I'll be seeing them again, at Bloodstock. I apologise in advance to anyone who will be nearby me, because I will be fucking ruining their Grand Magus experience by attempting to sing along. Especially Silver Into Steel, if they play it.

Orange Fuckin' Goblin, baby.

They may have started life as a stoner/doom band, but they are now full-on classic British metal.

Enjoyin Metal Inquisitor thanks to this thread - Cheers!

Priest fans may enjoy the quality Priest-worship of

I've currently been trying to expand my knowledge of metal from... NEW JERSEY! In so doing I would say that if you like Maiden, and Motorhead and some punk in your traditional metal...

The Beast!!!!

Their 1983 Power Metal EP is fucking incredible. This one happens to be slightly more punk than later material. They appeared on a four-way split album in 1984 with Hades, another Jersey band that sounds like Judas Priest covering Remember Tomorrow, Tortured Dog who utterly slay with their proto-thrash / traditional metal take on NWOBHM, and Sneak Attack, a more metal version of what the 80's gave us from Los Angeles. 'The Shape' has an impressive energy to it and though it was the best song off The Beast's previous EP, even the new, revamped version for this compilation pales in comparison to the other songs that they whipped up for this release.

As an aside, Scott Ruth - the vocalist for The Beast - became vocalist for Ripping Corspe after The Beast's dissolution with Erik Rutan (Morbid Angel / Hate Eternal) and Scott Hornick on bass (Alas and Dim Mak with Scott Ruth again) who I took cello lessons from for two or three months.

This is one of the greatest metal Split's / Compilations I have ever heard.



Note, the redrawn covers on the floor - Metallica's Kill Em All and Exciter's Violence and Force. My favorite thing about the cover is the window. There is a hanging doll or baby on the window's pull-string and there are spiked bracelets being use to hold the curtains open. I am still confused what the handcuffs on the crib's frame could possible be used for.



The back cover is interesting as well, at least for me. The intro track is called One Night in Old Bridge - a reference to the town I live in. Jon Zazula (of Metallica fame) and Marsha Zazula used to live a couple blocks away and had a record store near-by a local deli. Metallica used to crash at his house when they played Birch Hill nearby in their early days. The compilation is an interesting peice of NJHM history.

Metal Church
Exodus
Testament
Forbidden
The Cult
AC/DC
Black Sabbath
Acid Reign
Iron Maiden
Candlemass
Death Angel
Dark Angel
Faith No More
Flotsam & Jetsam
Kreator
Motley Crue
WASP
Accept
Xentrtix
Slammer

And more - not really bothered about the 'category' as the majority is 20 year old now and a lot more 'classic' than todays current extreme climes.

Mostly thrash, innit, but a couple of relevant bands.

Old favourites in addition to those mentioned elsewhere (sorry for any repeats ):

Malice - In The Beginning
ARTCH - Another Return To Church Hill
Sword (Canada) - Sweet Dreams
Armored Saint - Delirious Nomad
Savatage - Hall Of The Mountain King
Meliah Rage - Kill To Survive
Rock Goddess - Rock Goddess
Memento Mori - Life Death and Other Morbid Tales
Hexenhaus - Dejavoodoo

It's harder finding current stuff, I've just ordered the new album by Ross The Boss - no idea if it'll be any good though.

On a thrash note, I've just discovered the first 2 Deathrow albums have been remastered and reissued, so I can replace my vinyl with (hopefully decent) CD versions.


PS hello, I'm a noob round here

^ Hello noob Welcome to the extremely quiet ZT forums which averages about 5 new posts a month. I'm the resident out-of-place indie art type. You want proof?...

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'Snowflake In A Hot World' by Mercury Rev

Everyone needs to check out Liege Lord! Fucking Ammmmmmazing

Exxplorer - Symphonies of Steel

This shit is like fucking candy. Exxplorer's unknown classic "Symphonies Of Steel" is filled to the brim with metal goodness. Perhaps maybe a little bit "too full." This album is like those beakers in high school that you filled with water and then tossed a little weight in and watched as the water over flowed. This beaker must be filled with a bizarre liquid, because if my facial expression was the meniscus, I would be frowning at one moment and smiling the next. I go from loving every note that comes from Ed Lavolpe's twittering fingers to hanging my head in shame at other moments as Exxplorer try too hard, make amateur mistakes and / or mock the very song they are so intimately involved with.

While Ed Lavolpe's guitar playing is nothing to frown at, his tone could use a small kick in its bony ass. Fellow axeman Kevin Kennedy is in tow with talent and a general lack of heaviness. The guitars have a vintage sound to them that anyone could enjoy but a slight tonal adjustment would leave one to face a slightly angrier bear. Both rip through a scattering of dual leads and solos across the album. Lenny Rizzo's vocals are decent though varied throughout the album. His vocals in "Going To Hell" are prepubescent. He could be singing this song while having his braces adhered to his front teeth. He makes up for this in the "Objection Overruled" duo where he sounds like Paul DiAnno on the mellow songs on Iron Maiden's self titled. Rizzo's vocals have a natural reverb to them that fills in some of the space they lack. He has the range but the power isn't there at times. Jimmy Gardner's bass playing is fantastic throughout the album and really helps the album matter. He has that 80's bass style down pat. He has a really good tone and is tight throughout the album. Mike Moyer's drums are typical and nothing special but he lays a strong foundation and pounds out some noticeable fills.

The album's songs are generally awesome. Opener "City Streets" is a memorable and standard metal tune with a great solo and those old school riffs that no one can live without. It's got plenty of headbanging moments and will make you want to romp around your room while being careful not to make the phonograph skip. "Run For Tomorrow" is, for me, the album's highlight with a great flow after the intro, which, as far as I'm concerned, is a few measures too long, and a powerful essence which leaves me wishing the song was just slightly longer. The band's namesake track chugs and gallops though never amounts to much - a let down because the opportunities were there. Cool solo though. "Metal Detectors" is stuck in my mind as the finest example of metal's acknowledgment of its own image. It's a song we've all heard before, talking about all those things metal talks about. You know...metal, steel... With lines like these, Manowar can sit proudly and smile at their disciples. "I'm hungry for metal, I'm searchin' for steel" or "The power of metal, is driving you near" and "Our numbers are growing, like a metal storm" And my favorite... "Don't let them tell you that metal is dead, they listen to Springsteen, it's gone to their head." Eric Adams would be enthralled with this track.

The two tracks / segments which form the "Objection Overruled" section of the album are no lackluster pieces of crap. The the first part is mainly slow, raunchy and doomy until the last two minutes. Basically, I would compare this entire track to "Strange World" or "Remember Tomorrow." I also get a hint of Geddy Lee in the vocals along with DiAnno. Rizzo's vocals are on full display here and they are wearing a fucking full patch covered tuxedo (damn I want one of those!). While the track picks up pace in the second half, It still maintains a general mid paced tempo and has the albums best solo section as well. This is as good as any of Fates Warning's B-sides. It ain't "Fata Morgana" or "Guardian" but I like it just as much as "Giant's Lore" or "Orphan Gypsy."

The field has some stumps though. The only-piano second track "Prelusion" is placed terribly and really doesn't prelude anything. It shares a theme that returns at the end of "Run For Tomorrow" though I'm left wondering who had the idea that a four minute piano piece as the second track on the album would help pacing and move the album along. Granted, the piano piece is really good, it just doesn't belong there. Fourth track "World War III" is a ballad. Yeah, they were all the rage at the time and the lyrics really aren't entirely about people dying, machine guns and German bombers dropping their payload on England's Anderson shelters but the song just drags. "Going to Hell" is the album's weakest track by more than a longshot. Rizzo's vocals sound stolen from Jane's Addiction. The song's lacks much drive and though a generally good riff appears once or twice, it is lost amidst awkward chord choices. A skipper if I ever heard one.

Still, of all the traditional metal that came out of New Jersey or the USA in general, for 1985, this was out there and tried to stand apart from the pack of NWOBHM imitators. If you're still skeptical that this is really that good, take note that this was originally released by the same label putting out the classic Manilla Road albums. That should be word enough that this is a worthy forged piece of metal. And Exxplorer is still fucking exxploring! Check these guys out if you get a chance, I have a feeling you will feel like it was 1986 again. Don't forget your denim and leather though, or you won't be allowed to enter.

... or raise your fists in the air and shout "The metal detectors are losing control!!!!"