Detritus
Issue #301
Week of January 3, 2005
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*
*** CAST OF CHARACTERS ***
*
Tim Wadzinski, Editor
tsw512@...

Steve Shumake
vongoober@...
http://www.vongoober.com/

*
*** LET IT BE KNOWN ***
*
-Sorry this is late but as you'll see in a minute I have a good
excuse. Last week my wife and I were blessed with the birth of our
first child, a beautiful baby girl who immediately wrapped me around
her little fingers. For a long time I've been planning to take a step
back from Detritus duties, and fatherhood is definitely a major factor
in this decision...

I've been doing this -- with MAJOR help from Steve Shumake -- in its
present format for 300 issues now. Plus, prior to that of course I had
my "Detritus" column in Kurt Torster's e-zine SFK, and even before
that I submitted stuff to the old hardrock mailing list run by Phil
Wilson and Open Up And Say... run by Todd Craven and Wes Royer. Yeah,
I know, blah blah blah, but we're talking over 10 years here and I'm a
little pooped. I've been able to review, meet, and interview tons of
my rock & roll heroes over this past decade because of Detritus, so
it's always been worthwhile to me.

But now I'm going to step back and hand the keys over to our guys
Patrick Brower and Sean P. Gahgan. They're going to be the new co-
editors of the 'zine, and Steve and I will remain in the background as
co-owners. The rest of the writers will remain on staff, as it were,
so there should be very little interruption in the flow of things. I'm
hoping the issues will start back up again the first week of February.
Whenever possible I'm going to contribute reviews and a new column
called "Rock Hard Ride Free" -- a Judas Priest song whose lyrics
contain our tag line, "Rock Hard With A Purpose" -- so you're not
entirely rid of me just yet. :)

I'm not even going to attempt to assemble a massive "thank you" list,
but "Let It Be Known" I've truly appreciated all the help and fun I've
had over the years from all the readers, artists, PR people, and
colleagues I've come in contact with because of Detritus. It's a great
community of metalheads and I'd not change a thing.

-Now onto the business of our Year End 2004 issue. Here are my picks
for the year that just ended, and following them we've got ramblings
from some of the gang. Take care!

Top 25 Albums of 2004:

1. TNT - My Religion (Crush)
2. Megadeth - The System Has Failed (Sanctuary)
3. Silent Force - Worlds Apart (Noise)
4. Velvet Revolver - Contraband (RCA)
5. Wolf - Evil Star (Prosthetic)
6. Iced Earth - The Glorious Burden (SPV)
7. Jon Oliva's Pain - 'Tage Mahal (SPV)
8. Tad Morose - Modus Vivendi (Century Media)
9. Nightwish - Once (Nuclear Blast)
10. Metal Church - The Weight Of The World (SPV)
11. Evergrey - The Inner Circle (InsideOut)
12. Saxon - Lionheart (SPV)
13. Edguy - Hellfire Club (Nuclear Blast)
14. Cans - Beyond The Gates (Sanctuary/Noise)
15. Highlord - Medusa's Coil (Arise)
16. Lordi - The Monsterican Dream (Drakkar)
17. Mob Rules - Among The Gods (SPV)
18. Bob Katsionis - Imaginary Force (Lion)
19. Jag Panzer - Casting The Stones (Century Media)
20. U.D.O. - Thunderball (AFM)
21. Feinstein - Third Wish (SPV)
22. Pyramaze - Melancholy Beast (Nightmare)
23. The Wildhearts - The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed (Sanctuary)
24. Fahrenheit - Chain Reaction (Perris)
25. Angra - Temple Of Shadows (Atrheia)

Cool Stuff I Didn't Get Enough Of A Chance To Listen To Yet:

1. Enertia - Force (Animated Insanity)
2. Jet Motor Crash - Personal Space (Mastodon Infantry)
3. Rhapsody - The Dark Secret (SPV)
4. Dionysus - Anima Mundi (AFM)
5. Motorhead - Inferno (Sanctuary)
6. JKB - Bleeding The Soul (Marmaduke)
7. New Eden - Stagnant Progression (P&P)

Albums That Made Me Shrug, Yawn, And/Or Hurl In 2004:

1. Gene Simmons - Asshole (Simmons/Sanctuary) (hurl)
2. W.A.S.P. - The Neon God: Part 1 - The Rise (Sanctuary) (shrug)
3. Dokken - Hell To Pay (Sanctuary) (shrug)
4. Dio - Master Of The Moon (Sanctuary) (yawn)
5. Scorpions - Unbreakable (Sanctuary) (shrug)
6. Brides Of Destruction - Here Come The Brides (Sanctuary) (shrug)
7. Tesla - Into The Now (Sanctuary) (yawn)

Biggest Anticipation For 2005:

The return of the Priest. I was shocked when I heard "Revolution," the
first single from the upcoming ANGEL OF RETRIBUTION. I was expecting a
predictable "Painkiller II"-type track, but nope. Although I was
hoping for a return to the old Judas Priest sound, I didn't think
they'd go this far back... Some of "Revolution's" guitar parts recall
those odd, mechanized tones Glenn and K.K. used on the Tim Owens-era
discs JUGULATOR and DEMOLITION, but the main song itself is actually
sorta like a mix of the vintage chestnuts "Evil Fantasies" (1978) and
"United" (1980)!!! It's got some of the former's Led Zep groove mixed
with the latter's anthemic stomp. Quite an interesting vibe, to say
the least. I mean, the song could be on SIN AFTER SIN fer cryin' out
loud. Who out there expected *that*? Hear for yourself at
http://www.bloodredskies.ca/revolution.mp3 . This album better rule.

-And finally, someone sent me this and I forget who is the author. (If
anyone knows please clue me in...) I forwarded it around to a few
friends and Patrick forced me to include it here. :) It's a great
breakdown of what all the styles of metal *really* mean, and I have to
say our very own Keith Abt came up with a great definition of
Christian metal, which is tacked on the end. Good stuff. See y'all
soon. - Tim

THE GENRES OF HEAVY METAL

HEAVY METAL: The protagonist arrives on a Harley Davidson, kills the
dragon, drinks some beers and f*cks the princess.

GRIND METAL: The protagonist arrives, screams something completely
undecipherable for about 2 minutes and then leaves...

POWER METAL: The protagonist arrives riding a white unicorn, escapes
from the dragon, saves the princess and they make love in an enchanted
forest.

TRASH METAL: The protagonist arrives, fights the dragon, saves the
princess and f*cks her....... easy and quick.

FOLK METAL: The protagonist arrives with some friends playing
accordions, violins, flutes and many more weird instruments, the
dragon falls asleep (from all the dancing) protagonist leaves without
the princess.

VIKING METAL: The protagonist arrives in a ship, kills the dragon with
his mighty mighty axe, cooks and eats it, rapes the princess to death,
loots the castle and burns it down before he leaves.

DEATH METAL: The protagonist arrives, kills the dragon, f*cks the
princess and kills her, then leaves.

BLACK METAL: The protagonist arrives at midnight, kills the dragon and
impales it in the front of the castle.....then sodomizes the princess,
drinks her blood in a ritual before killing her.....then he impales
the deflowered princess.

GORE METAL: The protagonist arrives, kills the dragon and spreads his
guts in front of the castle, f*cks the princess and kills her....then
he f*cks her dead body, slashes her belly open and eats her guts,
f*cks the carcass for the third time, burns the corpse and f*cks it
for the last time.

DOOM METAL: The protagonist arrives, sees the size of the dragon and
thinks that he never could beat him, gets depressed and commits
suicide....the dragon eats his body and the princess as well.

PROGRESSIVE METAL: The protagonist arrives with a guitar and plays a
solo for 26 minutes, the dragon kills himself out of boredom, the
protagonist goes to the princess' bedroom, plays another solo with all
the techniques learned in the last year of the conservatory... the
princess escapes, and is now looking for the "HEAVY METAL"
protagonist.

GLAM METAL: The protagonist arrives, the dragon laughs at the guy's
appearance and lets him enter, he steals the princess' make-up and
tries to paint the castle in a beautiful pink color.

INDUSTRIAL METAL: The protagonist arrives wearing greasy overcoat,
makes obscene gestures towards the dragon, and gets escorted out of
fairy tale land by security guards.

CHRISTIAN METAL: The protagonist rides in on his way home from church
and sings a mushy power ballad to the dragon about how much Jesus
loves him and that the dragon should turn to Him. The Dragon is
immediately converted, and when the princess wants to "thank" the
protagonist he replies, "sorry, but I don't believe in having sex
before marriage."

*
*** AT THE ALTAR ***
*
by Patrick Brower (patrickbrower@...)

-Look at that, I managed a column every six months since I began "At
The Altar"! Whoo hoo! Tim, is this a record of laziness? And as you
can tell by the ol' calendar on the wall, and by all of the columns
ahead of mine in this issue, it's the 2004 Year-In-Review column!
Let's start with my picks for...

[Wow, Patrick, you submit columns so rarely that you don't even know
yours is first one after my all-important "Let It Be Known." :) - Tim]

TOP TEN CDs OF 2004:

1. EVERGREY - THE INNER CIRCLE
Wow, EVERGREY had the #1 spot on my list last year as well. THE INNER
CIRCLE isn't as good as RECREATION DAY but it's sure good enough to be
#1 for the year!

2. MEGADETH - THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED
Thank god for an angry Dave Mustaine, even if he was far more
interested in my lovely companion, Susan Bishop, when we met last
month. If this is what we have to look forward to with Dave's solo
work, I'm all for it.

3. PINK CREAM 69 - THUNDEREDOME
Why did it take me this long to finally hear this band? At least I had
a lot of good music to listen to in 2004 by tracking down all the
older PC69!

4. STARWOOD - IF IT AIN'T BROKE, BREAK IT!
Not quite LIZZY BORDEN but a damn fine substitute. It took me a bit to
get into this disc, but when I did I played it to death! And it's
still in my current rotation. Too bad it's only 33 minutes!!

5. AYREON - THE HUMAN EQUATION
Ah, Arjen, you did well with this one. Ever since a nameless customer
wandered into my store and game me a copy of UNIVERSAL MIGRATOR PART
ONE, this band has been a favorite and the all-star cast of HUMAN
EQUATION works great.

6. WILDHEARTS - RIFF AFTER RIFF
Another 2003 list member! If a band such as THE DARKNESS can be huge,
THE WILDHEARTS should rule the world.

7. TESLA - INTO THE NOW
I got this in L.A. in March, desperate for something to listen to and
I was surprised by how much I liked it. I hated the TESLA spin-off BAR
7, but the boys are back in a big way.

8. FATES WARNING - FWX
It's still growing on me, and I initially downplayed it to Tim, but
FWX sounds great in the store so I play it there a lot.

9. WAR & PEACE - THE WALLS HAVE EYES
Man, what it took for me to get this freaking CD! But it was worth it.
This is what the new DOKKEN CD should have sounded like.

10. JORN - OUT TO EVERY NATION
I don't care what band he may be in at the time, I dig Jorn Lande's
vocals be it ARK, MASTERPLAN, whatever! And this CD made me realize
how much Jorn I actually own in different forms.

This section is all the CDs that don't fit Tim's criteria for the
year-end list, being either live, reissues or compilations. But I
bought and loved them just the same:

1. ANTHRAX - THE GREATER OF TWO EVILS (re-recorded early stuff as
picked by fans and sung by John Bush)
2. ANTHRAX - MUSIC OF MASS DESTRUCTION (live, recorded here in
Chicago!!)
3. DREAM THEATER - LIVE AT BUDOKAN (yup, you guessed it, live)
4. ENCHANT - LIVE AT LAST (ditto)
5. JOHN PETRUCCI & JORDAN RUDESS - AN EVENING WITH JOHN PETRUCCI &
JORDAN RUDESS (also a live CD but you'd be hard pressed to tell, save
for the applause)
6. JOE JACKSON BAND - AFTERLIFE LIVE (OK, not metal but one of my all-
time favorite performers reunited with his original band!!)

Here are a few other discs that deserve mention but weren't quite Top
Ten material:

1. PYRAMAZE - MELANCHOLY BEAST
2. SEVEN WITCHES - YEAR OF THE WITCH
3. CHRIS CAFFERY - FACES/GOD DAMN WAR/THE MOLD
4. JAG PANZER - CASTING THE STONES
5. BLEED - BLEED EP
6. ICED EARTH - THE GLORIOUS BURDEN
7. CEA SERIN - ...WHERE MEMORIES COMBINE...
8. NELLIE McKAY - GET AWAY FROM ME (Really, really not metal or hard
rock but so good it makes me want to give up music because I'll never
be as expressively intelligent and emotional as her.)

And now three CDs I didn't get until 2004 but came out in 2003 and
thus are also ineligible for 2004 honors but would have been in the
Top Ten (well, Balance Of Power definitely):

1. BALANCE OF POWER - HEATHEN MACHINE
2. LYNCH/PILSON - WICKED UNDERGROUND
3. JANI LANE - BACK DOWN TO ONE

And, we're done. I'll save the Top Concerts and DVDs for the other
guys here at Detritus. I'm looking forward to a lot of kick ass music
in 2005 and I hope you're all along for the ride. Tim, you've done a
KICK ASS job with DETRITUS all these years and there's no real way for
any of us to thank you. You personally have turned me on to so much
good music and I don't expect that to change. Best of luck with Baby
Wadzinski and don't hesitate to tell Sean and I when we totally f#*k
this thing up!

*
*** BIG SOUNDS - LITTLE WORDS ***
*
by Rick Berg (strngbrg@...)

Rick Berg Top Ten CDs for 2004. maybe...

1. Amon Amarth - FATE OF NORNS
Viking death metal at its finest. This CD has never left my player.

2. In Flames - SOUNDTRACK TO YOUR ESCAPE
Anders Friden's vocals keep getting better.

3. Damageplan - NEW FOUND POWER
'Nuff said. I loved this album since day one.

4. Megadeth - THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED
Best album since RUST IN PEACE.

5. Slipknot - VOL. 3 "SUBLIMINAL VERSES"
Their best overall album, but previous singles are stronger.

6. Kittie - UNTIL THE END
So much better than you think.

7. Nightwish - ONCE
"Wish I Had An Angel" is my favorite song of 2004.

8. Skindred - BABYLON
If Suicidal Tendencies and Rage Against The Machine made Reggae.

9. Dropbox - s/t
A Guilty pleasure. Definitely my new Godsmack fix.

10. Fear Factory - ARCHETYPE
So what if it's full of video game soundtracks, this rocks.

11. Probot - s/t
This list goes to eleven.

*
*** FLAMES FROM THE LAKE ***
*
by Sean P. Gahgan (lof@...)

Another year has passed and I want to wish all of the Detritus
faithful a happy and prosperous New Year!!! As Tim hands the torch to
Patrick and I, to take on the ultimate responsibility of fatherhood, I
want you all to know that we will do our best to honor and uphold all
of the hard work and great journalism that Tim has put into Detritus
over the years. I feel fortunate to be a part of the Detritus family
and all of the good work we do spreading the Metal news! I thank Tim
for the opportunity to share my experiences and opinions with all of
you, and I thank all of you for the feedback and dialogue that we have
had. I have been turned onto some killer music thanks to all of you!
So enough of that and on with the show...

Records of the year. These are the CDs that spent the most time in my
various CD players this year (in no particular order).

THE GLORIOUS BURDEN - Iced Earth

Excellent song writing and emotionally charged lyrics from Jon
Schaffer, great production from Jim Morris, and a vocal performance by
Tim Owens that firmly establishes him as a force to be reckoned with.
The song "Gettysburg" defines the word "epic." This is a metal
masterpiece.

HELLFIRE CLUB - Edguy

Everything that made Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Accept appealing
is all here wrapped up in a fresh package fronted by a very
charismatic and talented singer. Tobias Sammet and the boys craft some
great songs, "The Piper Never Dies" and "Navigator" are instant
classics. Punchy, in your face production and balls out attitude.
These guys should only get stronger.

THE INNER CIRCLE - Evergrey

What can I say about Thomas S. Englund and the boys? With every new
release they continually grow and diversify while always retaining
their own identity. Tom's finest vocal performance is found here and
demonstrated on songs such as "Waking Up Blind" and "Faith Restored,"
new drummer Jonas Ekdahl cements himself as the drummer of the future
and Michael Hakansson, Henrik Danhage, and Rikard Zander all put in
stellar performances. The deep, dark, emotionally disturbing story
they weave throughout THE INNER CIRCLE is a roller coaster ride of
highs and lows that will have it ranked up there with the great
concept CDs for years to come. "When The Walls Come Down" still gives
me chills every time I hear it!

MELANCHOLY BEAST - Pyramaze

This one took a while to grow on me put it is awesome. Powerful and
melodic with a big sound production and Lance King puts in another
incredible vocal performance. This was definitely the sleeper of the
year.

MODUS VIVENDI - Tad Morose

[Even though this originally came out in 2003, Century Media released
it in the states in 2004, thus it can be considered a 2004 release.]

Man...I missed the boat on these guys. Never really gave them much
thought until my friend Professor Metal kept going on how impressed he
was by them (and the Professor does not impress easily). Then I saw
them at ProgPower USA V and they just floored me. Urban Breed sounded
better live than on their recordings! And he sounds great on those!
Powerful, catchy, big, mean, and did I saw powerful? These guys ROCK.
An incredibly heavy, in-your-face production that sounds huge.

THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED - Megadeth

Dave was right on when he said he was going back to the RUST IN PEACE
sound. This is all killer and no filler, some great songs on here with
a solid production. I would have liked it a little heavier and faster
but the songs are so well constructed I'll let Dave pass on that
little detail. Chris Poland's unique style of soloing is welcomed and
complements Dave's reckless abandon style. No one ever said Mustaine
was a great singer but he does things on here that blow his other
stuff away vocally. I am very pleased with this one.

Honorable Mention:

LIONHEAT - Saxon

While not as good as 2002's KILLING GROUND, Saxon still continue to
put out great metal with a slamming sound and killer riffs... If Dio
is the Godfather of Heavy Metal, Biff has got to be his brother. ;-)

Songs of the year (ranked)

7) "Searching For Atlantis" by Saxon from LIONHEART

This is by far the coolest riff of the year. The way this rhythm leads
the listener through the song is just so frickin' cool. Check this
song out if you haven't hear it, you won't be disappointed.

6) "The Piper Never Dies" by Edguy from THE HELLFIRE CLUB

A very cool "epic" song, nice and long but never loses the flow of
continuity. Great building structures and some cool vocal harmonies.

5) "Legend" by Pyramaze from MELANCHOLY BEAST

This has got to be the most powerful and balls out I have ever heard
Lance King sound. The guitar work and transitions are fabulous and the
story is inspirational. If you haven't heard it, you are missing out!

4) "Ambassador" by Evergrey from THE INNER CIRCLE

This is the first song I play for people off this CD. It is just so
heavy and the lyrics are great. The way Tom sings the chorus gets my
blood boiling every time I hear it!

3) "Until We Fade Away" by Pyramaze from MELANCHOLY BEAST

Ballad of the year, just an absolutely beautiful song with touching
lyrics with an emotional performance by Lance King. Powerful music and
a killer transition into heaviness at the 2:00 mark.

2) "Afraid To Die" by Tad Morose from MODUS VIVENDI

This one pulls in at a very close second. I played this song over and
over and over... I absolutely love it... "I am telling you, there
comes a time when we must face what we've become." The way Urban sings
that line is so convincing and the music that backs him up is
powerful. God I love this song!!!

1) "Gettysburg" by Iced Earth from THE GLORIOUS BURDEN

I listened to this trilogy more than any other piece of music this
year. It still gives me goose bumps when I listen to it now. My three
favorite parts are: 1) the beginning line of "Hold At All Costs." The
emotional words of friend vs. friend and how it kicks into the heavy
part following, 2) the toms at the end of "Hold At All Costs," 3) and
last but not least, the end of "High Water Mark" when Ripper
strikingly belts out "It's All My Fault, The Blood Is On My Hands."
Utterly amazing song!

Disappointments for the year

WORLDS APART - Silent Force

Don't get me wrong, this was a good release, the production is top-
notch, one of D.C. Cooper's strongest vocal performances and Alex
Beyrodt really rips on this one. It is just that my expectations were
set so high for this one and the collection of songs as a whole failed
to meet them. With the exception of "Ride The Storm," "No One Lives
Forever," and "Merry Minstrel" I thought the CD lacked diversity, too
many songs sounding the same. I love this band, it's just after their
first two CDs the bar is raised very high and I really hope they open
up the style on the next release.

MASTER OF THE MOON - Dio

What can I say, not a bad release but how I long for riffs and solos
like Vivian Campbell gave us on the first two releases.

Concerts of the Year for 2004

1) Evergrey at the Storan Theater, Gothenburg, Sweden

This was one of the coolest concerts I have ever got to witness and
actually be a part of. An incredible performance by one of my favorite
bands in a perfect setting with outstanding sound. A wonderful
experience all the way around and a very special treat to be part of
the filming for there upcoming DVD.

2) ProgPower USA V at Earthlink Live, Atlanta, GA

An extraordinary event and the best festival in the USA. This year I
got to see the most amazing performance by Kamelot which was
phenomenal, Tad Morose and Brainstorm just ripped, Edguy blew everyone
away, again, and Weapons Of Mass Destruction saw the Mountain King and
Savatage family wreak musical havoc like only they can.

3) Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles 6-Pack Weekend II, Cleveland, OH

Cool festival where we got to see the reigning queen of rock, Doro
Pesch, rock out full on ten as well as unplugged, Brainstorm pound out
a killer set, the return of the awesome and highly underrated Shok
Paris, Flotsam And Jetsam thrashed our brains out and then Primal Fear
just destroyed them all with a metal onslaught that was so tight and
heavy that the ground actually shook. Can't wait to see who they get
for next year.

4) Iced Earth/Children Of Bodom/Evergrey at the Metro, Chicago IL

Evergrey was awesome but played too short of a set. Didn't see
Children Of Bodom as we were hanging with Evergrey. To hear and see
Tim Owens pull off the vocals he recorded on THE GLORIOUS BURDEN live
was incredible, he nailed every one of his spots, I was very critical
of him and he blew me away, simply an amazing display of vocal power!
And he followed it up three days later in Milwaukee, WI, with another
incredible performance.

Best find of the year

Enchant - Thanks to Patrick Brower for turning me onto these guys. I
have their last three releases and they are all awesome. What sets
this progressive rock (yes that is rock, not prog Metal as there is a
difference) is the strong songwriting ability and melodic hooks from
the awesome vocalist Ted Leonard. This guy is flat-out awesome.
Progressive songs that you can actually sing along to -- who would
have thought? ;-) And as for guitar, Douglass Ott is phenomenal --
talk about emotionally charged solos! Doug speaks through his
instrument so well as he twists and bends every emotion possible
through these songs. These guys are so talented and such a refreshing
change of pace. Start with TUG OF WAR and work your way back as I
have, highly recommended!

*
*** FROM THE MEGA-VAULT ***
*
by Keith Abt (keithabt@...)

-This Week: "2004 IN REVIEW"

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope your holiday season was suitably
heavy and that Santa stuffed your stockings with all the CDs you asked
for. :-) As you've no doubt read in Tim's "Let It Be Known" piece by
now, Detritus will be entering new and uncharted territory in 2005. In
case you missed it, Tim will be stepping down from his editorial post
after this edition in order to concentrate on having a life and
enjoying his impending fatherhood. (From one Metal Dad to another,
Tim, congrats!!) At first it seemed that his decision would signal the
end of Detritus, but luckily there are two brave souls (Massive hails,
Sean and Patrick!) who are willing to pick up the gauntlet and take
his spot at the top of the masthead, so the 'zine will carry on. Whew!
That was close! :-) Since I was under the impression that this would
be my final column when I started writing it, I had a heartfelt,
touching "So long, farewell, it's been fun" introduction all set to go
where I got all teary eyed and grateful to Tim for letting me start
"From The Mega-Vault" way back in January of 2002, I thanked everybody
who'd ever e-mailed me about a column or helped me out in any way,
yadda yadda yadda...but when it turned out that the 'zine would live
on after all, I suddenly needed a new introduction. Then, of course, I
couldn't think of a damned thing to say. Don't you HATE when that
happens? (Must be a lingering hangover from New Year's...) So let's
just leave it at this: Thanks Tim, and I hope you enjoy your well-
deserved semi-retirement. 2004 was pretty rockin', and I hope the new
Detritus bosses will allow me to continue hanging around the office,
stealing their beer and nit-picking at the scene well into 2005 and
beyond. All righty then, let's get down to business! From the home
office in New Jersey, "From The Mega-Vault" proudly presents its 2004
Year In Review! Roll 'em!

FROM THE MEGA-VAULT'S TOP 10 CDs OF 2004: (In order of preference...
almost. The top two have been in a constant battle for total supremacy
of my stereo for most of this year, but I hated to declare a tie, so I
settled it alphabetically.)

Iced Earth - THE GLORIOUS BURDEN (SPV) - Glorious, indeed! Though I
still miss Matthew Barlow, I couldn't help but be impressed by how
easily Tim Owens rose from the ashes of his ill-fated Judas Priest
tenure to propel Iced Earth into a new era of excellence. The awesome
"Gettysburg" epic is worth the price of admission alone; they could've
released the album with just those three tracks on it and I still
would've been happy as a clam!

Probot - s/t (Southern Lord) - Oh, HELL yes! Dave (Foo Fighters)
Grohl's long awaited metal side-project became the best-selling
release in the history of the Southern Lord label, and with good
reason... it RULES! It did my aging thrasher's heart good to hear such
titans of '80s underground terror as Cronos, Denis "Snake" Belanger,
Kurt Brecht, and Eric Wagner still sounding so vital after all these
years. Barely a week has gone by since I purchased PROBOT that I
haven't played it at least once. It's a shame that this addictive dose
of old-school mayhem will likely be a one-shot deal.

Megadeth - THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED (Sanctuary) - Dave Mustaine came
roaring out of his self-induced hiatus and reduced his last four
albums to dust with this awesome return to form. If this will truly be
the last Megadeth album (the cynic in me sez that time and album sales
will tell for sure...), then at least Dave is leaving us with a bang
rather than a whimper.

Tad Morose - MODUS VIVENDI (Century Media) - Have I mentioned how much
I love this band lately? Well, if not, I love this band. They can do
no wrong. You should love this band too. :-) I even like the cover of
ABBA's "Knowing Me, Knowing You" for cryin' out loud! They've been
high on my list of favorites since I was first introduced to them via
2001's UNDEAD, and now they've scored a hat trick, as this is their
third album in a row that's landed in my year-end Best-Of column. Nice
work, boys!

Frost - RAISE YOUR FIST TO METAL (Noise) - Remember when heavy metal
was supposed to be FUN? Seven Witches guitarist Jack Frost obviously
does. His solo debut is a simple, old-fashioned hard rock/metal album
that sounds like it fell right out of 1987. Lots of catchy songs,
totally shreddin' guitar, and an all around party vibe made sure that
this one spent much time in my car stereo.

Monster Magnet - MONOLITHIC BABY! (SPV) - Best air guitar album of
2004! I'd never heard Monster Magnet before this album, but like any
good drug, MONOLITHIC BABY got me hooked on the first hit. Monster
Magnet fills the gap that was left open in hard rock when The Cult and
Warrior Soul disbanded and Guns N' Roses went Howard Hughes on us.
Black leather, Marshall Amps, beer and buds are the order of the day
in Monster Magnet's world, and it works for 'em!

Debase - UNLEASHED (Noise) - From the "who the f**k are these guys?"
file, these Swedes came outta nowhere, and whomped me upside the head
with a pummeling blend of thrash, doom, and traditional metal all in
the same soup. I've been singing the praises of this band to anyone
who'll listen for much of the year and I look forward to hearing more
material from 'em.

Cans - BEYOND THE GATES (Noise) - I honestly wasn't expecting much
from Joacim (HammerFall) Cans' debut as a solo artist, but that
actually worked in this album's favor. BEYOND THE GATES has more bite
than most of HammerFall's catalog to date and it was the biggest
surprise of the year for me. If Joacim could transfer some of the
teeth that this album has to the forthcoming new HammerFall CD, we
could really be in for something special!

Dio - MASTER OF THE MOON (Sanctuary) - Metal's original dungeon master
returns in excellent voice (as usual), with another album full of
classic vibes. Now how about getting to work on MAGICA PART II,
Ronnie...we're not getting any younger and neither are you! :-)

Scorpions - UNBREAKABLE (Sanctuary) - What is it with all these old-
timers coming out with amazingly killer albums this year? I had all
but given up on the Scorpions by the dawn of the 1990s but they came
blasting back with this excellent offering. Their hair may be thinner
than it used to be but these guys still ROCK!

Honorable Mentions: Metal Church's THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD (SPV),
despite the nearly all-new lineup, is a surprisingly credible return
by a band that I'd written off half a decade ago; Gamma Ray's
SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET (Noise) provided a glimpse into the band's
live attack that we sadly will probably never see on this side of the
Atlantic; Iron Savior's BATTERING RAM (Noise) continues Piet Sielck's
unique sci-fi metal vision (oh yeah, and it rocks too!); and the
combination of Saxon's LIONHEART (SPV) and Motorhead's INFERNO (Metal-
Is) makes me hope that I can kick half as much ass when I'm as old as
Lemmy and Biff. :-)

Dishonorable Mentions: We've got two booby prizes to give away in this
category this year! The first goes to ADVANCE AND VANQUISH by 3 Inches
Of Blood (RoadRunner). The current hype on these Canucks would have
you believe that they're the missing link between today's metal-core
sound and the sword swinging, Dungeons & Dragons-obsessed true metal
heroics of yesteryear. To those hyping this band I ask: Are you
SERIOUS? The clashing styles on this CD mix about as well as a slice
of cheesecake topped with tuna fish. This noisy, chaotic, strictly
average thrash band with a pair of vocalists (yes, there are two --
one guy on high pitched shrill monkey squeals and one on tough-guy nu-
metal "blurrrgh" breakdowns) was the most irritating listening
experience of my year. Yarrrgh, to the trade-in pile with ye, ya
scurvy dogs!

Our runner-up is England's DragonForce, who refer to their music as
"Extreme power metal." Unfortunately, the only thing extreme about
their SONIC FIRESTORM disc (Noise) was its wankiness. Yeah, they can
play like muthafuggas, but where's the soul? They're so busy showing
off their chops that there's barely an ounce of feeling on the entire
CD. This derivative slab of noodling power-metal poop only serves to
prove that Brits can rip off the Helloween formula just as easily as
Germans do.

Biggest Bummer of 2004: It pains me to say this about one of my all
time metal heroes, but Blackie Lawless laid a double sized egg in 2004
with W.A.S.P.'s mega-hyped, eagerly anticipated NEON GOD saga. We were
promised an "Epic conceptual tour de force," but what we got sounded
like warmed-up leftovers from THE CRIMSON IDOL. To add insult to
injury, Blackie felt the need to drag this story out over TWO discs
released six months apart! I was so bored by PART 1 - THE RISE that I
still haven't bothered to investigate PART 2 - THE DEMISE.

Diamond in the Rough Award: The 70-minute-plus vampire saga DUST TO
DUST from France's Heavenly is waaaaayyyyyy too long and a little
fruitier than I usually like my metal, but despite that, the track
"Lust For Life" was one of the best power metal songs I heard in 2004.
If only the rest of the album were as catchy as this one track!

Best Album Cover of 2004: Saxon, LIONHEART; runner-up: Tad Morose,
MODUS VIVENDI

Worst Album Cover of 2004: Cans' BEYOND THE GATES. It's criminal that
such a killer CD has to be wrapped in crappy artwork that looks like
it was pinched from a 1970s Conan comic book!

Album Cover That Looks Uncannily Like the Movie Poster for
"Underworld": Primal Fear, DEVIL'S GROUND; Album Cover that looks
Uncannily like the Movie Poster for "Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows":
Dyecrest, THE WAY OF PAIN

Number of Albums Released in 2004 Featuring A Song Titled "Soul
Collector": 2 (Debase's UNLEASHED and Cans' BEYOND THE GATES)

Best Used-CD Store Find of 2004: Usually I list some hard to find
treasure in this space, but surprisingly enough my favorite used-CD
find of the past year was the PROBOT disc, which I grabbed for $6.99
only a few weeks after its release in early February. It should be
obvious from the gushing praise I lavished upon it earlier in this
column that it was the best $6.99 I spent all year. :-)

Best Read of 2004: Ian Christe's _Sound Of The Beast: The Complete
Headbanging History Of Heavy Metal_ is a totally essential volume that
should be on every metalhead's bookshelf. This excellent chronicle of
life and times of our obnoxious style of music in all of its various
and sundry sub-genres in will bring back many pleasant memories as
well as provide tons of insignificant trivia that you can use to
impress less-metal-than-thou friends at your next party. :-)

Looking Forward To 2005: All of metaldom will be awaiting the new
Judas Priest offering with bated breath, of course (it BETTER be GOOD,
guys!!) but I'll also be camping outside the CD store anticipating new
CDs from Helloween, Overkill, Trouble, and (hopefully) the rumored new
solo material from Bruce Dickinson. Raven may finally release a LONG
overdue new album too, so 2005 looks like it'll be just as rockin' as
'04. Happy Heavy New Year to you all and in the words of a certain
metal legend turned cartoonish reality-sitcom star, "God knows I'll
see you, see you on the other side..."

-THIS WEEK'S PLAYLIST (in addition to every damn 2004 release I own to
prepare for this column, of course): Iron Savior - s/t; Kiss - LICK IT
UP; Manowar - WARRIORS OF THE WORLD; Annihilator - REMAINS; Love/Hate
- I'M NOT HAPPY.

*
*** LIFE AMONG THE RUINS ***
*
by Steve Shumake (vongoober@...)

I thought 2004 was a killer year for music so I didn't even bother to
count the albums that stood out for me this last year, so I'm sure
there are way more than 10 below. :) And they aren't in any sort of
order because I'm a wuss and couldn't pick them out that way.

Shameless plug time... You can hear all the below music on my Internet
radio station, VonGoober RADIO, http://www.vongoober.com/ .

Oh, and Wadzinski rules....but then you already knew that.

*Dream Evil - THE BOOK OF HEAVY METAL
[ http://www.dreamevil.se/ ]
I love this disc!!! The bonus DVD that came with the special edition
is awesome too. Snowy Shaw is hysterical! And a good songwriter.

*Edguy - HELLFIRE CLUB
[ http://www.edguy.nu/ ]
Tobias and Co. just don't know how to write mediocre songs. Love the
humor too. How can you hear a song like "Lavatory Love Machine" and
not smile?! :)

*Evergrey - THE INNER CIRCLE
[ http://www.evergrey.net/ ]
Continued great stuff from Evergrey. The acoustic bonus tracks on the
limited edtion send this baby over the top....stellar!

*Impellitteri - PEDAL TO THE METAL
[ http://www.rapture.net/impellitteri/ ]
Chris adds a touch of "Gothenburg" to the Impellitteri sound and it
works....best album he has done for several years. New singer Curtis
Skelton is great!

*In Flames - SOUNDTRACK TO YOUR ESCAPE
[ http://www.inflames.com/ ]
Not immediately as catchy as REROUTE TO REMAIN was this was a grower
for me. The mighty In Flames continue to put out great stuff while not
remaking the same album over and over again.

*Into Eternity - BURIED IN OBLIVION
[ http://www.intoeternity.com/ ]
Great combination of clean and death vocals from this Canadian band.
Awesome players too.

*Lordi - THE MONSTERICAN DREAM
[ http://www.lordi.org/ ]
Superb Hard Rock from the band that looks cooler than GWAR and are
much better musicians and songwriters. They make sweet videos too!

*Nightwish - ONCE [US release]
[ http://www.nightwish.com/ ]
All the elements that have been apparent on previous releases from
Nightwish came together on this album and it slays!

*Megadeth - THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED
[ http://www.megadeth.com/ ]
Best thing Dave has done since RUST IN PEACE. Great melodies and
Dave's voice sounds good.

*Wolf - EVIL STAR
[ http://www.wolf.nu/ ]
With a giant NWOBHM sound and good production from Peter Tagtgren this
rocks your balls off (sorry ladies)!

*Zillion - ZILLION
[ http://www.zilliononline.com/ ]
This was the surpise of the year for me. I initially picked it up
because Mike Terran plays drums & Jens Becker plays bass on it. This
is some good Hard Rock/Melodic Metal with great songwriting.

*Dragonland - STARFALL
[ http://www.dragonland.se/ ]
Great Power Metal album produced by Tom S. Englund. Tom & Henrik
Danhage guest on guitar and Tom sings a bit too.

*Hellfueled - VOLUME ONE
[ http://www.hellfueled.com/ ]
If you like Ozzy, Black Sabbath and the awesome production coming out
of Studio Fredman, you must own this disc! Singer Andy sang on the
Dream Evil song "No Way" from THE BOOK OF HEAVY METAL...he is a dead
ringer for Ozzy.

*Mercenary - 11 DREAMS
[ http://www.mercenary.dk/ ]
Good combination of vocals like the Into Eternity above but with very
distinctive harmonies. Cool stuff from Denmark!

*Persuader - EVOLUTION PURGATORY
[ http://www.persuader.nu/ ]
Singer that sounds like Hansi Kursch coupled with ripping Power Metal
musicianship. Turn it up!

*Shiva - DESERT DREAMS
[ http://hem.spray.se/ake.edstrom/navigation.html ]
Female vocals to die for with good songwriting.

*Thunderstone - THE BURNING
[ http://www.thunderstone.org/ ]
Outstanding Melodic Metal...love the songwriting on this one.

*Twilightning - PLAGUE-HOUSE PUPPET SHOW
[ http://www.twilightning.net/ ]
Another suprise for me, this thing rocks! Power Metal that doesn't
sound rehashed.

Happy 2005 to everyone and I hope we have as good of a musical year as
2004 was.

-= trinken gar aus =-

*
*** REALM OF SHRED ***
*
by Neal Woodall (MysticX10@...)

-Here's a list of what I enjoyed in 2004...

CDs (in no particular order)

Magnitude 9 - DECODING THE SOUL
Saxon - LIONHEART
Dio - MASTER OF THE MOON
Scorpions - UNBREAKABLE
Dokken - HELL TO PAY
Evergrey - THE INNER CIRCLE
Iommi/Hughes - THE 1996 DEP SESSIONS
Twilightning - PLAGUE-HOUSE PUPPET SHOW
Tad Morose - MODUS VIVENDI
Jorn - OUT TO EVERY NATION
Megadeth - THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED
TNT - MY RELIGION
Pyramaze - MELANCHOLY BEAST
Warrior - THE WARS OF GODS AND MEN
Jag Panzer - CASTING THE STONES
Chris Caffery - FACES
Fates Warning - FWX
Metal Church - THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD
U.D.O. - THUNDERBALL
Europe - START FROM THE DARK

There are quite a few more that I could list, some I'm blanking on as
I'm writing and others I would put in the "honorable mention"
category. There are also a ton of discs I have yet to hear, such as
the Silent Force and Jon Oliva's new one, I'll get to them soon.

Instrumental:

Derek Sherinian - MYTHOLOGY
Joop Wolters - SPEED, TRAFFIC & GUITAR ACCIDENTS
MCM - RITUAL FACTORY
Joe Stump - SPEED METAL MESSIAH
George Bellas - VENEMOUS FINGERS

Tributes:

Various - GIVE US MOORE! - GARY MOORE TRIBUTE
Various - SHAWN LANE REMEMBERED - VOL. II
George Lynch - FURIOUS GEORGE
Rush - FEEDBACK
Alex Masi - IN THE NAME OF MOZART

Non-Metal CDs:

U2 - HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB
The Tangent - THE WORLD THAT WE DRIVE THROUGH
Anyone's Daughter - WRONG
Pain of Salvation - BE
California Guitar Trio - WHITEWATER

DVDs:

Iron Maiden - THE HISTORY OF IRON MAIDEN - PART 1: THE EARLY DAYS
G3 - LIVE IN DENVER
Dream Theater - LIVE AT BUDOKAN
Michael Schenker Group - WORLD WIDE LIVE 2004
Saga - ALL ACCESS

Concerts:

Rush
ProgPower USA V
Yngwie Malmsteen/George Lynch
Helloween
Dokken

Most Anticipated for 2005:

Judas Priest - ANGEL OF RETRIBUTION & tour
Evergrey - LIVE DVD
Crimson Glory - BOX SET (reunion?)
Yngwie Malmsteen - UNLEASH THE FURY
Stride - NEW
Sinergy - NEW
Labyrinth - NEW
Leatherwolf - NEW
Vicious Rumors - NEW
ProgPower USA VI

Too many things to mention, really, but I have a feeling there will be
some awesome surprises; hope everyone has a great 2005!!!

*
*** OUT ***
*

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