EMPEROR

Reviewed:

- In the Nightside Eclipse (1994)

- Reverence (1997, EP)

- Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk (1997)

- Emperor/Wrath of the Tyrant (1998, compilation)

- IX Equilibrium (1999)

- Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise (2001)

- Live Inferno (2009, live album)

IN THE NIGHTSIDE ECLIPSE          1994          (Candlelight)

- Standouts: From start to finish, this one's a winner.

So just last month I finished reviewing the Mayhem discography, and I thoroughly enjoyed both the listening and writing experience. They're a band I've enjoyed since my teens, yet I can only really call myself a fan of them now I'm in my '30s. I used to listen to all kinds of extreme metal when I was younger, yet black metal was one subgenre I only enjoyed in small doses. Somehow, I like it more now than I did then. So let's take a stab at reviewing the mighty Emperor shall we?

Well, despite In the Nightside Eclipse's legendary status within the black metal realm, it's an album I think I listened to once or twice on YouTube in my early '20s, and never actually bought a physical copy of until earlier this year. I remember watching maybe 3/4 of their headlining set at Bloodstock in 2014 and enjoying them, and then forgetting about them not long after. So yeah, my history with Emperor is weird, and I'd quite like to just move on with this review now thank ya very much!

There's a lot of things about this album I love. When you look at what other black metal bands were doing at the time, In the Nightside Eclipse is just much more sophisticated somehow. The most obvious reason would be the symphonic keyboards of course... weirdly, I think the symphonic element to Emperor is what initially passed them by for me when I was younger, but as I've gotten older it's a huge factor as to why I now love 'em. As I said, there's a sophistication to this element that adds a huge amount of depth to the signature tremolo-picked guitar riffs and progressions that is typical of almost every black metal band at the time. Take away those massive, orchestral-sounding keyboards and you'd be left with a competent BM album I'm sure, but not a special one.

They can also be very choir-like, especially on songs like 'Cosmic Keys to My Creations & Times' and 'Into the Infinity of Thoughts', and it's noticeable from the get-go. You've got 2 entirely different elements happening - the raspy, shrieking vocals and tremolo guitars, as well as the symphonic side of it all going on at once. It shouldn't work on paper, yet it does. In fact, it sounds epic. So epic in fact, that there's a beauty to this record that no other BM band from the legendary Norwegian scene could achieve at the time. Don't get me wrong, I love Mayhem - but their brand of black metal is ugly and terrifying. It's what they do, and they're the masters at it. But Emperor are different, and it's not what Ihsahn and the boys set out to do with their band. The lyrics are still Satanic in nature on this album, yes, but somehow it's much less edgy here. And anyway, despite all the symphonic stuff going on, the album still tones it down from time to time, for example, the slower, heavier parts of  'Beyond the Great Vast Forest'. Or the stupidly heavy ending to 'I Am Black Wizards' for that matter. Everything's well-balanced.

I also wanna praise the production. It's brilliant. The album's richer-sounding than much of it's competition, but the guitars and drums are beefed up in a way that makes them perfectly audible alongside the keyboards. Ihsahn's vocals are still kinda lo-fi buried beneath everything, but I don't think the vocals are the main focus of this record anyway. If anything, they're more for atmosphere, and I'm cool with that. It's also nice that, despite the production being much more professional than what Darkthrone or Gorgoroth were doing, it's still far from being a slick, over-produced modern mess. This is still black metal after all. I think Emperor's production would get cleaner with time, but the band would progress musically anyway.

Hmm. Trying to think of any issues I have. Well, every time I listen to this record, I remember most parts of each song, yet I can almost never remember which song they're actually from! It just means I like hearing the album from start to finish, but I almost never listen to anything from it individually, whether it be in a playlist or whatever. So it's certainly not something I'll listen to casually in the background. It's definitely a 'right time, right place' kind of album. I was originally going to score this a 9.5/10, which is the same score I gave Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas... but I still think that album edges out and comes on top above In the Nightside Eclipse for me. And anyway, if I gave this a 9.5/10, that means I like this album more than I do, say, Judas Priest's Defenders of the Faith... sorry, but I just don't (2 completely different styles of metal album I know, but you get my point)! So I'm giving this a 9.3/10 then. It's easily one of the greatest black metal albums of all time, and it's fucking nuts to find out that none of the members of the band were even 20 years old when they recorded this thing!! To come up with something as sophisticated and ground-breaking as this at that age is unbelievable, and an achievement in it's own right. So, all in all, it's a strangely beautiful product of the Norwegian black metal scene, and every metalhead should hear it at least once.

Adam's rating: 9.3/10

REVERENCE (EP)          1997          (Candlelight)

This EP features 3 tracks in total, the first of which - 'The Loss and Curse of Reverence' - was featured on the 1997 full-length album, Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk. Read my review below to find out more about this tune (spoiler alert - it's great). The second track was, at the time, exclusive to this EP. It's called 'In Longing Spirit', and it's supposedly an updated version of a song they wrote very early into their career. It's a moody, haunting slice of symphonic black metal, and kind of sounds like a Nightside Eclipse track with a coat of Anthems paint... both albums are different from one another in unique ways. Either way, I like this song. I particularly like Ihsahn's clean vocal chants, although he does still dabble with harsh vocals on it too. The third and final track here, 'Opus a Satana', is an orchestral instrumental take on 'Inno a Satana' from In the Nightside Eclipse. I'm on the fence with this one. Naturally, it's drastically different to the original song it's based on to the point where there's nothing really bleak or ominous-sounding about it. It sounds like it's been ripped straight from a fantasy movie, and sounds out of place to me. Meh.

I'm not going to call this CD 'bad' by any stretch of the imagination - I mean, 'The Loss and Curse of Reverence' in particular is peak black metal, but the only reason I actually own this is because I have the old 1997 issue of Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk. From what I can tell, basically all the Anthems reissues that have come since include the entire Reverence EP as bonus tracks. So I'd only recommend picking this up if, like me, you own an old copy of Anthems.

Adam's rating: 7/10

ANTHEMS TO THE WELKIN AT DUSK          1997          (Candlelight)

Standouts: Once again, everything.

From what I can gather, In the Nightside Eclipse is Emperor's most recognisable classic - but on Metal Archives, Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk reigns supreme. And those basement-dwelling black metal fans on Metal Archives must know best, surely?! Some days, I'm inclined to agree with them. I mean, the music on this album is more technically-proficient, and somehow them Emperor lads managed to pump out lots and lots of memorable passages from these songs. Just like they did on Nightside Eclipse then, only Anthems has it's own stylistic vibes that sets it apart from it's predecessor.

Different though these vibes may be, this album is still 100% Emperor. It's just an evolving Emperor. They weren't trying to imitate Nightside Eclipse, yet the music is still unquestionably black metal more-so than anything else, with symphonic overtones of course. It's just much more intricate and focused this time around, and you're getting some of the finest songs Ihsahn ever wrote as a result of this. Plus, the production is now cleaner and more professional, but given the fact the music itself is also more professional, it's only fitting. The opening 'Alsvartr (The Oath)' is a perfect mood-setter; it's dark and ominous, but actually quite majestic in it's own right. However, when 'Ye Enrancemperium' kicks in, things rapidly change. There's parts of this song that sound like some sort of evil carnival acid trip... yeah, I mean it. It's a combination of the endless riffs, blast beat drums and naturally, a symphonic melody that creates such a huge wall of sound for the listener. It's my favourite track on the album, and it might just be my favourite Emperor song of all time.

One of my other favourites here has to be 'Ensorcelled by Khaos'. Aside from the outro, much of this track is very mid-tempo, but it just sounds absolutely epic in true Emperor fashion. It's heavy and dark, but again oddly beautiful and fitting for a Tolkien screen adaptation. It's a huge step-up from the debut in terms of sheer instrumentation and ambition... they went big, not home. Also, songs like 'The Loss and Curse of Reverence' and 'The Acclamation of Bonds' just have so much going on in them that I once again get lost in the music just I like do the songs from the previous record. There's just so many fast riffs, slow riffs, twisted symphonies and blast beats throughout the album I kind of just let the music take my imagination elsewhere if I'm in the right mood. You even occasionally get the odd clean style vocal chants on tracks like 'With Strength I Burn', and it only adds another layer of grandeur to everything else that's already happening. Closing instrumental 'The Wanderer' sounds like some kind of massive movie theme, and I mean that in the best sense possible.

You know, I came into this review expecting to give Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk an easy 9/10, but still a score that sits below In the Nightside Eclipse. I've listened to both these records a lot over the past 3 or so months, and it's only just now that I've decided I like Anthems more out of the 2. The music is just so much more intricate and almost better in every single way... and I still love that predecessor. The only thing this follow-up misses out on by comparison is it's atmosphere. Not that Anthems isn't atmospheric; no, the aura surrounding this album is absolutely fantastic - fantasy-like, epic, dark and blah blah blah... there's only so much you can say. Simply put, it's awesome. Yet for me, Nightside Eclipse still manages to be better in this department, somehow! I think it's the lack of simplicity regarding the riffs and structure... everything on Anthems has been maxed out 100 times over that you almost forget your listening to a so-called 'black metal band' at times. But generally speaking, the improved musicianship only makes the album stronger in almost every other respect. Especially the vocals, which are far less cliché now. Just had to make a point of that.

This album is spectacular. Like every extreme metal record, I don't particularly need to hear it every fucking day of the week, but when I'm in the mood, Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk takes me on a crazy, dark and fantastical journey that most other black metal albums fail to capture. It really is either close to the top of the pile - or it simply is on top - in terms of the genre. For me, black metal is all about theatrics and taking me somewhere very dark - and if that means throwing in symphonic passages and complicated songwriting structures to achieve this, then dammit I'm all for it!

Adam's rating: 9.5/10

EMPEROR/WRATH OF THE TYRANT          1998          (Candlelight)

This CD compiles the first couple of Emperor releases onto a single disc - the 1992 demo Wrath of the Tyrant, as well as the 1993 EP, simply titled Emperor. Both were recorded in 1992, but it's crazy how much better they got as musicians in such a short amount of time. As expected, the demo is rawer than sushi. Everything is murky and Faust's drums sound like cardboard boxes... yet you can still hear shimmers of greatness on songs like 'My Empire's Doom' and 'Moon Over Kara-Shehr'. There's definitely riffs and the like here that would eventually make it onto In the Nightside Eclipse. In general however, this demo is much less refined than anything they would record later, and musically it has more of a generic black metal sound. It most certainly was not generic for the time - the Norwegian black metal scene was brand-spanking new at the time, but it's also kind of a relief that Emperor would quickly expand upon what you can hear on this demo.

Yep, the demo's black metal then, minus the symphonic part that would make them unique among their peers. The vocals are about as harsh and sometimes gargly as Ihsahn would ever get, and other than some chanting vocals on the doomy 'Witches Sabbath', this is about as stripped-down and primal as you'll ever hear Emperor. But honestly, I think it's still rather good overall - especially in retrospect. If they'd gone into a proper studio and recorded this more professionally, just maybe it'd have gone down as a black metal classic. They didn't of course, because they'd go onto release something far superior in 1994, but all things considered, the Wrath of the Tyrant demo is still decent.

As for the self-titled EP, things have improved further. I mean, 2 of these songs ('I Am the Black Wizards' and 'Cosmic Keys to My Creations') would end up on In the Nightside Eclipse. The versions found on this EP are much grittier and less polished than on the album, meaning they're not as good in all honesty. But they do still feature keyboards and aside from the rough recording quality, are a big step-up from anything you heard on the Wrath of the Tyrant demo. In just a few months, the band had drastically improved and honed their style, because they are officially a symphonic black metal band now. And Ihsahn's vocals aren't as gargling anymore either. There's a different version of 'Wrath of the Tyrant' here, different to the point where I can barely tell if it's even based on the same song anymore due to the use of keyboards and just the overall vibe of the music. Whatever, it's cool either way. Still a bit more basic and under-developed compared to what you'd hear on Nightside Eclipse, but solid none-the-less. 'Night of the Graveless Souls' is the weakest of the 4 tracks from the EP, and it's because the keyboards on this song border more on being cringey at times. But aside from a few keyboard missteps with this track, I still like it overall. And I can't be too harsh, given the whole symphonic element was still new to them and they'd not even released a full-length record at this point.

I enjoy this package. I wouldn't call it essential beyond the more serious fans and collectors, but it's an interesting listen that showcases just how quickly the band progressed from a solid, if unremarkable underground black metal band, to a symphonic black metal powerhouse. What I don't like is the order of the tracklisting - instead of being in chronological order, the EP comes before the demo. So instead of hearing progression, you hear regression!

Adam's rating: 7.5/10

IX EQUILIBRIUM          1999          (Candlelight)

- Standouts: Definitely 'The Source of Icon E', then take your pick...

Hardly anyone talks about this album compared to the other 3, and I can sort of understand why. I find that the songs are harder to remember now. Despite this shortcoming, it's far from a weak effort. And it's difficult to really give these guys a hard time - it can't be easy to follow-up 2 seminal albums with the same level of quality.

One thing you really cannot criticise here is the actual playing from a technical standpoint. The music has gotten even more complicated and intricate since Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk; no, Emperor are not relying on simple tremolo-picked guitar riffs and repetitive songs... they're black metal, sure, but they're thinking man's black metal at this point. There's an endless stream of ideas going on throughout, from the guitar riffs and chops to the symphonic backdrop. Even the lyrics have gotten more philosophical now, moving away from typical black metal cliché topics, and I'm all for this. The band were far too smart to release 'just another black metal album' at this point... not that there's anything wrong with sticking to signature genre traits, but if you're more than capable of comfortably stepping outside the box, then why not do something unique like they did here? Or either of the previous couple of records for that matter. Now that I think about it, I'd be hard-pressed to even call IX Equilibrium a pure black metal album. 'Extreme blackened symphonic metal' is possibly a better label at this point, and it's not like the band were wearing corpse paint anymore for that matter.

There are some improvements to be found with Equilibrium. Ihsahn's vocals have gotten better once more, to the point where he even pulls off Rob Halford-esque clean screams on a song like 'The Source of Icon E'. And he's still doing those epic-like chants from time to time to accompany the usual harsher vocals. In short, you're getting a surprisingly diverse vocal performance for an album of this genre, and I think it really does the music justice. When I first heard this album too, I felt it was a tad over-produced, but I've really come to appreciate it with more listens. When I play it through my stereo or Bose headphones, it sounds surprisingly beefy for a black metal album, and definitely heavier than before. But when I play it through my PC speakers, it sounds a little closer to it's predecessor, if a tad cleaner once again. Either way, I can't really fault it. It lacks the reverb of Nightside Eclipse, sure, but it works.

The atmosphere has dipped once more, but it's still kinda cool in it's own right. I've always felt the other 2 albums had more of a fantasy-based medieval kind of aura to them... this one has a fantasy-based, almost Arabian-sounding aura in my opinion. Right? Am I right folks?! Or am I talking out of my arse?! Either way, I know what I mean right now!! Whatever they did with the keyboards and synths this time, it's different. Yeah, I'll admit straight-up I don't quite drift off to another dimension with IX Equilibrium like I do either predecessor, but I still like the overall vibe of this record.

As I stated at the beginning however, the songs are definitely less memorable this time around. And I reckon it's because the level of musicianship has been pushed a little too far here. There's a long list of memorable passages in most tracks from both Nightside Eclipse and Anthems, but whenever I hear Equilibrium I find myself looking at the tracklisting a lot just to remember which song is which. As a result, I have barely anything to say regarding the songs individually. Shame, 'cos I never get bored at any point and I usually get engrossed in the music overall. Yet somehow it's just not a favourite of mine. I wholeheartedly recommend this if you liked literally anything else from this band - the musicianship and performances are top-tier, there's just a spark missing somewhere...

Still a great album though.

Adam's rating: 8.4/10

PROMETHEUS: THE DISIPLINE OF FIRE & DEMISE          2001          (Candlelight)

- Standouts: 'The Eruption', 'Depraved', 'Empty', 'The Prophet', 'The Tongue of Fire', 'In the Wordless Chamber', 'He Who Sought Fire'

Prometheus was the final studio album we'd ever see from Emperor. The entire record was written by Ihsahn, and Emperor were disbanded not long after. Of course, they've reformed and played live since then, but it's doubtful we'll ever see another album from Ihsahn and Samoth. Apparently both dudes were going in 2 very different directions musically, and another Emperor album wouldn't have worked. Hey-ho.

Like IX Equilibrium, I don't think I could call Prometheus a 'black metal album'. Once again, the 'extreme symphonic metal' badge is more fitting, only this time I'd throw 'progressive' in there too. Every album got more and more technical and artsy, and this is the peak of that mountain climb. Musically it feels like a continuation of Equilibrium to be honest, only Prometheus tends to be held in higher regard. I'll freely jump on that bandwagon and agree that this is the superior product, but I can't say it like it more than the first 2 either. The songs are once again kind of difficult for me to remember sometimes save for opener 'The Eruption', 'The Prophet' and also 'Depraved', mostly because of that weird breathing pulse it has going for it. Once again however, the lack of individually memorable songs is not necessarily a major issue for me because the album as a whole is one hell of a listening experience overall. It's not like Ihsahn wrote this thing with hooks in mind.

Yep, the whole album is full of heavy, chunky riffs of all kinds (check out the chugging section of 'Empty', or the doomy introduction to 'The Prophet'), harsh and clean vocals to suit whatever kind of direction the song goes in, frantic drumming and an endless stream of interesting keyboard/symphonic arrangements to let you know this is still an Emperor record. The production is a bit less heavy-sounding than Equilibrium's, but this doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the music. The bass is a little inaudible at times sadly, but the clean, processed production of Prometheus was really necessary to accommodate the intricacy of these tracks. The most old-school track here to me is 'In the Wordless Chamber', but it still has a latter-period Emperor vibe of it's own. Vocally I think Ihsahn is at his best here, and lyrically things have gotten even deeper. I couldn't quite tell you what he's going on about a lot of the time, just take it from me when I say this is a far cry lyrically from the black metal cliché lyrics of the '90s!

The keyboards on this album still produce a fantasy-like tone that enhances the songs, but like the preceding album, they don't achieve the same medieval tones that Nightside Eclipse or Anthems convey. It's both a strength and a weakness in my opinion. I think the first 2 records relied more on the keyboards to set the mood... on Prometheus they enhance the riffs, but they don't feel like as much of a focus this time around. Ironically, my favourite song here is 'The Tongue of Fire' because the guitars on this track are so fucking technical and interesting that I almost forget about the keyboards at times. So yeah, my feelings towards the keyboard work on this album are more than positive overall, but they certainly aren't as big of a deal for me this time around either. 

As far as swansongs go, this is a really strong note to exit on. It's still never gonna top the first 2 for me, but I'll betcha a quid that Prometheus has a whole fanbase of it's own. I really wouldn't be surprised if there's a lot of people out there who love this record yet don't listen to black metal. If you like proggy, technical and/or extreme metal, but aren't so big on black metal - then this could be the Emperor album for you. I recommend it. But I do like black metal, and I still really like Prometheus too. I find it to be slightly better than Equilibrium, even if it's still not one of my favourites as such. It doesn't quite engage me like the first couple of records, but it's still a really strong album that I recommend all serious metalheads check out at least once.

Adam's rating: 8.6/10

LIVE INFERNO          2009          (Candlelight)

I paid just £6 for a brand new sealed copy of the 2017 reissue of this live album, and for that money this is such a great package. You're getting 2 CDs here, the first of which is their 2006 Inferno Festival performance in Norway and consists of 15 tracks in total. The second is their Wacken Open Air performance, again in 2006, and features 12 songs. Of course, both setlists are very similar and there's little differentiate them in that regard, but for £6 I don't care!

By default I think I prefer disc 1 due to the longer setlist, but both performances are excellent. In some ways, it almost feels pointless having the Wacken gig in this package as even the production is similar too. Other than some of the crowd noises, there's not much in it. But again, both performances are really hard to fault and I have little to complain about here. They play songs from each of their 4 full-length albums, but they also touch on 'Wrath of the Tyrant' from the early days (at least on disc 1 anyway), so I can't really think of anytrack that should or shouldn't be here. And the band themselves are playing tight as a drum, with immaculate drumming, riffage and Ihsahn's vocals sounding close to the album versions themselves. Meanwhile the orchestral elements naturally add to the epicness of the music.

Yeah, I don't have much else to say about Live Inferno. Brand new copies are cheap as hell on eBay and it does everything a live extreme metal album should do. There's also a 3-disc version that includes a DVD of the Wacken show, so if that's your thing, you should get that version. I don't really collect music DVDs. I have a few, but I normally try to get the CD-only versions if they're available.

Adam's rating: 9/10

Calling out Loudwire and their Anthrax album ranking

I haven't done one of these posts for a while, so let's jump right in and take a look at Loudwire's ranking of the Anthrax studio album discography...

Original article: https://loudwire.com/anthrax-albums-ranked/

11. VOLUME 8: THE THREAT IS REAL (1998)

What they say:

"Recorded during an emotional all-time low for Anthrax, shortly after their separation from Elektra Records, Volume 8: The Threat is Real was not without its moments (see 'Catharsis' and 'Born Again Idiot'), but this was clearly a band in crisis: too far removed from their thrashing origins to turn back; no longer confident about their ability to evolve (see the country music madness of 'Toast to the Extras'). So instead of sinking or swimming, Anthrax treaded just enough water to make it out of the '90s alive."

What I say:

One of the strangest albums from the Anthrax camp - just listen to the country-tinged 'Toast to the Extras' - but in my opinion not actually their worst. I mean, it's far from their best (in fact, it's not even their best with John Bush) It's inconsistent and patchy, sure, but some good songs did slip through the cracks here, namely the bruising 'Crush', catchy 'Catharsis', grungy 'Inside Out' and the crazy fast skits '604' and 'Cupajoe'. This was Anthrax in alt. metal mode, a product of it's time. If you take it for what it is, it's really not a bad record - even if it isn't that good either.

10. STOMP 442 (1995)

What they say:

"Anthrax doubled down on their career reinvention on their second LP for Elektra (and with frontman John Bush), but 1995's Stomp 442 lacked the consistent vision and songwriting inspiration of the preceding Sound of White Noise, and highlights like 'Fueled', 'Riding Shotgun' and the very Pantera-like 'In a Zone' were few and far between. Behind the scenes, general uncertainty about the band's lead guitar spot (recently vacated by the long-serving Dan Spitz) obviously confused both the band and longtime fans, whose loyalty and patience were being tested to the limit."

What I say:

In my opinion, this is the album that should've taken the lowest spot - but I wouldn't say it trails far behind Volume 8 either. You can't go into Stomp 442 expecting Among the Living Pt. II - especially after the darker tones of Sound of White Noise - so hearing the groove-based metal of this record comes as no surprise to me. The problem is, there's little heart and soul in these tracks. Everything's competently performed and written, but as a whole the album's largely forgettable. 'Random Acts of Senseless Violence' isn't a bad opener, 'Fueled' is catchy and one I like to crank loud while the ballad 'Bare' is actually quite pleasant. But the bulk of this record is about as generic-sounding as '90s alternative/groove metal gets. Listenable, sure, but that's simply not good enough for a band of this calibre.

9. WE'VE COME FOR YOU ALL (2003)

What they say:

"Perhaps because reports of Anthrax's demise during the latter 1990s were greatly exaggerated, 200's We've Come for You All felt like something of a comeback - or maybe fans were just grateful that the band hadn't changed their moniker altogether after pressure to do so after the anthrax scares that followed 9/11. In any case, new lead guitarist Rob Caggiano helped convey a sense of stability to the proceedings, even though eclectic songs like 'Safe Home', 'Black Dahlia' and 'Taking the Music Back' didn't provide enough clues for fans to determine just who Anthrax were at this point in time."

What I say:

I used to consider this to be the best of the John Bush-era albums, but I'm not so sure I agree with that anymore. There's a lot of cool material to digest here, but as a whole We've Come for You All is very disjointed and directionless; it has retro metal tributes ('Strap It On'), classic thrash metal ('What Doesn't Die'), catchy yet grungy cuts ('Superhero' and 'Refuse to Be Denied'), catchy mainstream rock balladry ('Safe Home'), fun stadium rockers ('Cadillac Rock Box' and 'Taking the Music Back') and even a black metal-tinged edgy number ('Black Dahlia'). And I dig all this stuff quite a bit - it's fun. But as a whole there's far too many songs here and the constant shift in styles and tone makes it quite a demanding listen to hear in one go. Plenty of good songs here then, it's essentially just an album I have to be in the right mood to sit through. 

8. STATE OF EUPHORIA (1998)

What they say:

"Just when Anthrax thought they could do no wrong, the newly minted members of thrash's platinum selling Big Four took a step back with 1988's State of Euphoria. In a nutshell, the album was a watered down (and rather repetitive) sequel to the mighty Among the Living, and the band's good humour was unfairly seen as a weakness by many anally retentive metal fans. But, hindsight being 20/20, these same fans would soon revise their harsh first impressions and start longing for the days of old-school Euphoria thrashers like 'Be All, End All', 'Make Me Laugh' and 'Finale'. Better late than never."

What I say:

Unfortunately, the writer of this Loudwire article (Eduardo Rivadavia) is 100% correct when he talks about the criticisms State of Euphoria initially received from fans and critics. It's not like this was ever a critically-panned album or anything to that extent, it was just looked at in lukewarm fashion after Among the Living. Honestly though, I think this album is excellent. Not quite a 9/10, but not far off. Songs like 'Misery Loves Company', 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind', 'Finale' and 'Be All, End All' are as thrashy as you could ever want, while 'Make Me Laugh' is an absolute molten metal classic and 'Antisocial' is a ridiculously fun singalong anthem (originally a Trust song). This album as a whole goes on a little too long and in general it trails behind Spreading the Disease and Among the Living, but it's only a minor downgrade from those seminal works. 

7. FISTFUL OF METAL (1984)

What they say:

"Anthrax's first LP was the only one to feature founding bassist Danny Lilker (later of Nuclear Assault, Brutal Truth, etc., etc.) and vocalist Neil Turbin, but its music was also unique in that it captured the fledging group's conversion to thrash metal, literally on the fly. Months earlier, Anthrax had made Metallica's acquaintance and performed some eye-opening gigs to ruthless Bay Area audiences, and so Fistful of Metal essentially chronicles their transition away from the older metallic influences heard on 'Howling Furies' and Alice Cooper's 'I'm Eighteen', and towards their moshing future on 'Deathrider', 'Panic' and, of course, 'Metal Thrashing Mad'. A little inconsistent but so much fun!"

What I say:

Yep, this isn't a full-on thrashfest, sitting closer to speed metal more than anything else... but in all honesty, outside of Among the Living, State of Euphoria and Persistence of Time, most Anthrax records aren't all-out slabs of thrash anyway in my opinion. And I disagree with the Fistful of Metal being inconsistent statement. Yeah, there's a mixture of old-school heavy and speed metal tracks here, as well as some thrashers, but the album's great from start to finish and flows just fine in my books. Neil Turbin probably wasn't the right man to sing on any of the band's later works, but his wailing style is brilliant on this one, and the songs kick ass - particularly 'Deathrider', 'Metal Thrashing Mad', 'Subjugator', 'Anthrax', and 'Howling Furies'. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Alice Cooper cover was thrown in due to record label requests, and the rest of the band weren't really interested in it. Either way, it's surprisingly good. A fine debut album that deserves a reputation as a true slice of US heavy metal. Different than what was to come, sure, but I love it.

6. FOR ALL KINGS (2016)

What they say:

"Anthrax not surprisingly turned everything up to 11 on their eleventh studio album, For All Kings, which built on the resounding triumph of Worship Music with one of the most well rounded efforts of the group's long career. Sure, the all-out thrashing of yesteryear has been replaced by short, focused bursts, but these are meshed seamlessly with more deliberate tempos and the impressively catchy choruses showcased by the title cut, 'Suzerain', 'Zero Tolerance' and many others. Only time will tell whether these tunes will earn a permanent place among Anthrax's top achievements, but we sure won't bet against them."

What I say:

A very nice continuation of 2011's comeback, Worship Music. I don't think it's quite as strong as it's predecessor, but For All Kings is a rock-solid melodic speed/thrash metal record all things considered. There's great thrashers on here with opener 'You Gotta Believe' and finale 'Zero Tolerance', possibly one of the fastest songs they'd recorded since the glory years. But there's also a couple of very hooky metal masterclasses in 'Monster at the End' and the insanely melodic, uplifting 'Breathing Lightning' - probably my favourite track on the record. It's an extremely competent latter-day Anthrax album, I just find there to be a few less memorable tracks overall when stacked up against Worship Music. So putting it at number 6 is slightly too high for me, but the album's still great either way.

5. SOUND OF WHITE NOISE (1993)

What they say:

"Although its daring experiments seem altogether foreign, even unnatural, compared to the 'classic' Anthrax sound today, there's no denying that, with Sound of White Noise, the band delivered one of the most distinctive metallic responses to grunge's fearsome challenge. Dark, disturbing, lyrically provocative, and amazingly versatile (just compare hit single 'Only' to the brutish 'Room for One More', or the haunting subtlety of 'Black Lodge'), Sound of White Noise was hailed by critics, outsold preceding efforts on a global scale, and also earned some of the highest chart placements of Anthrax's career. All this while smoothly welcoming former Armored Saint singer John Bush to the 'thrax fold." 

What I say:

First things first - 'Only' and 'Black Lodge' are masterpieces, and easily 2 of the best songs the band ever recorded. John Bush was also the perfect vocalist for this album. There's also a smattering of other decent cuts here with 'Hy Pro Glo', 'Potters Field' and Room for One More', but as much as I like Sound of White Noise, it just isn't one of my favourites, sadly. I really want it to be, but it just isn't! The riffs are kind of lacking in creativity throughout while the production has this strange fuzzy (?) overtone that has never quite comfortably settled with me. The super-serious shift in tone doesn't really bother me - they had to change if they wanted to make any money at this point in their career, and I like the cold feel of the album overall... but there's just not enough great songs on here to make the record, well, truly great. Still, 2 of those songs are at least among my favourites.

4. WORSHIP MUSIC (2011)

What they say:

"It sure wasn't easy, but Anthrax pulled off one of thrash metal's most anticipated reunions when they reinstated longtime vocalist Joey Belladonna in time for their tenth studio album, the cleverly titled Worship Music. Moreover, because its songs were written and re-recorded over such an extended period of time (an incredible eight years had elapsed since preceding record, We've Come for You All), their overall high quality was matched by a hybrid convergence of sounds spanning the length and breadth of Anthrax's career. In other words, Worship Music is the Anthrax album for all seasons, boasting songs as powerful as they are infectious and memorable, including latter day fan favourites like 'The Devil You Know', 'I'm Alive' and 'In the End'."

What I say:

A brilliant comeback for the band, and Joey Belladonna in particular considering he'd been absent since 1990's Persistence of Time. Considering this album was originally written for Dan Nelson to sing on (which explains the extended period of recording time), everything sounds incredibly natural with Joey back in the fold. The album is chock-full of superbly catchy melodic heavy metal pieces, namely 'Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't', 'I'm Alive', 'Crawl' and the masterful epic 'In the End'. No, it's not the fastest Anthrax record, nor is it the heaviest - it's the sound of a band aging gracefully, and crafting top-tier heavy metal with the best of them. 

3. PERSISTENCE OF TIME (1990)

What they say:

"Persistence of Time is the probably the most lyrically cynical, musically challenging, and all in all humourless album of Anthrax's career. An obvious reaction to State of Euphoria's much-criticized flippant outlook, punishingly dense creations like 'Time', 'Blood' and 'In My World' reflected a band that was demanding to be taken seriously. Others, such as 'Keep it In the Family' and 'Belly of the Beast' unintentionally revealed growing internal friction that not even a rambunctious hit cover of Joe Jackson's 'Got the Time' could long disguise. And yet, for all the turmoil festering just beneath its surface, Persistence emerged as a victory of negativity expressed through art - perfect fodder for naturally depressed metalheads everywhere."

What I say:

An accurate description, although the darkest Anthrax album to me is still Sound of White Noise. The Joe Jackson cover, 'Got the Time', is far too fast and fun to be ignored. Persistence of Time is definitely the second darkest Anthrax album though. Unlike Worship Music, this is the fastest, heaviest Anthrax album overall too - songs like 'Time', 'Keep it In the Family', 'Discharge' and 'Belly of the Beast' are so heavy and hard-hitting, and I lose count of just how many relentlessly awesome detuned riffs there are on this record. It ties with Among the Living for me as the finest in their discography.

2. SPREADING THE DISEASE (1985)

What they say:

"Anthrax's most eminently lovable LP (even Among the Living made fans work for their dessert, just a little), 1985's sophomore Spreading the Disease captures the excitement of thrash metal's rise to power like few other LPs - by any band. Among its nine, genre-defining tracks, grateful fans found songs that were both immediately catchy ('Madhouse', 'Gung-Ho') and detailed with instrumental intricacy ('The Enemy', 'Armed and Dangerous'); some rooted in familiarly metallic, violence and fantasy subjects ('Aftershock', 'Medusa') while others actually made listeners think ('A.I.R.', 'Stand or Fall'). At all times, the furious onslaught rarely paused this white-knuckle ride, which lay the groundwork for the most popular phase of Anthrax's career."

What I say:

The first effort with Joey Belladonna, and in my opinion his best ever performance with Anthrax. Unlike the shouty vocals of their rivals, he sings in a classic heavy metal vocal style throughout almost the entirety of the record. Spreading the Disease still isn't a fully-blown thrash album in my opinion (although certain tracks most definitely qualify), but this has zero effect on it's greatness. In fact, this was the first record that really sounds like the Anthrax you know and love - especially after the preceding Fistful of Metal. 'Gung-Ho' is one of the fastest, craziest Anthrax 'bangers ever, 'A.I.R.' is a riff-tastic slab of speed metal, 'Armed and Dangerous' is surprisingly proggy while 'Medusa' and 'The Enemy' are excellent mid-tempo romps and 'Madhouse' is a concert staple for a reason. Can't exactly argue with the authors' description, though it doesn't quite beat Persistence of Time for me.

1. AMONG THE LIVING (1987)

What they say:

" Even amidst some stiff competition, Among the Living ultimately rises to the top as the quintessential Anthrax LP. Led by the maturing songwriting of band leaders Scott Ian and Charlie Benante, Anthrax's classic lineup (completed by Belladonna, Dan Spitz and Frankie Bello) fully hit their stride while guiding their pit-dwelling fan-base to the moshing promised land. Thrash never witnessed a better album-opening trio than Among's formidable title track, 'Caught in a Mosh' and 'I Am the Law', and the essential thrashers kept right on coming ('Efilnikufesin', 'Indians', 'Imitation of Life' etc.), covering a series of self-empowering messages and popular culture touchstones (comics, Stephen King) that every teenaged metalhead could relate to personally. This connection, as much as Anthrax's peaking musical brilliance, certified Among the Living as one of thrash metal's definitive cornerstones."

What I say:

A predictable number 1 from Loudwire, but the only other album I can argue with for first place would be Persistence of Time. Either way, Among the Living displayed further progression from Spreading the Disease. The songs have gotten faster, heavier and (mostly) better. The last 3 tracks ('One World', 'A.D.I./Horror of it All' and 'Imitation of Life'), while enjoyable enough, sadly prevent Among the Living from being a near-perfect thrash record, but the rest of the album is some of the best thrash you'll ever hear. The lyrics are great, the riffs are pummelling, and the album as a whole has a slapstick charm that separates it from what Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth were doing. It's not a masterpiece, but it's an absolutely essential recording that deserves it's place in every metalhead's collection. 

There wasn't really any placements on this ranking that surprised me, unlike some of the past one's I've analysed. Aside from Worship Music sitting at number 4 - a placement I was actually pleasantly surprised by, because I love Worship Music - this entire list was fairly predictable and hard to argue with overall. My own ranking might be different, but I totally get why the author of this article put things in the order he did here all the same. I will say that I like Fistful of Metal quite a lot more than this guy does however, and also that Sound of White Noise definitely isn't a top 5 for me. As much as I love Anthrax - and I really do - I don't think they ever created any masterpieces, unlike their rivals Slayer, Metallica and Megadeth. But they still have a respectable catalogue of their own with many, many great records that I highly recommend. This is my own ranking... ask me again tomorrow though, and Persistence of Time may have swapped places with Among the Living...:

11. Stomp 442 (1995)

10. Volume 8: The Threat is Real (1998)

9. We've Come for You All (2003)

8. Sound of White Noise (1993)

7. For All Kings (2016)

6. State of Euphoria (1988)

5. Fistful of Metal (1984)

4. Worship Music (2011)

3. Spreading the Disease (1985)

2. Persistence of Time (1990)

1. Among the Living (1987)

MAYHEM

Reviewed:

- Deathcrush (1987, EP)

- Live in Leipzig (1993, live album)

- De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994)

- Wolf's Lair Abyss (1997, EP)

- Grand Declaration of War (2000)

- European Legions (2001, compilation)

- Chimera (2004)

- Ordo Ad Chao (2007)

- Esoteric Warfare (2014)

- Daemon (2019)

- Atavistic Black Disorder (2021, EP)

DEATHCRUSH (EP)           1987          (Deathlike Silence)

The first commercial release Mayhem put out was this EP way back in '87. I'd still call this black metal, but it sits firmly within the realms of all that first-wave black metal stuff more than it does the later style that they would perfect and other groups would follow. Bands like Venom, Bathory and those early Sodom releases seem to have more in common here. There's even a Venom cover here, with 'Witching Hour'. Still, even though Deathcrush has a different tone and style to the second-wave Norwegian black metal sound they would pioneer in years to come, I still find any track from this EP to be instantly recognisable amongst it's rivals. Vocalist Maniac sounds like, erm, well - a maniac!! Seriously, his vocals are kind of an illiterate, high-pitched mess, yet they really nail the whole vibe that the band were going for during this early period. Strangely enough, they actually managed to influence death metal with this release.

Just read the lyrics to 'Chainsaw Gustfuck' - there is no way in hell you'd ever get lines such as "Maggots crawling in her cunt, I just love to lick that shit" or "Chainsaw in my bleeding hands, as I start to cut in two" on any later Mayhem records! This is the kind of stuff you'd expect to hear on an Autopsy album back in the day. But musically it's definitely much more in-line with the old-school '80s black metal as I explained before. Deathcrush is a product of it's time; the lyrics were totally extreme for the time (this was still pre-Cannibal Corpse...) and as a result come off unintentionally goofy. But you know what? This might be Mayhem, but it's also '80s extreme metal - and the goofiness is part of it's charm.

As amateurish and silly as the lyrics can be, I kind of separate Deathcrush from any of their full-length studio releases that came later. Venom's Welcome to Hell and Black Metal are also goofy as fuck and kinda primitive by today's standards, but they're also still freaking awesome. Deathcrush's lyrical stupidity doesn't take away from it's enjoyment. The music is unsurprisingly raw as hell, but the instrumentation can easily be deciphered and it wouldn't have worked any other way. The riffs are heavy and crushing on songs like 'Necrolust' and 'Pure Fucking Armageddon', match the intensity of the frantic drum-work from original drummer Manheim. Speaking of drums, I really love the opening instrumental 'Silvester Anfang' - the cool thing about this track is that it was actually a random archival recording from German musician Conrad Schnitzler. Euronymous essentially tracked down and stalked Schnitzler's address, and sat outside his house until he was let in. Anyhow, there's something wierdly unsettling about 'Silvester Anfang' despite being a percussion piece and not much more. It works perfectly.

There's no doubt that Deathcrush is an important piece of extreme metal music. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece; for instance, Death's Scream Bloody Gore came out the same year and feels much more accomplished musically. But as far as underground metal bands of the mid-to-late '80s go, Mayhem started a revolution and only got more notorious in the years to come. 

Adam's rating: 8.3/10

LIVE IN LEIPZIG          1993          (Peaceville)

An important and classic live album in the black metal genre. Of course, it has Dead on vocals - Dead is easily the most famous and notorious Mayhem frontman despite never actually appearing on any of the band's full-length studio albums. The dude shot himself in 1991 and the rest is black metal history that I'm sure your all aware of.  Anyhow, he was instrumental in building the legacy that is Mayhem. Live in Leipzig - recorded at the Eiskeller club in 1990 - is raw and nasty as fuck... just as it should be then. The performances are chaotic, and the band were really one-of-a-kind at the time. No one else was doing what Mayhem were doing in 1990. From what I understand, black metal was developed as a response to the precise technicality of death metal. Sure, death metal was brutal, but the bands themselves weren't giving you a show. Mayhem on the other hand, were throwing pig heads into the audience, Dead was slicing himself and bleeding onto concert goers and the band were adorning themselves in corpse paint. It was theatrical, and people liked it.

This album is a fan favourite, and I really dig it too. It's kind of a shame that Necrobutcher's bass is buried in the mix however. I mean, this is early Mayhem, so expecting clean production is silly. But I've never been entirely down with the way this live record sounds - it's a little too bootleg-ish if you ask me. It needed just a little bit of studio tampering/trickery to really go down as an all-time great extreme metal live release in my opinion. Of course, Hellhammer explains in the CD booklet that the master tape was recorded using a ghettoblaster, so that explains things!

That said, it's really cool to hear songs from De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas ('Funeral Fog', 'Freezing Moon', 'Pagan Fears',  'Buried by Time and Dust') being played way back in 1990, nearly 4 years before the release of the actual studio album they'd eventually appear on. It really goes to show just how innovative and influential the band were. It's also cool to actually have a 46 minute recording with Dead on vocals. His voice was drastically different to either Maniac or Atilla's. More aggressive and thoat-shredding, but less evil and sinister. I'm not saying he's better, I'm just saying he's entertaining for different reasons. I don't think the actual DMDS album would have sounded better with Dead singing on it, but I think he has far more energy as a live frontman.

So basically, I think the actual music and performances here are awesome - even if they do sound kinda sloppy and unprofessional at this point still. I'm still not entirely convinced by the way it sounds however - I rarely want to turn it off, but it's not perfect in this respect either. It's not a CD I reach for all that often when I'm in the mood for some Mayhem, yet it's still kind of essential listening for those exploring this band. I guess I find it to be a tad overrated is all... make of it what you will. What I will say is that the 2015 Peaceville reissue (at least I think it's from 2015...) I have is great - the booklet features written interviews with Hellhammer, Necrobutcher and Fenriz from Darkthrone, plus loads of photos.
Adam's rating: 8.1/10

DE MYSTERIIS DOM SATHANAS          1994          (Deathlike Silence)

- Standouts: The entire album.

Well, here it is - the most recognised and notorious black metal album of all time, and also one that is often stuck right at the top of peoples' top 10 lists. Now, I'm not a huge black metal fanboy by any means. I love the early first-wave stuff from the '80s, but that was more of a darker take on thrash/speed metal, and not what most people consider black metal to typically sound like these days. When it comes to black metal as it is largely regarded as these days, I like and even love some of the classics; I have all the Mayhem studio records, all the Emperor albums, and there's a few releases from other bands like Gorgoroth, Darkthrone, Dimmu Borgir and Burzum that I love, but I don't collect BM CD's to the same extent I do traditional heavy metal, thrash, hardcore etc.. For me it's a genre that has some absolute top-tier shit, but at the same time not a genre I feel the need to keep actively seeking out new bands and material. I love it, but only in small doses.

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, the first full length Mayhem studio album however, is one of the finest extreme metal albums of all time in my opinion. It has atmosphere of it's own that is very difficult to recreate. Yet there's no keyboards or ambience thoughout the entire record, the atmosphere is created almost entirely through all those tremolo-picked riffs, blastbeat drums and Atilla's twisted vocal performance. The music is extreme, and so are the vocals - but not in a harsh guttural or screaming kind of way that is typical of black and death metal. No, he goes for this unpredictable, throat-shredding speech - it's almost like some demonic spoken word performance. If you removed the instrumentation and just listened to the vocal performance on it's own, it'd sound fucking terrible - he's all over the place, not even singing in time with the riffs... and yet somehow, when you listen to De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas there is never a moment where the vocals don't fit with the music.

There is structure to these songs musically though. My favourites are 'Freezing Moon' and 'Pagan Fears'. They may come across as a barrage of fast-paced tremelo-picked riffs and endless blastbeats, but there's a lot of structure in those riffs too, and the music even slows down when necessary, treating us to some doomy, crushing riffs. To be honest, I find it difficult to talk about a lot of these songs individually - I always do when it comes to writing about extreme metal records. Whenever I put this record on, I often find myself looking back at the tracklisting to remind myself which song I'm actually listening to, but it doesn't actually matter because I enjoy every second of it. I get lost in this album, and treat the entire thing as one big experience, if you will. I very rarely listen to any songs individually from it, it's the kind of LP that I prefer to hear from start to finish every time. I will say that the title track is very distinctive vocally however with Attila's haunting, almost moaning vocals.

It's difficult to really point out anything I take major issue with. I love the production... you can't really hear the bass all that well overall, but at the same time I feel if the low-end was boosted in some way, the foreboding atmosphere would be lost. I guess my main complaint is simply the fact it's not an album I can listen to everyday for any occasion. I can stick on other metal albums like Judas Priest's Painkiller or Metallica's Ride the Lightning anytime, anywhere for example... because despite the heaviness, there's melody in those records. But there's almost like a time and place for extreme metal album in my world. So by default De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is not a go-to metal album for me in general, even if it is a go-to extreme metal album for me.

I hadn't heard this album for a very long time until recently. I've had it since my late teens, but I span it again a couple of months ago and since then I've listened to it about 12 times - and I genre-shift a lot in a short space of time these days. So I guess I have been finding that time and place for it a lot recently! Like I said, as soon as I hear 'Funeral Fog', I basically have to hear this album in it's entirety. Yeah it's a predictable choice for a black metal favourite, but De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is legendary for a reason. It's light years apart from the Deathcrush EP, and if it was the only full-length album they ever made, I'd still be happy.

Adam's rating: 9.5/10

WOLF'S LAIR ABYSS (EP)          1997          (Soulseller Records)

There was a lot of scepticism surrounding the reformation of Mayhem minus Euronymous in 1995, but in my opinion they killed it with their first release, this 1997 EP, Wolf's Lair Abyss. Maniac is back on vocals, and new guitarist Blasphemer was a great fit for the band - (spoilers) everything this lineup released was awesome. This EP is awesome too, the music is nasty and bleak as it ever was previously, only now the instrumentation is tighter and more technical... and while the production is more mechanical-sounding and modern next to the distinctive sonic sounds of De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, it's necessary for the nature of the music here. Like I said, there's a little more going on here than before, so I think a really raw-sounding, predictable production job would've made things worse somehow.

Lyrically the satanic themes are gone, but the music's still evil and dark as ever. It's just not as stereotypically black metal anymore - at least for the time anyway. There's 4 normal songs here (plus an opening instrumental) and they're jam-packed full of tremelo-picked riffs, blastbeats and an overwhelming sense of doom and dread - just like a Mayhem record should sound. My favourite song is 'Fall of Seraphs', which is the most atmospheric and features Maniac screaming and providing clean, spoken-word vocal elements. I also really like the franticness of 'Ancient Skin', but really this whole EP is great stuff. My only real complaints would be the fact that it being an EP feels kind of incomplete in a way, and leaves me wanting more. There's no real flow to the entire disc considering it's over in less than 25 minutes. I know what I'm talking about here, trust me! But whatever, the music's more than enjoyable enough while it lasts.

Really, really solid EP then - and definitely one of the essential Mayhem releases outside of the main full-length studio records. It almost feels like a taster for 2004's Chimera... yeah I know, a taster for the album they'd record after the next one. Read my Grand Declaration of War review below to find out why I say that.

Adam's rating: 8.3/10 

GRAND DECLARATION OF WAR          2000          (Season of Mist)

- Standouts: 'A Grand Declaration of War', 'View from Nihil' (both parts), 'A Bloodword and a Colder Sun' (both parts), 'Crystalized Pain in Deconstruction' ,'To Daimonion'

A full 6 years on from the legendary De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, and Mayhem return with Grand Declaration of War in 2000. This record is drastically different by comparison, musically and even visually (it's even notably different next to the Wolf's Lair Abyss EP, which featured the same lineup); the corpse paint was gone and the lyrical themes revolve almost entirely around warfare and post-apocalypse to the point where you could probably label it a concept album. And musically, the riffs and playing from the band still sit quite firmly within black metal, only the songs are played in a much more progressive manner. The repetition and atmosphere of De Mysteriis is gone, in place are a fuck-ton of riffs, tempo changes and spoken word vocals. Progressive black metal? I think so.

You're still getting the occasional raspy growls that are typical of black metal from vocalist Maniac (yep, the Deathcrush guy is back), but on top of this he also provides many English spoken-word commentary throughout many of the songs. I wouldn't say he sounds menacing when he does do this, he speaks more like a Lord of the Rings fantasy character... it is sort of cheesy I suppose, yet at the same time it really doesn't affect my enjoyment of the music. It almost sounds like you're listening to the soundtrack to a post-apocalyptic movie set in an alternate universe. So, it's still black metal then, just black metal with bells and whistles. I really dig both parts of 'View from Nihil'. It's full of blast beats and razor tremelo riffs as you'd expect... it's just that everything's so much more tight and technical now. You can also hear this from the get-go with the opening track, 'A Grand Declaration of War'. You can immediately hear that they weren't trying to replicate De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. I respect that. 

However, Grand Declaration of War does have it's unusual, experimental parts too. Take for example 'A Bloodsword and a Colder Sun', which again is split into 2 halves. The first part consists of literally just whispered vocals, while the second half makes use of electronic drum beats (!!!) and the same vocal style. The whole thing is atmospheric as hell, while the guitars on the second half are mostly just long, high-pitched notes held for effect. It's not exactly your average Mayhem cut, but for me it really works. It draws me into the music. Generally speaking, the music's very accomplished and professional, more-so than on anything they'd done prior. Only 'To Daimonion' is a little looser in it's performance. The riffs are more straightforward and dare I say it, almost punky in a way. But it's cool.

With all that said, I can still pick a few holes. I own the original release on CD, and the production is a bit thin. I get that they probably wanted to clean up their sound a little to match the tightness of the playing, but it's definitely a little tinny-sounding. I did however, listen to the 2018 remaster on Spotify, and I have to say this version sounds much better to me. It has more of a natural feel, and it only improves the atmosphere of the record. I don't hate the original by any stretch of the imagination, but it's definitely a flawed album sonically. The other complaint I have is simply the nature of the album itself. It's very much it's own thing; it's different from the rest of the discography, and it's the kind of album I can't casually listen to. I have to really sit down with this one and take it all in, so it's not one I listen to very often.

Just because it's different doesn't automatically make it a black sheep however. I actually really like this! Like I said, it's not your typical Mayhem release, nor is it one that I can hear all that often - but when I am in the mood to listen to it in full, I always get lost in the music and drift off elsewhere. Any album which has that ability deserves respect. They were going for something different on this one, and they largely pulled it off.

Adam's rating: 8.4/10

EUROPEAN LEGIONS          2001         (Season of Mist)

A bit of an oddball compilation release in that tracks 1-7 are live cuts from the Grand Declaration of War tour in 2000, whilst the rest of the songs are all pre-production demos from the GDoW album recording sessions. The live tracks are generally okay - the band's musicianship is on point here and Hellhammer's frantic drumming in particular is awesome. Having said that, if I focus really hard on the drums, I can hear the click triggers and that can be a nuisance for me if I'm in a bad mood. My biggest complaint regarding the live portion of this CD however, is the lack of any bass. Was Necrobutcher ill and missed the gig or something? 'Cos I can barely hear him! Maybe the mixing is just bad... I'm not sure. Either way, there's definite room for improvement in the production department here.

I quite enjoy the live tracks for the most part though. You get 7 songs ranging from all their major releases up until that point (Deathcrush, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, Wolf's Lair Abyss and Grand Declaration of War) so I can't complain too much. As for the remaining GDoW demos... again, they're okay I suppose. I mean, I'll take the actual final album versions of them any day of the week, but for demos the sound quality is really not bad at all. But that's about all I have to say about them. I've listened to them maybe twice but normally just end European Legions at track 8, when the demos begin.

Unless you're looking to expand your Mayhem collection, there's absolutely zero reason to actually go out of your way and pick up European Legions. Had they just released the entire thing as a Grand Declaration of War-era live album, I may have been able to recommend it. But as it stands, this is an inessential disc for collectors only. The actual music isn't bad at all, but the mixing is dodgy and the fact that 5 of the 12 songs are relatively useless demos makes it a bit of a weird release for me.

Adam's rating: 5/10

CHIMERA          2004          (Season of Mist)

- Standouts: 'Whore', 'Dark Night of the Soul', 'My Death', 'You Must Fall', 'Slaughter of Dreams', 'Chimera'

Unlike Grand Declaration of War, this album isn't particularly full of any surprises - but that's okay! It's the band returning to the black metal sound they crafted on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, only with more sophisticated musicianship, tighter playing and a crisper production. Come to think of it, all these points are also sort of true when talking of it's predecessor, but Chimera is no concept album, nor is it full of spoken-word vocals and proggy experimentation; this is a pure black metal album through-and-through. 

As soon as this nasty beast kicks off with 'Whore', your senses are assaulted with fast riffing, pounding drums and raspy, demonic vocals. Like a more modern take on De Mysteriis. It's a short but sweet opener that lets you know exactly what you're getting into. The second track, 'Dark Night of the Soul', is fucking awesome. Best song on this album if you ask me. The riffs are so twisted and heavy, yet they flow together surprisingly well. Many of the faster riffs resemble the atmosphere of De Mysteriis, but this album still manages to sound fresh in it's own way, probably because of the higher technicality in the playing. The pummelling 'My Death' is another favourite of mine, and in general this album feels like a combination of the dark atmosphere of '90s Mayhem and the technicality of Grand Declaration of War. You can hear this on 'You Must Fall' and 'Slaughter of Dreams'. The lengthy title track has some sludgy doom elements too, at times.

I don't have any big problems with this record, but as always I can gripe about a few little bits and bobs. Maniac's vocals complement the music just fine as always, but he's not doing anything special here. No big, epic spoken word segments like he did on Grand Declaration of War then. For many fans, that's probably not a bad thing. Nor is it for me really, it's just that I find his vocals to be just fine, and certainly fitting for the nature of the tunes... it's just nothing all that special or impressive either. This was to be his last album with the band. 

And once again the production is rather modern-sounding and cleaned up when compared to the raw '90s stuff (though definitely stronger this time). You really can't call albums like this or Grand Declaration of War 'raw' sonically, which is typically something I consider to be a trait of black metal. But you know what? It doesn't really matter. The instrumentation is far more technical on these records compared to their earlier material that a rough production simply wouldn't have done the music justice. It's not that De Mysteriis was sloppy and amateurish - that's not true at all. But calling it 'tight' or 'technical' is a bit of stretch too. They really upped their game with Chimera in this sense. Whether or not this a good thing is purely dependent on how you like your black metal. I don't have a problem with it, nor do I have a problem with an under-produced sound that is also common in the genre.

I'm gonna stick this one on par with it's predecessor. I like both albums for different reasons. I liked the proggy songwriting and spoken word elements to the former, but I also like that this is the band returning to the straight-up black metal sound they are known for whilst retaining the more technical feel of the previous album.

Adam's rating: 8.4/10

ORDO AD CHAO          2007          (Season of Mist)

-Standouts: Pretty much all of it.

This is a standout album in their discography if you ask me. There's plenty of twisted and unsettling-sounding metal albums out there, but Ordo Ad Chao (which is Latin for 'Order to Chaos) is most definitely the creepiest Mayhem record. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is the most atmospheric for sure, but this one is the most fucked-up if you ask me.

A huge contributing factor to Ordo Ad Chao's twistedness is the incredibly lo-fi production. It almost sounds as if the band were playing in an entirely different room when the producer hit record. And yet somehow, they struck gold in doing so - well, for some people anyway. I love this album's sound, you might not. Because of the lo-fi style of the record, the guitars are very muted-sounding and even kinda muffled in a way. Well, pretty much everything here is muffled, save for maybe the vocals. It also means that the music and overall texture of this album is much more bass-y than usual, which isn't really all that common with black metal. So it's definitely unorthodox sonically then, and it's definitely a marmite album in this regard. Like I said though, it definitely works for me. As good as the predecessor Chimera was, it doesn't quite have the same unique selling point that this one does. Of course, if I didn't like the way Ordo Ad Chao sounded so much, then it would probably ruin a lot of the songs for me.

Speaking of the songs, the music's not hugely different to what they were doing on Chimera, but the production and the addition of some unusual songwriting ideas (check out that disturbing high-pitched sound that rings out on the 9 minute plus 'Illuminate Eliminate') makes for one of the best Mayhem records. You've also got other neat and unsettling tricks of the trade, like the cool stop-start intro to 'Pyschic Horns'. Also, Attila Csihar's back on vocals and in my opinion does a better job here than Maniac ever did (not to belittle the guy, I just prefer Attila). His performance is inhuman at times, croaking and gargling his way through the songs whilst also providing spoken-word when necessary, chanting at others and even some weird pig-like shrieks and death metal-style gutturals sometimes. The whole performance makes for an unpredictable one that complements the music perfectly. Just makes the whole thing that much more savage and grim to sit through, but in the best way possible. And the instrumentation itself is composed of a nice variety of slow, sludgy doomy riffs as well as the usual fast tremolo stuff combined with frantic, blastbeat-drenched drums, but everything just sounds so much dirtier this time around I can't help but love it.

I don't have a lot to complain about here, but I will admit that I wasn't always the same fan of this album that I am these days. I'm struggling to remember exactly when I bought this record, but I know it's been in my collection for at least a decade. But I remember listening to it a few times, liking the songs but struggling with the production and then just returning to De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas or Deathcrush whenever I wanted to hear some Mayhem. I played it again for the first time in years a couple of months back however, and I've been coming back to it over and over again since. It's crazy how fresh something can sound upon returning to it after a long time of absence. I guess my biggest complain would be that the music is just too demanding to sit through if I'm not in the mood to hear it, and like a lot of Mayhem releases, I can't just play an individual tune from this CD and enjoy it. I have to hear the whole thing in it's entirety, and that's if I can be arsed in the first place.

With all that said however, this is easily my favourite Mayhem album behind De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. I mean yeah, it's not as good as said record, but then there's not many extreme metal albums that are. And anyway, Ordo has it's own flavour of twisted evilness that sets it apart from DMDS which almost every black metal album under the sun is compared to. It's also shorter than all their other full-length albums, at just over 40 minutes. And this is good because I feel when music is as extreme as this, I don't need much more than 40 minutes to enjoy it properly. I might not be a black metal boffin, but the Mayhem studio discography (discounting their live albums because there are far too many of them...) is ideal for me; it's nice and compact at just 6 albums thus far, and consistently strong because of it.

Adam's rating: 9.1/10

ESOTERIC WARFARE          2014          (Season of Mist)

- Standouts: 'Watchers', 'Psywar', 'Trinity', 'Milab', 'Throne of Time', 'Corpse of Care'

I've had Deathcrush and all the other full-length studio stuff up to Ordo Ad Chao in my collection for years, and I've thoroughly enjoyed revisiting them for this post. I honestly think I enjoy all of them more nowadays than I did when I first acquired them more than a decade ago, or whenever it was. And that surprises me, because in my late teens and early '20s, I was obsessed with the heaviest shit I could find. I wasn't listening to a lot of the stuff I also enjoy nowadays. For instance, you'd never have found a Dire Straits album in my collection back then. Or Bob Dylan. Or U2. Or whatever really. It'd just be metal, some punk or classic and hard rock. But it's nice to know that I can still really dig black metal, or death metal in my '30s. Of course, I still attend metal concerts and festivals, so that obviously has something to do with it, and a lot of my favourite bands still sit within classic heavy metal territory . But as for extreme metal, I don't listen to it as much as I used to (generally speaking) but I can actually enjoy it even more-so now when I'm in the mood for it.

This album is testament to that rambling paragraph I just wrote. I missed out on 2014's Esoteric Warfare and it's 2019 follow-up, Daemon - so I bought copies of my own recently for this blog post. Anyhow, Esoteric Warfare is another fine Mayhem record that I'm diggin' a lot. It sounds like a mixture of Chimera and Ordo Ad Chao, in that the production is definitely lo-fi, just not to the same extent as it's predecessor, while the songwriting and instrumentation is comparable to Chimera. The music isn't quite as harrowing as OAC, but it's still twisted enough to comfortably (or uncomfortably) remind the listener that this is still very much a Mayhem record. Back to the production though. I really like the way this album sounds, once again. Like I said, it isn't as unconventional as OAC, but is still muddy and dark; but it's not muddy and dark enough to the point where it's unlistenable. Far from it. I actually prefer the way it sounds to the crisper Chimera. There's a lot of low-end, but the guitars are still perfectly audible. The only real complaint I have is Hellhammer's surprisingly thin-sounding drums, but this is a minor issue overall. 

As for the songs, they deal with conspiracy theories, mind control and warfare - some dark shit then, which is what you want of course! Like all these records, it's hard to really dissect most of these songs as I find most Mayhem albums to be more of an experience that have to be sat through in full to be enjoyed properly. Like, the songs kinda flow in and out of each other seamlessly. But there are definitely some moments that do stick in my head. For instance, the haunting sirens in the background to 'Trinity', the slow croaking vocal introduction to 'Milab'... and the rest of 'Milab' for that matter. This song is crushingly heavy and brooding all the same. The atmospheric 'Throne of Time' is excellent too, while the single 'Psywar' is also a standout. But none of these songs come anywhere near patchy. The reverb-drenched riffs vary from fast and ripping to slow, haunting and twisted while the drums are as frantic as ever. Atilla's vocal performance isn't quite as memorable as his last effort, but is still as consistently unpredictable as ever. He's doing the old-school black metal thing of raspy screams, throaty, croaky speech and also full-on death metal gutturals when necessary. 

It should be noted that this was the first album to feature guitarists' Teloch and Ghul. Not entirely sure how having 2 guitar players benefits the band in the studio compared to when Blasphemer handled all the 6-string work himself, but the music certainly hasn't gotten any worse. Well, except maybe 'Posthuman' bores me a little with it's slow repetition... repetition is obviously commonplace in black metal, but it's not even a proper riff that's repetitive here, more like a 3-note guitar lick played up and down the fretboard, and it just drags on far too long at nearly 7 minutes. Also, as much as I like this record, it's still not top-tier Mayhem to me, even if it is still very strong. I enjoy the hell out of it, but like Chimera, I don't love it.

I really don't know what else to say. I like this, Chimera and Grand Declaration of War equally. They all sound like Mayhem, yet they all sound different and they're all great for different reasons. I've noticed online that Esoteric Warfare doesn't seem to get quite as much love as most other Mayhem records amongst fans. I dunno, I'm a fan and it does it for me. I totally recommend this.

Speaking of fans, everyone else seems to absolutey love Deathcrush and hold it in such high regard. I respect it's importance, and I like the songs, but I just can't enjoy it to the same extent as the majority of their later, more accomplished works. Also, Ordo Ad Chao is my second favourite album of theirs. What sort of fan am I?!

Adam's rating: 8.4/10

DAEMON          2019          (Century Media)

- Standouts: All strong, but 'Falsified and Hated' is notably excellent.

What I like about Mayhem is that they didn't just try to re-record De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas over and over again throughout their career. They're far more creative than people give 'em credit for. I think black metal is sometimes thrown into one basket as this genre where every album is raw as hell, the music is repetitive and kinda simplistic and the lyrics are always satanic. But every Mayhem album sounds different to me. Even 2019's Daemon manages to shift quite heavily in tone next to 2014's Esoteric Warfare. This album did really well with the critics when it dropped, and I can understand why. They've returned to a sound and image that definitely takes a lot of influence from DMDS, but has a lot of the instrumental characteristics of Esoteric Warfare. This is probably due to the fact they still have Teloch and Ghul  in the band, and also that Teloch is a huge part of the songwriting process on both records. And this is what I mean when I say that each record has their own charm. Daemon is visually and sonically influenced by classic Mayhem, but the songs are played in the technical style that the band have developed over time.

The production is excellent, yet again. It sounds nothing like Esoteric Warfare, which was much muddier and murkier. No, Daemon sounds more like a professionally-produced, sharp black metal album with a ton of old-school vibes. The guitars have a lot of bite, and Hellhammer's drum sound is probably the best in years. They sound much more organic and less triggered. Not that they ever sounded bad in the past (in my opinion), you just really get a feel for them on this record. And the bass isn't buried in the mix; it's definitely not as bass-heavy as albums like Esoteric Warfare or Ordo Ad Chao, but it's prominent when it needs to be. To be honest, I think Necrobutcher is an underrated metal bass player in general. In songs like the disturbing 'Falsified and Hated', you get these really cool, slow, plodding bass lines beneath the razor-sharp, tremelo riffs of the guitars and it gives the song a much more unsettling vibe. It's just what Mayhem do, and it works. The music is often fast as hell, with relentless riffs and drums that you've come to expect, but slow and mid-tempo doomy songs like 'Aeon Daemonium' also break up the pace of the album really nicely. It keeps me hooked.

Atilla doesn't exactly disappoint vocally once again, although I will say that this is probably his weakest performance in my books after the last couple of albums. I don't think he's quite as diverse this time around as I don't hear as many of those little death metal-style vocal quips from him here, but given the fact this record is a bit more traditional black metal this time around, he isn't doing anything wrong or poorly either. So while I wouldn't call this his best performance, I'm not really dissing him either.

All in all I like this album ever-so-slightly more than I do Esoteric Warfare or some of the older stuff like Chimera and Grand Declaration of War. I think it's a combination of the production and the fact it had been a while since the band had given us a more evil-inspired black metal album more in the same vein of De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas that helps me enjoy Daemon so much (you only have to look at the album cover to know what kind of style they were going for this time around). It just feels right for them to record and release a record like this, at this point in their career. My criticisms are the same as always - I almost never listen to any of these tracks individually because I find them hard to memorise on their own. The fact black metal isn't a favourite subgenre of mine means a lot of the albums I do have in that category aren't favourites of mine... except the really special one's like De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas and Emperor's In the Nightside Eclipse. 

When all's said and done though, I've listened to this thing numerous times in the last few days and like all Mayhem studio albums, the listening experience as a whole is hugely enjoyable and gripping from start to finish. Yeah I don't listen to the songs individually, but as a complete album it's great once again. Daemon gets another huge thumbs-up from me.

Adam's rating: 8.7/10

ATAVISTIC BLACK DISORDER (EP)          2021          (Century Media)

This EP features 3 tracks from the Daemon recording sessions... 1 exclusive ('Voces Ab Alta') and 2 that were featured as bonus songs if you bought the limited edition of that album ('Black Glass Communion' and 'Everlasting Dying Flame'). Thankfully my copy of Daemon doesn't have those extra songs, so I didn't completely waste my money here. To be frank, all 3 of these tracks are a very good continuation of the previous record;  'Black Glass Communion' in particular sounds very old-school Mayhem to me, but with the same production of the Daemon album. There really isn't a lot to say here about them, as they could all fit in seamlessly.

The remaining 4 tracks however, are all covers. Punk covers to be precise. Extreme metal bands love covering punk rock... Slayer did an entire album devoted covering old punk numbers with Undisputed Attitude, and here's Mayhem giving their take on Discharge ('In Defense of Our Future'), Dead Kennedys ('Hellnation'), Ramones ('Commando') and Rudimentary Peni ('Only Death') cuts. Hearing a black metal band doing this sort of thing isn't quite as strange as I was expecting... mostly because the way they perform these tunes is done in a fairly conventional way. The production is modern and crisp of course, Atilla sings them with clean vocals (well, I mean clean in the punk sense of word) and all in all, there's pretty much zero black metal Mayhem influences within any of them. Honestly, it's kind of disappointing that the band didn't put their own stamp on any of these covers. It'd have made them far more interesting. Stick some blast beats in there, and go nuts with the vocals, otherwise what's the point? It's a novelty, nothing more.

With that said, I can't say that any of the covers are poorly performed, 'cos they're not. And it is sort of cool to hear a band with such dark, serious imagery and tone actually sound like they're having fun. And overall I'm still kinda glad I picked this up - the Daemon songs are great as expected, and the punk covers, while a little silly, are still listenable at the very least. So... Daemon session tracks get an 8/10, the rest gets a 5/10. A package for the fans.

Adam's rating: 6.5/10

Talkin' about Tim 'Ripper' Owens-era Judas Priest

Right now I'm listening to Judas Priest's 2001 studio album Demolition - an album that is, generally speaking, not popular with Priest fans and critics alike. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the majority of Priest fans do enjoy this record, and the only one's vocal about it online are the haters. If we're being honest, that's probably not the case sadly. I also listened to 1997's Jugulator in my car this morning, and now I just feel like writing an article about the entire Tim 'Ripper' Owens-era of the band, my thoughts and my connection to it as a die hard Judas Priest fan.

Well I first picked up Jugulator back in my Sixth Form college days, so I would've been 16 years old and the year would have been sometime around 2008. Priest have always been one of my favourite bands - as the 31 year old man I am today, I'd stick them behind Purple and Sabbath. But during my college days they were my favourite band. And when I heard that the band went through a period during the '90s and early 2000s without Rob Halford as their vocalist, I was actually more curious to hear those 2 studio albums they put out than anything else. Obviously the thought of anyone other than Rob fronting Priest ran though my head too, but it didn't put me off wanting to get my hands on both Jugulator and Demolition.

So, I obtained a copy of Jugulator from the Amazon marketplace (probably) and immediately looked through the CD booklet. The reason why I did that and not actually play the damn thing was because I used to often order CD's to my mum's office, which was just around the corner from college. I'd drop in to the office to pick up my discs and look at them during my free periods. Anyhow, the first thing that I noticed was the horribly pixelated artwork. That confused me, until I opened up the jewel case and saw that it's just the actual artwork zoomed in. Why they didn't just use the whole picture is beyond me. And when I opened the booklet itself, there was Glenn Tipton, KK Downing, Ian Hill and Scott Travis, accompanied by a much younger American guy with short hair, but still leathered up to the gill with studs and spikes in true Priest fashion and trying to look mean. It was a weird sight to behold, Priest without Halford - even if Tim Owens was still kinda dressed like him minus the obvious fact that Rob is gay and Tim is straight.

Whatever. I got home, put it in my stereo and listened. And truth be told, I loved it from the get-go as a teen! The music was much heavier, more detuned and brutal, but still had that critical Judas Priest edge. As an adult however, it's kinda gone down in my books over time. Not to the point where I dislike Jugulator - because I really do still like this album. Like I said, I listened to it earlier and I still enjoyed it quite a lot. But it's gone from a great album to a good album over the past 12 or so years for me.

I won't criticise Tim's vocals. I actually think he's an awesome singer, and he does his own thing on Jugulator while still pulling off impressive Halford-style screams and wails when necessary. His vocals still manage to sound like Judas Priest vocals on this record, if that makes any sense. You'll automatically notice that Rob's no longer present, I cannot deny that. But Tim still sounds like a Priest frontman, and that isn't as weird as it may seem at first, because the man sang in a Priest tribute act prior to him joining the real thing. It's how he was scoped-out in the first place. I'm not saying he's better than Rob because let's be honest, Halford will always be the voice and face of the Priest at the end of the day, but Tim's no amateur, even if he was unknown at the time.

There are however, some shortcomings that have brought the album down a notch for me all these years. The music's way heavier than anything else the band had ever recorded up until that point, and probably ever will. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Like I said, the teenage me loved it, and part of that reason was because it's as relentless as the band ever got. But the melody's not really there any more, and Glenn Tipton and KK Downing's awesome lead twin guitar solo teamwork has been almost entirely replaced with Slayer-esque tuneless guitar wankery. I don't really take issue with heavier riffage, but having Slayer-worship solos simply don't do it for me on a Priest record. It's just a waste of talent.

The lyrics are often terrible, frankly. Glenn wrote all the words to the songs, and it makes zero sense to me that he couldn't just let Tim handle that matter. Considering the man does a good job vocally throughout this record, if he'd written his own material and vocal arrangements, he'd have probably done even better. Instead we're treated to much darker than usual lyrical matter - which is fine, because the music is heavier, but they're just cringe-worthy at times. Especially on songs like the title track, 'Decapitate' and 'Death Row'. Glenn's just not a lyricist - well, not a good one at least. Just listen to his 1997 solo effort Baptizm of Fire for further evidence of this (FYI, I sorta like that album musically, but the lyrics definitely sucked).

The good news is that I still think most of the riffs are either cool or even awesome at times. Yeah, the guitars are detuned for the first time, and they often border more on groove/thrash metal overall, but considering Jugulator's predecessor, 1990's Painkiller was the heaviest thing they'd made up until that point, it almost feels like a natural progression. Add to the fact that there was a 7 year gap between the 2 albums, and a lot had happened in that time. Metal had gotten more detuned and groove-based, and even when Halford left Priest in 1991, he formed the Pantera-influenced band Fight. So I never found it hugely surprising that Jugulator sounds the way it does - except for the solos of course.

There's also some legitimately great tracks here. The first is 'Cathedral Spires' which seems to have gone down universally as a classic amongst the entire band catalogue. It's a lengthy 10 minute epic, with an outstanding vocal performance from Ripper himself, an extremely memorable chorus/outro and a very dark, brooding atmosphere that they've only ever matched with 'Death' from Nostradamus. They'd done dark shit before, yes, but 'Cathedral Spires' is it's own kind of dark, if that makes any sense. Meanwhile the title track is very silly lyrically, but the riffs are pummelling and memorable throughout, and I still really dig it to this day overall. I like the twisted introduction to 'Blood Stained', and it's brutality. 'Burn in Hell' has some really cool picked guitars, a bangin' main riff and some catchy vocal arrangements. Again, 'Death Row' is dumb lyrically, but it's a nice thrasher. And 'Bullet Train' is like a fucked-up 'Painkiller', in a good way. Yep, I still like this album. For me, it tops Turbo, Ram it Down, Nostradamus and Redeemer of Souls. Maybe even Angel of Retribution.

And that brings me to 2001's Demolition, which has now finished playing for me. I remember picking it up a few months or so after Jugulator, and while I did somewhat like it back in those days, I definitely wasn't listening to it nearly as much as it's predecessor. Jugulator has plenty of fans these days, but you'll regularly see Demolition as the bottom of the barrel turkey in many fans' ranking lists. For me, I think Turbo will always take that place (I don't care what anyone else thinks!), but I can't deny that Demolition has it's faults - more so than Jugulator.

I watch the YouTube channel Sea of Tranquillity all the freakin' time, and whenever Judas Priest are discussed and Demolition comes up in conversation, I don't think I've heard Pete or a single guest give it any sort of praise. I do understand most peoples' critisms for this record; yeah, it does have some slight nu metal/alternative metal tinges here and there, with some sound effects, a few riffs and maybe a vocal melody from Ripper in places, but there's still a surprising amount of tracks here that I still enjoy to this day. 'Machine Man' is total cringe lyrically ("So you mother-FUCKERS want to race?! You've all got loser tattooed on your face!", yeah, shut up Tim!), but the riffs are tight as hell and create a rock-solid speed metaller for me. I still think 'Feed on Me' is cool. It's riffs are definitely more Jugulator than anything else, but that's no con for me. 'Jekll and Hyde' is kind of a fun groove metal track, and 'Hell is Home', while sounding more like Tim Owens solo number than it does Priest, is a great song in it's own right. The vocal arrangements are really great. I also like 'One on One' for it's stomping attitude.

There's certainly some duffers on here though. The ballads 'In Between' and 'Close to You' are way too modern and annoying, and not comparable to past Priest ballads like 'A Touch of Evil' or 'Beyond the Realms of Death' in any way, shape or form. I mean, they're not terrible as such... just really 'meh'. But then you've got a legitimately sucky track like 'Metal Messiah', which see's Tim quasi-rapping all over it - and it's fucking embarrassing. Nu metal was very much still the flavour of the day in 2001, and this old school-loving metalhead has never had much of a soft spot for that particular subgenre. Meanwhile 'Devil Digger' is just boring as hell, and I even wrote in my review that Tim goes for an almost Marilyn Manson-like approach to the chorus. I still think I was right when I wrote that. The album in general is also too bloody long - 13 songs and a 70 minute run time. No Priest album needs to last that long (I'm also looking at you Nostradamus!). From what I understand, the whole band were barely functioning like they used to at this point. Glenn and KK were likely at each others' throats now, and this whole album was again written largely by Tipton, and also produced and recorded at his studio. Tim once again had no songwriting input, and that's a real shame.

On the whole though, there's always been enough songs on Demolition that I enjoy to the point where I still sorta like the album overall. It sits firmly within the 6/10 range for me, and I think it always has. Maybe it's bias, but there's countless hardcore Priest fans out there that fucking hate the album. But I dunno... I can still pick out a few gems in that tracklisting as you can see.

I'd also like to give a shoutout to the 2 live albums this era of the band spawned, '98 Live Meltdown from 1998 (duh) and Live in London from 2003. Honestly, both are fucking great, and both also come with 2 CD's and a shit load of tracks. I'd say I probably enjoy '98 Live Meltdown that teeny bit more because I think Tim's vocals are ever-so-slightly stronger, and the production is a tad different. But according to my review page, I only gave it a 0.1/10 higher score than Live in London, so both are basically on par with one another. Of course, '98 Live Meltdown was recorded during the Jugulator tour, so naturally you're getting a few songs from said album mixed in with the oldies, but Glenn and KK detune their guitars so that the classics match the heaviness of the Jugulator cuts. This means they blend in fairly well with the Halford numbers, for me at least. It also means the Halford numbers are much heavier than they'd normally be, but it gives me more reason to listen to this live album for that reason alone - it's unique. Also, the live version of 'Bullet Train' here is fucking awesome. I don't care what anyone else thinks.

Live in London has a few Demolition songs thrown in again, but again, the guitars are detuned throughout and I for one quite enjoy hearing 'Hell is Home' thrown in amongst 'Painkiller', 'Electric Eye', 'Grinder' etc.. I'd also like to point out the fact Tim sounds great on both albums. He really handles the Halford songs brilliantly - and he should, because he's a super fan originally from a Priest tribute act after all. You can really hear that the man was giving it his all during his time in the band, and he also adds some nice little touches of his own to the classic songs. Just listen to 'Rapid Fire' from '98 Live Meltdown, Tim screams up a storm in a way that Rob didn't ever do. And it works. Unleashed in the East will always be the king of Priest live albums (despite the fact most of it was re-recorded in the studio!), but I love these 2 live offerings with Ripper, and I listen to them far more than I do that underwhelming Priest... Live! LP from 1987.

Unfortunately - and Tim Owens has talked about this already in interviews - his tenure in the band has been kind of forgotten. None of the 4 albums I've discussed have been reissued at any point, nor are they available to hear on Spotify or other streaming services. And it's a shame. Jugulator is a very good Priest album - not quite great, but almost. Demolition is a somewhat decent record with some flaws. Meanwhile '98 Live Meltdown and Live in London are 2 fantastic live albums. I'm lucky I got my hands on all these CD's way back in college, because I just looked on eBay and they've shot up in price. If you're a new fan to the band, I'm sorry to have to say that you might be forking over a lot of dough to obtain all of them. But hey, there's always YouTube.

Anyhow, I'd love to see all this stuff reissued in the future. At the very least, they should be on Spotify. I'm not hearing any rumours of it right now, but I have noticed that on the official Judas Priest merchandise (both EU and US) they're currently selling 2 Jugulator t-shirts (I just bought one of them myself in fact). That might not mean anything, but it may count for something. I mean, they're selling a couple of shirts representing an album you cannot officially buy anywhere, with songs they haven't played live since Tim Owens himself was in the band... maybe, just maybe that means a reissue is in the works?! Or am I being way too optimistic?!

The good news is that KK's Priest do at least exist as a band. KK Downing has obviously been out of Priest for well over a decade, and Ritchie Faulkner has firmly taken his place since and isn't backing down any time soon. Anyhow, he formed KK's Priest a couple of years ago, and according to Tim Owens, KK kept in regular contact with him ever since Rob returned, hence why Tim is the vocalist for the new band. And they're performing 'Burn in Hell' in the live set, so Jugulator is still somewhat alive in 2023. They did release an album, Sermons of the Sinner in 2021 - I like it, but it's not necessarily a throwback to Ripper-era Priest, despite the fact it has KK and Tim on it. The live sets consist of original songs and Priest classics, so right now it's the closest thing to Tim being back with the Priest.

Rob Halford will always be Judas Priest's frontman, and I really can't knock what they've been doing this past decade. 2014's Redeemer of Souls was good, but 2018's Firepower was awesome. And they're still touring all the damn time. I'm seeing them again in March next year. But the point of this article is that I've always kind of embraced those years with Tim at the helm, and you can't just erase an entire era of the band's history. There's even a 2012 boxset titled The Complete Albums Collection... but guess what? Jugulator and Demolition are missing. 'Complete Albums' my arse!