Metal Monday # 2

Savatage - Sirens 
Classic metal here for the dedicated metal fan. This track comes from Savatage's debut album "Sirens" and is without a doubt one of my top listened to Savatage songs. Sirens is a perfect example of what Criss Oliva was capable of, as like the majority of Savatage's back catalogue, he played all guitars on the track, and did so with the grace that only Criss could, on top of this, Jon Oliva also shows us some early examples of his trademark shrieks within the track. Savatage are a rare example of a band that sounded better live than on the album, this can be heard within their live recordings, or by purchasing a ticket to a Jon Oliva's Pain gig and hoping they play a few Savatage tunes.

Droid - Together We Die
Coming from DROID's first album "DROID", Together We Die is a prime example of how metal is still progressing for the better. This groove metal/metalcore band sound very reminiscent of much of Devildriver's work with elements of Lamb of God, but their own unique touch. Unusual for a metal band within this genre is how the song's are structured, as unlike many bands, the vocals within their songs are coherent and not lost under bass like growling or distorted guitars. Something I noticed on the songs is the absence of guitar solos, which I personally think is a good thing, they get to the point and don't mess about with finger tapping nonsense, which most bands end up doing. Together We Die has some of the best drum work I've heard in recent years, and is a stand out track on Droids debut album, also look out for Fueled By Hate, which also left me wishing I was drummer.

Scar Symmetry - Slaves to the Subliminal
I just haven't been able to stop listening to this track over the past two months, it came on random on my mp3 player when I was doing a late night shop in Tesco's and I ended up walking around the store nodding my head with a ridiculous grin on my face, needless to say I looked like an idiot, but it was completely worth it. This soul crunching track from Symmetry's memorable second album, will hopefully have you wanting to take up MMA as a full time career. I was first introduced to Scar Symmetry in 2006, not long after their second album came out, the track I heard first was the mesmerizing "The Illusionist" and the rest of the album quickly followed. Slaves to the Subliminal is unnatural proof of how someone can go between deep growling vocals to pitch perfect harmonics within a fraction of a second, which was an rare ability Christian Älvestam, their now ex-vocalist, held.

Children of Bodom - Needled 24/7
Needled 24/7 is the track that first got me interested in Bodom, it stood out on Hate Crew Deathroll as it got straight to work on driving heavy riffs into your ears (it's the first track on the album) with a nice combination of a guitar riff that sets the pace for the song, keyboard mastery that wouldn't sound too put of place in a video game, and then drums that are beyond ludicrous this is where the vocals hit and give us an impression of what the rest of album will sound like. Although I haven't dedicated much of my time to Bodom over the last 2 odd years, 24/7 is a track and Hate Crew Deathroll is an album that will occasionally still flick on out of interest and nostalgia. Be sure to listen to the guitar solo near the end of the track which sounds like it should be in a JRPG.

Jameson - Beat It.
The last track is a bit of fun, a tribute to The King, but also a stand out metal cover. It is obviously a cover of Michael Jackson's perfect track "Beat It". Jameson are band I've only recently come in contact with through their debut album Down For The Count, which includes a few memorable tracks such as "Get to the Choppa" and "Morphium". The beat it cover is an interesting track of what cover songs can do, and is a hint to an upcoming post. Nothing much really needs to be said about this track as you can just listen to the track and form your own opinion.