Hot Metal October 1991.

I'd never heard anything by this band before. And I won't be going out of my way to seek out anything else by these guys. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, it's just not my thing.

The reviewer Jeremy Sheaffe was my favourite writer at reviewer at the magazine. He said "As far as the quality of Strange and Beautiful goes, no one can deny that it is a very high standard - production and presentation wise. But as far as me actually liking it, 'fraid not." 3/5

'And I won't be going out of my way to seek out anything else by these guys.'

Worst possible Crimson Glory album to form that opinion on. This sounds nothing like their other work. Listen to one of the first two instead. 

OK, worth a shot. It wasn't terrible, but it just really didn't grab me.

Yep, much more to my liking! I don't remember hearing The Beatles cover at the end of the album before, but otherwise it's just quality Coroner through and through.

YouTube DID turn up Vio-Lence's Torture Tactics EP. 

This was the song controversially left off the album "Oppressing The Masses" due to it's violent lyrics (ah, the joys of thrash metal bands dealing with clueless major labels...) Torture Tactics the song is fucking excellent. Hot Metal gave this EP 4/5, I gave it 4.5/5 (Dicks of Death is just too fucking stupid for this to rate a 5).

I didn't rate this when I first heard it. After all, this whole band is made up of people booted out of Death. However, I now recognise it for the certifiable classic it is! Hot Metal gave it 4/5, which was too low.

When The Blackbird Sings... - Saraya. OK, nice voice, promising start to the album, but the whole it is just a bit underwhelming and inoffensive. It needs to rock a bit harder, or at least show a bit more originality. This whole oversaturated hard-rock-tending-to-glam-metal genre was on it's last legs at this time, and albums like this showed why. Just no gas left in the tank. Hot Metal rated it 3. I'm giving it 2.

Only took me 30 years to finally listen to this fucking thing, and it's just like I thought - I hadn't missed out at all. 53 long and boring minutes! What utter bland mediocrity dressed up in the Emperor's new clothes! Hot Metal gave it 5. I didn't.

Arachnid was the only song on Temples of Ice I'd heard, and I don't know what fuckwit at Music For Nations thought of putting it on Speed Kills 6, but it's the worst fucking song here! No, it's not classic Venom. The production is far too clean. But neither is it bad Venom either. And it proved Venom without Cronos is better than Cronos without Venom. Hot Metal only gave it 2. I'm giving it 4.

I gave this a 5 star rating some time in the past. HM gave it 3, but I'm not surprised. This is a grower of an album, and it takes multiple listens to really appreciate. I would have only rated it a 3 when I first got it.

This is a 5 every day of the week, and Hot Metal recognised it as such at the time. I haven't listened to it in ages, so it's been a welcome listen.

Never again.

That's quite a line-up!

BitterJalapeno wrote: Agree completely about "Ten" bring overrated but I really love "Blood Sugar Sex Magik"

+1, Mother's Milk is probably my favorite from the Chili Peppers though. Glam funk metal perfection.

Comments regarding a couple other albums here:

The title track for When the Blackbird Sings is awesome, but the rest of that album is so boring.

Demolition Man-era Venom is so underrated. Temples of Ice is great, but I highly recommend checking out Prime Evil if you haven't heard it, my favorite Venom album and one of my favorite thrash albums probably. Has such a great punch with the production, and fantastic songwriting.

I have heard this before, but not for a while. It's a good 'un.

I must have a count-up of how many platinums there were in just this one issue of the magazine!

And this was surprisingly dull. Maybe that's why The Cult faded a bit in the 90s.

I'm quite the opposite here. 

I've found The Cult later on, after 2000. This album grabbed me instantly. Many superb riffs are here. 

I think it is in the top 50 albums that were released during the 90's.

In my view, the album was vilified by the regime as all releases of the hard rock/heavy metal genre from 1991 onward. 

They ran into some big legal problems over this album because of the use of Native American imagery. The parent's of the boy used in the cover photo sued them for $61 million dollars. Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy weren't getting on together too well either. As a result, they didn't tour or promote the album much. 

And following up Sonic Temple and Electric would have been pretty tough, because they were outstanding. Fire Woman was the number one song for weeks on end in 1989 here in New Zealand.

I had a quick count-up, and I think there's about 25 album reviews here, and I own 5 of them. Should keep me busy for a few days.

(having trouble finding a picture, so I have made my own.

Ya know, as much as this album annoys me, it's still really fucking good. It's just not what I wanted from Carcass, but it isn't my call to make what the the band produces. Anyway, Terrorizer gave it 5. I'm upgrading my 3 to 4.

Not a classic by any means, but Broken Hope's second album is pretty fucking brutal, but varied at the same time. The vocals are a little monotonous, but otherwise well worth a listen. Terrorizer gave it 3, I went with 3.5.

One of the best compilations I own. I had to resort to my own CD for this, since compilations on Spotify are either non-existent or patchy. Wall to wall old school death metal! Terrorizer rated it 5 and I did too.

We don't have this listed. Both parts were later released as EPs, which is how I listened to them on Spotify.

I like Emperor, but this was kind of boring. I suppose they were still developing their sound.

The Enslaved EP, Hordanes Land, was a lot better. More to hold my interest. The first track in 13 minutes long, but it's an absolute epic, so it doesn't seem overlong at all.

Terrorizer gave this 4. I'd give Enslaved 4, but Emperor is only getting a 2.5 here.

You can't go wrong with a Dan Seagrave cover! However, you can with the music when Roadrunner decides to go cheap on album production. There's a certain bite missing here. Brett Hoffman's vocals sound a bit weird and flat, which detracts a lot from the overall sound. There's nothing much wrong with the songs, they just don't rip your head off like the previous two albums do. A remix of this might improve it. Terrorizer gave this 2. I'm giving it 3.

I love Unleashed, and the first three albums are amazing as far as I'm concerned. 4 from Terrorizer, 4.5 from me.

Technical/progressive thrash. Not terribly exciting, despite a couple of outstanding tracks. Terrorizer rating 3, it's getting 2.5 from me.

Very good for a little-known and long defunct band. I really like the vocals. An original sound instead of just copying Ozzy or Nick Holmes.

Let's just say I wasn't in the mood for that. A bit too avant-garde for this time of day.

Coloured Funeral by Mercyless. 

This is fucking amazing! I have never heard it before. A French death metal band from a time when French death was considered to be a bit of a joke. Most impressed! Terrorizer rated it 3.5. I went 4.5.

Pyrexia - Sermon of Mockery

Blah. Bland ass Suffocation worship.

From dull assed shit to the divine. My Dying Bride are always amazing. I can't believe I have never listened to this one before. 4 from Terrorizer, 4.5 from me.

I was expecting this to be better than it was. This is all just underwhelming and a bit boring. It's nothing that Exodus didn't do on Impact is Imminent. And the final bonus track proved that this band was no Anthrax or Mordred in the rapped vocals department. Terrorizer gave it 2, and I think they were spot on.

Silver or Lead by Optimum Wound Profile. One of those bands I have read about for years, but never actually listened to. We don't have them here yet, hence the video instead of a pic. Terrorizer underrated this at 3.5. This is a 4.5.

Mourning - Greetings from Hell

Doom-death from a time when doom-death was thought to be novel enough to make a band interesting. Not quite. Not band, but not amazing either. Agree with Terrorizer's 3.

This was pretty good. I've heard the odd track, but am more familiar with the later, more commercial material. Still worth a 4, while Terrorizer went 3.

More Dutch doom-death. Much better than Mourning, especially in the vocals. This also does a bit of a Paradise Lost and adds occasional female vocals, although doesn't have the Gothic feel of PL. My 3.5 over Terrorizer's 3.

Love this album, sucks that it often gets forgotten about. I love their experimentation with drum and bass and breakbeat on their later stuff like www.pitchshifter.com, but those are ruined for me with the vocals. Wish they kept the more gruff vocals from this era instead of falling into the trap of most late 90's industrial bands and feeling the need to imitate Reznor.

Oh yeah, the vocals in particular really get worse after this.

I really wish Earache would get their shit together though. There are so many Earache bands with little or no material on Spotify. I had to go through YouTube to get this, and while Spotify pays artists a pittance, you can't even guarantee that YouTube pays anything.

This is fucking amazing! Another one of those "read about, never heard" bands. 3 from Terrorizer. Getting a 4 from me.

I have no idea what sort of alternative reality I was in when I rated this 3. I love this album! Have just upgraded to the 5 where it belongs. Terrorizer were a bit iffy on it, possibly wanting more Judas Priest, but comparing this to Pantera, and gave it 3.

An album from a band we don't have. Revolting Cocks is one of Al Jourgensen's many projects. This is groovier, less metallic, and more experimental than Ministry or Lard. I didn't think much of it when I first got it, but it's a grower. Terrorizer were about right with a 3.5.

This is some good shit! Swedish blackened death metal. 3 from Terrorizer. 4 from me.

Last up is Sentenced's second album North From Here. When I saw them I thought it was going to be a bit gloomy and a bit of a downer, because I have really only listened to later gothic-ish albums than this. But no, this was a surprise. It was death metal, and some of it was quite outstanding. Unfortunately, it was also a bit uneven, and it dragged a bit in places. Terrorizer rated this a 4.5. I think it rates a 3.

This was the last review in this magazine. Judging by the state of metal from this mag, the melodic death thing was just starting to develop, thrash was well and truly fucked, doom-death and doom metal were on the rise, and the industrial thing was starting to show some real variety and potential. There was a little bit of black metal, and it hadn't overwhelmed and drowned all else in the underground just yet. And for anyone who doesn't know, Terrorizer leans more to the extreme end of metal.

It also pointed out several glaring holes in our database! I shall endeavor to fix these forthwith.

This is my least favourite Type O album, but on no day of the week or in a month of Sundays is it ever a 1/5 as rated by Hot Metal. I'm giving it a 3, because it drags on more than I remember, and has a bit too much silly filler stuff.

An album we don't have. It was Bad Brains' first attempt at recording in 1979, but not released until October 1996. Some of the old classics are here, like Pay To Cum, Attitude and Banned in D.C. It's rough as fuck, and full of things like the producer talking to his son (the studio was his basement!), and the sound is a bit muffled. If you turn it up a bit though, Bad Brains' energy and attitude shines through. Hot Metal gave it 3, I think it deserves 4.

Lord Kaos - Thorns of Impurity. Apparently this is a forgotten black metal classic. I think it's a load of boring wank. 57 minutes of the same droning shit in repeat. Hot Metal rated it 3.5. I'd give it 1.

Not particularly hard or heavy, but I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Hot Metal reckoned 3. I reckon 4.

I actually own this mad arsed album. Good thing too, because my internet started playing up and I needed to resort to the CD. It a majestic, uncompromising 4.5, just above Hot Metal's 4.

Next came:

Yep, Danzig did an industrial/electronic album. It got widely panned and wasn't particularly successful. This isn't usually my sort of thing, but I thought this was really good. There's elements of NIN and White Zombie, and Danzig is a much better singetr than Manson. Hot Metal gave it 2.5. I reckon it's worth a 4.

Thanks a fucking lot Seattle. Because of you, our metal mags got filled up with shit like this. There's nothing inherently wrong with it if you think a mix of R.E.M. and Foo Fighters sounds like fun, but in what used to be a metal mag? A complete mismatch. Hot Metal gave it 3.5. It's getting 1 from me. (And on the evidence of this album, this doesn't sound like a Metal Music Archives band)

Another surprise we don't have We a Gomorrah, but not this one. This is a British death metal band. I have their first album, and this is their second, and final. They really arrived a bit late on the scene, but could have been up there with the likes of Cancer or Benediction. HM gave this 3. I reckon it's worth 4.

"We're fat, 40 and back" and it got lapped up. I own this album. It's missing all the snot and fury of the original Pistols live recordings, but they did say they were doing it just for the money, and I appreciate the honesty. But it sounds like they were doing a bit more than just going through the motions too. And the best thing? They have never come back to do this again. HM gave it 3.5, which seems about right to me too.

Uncompromising. 5 all the way.

Warning to all bands: don't give your albums witty sarcastic titles, because sarcastic gits like me might take them seriously. Can't stand this. 1. HM thought 3.

Downset - Do We Speak A Dead Language? This was really good. Hardcore punk with rapped vocals. I agree with HM's 4.

And this was really uneven, oscillating between good fun rap rock to really dumb rap rock. HM gave it 2.5. I think 2.