01. Anthem - Anthem - Blind City
02. Armored Saint - Symbol Of Salvation - Warzone
03. Metal Inquisitor - Doomsday For The Heretic - Infamia
04. Briton Rites - For Mircalla - All Hallowed Vengeance
05. Jag Panzer - Ample Destruction - Harder Than Steel
06. Tank - Filth Hounds Of Hades - ShellShock
07. Manowar - Battle Hymns - Shell Shock
08. Slauter Xstroyes - Free The Beast - Syncopated Angel
09. Steel Horse - Wild Power - Run To Survive
10. Enforcer - Diamonds - Live For The Night
11. Valkija - Avengers Of Steel - Son Of Thunder
12. Paul Chain Violet Theatre - In The Darkness - Mortuary Hearse
13. Black Sabbath - Headless Cross - Black Moon
14. Primeval Realm - Doomed From The Beginning - Galaxy Lifter
15. Altar Of Oblivion - Sinews Of Anguish - Stainless Steel
16. Dekapitator - We Will Destroy... You Will Obey - Haunted By Evil
17. Razor - Custom Killing - Going Under
18. Pestilence - Malleus Malificarum - Chemo Therapy
19. Living Death - Protected From Reality - Vengeance (Horrible Infanticide Part Two)
20. Dark Angel - Darkness Descends - Merciless Death
21. Sabbat - Dreamweaver - Wildfire
IRON MAIDEN HOUR
22. Iron Maiden - Maiden Japan EP - Innocent Exile
23. Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier - Isle Of Avalon
24. Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden
25. Iron Maiden - Dance of Death - Face In The Sand
26. Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier - Mother Of Mercy
27. Iron Maiden - Maiden Japan EP - Killers
28. Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier - Starblind
29. Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time - Wasted Years
30. Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind - Quest For Fire
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Paul Chain Violet Theatre - In The Darkness
Italian magister Paul Chain has created, maybe, one of the most indiscriminate legacies to ever exist in the nether regions of underground metal. No one has heard of him, even though he’s released more than fourteen albums under the Paul Chain and Paul Chain Violet Theatre brand. Maybe it’s the lack of label notoriety - I’ve never heard of Minotauro before looking into this guy - or maybe it’s that his mix of doom and psychedelia has both ostracized both doom fans and fans of the more experimental and trippy psychedelic sounds of the seventies. I think, it has something to do with being Italian - one of the most overlooked countries in metal output. Being Italian and releasing a metal album is almost a sure-fire ticket to destruction and failure. Whatever the reason, people are missing out on prime and optimal listening experiences and there should be a concerted effort to raise the awareness of Paul Chain to more than those interested in Death SS.
“In The Darkness” is like watching Rocky Horror Picture Show if it was scored by Claudio Simonetti and Goblin with a perpetually drunk novice version of Alice Cooper on vocals. Obviously, a strange and marginal atmosphere is present here. Creepy is an easy way out of describing it, a word that will pop up continuously however there is something more here: a violence akin to a little girl stabbing dolls with pins while staring in your eyes. A deep seated sadism is present through the album, especially on opener “Welcome To My Hell,” a drifting piece that could be the soundtrack to the bullied kid in the fetal position rocking in the corner. Early Death SS vocalist Sanctis Ghoram contributes these wailing, lost vocals which sometimes get caught in his throat and are delivered as screeches instead of a crooning.
With second track “Meat” we get the first of a series of more doomy songs. Paul Chain has kept the songs compositionally simple. “Meat”, “Crazy”, and “Woman And Knife” all play out structurally like typical compositions with recognizable bridges and verses and choruses. Crazy is definitely single material, simple, some great rock licks, and a definite Ozzy era Sabbath vibe akin to “Paranoid“ with it‘s short quick solo, and catchy yet inconspicuous riffs. Though they remain awkward due to the inclusion of Ghoram’s vocals and certain off-putting details and elements, they allow the album to have what may be deemed as “singles.” “Meat” sounds a bit like the more experimental Sabbath tracks mixed with other doom of the period like Vitus, Pentagram etc. but to blanket label this as “another of those” is foolish.
“War” gets the largest chunk of time of the individual tracks. An odd choice, especially at this period of the album - only three songs in, breaking the momentum with a seven minute long psychedelic / ambient / moody track. It’s got the pulse of a heart-attack victim and the mood of the aftermath of their death. It’s like sitting in a hospital room around the dead body after the doctor told you they’re dead. To say it’s an ugly sad song wouldn’t be truly accurate, it’s got some breathy and cosmic moments mixed with aloe coated keyboard melodies.
“Grey Life” sets the pace for the second half of the album which is much more of a rock and roll styled side than the more psychedelic / experimental A side. It’s got four tracks which all pound home the Paul Chain style into your brain like an LSD trip from hell. It’s a monumentally heavy track with a ton of high pitched feedback revealing a hammer-like main riff. Ghoram adds some mentally wounded vocals atop the riff to the effect of some of Lee Dorian’s vocals in early Cathedral such as some of his more exotic grumbling on Soul Sacrifice. “Mortuary Hearse” easily is my favorite track on this - it’s almost in the style of early speed metal, like Razor slowed down with a hazed out guitar distortion. While it’s structured pretty simply it also contains some more classy guitar moments such as the melodies after the first movement. It purveys a dreadful uneasiness. “Woman and Knife” also end up on the B-side of the album.
The title track ends out the release, starting with a noisy clatter, then trudging through abandoned riffs into vast flowing movements. Thomas “Hand” Chaste, another of Paul Chain’s Death SS buddies, provides one of the most massive kick drum tones in the history of music during the second verse, Ghoram is once again demented, and Claud Galley’s bass dips in and out of rhythmic consciousness throughout, dynamically altering the song so that it’s like being chased by Jack The Ripper and feeling your heart beat rise and fall with every fleeting image of the killer darting in and out of dark and dreary passages. In a sense, that’s how this whole release is, just a dynamic vast maze full of hidden sounds and effects in corners and crevices you simply won’t see the first time you listen.
“In The Darkness” is like watching Rocky Horror Picture Show if it was scored by Claudio Simonetti and Goblin with a perpetually drunk novice version of Alice Cooper on vocals. Obviously, a strange and marginal atmosphere is present here. Creepy is an easy way out of describing it, a word that will pop up continuously however there is something more here: a violence akin to a little girl stabbing dolls with pins while staring in your eyes. A deep seated sadism is present through the album, especially on opener “Welcome To My Hell,” a drifting piece that could be the soundtrack to the bullied kid in the fetal position rocking in the corner. Early Death SS vocalist Sanctis Ghoram contributes these wailing, lost vocals which sometimes get caught in his throat and are delivered as screeches instead of a crooning.
With second track “Meat” we get the first of a series of more doomy songs. Paul Chain has kept the songs compositionally simple. “Meat”, “Crazy”, and “Woman And Knife” all play out structurally like typical compositions with recognizable bridges and verses and choruses. Crazy is definitely single material, simple, some great rock licks, and a definite Ozzy era Sabbath vibe akin to “Paranoid“ with it‘s short quick solo, and catchy yet inconspicuous riffs. Though they remain awkward due to the inclusion of Ghoram’s vocals and certain off-putting details and elements, they allow the album to have what may be deemed as “singles.” “Meat” sounds a bit like the more experimental Sabbath tracks mixed with other doom of the period like Vitus, Pentagram etc. but to blanket label this as “another of those” is foolish.
“War” gets the largest chunk of time of the individual tracks. An odd choice, especially at this period of the album - only three songs in, breaking the momentum with a seven minute long psychedelic / ambient / moody track. It’s got the pulse of a heart-attack victim and the mood of the aftermath of their death. It’s like sitting in a hospital room around the dead body after the doctor told you they’re dead. To say it’s an ugly sad song wouldn’t be truly accurate, it’s got some breathy and cosmic moments mixed with aloe coated keyboard melodies.
“Grey Life” sets the pace for the second half of the album which is much more of a rock and roll styled side than the more psychedelic / experimental A side. It’s got four tracks which all pound home the Paul Chain style into your brain like an LSD trip from hell. It’s a monumentally heavy track with a ton of high pitched feedback revealing a hammer-like main riff. Ghoram adds some mentally wounded vocals atop the riff to the effect of some of Lee Dorian’s vocals in early Cathedral such as some of his more exotic grumbling on Soul Sacrifice. “Mortuary Hearse” easily is my favorite track on this - it’s almost in the style of early speed metal, like Razor slowed down with a hazed out guitar distortion. While it’s structured pretty simply it also contains some more classy guitar moments such as the melodies after the first movement. It purveys a dreadful uneasiness. “Woman and Knife” also end up on the B-side of the album.
The title track ends out the release, starting with a noisy clatter, then trudging through abandoned riffs into vast flowing movements. Thomas “Hand” Chaste, another of Paul Chain’s Death SS buddies, provides one of the most massive kick drum tones in the history of music during the second verse, Ghoram is once again demented, and Claud Galley’s bass dips in and out of rhythmic consciousness throughout, dynamically altering the song so that it’s like being chased by Jack The Ripper and feeling your heart beat rise and fall with every fleeting image of the killer darting in and out of dark and dreary passages. In a sense, that’s how this whole release is, just a dynamic vast maze full of hidden sounds and effects in corners and crevices you simply won’t see the first time you listen.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Playlist: 08/18/10
01. Burning Starr - No Turning Back - Road Warrior
02. Slauter Xstroyes - Winter Kill - City Of Sirtel
03. Iron Man - I Have Returned - Run From The Night
04. Iced Earth - The Dark Saga - The Hunter
05. Candlemass - King Of The Grey Islands - Of Stars And Smoke
06. Coroner - Punishment For Decadence - Sudden Fall
07. Dark Angel - Darkness Descends - Merciless Death
08. Watchtower - Energetic Disassembly - Tyrants In Distress
09. Intruder - Live To Die - Live To Die *
10. Cannibal Corpse - Tomb Of The Mutilated - Hammer Smashed Face *
11. Jag Panzer - Ample Destruction - Licensed To Kill *
12. Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier - Mother Of Mercy
13. Metal Inquisitor - Doomsday For The Heretic - Infamia
14. Enforcer - Diamonds - Katana
15. Triptykon - Eparistera Daimones - In Shrouds Decayed
16. Hatred Embraced - Suffering Of The Holy - Suffering Of The Holy
17. Haethen - Wanderer - The Light Bereaved
18. Crucifixionhammer - Graveyard Lust - Evil Wishes
19. Slaughter - Strappado - Tales Of The Macabre
20. Obituary - The End Complete - The End Complete
21. Dismember - Like An Everflowing Stream - And So Is Life
22. Hammerfall - Renegade EP - Renegade
23. Omen - Battlecry - In The Arena
24. Forefather - Steadfast - Mellowing Of The Mains
25. Primordial - To The Nameless Dead - Traitors Gate
26. 1349 - Demonoir - Pandemonium War Bells
27. Arphaxat - Loudun La Maudite - Regne Eternal
28. Akercocke - Choronzon - Valley Of The Crucified
29. Tales Of Dark - Fragile Monuments - Towering Grief Behemoth
30. Hail Of Bullets - Of Frost And War - Berlin
31. WinterRealm - Ouroboros - Spring
* Requests - Tony
02. Slauter Xstroyes - Winter Kill - City Of Sirtel
03. Iron Man - I Have Returned - Run From The Night
04. Iced Earth - The Dark Saga - The Hunter
05. Candlemass - King Of The Grey Islands - Of Stars And Smoke
06. Coroner - Punishment For Decadence - Sudden Fall
07. Dark Angel - Darkness Descends - Merciless Death
08. Watchtower - Energetic Disassembly - Tyrants In Distress
09. Intruder - Live To Die - Live To Die *
10. Cannibal Corpse - Tomb Of The Mutilated - Hammer Smashed Face *
11. Jag Panzer - Ample Destruction - Licensed To Kill *
12. Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier - Mother Of Mercy
13. Metal Inquisitor - Doomsday For The Heretic - Infamia
14. Enforcer - Diamonds - Katana
15. Triptykon - Eparistera Daimones - In Shrouds Decayed
16. Hatred Embraced - Suffering Of The Holy - Suffering Of The Holy
17. Haethen - Wanderer - The Light Bereaved
18. Crucifixionhammer - Graveyard Lust - Evil Wishes
19. Slaughter - Strappado - Tales Of The Macabre
20. Obituary - The End Complete - The End Complete
21. Dismember - Like An Everflowing Stream - And So Is Life
22. Hammerfall - Renegade EP - Renegade
23. Omen - Battlecry - In The Arena
24. Forefather - Steadfast - Mellowing Of The Mains
25. Primordial - To The Nameless Dead - Traitors Gate
26. 1349 - Demonoir - Pandemonium War Bells
27. Arphaxat - Loudun La Maudite - Regne Eternal
28. Akercocke - Choronzon - Valley Of The Crucified
29. Tales Of Dark - Fragile Monuments - Towering Grief Behemoth
30. Hail Of Bullets - Of Frost And War - Berlin
31. WinterRealm - Ouroboros - Spring
* Requests - Tony
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
08/11/10 Playlist
01. Judas Priest - Hell Bent For Leather - Delivering The Goods
02. Steel Horse - Wild Power - Run To Survive
03. Chastain - Ruler Of The Wasteland - Angel Of Mercy
04. Heathen - Breaking The Silence - Prey For Death* (Request: Tony - Paterson)
05. Enforcer - Diamonds - Run For The Night
06. Enforcer - Diamonds - Midnight Vice
07. Burning Starr - No Turning Back - Call Of The Wild
08. Burning Starr - No Turning Back - Road Warrior
09. Valkija - Avengers of Steel - Son Of Thunder
10. Slauter Xstroyes - Free The Beast - Battle Axe
11. Shadowkeep - A Chaos Theory - Believe
12. Manilla Road - Crystal Logic - Feeling Free Again
13. Briton Rites - For Mircalla - Vampire Hunter, 1600
14. Mortal Sin - Mayhemic Destruction - Lebanon
15. Vektor - Black Future - Asteroid
16. Forbidden - Forbidden Evil - March Into Fire* (Request: Tony - Paterson)
17. Razor - Custom Killing - Going Under
18. Morgoth - Odium - Resistance
19. Nominon - Monumentomb - Kevorkian Exit
20. Genocrush Ferox - The Sepulchre Strangulation - Death Is Just This
21. Morbid Angel - Covenant - The Lions Den
22. Burial Invocation - Rituals Of The Grotesque - Through The Void Of Obscurity
23. War Master - Thrones Of Tyranny 7" - Undead War Machine
24. Possessed - Seven Churches - Burning In Hell
25. Crucifixionhammer - Graveyard Lust - Ghouls Desecrate
26. Crucifixionhammer - Graveyard Lust - Evil Wishes
27. Hell Rot - Vomit Altar - Goat Chapel
28. Kaarmekristus - Ajan Lopun Alku - Kutsu (Invitation)
29. Kaarmekristus - Ajan Lopun Alku - Hanen Tyonsa
30. Winterrealm - Ouroboros - Spring (Consecration)
31. Winterrealm - Ouroboros - Winter (Banishing)
32. Absu - In The Eyes Of Ioldanach - Hallstatt
33. 1349 - Demonoir - Demonoir
34. Highgate - Shrines To The Warhead - Of Ruins
02. Steel Horse - Wild Power - Run To Survive
03. Chastain - Ruler Of The Wasteland - Angel Of Mercy
04. Heathen - Breaking The Silence - Prey For Death* (Request: Tony - Paterson)
05. Enforcer - Diamonds - Run For The Night
06. Enforcer - Diamonds - Midnight Vice
07. Burning Starr - No Turning Back - Call Of The Wild
08. Burning Starr - No Turning Back - Road Warrior
09. Valkija - Avengers of Steel - Son Of Thunder
10. Slauter Xstroyes - Free The Beast - Battle Axe
11. Shadowkeep - A Chaos Theory - Believe
12. Manilla Road - Crystal Logic - Feeling Free Again
13. Briton Rites - For Mircalla - Vampire Hunter, 1600
14. Mortal Sin - Mayhemic Destruction - Lebanon
15. Vektor - Black Future - Asteroid
16. Forbidden - Forbidden Evil - March Into Fire* (Request: Tony - Paterson)
17. Razor - Custom Killing - Going Under
18. Morgoth - Odium - Resistance
19. Nominon - Monumentomb - Kevorkian Exit
20. Genocrush Ferox - The Sepulchre Strangulation - Death Is Just This
21. Morbid Angel - Covenant - The Lions Den
22. Burial Invocation - Rituals Of The Grotesque - Through The Void Of Obscurity
23. War Master - Thrones Of Tyranny 7" - Undead War Machine
24. Possessed - Seven Churches - Burning In Hell
25. Crucifixionhammer - Graveyard Lust - Ghouls Desecrate
26. Crucifixionhammer - Graveyard Lust - Evil Wishes
27. Hell Rot - Vomit Altar - Goat Chapel
28. Kaarmekristus - Ajan Lopun Alku - Kutsu (Invitation)
29. Kaarmekristus - Ajan Lopun Alku - Hanen Tyonsa
30. Winterrealm - Ouroboros - Spring (Consecration)
31. Winterrealm - Ouroboros - Winter (Banishing)
32. Absu - In The Eyes Of Ioldanach - Hallstatt
33. 1349 - Demonoir - Demonoir
34. Highgate - Shrines To The Warhead - Of Ruins
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Playlist: 08/04/10
01. Blind Guardian - Battalions Of Fear - Majesty
02. Steel Horse - Wild Power - Run To Survive
03. Steel Horse - Wild Power - Burning Soul
04. Slauter Xstroyes - Winterkill - City Of Sirtel
05. Midnight - Complete And Total Fucking Midnight - Hot Graves
06. Judas Priest - Hell Bent For Leather - Delivering The Goods
07. Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak - Angel From The Coast
08. Dio - The Last In Line - I Speed At Night
09. Manowar - Battle Hymns - Fast Taker
10. Ross The Boss - New Metal Leader - Matador
11. Midnight Priest - Rainha Da Magia Negra - Rainha Da Magia Negra
12. Metal Inquisitor - Doomsday For The Heretic - Legion Of Grey
13. Fates Warning - Awaken The Guardian - Fata Morgana
14. Control Denied - The Fragile Art Of Existence - The Fragile Art Of Existence
15. Death - Leprosy - Open Casket
16. Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness - Evil Spells
17. Dream Death - Journey Into Mystery - Black Edifice
18. Razor - Evil Invaders - Iron Hammer
19. Razor - Custom Killing - Going Under
20. Sodom - Obsessed By Cruelty - Obsessed By Cruelty
21. Morbid Saint - Spectrum Of Death - Scars
22. Burial Invocation - Rituals Of The Grotesque - Through The Void Of Obscurity
23. Dismember - Like An Overflowing Stream - Override Of The Overture
24. Evoken - Shades Of Night Descending - Towers Of Frozen Dusk
25. Burzum - Det Som Engang Var - Lost Wisdom
26. Drudkh - Autumn Aurora - Fading
27. Drudkh - Autumn Aurora - Summoning The Rain
28. Drudkh - Autumn Aurora - Glare Of Autumn
29. Candlemass - Nightfall - Mourner's Lament
30. Black Sabbath - Paranoid - Electric Funeral
31. Apolion - On The Altar - On The Altar
32. Pentagram - Pentagram - Sign Of The Wolf
33. Pentagram - Pentagram - Relentless
02. Steel Horse - Wild Power - Run To Survive
03. Steel Horse - Wild Power - Burning Soul
04. Slauter Xstroyes - Winterkill - City Of Sirtel
05. Midnight - Complete And Total Fucking Midnight - Hot Graves
06. Judas Priest - Hell Bent For Leather - Delivering The Goods
07. Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak - Angel From The Coast
08. Dio - The Last In Line - I Speed At Night
09. Manowar - Battle Hymns - Fast Taker
10. Ross The Boss - New Metal Leader - Matador
11. Midnight Priest - Rainha Da Magia Negra - Rainha Da Magia Negra
12. Metal Inquisitor - Doomsday For The Heretic - Legion Of Grey
13. Fates Warning - Awaken The Guardian - Fata Morgana
14. Control Denied - The Fragile Art Of Existence - The Fragile Art Of Existence
15. Death - Leprosy - Open Casket
16. Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness - Evil Spells
17. Dream Death - Journey Into Mystery - Black Edifice
18. Razor - Evil Invaders - Iron Hammer
19. Razor - Custom Killing - Going Under
20. Sodom - Obsessed By Cruelty - Obsessed By Cruelty
21. Morbid Saint - Spectrum Of Death - Scars
22. Burial Invocation - Rituals Of The Grotesque - Through The Void Of Obscurity
23. Dismember - Like An Overflowing Stream - Override Of The Overture
24. Evoken - Shades Of Night Descending - Towers Of Frozen Dusk
25. Burzum - Det Som Engang Var - Lost Wisdom
26. Drudkh - Autumn Aurora - Fading
27. Drudkh - Autumn Aurora - Summoning The Rain
28. Drudkh - Autumn Aurora - Glare Of Autumn
29. Candlemass - Nightfall - Mourner's Lament
30. Black Sabbath - Paranoid - Electric Funeral
31. Apolion - On The Altar - On The Altar
32. Pentagram - Pentagram - Sign Of The Wolf
33. Pentagram - Pentagram - Relentless
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