Vol. 7 (Nuclear Blast)
by Scott Hefflon
A two-CD set of some of the best underground metal there is. While Century Media’s Identity series often loses me because of hardcore/nü metal inclusions, some might get a chuckle out of some of the power metal inclusions here. Split (kinda) into power metal on disc one and extreme on disc two, tracked alphabetically per disc, there’s so much to open yer eyes, if yer at all into metal, ya might as well just get it, cuz there are bound to be bands here you’ve heard talk of but never actually heard. So while perhaps not an end-to-end listen for most, look at it as a reference guide (great booklet with bio, photo, url, and discography per band) so you can make an informed decision as to whether you like a band or not. I personally am drawn more to disc two, the extreme CD, but Destruction‘s punky “Fuck the U.S.A.,” Raise Hell, and the we’re-laughing-at-you-not-with-you S.O.D. track kinda stink it up, while non-falsetto warbler highlights on disc one include The Koventant, Raunchy, and Therion.
Disc one: Amorphis, Anthrax, Crystal Ball, Grave Digger, Hammerfall, Helloween, Lacrimosa, Manowar, Primal Fear, Sinergy, Sinner, Stratovarious, Thunderstone. Disc two: Agathodaimon, Darkane, Defecation, Dew-Scented, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter, Dimmu Borgir (a cover of Twisted Sister’s “Burn in Hell”), Disharmonic Orchestra, Hypocrisy, Immortal, In Flames, Kataklysm, Malevolent Creation, Meshuggah, Misery Index, No Return, Pungent Stench, Soilwork, Tidfall.
(2323 W. El Segundo Blvd. Hawthorne, CA 90250)