballad)

Melodic acoustic heavy metal power ballad. Jakslfjsfgdfsk;l I am a sucker for a good power ballad and this is the best one I’ve heard in many moons. This band is like 20 some years old and they still sound so fresh and relevant. Ironically this song is about how they’re old and all the stuff they’ve learned.

Beer Mosh - Muero (Thrash Metal)

Downloaded this band blindly for the name. So glad I did. I had never understood true thrash metal before this song and afterwards I can’t get enough of it. This is just plain a kicka** heavy as f*** song that every metalhead needs to hear. They are unknown though so I bet no one reading this has this. Amazing bass solo and disturbing guitar solos towards the end.

Slumber - Rapture (Epic Doom/Death Metal)

As if it’s not obvious enough this band ripped off the Finnish band Rapture just by listening, they had the nerve to title a song Rapture. But I believe they take this style of music to a whole new level of atmosphere and immersion. It’s like, floating on a dark sea in a storm.

Like a Storm - Change Tomorrow (Acoustic Hard Rock Ballad)

I have this full album on my blog, but I just re-found it so I want to put it here. Completely acoustic ballad and these great Michael Kiske-esque vocals. Kinda the same vocal style as Kiske but somewhat deeper voice. I dunno, time for bed. :)

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Alex Band - We've all been there (2010) (v0 mp3, 100% log, .cue)

2010-08-02T21:11:00.001-04:00

Genre: Alternative/Pop Rock
Quality: v0 mp3, 100% log, .cue
About: It's kind of a long story how I came to own a signed copy of this album. A while back I heard The Calling's "Wherever You Will Go" on the radio and I was like, oh crap I remember this, I love this song and this guy's voice makes me melt into butter. That doesn't make sense but who cares. So I got both of The Calling's albums but found out they broke up in 2005. But I found out the vocalist, Alex Band was doing a solo album so I followed him on twitter. I didn't give it much attention even until one day I saw "Get a signed copy of my album now..." on my twitter feed. So I listened to the album, loved it, and thought it was good enough to deserve my hard earned money. I got a signed copy off his official website, since the collector in me needed it.

Since I got it I have listened 100 more times. I thought it was worthwhile to go through the PITA process of setting up EAC for V0. While I'm not a music quality elitist, I appreciate that v0 is the best trade off between quality and compact file sizes. I don't honestly know what to do with a .cue (something about burning it back to CD, not that you'd do that anyway *AHEM AHEM*) but I provided it anyway in case someone might want it. And let me know if it does work as I'm curious.

Enough techno babble, on to the album. It's alternative rock at it's core but not like the majority of alternative rock on the radio where people are like "I'M GROWLING CAUSE IM SO HARDCOREEEE" and generic riffs. Here we have really melodic guitar and vocal lines, tons of unique ideas all over the place. At the same time it seems like one coherent thought process and all the songs fit together like a puzzle to make a great album. It's difficult to listen to just one song cause I always end up listening to the whole album.

Stand outs are "We've All Been There" "Euphoria" "Never Let You Go" "Start Over Again".

I also included "Cruel One (feat. Chantal Kreviazuk & Emmy Rossum)" which is not v0 because it is an iTunes-only bonus track (why??????). Enjoy, let me know what you think, and let Alex know by buying it!

4shared Download - removed by request 8/9/10. But you can preview at the iTunes link below!

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Buy signed album (CD) - 14.99
Buy iTunes - 7.99

New Angra Song! - Arising Thunder (2010) from the upcoming album "Aqua"

2010-07-17T04:25:00.000-04:00

Genre: Power Progressive Metal
Quality: 320 kbps MP3
About: I'd have to say at first listen this new song from my favorite band, their first song in 4 years, is just good overall. Verses are a little boring, chorus is amazing and the manditory power metal speed solos are great as usual but nothing too special there. Well try it and see for yourself, here's a link direct from their site to download the new song. Watch for the new album "Aqua" on October 5! Rest assured it will be on this blog on or before release date.

Download

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Pretty Maids - Pandemonium (2010)

2010-07-15T23:30:00.001-04:00

Genre: Heavy / Power Metal
Quality: MP3 256 kbps
About: One of those albums where each song just keeps getting better. It's another one of those bands that had a traditional 80s heavy metal / hard rock sound and gradually evolved to power metal, much like Rage, Sinner, Riot, or the many other similar artists. But they do it better than most. Pretty much all my spare time since I found it Sunday has been spent listening to this album. I don't know how to describe it except you need to listen if you're a fan of this genre!

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Suicide Solution, Vol. 2

2010-06-21T13:24:00.000-04:00

Genre: Depressive Suicidal Black Metal + closely related genres.
Quality: 192-320kbps mp3.
About: In these past 10 months since I made Vol. 1, I've found I'd only scratched the surface of what is actually a very deep and varied genre. I want to let the world know that, while I discover it for myself. There are countless clone bands: Fast blast beats, screaming nonsense, no melody, sounds like it was recorded with a tape recorder from a dollar store on the other side of a brick wall........ That is what this collection aims to avoid.

I wanted a collection of unique yet similar sounds and ideas, with a production value that can at least be appreciated and doesn't hamper enjoyment of each song. I personally believe I did a pretty good job. I also kept it limited to 74 minutes, the standard for a CD. (Especially hard since songs of this genre tend to be so long!). I also created a cover which will be used for all future entries in this series.

I hope you will find as much enjoyment out of these songs as I do.

1. Lantlôs - These Nights Were Ours (Kind of obsessed with this song and I think its a good playlist opener. My #1 song of 2010 and I don't see how anything can top it.)

2. Happy Days - Don't Go (Really emotional song ending in what sounds like a wolf howl. Just chilling. Since I stupidly used their cover for Vol. 1 I figured I should put them in here.)

3. Apati - Sömnlösa Nätter (Just found this "black rock" band and instantly love them. Apparently their new album that just came out is even better.)

4. Monarque - La Vallée Des Larmes (This is what I was talking about when I said "unique" sounds.)

5. Mortuus Infradaemoni - Mortuus Et Prodeunt Infradaemoni (Raw yet clear song and I just love the riff. You'll know which one I'm talking about. Not technically "depressive" but come on, it is. So underrated I had to put them on here.)

6. Silencer - Taklamakan (No idea what this song is about, but it just gets into this awesome jam part where you want to bang your head.)

7. Shining - Krossade Drömmar Och Brutna Löften (I won't argue if you say they're overrated, but this is a heartfelt completely acoustic guitar track that's melancholic and sad and a great interlude.)

8. Walknut - Come, Dreadful Ygg (Another unique band I just found and need to devote more time to.)

9. All the Cold - Coldly to Heart (Essentially the last song of the "Children of Failure" split, one of the few albums to seriously make me feel like crying as the songs are so emotional. It just keeps beating you down harder, you need to get it if you don't have it.)

10. Austere - To fade with the Dusk (This band split up recently but with this song you can hear how amazing they were. Really the classic DSBM sound but they do it so perfectly and clearly.)

11. Sad Legend - The Reaper's Song (From the newest album, it seems like something is missing but that only makes me like it a little more, I think.)

Runtime: 72:42

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Lantlôs - .neon (2010) (320kbps MP3)

2010-06-16T01:43:00.002-04:00

Genre: Atmospheric/Depressive/Suicidal Blackened Shoegaze
Quality: 320kbps MP3
About: Yesterday I discovered this came out, and since I had listened to their album and demos before and liked them, I thought ok I should get it. But if someone had ran my face over with a steamroller I would not have been more surprised. This is a band who has matured so much over the past 5 years, from an almost blast-beat-fest on every song, to... this. Every song brings this wave of emotions, varying from anger to introspective to sad. The musical content varies along with it, there are moments of the fast aggressive black metal everyone loves, then there's passages with progressive-sounding beats and also minimalist parts. I don't know what more to say except it must be heard to be believed. New song of the year: "These Nights Were Ours."

~~Recommended~~ A must-listen for all fans of the genre, in fact the multi-instrumentalist creator of Alcest is the permanent singer for this band now, and the artwork was done by a member of Les Discrets.

Neige - Vocals (Alcest, Peste Noire, Mortifera (Fra), Phest, Amesoeurs)
Herbst - Guitar, Bass, Drums, Lyrics (Epitaph, Herbst, Impavida, Líam)

Cover artwork by Fursy Teyssier (Les Discrets).

1.	Minusmensch	07:49
2.	These Nights Were Ours	04:41
3.	Pulse / Surreal	08:21
4.	Neige de Mars	05:01
5.	Coma	06:07
6.	Neon	07:42
Total playing time		39:41

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Mägo de Oz - Gaia III: Atlantia (2010) (v0 mp3)

2010-04-24T16:52:00.005-04:00

Genre: Epic Symphonic Folk Power Metal / Folk Rock
Quality: mp3 @ v0 (224kbps VBR)
About: While not quite up to par with their epic masterpiece "Gaia II: La Voz Dormida" this is an amazing album. This album quite simply has everything, while still feeling like a unified album. There are somber and slow parts, there are epic power metal songs with flutes in the background, synthesizer solos, there are Folk Rock songs. The song that particularly stood out for me though was "El Violín Del Diablo" featuring Patricia Tapia (Nexx, KHY) on vocals. It's a haunting song, much different from their usual happy partying and dancing style.

Here's a videoclip of their single illustrating that haunting feeling a couple songs have... but then they say screw it and start drinking and partying again XD.

9.5/10

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guests:
Kutxi Romero (Marea) - Vocals in "Vodka'n Roll"
Carlos Escobedo (Savia, Sôber) - Vocals in "El Príncipe de la Dulce Pena IV"
Jorge Salán - Guitar Solos in "Mi Hogar Eres Tú"
Francis Sarabia (Campillo) - Vocals in "La Ira de Gaia" and "Atlantia"
Natalia Martín - Chorus in "Atlantia"
Tony Menguiano - Vocals in "Atlantia"
Tete Novoa - Vocals in "Atlantia"
Silverio "Silver" Solórzano - Vocals in "Atlantia"
Javier Díez - (Ebony Ark, Jorge Salan, Wayland) Keyboards solo in "Atlantia"
Leo Jiménez "La Bestia" (Saratoga, 037, Stravaganzza, Supra) - Vocals in
"Atlantia"

Track List:

Disc 1
1.	El latido de Gaia	04:07
2.	Dies irae	09:26
3.	Für immer	04:42
4.	Vodka 'n' Roll	03:36
5.	El Príncipe de la Dulce Pena (parte IV)	04:23
6.	Mi hogar eres tú	06:03
7.	Fuerza y honor: el Dorado (instrumental)	04:48
8.	El Violín del Diablo	04:55
9.	Siempre (Adiós Dulcinea - parte II)	04:45
Disc 2
1.	Mis demonios (atrévete a vivir)	04:13
2.	Que el viento sople a tu favor	04:16
3.	Sueños dormidos	05:16
4.	Aún amanece gratis	04:52
5.	La Soga del Muerto (Ayahuasca)	03:14
6.	La ira de Gaia	06:48
7.	Atlantia	19:14
Total playing time		01:34:38

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Rhapsody Of Fire - The Frozen Tears Of Angels (2010) (with Digipak bonus tracks)

2010-04-24T16:14:00.006-04:00

Genre: Epic Symphonic Power Metal
Quality: .m4a (AAC) @ 256kbps
About: While I could argue that their songs sound rehashed from old riffs on old albums, and some of the song structures seem tired...

And, I wish they had utilized the Narration more as they did in previous albums. Their albums are each supposed to tell a story - for example the last one was about a band of heros questing to find some ancient book in a cave on a mountain, then when they get it they find out its cursed and try to run out with it. More or less. - but this album just seems like a bunch of songs with similar themes...

However, this is still a great album from the Epic Power Metal kings. However, it's the non-power metal songs that really shine through for me. "Crystal Moonlight," "Danza Di Fuoco E Ghiaccio" (Dance of Fire and Ice), "Lost In Cold Dreams," "The Frozen Tears Of Angels." They all have a very fresh feeling and I've never heard anything like them from Rhapsody, or any band for that matter.

Solid 9.0 from me.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the third chapter of "The Dark Secret Saga", which began with "Symphony
Of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret".

Track List:

1.	Dark Frozen World	02:13
2.	Sea of Fate	04:47
3.	Crystal Moonlight	04:25
4.	Reign of Terror	06:52
5.	Danza Di Fuoco E Ghiaccio	06:25
6.	Raging Starfire	04:56
7.	Lost in Cold Dreams	05:12
8.	On the Way to Ainor	06:58
9.	The Frozen Tears of Angels	11:15
Total playing time		53:03

The special limited deluxe digipak has two bonus tracks: (Included here)
10. Labyrinth of Madness (04:35)
11. Sea of Fate (Orchestral Version) (04:04)

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Avantasia - The Wicked Symphony (2010) + Avantasia - Angel of Babylon (2010)

2010-04-06T01:52:00.009-04:00

Genre: Symphonic Power Metal Opera
Quality: mp3 @ 320kbps
About: The Wicked Symphony sounds the most like "The Metal Opera Part III" that I've heard from Tobias Sammet since 2004's Edguy's "Hellfire Club." Tracks 2 and 3 are epically amazing, so you need to get it at the very least for those.

Angel of Babylon definitely shows his experimental side... while it is good, it is nowhere near many of his other albums, including TWS.

Anyway, here are both, for your own judgement. Personally, I believe releasing two completely different albums on the same day is a poor business move, but here they are. Buy them if you like them, delete them if you don't.

Avantasia - The Wicked Symphony
Line-up:
Tobias Sammet - Vocals, Bass
Sascha Paeth - Guitars
Michael "Miro" Rodenberg - Keyboards, Orchestration
Eric Singer - Drums

Musicians:
Bruce Kulick - Guitars (on tracks 6, 11)
Oliver Hartmann - Guitars (on tracks 2, 8)
Felix Bohnke - Drums (on tracks 1, 5, 9 11)
Alex Holzwarth - Drums (on tracks 3, 7, 8, 10)
Simon Oberender - Organ (on track 11)

Vocalists:
Jørn Lande (on tracks 1, 6, 7, 8)
Michael Kiske (on tracks 2, 6)
Russell Allen (on tracks 1, 10)
Bob Catley (on track 6)
Klaus Meine (on track 4)
Tim "Ripper" Owens (on track 3)
André Matos (on track 5)
Ralf Zdiarstek (on track 9)

Track List:

1.	The Wicked Symphony	09:28
2.	Wastelands	04:44
3.	Scales Of Justice	05:04
4.	Dying For An Angel	04:32
5.	Blizzard On A Broken Mirror	06:07
6.	Runaway Train	08:42
7.	Crestfallen	04:02
8.	Forever Is A Long Time	05:05
9.	Black Wings	04:37
10.	States Of Matter	03:57
11.	The Edge	04:12
Total playing time		01:00:30

Avantasia - Angel of Babylon
Line-up:
Tobias Sammet - Vocals, Bass
Sascha Paeth - Guitars
Michael "Miro" Rodenberg - Keyboards, Orchestration
Eric Singer - Drums

Musicians:
Bruce Kulick - Guitar (on tracks 1, 5 and 11)
Oliver Hartmann - Guitar (on tracks 1, 2 and 3)
Henjo Richter - Guitar (on track 10)
Felix Bohnke - Drums (on tracks 4, 6 and 8)
Alex Holzwarth - Drums (on tracks 1, 2, 3 and 11)
Jens Johansson - Keyboards (on track 2)
Simon Oberender - Organ (on track 9)

Singers:
Jørn Lande (on tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10 and 11)
Michael Kiske (on tracks 1 and 10)
Russell Allen (on track 1)
Bob Catley (on track 11)
Cloudy Yang (on track 8)
Jon Oliva (on track 4)

Track List:

1.	Stargazers	09:33
2.	Angel Of Babylon	05:29
3.	Your Love Is Evil	03:53
4.	Death Is Just A Feeling	05:21
5.	Rat Race	04:07
6.	Down In The Dark	04:23
7.	Blowing Out The Flame	04:51
8.	Symphony Of Life	04:30
9.	Alone I Remember	04:48
10.	Promised Land	04:47
11.	Journey To Arcadia	07:12
Total playing time		58:54

4shared Download - The Wicked Symphony
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http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0038KHTI0?ie=UTF8&tag=tobisammsavan-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1638&creative=6742&creativeASIN=B0038KHTI0

A Metal Hurricane, Vol. 2 (More of my favorite songs)

2010-04-03T19:34:00.011-04:00

Genre: See each song description. (underlined)
Quality: Varied. Can't be helped, sorry.
About: The wait is over. I presen- what, you weren't waiting for a second "A Metal Hurricane"? F*** you then! Anyway, here is a collection of the songs I have been addicted to in the past 3 months or so. I felt compelled to create this today, for some reason. It's an eclectic mix of black metal and rock and pop and whatever else I threw in. In case you're wondering, I'll try any music of any genre once, but I do have standards. Even in Power Metal, my favorite genre, I can't stand listening to bands such as Gamma Ray and Manowar.

TRACK LIST: Run time: 1:15:43
1) Six Magics - Run (2008) This is the best power metal song I've heard in years. It's intense and face-melting as all power metal should be, but there's a political undertone, which I won't spoil. The new female singer for this band is quite simply amazing.

2) Andreas Johnson - Glorious (1999) I was hooked from the moment I heard this song. I want all his albums but they are a little hard to find. It's alternative rock but what makes it really unique is the main riff is done by a symphony orchestra, so it's so powerful and dramatic. This guys vocals are basically an orgasm in sound wave form. When he hits that high note "She", I can't believe it, it's like I died and went to heaven.

3) The Poodles - Pilot of the Storm (2009) The Poodles are melodic metal kings. Each song has a riff that just hooks you, then the chorus kicks in and it's this beautiful melody. It's backed up by great guitar work, simple but effective drumming, and of course the singer. I love vocals that are clean but a tad raw/rough/growling and that's what we have here.

4) Senmuth - Под знаменами Тэтишери (2010) While I have my complaints about how this guy does things (Releases albums at a pace of nearly 1 album per month when he could spend time improving/mastering, completely inconsistent genres), this is in contention for my favorite album of 2010 (see journal linked on right). It's symphonic industrial metal (which I never realized existed before this album), and it is just too epic to be believed. The music is clean sounding, the vocals are really unique, and I don't even know how to describe this in words. It makes me wish I had long straight hair so i could swing it around in circles and headbang.

5) Burzum - Glemselens Elv (2010) If I was forced at gunpoint to listen to only one song on repeat, for the rest of my life, this would be it. It's epic atmospheric raw black metal that sounds like it's coming straight out of some cold frostbitten cave where it's been hiding since like 1990. There are three main layers of sound here: The droning, repeating bass guitar. The rhythm guitar riff. Then the high pitch guitar riff. And then the vocals come in- raw, gritty black vocals. With just so much going on, it's amazing it didn't turn out to be just a "wall of sound." It's just all blended together so perfectly that we have this amazing work of art.

6) Be Persecuted - All End Soon (2009) This is a great depressive suicidal black metal song. It's a driving fast beat, the shrieks are heart-wrenching and the riffs are black. Not sure what more to say, other than you have to hear it to realize how awesome it is. (Apologies for the poor quality. I plan on buying this album and ripping it to v0 and putting it here, when I can spare 20 dollars... I literally can't now, not until I have a job, or you click "Donate" in the top right :D)

7) Silencer - Death - Pierce Me (2001) This song set a new standard for depressive/suicidal/atmospheric black metal. After a 2 minute acoustic intro, you are slammed with a wall of sound and screeching vocals that only someone possessed by the devil himself could pull off. Hence... He went to an institution for about 5 years after this album. But this is a masterpiece of depressive black metal and any fan (or non-fan) should hear it.

8) A-ha - Celice (2005) And now to the pop and rock I promised you. I know everyone knows a-ha as that one-hit wonder "Take on Me" but they really have a lot of varied stuff. This song is really emotional and that's why I like it so much. I couldn't decide which is my favorite song of theirs, it was between this and "Shadowside" so I took this because it's more upbeat and easily likeable. I wish I could see a-ha on their Farewell Tour but I'll be too busy looking for and starting a job. I also really hope this is not a Farewell, as all their releases are great, and arguably are getting progressively better!

9) Abney Park - Airship Pirate (2008) This song is made for me. First, it's a fantasy theme, and it's about drinking and pirates. The genre is impossible to describe, so I think people made up a new genre called "Steampunk." It's an industrial beat, but there's some symphonic parts, and in the background is this really awesome guitar riff you'd expect in metal. The vocals are odd, it's almost like he's talking to someone that's 2 feet away, it's relaxed with not much variance, but it works so well here. That all comes together to create this unique and amazing atmosphere. This whole album ("Lost Horizons") does, so if you like this check it out.

10) Creed - Away in Silence (2009) <<<<<<<<<3#<#<,,<#,,3,<#<#,,3 I usually don't do that, but this song makes me want to. Alternative Rock/Metal. I am a sucker for good ballads, and more importantly, Creed was one of the bands I grew up listening to. My FIRST CD was given to me as a gift, Christmas 2001, and it was the album "Weathered." I played that so much I'm surprised the CD didn't catch on fire. I thought their new album now that they are reunited was a bit underwhelming, but this song in particular gives me that same feeling I got Christmas break 2001. Listening to my first CD on my brand new JVC portable CD player, during a 6 hour car drive to see relatives, and it's raining outside and the rain is trickling down the windows of the car.

11) Freedom Call - Under the Spell of the Moon (2010) Again, great song on somewhat underwhelming album. It's a ballad with a really dark theme and tone... much different from their usual (what I call it.. it's an actual tag on last.fm now) "Happy bunny hopping through the field metal". This is closer to doom metal than anything else, and haunting low vocals.

12) The Wedding - I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2007) This is alternative/pop/punk rock, but there's something special about this song that I can't really pinpoint. It's based off an irish sounding riff, and the soaring vocals... uh... I think I'm about review'd out for the day, lol.

13) The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - So Sad To Say (1990's) I hate Ska in general, but there's something special about this band. It's more straight up rock driven, rather than "Let's be as poppy and gay as possible!". They have really nice and catchy melodies, and utilize counterharmony in the chorus so well. It's like the music echoes what the vocalist just sang. It's just a simple, catchy, happy song. I'm just upset their newest album since they reformed does in fact try to do what I have in quotes up there, rather than their unique rock driven style of ska. But we always have the old awesome stuff to listen to. I almost picked "Some Day I Suppose" but this song is just more beautiful.

14) HIM - I've crossed oceans of wine to find you (2000ish) Speaking of beautiful... I thought this would be a good closer. It's mysterious and kind of ominous/haunting. Yet beautiful. If I had to say a genre, i'd say minimalist rock/metal. This is really a simple song, just an organ and an acoustic guitar. The song is completely driven by Ville Valo's vocals. And they are just perfect. Especially when he goes up high, it's like heaven. I wish he sang like this more. And I cannot believe this song was not on a studio album! It's my favorite song I've ever heard by HIM, granted I've never heard them all, but I've at least heard all the studio albums once.

4shared Download

Please support the musicians that spent so much time, effort, and money to make this great music for you - Buy their albums and go to their concerts (if possible)! (In this case, click the DONATE button in the top right :D ...Seriously I'm poor.)

Alcest - Écailles De Lune (2010) (v0 mp3)

2010-03-27T17:27:00.004-04:00

Genre: Black Metal, Shoegaze
Quality: mp3 @ v0
About: "Stylistically, Neige reverts to the sound of Black Metal that once shaped him: a picture of heart-rending, otherworldly screams, collages filled with passion and sadness, and the characteristic clean vocals. These mellow and ageless voices manage to weave a shroud of sorrow around the album. "Écailles de Lune" is like a dream, a manifesto of transience and human inferiority. For all the changes, Neige has kept all of his trademarks: calm passages, massive slabs of guitars, catchy melodies, and hook-lines going straight to the heart – all this once more delivers a convincing articulation of ALCEST's unique style.
Close your eyes and dream along. This time, melancholy shall propel and unite us. We immerse ourselves once more in fairyland. This time, it doesn't seem fresh but fallow. Its pallor and its shadows are unfathomable, and it reveals itself to us through our senses. It is always there when we quest for it."
- http://loadown.blogspot.com/ - I wasn't going to attempt to write a better review! Great review.

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Please support the musicians that spent so much time, effort, and money to make this great music for you! Buy their albums and go to their concerts (if possible)!
- Buy CD, Vinyl, or Limited Edition Box Set

Sofa Surfers - Blindside (2010)

2010-03-27T16:02:00.007-04:00

Genre: Alternative Rock, Trip-Hop, Downtempo, Chillout, Experimental
Quality: AAC @ 256
About: After a long delay, the trip-hop gone chillout-rock quartet is back, as of yesterday. They keep their downtempo and relaxed rock style from the previous album, but sound like they are going back to their roots a little, on songs like "Hardwire" and "Heavy Water". Hardwire is a trip-hop song with that relaxed style of rapping that sets this band apart, and Heavy Water is a speedy instrumental rock song. Their lyrics are often unbelievably deep, which keeps you coming back for more, wondering what the true meanings are. My only complaint is the album is too short.

Here's track 1, "Playing the Game." You can see this relaxed and unique style the band has is exemplified by this video.

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Please support the musicians that spent so much time, effort, and money to make this great music for you! Buy their albums, and go to their concerts (if possible)!
- Buy - Only $8.91 on iTunes!
- CD
- Vinyl

Les Discrets - Septembre Et Ses Dernières Pensées (2010)

2010-03-20T16:47:00.008-04:00

Genre: Atmospheric Blackened Post-Rock Shoegaze
About: A very unique take on what is already a very unique genre. Blackened Shoegaze. They only have black parts when appropriate. No screams, but blast beats and depressive guitar parts only when they feel appropriate. The album starts out really mysterious, then very heavy and dark. After 20 minutes of amazingness, we get to the title track, which is something straight out of suicidal black metal's book. A crow cawing. A sad acoustic melody. It makes me feel like I'm laying face down in the middle of a forest, lost for a week, and the crow is just waiting for me to die so he can peck at me.

It's such an amazing feeling that this song, and this while album gives. Finally, you have another heavy song, like a struggle. But then things start to look a lot brighter, a really light and content, almost cheery melody, like a new beginning after a time of terrible tribulation. I've been through feelings like that, so to relive it and know that I got through and I'm alive is just great. I can connect to it probably more than most people. If you don't like this album, I'd say its because you can't connect with the feelings it evokes.

4shared Download

Wow, 1 whole download in 3 days... Guess my blog's popularity spike (About 100 downloads of Anal*g Rebellion, and 500 downloads of B*rzum, in 3 days) was in fact a fluke. Well, if you want to buy this album (You know, since you downloaded my file, listened once, and then deleted it...), here's the link!:

Buy 2-cd Art Book, Vinyl, or CD!!

Christopher Lee - Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross (2010)

2010-03-19T12:08:00.008-04:00

Genre: Symphonic Epic Heavy Metal Opera
About: After hearing that the infamous Christopher Lee... who has done everything from being the original Dracula and Frankenstein in the 1950s, to Lord of the Rings in the 2000s, to singing in a Rhapsody song... was doing a Symphonic Metal Opera/Concept album, I could not believe it. I love concept albums, I love metal/rock operas (there are far too few of them in existence) and I love him (no homo). Even more amazing is the fact that he's like 80 years old, I think. The intro and first two acts were really slow, and barely symphonic or metal at all, and I was starting to think we might have another Saana (Timo Tolkki) on our hands. But I was so wrong. Track 3 ramps right up with a really epic Heavy Metal masterpiece, and it does not let up for the rest of the album. I will definitely have to check out his older two albums sometime, and I hope he releases another album like this in the very near future. I'm not sure if "Iberia" is a bonus track, or a hint at a second album because it ends with "They have betrayed us!". Charlemagne part 2??

Here's the promo, featuring what is basically the climax of the album: (Yes, this album is extremely cheesy. But in a good way that brings a smile to your face.)

(Sorry, they are really cracking down on this album, since it was deleted from 3 hosters within a day. I'm not going to bother re-upping as they will just delete it again. Definitely don't go torrent this instead.)

Six Magics - Behind The Sorrow (2010)

2010-03-16T15:43:00.003-04:00

Genre: Melodic Power/Heavy Metal
About: This is the best Power Metal album I've heard in years. These guys have it down to a science, and they have their PhDs. It's primarily a female fronted album but there are lots of duets with a male vocalist. It is melodic, epic, atmospheric, sometimes heavy and even political (halfway through track 1). Favorite on first listen is either track 1 or track 10, which is the last track and a really great conclusion to a great album. It was mastered/produced by some dude that produced Dream Theater albums in the past.

Mediafire Download

Wilds Forlorn - The Great Loss (2010)

2010-03-16T14:43:00.005-04:00

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal/Neoclassical
About: Angry and intense, yet with almost post-rock sounding guitars at times and a lot of melodic piano parts. One track is completely acoustic, in fact. It is so intense and epic that I could not believe when I saw it was just one guy. The drums are clearly from a machine but you'll forget about that quickly as it is the masterpieces of composition that draws you in. This album will slap you in the face then give you a bottle of milk. Then knock it out of your hand and make you cry.

Here we have a band that is so unknown that they have not been added to metal-archives yet (Actually, due to metal-archive's stupid rule that you need a physical CD, it cannot be added). Not a band, rather a solo project. He does not deserve this unknown status, in fact with this album he has proven he can play with the big names of black metal, such as Lunar Aurora, Shining, Dimmu Borgir, just to name a few off the top of my head. It's wrong of me to compare this to anyone, because here we have a very unique black metal album.

Mediafire Download

You can download this, along with an album from 2009, free from his myspace! Show your support by downloading direct from there, adding to friends, commenting on the wall, etc!
http://www.myspace.com/wildsforlorn

Analog Rebellion - Ancient Electrons (2010)

2010-03-02T02:13:00.006-05:00

Genre: indie, electronic, pop
About: Figured I would post this eventually because it's march now and still in close competition for my top album of the year. *(See first link on right panel) Here's the review:

I can't express this album by ex-"PlayRadioPlay!" in words, but I'll try. This really proves the fact that without a record label choking an artist, creativity runs free and we get a masterful and unique album as a result. Each song gives off a different emotion, and the songs are all interconnected seamlessly, making it feel like a unified whole rather than just some songs. The best analogy I can give to how this makes me feel, is the 15 waking hours in a day. It never stops, but it changes. Unexpected things happen, say with the rain interlude in track 7, but then you pick yourself up, re-evaluate things, and move on to track 8. I'm on my second listen now, and I'm sure there will be many more to come. This is one of those albums where you just cannot listen to one song, or you will end up listening to the whole album. The production is just stupendous as well, it sounds... shiny. :D Make sure to check this out, and you owe it to yourself to get it in at least v0 quality. (My link is better than v0 quality, btw)

(Or better yet, buy the CD! Direct from his myspace)

Mediafire Download

DEEP - In Silence Somber Solace (2010) (Demo)

2010-02-28T14:36:00.014-05:00

Genre: Depressive Black Metal/Instrumental/Groove Metal
About: You really don't know what to expect from a band you never heard of randomly linked in the CBox. After fixing some id3 tags (ugh - was missing artist, album, track numbers, and had the wrong year!), I commenced the listening.

Track 1 is an ambient piano intro that definitely grabbed my attention, so it serves its purpose.
The rest of the album kind of has a groove metal feeling (in my opinion), but the guitars are very raw like black metal which I like. The melodies are that of depressive black metal styles (but definitely not Funeral Black Metal, as the band self-proclaims). The fact that the genre of this music is hard to pinpoint is always a good thing in my book. Nice melodies and a nice beat/groove that keeps you interested. I have listened to plenty of Depressive Black Metal and this is a very unique beat. My only complaint is the drums sound overly fake. So overall, I have to highly recommend this.

Here is the text file that was included with the album:

"-DEEP is a Malaysian Depressive/Funeral Black Metal Band.
Active since 2006 under a different banner until the change
of moniker in October 2009. Playing Depressive, melancholic
and sorrowful Funeral Black Metal, all instruments and
orchestrations were played and arranged by Deep.

-For more information on DEEP please
visit www.myspace.com/indeeprest

-To purchase DEEP's debut album In Silence Somber Solace
visit www.myspace.com/carnagemusic666

-We need interested distributors/labels to distribute the debut album
please do not hesitate to contact Carnage Music for more
information.

-Please promote this demo on your website or blog
if you like the songs on this demo.

-Any additional details please email DEEP at
benignism@yahoo.com"

By the way, I have a suggestion to the band... "deep" is a very common name. There are at least 7 bands named that, one of which is disbanded but also metal (Death metal from texas, USA). I recommend a name change, and after changing the name, distribute a physical CD demo so you can submit yourself to metal-archives.com, because a metal band basically does not exist if they are not on there. But then again I'm not part of the band so I can't control it, just suggestions.

Mediafire Download

Burzum - Belus (2010)

2010-02-26T21:04:00.006-05:00

Genre:
About: This misanthropic Aryan sun-bitch is out of prison after 17 years. While on that note, read the story about why he was in there. It was just self defence from some psychopath. One of them was going to die that day whether they liked it or not. I'm sure we've all been trapped in a horrible situation like that... That is where his music comes from I believe.

So, we have what I beleive a lot of feelings trapped up over the years he was in jail, culminating in this record. It is definitely a spiritual successor to his masterpiece "Filosofem" released in 1996, and is 100% metal because he was not allowed guitars in jail, so I'm sure he missed it. Even the long ambient peice, similar to "Rundgang Um Die Transzendentale Säule Der Singularität" from "Filosofem" is completely electric guitar-driven. That song, "Belus' Tilbakekomst (Konklusjon)" actually reminds me a lot of "Coma" by Austere. Just this droning, repeated melody of a few notes but it really makes a solid song.

This whole album is not only solid, but a fantastic trip through the intricacies of this man's mind and emotions. I'd say download it if you are a fan of any type of metal, and definitely a candidate for top album of the year. I'm on play 5 or 6 now and every song still feels fresh and amazes me every time. Surprisingly bright cover for a black metal album... makes me think he wants to start fresh, like the sunrise on a new day... Favorite is either track 3 or 6.

I don't recommend you translate the tags, but here's what the song titles mean:
Translations:
1. Leuke's Scheme (Introduction)
2. Belus' Death
3. The River of Forgetfulness
4. Kaimadalthas' Descent
5. Sword Dance
6. The Kelio Horse
7. Dawn's Red
8. Belus' Return (Conclusion)

~~Mediafire Download~~

Now that the album is officially released, this is a rip straight from CD to 320kbps MP3:
Mediafire Download

Ninja Magic - Discography 2007

2010-02-26T20:16:00.004-05:00

Genre: True Epic Power Ninja Metal
About: Obviously inspired by the pre-Dragonforce project "Shadow Warriors" (which I have on this blog), this is the only active Ninja Metal band I know about. Well, I'm not sure if they are active, last I heard they were looking for a new vocalist. I would really like a new album though. The first two albums are about typical ninja themes, and the third one is a dramatic shift in themes with the same type of music. Highly recommended. But if you were a ninja you wouldn't be still reading this because you'd have downloaded it and are listening already.

Included:
Ninja Magic - Ninja Nation (2004)
Ninja Magic - Catchy as Ninja, Chatcy as the Night (2005)
Ninja Magic - Back in Business (2007)

Mediafire Download - Zip
Mediafire Download - Rar
(Files acquired legally from when the band had an official website up, and offered the music for free... if my memory serves me.)

DJ Smooth Denali - Who's The Greatest MC Vol. 8: Big Pun (2006)

2010-02-07T23:31:00.004-05:00

(NSFW pic lol)

Genre: (Old School Rap), (Hip-Hop), (Rap)
About: I feel obligated to post this as today (February 7) is the 10th anniversary of his death. He is IMO the greatest rapper that has ever lived, or will ever live. He not only rapped perfectly, but his music was always enthralling and at times melodic and he always had a humorous edge to him (such as the intro to the album "Yeeeah Baby"). Appropriately, he was a huge football fan, and today was the Super Bowl. He had a song called "New York Giants" and one lyric I always remember is "John madden tackle your corpse and hoist it on the tabernacle".

I don't care if you are a die hard metalhead, download this NOW! And awaken your ears.

Mediafire Download (hmm, apparently mediafire supports files of above 100mb now. Cool beans.)

Lunar Aurora - Seelenfeuer (1998)

2010-01-25T22:59:00.009-05:00

Genre: Black Metal. Almost tempted to call it progressive, avant-garde or experimental, but see description for the details.
About: Lunar Aurora is a really underground band to begin with... but within that community, there is a schism (wow, love that word but haven't used it since about 9th grade) between the people who like the older music, the newer music, and both. I tend to fall into the newer music community... Andacht, Mond, and Zyklus are just perfect atmospheric black metal masterpieces. And Ars Moriendi is one of my top 10 favorite albums of all time for sure. But, ever since I first listened to Seelenfeuer in it's entirety on December 30th, 2009 I've been wanting to upload it here. Why? Normally, in any song, in any genre, even black metal, they stick with the most easily recognizable structure- 3 verses which are all different, and the same chorus in the middle, normally with a solo between the second verse and the chorus. But trying to find a definite structure this album is just like beating a dead horse with a stick. You will not get anything out of trying to find its structure.

Yet... there are still recognizable themes throughout a song so i hesitate to call it something like experimental or avant garde, and even riffs from early in the album that sound the same as later in the album. I love it because I, personally, love albums with coherence of sound, you can tell they were just in the studio from beginnning to end of this album and in response to that it is not just an album with great songs, it is an album that is great as an album, that you can listen to from start to finish quite easily because it just draws you into it's world and keeps you there.

I choose not to do a song-by song review because I want you to experience it for yourself... but it culminates in the face-obliterating epic "Kerker Aus Zeit". The main difference of older Lunar Aurora songs from newer ones, is that they do not have the ambient intros (sometimes between 2 and 5 minutes). What results from this is you just are instantly drawn into the song with whatever riff they throw at you on that song... this one being particularly epic, but after the intro riff you are just taken to another world for like 13 minutes before finally getting back to the riff. The keyboard stands out in this album because it is used as ambiance most of the time, but when it is used as a riff (such as in this song), it is just perfect.

So overall, I just love the feeling of insanity this album produces with its seemingly random tempo changes, riff changes, and I really have to applaud the drummer for this album because with crappy drumming, this album would have been pure garbage that is impossible to keep interested in because it changes so much........

...........within all this, though, you find a coherent theme and feeling, and it is unique to any listener, so go find it...

Mediafire Download

SIDE-NOTE: If anyone finds an in-stock T-shirt (second image at the top)(pretty sure this is the only Lunar Aurora shirt ever made, but if there is another shirt, that's great too) I would probably give a kidney for it, so send me a link!

A Metal Hurricane, Vol. 1 (A compilation of some of my favorite songs)

2010-01-23T16:33:00.020-05:00

Genre: See each song description... Mostly Hard Rock/Heavy Metal though.
Run-Time: 01:13:53.
About: Ever wondered what my favorite songs are? No? Well **** you! Here they are anyway, well some of them. Consider it a taste of my taste in music. I'm quite open minded (and you should be too! :D) so it varies between genres. So... the title of the compilation is a bit misleading, but oh well. I'll write a little shpiel about each one too. And I hope you like my amazing MS paint talent, I spent at least 5 minutes on that.

1. Lunar Aurora - Black Aureole. I hesitated to put a raw black metal as track one because it will probably tun away the 1 person that was semi-interested in downloading this. But in my view this is just the most perfect song I have ever heard. Great keyboard intro accompanied by an equal length ambient outro, and the pacing of the song just seems perfect. The ambient interludes come at a time that feels appropriate for the song, and then my favorite part is at about 1:45 where the drum fades in and intensifies and then the song explodes with that epic melodic black riff. And in case you don't know, Aureole simply means a ring, like if there is hazy and you see a ring of light around the sun... or a ring of light around a buddha's head... but in this case it is of course Black, not yellow.

2. Mr. Big - Shine. My favorite ballad of all time (Kicks "To Be With You"'s @ss, btw), and a good juxtaposition to the previous song. It's just so beautiful and light while at the same time still feeling like a hard rock song. Richie Kotzen's songwriting really shines (hah, unintentional pun).

3. Mägo de Oz - La Voz Dormida. To this date, still my favorite Power Metal song. From the get-go, your face is melted off with Heavy and intense Power, and it just does not let up for 10 minutes. The main melody/chorus is just so awesome, and the duet with that chick from Nexx (massively underrated Spanish melodic rock band, check them out here). And of course, I cannot put into words the epic four minute solo. YES FOUR MINUTES.

4. Saint Deamon - Pandeamonium. Time for another ballad. If you don't know, I am a sucker for ballads, and I have been collecting them in a playlist for a potential future compilation on here. Anyway, this is a unique song in that it a driving hard-rock type beat. But it has the long held guitar chords like a ballad. Then, the song skips a beat and you are thrown into this melodic chorus with powerful lyrics. I have high regard for this vocalist too, he has a nice grit to his voice, but he can hit the high notes with the best of them.

5. Big L - Married To Marijuana. This isn't even a song from an album, it's a mix created posthumously by a DJ (information here), with passages by the rapper and new beats/music.
I just had to put this in here, because he is one of the greatest rappers that ever lived and he is so underrated. But what makes it unique and what really grabs me is the background music. There is this aggressive angry rapping in the foreground, but in the background is an acoustic guitar, then for the other part there is an indian-sounding melody. Eh... if you don't like it just delete it, but I love it so it's here.

6. Rhapsody of Fire - Power Of The Dragonflame. Well, this is my favorite album from them because it is so agressive. While at the same time each song has a nice melody at the chorus, even if the verses are just screaming or gritty vocals (which Fabio Lione does quite well, actually). Then there is this chorus. Epic epicness of epic proportions. It makes me want to get on a horse with a sword and slice through a field full of monsters. Or go on a Viking ship and get drunk then set a town on fire. Or... well you get the idea.

7. Angra - Paradise. I don't know what is wrong with people, because Fireworks (1998) is their least popular album on last.fm. But if you have two functioning ears on your head, you will hear that every song on this album is a gem. There is just this happy yet somewhat melancholic atmosphere created with the songs on this album. It makes me reflect to "the good old days" and be happy I had them but sad because I miss them. Every song on this album is so solid in fact, that I am still typing just to stall for time because I cannot pick a favorite. You got the Cheese Metal songs like Wings of Reality and Metal Icarus, the more Progressive songs like Fireworks and Speed, then a Pop-like Rainy Nights, and the intense Paradise. Yes, I'll pick that last one, it really captures the atmosphere I feel this album has and the feelings it brings out of me.

8. Rapture - The Past Nightmares. Hell, why not roll with that feeling, since I am building this album from scratch and I am having a lot of difficulty widdling down all the songs I like to an album-length... the melancholic feeling that I love because it makes me think. This song is about witnessing a murder and fighting with the emotions that caused in the daytime and the nightmares keeping you awake at night. This song is just amazing, doom metal but there's a rather fast beat, and then no beat perhaps to simulate the mental torment. The lyrics are equally cryptic yet make just enough sense to make you think... And simply the best death vocals I have ever heard in any song, from about 2:30-3:00.

9. Tarja Turunen - The Reign. This is a really dark and sad yet beautiful song and gives me emotions that I can't even describe. So I won't.

10. HeimatAerde - Dark Dance (Medievalfloor). Another band I just had to put in because I like them so much. Another band it was really hard to pick just one song from. Another dark-themed song (obviously), starts with a midieval melody, and then breaks into music you might here at a German Rave and this music always just makes me want to do the robot.

11. Summoning - South Away. Summoning is quite simply the most epic band you will ever hear. I dare you to find me a more epic band (because I'd really like to hear it too). Again, really difficult to pick just one song, but my favorite albums come from the middle of their career (which you can get here). Earlier albums are a bit too rough and unstructured, later albums they are obviously completely full of themselves, releasing million dollar songs with full orchestras and 10 minute intros and not bothering to even keep fans updated on the new album they haven't been working on for the past 5 years... eh. Seriously, I don't get it. Some new artists can put out an album every year, even two in one year (as this band did in 1995), and be consistently good. But then once they get some money under their belt, they just do not give a crap. Play 5 stadium shows a year, same setlists every year, work on an album when they feel like it and don't care enough to put their heart in it... /rant. So I picked this song because it's so epic yet raw and agressive, and best suicide vocals I've heard, in this chorus. Very close second - "Where Hope And Daylight Die" from Stronghold, with the haunting female vocals by the Die Verbannten Kinder Evas singer.

12. Place Vendome - Follow Me. Time for happy music! Had to include something from my favorite clean singer (no screaming or gritty vocals... in fact in a 25 year career he hasn't once). This is a melodic rock band, this song is actually pretty hard, which I like. And of course, the vocals are just godly. The cover of this album really symbolizes the music well (An eagle in the foreground flying away from burning grecian syle pillars on the edge of a lake).

13. Herra Ylppö & Ihmiset - Sata Vuotta. This is an interesting one. When you take a step back and look at it, it's fairly straightforward melodic/hard rock. But it's just done so dam* well. The singer is clean here, but he can really growl if he wants (and does on other tracks in this album). The vocals just float over the melodies of the music, there's a driving beat, and it's just plain uplifting. Unfortunately, this album was somewhat of a one-off collaboration, but I do hope they get back together soon.

14. Dexter Freebish - Ghosts (2009 re-record). This is my favorite alt rock band, I first found out about them from Tiger Woods 2004, with this song. It's a really nice driving rock song with inspirational lyrics.

15. Freedom Call - Freedom Call. Figured I'd end this off with a classic. From their 2001 album "Crystal Empire", this band has been a big influence in the genre of Power Metal. Definitely a big influence on me as well, as whenever I need a smile on my face I just listen to this Happy Cheese Metal. I randomly found them... probably about 2001, with some songs on Limewire (back when that was "the thing" to do) that were mistagged as Rhapsody. Asked on a forum and discovered Freedom Call.

Well, I can only hope that if you read this far, or even just skipped it all to see the bottom line, that you can find a song you like that you never would have tried otherwise. Or you can leave now and keep being close minded. I definitely had fun making this as I have not heard some of these songs in a long time, and I love them so much. Even if no one downloads this, I have a nice playlist now and I will very likely have more of these in the future. Completely coincidentally (well I was aiming for it but I didn't think I'd get so close), this came out to almost exactly on the 74 minute mark, the standard for CDs. So you could burn it on a CD if you like. Cheers!

Mediafire Download - part 1
Mediafire Download - part 2

Oh man, this guy is grim. He would love my album.

Helloween - Unarmed - Best Of - 25th Anniversary Album (2009)

2010-01-20T21:18:00.007-05:00

Genre: See below.
About: This band has obviously gotten bored of power metal, because this is a collection of their "greatest" hits (definitely arguable) of mostly power metal songs, redone in completely different songs. With the exception of track 5, the songs are primarily acoustic, often folk-sounding, with some jazz influences, and even flat out pop (track 10). This is obviously not an album aimed at the die hard metalheads (see: close-minded).

However, if you are in fact a die hard metalhead (more than likely true if you are on this blog), take a listen to "The Keeper´s Trilogy (Halloween, Keeper of The Seven Keys & King Of 1000 Years)". Those are the three most epic songs from the Keeper albums, and unbelievable made even more epic... they are done in an Epic Symphonic Power Metal style, similar to something Nightwish would spend a million dollars making, and completely different from the rest of this album. It's just a wall of sound and power metal and eargasms for most of 17 minutes.

The only other song I can really say with confidence you HAVE to listen to, is "Eagle Fly Free". Again, if you are a metalhead you have no doubt heard 200 covers of this song, all complete sound-alikes. Well, from the original band you have a cover that's completely redone, as a ballad-duet with a female singer... don't know who but her voice is quite beautiful.

I really do appreciate what they tried to do with this album, completely rework their songs into a different genre, and perhaps get these stuck up metalheads to try some new music... but it was done poorly at best. With the exception of track 5 and 6, these songs are not bad, just not up to Helloween's high standards they set for themself in the past.

1. Dr. Stein 03:59 [view lyrics]
2. Future World 04:13 [view lyrics]
3. If I Could Fly 03:28 [view lyrics]
4. Where The Rain Grows 05:09 [view lyrics]
5. The Keeper´s Trilogy (Halloween, Keeper of The Seven Keys & King Of 1000 Years) 17:06 [view lyrics]
6. Eagle Fly Free 03:50 [view lyrics]
7. Perfect Gentleman 04:18 [view lyrics]
8. Forever & One 04:25 [view lyrics]
9. I Want Out 04:22 [view lyrics]
10. Fallen To Pieces 03:28 [view lyrics]
11. A Tale That wasn`t Right 04:46

(Mediafire Download Link removed ~~at the request of~~ forceably by some d*cks that are paid by helloween to hunt down blog posts... I'm spreading your music you idiots so more people will know about it and be potential customers, but ok if you want to do that. Instead, have fun reading about the DMCA, and definitely don't go torrent this album.)

For a bit of fun, let's look at the tracks I probably would pick were I to do a "best of". I may even compile and upload one just as an alternative to the official one. First of all, I'd like it to be chronological to trace the evolution of their sound (Similar to my ELP compilation, linked in the upper right of the blog), and start with a re-recording of the song that (arguably) invented Power Metal. And later on, some songs from Helloween's least widely liked albums in the early 90s could really do with somewhat heavier re-records (even though I like them how they are, I admit they could definitely be improved a lot). I'll try to pick one or two from each album, but maybe three, hard to pick, thats the problem when a band is consistantly awesome. :)

1. Oernst Of Life (Death Metal - 1984)
2. Guardians or Cry For Freedom (Walls of Jericho - 1986)
3. I'm Alive or Twilight of the Gods(Keeper pt. 1 - 1987)
4. Eagle Fly Free or Rise and Fall, or I want out (Keeper pt. 2 - 1988)
5. Kids Of The Century or Heavy Metal Hamsters (Pink Bubbles - 1991)
6. First Time or Giants (Chameleon - 1993)
7. Where the Rain Grows or Take Me Home (Master of the Rings - 1994)
8. We Burn or Wake up the Mountain (The Time of the Oath - 1996)
9. Push or I Can, or Revelation (Better than Raw - 1998)
10. Mr Torture or The Departed, or The Dark Ride (The Dark Ride - 2000)
11. Open your Life or Sun 4 the world (Rabbit - 2003)
12. Silent Rain or Light the Universe (Keeper Legacy - 2005)
13. The Saints or As Long as I Fall (Gambling - 2007)

Feel free to debate these choices, they were made rather quick and I havent listened to this band in quite some time :)

Francis Monkman - The Long Good Friday (1981)

2010-01-07T16:04:00.007-05:00

Genre: See below.
About: This is just such a great combination of 80's cheesy pop/rock and electronic, and 70's style disco beats and psychedelic rock, and of course orchestral film score, and even some jazz saxophone. Track 8 is completely acoustic guitar interludes used in the movie, and the climax is in the latter part of track 10 and 11, coming back to the theme. I can't really put in words how interesting this score is, it's probably my favorite film score I have ever heard. This interesting combination is probably due to the fact that Monkman was previously in a 70's rock band called Curved Air (I just found this out... if that band is as good as this soundtrack you may see it on this blog at a later date). And I always say that the more hard it is to categorize a piece of music, the better it is since that means they really have made something unique and new.

I usually cannot listen to a score without the movie alongside but this one is just so great. It made an already awesome movie just so much better. Plus Bob Hoskins is one of my favorite actors... He even sings on track 7!

And SEE THE MOVIE if you haven't!!

>Mediafire Download (temporarily on 4shared because Mediafire was down for maintenence and now is having issues D: )

Opvs Leviathan - Dark Reborn of Frozen Souls (2003) (Split with Assur (Col))

2010-01-03T19:52:00.006-05:00

Genre: Epic Melodic Black Metal
About: This is a really full and epic sounding band from what is essentially a demo, as well as their only release. You will find epic 8-12 minute songs with evolving themes throughout these songs, and raw yet epic vocals and guitars, driving drums... Yet a completely pitiful 32 listeners on last.fm!

This is their only release, a split with "Assur" who I have also never heard of before. Edit: Added Assur because it is pretty awesome as well.

Tagged as "Opus Leviathan" because it is by far the more popular tag on last.fm, but I am not sure which one is correct... Also, for tag police, track titles cut short for who knows why, I fixed it after uploading, sorry.

http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=28659
http://www.last.fm/music/Opus+Leviathan

Track List:
Opvs Leviathan
1. Soulmoon Prevails Eternally 12:28
2. En La Pálida Esfera 04:00
3. Igne Ratvra Renovatvr Integra 09:54
4. Crossing the Paths in the Universal Night 08:04
5. In the Distant Shine His Light 05:44
6. Entrance in the Dawning Black Sun 10:05
Assur (Col)
7. Passage of a Kingdom Lost in Time 08:36
8. Pagan Night 09:15
9. Around the Flaming Black Candle 05:44
10. Through the Shine of the Waterfall 04:48
Total playing time 01:18:38

4shared Download (FIXED)

A Very Special Christmas 1,2,3,4,5 (Compilations 1987-2001) (CORRECT ID3 TAGS!)

2009-12-26T01:26:00.006-05:00

Genre: Rock, Pop, Christmas
About: Hope you all had a great Christmas! (Or whatever holiday you may celebrate) This is a really good compilation of Christmas songs that I just found thanks to a song I wanted from Die Hard (1988). The song was "Christmas in Hollis" by Run-DMC. No worries, this is the only rap artist in the entire series. Most of it is classic rock, such as Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Pointer Sisters, Extreme... Then there are also more recent artists such as Smashing Pumpkins, No Doubt, Eve 6, Dido, Sheryl Crow, etc. Highly recommended by me!

(I have a problem with terrible, incorrect tags. Get these compilations anywhere else and you will likely be listening to the song "O Christmas Tree - Aretha Fra" by the artist "Christmas" with no track numbers so you do not know the order of the tracks on an album. You have to purposely enter in that incorrect stuff to mess it up that badly. What is wrong with people?? Ugh! Anyway...)

Full Track lists, and Buy on Amazon if you like what you hear!
(~8 dollars per CD... perhaps buy them for gifts for your relatives for next Christmas! :D)

Mediafire Download - part 1
Mediafire Download - part 2
Mediafire Download - part 3

EQXClusives (25 Years 1984-2009) (Live alternative/indie rock compilation)

2009-12-19T23:35:00.010-05:00

Genre: Alternative/Indie Rock
About: This is a compilation by a local radio station, 102.7 WEQX, released for free (at local bars) for a 25th anniversary. I don't even like indie rock in general, but I like these. Some are local bands, some are international phenomenons. The latter includes (ones i have heard of before) Bell X1, Ludo, They Might Be Giants, OK Go, World Party, Metric, Eric Hutchinson, etc. They are live, but most of them have no audience sounds and are recorded so well they sound like studio. I actually saw track 19 performed live back in September, also for free. Free stuff is nice. So here you go! :D

(Apologies, I think there's something wrong with my particular CD... about 2:45 in track 18, the ripping slowed to a crawl there, and the actual ripped audio file has a very small skip. I may try again using the EAC program in the future but I doubt it'd be any better. Just another reason I do not like CDs...)

Mediafire Download - part 1
Mediafire Download - part 2

Austere (Aus) - Bleak... (Austere/Isolation Split)

2009-12-16T21:27:00.004-05:00

Genre: Depressive Suicidal Black Metal
About: Austere has a fairly driving beat, and high pitched screams, and Isolation has a similar beat but lower, calmer vocals, and also has some acoustic parts. It is a 6 song album, but each song averages about 10 minutes, so it is an hour of screaming DSBM glory.

Austere (Aus)
1. When Even Tomorrow Looks Away 13:52
2. Instrumental 01:52
3. There's Nothing Left 13:36
Isolation (Deu)
4. From Nowhere... 05:45
5. Mosaic 16:08
6. ...To Nowhere 08:23
Total playing time 59:36

Mediafire Download - part 1
Mediafire Download - part 2

Austere (Aus) - Only the Wind Remembers / Ending the Circle of Life (2008) (Austere/Lyrinx Split)

2009-12-16T21:04:00.011-05:00

Genre: Depressive-Suicidal Black Metal
About: The original split was a tape, but both bands re-released their parts of this split as EP's in 2009 on CD, and thats what these files are from. Austere has a fairly driving beat, and high pitched screams, whereas Lyrinx has a bit mellower, slower beat (almost doom metal-like at parts) with rougher screams. It is a 4 song album, but each song averages about 15 minutes, so it is an hour of screaming DSBM glory.

Austere (Aus)
1. Towards the Great Unknown 11:34
2. Only the Wind Remembers 13:24
Lyrinx
3. No Failure in Suicide 16:15
4. Isolation 18:42
Total playing time 59:55

Mediafire Download - part 1
Mediafire Download - part 2

HeimatAerde - Dark Dance (2009)

2009-12-04T21:05:00.007-05:00

Genre: Electronic Body Music, Industrial, Dark Electro
About: The wait is over! HeimatAerde's new EP released today, which is supposedly a preview of the new album (Unwesen, due in March), continuing the progression of his sound which is a combination of these three genres and also medieval music.

There are three versions of the title track. Track 3 is a cover of the christmas song "Come Come Emmanuel". The other songs are solid as well. Especially "Heimataerde" live, his first officially released live track. Since I cannot go to shows since I do not live in Germany, this is great.

Also, if you like this, click the HeimatAerde tag at the bottom of this post, I have all full length and non-full length albums here.

Mediafire Download

Alcest - Alcest / Les Discrets Split (2009)

2009-12-04T20:30:00.003-05:00

Alcest:

Les Discrets:

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal, Post-Rock, Shoegaze
About: I have been eagerly awaiting this for two months now, and oh man, it was worth the wait. The first track "Percées De Lumière" marks Alcest's first new material in over two years. Whereas the previous album is more commonly classified as "shoegaze", this song makes a bit of a return back to the black metal roots, with heavier riffs and black screams. Track 2 is a mostly ambient song with some clean vocals, but it serves as a decent interlude between the two artist's songs.

Now where I was really surprised was the first "Les Discrets" track. I had listened on myspace, and thought it was ok, but this track grabbed me and bitchslapped me in the face. Surprisingly heavy, great atmosphere. Track 4 was not as memorable, and i felt the 2 minutes of silence at the end was completely unnecessary. But then Les Discrets redeems themselves with Song For Mountains. It is supposedly a demo, but it sounds pretty finished to me.

Mediafire Download

Silencer - Death - Pierce Me (2001)

2009-12-04T19:37:00.002-05:00

Genre: Depressive Suicidal Black Metal, Atmospheric Black Metal
About: My god. How have i not heard about this before. After a 2 minute acoustic intro, you are slammed with a wall of sound and screeching vocals that only someone posessed by the devil himself could pull off. Hence... He went to an institution for about 5 years after this album. But this is a masterpiece of depressive black metal and any fan (or non-fan) should hear it.

He now is out of the institution, and had a project called "Diagnose: Lebensgefahr" in 2007 which I will upload soon if it's any good.

Mediafire Download

Far Beyond - Songs Of Hope And Sorrow (2009)

2009-12-04T19:27:00.003-05:00

Genre: Black Metal (with clean vocals this time)
About: A long awaited comeback EP (well, not for me because I just found out about them yesterday, and the album was already out :D ) from this amazing one man band. At first listen, it seems a bit underwhelming compared to their previous album. But he is supposed to release another full length before Summer 2010, so I will be anxiously awaiting that.

Mediafire Download

Far Beyond - An Angel's Requiem (2005)

2009-12-04T19:04:00.003-05:00

Genre: Melodic Black Metal, Speed Metal(ish)
About: Incredibly, this is a one man band. Yet it has one of the most full-sounding black metal atmospheres I have ever heard. And the melodies are simply amazing. I can't describe this properly in words, just download it.

Mediafire Download

Austere - To Lay Like Old Ashes (2009)

2009-12-04T16:18:00.003-05:00

Genre: Melodic Depressive Suicidal Black Metal with Emo infuences (not kidding...)
About: Another great album, but they must be getting bored with Black Metal because towards the 2/3 mark of this album, they switch to emo vocals. Which is... interesting... But you can come to your own judgement.

Mediafire Download

Austere - Withering Illusions and Desolation (2007) (Austere (Aus) - Withering Illusions and Desolation)

2009-11-13T14:30:00.006-05:00

Genre: Depressive Suicidal Black metal
About: A really raw album, but what I feel distinguishes it is first of all the beautiful melodies of the guitars... secondly what i have dubbed "dying puppy vocals"... I don't think there are any lyrics to this album, i think someone was just sitting there with a microphone stabbing a puppy. 3:07 in track 1 for example. And it just goes on.... But I love this album and these vocals, they are very appropriate for the type of music being played.

The second album, which i may upload at a later time, moved to more traditional black vocals, and even emo vocals... 0_o

Mediafire Download

Utica Club Natural Carbonation Beer Drinking Song (1960s)

2009-11-06T00:53:00.002-05:00

Genre: Psychadelic 60s rock :)
About: Get drunk! I cannot even find where I originally found this song, so I should mirror it so other people can. But I love this song and I have been playing it every time as i drink my first beer of the night. I've never had this beer but it's from the same company as Saranac which i can confirm is amazing.

Mediafire Download

Pagan Reign - Discography (with correct English tags)

2009-10-27T23:15:00.008-04:00

Genre: Pagan Folk Black Metal
About: Pagan Reign (Rus) is proof that good music is made in russia. This is just enthralling pagan metal. Similar to most other pagan metal, Ensiferum, Moonsorrow, etc, but with a unique touch. The first album sounds rather demo-ey and crude (though with good recording), but by the later albums they found a really great atmosphere for themselves... then broke up D:< ... Anyway, If you get this anywhere else it'll probably be weird non-existant characters like "Đŕäĺăŕńň" or Russian, so enjoy :)... With the exception of the EP is in Russian, I can't find the translations.

Pagan Reign (Rus) - Ancient Warriors - Full-length, 2001
Mediafire Download - part 1
Mediafire Download - part 2

Pagan Reign (Rus) - Otbleski Slavi I Vozrozhdenie Bilog Velichiya (Spark of Glory and Revival of Ancient Greatness) - Full-length, 2003
(title tagged in english)
Mediafire Download

Pagan Reign (Rus) - Ydeli Biloy Veri (The Fate Of The Old Faith) - Full-length, 2004
(title not tagged in English, sorry, but you can change it yourself)
Mediafire Download - part 1
Mediafire Download - part 2

Pagan Reign (Rus) - Vo Vremena Bylin - EP, 2005
Mediafire Download

Pagan Reign (Rus) - Tverd - Ancient Fortress - Full-length, 2006
Mediafire Download - part 1
Mediafire Download - part 2

Wildpath - I'm So Excited (Pointer Sisters Cover) (2009)

2009-10-19T00:54:00.004-04:00

Genre: Symphonic Power Metal
About: Wildpath has a really successful formula down by now, and the fact that they could turn a crappy pop song into such a... masterpiece, proves it. They originally only had this song posted for one day in July, but i requested they put it back up, and they did. I ripped it with my sound card, it is a bit quiet but as loud as my card allowed. The quality is quite good, especially for Myspace. Enjoy!

Mediafire Download

Also found this medley/compilation of Non Omnis Moriar, if you're into that type of thing (Right Click, Save)

Rammstein - Liebe ist fur alle da (Deluxe Edition) (2009)

2009-10-18T01:16:00.006-04:00

Genre: Heavy Metal, Industrial
About: I was not even going to upload this until i heard the song "Wiener blut". It is so fvcking heavy and evil, you really need to hear it if you are a fan of any type of metal. Jesus just download this album. Here's the extremely NSFW video of "pussy" if you need convincing.

# Title Length
1. "Rammlied" (Ramm-Song) 5:19
2. "Ich Tu Dir Weh" (I Hurt You) 5:02
3. "Waidmanns Heil" (Hunter's Hail/Greeting) 3:33
4. "Haifisch" (Shark) 3:45
5. "B********" (Bückstabü) 4:15
6. "Frühling in Paris" (Springtime in Paris) 4:45
7. "Wiener Blut" (Viennese Blood) 3:53
8. "Pussy" 3:57
9. "Liebe ist für alle da" (Love Is There for Everyone) 3:26
10. "Mehr" (More) 4:09
11. "Roter Sand" (Red Sand) 3:59

Special Edition bonus tracks
# Title Length
1. "Führe mich" (Lead Me) 4:34
2. "Donaukinder" (Children of the Danube) 5:18
3. "Halt" (Stop) 4:20
4. "Roter Sand (Orchester version)" (Red Sand (Orchestral version)) 4:06
5. "Liese" (Elizabeth)

Mediafire Download part 1
Mediafire Download part 2

Suicide Solution, Vol. 1 - A collection of suicidal, depressive, and atmospheric black metal.

2009-09-25T17:44:00.010-04:00

Genre: Suicidal, Depressive, Atmospheric. Mostly Black Metal with a few exceptions (noted below)
About: Depressive music, for me, is the soundtrack for particularly frostbitten days. Be it the weather, or things that happen to me, or who knows what. I am a believer that you need music that resonates with any mood you may have. If you are angry, you want some death metal, if you want to punch someones face in, you want hardcore... if you are feeling the frost climb up your back, you want this.

I truly do not understand why bands that perform this style of music are not popular worldwide. Especially in the US. Depression is practically an epidemic here, and if this music was prevelent, maybe we could cut down on that? And, even if you are not depressed, it is just great music once you tune your brain to it.

This is not my favorite genre, but I have listened to quite a lot and am familiar with enough bands to consider this a decent collection. I have included what i consider the "essentials", and also some unknown bands, some of which I discovered just now. If you have never listened to these genres, this would be a good "Starter Pack" for you. If you have, maybe there's a few in here you don't know and would like to hear?

I may do more volumes... This one is a starter pack, and includes some non-"suicidal" songs but they give off the same general feeling... further volumes would likely be strictly bands classified as "suicidal". By the way, the album name is the name of a Ozzy Osbourne song... not a big fan of the song, but the title seemed appropriate ("Centre of Eternity" is awesome though, as well as most of his big hits). Anyway, hope at least one person stumbles across this and enjoys it! I'm more likely to make more if i get a comment..

So... It took a while to find/remember the bands i wanted, but it is epic. Also, epically long, it came out to the completely arbitrary number 31 tracks, and nearly 4 hours. But it's a pretty awesome playlist IMO. (Apoligies for the volume equalization issues. Seems demos are very quiet.) Hope you enjoy :)

Track List:
1. Sad Legend - Searching for the Hope in Utter Darkness...
2. Xasthur - Cursed Be The Memory Of Light (Old Xasthur >>>> new Xasthur)
3. Desire - Funeral Doomentia
4. Daemonolatreia - Misanthropic Symbol Of Infernal Abyss
5. Lunar Aurora - Der Morgen (This album was a big departure from their previous and subsequent work, but i love it just the same, possibly more.)
6. Deep-pression - Pain... Is Everywhere...
7. Oathean - The Last Elegy for My Sad Soul
8. Dead Raven Choir - A Rosebud In June (officially "dark folk"... this is some neat stuff)
9. Drudkh - Glare Of Autumn (Not "depressive" but it has a dark melancholic feeling)
10. Life is Pain - Oppressive Nights in Mental Asylum
11. Life is Pain - Bloody Melancholy (brilliant ambiance, reminds me of Burzum - Rundgang um die transzendentale Säule der Singularität)
12. Sad Legend - Nocturnal Cries Of Agony (this song got me into depressive black metal)
13. Anti - Invocation
14. Nyktalgia - Cold Void
15. Daemonolatreia - One More Soul For Satan (makeshift Interlude... quite creepy)
16. Lurker Of Chalice - Piercing Where They Might (best atmosphere/droning in any song ever)
17. Sad - Mass Annihilation (no relation to Sad Legend)
18. Darkspace - Dark 3.12 (Part of a massive story spanning 3 albums and one demo. Last i checked they can all be downloaded for free from their website)
19. Defaillance - Oublie De Tous
20. Leviathan - Sacred Scars (Warning: face-melting is likely)
21. Make A Change... Kill Yourself - Fooling the Weak (Xasthur side project... better (than more recent xasthur at least))
22. Oathean - River of Sadness
23. Secretly In Pain - Le Chemin
24. Corpus Christii - Heavenless Bliss (again, technically not depressive but it has a nice feeling)
25. Be Persecuted - Revolves Weakly Falls (rawer than raw)
26. Rapture - To Forget (Technically doom, but nice feeling)
27. Anti - Mourning Soul
28. Alcest - Elevation (This Black Metal artist now does Shoegaze. I don't know why, because this song is f'ing brilliant! Again, not sure how "depressive" it is but i like the atmosphere)
29. Desire - (Love Is) Suicide (The past 3 hours were just foreplay for this song. Seriously, this song is orgasm.)
30. Wormphlegm - Epejumalat Monet Tesse Muinen Palveltin Lauran Ja Lesse (30 minute epic DSBM masterpiece. 30 minutes flies by, then i want more.)
31. Corpus Christii - All Hail... (Master Satan) (for the lulz. Heh, seemed appropriate to match my interlude. Good sing-a-long tune (for small children :3 ))

(1/9/2011 - Part 3 was broken, this is a re-upload of two 200-mb files instead of four 100mb files!)
Download pt 1
Download pt 2

Wormphlegm - Tomb of the Ancient King (2006)

2009-09-25T17:03:00.007-04:00

Genre: Suicidal Funeral Doom/Black Metal, Atmopsheric/Drone
About: I've had a seriously terrible day, so this is just what i need right now. I believe that music that fits your mood will help you the most. This is why angry people listen to hardcore, emos listen to emo all the time, etc. But I am not a robot, my moods change, hence i need different genres of music.

Anywho, this is some seriously dark music. The ambiance is set by simple low piano notes, and then you're sucked into a vortex that leads straight to hell. Enjoy :)

Current line-up
Maggotworm Incinerator Abscess - drums, vocals
Grubgorge Pestilent Diarrhoeator - guitars, bass, vocals

Track List:
1. Epejumalat monet tesse muinen palveltin caucan ja lesse 30:15
2. Tomb of the Ancient King 13:18
3. Return of the Ice Age and the Tortyrant 17:32
Total playing time 01:01:05

Download pt 1
Download pt 2

Malevolent - Demo (2009)

2009-09-25T13:25:00.007-04:00

Genre: Death Metal, Hardcore, Deathcore, Grindcore?, Black Metal?
About: I'm doing a few posts today to protest my school's anti-freedom of information ideals. Youtube doesn't even load properly because they restrict the internet so bad here. Anyway, this is an album I bought (yes, BOUGHT, so if you like it please refer to the Buy link below)

This is a very interesting combination of grind, death metal, and hardcore. Difficult to categorize bands are always better IMO. The breakdown in track 1 is heavy as f*ck, and then is followed by a guitar solo 0_0. I am very glad i bought this, because this band from Southern California has a lot of potential. Even as they are now, the playing is spot on, and the composition excellent. The production is crystal clear, not demo-like at all. They remind me of the band "Winds of Plague" except with a more unique approach. Please download this, and if you like it send them a message to buy or at least thank them for a job well done!

Buy CD and Shirt for 15 dollars! (or just CD for 5) (Send a message on myspace with mailing address and paypal the money) (Note, the shirt is the lower image at the top of this post, but both are off their official myspace :D)

1. Engorged in Skeetsuit
2. Sex Panther
3. Inner Unravelling of an Ocean
(side note - itunes made this read-only? Dont know why. Read-only annoys me, will look into)

Download

DJ Smooth Denali - Hip-Hop Classics, Vol. 11: The Streets Of New York (2006)

2009-09-25T12:32:00.006-04:00

About: Time for a rare non-metal post. This album is just so smooth... it's like a good beer. If this music does not make you move, you should get your head checked. This is quite simply the best [old school] rap/hip hop to come out of New York City (all of which from the good ol' 90's). All mixed together in a non-stop mix by the genius DJ Smooth Denali. I just got a notice about illegally sharing copywrited material (torrents) on my school network, and this album is making me feel better, so i thought i'd share copywrited material! (mediafire) :D

It includes all the classics... Fat Joe, Big Pun, Big L, Notorious BIG, Kool G Rap, Gangstarr (who i had the chance to see live but didn't, grrrrr..), and even old school Jay Z and Nas (when they were a lot better), and a lot of good stuff i never heard of.

1.Theme From New York - FRANK SINATRA
2 Walk In New York - ONYX
3.Firewater - FAT JOE RAEKWON & BIG PUN (SMOOTH MIX)
4.True Confessions - TRAGEDY KHADAFI
5.Blood Money - CNN
6 Front Lines - MOBB DEEP
7 Microphone Fiend - ERIC B & RAKIM
8 Microphone Checka RMX - DAS EFX
9 Ice Gold Medllions - ROYAL FLUSH
10. Ebonics - BIG L
11. Next Level (PRIMO RMX) - SHOWBIZ & AG
12. Mind Spray - JERU DA DAMAGA
13. Mecca & The Soul Brother - PETE ROCK & CL SMOOTH
14. Question Remainz - GANGSTARR
15. Outta Here - KRS ONE
16. Dream Shatterer - BIG PUN
17. Drop A Gem - MOBB DEEP
18. Flava Of The Month - BLACK SHEEP
19. Punks Jump Up - BRAN NUBIANS
20. Machine Gun Funk - NOTORIOUS BIG
21. Fakin Jax - INI FT PETE ROCK
22. 4th Chamber - GZA FT GHOSTFACE RZA
23. Ill Street Blues - KOOL G RAP
24. Shut Em Down (Pete Rock Remix) - PUBLIC ENEMY FT PETE ROCK
25. 10 Crack Commandments - NOTORIOUS BIG
26. Memory Lane - NAS
27. One In A Million - PETE ROCK & CL SMOOTH
28. D-Evils - JAY Z

Download pt 1
Download pt 2

Wildpath - Non Omnis Moriar (2009) + Bonus Tracks (320kbps)

2009-09-23T23:41:00.010-04:00

(If you have a deviant art account, here is the artist's page, so you can watch or favorite or whatever: http://somnyum.deviantart.com/)

Genre: Female Fronted Melodic Symphonic Power Metal
About: After over two months, the world outside of Japan finally gets to hear this glorious album. If you have never heard of this band, please proceed to click the "Wildpath" tag at the bottom and download the other album as well.

If you have, you should have been anxiously awaiting this since it's July 15th release date. That's right, OVER TWO MONTHS AGO, and exclusively on CD in Japan (Yet the band is from France... go figure). It took that long for it to make it onto file sharing sites, leading me to believe the internet has not been invented in Japan yet. I was to the point where I almost paid 50 dollars to import, and even so the import site was out of stock!

Anyway, download this if you are a fan of any of the genres. They've taken their proven unique yet traditional power metal, added an even more beautiful singer, and added some progressive and symphonic elements. They also seem to be using the death-ish screams a bit more, but definitely is not excessive.

My favorite is "Secret's Case". I was fortunate enough to rip that off myspace to keep my sanity over these past two months waiting. "Non Omnis Moriar" and "Sanctuary Part 1" are quite good as well, and if it's at all like the first album, every track will eventually grow on me and i'll be addicted.

According to the website, this "is a concept album that tells the story of a young woman trapped in a strange house full of secrets".

1. Two Broken Candles (Introduction) 01:57
2. Unforgotten 04:45
3. Ballroom Doors (Interlude) 00:55
4. Shadows Dance 03:38
5. Grinnin' Sanity 05:05
6. Facing Fears (Interlude) 00:32
7. Ghost Memories 04:50
8. Desire part I - Lust 04:15
9. Desire part II - Forsaken 04:42
10. Light Heart 03:18
11. Secret's Case 05:41
12. Cemetear (Interlude) 01:15
13. Non Omnis Moriar 04:44
14. Hall Stairway (Interlude) 02:44
15. Sanctuary part I - The Cathedral 03:28
16. Sanctuary part II - Death 03:18
17. Sanctuary part III - Acceptation 02:43
Total playing time 57:50

Bonus track for Japan:
18. Norse Legends Come To Life (Remake of "When Legends Come to Life" on their first album in a somewhat different style, and with the new singer of course)

Bonus Track from their Website:
19. Dark Mass

Download pt 1
Download pt 2
(If anyone is wondering why the duplicate post, there was something wrong with the link i posted before so i figured I'd upload it myself and write a full entry. Enjoy! :D)

Mythology - Tepes (2009) (Mythology (US) - Tepes)

2009-09-11T19:53:00.011-04:00

Genre: True Raw Epic Black Metal
About: I found out about these guys randomly, one of them was at Summer Slaughter 3 handing out demos. I am glad I had that chance encounter, because this is a really unique band, and that demo is on here as well if you click the Mythology tag at the bottom. That album was more like blackened death metal, or i prefer the term deathened black metal... but this one is pretty much pure black.

Anyway, This band has shown that they are ready to play with the big boys with this demo. It is raw, brutal, while at the same time there are beautiful melodies. It concludes with the epic 9 minute track "The Dragon's Fall". It's technically a demo, but it's 47 minutes long. The production is just raw enough for this type of music. Even if the production was perfect and clear, the music would still be raw. This is so raw it is bleeding. I doubt you will find anything this raw in 2009 or the future, unless perhaps you eat a cow while it's still alive (see tag on bottom). Oh, and an excerpt from Monty Python is used, pretty kvlt. Anyway, why are you still reading this when you could have had it downloaded already?

Download

Nanowar of Steel - Discography 2007 (9/11 rememberance post)

2009-09-11T19:22:00.007-04:00

(mostly a repost from livejournal, so sorry if its a bit messy)

Genre: Power Metal, Parody, True Metal
About: The ultimate (only?) power metal parody band. Their song "Emerald Fork" includes the lyrics "F*ck you Bin Laden", so that is what made me think to post this. This was their first album, and despite bad production and bad playing it's great.

Track list:
01- TRUE METAL OF STEEL
02- METAL
03- THE ONLY FOREST OF THE TRUE METAL AND THE OTHER HEAVY MINERALS
04- OUR METAL IS SO STRONG 'COS OUR DICK IS SO LONG
05- EMERALD FORK (Rhapsody Remake-Cover)
06- MASTER OF PIZZA (Metallica Remake-Cover)
07- POSER
08- VAI GATTO PANCERI (BONUS TRACK)

Website (with myspace, facebook links, etc):
www.nanowar.it/

According to their myspace, they are working on a "new gay album of steel", tentatively titled "Metropolis Part 3: The Legacy", which they discuss in the Made in Naples live album. But they are busy being lazy and kvlt so it may be another year before we can hear it. They are also touring (unfortunately only in some foreign countries) on the "Goalkeeper of the Seven Keys pt. 4 Tour 2009" and videos can be found on their facebook page. Hope you enjoy, ciao.

Download Nanowar Of Steel - TRIUMPH OF TRUE METAL OF STEEL (2003)
(free and legal, from their official site):
www.nanowar.it/2003_Triumph.rar

Download other two (more recent) albums:
Nanowar - OTHER BANDS PLAY, NANOWAR GAY (2005)
www.nanowar.it/2005_OtherBands.rar - This has grown to be their most popular album, with classics like "Tricycles of Steel", "Power of the Power of the Power (Of the Great Sword)", and "The Number of the Bitch".

Nanowar - MADE IN NAPLES (2007)
www.nanowar.it/2007_MIN.rar - Half of this album is a live concert, and it really shows how much they have progressed as a band. I really hope i can see them live one day, but alas they are across an ocean. Live versions of the songs in the first two albums tend to be even more hectic and awesome live. The second part is new recordings, whether live or studio. There is a mini-story, with song titles like "T.K.D.Y.N.S. (To Kill the Dragon You Need a Sword)", "Fight the Dragon (For the Village)", and Christmas with nanowar is a beautiful ballad of steel with a thrash metal interlude about santa claus. :)

Mars Electric - Fame Among The Vulgar (2003)

2009-09-04T21:26:00.005-04:00

Genre: Melodic Rock, Hard Rock, Alternative
About: Seems a bit heavier than their first album, but it's the same great band. See the previous post for more info on this criminally underrated band.

Download

Mars Electric - Beautiful Something (2000)

2009-09-04T13:58:00.006-04:00

Genre: Alternative Rock, Melodic Rock
About: The number of people that listen to this band is a crime. You should be arrested if you have never listened to this album. I found it through an Alternative Times compilation, and it was love at first sight (listen). They have these beautiful melodic ballads, and also these perfect alternative rocking songs. The singer is soothing yet powerful. 1,000 listeners in the entire world on last.fm. What the hell is wrong with people? I'm going to submit this to rolling stone if possible, because it deserves to be mainstream as fuck. I hate that magazine with a passion, but it has such a great sphere of influence that drives/defines what is "mainstream".

My two favorites are Someday and Feels Like June, but the whole album is great. "Someday" just runs through the back of my head at this point, it's just one of the most solid songs I have ever heard, of any genre. They were dropped from the label which ultimately caused them to break up. I cannot describe in words how much i hate labels, because they are the reason my two favorite bands, Angra and Rhapsody of Fire are not releasing more albums. I started supporting Radiohead even though i used to hate them because they released an album on their website with a "pay what you think it is worth." I wish every band did that. They recorded one more album before they broke up, and i will likely have that up this evening. After the break up, the singer formed "Lynam", which is equally unknown and I will find it and put that on here too.

Anyway, download this NOW!!!11111111

Download

Reviews (4.5 on Amazon (from the only 24 people who have ever listened to this album, lol))

Krusader - Angus (2006)

2009-08-31T03:00:00.005-04:00

Genre: Power Metal,, Melodic Metal
About: This is a great band, and i am sad I have not heard it before now.

Download

Axewielder - The Nightcrew - 2009

2009-08-31T02:04:00.006-04:00

Genre: Heavy Power Metal
About: Judging by the song titles, youd think this band is pretty epic, and it is. It's heavy power metal, but it is very raw, like older black metal, which i like, but some may not. This is their first full length release.

1. Heavy Metal Zombies 06:05
2. Ride On Through The Night 04:32
3. Beer Bottle From Hell 04:12
4. Axewielder Rules The Night 03:38
5. The Nightcrew 01:40
6. Raise Your Tankards High 03:02
7. Loch Lomond 03:36
8. I Am The Axewielder 02:56
9. Evil Reign 03:51
10. Metal-Horned Stallions 03:49
Total playing time 37:24

Download

101 tv and movie themes

2009-08-31T00:44:00.003-04:00

About: No tags, plese feel free to send this back to me with tags. I'm 21 years old so I've officially had enough of retagging stuff. Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh. (I wish... But despite no tags, this is a good collection)

Download pt 1
Download pt 2
Download pt 3
Download pt 4

Sonata Arctica - The Days of Grays (2009)

2009-08-30T21:30:00.003-04:00

Genre: Melodic Metal, Power Metal, Heavy Metal
About: Judging by tracks 1-4, this is the best album of 2009 already. I was a bit dissapointed from their last album, Unia, as it strayed so far away from their well-proven formula, but this gets back to it pretty well. Just download this. Unfortunately, as this is a leak, most of the tracks are really terrible bitrate, but it's worth it just to hear these amazing songs. And please buy the album on September 18th when it comes out!

It's my birthday today, and I didn't even know they had an album coming out soon, so finding this leak is possibly the best gift i could have gotten. Thank you Sonata Arctica, and thank you to the leaker, even though it was ripped at a douchebag bitrate and with occasional minor skips. But this is one of my favorite bands, so It's awesome still.

Download

Like A Storm - Chemical Infatuation (2009) (Single) (256kbps)

2009-08-20T18:16:00.015-04:00

(Click above image to buy (from Amazon, because iTunes may have finally gone DRM-free back in March but they still essentially have a monopoly on the digital music industry. (However, their free music player is nice. (However again, ipods and related products have always and will always suck. (And macs are overrated as sh*t (and all apple products are overpriced like mad; you can build your own pc for half the price of the same performance Mac))))))

(Click above image for their official Myspace)

Genre: Hard/Heavy/Alternative Rock/Metal (seriously these genres just blend together by now)
About: This is alt rock done right. From New Zealand but now residing in Vancouver. I had the good fortune of seeing them live on the Creed Reunion Tour this summer. Their full album "The End of the Beginning" is coming 'soon' and I've messaged them about an exact date which i will write here if i get one. I cannot wait.

"HD" Music Video:

Purchase song from Amazon.com

Download from Mediafire

Ultimate Rock Ballads (2009) (8 CD set) (Complete with Correct id3 tags)

2009-08-17T22:18:00.007-04:00

Genre: Melodic Rock, Classic Rock, Hard Rock
About: This is, as the title states, the ultimate collection of rock ballads. You will know at least 50% of these songs guaranteed if you lived during the classic rock era or, in my case, grew up with these songs because its all my parents listened to. These songs are all classics, all great, I cannot recommend this collection higher. Thank you Time Life!

"Take the passion of rock, add some power, and you've got the rock ballad. Time Life proudly presents Ultimate Rock Ballads, a collection of the greatest singers and most powerful rock ballads of the 70s and 80s. Featuring Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Styx, Rod Stewart, REO Speedwagon, and many more! 153 hits in all!"

Complete Track List (minus "Ultimate 70s" bonus disk)

Download - Folder on Mediafire (should all be up by midnight)

Un chien Andalou (1928)

2009-08-17T14:11:00.006-04:00

I know this is a metal music blog, but i have to repost this, because it's pretty f-ing metal (original post at http://scenekidsinpain.blogspot.com/). This is a french silent independant film, not entirely sure what its about, but it seems like an early version of mindf*ck (or avant-garde film)... more recent movies in that genre are The Machinist, Memento, Fight Club, any David Lynch movie, etc. So if you like those give this a go. It's about 15 minutes, and you can skip the first 1 or so minute of credits. If you can figure this s*it out please let me know. lol.

Also, check out this 12 minute silent movie of Frankenstein from 1910. It's not as bad as you'd think, in fact I'm laughing and enjoying it.
http://scenekidsinpain.blogspot.com/2009/07/edisons-frankenstein-1910.html

Billionaires Boys Club - Something Wicked Comes (1993)

2009-08-17T11:38:00.005-04:00

Genre: Glam Metal, Traditional Metal, Hard Rock, Melodic Rock
About: One of the first albums Mark Boals sang in. This amazing singer has a discography to show for it. This is just amazing if you like these genres or this singer. Some of this, like track 4 actually reminds me of old Helloween, or Iron Maiden. ROCKIN IN THE CITY ALL NIGHT, AINT GOT NOT TIME FOR SLEEEEPPPPPP.

Download

Mark Boals discography (Taken from wikipedia):

Solo albums

* Ignition (1998)
* Ring of Fire (2000)
* Edge of the World (2002)

[edit] Yngwie J. Malmsteen

* Trilogy (1986)
* Collection (1991)
* Inspiration (1996)
* Alchemy (1999)
* War to End All Wars (2000)
* Anthology 1994-1999 (2000)

[edit] Maestro Alex Gregory

* Paganini's Last Stand (1992)

[edit] Billionaires Boys Club

* Something Wicked Comes (1993)

[edit] Thread

* Thread (1996)[6]

[edit] Lana Lane

* Project Shangri-La (2002)

[edit] Erik Norlander

* Music Machine (2003)

[edit] Ring of Fire

* The Oracle (2001)
* Burning Live in Tokyo - live album (2002)
* Dreamtower (2003)
* Lapse of Reality (2004)

[edit] Empire

* Hypnotica (2001)

[edit] Genius: A Rock Opera

* Part 1: A Human into Dreams' World (2002)
* Part 2: In Search of the Little Prince (2004)

[edit] Takayoshi Ohmura

* Nowhere To Go (2004)

[edit] Lars Eric Mattsson

* War (2005)

[edit] Indigo Dying

* Indigo Dying (2007)

[edit] The Codex

* The Codex (2007)

[edit] Royal Hunt

* Paradox II: Collision Course (2008)
* TBA (2009)

[edit] Uli Jon Roth

* Under A Dark Sky (Sky of Avalon) (2008)

[edit] Tribute albums

* Dragon Attack: A Tribute to Queen (1997)
* We Will Rock You: A Tribute to Queen (2000)
* Warmth In The Wilderness: A Tribute To Jason Becker (2001)
* 24/7/365: A Tribute To Led Zeppelin (2007)

[edit] Soundtracks

* "Restless heart" from the film "White Water Summer" (1987)

Soundtrack recorded with Mike Slamer.

Vougan - Mind Eceeding (2007) with bonus track

2009-08-06T12:06:00.003-04:00

Genre: Heavy Power Progressive Metal
About: I cannot believe how unknown this band, and especially this singer, Carlos Zema is. He is just about my favorite singer, because he can combine the agression of growling vocals with the melodies of clean vocals. This album proves that perfectly so check this out, and also "Virus from Hell" which he does guest vocals on. The other musicians are equally amazing, with lots of surprises, most of which being in "L.O.S.T."

I included a bonus song that was on their myspace for a while, and according to their official site, they just finished their [extremely limited, grrr] US tour and are working on a second album now!

Vougan metal archives

Virus From Hell metal archives

Download pt 1
Download pt 2

Soul Takers - Flies in a Jar (2007)

2009-07-25T03:03:00.004-04:00

Click here for Cover art- NSFW lol

Genre: Female-Fronted, Melodic Metal, Melodic Rock, Progressive Metal
About: Aka (incorrectly) as Soultakers. This is a really great album and unique vocalist.

"The thrilling and dramatic atmospheres of their first release, where decadent Classical music and heavy metal blended in a thoroughly personal style, are confirmed and developed in this album. 'Flies in a Jar' will drive you into a total experience, alternating evocative and tormenting melodies and Heavy Metal ride intriguing refrains and refined arrangements. " -CD universe

Download

Mythology (US) - An Infernal Grave (EP) (2008) (v0 mp3)

2009-07-22T19:52:00.007-04:00

Genre: Blackened Death Metal with hints of Thrash Metal, indie pop grindcore, and inverted jazz. (side-note: last two genres may be made-up)
About: I was at Summer Slaugher 3 in upstate NY and some guy was walking around handing CD's. Little did I know it was this amazing Black/Death Metal band from Plattsburgh. This is a promotional CD from 2008, with re-recorded demo songs. Apparently only 100 copies were ever produced. I am proud to have one of them. They also have a full length and a Split, and a new EP in 2009 (click artist tag at bottom). More information, including a 95% review for this EP:

http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=83622

Download

Ministry of Sound - The Annual 2006-2009 (Complete and correct id3 Tags!)

2009-07-19T11:51:00.005-04:00

Genre: Trance, Electronic, dance
About: The Ministry of Sound is a club in britain, but they also put out a lot of mix albums. My favorite of which is the Annual, which they put out towards the end of every year, for the next year. So the 2006 annual was released in late 2005, etc. They take the top dance artists of the year and put them into one giant non-stop collection, and it's awesome. They are all two cd's except 2008, which is 3.

I fixed all the tags, so that the artist is Ministry of sound (and they are an artist, a remix artist similar to DJ Mystik, etc.) and the tracks are tagged Artist - Title, and the track numbers are tagged right. You won't find that anywhere else.

Included:

Ministry of Sound - The Annual 2006 (2005)

Ministry of Sound - The Annual 2007 (2006)

Ministry of Sound - The Annual 2008 (2007)

Ministry of Sound - The Annual 2009 (2008)

Mediafire Download Folder (Should all be uploaded by 5pm EST june 19 2009)

Polynove Pole - Na Semy Vitrah (2009) (Correct id3 tags, 320 kbps mp3)

2009-07-16T23:09:00.007-04:00

Genre: Female-Fronted Gothic Doom Death Metal
About: I generally think this genre is overrated and cheesy (barely gothic but labeled as such because of the female singer, and an im-so-angry-at-the-world male growler in the background), but this is awesome. They actually put some feeling in to their music. Not many bands come from Ukraine, and even if many did, this band would likely be the best one. This is their debut album, so give them a try. The album name means "On the Seven Winds".

(I fixed the id3 tags because it was weird characters that converted wrong to the english character set, for example - "Ïîëèíîâå Ïîëå – Íà ñåìè â³òðàõ". How do people not notice that crap in their library and fix it?)

Download pt 1
Download pt 2

Alternate - Free download from their Official Site (Enter name and location then click button. Not sure what the bitrate is or if the tags are correct, but this way you show the band your support because they track the number of downloads)

Mr. Big - Reunion Tour Live! (2009) (2009/06/17 Hiroshima, Japan (Bootleg))

2009-07-15T00:38:00.005-04:00

Then:

& Now:

Genre: Rock (classic/hard/hair rock)
About: The (imho) best American Rock band of all time are back with a vengeance. In Japan. lol. American watered down music tastes cannot handle this band's prowess, so they instead became popular in japan. Hopefully they will have a US tour as well, because I will drive 200 miles to see them if necessary. Anyway...

The quality is absolutely amazing, and thanks goes to the bootlegger! This was converted from FLAC lossless to V0 mp3 using foobar and lame 3.98, so it has a minimal amount of lost data, but the size was cut about 400%, and it will play in all music programs/players. I put correct id3 tags on all the files.

This setlist is amazing as well... except, nothing from "Actual Size" (my personal favorite) because Ritchie Koetzen was guitar in the band for that album instead of Paul Gilbert. Instead, there are a lot of older classics, a lot of jams, covers and unexpected things.

Mr. Big is:
Eric Martin (vocals)
Paul Gilbert (guitar)
Billy Sheehan (bass)
Pat Torpey (drums)

Set list: (For convenience, * indicates cover song, ** indicates solo, etc)

Disc 1
1.Opening **
2.Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy
3.Take Cover
4.Green-Tinted Sixties Mind
5.Alive And Kickin'
6.Next Time Around
7.Hold Your Head Up *
8.Just Take My Heart
9.Temperamental
10.It's For You - The Planets Op.32: Mars (Billy, Paul, Pat) *
11.Pat Torpey Solo (Inc: The Long And Winding Road) *
12.Price You Gotta Pay
13.Stay Together *

Disc 2
1.Wild World (Acoustic) *
2.Goin' Where The Wind Blows (Acoustic)
3.Take A Walk (Acoustic - Electric)
4.Paul Gilbert Solo **
5.Inst. (Billy + Paul) **
6.The Whole World's Gonna Know
7.Promise Her The Moon
8.Rock & Roll Over
9.Billy Sheehan Solo **
10.Addicted To That Rush
11.To Be With You
12.Colorado Bulldog
13.Smoke On The Water *
14.I Love You Japan **
15.Baba O'riley *

Mediafire Download

Holyhell - Holyhell (Full Length Album) (2009) + "The Phantom of the Opera" (2007)

2009-07-14T17:55:00.005-04:00

Genre: Symphonic Female-Fronted Power Metal
About: I was so excited to see that on June 26, a full length album from them was released that I have been anxiously awaiting since early 2007. Upon first listen, the new stuff is not as good as the EP in 2007 (a few tracks from that are in here). But it is still very solid and the singer is amazing, and I will give it more listens for sure before I pass final judgement.

I threw "The Phantom of the Opera" from the Apocalypse EP in the rar file too, so this is every song they have released so far.

Download pt 1
Download pt 2

[Discography] Azeroth (Rus) - Symphonic/Melodic Black Metal

2009-07-14T01:34:00.005-04:00

Genre: black metal, melodic black metal, symphonic black metal (later)
About: They released 4 albums within 4 years and then split up. I don't know why, because they were amazing. And the vocalist came straight out of hell with the most evil black vocals i have heard. Not some pussy suicide "omg im in pain" vocals, either. It's grating, rough, and black. They also did a cover of Metallica's "The Thing that Should Not Be" in a Symphonic BM style (which, as far as i can tell is not on an album, but I'm uploading that as well).

Their raw talent can be heard on their "Live in Polygon" album, which also serves as a best-of compilation of sorts. The recording quality is very good as well. So, if you only want to get one for now, I'd say get that. (But I recommend you get them all!)

These albums are extremely difficult to find, legal or otherwise... In fact, it is very difficult to find any information about this band at all. Metal archives is about the only website with any information.

Included:
Azeroth (Rus) - Chasma Pelorion (1997) (~215 kbps mp3)
Azeroth (Rus) - Doctrine Of Dark Forest (1998) (320 kbps mp3)
Azeroth (Rus) - Gallery Of Dreams (1999) (256 kbps mp3)
Azeroth (Rus) - Live In Polygon (2000) (320 kbps mp3)
Azeroth (Rus) - The Thing that Should Not Be (Metallica Cover) (192 kbps mp3)

Metal Archives Page

Download Azeroth (Rus) Discography - Mediafire Folder

Epidemia (Rus) - Complete Discography with Correct English Tags! (1995-2009)

2009-07-09T16:16:00.002-04:00

Genre: Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Metal Opera
About: This is the self-proclaimed "Best Power Metal band in Russia". Well, they're probably the only one. Even if they aren't, they're still amazing. They had a Demo, an EP, and 5 full lengths followed by a new EP from 2009. Most songs are in russian, but a few are in english. However the lyrics doesn't matter because the music is amazing! Even the demo is extremely high quality and well played. Some of the older songs include Tolkien and Lord of the Rings themes - "Frodo", "Ring Of Absolute Power", etc.

The two albums "Elven Manuscript" and "Elven Manuscript: Saga For All Times" are Metal Operas with many guest musicians, similar to the bands Aina, Avantasia, Missa Mercuria, and Queensrÿche. If you like any of those, don't miss out on these two albums! And if you like Heavy/Power Metal in general, all of these albums are must-listens.

It took hours to download these all on rapidshare ("rapidshit") and then fix all the tags, based on the track listings on the official english myspace, so I hope you enjoy it! They are all in 192+ kbps mp3 (including the demo), with 3 of them at 320kbps mp3.

If you download these albums anywhere else on the web, not only will it take forever, but you will have to go through the same tagging nightmare I did. Most of the titles were non existant characters (for example "Æèçíü â Ñóìåðêàõ").

Anyway, Enjoy!

Official Myspace

Download Epidemia Discography: Folder on Mediafire (Not sure if this works... can someone let me know?... If it doesn't work, individual links are below.)

Track Lists and Individual Mediafire Download Links:

Epidemia - Angel Of Twilight (EP) (2009)
Download

01. The Last Sunrise
02. Angel Of Twilight
03. Pass Your Way (orchestral version)
04. Pass Your Way (instrumental version)

Epidemia - Elven Manuscript: Saga For All Times (2007)
Download Part 1
Download Part 2

01. Prologue
02. Star Portal
03. Kings Of Mountains
04. First God Confession
05. Snow Saga
06. Threads Of Destiny
07. Without Heart And Soul
08. Ocean Of The Void
09. Fire Saga
10. Dragon's Island
11. Saga For All Times
12. Sunlight
13. Into The Sky
14. Requeim (Grieving Of Her...)(Digibook Bonus)

Epidemia - Livin' In Twilight (2005)
Download Part 1
Download Part 2

01. Gates Of Time
02. Coins Chime
03. On The Edge Of Time
04. Black Magician
05. Will To Live
06. Feanor
07. White Falcon
08. To Be With You Again
09. Ring Of Absolute Power
10. New Day
11. Livin' In Twilight
12. Welcome To Twilight (Bonus Hidden Track)

Epidemia - Elven Manuscript (2004)
Download Part 1
Download Part 2

01. Golden Dragons
02. Trial Hour
03. Born To Fight
04. Pass Your Way
05. Elven Blood
06. On The Hell's Threshold
07. Eternal Warrior
08. Romance Of Tear
09. Magic And Sword
10. Splinters Of The Past
11. Epilogue
12. Ice Horseman (Bonustrack)

Epidemia - The Quest Of The Magic Land (2001)
Download Part 1
Download Part 2

01. Black Magician
02. The Journey Beyond Three Seas
03. Idol
04. Feanor
05. Fairyland Mystery
06. Leaving Magic Land
07. Fairy Of My Dreams
08. I Prayed On You
09. Livin' In Twilight

Epidemia - On The Edge Of Time (1999)
Download Part 1
Download Part 2

01. Gates Of Time
02. Coins Chime
03. To The Light
04. Faith
05. White Falcon
06. N.A.S.T.Y.A.
07. Less Of Us
08. In Unknown Land
09. Ring Of Absolute Power
10. Frodo
11. On The Edge Of Time
12. Kingdome Of Tears
13. Dragonheart
14. Farewell, My Home

Epidemia - Will To Live (EP) (1998)
Download

01. Will To Live
02. To Be With You Again
03. The Ring Of Absolute Power
04. Shadow Of Love
05. New Day

Epidemia - Phoenix (Demo) (1995)
Download

1. New Day
2. I Charmed by Eyelashes
3. Come Back
4. Phoenix
5. Devil's Dream
6. Less Than Us

Torrential Downpour - Torrential Downpour (2009)

2009-06-11T12:04:00.010-04:00

Genre: From Minimalist/Ambient/Atmospheric to Death/Thrash/Experimental Metal/Hardcore
About: I'm sitting here thinking how to describe this music in words, and I just can't. It's so innovative and original. A lot of it is beautiful atmosphere but each song builds to a climax of heavy thrashing guitars and flying corpses (well maybe not but it sounds like it).

The first peak of the album is "Toile" which is almost 13 minutes, and it reminds me of atmospheric black metal in style, however I don't think it technically is... If you like Lunar Aurora, Trist, Drudkh, etc. this is for you.

Then the whole album builds to a climax which is "Three Twenty (The Hologram)". They might as well call it Four Twenty (The Orgasm) because it is a melodic death/thrash masterpiece. The last track is a perfect conclusion because it is a light flowing beautiful electric guitar melody.

The band members themselves seem cool, judging by that picture above and the fact that they signed my album when i asked. With very nice signatures I might add.

This band deserves so much more exposure than it has, so if you like it PLEASE purchase it and tell your friends! I'll tell you the album comes with a lot of extra goodies as well, but I won't ruin the surprise.

Buy this album (or their EP) on their Myspace!

Download

Raven Throne - Tenyu Skvoz' Smert' (2008) (Raventhrone (Blr)) (320 KBPS)

2009-05-02T13:06:00.007-04:00

Genre: (Melodic) Black Metal, Pagan Metal
About: Very nice, fairly straightforward Black Metal with Melodic and Pagan influences. From Bulgaria. Very good Production Quality. If you like these genres you will like this.

Download pt 1
Download pt 2

Kaledon - Discography 2008

2009-04-12T15:11:00.007-04:00

Genre: Power Metal, Melodic Metal, Speed Metal
About: This is a really great and surprisingly unique power metal band from Italy. The albums are one ongoing epic story about the land called "Kaledon". So if you like even one song you should really listen to them all. And here they are all in one rar file! :) And I must say, it's an impressive pace they are putting out these albums, especially since they all sound coherent to each other, all telling different parts of the same story.

Note: They're all in one folder, but they are tagged right so if you add them to a music organizer such as itunes, winamp, etc, they should be sorted properly by album.

Included:
Kaledon - Legend of the Forgotten Reign - Chapter 1: The Destruction (2002)
Kaledon - Legend of the Forgotten Reign - Chapter 2: The King's Rescue (2003)
Kaledon - Legend of the Forgotten Reign - Chapter 3: The Way of the Light (2005)
Kaledon - Legend of the Forgotten Reign - Chapter 4: Twilight of the Gods (2006)
Kaledon - Legend of the Forgotten Reign - Chapter 5: A New Era Begins (2008)

Download pt 1 (Hosted on Mediafire, as always)
Download pt 2
Download pt 3
Download pt 4

Or, if you prefer, the band is now offering all 5 of their albums for free, with optional donation to their paypal account. Please support the band if you feel their work is worth your hard-earned money. It's fairly slow download, but at least one of the files i have uploaded on mediafire (track 14 of chapter 2) is staticy. Seriously, why can't people check their files? Anyway, here's the link:
id3 tags are royally messed up, but you may want to get part 2 because as i said my track 14 was staticy.

Download all albums from Kaledon's Official Website

Svarti Loghin - Empty World (2008)

2009-04-12T14:51:00.006-04:00

Genre: Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Atmospheric Black Metal, Depressive Black Metal
About: A surprisingly melodic, depressive black metal band. This is really unique stuff because usually dsbm is pretty monotone.

The title track is actually a quite upbeat song. Something most people probably won't notice... There is a riff at about 7:00 in the title track that is taken from "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles... Took me by surprise just now. The whole song I think is based loosely on that track.

Full reviews.

Download

Der Weg einer Freiheit - Der Weg einer Freiheit (2009)

2009-04-12T14:31:00.003-04:00

Genre: Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Speed Metal
About: Very nice speedy agressive, somewhat melodic black metal band. They are a new band (and by the looks of it, quite young) but I am looking forward to future releases because they show a great amount of talent.

Download

Birds of Prey - Weight of the Wound (2006)

2009-04-12T14:13:00.003-04:00

Genre: Death Metal, Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal, Sludge
About: Debut album. Pretty straightforward, if you like the genres above you will love this. Full review.

Download

Nile - Nile (Demo) (1994)

2009-04-12T13:55:00.004-04:00

Genre: Thrash Metal, (Later: Brutal Death Metal, Technical Death Metal)
About: For those that don't know, Nile actually originated as a Thrash Metal band named "Morriah." Therefore this demo is primarily a straightforward Old-School Thrash metal album, but with some Black Elements such as blast beats. It has clean Thrash vocals instead of Death Vocals. Some of the Egyptian themes and influences can be heard though not nearly as much as in their later albums.

Worth Checking out for fans of the genre or for fans of the band to see what they sounded like at their start.

Download

Desire - Crowcifix (EP) (2009) (Desire (Prt) - Crowcifix)

2009-04-12T13:48:00.005-04:00

Genre: Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Heavy Metal, Funeral Doom Metal
About: Desire makes a rather unexpected return with an EP with two new tracks and a live song. I don't even know how to describe this band in words. The music is so powerful yet beautiful. For all fans of Doom metal.

Download

Uaral - Lamentos A Poema Muerto (2007)

2009-04-12T13:31:00.008-04:00

Genre: doom metal, acoustic, folk, influences of depressive/suicidal black metal
About: This is music to lose yourself into. The feeling of hopelessness and loneliness present here is simply amazing. But what makes them so unique is this is achieved using almost entirely acoustic guitars. Beautiful flowing spanish folk melodies. But then seemingly out of nowhere, the vocals come in. They vary from low melodic vocals to growls, and sometimes almost grindcore/frog vocals and also suicidal black vocals. And there is actually crying in some songs

The only "happy" sounding part is track 5, but that is somewhat muffled as if it is a memory of a past time, in which things were different.

The only "metal" parts of this album are usually at the climax of the song, in which the acoustic guitar is still present but overlapped with electric guitar melodies. This band must be heard to be believed.

Download

Summoning - Let mortal heroes sing Your Fame (2001) (320 kbps mp3)

2009-04-08T23:45:00.008-04:00

Genre: Epic Black Metal, atmospheric black metal, Black Metal, Pagan Metal, Melodic Black Metal
About: This is the second most epic album of all time. It still has the same elements and epic feel of the previous album, stronghold, but they experiment a bit by adding things such as suicidal vocals in the chorus of track 2 and samples. It also has somewhat of a more melodic, folk feel.

Track 3 has this repeating spoken part "In the darkness... bind them!" and it fits so perfectly into the music

But my favorite song on the album is probably track 4. It explodes into this epic melodic powerful black riff that almost brings me to tears because it is so perfect.

DOWNLOAD IT NAOW!!!!!1111111

Download pt 1
Download pt 2

Mägo de Oz - La Ciudad De Los Árboles (2007)

2009-04-04T14:31:00.007-04:00

Genre: Folk Rock, Power Metal, Folk Metal
About: Best folk/power metal band. But this is somewhat of a departure for them because it's primarily a Folk Rock album. But it still carries the same happy spirit as their others. I think i read this album was born out of songs that didn't make it onto Gaia II.

Download

Poem?

2009-03-31T21:53:00.006-04:00

I walked outside and heard the birds chirping as spring is here and a concept sprung to mind. I thought of more later on and after the third paragraph was inspired by the song by Lurker Of Chalice - "Piercing as they Might" on his 2005 album. Hope someone gets a small enjoyment out of it.

"Even the birds lay silent
As the wisping of the withered wind
Comes to a halt.

The air is dead,
The ground is drying
Not a soul dare tread
Over its barren surface.

Listen as the billows cry
Smell the fear
As the rivers run slower…
They are coming.

But lo!
I hear a sound
Is it real or imagined?

A single crow with a broken wing
Cries out in the night
Agony. Unbearable.
Can stand the suffering no longer.

Not a passing glance as they roll through
Who are they?
Where are they going?
I dare not ask or say.

Suddenly a battle cry
From afar
A lone warrior
Begins charge

They do not take notice
Continue on their unknown path
And unknown destiny.

I begin to turn
There is no safe place here
Not for a bird, and not for me.

Then I hear- what’s that?
The wind? I turn around
A thousand arrows flying from their bows.
All heading towards a point with inhuman precision.

Should I stay? Should I go?
Too late to know,
As it seems to be the end for the crow.

When all hope is lost,
A warrior is always there by your side
To protect you

Or in this case, a lone crow
The hero leaps to intercept
And he is no more.

Explosion. Fog. Rain.

When it clears, All I saw before is gone.
Was it a dream?

I see a crow. The sun shines. Grass begins to grow.
The wind howls and the crow flies with it
Wing broken no longer

To this day I do not know
Who they were or who the crow
But it goes to show
Wherever you row
A hero will follow."

By: hurricane_mario. March 31, 2009

Edit (March 2, 2010) - I just dug this poem up, and posted it here! Please comment/rate if you like it! Or, kindly step away if you dont! :P

Trist - Willenskraft (2009) (320 kbps) (Trist (Ger) - Willenskraft)

2009-03-30T22:00:00.006-04:00

Genre: Black Metal, Dark Ambient, Ambient, Atmospheric Black Metal
About: Willenskraft means "Willpower". I thought Hin-Fort was a masterpiece but somehow he has 1-upped himself. The main difference is while Hin was just an ever-growing wall of sound, this album is all about dynamics. Track 1 is very minimalist while track 2 slams you in the face with this loud fast black metal. And so on. This album is pure genius, I will be listening to it obsessively.

Track 1 is 12 minutes long and fairly minimalist. It sounds as if you are laying on the edge of the water on an ocean beach letting the waves crash over you, as you hear them move from the right speaker to the left. Then gradually You hear these noises which I perceived as Whale/Dolphin calls.

Track 2 then introduces what sounds like either some kind of Troll or someone being tortured but 4 minutes in, fades into this epic black metal riff that I cannot even describe and a nice drum beat. As with Hin-Fort the album slowly changes to create this just great atmosphere.

Track 3 is then more waves crashing, but then instead of the whale-type noises you hear a gradually changing ominous sounding low ambiance.

Track 4 was also a highlight as It starts with this menacing low piano (which comes out of nowhere and is 3 times as loud as the ambiance, great surprise) but then once again a fast beat and epic black guitar riff. The screaming is actually quite fitting, the same screaming as in track 2 but it sounds great. I made out a few words but I'm pretty sure most of it is just screams with no lyrics. Very nice black screams.

Then in track 5 a gun fight breaks out, actually reminds me of the beginning of "One" from Metallica.

Then track 6 you'd think is going to be an ambient outro. But then it fades into another fast black metal part with screams. The difference here is there's kind of a keyboard ambient behind it which is actually a light flowing beautiful melody.

Pretty sure he drew this cover himself as I got it from his official website: http://www.sperber-illustrationen.de/gallery.html

Download

Fuck The Facts - Complete Full Length Studio Albums Discography! (2001-2008)

2009-03-23T18:29:00.015-04:00

Genre: A fantastic genre-bending band with lots of great and original ideas. Highly recommended. Basic genres are:
Early- Grindcore, Noise.
Mid- Experimental, electronic.
Later- Death Metal, Progressive Metal.
(but every album is different, see details below.)

About: Topon has stated numerous times that the name "Fuck the Facts" was chosen, in part, as a statement about his attitude towards the music he wrote. He tried not to feel hampered by genre labels, and that is reflected in the musical style. The earlier Fuck the Facts recordings up until approximately 2000 featured a combination of grindcore and noise.

Download Fuck The Facts - Discoing the Dead (2001) (grindcore, noise, death metal, electronic, experimental, disco, jazz)

Though those two genres were prominent during this era of recording, many other styles crept into the music as well including death metal, electronic and even as some as diverse as disco and jazz. When Discoing the Dead was released in early 2001, it retained many of these experimental styles, paving the way for the beginning of the first incarnation of Fuck the Facts as a full band.

Download Fuck The Facts - Escunta (2002 release date) (Noise, Experimental)

[This album is really all about mindfuck (similar to the movie- "The Machinist"). It's genius in my opinion. My favorite at first listen is "They Call It Dance Musick". Then there's "Fuck The Facts Is Sexy" which is what I would imagine getting run over with a train would sound like.
(Re-ripped on 07/27/2009 using EAC... more info and logs included)]
Vagina Dancer and Escunta, recorded in 2000 and 2001 respectively, are the core of these noise recordings. [However, Vagina Dancer is not listed on metal-archives as a full length album, plus it was only ever released on tape so I am not including it here.]

Download Fuck The Facts - Mullet Fever (2001) (punk, grindcore, experimental, rap, hip-hop, jazz, electronic, noise)

Mullet Fever was released in 2002 and featured a more punk-influenced grindcore sound. However, many of the songs included more experimental (for grindcore) styles including rap, hip-hop, jazz, noise and electronic. [Track 19 is actually closer to raw black metal] The album was largely recorded in one session of the band recording their own jam session and some minimal editing afterwards, and may explain why this album stands out on its own in terms of musical style and scope.

Download Fuck The Facts - Backstabber Etiquette (2003) (death metal, technical metal)

When Backstabber Etiquette was recorded in 2002, vocalist Mel Mongeon had replaced Christoff, and her distinctive growl was markedly different than Brent's deep sound. Mel's higher pitched scream became the norm for the band. The musical style became more heavily influenced by death metal and showed more technical aspirations.

Download Fuck The Facts - Legacy Of Hopelessness EP (2005) (electronic, grindcore)

Legacy of Hopelessness showcased a bit of a departure for the band in that it had a lot more electronic influences. Keyboards are featured on nearly every track, and are sometimes the primary focus. Of course, grindcore is still quite present as well as Mel's distinctive vocals. The change in musical style can probably be attributed to the fact that this was initially intended to be a solo release by Topon, but was migrated over to the band when it was realized that another full-length release was not quite feasible.

Download Fuck The Facts - Stigmata High-Five (2006) (Progressive Metal, Experimental, Metalcore, Grindcore, Death Metal)

Stigmata High-Five represents the latest musical style of the band. The grindcore and death metal elements are still present, but so are more progressive and experimental ideas mixed with metalcore elements. The album contains longer songs with more intricate riffs and atypical time signatures.

Download Fuck The Facts - Disgorge Mexico (2008) (Progressive Metal, Experimental, Metalcore, Grindcore, Death Metal, Jazz, Fusion)

Disgorge Mexico contains shorter songs than Stigmata High-Five but retains a similar overall musical style. In some cases, the experimental ideas are expanded further to the point where one track contains a section that is reminiscent of straight ahead jazz and contains a high register melodic bass solo typical of jazz or fusion. Rhythmic elements often featured in progressive rock are still present, and metric dissonance via polyrhythms are often present.

[Biography stolen from Wikipedia... <3 whoever wrote it.]

[In case you're wondering... Yes this upload and post did take well over an hour. But very worth it :D ]

Revolution Renaissance - Age Of Aquarius (2009) (Full Album)

2009-03-22T19:26:00.008-04:00

Genre: power metal, melodic metal, symphonic metal, heavy metal, track 9: Folk Metal, Pagan Metal
About: The band line up alone should be enough to make you want this album:

Gus Monsanto - Vocals (Takara, Adagio (Fra), Overdose (Bra), Astra (Bra), Skyrion (Guest))
Timo Tolkki - Guitar (Stratovarius)
Justin Biggs - Bass (Descend (Swe), Dying Daylight)
Mike Khalilov - Keyboards (Empyreon, Forevers Edge)
Bruno Agra - Drums (Aquaria, Uirapuru)

But if not, just think of Stratovarius but with a more full, enveloping sound. This is a great debut album with this line-up. (Plus infinitely times better than that Saana crap. If you don't know what I'm referring to don't even look it up.) But the real gem of this album is the last track, "Into the Future", an uplifting melodic-folk-pagan masterpiece.

Sorry for the duplicate track, I may fix it later

Also...There seems to be multiple track listings, and since their official site does not have it, I'm using the most widespread one. Guessing metal-archives.com is wrong.

1. Age of Aquarius
2. Sins of My Beloved
3. Ixion’s Wheel
4. Behind The Mask
5. Ghost of Fallen Grace
6. Heart of All
7. So She Wears Black
8. Kyrie Eleison
9. Into The Future

Download

Gone Too Soon: The Absolute Best of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (2009) (Unofficial Compilation)

2009-03-19T12:27:00.008-04:00

Genre: Progressive Rock, Classic Rock, ...later songs: Experimental, Avant-Garde, Jazz, Melodic Rock
About: Arguably the most talented and influential Progressive Rock band of all time. I compiled this tracklist because I was so annoyed at how selective and overall bad the "official" best of's and box sets and compilations are. They often just have the chart-toppers which, if you know anything about pop music they are often not all the artist's best songs.

So, I have included what I feel are their best songs, which spans from their first album in 1970 to their last in 1994. I spent a significant amount of time picking these 25 tracks, and I have listened to every album in their catalog, multiple times in the past so I have a good feel for what their best songs are.

There is at least one song from every studio album, plus Pictures at an Exhibition, often multiple songs from each album. It is in chronological order, so you will get a feel for how their sound has progressed over time. From a Classic Sound, to more Progressive and Experimental, to just plain Avant-Garde/Jazz on a track such as "Bullfrog", then back to the Progressive Classic style in the 90's, only somewhat more Melodic Rock-styled.

Enjoy! And if you like it, spread the word!

Track List (2:05:33):

1970 - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer
1. Take a Pebble (12:32)
2. Lucky Man (4:38)

1971 - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Tarkus
3. Stones of Years (3:44)
4. Iconoclast (1:16)
5. Mass (3:12)
6. A Time and a Place (3:02)
7. Are You Ready Eddy? (2:10)

1971 - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Pictures at An Exhibition (Live)
8. The Hut of Baba Yaga (1:06)
9. The Great Gates of Kiev (5:12)

1972 - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Trilogy
10. The Endless Enigma (Part Two) (2:03)
11. From the Beginning (4:16)
12. Hoedown (3:47)

1973 - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery
13. Jerusalem (2:44)
14. Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Pt. 2 (4:46)

1977 - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Works, Volume 1: Black
15. C'est La Vie (4:20)
16. L.A. Nights (5:46)
17. Fanfare for the Common Man (9:46)

1977 - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Works, Volume 2: White
18. Tiger in a Spotlight (4:35)
19. Bullfrog (3:52)
20. I Believe in Father Christmas (3:19)

1978 - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Love Beach
21. Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman (20:16)

1992 - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Black Moon
22. Affairs of the Heart (3:47)
23. Changing States (6:02)

1994 - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - In The Hot Seat
24. Hand of Truth (5:23)
25. Gone Too Soon (4:12)

Download pt 1
Download pt 2

Summoning - Stronghold (1999) (320 kbps mp3)

2009-03-17T16:09:00.013-04:00

Genre: Epic Symphonic Atmospheric Pagan Black Metal
About: It's rather fitting that for my 100th post I have the most epic band and album of all time. The band is heavily inspired by the POEMS of J.R.R Tolkien rather than his books (More specifically this album is based on tales of the Nibelungs, Rhein Gold, Siegfried and Brunhild).

Every song just has this epic feeling like you're riding on the back of a Flaming Minotaur through an infinite battlefield slaying trolls while you're being fired at from a Pirate ship in the middle of a typhoon. Also, they have the best logo ever. (EDIT- I stand corrected.) If your heart is currently beating (or even if it's not) you NEED to hear this album.

More detailed reviews here

(For those wondering, the singer in track 5 is Tania Borsky, Richard Lederer's ex-girlfriend who sings for the band "Die Verbannten Kinder Evas"... that band is not metal but it has a similar epic atmosphere)

Download pt 1
Download pt 2

Austrian Death Machine - A Very Brutal Christmas (2008) (EP/Single) (As I Lay Dying side-project)

2009-03-16T01:23:00.009-04:00

Genre: Thrash Metal, Metalcore, Hardcore, Comedy
About: "Austrian Death Machine is a metalcore/groove/thrash metal band from San Marcos, California. They are a side project by As I Lay Dying’s vocalist Tim Lambesis, as a tribute to Arnold Schwarzenegger one liners."
-stolen from last.fm

This is worth getting for the Jingle Bells cover alone. It goes into the most amazing riff/breakdown two thirds through that I just cannot explain in words. It's inspired by the movie "Jingle all the way." I also love the dialogue in track three. "I don't care, I want your leather jacket NAOWWWWWWWW!!!!" Track 2 is the first single from their 2007 album "Total Brutal."

1. Jingle Bells 03:01
2. Get to the Choppa 02:47
3. Hell Bent For Leather (Judas Priest cover) 02:57

Download

Mägo de Oz - Barakaldo D.F. (2008) (Live Concert Audio)

2009-03-16T00:41:00.007-04:00

Genre: Folk Metal, Power Metal, Heavy Metal
About: This live album has many of my favorite songs from them starting off with the explosive "La Voz Dormida". The band sounds as tight as ever. This also features the melodic rock band "Nexx" former singer, Patricia Tapia, on backing vocals. Plus a power metal version of a Mozart Composition, which is quite amazing.

This concert was recorded sometime between the 2005 album "Gaia II: La Voz Dormida" and their 2007 album "La Ciudad De Los Árboles" so that is why I have it tagged as 2007. A band with so many albums as Mago De Oz it is easier in my opinion to add a date before the album names.

Download pt 1
Download pt 2

Moonspell - Lusitanian Metal (DVD Audio) (2008) - Separate mp3 tracks

2009-03-02T19:03:00.006-05:00

Genre: Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, Black Metal, Gothic Metal
About: Moonspell is fantastic live. I had the good fortune to see them supporting Danzig (who sucks arse btw), and it was just awesome. The song Vampiria actually made me shake because of the atmosphere and how well it was played and the beautiful yet creepy red lights. Here is the track list for this concert.

Live At The City Of Ravens (Metalmania, Poland 2004):
1. Intro
2. In and Above Men
3. From Lowering Skies
4. Alma Mater
5. Vampiria
6. The Southern Deathstyle
7. Everything Invaded
8. Opium
9. Devilred
10. Abysmo
11. Ruin & Misery
12. Mephisto
13. Full Moon Madness

If you so wish, you can buy a 2-DVD set which includes: this concert, all of their music videos up to 2005, and various live footage from 1992-2005!

(I'm not sure why they have no material on here from post-2005, maybe they thought they were better a few years ago?)

Download

HeimatAerde (Discography 2008) - COMPLETE

2009-03-01T15:11:00.003-05:00

Genre: Electronic body music, Dark Electro, Industrial, Medieval, Techno
About: This is quite simply the most unique band I have ever heard. Whether you like Techno, Death Metal, or Pop, this will appeal to you.**

The lyrics are all in German but who cares, the music is awesome. They also have medieval themes, less prevalent than in their older albums but it can be heard in their latest full-length too, such as at the beginning of "Vater" and at the end of their self-titled track. Here are some loosly-translated lyrics from that track:

"The life of light, I am full of pain
It rips out my heart bleed

The wind, he says, it is now
The body is resting in my arm
Steam rises up, it is still warm
You stay with me, I tear out"

**= Strongly recommended that you do the robot while listening

And here is some information about the genres:
Electronic body music (mainly known by its acronym EBM) is a music genre that combines elements of industrial music and electronic punk music. Dark Electro originally included horror soundscapes, and grunts or distorted vocals. Industrial uses an “industrial” aesthetic such as imagery devised around mechanical objects and industry itself.

Here is the band's official "biography":
http://www.heimataerde.de/heimataerde_eng/info_frame_eng.htm

HeimatAerde - Ich Hab Die Nacht Getraeumet (CDM)(2004)
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HeimatAerde - Gotteskrieger (2005)
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HeimatAerde - Kadavergehorsam (2006)
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HeimatAerde - Unter Der Linden (CDM)(2006)
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HeimatAerde - Leben Geben Leben Nehmen (2007)
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HeimatAerde - Vater (CDM)(2008)
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