Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

OK, so here's the plan:
Every Thursday, I will listen to an album and post a review of it, track by track. I suppose this COULD go into the "what are you listening to?" section, but I kinda felt like it deserved its own thing...'what are you listening to?' feels more like an 'at the moment' thing and this is intended to be a full-on review...


First up, Metallica - Kill 'Em All

Hit the Lights - a fantastic way to kick off an album, and just a great introductory pump-up song for just about anything...i wish they would play this song earlier in their sets these days. it's been relegated to an encore song, but i think it'd work AWESOME as a second or third song of the night...

The Four Horsemen - this might be the defining song on the album. at the very least, it's arguable that this is the truest METALLICA song on the album and the one that holds their identity best. musical chops abound both in a thrash-like sense and melodic harmonies. with all due respect to Dave Mustaine, the lyrics here are far and away infinitely better than The Mechanix.

Motorbreath - kinda a weak song. feels like something Megadeth would be very happy with...simplistic lyrics and just a quick, short burst of energy...and yet it is credited SOLELY to James Hetfield with no credit to Mustaine and is one of like three songs in the history of the band not to be credited to Lars

Jump in the Fire - something about this song speaks to me. it's just really cool. love that solo at the end...and of course, the improvement lyrically over Mustaine's sophomorish originals is just incredible

Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth) - gotta respect Cliff Burton...RIP

Whiplash - whiplash was at one point, quite the metallica live staple-song. it's not too hard to see why, this is an obvious anthem to the fans and it's relentless assault is almost wholly enjoyable

Phantom Lord - meh...it just doesn't POP like so many other songs on this album...also, as huge of a metallica fan as i am, and as much as i can sing along with just about every song there is...this is one song where i've never been able to pick up the lyrics...this is probably my most skipped song on this album

No Remorse - great song. just an all-around great song

Seek & Destroy - gotta love seek...the only complaint i could have, if i'm looking for one, is that this song shows a lot of that NWOBHM influence...almost sounds like a Diamond Head song

Metal Militia - again, not a bad song (i have a newfound respect for it after having seen it live a few years ago and being blown away) but not a great song either

Ultimately, as a debut, this is better than a lot of bands ever do, there's really not any filler (Phantom Lord MAYBE but that song was on their original demo, so THEY liked it...) and we see the birth of thrash as its own unique style

As a whole, the album is actually, imho, LESS than the sum of its parts. There are some FANTASTIC tracks on this album and only one or two that aren't that good, but when put together the overall feel is one of a band that hasn't quite found its own identity yet. The influences from the NWOBHM stuff is in full evidence, and while Kirk Hammett does some good work here, many of his leads either borrow heavily or rip completely from the groundwork that Mustaine already laid out (not too difficult to see why Mustaine has repeatedly said that while he is willing to/already has burried the hatchet with Ulrich/Hetfield, he has no interest in becoming pals with Kirk). Still, NOBODY had seen anything quite like this before...Motorhead dabbled in it (though Lemmy's voice leads to their 'thrashy' sound more than anything else), Judas Priest played around with it, and some of those NWOBHM bands flirted with it, but NOBODY had done a full-on thrash album like this one yet. This was the birth of a genre, and the birth of a legendary band and it would be an important album for that alone even if the album itself was not good at all (though it is quite good).

as a quick anecdote, this was my SECOND metallica album, after the black album...the culture shock from enter sandman/sad but true/unforgiven to hit the lights/whiplash/no remorse was stunning to say the least...

I'm not going to do a track by track, but I will definitely take up this task with you. At least for a couple thursdays a month if I can't remember to do it on every one of them.



As much as I'd like to expound the music on this album, there's just no way to do so without droning on at length about its obvious influences: Blue Oyster Cult, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Mercyful Fate, etc. Instead, I'll simply say that this is the best "throwback" album I've ever heard. It religiously adheres to everything which dictated the sound of 70's rock and the progenitors of heavy metal. There are a few sections which tip a hat to the more familiar areas of doom metal, but overall the music just sounds like a Satanic Blue Oyster Cult. The vocals are reminiscent of the high pitches of King Diamond, without resorting to the dramatic wails or growls. Even if you're not a metal fan, this album is spilling over with catchy rock anthems that'll have you singing worship for Satan before you know it. The instrumental track at the end even has a very video-game soundtrack vibe to it, much like something you might hear while playing R-Type, Lifeforce/Salamander or any other old space-shooters.

Ghost steals your soul on the first listen, and you'll just keep on coming back for more. Buy this album and support an amazing band! If you're ever able to catch a live show, you MUST go see them. They're the best live band I've seen in a very long time.

Highlights: Con Clavi Con Dio, Elizabeth, Stand By Him, Death Knell, Genesis

week 2:
Metallica - Ride the Lightning

Fight Fire with Fire - If this song didn't floor you the first time you heard it, i don't think you have a pulse...

Ride the Lightning - the band settles in and delivers a crushing anthem of a song. the solo here is phenomenal

For Whom the Bell Tolls - quick story: after getting The Black Album for Xmas, I bought Kill 'Em All and Ride the Lightning the same day...I did not care for Kill 'Em All and Ride the Lightning was not off to a good start for me...mostly due to SHOCK -- Could this be the same band that recorded The Unforgiven??? Anyway, if not for this song, I might not be a Metallica fan...this song has so many great hooks in it and awesome bass work by Cliff

Fade to Black - this is my all-time favorite Metallica song...everything about it is just fantastic: the main guitar riff, the various solos, the fast second-half, the double-bass kicks towards the very end...

Trapped Under Ice - this song is a bit of a middle of the road song...it's fine and i don't have any problems with it (it even has some great parts) but there's just a bit too long of a hold on the iiiicccccccccccccccccccccceee that is a bit of a turnoff

Escape - one of the arguments people make against the "new" Metallica is "they never had a filler song until Load/ReLoad". I think people only make that argument because they completely forget about Escape and really, who could blame them? This is an utterly forgettable song and represents nothing about who or what Metallica really is at any point in their career...

Creeping Death - with For Whom the Bell Tolls and Fade to Black also taking up real-estate it seems almost disrespectful to claim that this is probably the most iconic song on this album but let's face it, Creeping Death is so rarely left out of a set, and the "Die! Die!" chants have been a major part of every live metallica show for so long that there's no denying this song's importance. i love creeping death.

The Call of Ktulu - i know Anesthesia is an instrumental, but in a lot of ways i look at this as Metallica's first instrumental, and what a rousing one it is!

Ride the Lightning as an album is the first essentially METALLICA album...there are still some NWOBHM influences on display, but songs like Fight Fire with Fire, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Fade to Black and Creeping Death are pure Metallica.

Kirk Hammett finally begins to create his own voice and Cliff Burton keeps rolling out the great stuff.
Hetfield even allows himself to SING a little bit here and the maturation of the music is a HUGE plus...


this is one of Metallica's "Big Three" albums, but for me, it is the weakest of the three...a song like Escape just can't exist on a band's "Best Album Ever"
if not for Escape though, there wouldn't be anything even resembling or anywhere close to a 'bad' track on this entire album.
phenomenal is putting it mildly and yet the best was yet to come...

Falconer have already cemented themselves as one of the best power metal bands, if not the best, to come out of Sweden. If you've ever looked into the history of Falconer, you've probably also found band leader Stefan Weinerhall's previous band, Mithotyn. Mithotyn was heavily influenced by Viking Metal and Folk Metal and they put out some exceptional albums underneath the banner of those genres. When Stefan started up Falconer, a lot of that sound was morphed into the new band's riffing, but was nowhere near the forefront of the instrumentation.

With all that said, the new Falconer album, Armod, is a step back toward Stefan's days in Mithotyn, while still retaining the values that make the band Falconer. There is a much heavier folk influence to the music, similar to the track or two per album up to this point that have been sung in Swedish and incorporated more folk elements. If you're a fan of previous songs like Himmel SÃ¥ Trind or Vargaskall, then there will be plentiful things about this album you'll enjoy.

However, not all things are folk-like when listening to Armod. Track 3, Griftefrid, features prolonged segments of blast beats, which Falconer have never used before up to this point. It's shocking to hear on first listen, but brings a new sound to the band that's surprisingly not out of place (Mithotyn had also used blast beats). Another new sound from the band comes on the seventh track, Herr Peder Och Hans Syster. This is the longest of the album, featuring a very old-school Viking Metal riffing style and a slow, trudging pace akin to Enslaved's now-classic song, Havenless. Again, this sound is new to Falconer, but not altogether outside of the band's ability and ends up being one of the strongest tracks of the album.

The vocals are exceptional from Mattias Blad, as usual. Even though all of the songs are sung in Swedish, you can hear great emotional impact to how different lines are sung and certain syllables enunciated differently. The overall effect is beautiful and fits perfectly with the sound of the album in general. I find the same kind of transfixing sound while listening to the very operatic tonality of Till Lindemann, from Rammstein. You don't know the words, but the way they are sung is so interesting that you can't help but love it.

Overall, I'd say this is one of Falconer's strongest efforts to date. It may not always be the power metal you've come to expect from them, but the package is full of great songs that will have you headbanging and playing air-guitar despite the change in pace. You will be hard-pressed to find a better folk metal release this year.

My only big gripe with this album are the bonus tracks. All four of them are simply songs from the album, repeated with English lyrics. Not only do I feel a little cheated, but the English vocals do not fit with the music at all. It's obvious that these songs were meant to be sung in their native language, so English does not sound right after you've heard the way they are sung in Swedish. I'm not basing my score on this, since it is bonus material, but it is definitely something to think about before purchasing a more expensive copy of the album for these four tracks.

week 3:
Metallica - Master of Puppets

Battery - is there a better first track in Metallica history? Probably not, and considering that the weakest first track is probably either Ain't My "OH GODZILLA! WHAT TERRIBLE LANGUAGE!" or Frantic, there's some stiff competition running around. This song is pure awesome.

Master of Puppets - the quintessential Metallica song. Forget Enter Sandman, forget Sad But True, forget For Whom the Bell Tolls, THIS is the ULTIMATE Metallica song. The first time I saw this song performed live, I was BLOWN AWAY by how intense and LOUD the crowd became.

The Thing that Should Not Be - The second lovecraft-inspired Metallica song...this song CRUSHES along and is just a deep, dark, atmospheric, scary song.

Welcome Home (Sanitarium) - For me, this song is kind of in a class all its own in terms of Metallica ballads...it's one of the few that doesn't fade off and it's one of the few that features lyrics after the blistering solo...the main rhythm guitar for this song is BEAUTIFUL

Disposable Heroes - the PERFECT placement for this song...after a pair of songs that are not thrashy, here comes a thrashfest. excellent.

Leper Messiah - this song has a groove to it that will bring you in and then it ramps up the thrash towards the end.

Orion - My favorite of the Metallica instrumentals...the bass solo is INSANELY awesome...I thought it was guitar for the longest time...

Damage, Inc. - How can you not love this song? From the wierd and awesome opening (composed by Burton) to the insane thrash, this is pure win.


Master of Puppets stands in a class all its own in the heavy metal world, and in an elite class of albums in general. It is near-perfection in every aspect (save for production, which is bad on all but one or two Metallica albums anyway)...

This is the first purely METALLICA album, with no holdovers of NWOBHM or Dave Mustaine...it is just an incredible ride.


Master of Puppets is the greatest Metallica album. People will argue the point, but there is nothing here that approaches the decidedly bland feeling of Escape, and they actually allow every member of the band to shine (unlike on AJFA).

There's a reason this is CONSISTENTLY ranked as one of the two or three best metal albums ever...because it is.

In this week's edition of Music Thursdays we have: Music Friday!!!

ok, i forgot and then by the time i remembered, i was tired...

Metallica: ...And Justice for All

Blackened - This track blisters along at an awesome pace from the instant the intro ends. It functions well as a set opener, and it's a true classic

...And Justice for All - Continuing the tradition started with Ride of being a great, epic, title-track in the #2 position. It can seem a little bloated at times when you just want something to thrash to, but there's no denying the power of this song.

Eye of the Beholder - This song doesn't do a whole lot for me. It's not at all bad, it just seems a little low-key...

One - What's not to love about One? The music video is awesome too.

Shortest Straw - Not only is this a great song, it's awesome live.

Harvester of Sorrow - talk about great songs...harvester of sorrow is a brutal punisher of a song. I wish this song was played more live in place of Sad But True...

Frayed Ends of Sanity - Another one that just doesn't quite make it for me...it might be the kinda cheesy Wizard of Oz flying monkeys OhWeeOh in the beginning, and it might be that the song seems to lack some energy, but it just doesn't quite measure up to the rest of this album

To Live is to Die - This song is bubbling with emotion. Written from a bunch of collected Cliff Burton riffs, you can feel the mixture of sorrow and rage at losing a friend in this song...

Dyer's Eve - talk about rage...this thrash-fest stews in rage.


All in all, this is another album that can't have enough praise heaped upon it.
Sure, the bass is WAY too low in the mix and the production as a whole is bad, but well...welcome to the wonderful world of Metallica...

While I do love the album one minor complaint is the length and complexity of some of the songs...it can occasionally make the album a bit of a chore to listen to, less fun and enjoyable than Ride or Puppets, for example



Oh and in case anyone was wondering on how I'd rate the first 4 Metallica albums:
Kill 'em all - 7/10
Ride the Lightning - 8/10
Master of Puppets - 10/10
...And Justice for All - 9/10

Metallica - Metallica

Enter Sandman - you might think as a fan of more than just Metallica's hits that I would be sick of this song, or perhaps even dislike it...you would be wrong. This song is amazing. I love so very many things about Enter Sandman, not the least of which is the structure of the song itself. It's not at all hard to see how this song vaulted them to a new level of fame

Sad But True - speaking of hit songs...this is one I actually am sick of...it's not a bad song but, The Thing that Should Not Be and For Whom the Bell Tolls have both been here, done it, and done it better

Holier Than Thou - big fan of this song...it has a bite and a punch to it that is undeniable while maintaining a hook

The Unforgiven - this song is quite simply put AMAZING. everything (and i mean EVERYTHING) in this song works to perfection.

Wherever I May Roam - once upon a time, I loved this song...it's not at all a bad track, but i think this one's a victim of overplaying...

Don't Tread on Me - great song. hops along nicely

Through the Never - the middle of this song is what clinches its awesomeness to me...

Nothing Else Matters - this is a decent song, and i always like to see solos from Hetfield, but i feel like this is the first (though it wouldn't be the last) time Hetfield pushed a song that had personal meaning to him onto an album without really considering whether it was right for the album or right for Metallica. In this case, it actually is, but there are future examples where it's not (and the weird part is, one of those songs is actually a song i really like...just not on its album...we'll get there though)

Of Wolf and Man - I used to listen to this song every single Monday morning through speakers in my locker to get myself amped up for the week. great track

The God that Failed - there's some cool stuff happening here...i always listen for the shotgun-cocking that you can hear in the background

My Friend of Misery - Jason Newstead claims he started working on this song thinking it was going to be the instrumental for the album. it would have been better off that way...the bass line that starts the song is really cool (and would provide for some neat bass solos in live shows later on) but the song itself is nothing special

Struggle Within - this song just doesn't quite click for me. there's nothing wrong with it, especially being one of the thrashier songs on the album, but something about it just seems a little off



The Black Album is a watershed moment for Metallica, its fans, and the musical world as a whole and with so much weight riding on it, it's kind of a surprisingly uneven record. The highs (Enter Sandman, Unforgiven) are positively meteoric, showing a band that has matured without losing sight of itself...capable of great things while staying true to the young rebels that first started playing together ten years previously...
the lows, however, (My Friend of Misery, Struggle Within) feel like straight-up filler material, and with a run-time of over an hour and twelve tracks, it's somewhat surprising that one or two of these weaker tracks wasn't left off

As an album, it's a very good if not great offering.

It is a foreshadower of some less-than-awesome records to come but its importance cannot be overstated.
I would bet money that more than three quarters of people who have come to Metallica since 1991 have done so through this album.

It was my first Metallica album and it's a wonderful bridge to the places Metallica would go and had gone. You can take a step or two back to Justice or Puppets or forward to Load/ReLoad or Death Magnetic and feel right at home with this band.
The only albums it doesn't bridge with well are Kill 'Em All and St. Anger.


To this day, I offer up either The Black Album or Master of Puppets to people curious about who/what Metallica is. Puppets is for people who are already metal fans, but this album is a gateway drug of sorts...

Initial Reaction: I don't know what the "OH GODZILLA! WHAT TERRIBLE LANGUAGE!" I'm listening to when "Too Extreme!" is playing, but it makes me want to punch these guys right in the face. Repeatedly. I want to feel the bloody ruin of their skulls against my utterly broken hand as I continually hit them. I guess I'm just not a fan of industrial metal, except that I have listened to Ministry and their ilk in the past and it wasn't even this bad. This is derivative and completely bereft of enjoyable qualities.

After listening to the full album: Among the swill that Morbid Angel are trying to pass off as industrial metal, there are some actual death metal songs thrown in which aren't terrible, but also aren't memorable at all. I can think of at least a dozen other death metal releases this year that I've listened to and have had at least one song pop out at me. The only songs popping out at me from this one are the horrible ones. There are so many things that you shouldn't do taking place on this album that it would take me all day to write up a review detailing them. There are now plenty of other reviews that have covered the majority of these faults as it is.

There are also a good number of reviewers who seem to be OK with this album, which vexes me. I guess after such a long break in releases, even the most perfunctory of death metal from this band would please a lot of fans. I'm not one of those people, as I've only recently started getting into Morbid Angel's catalog. Comparing just the death metal songs on this album to any one of the past albums is enough to earn it a low score from me... possibly only in the mediocre 50% range. However, this album is highly hampered by the aforementioned atrocities of the industrial segments. Absolutely a change in the wrong direction for this band unless for some reason they learn how to do it right next time around. I have faith in their musicianship, but I fear that they just don't understand that style well enough to do it right. Radikult might be the best one on this album, but it still falls well short of anything I'd ever want to listen to again.

Overall, mediocre brutal death metal songs interspersed with some of the most banal "industrial" metal you'll ever listen to, makes this album out to be one of the worst of the year and not worth your time unless you're a sadistic "OH GODZILLA! WHAT TERRIBLE LANGUAGE!" who thinks there has got to be at least one good song here. Good luck with that. I'm throwing this CD away. It's not even worth using as a beer coaster.