Metal Days – Good Times Rolling

Each year, I like to take a step back and look at the prior year’s releases in Metal music, to try and sort through them and find an album or two that I really enjoy. Last year was an amazing success, introducing me to a number of new bands that I very much enjoy. Let’s take a look at what is in store for the May listening list. Its only four bands, so let’s get to it!

Idle Hands: Don’t waste your time

This band has a really cool, doom metal like sound that is very cool. Its a bit twangy, a bit heavy, and very solid. Its been a pretty low year for knock out hits, but man does this one make it. The echoing, haunting vocals are superb. They swing back and forth between a number of sounds, but their strongest is that awesome, headbanging, doom metal sound. This one is the first album I am going to have to make sure I come back to.

Recommended tracks: Just listen to it all. Its 19 minutes. If you can’t however, make sure to listen to By Way of Kingdom.

Personal Rating:

While it’s an excellent album, it’s not long enough or heavy enough to be a solid 5. It’s very, very good.

Dautha – Brethren of the Blackened Soil

This album is a slow, crunchy, grindy, deep. Its a bit slower than I like, but still solid, with a very significant Doom/Heavy metal feel, which I enjoy. It has a cool, chanting, echoey sound in a very different method than Idle Hands. It is really cool but very slow and plodding. I absolutely don’t regret listening to it, which is a good sign

Recommended Songs: How can I not say that you should go listen to a song called Maximinius Thrax?

Personal Rating:

While it as a cool sound, has a hard metal sound, its just to slow and drawn out. Its a good album, but its not my type of metal.

Judas Priest – Firepower

What the hell am I supposed to say here? Its Judas Priest! its 14 tracks of heavy metal from its very heart and power. Its strong, heavy, and blazing. Its got those iconic vocals, that well known structure. Its good, traditional, awesome heavy metal.

Recommended Tracks: Lighting Strike, Flame Thrower

Personal Rating

Its impossible not to give this album 4 Skeletal Horns. Its powerful, its metal, and its excellent. Its not a ground breaking amazing album, but is very good.

Behemoth – I loved You at Your Darkest

The opening, chanting children track is really powerful and strong opener. After that, it pulls into solid death metal. The vocals are at just the right spot that something like Amon Amarth sits at. Its grumbling and growling that does just fine with me. Its definitely not the same as most black metal, that is for sure. Its got speedy yet heavy tracks that blast with power, and I like it.

Recommended Tracks: Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica

Personal Rating:

Its another fairly standard, middle of the road metal offering. Its solid, it has good tracks, but I don’t see it pushing into my playlist as there is nothing brainmeltingly memorable.