Yes I am back with another episode of the SHREDBOX! Sorry for the delay, but I am back and I promise that this one was worth the wait! So without further rambles…

This week you get to learn about Swedish metal band Dream Evil. And yes I know this is the second Swedish metal band that I have featured. Though you have to realize that Sweden is the land of metal. The US has been slacking in putting out any new metal bands in the last 10 years. And what we do call metal here in the states usually is made up of a bunch of breakdowns and really awful screaming and growling. So to counteract that garbage we call metal, I look to Sweden. And thankfully they take on the task of bringing true metal to the world.

Dream Evil started as the brainchild of producer Fredrik Nordström, who had the vision of creating a metal band of his own for years. The problem was, he has a lot of trouble finding musicians who had the same vision of metal as he did. Though on one fateful day while in the Greek islands, he happened to bump into guitarist Gus G (Yes the same Gus G from firewind) and the two hit it off pretty well. Gus relocated to Gothenburg, where he and Fredrik starting collaborating right away on materials for the band. The only problem was, they now had to find other musicians who shared their vision of metal, and what better way to do so then to go and recruit from other bands?

Snowey Shaw (drummer) from King Diamond and Mercyful Fate was the first person they asked to become part of their new band. At first he was hesitant and declined the offer. But later decided to join them and play on the bands debut album Dragonslayer. Vocalist Niklas Isfeldt was contacted since he had done backing vocals for some of HammerFalls songs produced by Nordström, and since he was not involved in any major projects at the time, he agreed to take the position. Niklas also brought along his longtime friend Peter Stålfors who assumed bass duties. Funny thing is, up until their first promo shoot, the entire band had never been in the same place before. So this is the first time many of them had ever met!

The band was soon picked up by Century Media Records and had intended to call themselves DragonSlayer because of the medieval and fantasy themes of their songs. But Century Media cut that down quickly citing that it was uninspired and not original enough. So the band looked elsewhere for inspiration and came upon the Dio album entitled Dream Evil. Their first album was released in 2002 and the metal press was very accepting of them. Dragonslayer also reached #1 on the Japanese import charts which kicked off the start of the Japanese tour. While on tour they were invited by Hammerfall to support them on their European tour in 2003. And with such a large tour on the horizon, their manager decided that it would be best if they could have a new album out by then to promote. So while on the flight home they wrote the basis for many of the songs and entered the studio the next day. Within 2 weeks Evilized was recorded and ready to be promoted. One week later their European tour began.

After a very promising tour of Europe, the band took the needed time off to write their third album The Book Of Heavy Metal (in my opinion this is their best), which took them two months to write and record. But this would also be the last album Gus G would do with Dream Evil as he decided to leave the band in late 2004 to spend more time on his band Firewind. Gus was replaced by Mark Black who had filled in for Gus on some recordings and studio sessions previously. Also Snowy Shaw abruptly left the band at the start of 2006 and was replaced by Patrik Jerksten, a co-worker of Fredrik Nordstrom. In late 2006, their 4th album and their first featuring the new lineup was released on October 13th. The band stayed quiet for a little over a year and announced on march 3rd 2008 they had started work on a new studio album titled In the Night. The album still has no release date.

Yeah I know I usually have a writeup about each album. But really to enjoy and understand them, you do have to listen to them for yourselves. Blah Blah, I know what you’re saying “James that’s a bullshit cop-out”. Well in a way yes, but honestly you do need to listen to the albums yourself. And that’s why I have taken a clip from each album and placed it below. Sue me!

First off we have Kingdom of the Damned from their debut album Dragonslayer.

Next up is Made of Metal off their second album entitled Evilized.

Here we have Into the Moonlight off their third album Book of Heavy Metal.

And lastly, Kingdom of the Damned off their latest album United.

But sample clips alone cannot show how utterly metal this band is. To truly appreciate them, you must be able to see some of their videos!

First we have Book of Heavy Metal!

And if that wasn’t metal enough for you…

Fire, Battle, Metal!

For even more info about the band. Check out the website at http://www.dreamevil.se/. It has more pics, videos, tour dates, and so much more.

For all those readers who are curious of who was in the band and who is currently in the lineup…

Current Line-up
Niklas Isfeldt – Vocals
Daniel Varghamne – Lead Guitar
Fredrik Nordström – Rhythm Guitar
Peter Stålfors – Bass
Pat Power – Drums

Former members
Gus G. – Lead Guitar
Mark Black – Lead Guitar
Snowy Shaw – Drums
Jake E. Berg – Vocals
Tommy Larsson – Bass
 
Session musicians:
Magnus Olsfelt – Bass
Daniel Svensson – Drums
Klas Bas – Bass

Discography
Dragonslayer – (2002)
Evilized – (2003)
Children of the Night – (EP, 2003)
The First Chapter – (EP, 2004)
The Book of Heavy Metal – (2004)
United – (2006)
Gold Medal in Metal (Alive & Archive) – (2008)
In The Night – (TBA)

So there you have it, another edition of the ShredBox! Any comments/questions, please feel free to email me from the staff page or leave a comment below. Got any bands I should check out? Send me a message telling me what I’m missing! Thanks for checking out the article and until next time, Crank it up to 11 and LET THERE BE METAL!!!

Wanna be a writer for the site? Shoot me an email and I will answer any questions you may have! Also check out manapotions.com as they are an official sponsor of the site! Tell em James at the Sparkboxshow sent ya!

Sorry it’s late. But work decided that I needed to be there all week and give me no time for the site. But enough of this. It’s time again for another edition of the Shred Box! Who will I be talking about this week? You will just have to read more to find out.

This week we look at the long shredding career of one of my favorite bands out there, Iced Earth. Very few bands have been around as long as these guys have. And even thought Jon Shaffer is the only original band member left, his pride and caring for the band are the reasons it has become so prominent in the music scene. A little sidenote, they are awesome live! Mrs. James and I saw them in NYC at the Nokia theatre. It was so sweet!

The backbone and very reason for the band to have come into existence is the founding member and rhythm guitarist Jon Schaffer. And thats where we will start this weeks article. Jon grew up in Fort Wayne Indiana and at the age of 16 left school and moved to Tampa florida in order to start up a band and play music. In 1985 Schaffer founded the power/thrash metal band Purgatory, which quickly changed its name to become Iced Earth. He is now the only remaining member of the first line-up, and the band’s main songwriter. His passion for music and the band show not only in his on stage performances, but in his lyrics as well. And to further drive the point home about his seriousness in the music world, he also has colaborated with Demons and Wizards, and Blind Guardian. From Iron Maiden to Metallica Jon’s influances can be clearly heard in his music. Also to all those wondering, Jon mainly uses a Les Paul guitar with the IceBucker pickups which were made especially for him.

Another one of the reasons the band is so successful is because of vocalist Matt Barlow who joined the band in 1994. Barlow joined Iced Earth after the Night of the Stormrider tour with Blind Guardian in Europe, as a replacement for John Greely. The first album Barlow can be heard on is Burnt Offerings (1995). Barlow however left the band in 2003.

 His reason for leaving was due to personal beliefs related to the September 11 terrorist attacks. He took a look at his life and realized that he wanted to contribute to the “real world” instead of living the illusion of a “rock star.” He then approached Jon Schaffer with this in late 2002, but Schaffer, known for his persuasive personality, convinced Barlow to stay with the band. The last album Barlow would record vocals for was The Glorious Burden. He became a police officer in the police department in Georgetown, Delaware. He was also a vocalist for the First State Force Band, which is made up of law enforcement members from different departments throughout Delaware. The band performs for schools, stressing such ideals as “Say no to drugs,” “Stay away from violence,” and “Respect your parents, teachers, yourselves, others, and life” through music.

On April 13, 2007, Barlow returned to music more fully as the new lead singer of Danish progressive power metal band Pyramaze. The reason behind his joining Pyramaze was because it would allow him to return to the music scene, while still being able maintain his current job. However, on December 11, 2007, it was announced that Barlow had officially re-joined Iced Earth and would be singing on The Crucible of Man (Something Wicked Part 2) and following albums. Pyramaze confirmed that he would remain with them to record their album Immortal, but that their professional relationship would end there.

Back to the band itself and their music. Although Jon remains the only original member of the band, the sound has been able to stay mostly the same over the years. This is due to the raw talent of the people he picks to be in the band and also his direction. This works in the listeners favor seeing that it is pretty darn hard to keep track of who was playing what on each album. The only thing you can hear in the albums clearly are the changes in the vocalists over the years. The current lineup (and my favorite to date) is

Matt Barlow – lead vocals (1994–2003, 2007–present)
Troy Seele – lead guitars (2007–present)
Jon Schaffer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1984–present)
Freddie Vidales – bass (2008–present)
Brent Smedley – drums, percussion (1996–1997, 1998–1999, 2006–present)

So lets get on with some album reviews, I dont have the time to go over every single album they did, so I am going to discuss a couple select ones that I feel were the best.

The First album we should talk about is their debut entitled Iced Earth. It was released in November 1990 internationally and February 1991 in North America. The original release of this album had three different covers (a worldwide cover, a European cover and a Japanese cover). This album was Mike McGill’sonly album with Iced Earth, as well as the last for singer Gene Adam. Like the album’s successor Night of the Stormrider, Iced Earth follows a more traditional thrash metal sound, rather than the power metal direction the band would follow after Matt Barlow had joined. If you have not heard Iced Earthbefore (the album), the I must insist that you go back and check it out. To truly understand the band and its roots in music, this is a must. It also serves as a great way to show how much the band has grown both lyrically and musically. For fans like myself, after hearing the later albums first, this one was a shock. Here is a short clip from the track “Written on the Walls”

Their second album is entitled Night of the Stormrider. It is a concept album about a man who is betrayed by religion and turns away from it in anger. The dark forces of nature reach out to this enraged man and use him as their vessel to bring death and destruction to Earth. He is commanded to travel to a desert, where he is given visions that reveal the truth of humanity, and warp his mind further to make him the “Stormrider.” After the destruction of the world, he is then damned forever into the depths of Hell, also referenced as the River Styx. After being forever damned and taunted by evil spirits, he eventually sees what he has done, and realizes that it is too late to repent. This album is John Greely’sonly album with the band as the vocalist. When you compare Stormrider and Iced Earth, you can definatly hear the diffference in their singing styles. And out of the two albums, I have to say I liked Greely’s vocals better because they are more aggressive and focused. This album is also more riff based compared to the other albums Iced Earth has done. Which is in no way a bad thing, in actuality it makes it more hard sounding and one hell of an album to drive to. Check out the example below. Its the intro for the first track on the cd, entitled “Angels Holocaust”.

The next album I am going to cover is titled Dark Saga. Now this album deals with a man who sells his soul to the devil to return to his one true love back on Earth. But the devil tricks him into becoming his slave and when he returns to Earth, he finds out his wife is now married to one of his best friends! Driven by anger towards the Devil, he vows to take him down and reclaim his life. Now if you are a comic book fan you will feel this is a bit similar to a certain “Hellspawn”… Thats right, this album is basically about Spawn! Hell the cover art is done by Todd McFarlane. This album is pretty interesting seeing that not many metal albums out there are based on comics. But when you put the musical ability of Iced Earth and the imagination of Todd McFarlane together; you get the Dark Saga. The main thing that stands out in this album are the vocals done by Matt Barlow. In fact he took signing lessons after the release of Burnt Offerings which is the bands 3rd release. So overall he is more polished and focused on what he does for the album. Check out a sample below of one of my favorite songs “The Hunter”. 

The Glorious Burden is my favorite of all Iced Earth’s albums. But let me preface that statement quickly. I love the album for the content and the ability the band has to take eras from Americas military history and turn them into song. I personally feel that if Matt Barlow was the vocalist for the album, it would have been 10x better. But lets get back to the meat of the album. This is Tim “Ripper” Owens debut in Iced Earth. Owens was the new singer for Judas Priest but when asked to do this as a side project, he decided to join the band since Priest’s original singer was commingback. Now this album was first recorded with Matt Barlow doing the vocals, but Shaffer felt that his heart wasnt in it anymore and shelved the recordings, and thats where Owens came in. Though if you listen carefully, you can hear Barlow as backup vocals. Owens has a very different vocal style then any of the other singers for Iced Earth. He is more classic high pitched metal which couldnt be further from Barlows metal growl. Now I respect anyonesthoughts on this subject. But again I have to say I like Barlow better. This album starts off with an awesome version of the Star Spangled Banner and covers all the main military points in American history. From the signing of the Declaration of Independance, the Revolutionary war, Civil War, WWI, to the Trade Center Attacks and Atilla the Hun; this album has it all. And the cornerstone of this album is definatly the 3 piece Civil War trilogy at the end which totals an amazing 32 minutes of non stop historical metal. Here is an example from the album.

And now we come to the most fantast inspired albums Iced Earth has ever done. Framing Armageddon “Something Wicked Pt 1″ and The Crucible of Man “Something Wicked Pt 2. Lets take a look at Part 1 and give you the low down on whats going on here. Be warned though, there is a lot going on.

Something Wicked Part 1 tells the story of the Setians who were the first inhabitants of Earth and are directly decended from the Great Architect. They are also said to have limitless knowledge. Humans have developed space travel and invade Earth to try and gain total power and knowledge, killing all but 10,000 Setians who flee to the mountains to plot their plan for revenge. They form a council which make a plan to initiate “The Clouding” which is a total brainwashing of the human race. Once finished, the Setians will rewrite history by creating religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judismto split the humans up. And once this is complete, they will wait 10,000 years for the birth of Set Abominae (basically the Anti-Christ) who will take revenge on the humans by destroying them all. Phew! That was a lot to follow wasntit? The album ends just before the birth of Set Abominae, and thats where the second album takes off.

Now the main thing  you will notice on this album is the vocal style is drastically different then the previous albums. Owens goes for the high pitch screech and power chords throughout the album. Musically and lyrically the album is amazing, the guitars shred from beginning to end and you are attacked by pounding pass and drums to no end. To a hardcore fan of Iced Earth and their past vocals, this album is a bit hard to digest. The ultra high pitched vocals are personally a bit to much and really take away from the experiance. Take a listen and see what I mean.

And finally, on to the second part of Something Wicked, The Crucible of man. Time for some more story for you to follow along with! Crucible of Man tells the story of the anti-christ Set Abominae who was born in the 6th hour of the 6th day of the 6th month. He is born into the setian comminuty and constantly taught about the wrongs that were done to his people and how he will grow up to fullfill the prohecy foretold thousands of years ago, to destroy the humans and take revenge for his people. After many years of training, he is bestowed with the crown of the fallen and instructed to begin the task he was born for, the destruction of the human race. His first target is the one and only Jesus Christ, and from there he starts taking down the worlds great leaders of countries and tribes over the next two thousand years. But as time goes by and Set sees humanity grow, he realizes they have potential to become a great race of people and decides to let them live. But he warns them that they must get over their petty differences and flaws, less they face destruction.

And there you have it. First thing you notice is the lack of Tim Owens on this album as he was replaced by the returning Matt Barlow. And the next is the polished ideas about the story. Nothing is left unsaid and things are explained in great detail through the songs. Everything was painstakingly thought out and nothing is left to chance. I find this story to be pretty compelling and facinating in both the way it was told and in the musical tones throughout the album. I have added a clip of the single from the album called “I Walk Alone” . Which is about the the beginning of Set Abominae’s destruction of manking. And be sure to look out in 2009 for a special box set of the Something Wicked tale. Shaffer announced last year that it would be out sometime in 2009 and have Barlow as the main vocals for continuities sake. WOOO

So there you have it everyone. Iced Earth. The band, the myth the legend. If you ever get a chance be sure to see them live, it is a great experiance and they put on a hell of a show. Also please be sure to visit www.IcedEarth.comto check out their pics, tour dates, and merch. Tell em Sparkbox sent ya. Thanks again everyone for reading, and I will see you in two weeks for another episode of the ShredBox! Crank it up to 11 and LET THERE BE METAL!

-James

Well, if you’d like to read the article then by all means, I’m not going to stop you.  Perhaps you need a little push…

Incredibad is the much anticipated debut album from the troop known as The Lonely Island.   The group was founded in 2001 by Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone and Andy Samberg.  You might know Andy from SNL, if you still watch it occasionally, and the other two write for the show.

Andy is pretty well known for his Digital Shorts on SNL.   One of these shorts was 2005′s immensely popular Lazy Sunday which was a hip hop song about two white guys from Manhatten en route to see The Chronicles of Narnia.  Honestly, you would have to have been living in a cave not to have heard or seen it.

Following that you had the Emmy winning short D**k in a Box again with Andy Samberg.  In this skit he’s accompanied by Justin Timberlake singing an R&B ballad about….giving your special lady a very intimate gift.  Yeah, we’ll go with that.

Their debut album compiles a bunch of these digital shorts along with some new songs.   Andy, Akiva and Jorma comprise most of the vocal talent and are joined by some featured guests on a few of the tracks.  Many of the digital shorts that appeared on SNL are  on the DVD included with the album.

My personal favorites are I’m on a Boat and Dreamgirl, both of which I’ve listened way, way, way too much already.  Nothing really beats hearing Natalie Portman sing ganster rap though.  The album has received intensely great reviews and I highly recommend picking this up if you want that laugh-so-hard-I’m-crying-and-can’t-feel-my-face feeling.

Welcome fellow metal maniacs. And welcome to another installment of the Shred-Box. Just who do I have in mind to talk about this week? You’ll just have to read more to find out.

Sabaton, swedish metal at it’s finest. Combining pulse pounding drums, thundering bass, and amazing guitar riffs, Sabaton always leaves the listener wanting to hear more. But what is a metal band without thundering vocals? That’s where Joakim Broden comes in. He has that metal growl you come to expect from the swedish metal scene. Oh and did you know that they have a keyboardist? That’s right, they do. In this weeks Edition of Shred Box, I will give you all the info you need about Sabaton and discuss three of their main albums. I have also included a small clip from their albums below so if you haven’t heard Sabaton before, you can give them a shot right now.

Created in 1999, Sabaton is composed of Joakim Brodén – vocals (Keyboards on Metalizer and Primo Victoria) ,Rikard Sundén – guitars and backing vocals, Oskar Montelius – guitars and backing vocals, Pär Sundström – bass, Daniel Mullback – drums, and Daniel Mÿhr – keyboards and backing vocals. Unlike most metal bands what formed almost 10 years ago, Sabaton has all its original members. And because everyone has been there from the start, they have a unity that lets them create amazing music without the BS of certain members lagging behind or causing problems. These guys know each others strengths and weaknesses which make them a powerful force in the metal world.

Let’s start off with their ”second” album Metalizer. I quote second because their first CD “Fist for Fight” was just a promo CD. This is an interesting one though because as it may be their second album, recorded in 2002 under an independent Italian label, it wasn’t actually released until 2007. And in fact the release of Metalizer is a 2 cd release. With the other cd being their promo Fist for Fight. It’s a very hard and pounding album where the vocals are much deeper sounding and forceful. From the Lord of The Rings inspired “Shadows” to the bass drum assault of “Hail to the King”, you just cant find another album with as much random metal as this one. But the one song that stands out to me is “Metalizer”. Something about it keeps me coming back for more each time I listen to it. As amazing as this album is, it can be a shock to listen to it after you have listened to Art of War or Attero Dominatus. Because in those albums you can easily see how much the band has grown since this album was recorded. Also you will notice that this album relies more heavily on the keyboard/synth. Their later albums incorporate the keyboard/synth, but at a lesser degree that actually enhances its unique sound.

Their next release Primo Victoria was done under their own power without the backing of a major record label. Soon after the album hit store shelves, labels started to take notice and out of no where they had a ton of record labels knocking down their door. This was mainly due to the fact that they showed the ability to make a quality album on their own which made the labels realize these guys meant business and were here to stay. Unfortunately, Primo Victoria isn’t their best album. It isn’t horrible, but compared to their other releases I would have to say that this is their least amazing album. Now when talking about a band like Sabaton, it pains me to say one of their albums wasn’t that great. But I have to be honest, I really didn’t like it.

Their first album under record label Black Lodge was Attero Dominatus. This is where my fandom to Sabaton really kicked into high gear. They continue their WWII inspired metal with a very diverse album. The opening song to which the album was named for, is am amazing masterpiece of metal. Be warned when driving and listening to this song, you might not be able to stay within the speed limit. Or on the road for that matter. Its pounding bass and guitars will keep you in the moment, and do not let up until the song is over. The second song Nuclear attack is easily recognizable as being inspired by the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. It is very well done and has that fist pounding beat you cant deny. “Rise of Evil” deals with the rise of the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler. But the most stirring song “In the Name of God” takes on the situation in the middle-east by tackling suicide bombers and everyone who kills innocent people in the name of their god. Now I know what you may be saying. Why would I want to hear a song about that? Well do yourself a favor, listen to the song. And I mean actually listen to it. I am sure you will agree that it is very well done and the tempo of the song is nuts. This album was also the highest selling album in Sweden for 2006.

Their latest release, Art of War, is heavily influenced by Sun Tzu. And by listening to the opening track, you can see why. There are may passages from the book before and after some of the songs on the album. This adds a bit ambiance to the entire album, and sets the mood. But even without these passages, you could easily hear and feel the influence it had on their recording. This is definitely the height of their song writing and musical ability. Sabaton has learned over the years what works and what doesn’t have the appeal they hoped for. From the first song, you are assaulted with catchy riffs and lyrics that leave you with no choice but to sing along and feel the emotion being conveyed. The opening song “Ghost Division” keeps you hooked and unable to not feel the need to bang your head throughout its almost four minutes. The self titled track “Art of War” emphasises the bands influance by Sun Tzu and his writings. But if i had to pick one song that really sticks out and brings this album to a head, it has to be Hills of Gallipoli. Which if you look below, I have had added their video for the song. This album has thrown Sabaton even more into the fray when talking about amazing metal bands. After the release, Sabaton quickly booked every weekend for 6 months for a massive 60 show tour. Which is the largest tour a sweedish metal band has done in years.

 Below is the music video for Sabaton’s single from Art of War, Hills of Gallipoli.

The above video just drives my points home. Sabaton does metal how it should be done. Fast, loud, and heavy. When listening to their albums, you are able to hear the immense time and effort that has been put into each one over the years. But the most dominant thing is being able to hear how much they have grown both lyrically, and musically. Their sound has been cleaned up and the vocals are now more focused then ever. So if you get a chance, check out their official website at www.sabaton.net. They have great merch, tour dates, and lotsa multimedia.  Be sure to support these guys and tell your friends that if they want metal, they only need to go as far as Sabaton.

As always, please feel free to leave some comments or send me an email with your thoughts, questions, or names of other metal bands you feel I need to get into.

Until next time fellow Shredders. Turn the amp up to 11 and LET THERE BE METAL!!!

All images and music copyrighted by Sabaton and their record label.

Hey all. Now I know what you are saying right now. What the hell is Shred-Box? Well its your new bi-weekly Metal fix.

So after reading many articles on a ton of sites, I have realized that there is one thing missing… METAL. On every site you see reviews on pop, boy, and emo bands. But metal gets no love. There are a ton of great metal bands out there that just havent had the insane success to make it into the main stream. And those are the bands I will be covering. Now by main stream, I mean selling millions of albums and selling out huge venues day after day.

So lets get this started with a band I recently discovered, Firewind.

Firewind started as a Greek metal band back in 1998,  basically to showcase guitarist Gus G’s amazing guitar playing ability. But without warning their unique sound caught on and they were thrown into the fray. But that doesnt mean the ride was all groupies and great times. Over the years the band has gone through many different members, including 4 different vocalists and 4 drummers. Mainly these changes were because of members not being able to agree with eachother and just not having the will to tour and devote all their time to the band like they should. And for most bands, this would have killed them and any chance at success they would have. But not firewind.

Guitarist Gus G decided that no matter who was in the band they would continue to make music the way he wanted it, heavy, loud, and full of amazing guitar riffs. And thats exactly what happened. Sure the vocalist can make or break a band easily, but it shows the bands determination to go on and strive when you can go through and listen to half an album before realizing the vocals are different. Was there a vocalist that really stood out throughout their lineup? Its hard to single one out, but, Singer Stephen Fredrick (who just didnt have it in him to tour) is tied with their current singer. His range of highs and lows was amazing, but what makes him one of the best in my opinion was his normal singing voice. It blended with the rest of the band and their music so perfectly.

Now their current singer, Apollo Papathanasio has his own style which brings alot to the band and its music. His vocals are a bit higher and he draws the notes a tad more then Fredrick did. Now does Apollo do the band justice? Hell yeah he does! I cant help but sing his praises as he brings a needed change that can only raise the bar for this amazing band and the future success that I am sure will follow.

To hear what I mean, check out these two tracks.

The first is a one minute clip from You Have Survived sung by Stephen Fredrick off of their 2003 release Burning Earth.

The second is from 2008′s Premonition with Apollo Papathanasio at the mic.

As you can hear, they both have their each unique voice and style of singing. Either way, they are definatly metal.

What makes this band stand out among most other metal bands is the insane shredding that Gus G can do on a guitar. My god, the track Fire and the Fury on the Burning Earth album is amazing. Its a 5 minute instrumental assault on the ears. And honestly I still believe that their 2003 release Burning Earth is still their best. Its got a mix of all out shredding, meaningful vocals, and a well done pace that makes it flow perfectly. Their Current release, 2008′s  ”The Premonition” is a great album, but can be a shocker if you go from listening to Burning Earth directly to it. The Vocal change along with the different pace of the album takes a minute or two to get used to. But that doesnt mean it lacks anything musically from the other releases. In fact it just shows how much they have grown musically over the years and showcases the amazing guitar abilities of the band.

What is next for these Greek gods of metal? Who knows. A world tour? Platinum selling albums? World domination? Honestly thats up to you, the listener. If you have a chance, stop by their official site http://www.firewind.gr/2008/home.asp and check out their merch, discography, and media samples. Im sure you will agree, these guys rock. And feel free to let them know that James from the SparkBoxShow sent ya. And if you are interested to see the Axe Gus G playes, head on over to http://www.espguitars.com/guitars_gus.html.

As always, please feel free to leave some comments or send me an email with your thoughts, questions, or names of other metal bands you feel I need to get into.

Until next time fellow Shredders. Turn the amp up to 11 and LET THERE BE METAL!!!

-James

Ok folks. Its time. Time for the release of Metallica’s new Album, Death Magnetic. Did the cosmos align because the best metal album of all time has finally been released? Or did the fans get another Saint Anger? Read on to get my take each of the songs, and an impression of the whole album.

Before we start, I would like to explain a few things. First, I don’t think Metallica has done a good album since their self titled one. Load sucked, ReLoad sucked, Saint Anger was a joke (if you can tell me the line “I’m madly in anger with you” was awesome with a straight face, you deserve an award). So I did not expect anything different this time around. But I decided to give it a go. One last thing, I did not previously listen to the album before doing this entry. I am giving my impressions and reviews as I listen to each song. That way I can give my initial thoughts and ideas, not afterthoughts. Well enough of my jibber jabber, on with the review of Metallica’s Death Magnetic.

Ok so the first song,

“That was just your life” is a thrash metal lover’s dream come true. Unrelenting guitars, tons of powerful drum tangents, and some very well done lyrics and vocal by James Hetfield. At over seven minutes I was very pleased. My only problem is the bass drum ( i think that’s the one, I’m nowhere near musically inclined) seems used way too much and overpowers the song. Even during the badass guitar breakdown at about 3/4 the way through the song is overpowered by its insane beat. If they toned it down a bit (the drum), i would say this song had it all. But that just seemed to take away from it for me. Hey maybe you like that type of thing and think im retarded, but it didn’t do it for me. Hell id be happier if it was more bass heavy. Then it wouldn’t have stood out so much. 9/10 and a great song to open the album.

Song #2 “The End of the Line”

This one opens up very strong and keeps it going throughout the song. And remember that drum i was not partial to in the first song? Well it fits perfect here. And my god the guitars are so sweet. Such amazing riffs and the pace makes you start to head bang and not even notice you started. Lyric wise, its not bad. Not the best, but not bad. I do however like the chorus. Very well written and gets you back into the song when you think you may just be on the edge of losing it. Wow is all I can say about the solo. Fits perfectly! My only problem with this song is it’s a bit long. Eight minutes these days is pretty crazy. Though towards the end I do like the pace change, to a slower more melodic tone with softer lyrics, but then comes back with a fury into a full on rush into a partial chorus. 8/10

Song #3 “Broken, Beat, and Scarred”

This one makes me think I’m listening to some older style Metallica. The guitar riffs flow, the drums pound and the vocals keep coming. Though on the opposite end of the scale, yet again i think the drums overpower the song. If they were a bit more bass heavy i would be totally into them. As for the lyrics, its a rinse and repeat song. Not horrible by any means, but nothing amazing. Defiantly listen to this one for the sweet riffs and the solo. They make it all worth the time. 7/10

Song #4 “The Day That Never Comes”

Yes this was their first single and got some pretty good reviews when it came out. But personally i think this is the worst song on the album. With a close second being #3. I could not get into this one. I loved the opening and was prepared for something insane to come about. Sure yet again Kirk rocked the hell out of his guitar, but here come those damn overpowering drums (GIVE ME MORE BASS LARS!). Lyric wise it’s ok. I guess it all comes down to me just finding nothing special about it. This is defiantly the radio song. It’s soft enough for the non heavy metal fans to get into, and it gives the Metallica fans a taste of the rest of the album. Good thing is, the rest of the album is so much better than this. Which is a pleasant surprise since most bands put out their most amazing song and the rest of the album blows. Believe me, I know they were trying to show their musical range, but to me, meh. No real direction to it, and it seemed thrown together. I found myself checking the time counter on my iPod, hoping it would be over soon. Best part was the riff compellation toward end. Kirks hand must have been killing him after this one. 5/10

Song #5 “All Nightmare Long”

Starts off kinda like Enter Sandman. Then progresses into an insane assault of guitars. Hell I’ll give it to Lars on this one. I love the drums! Just enough to kick some ass and not too overpowering. Now this one is a little more dark then the rest of the songs, and the lyrics back that up. Great vocals by James and yet again Kirk gave his guitar a workout. It’s a 50/50 combo of instrumental time and vocals, which gives the listener the ability to appreciate both and ignore neither. Loved how they let it drop for a few seconds so you think its over, and then BOOM, they rock back into the song with authority. After listening to this one, I felt tired and i wasn’t the one shredding up the guitar. 9/10

Song #6 “Cyanide”

Hey what’s that? Omg is that the bassist? Do you finally get to hear him? Well for about 10 seconds in the beginning and towards the end. lol. Ok now to the actual song. It’s less intense then the others musically, but vocally it’s just as hard as the rest of the songs. There is less going on in this one, which works perfectly because of where its placed on the album. By this point you are ready for a break, or at least a few minutes to be able to gather your thoughts. Sitting here I am highly pleased by this song. It has its highs and lows in the action, and doesn’t skip a beat. 8/10

Song #7 “The Unforgiven III”

Now before I even go here, I just wanted to say that after Unforgiven too, I was waiting for another giant piece of garbage to come about if a third installment was produced. Well I will admit I was dead wrong. It starts off with some strings and a piano, which set the mood for the entire piece. Then they dissapear and the guitars start. Slow at first with a little symbol action. Then the strings, guitars, and drums start to make this melody. And then the Lyrics start with the backing of guitars and a steady drum beat. I was suprised by the constant variation of melodies and how well they blended. Though without James’ vocal power, they would not have blended anywhere near as well as they did. Catchy chorus, and the musical arrangement is almost perfect. This song serves as your transition. You can see how the band can progress from a thrash filled beginning and start to wind it down. 8/10

Song #8 “The Judas Kiss”

Did I say wind it down? HA! The opening great on this one and kinda goes all over the place. Though after a few seconds it settles in to a constant ear pounding assault. Lyric wise it’s not bad and kinda interesting. Though the instruments are what make this song. My only problem is that it goes to chorus too fast and talk about rhyming every sentence, sheesh! Overall a fun song and defiantly one that you will be turning up in the car so the rest of highway can share in your fun. 8/10

Song #9 “Suicide and Redemption”

This is a fade in so don’t adjust your volume or your ears will explode when it comes to full volume. It keeps you hooked with a catchy guitar riff and you actually get to hear some of the bassist again. Metallica must be feeling very giving to let him be heard on two songs so far! Anyway, this is a full ten minute instrumental song. It sounds kinda trippy in some parts and in others like a true metal riff fest. I was expecting more from their instrumental though. It seems like this one needed lyrics to really give it a boost. Not too much I can say about this one. 7/10

Song #10 “My Apocalypse”

This one kinda reminds me of their earlier work on Ride the Lightning. Only problem is it reminds me of their not so great work on Ride the Lightning. It’s a trashy sounding assault, but other than the insane solo, it’s nothing special and defiantly not a way to end an album of this caliber. It’s a tad better than “The Day that Never Comes”, but only a little bit. For a closer to such a great album, it leaves you wanting more, and depressed that this is the best they could do to finish it off. 6/10

So there you have it. Metallica’s latest release “Death Magnetic” sure was a lot better than I could have imagined and surprised me in every way possible. Sure it had its good and bad, but its good defiantly outweighed the bad by a ton! I got to give it to the guys, I had my doubts about this album, I thought it was going to be another Saint Anger, and I am very very pleased that I was mistaken. Kirks solos were amazing, Lars did some great drum work (though some more bass next time, that way it’s not as overpowering). And James’ rhythm guitar was out of this world and I feel it’s overlooked most of the time. I wish I could give you an impression of the bass guitar work, but hell you can’t hear it. Kinda reminds me of Metalocalypse where they say Murderface’s bass work has gotten so much better and they may not edit it out of the next album. Lol.

Overall this album to me is an 8/10. If the final song would have been a lot better and would have been a fitting end to the album, then I would boost it to a 9/10. But it left a lot to be desired, and was a poor end. Though the rest of the album was absolute gold and defiantly showed that metal isn’t dead, it was just taking a vacation after rocking for so many years. (UPDATE) Ok I listened to the album in my car today… WOW it sounds so much more amazing that way then listening to it on headphones.

Finally the band has answered our prayers and countless nerd rage emails, Matt Barlow is back as frontman of Iced Earth! But can the band pick up where they left off with him? Or does Iced Earth need more then their former singer to kick ass again?

Released on June 10th, Iced Earth put out a cd with their new single ” I Walk Among You”. The album also includes 3 songs that have been remastered and had the vocals redone by former vocalist Matt Barlow. “A Charge to Keep”, “Setian Massacre” and “The Clouding” were all on their last album but when you listen to them for the first time, you feel like they don’t belong on that album. Its amazing how the vocals brought fourth by Barlow totally change the mood and overall feeling of the songs. It makes one wonder how much more awesome “Something Wicked Pt.1″ would have been with him at the helm.

“I Walk Alone” is a powerful masterpiece of story telling and instrumental power. When the song first starts, you feel like something is missing, then when the vocals start, everything falls into place. This just serves to make the song more memorable. And once the chorus starts you are hooked and cant stop listening. This song gets a 9/10 compared to the others in this release. It’s the perfect song to blast while driving to work in the morning or on your way to the store to pick up the album!

Overall I am very impressed. Coming off of the last cd, I was expecting another blah preformance. But the band fixed everything that was wrong with the last album. Its cleaner, more polished, and you can tell that they spent a lot more time on this one making sure it would be ready for its release, and above all ready for the scrutiny that would come from long time fans of the band that felt let down after the last one. If the rest of the album is as good as the single is, then they have one hell of an album ready for release!

You can check out more details about the band at www.IcedEarth.com

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