...Don't waste my time

Motorhead-Motorizer 2008
This is like the 20th full length album of this band? Gosh, people just don't know when it's time to completely fuck off and start some fishing or just retire for good.

Lemmy Kilmister, a senior metalhead which became the most well known cliche of the global metal scene for his unexplained ability of not being in a protected tenancy after all his "sex drugs and alcohol" years, still manage to pull out new albums each now and then, for the absolute sake of nothing. This band sounds tired and exhausted, exactly as they did in their first album, but this is their fucking 20th, and it doesn't bearable anymore. 'Inferno' had some intense moments and 'Kiss Of Death' had a few "okay" songs, but this is a joke.

The problem starts when you pulling the same joke more than a couple of times and when you pull it at such a high frequency. It literally gets fucking boring and suspiciously pathetic.

'Runaround Man' open this album in a quite alarming way. It's just go through the motions with pretty banal riffs without any catchy moments or a sole intense idea. It's just a generic Motorhead filler, and it's quite a bad choice for an opener. 'Teach You How To Sing The Blues' has one short rock n roll catchy hook after the chorus, but other than that it's another tiresome song plus a quite amorphous lead guitar section. 'When The Eagle Screams' begins in a very promising way with a ballsy catchy riff, too bad it has no appropriate continuation. So we've got one good riff which carries Lemmy tired vocals in the chorus, other unmemorable generic riffs here and there, and another weak solo attempt to fill an empty hole. Still, not a good song. The rest of the album is disappointing as well. They can't pull off anymore these simple ideas which made classics such as 'Ace Of Spades' or 'Overkill' for what they are. They can write an okay riff here and there, but they can't pull out a full good song anymore. They simply lost their touch.

Motorhead are the same old horse which keeps on running but never gets tired. The same old beer that everybody drinks. The same old superman that kiddies will blindly adore. It's the same fragile snorts of old Lemmy. The same half assed plodding riffs we've heard before and the same boring, uninspired drum beats that each kiddy can pull out with his cheap plastic drum kit. It's the same utter boredom we've heard dozens of times before, and we'll probably hear until the band splits up, and god knows how much albums we'll need to suffer until that happen.

It's also the same album that stupid, bad drunk heavyweight beerbellies will adore, because this is fucking Motorhead and Lemmy ownz.

Tell you what, if you like your heavy metal tired, repetitive, unambitious with extremely medicore generic riffs, then you are seriously need to get this album as soon as possible, Have fun!

Morbid-December Moon 1988

Yeah, this is what Dead did before he joined to Mayhem, and it isn't a bad stuff here, but without Dead's presence there is nothing special here. It's a death/thrash metal demo which has been recorded in 16 hours and it's pretty sensed here. The production is pretty bad, everything sounds distorted and there is a little mess among the instruments. The guitar has horrible sound, it sounds scratchy and a bit muted, that's a bad thing of course because the songs could be delivered much better with more powerful guitar tune.

The song themselves are pretty solid. 'My Dark Subconcious' begins with a weird sound and then comes a guitar with a pretty good opener riff and the song continues with a nice riffing and cool drumming. The vocals sounds pretty sick and occult, but sometimes it gets louder than the rest of the instruments and you can't hear well the riffs and also the drums blends a bit. 'Winds Of Funeral' begins with an awesome clean interlude and then it suddenly changes and becomes straightforward with some aggressive drumming and great riffs. I think it could be much better song if they were developing the clean intro and than changes the mood, because it really could be an outstanding track if they weren't waste such a great opening riff.

Anyway, the songs here are pretty rhythmic and has some catchy moments, but nothing more. The vocals pretty good and so are the riffs, but the production is really sucks and it sounds too much dirty like that. It's a good demo but not something essential. 6/10

Enslaved - Nema

If I had to describe this demo with only one word, it would be "gloomy". This somehow forgotten demo showcases a young and ambitious band perpetuating their first creation in the norwegian black metal scene, after leaving their death metal band 'Phobia' to create something different and help to establish the "true" black metal as we know it today: dark, cold and unconventional.

The overall sound of this demo is fuzzy, a complete opposite from their future releases. This demo is actually the most primitive and minimalist form of 'Enslaved', both in production (or less of) and songwriting, though this demo still sounds singular and different from the typical black metal scene, as usual for 'Enslaved'.

First track is a monotonous atmospheric keyboards section with some growls and whispers at the background, building quite good atmosphere and leading us to the first real song 'Himneskir Fatזkir'. The riffing is well constructed and hypnotizing and there is enough variety and breaks that makes this song sounds a bit complex. The keyboards also fitting perfectly with the guitars and increases a darker feeling within the cold mood of this song. 'Himnsekr fateks' is another ambitious and complex song but this one doesn't have a real impressive climax. However it still well constructed and atmospheric, not a bad track overall. The demo finishes with another keyboards section which is very atmospheric and well executed, a great ambient track which closes this demo in a very fascinating mood.

'Nema' is an imaginative and innovative piece of work which sounds even singular today and was an important creation in the burgeoning of the black metal scene. For 1991 you won't find anything sounds like this demo, neither today.

Orphaned Land-El Norra Alila

'El Norra Alila' is Orphaned Land's greatest work to date.

Two years after debuted with their groundbreaking 'Sahara', the band released their second album and reinvented themselves with a different, unique atmosphere that you'll find only in 'El Norra Alila'.

Gone are all the doomy influences and the songs got much shorter than before. This album actually stands out for it's different character than their earlier efforts, which were written only several years before this album came out. What a great change in such a short period of time indeed.

The spinal column of this album is definitely the guitars of 'Yossi' and 'Matti'. The riff work of this album is somehow genius. This album feels very monolithic due to the endlessly and perfectly flowing of the guitars, which are so plentiful and unique
sounding. They are just brilliantly composed. There are no verse-chorus songs here, all of this album is a brutal, melodic and sweeping continuity of briliiant ideas which merging together flawlessly and creating together a great wall of majestic atmosphere that will blow your mind for countless listenings. So yeah, if you like quality riffs, you'll die on this album.

The vocals on this album are a sheer improvement. 'Kobi Farhi' reveals here as a great and highly abundant vocalist. His growls are brutal than ever but they remain very comprehensible at the same time. But the highest plus here is the obvious using of clean vocals. As opposed to 'Sahara', where the clean vocals were most of the time used as a speaking voice or had some short melodies here and there, here the clean vocals takes a much bigger part and are way better than before.
The vocals had been recorded in different channels, contains a splendor of different ideas which are being balanced together and creating a beautiful harmonies. Tracks like 'The Truth Within', 'The Path Ahead' and 'Thee By The Father I Pray' contains a brilliant usage of emotional, soaring vocals among with harsh growling and adding a rich layers of emotions for the fluidly marvelous riffs.

Sami Bachar's drumming is also pretty complex and brutal. There are quite much breakdowns and ideas that weren't presented before and increase a lot to the overall flowing of this album.

It really doesn't matter how much I'm gonna talk about this album, or how much you gonna read about it. Words can't transfer enough well the deep emotions reflected from this astonishing, underrated album. If you still haven't heard 'El Norra Alila', than you simply missed something unique that can't be found anywhere else, and is worth a fortune.

Simply get this album and let yourself wander deep into the hypnotic atmosphere of 'El Norra Alila'...literally, it's an unparalleled expirence. 9.5/10

Orphaned Land-Sahara

After the band supported acts such as 'Tiamat' and 'Cathedral', self released a majestic demo tape and based themselves as one of the leading metal acts in Israel, the band received a contract from the french label 'Holy Records', and thus released their first full length album entitled as 'Sahara'.

The first part of this album contains three unreleased songs and one interlude, the second part contains four rerecorded tracks from their debut demo 'The Beloved's Cry'. One major difference from their previous demo is the absolutely flawless sound quality. The overall sound of this album has much more depth, the guitars sounds heavier yet thicker than before, the bass can be heard quite well and has a pretty piercing sound and the keyboards has a more inflated shape as well.

'The Sahara's Storm' is an excellent opener. Very energetic heat and cruncy riff sets, and there is a marvelous oriental vibe for all of it's way which merging flawlessly with the straightforward, aggressive growling which penetrate at the right moments of the song. 'Blessed Be Thy Hate' is the doomiest song this band ever written. Very melancholic feeling and tons of twisted riffs which creating together a long epic and doomy journey. This is a song which will make all the doom fans happy. A must hear.

'Ornaments Of Gold' is nothing less than a masterpiece. This is what I call a "Rollercoaster song". So many riffs, so many ideas, so many moods...all merging together into a seven minutes long epic song, perfectly. It has a very consistent structure which emphasize each idea to it's saturation point and then mildly continue to the next section, creating a long and continuous opus which flowing easily and will leave you crave for more. Though each second of this song is just amazing, the absolute high spots of it are the first mammoth riff, which is literally unparalleled for it's sheer originality, and the melancholic ending with the soaring vocals and the astounding, apocalyptic lead guitar.

The last song, called 'Orphaned Land', begins with a slow, brooding riff and the song warming gradually until it reach the fantastic chorus which contains an energetic riff and melodic lead guitar that creating together a grandiose harmony that will force you shit oysters from your ears. The ending of the song is quite impressive as well, very emotional leading guitar from Yossi Saaron which just closes this song wonderfully. Then there are some clean guitars and oud at the background which will settle the atmosphere down, like a calm after the storm.

'Sahara' is a wonderful album. If you like doom, folk, death or just looking for a revolutionary album, you'll be more than grateful for owning this album, which is just a sign for what will come two years afterward...

Orphaned Land-The Beloved's Cry

In the year 1991, a group of Israeli teenagers (under the leadership of vocalist Kobi Farhi and bass player Uri Zelcha) formed up an aggressive, primitive death metal band called 'Resurrection'. The band was highly influenced from early death metal acts such as 'Napalm Death' and 'Entombed' and played a quite violent type of metal. After a sole show in a local Israeli club, without any recordings behind, 'Resurrection' called it quits and the band later changed their name to 'Orphaned Land'. With the addition of the new drummer Sami Bachar (from a local band called 'Morgue') and guitarists Yossi Saaron and Matti Svatizky, the band started working on their own unique style, which started to take form in their 1993's demo tape entitled as 'The Beloved's Cry'.

To best categorize this demo I would describe it as an 'oriental melodic doom death metal with some of the best fucking riffs you'll ever hear in your shitty life'!

The main songwriters of this demo were Sami Bachar and Yossi Saaron which took all of their metal influences, mixed it with their own ethnic culture, whispered some secret magic spells and created an unparalleled type of metal which remains so unique even today.

'Seasons Unite' opens with a catchy melody from a clean electric guitar which carried then by a churchy keyboard sound and heavily distorted Ibanez guitars and keep flowing with a short guitar soloing and a nice bass outbreak later. This opener is an eight minutes journey with a very mystic atmosphere for all of it's way. There are some clean vocals here and there together with a female voice at the background, but mostly this song has a pure growling which flowing flawlessly with the complex riff process of this song.

'Above You All' and 'Pits Of Despair' are the heavier side of this demo. 'Above You All' has a very oldschool death metal riffing and will make you headbang like a mad. However, it's still has some melodic riffs here and there, but it's climax is the long orgasmic, hypnotic solo at the end which will keep your mouth wide open for a very long time. 'Pits Of Despair' has a brilliant dual guitar harmonies and a plenty of crunchy and heavy death metal riffs as well. Pretty punching track.

The title track is a mellow ballad with clean, melancholic vocals and hypnotic atmosphere driven by the enchanting clean guitar playing and the ethereal keyboards in the background. The song fades out with a wonderful, emotional soaring lead guitar which closing this wonderful track with unbelievably epic feeling and will be engraved in your mind for a very long time, even for the rest of your life.

This demo represents what determination, talent and skills can do. This wonderful demo is just the very first step in the long, amazing discography of 'Orphaned Land', and it's just getting better. 9/10