Corey_Lazarus

4. Fallout From the War Now, it's a good album. Doesn't have a lot of the dull moments that Balance had, and the production's just as good as War Within...but it's basically a bunch of b-sides. Half of the album is either a cover song or a song they released earlier in their career and re-recorded because they added some new tricks to it (unfortunately, none of them are from Somber, which is terrible since I'd like to see how they'd so "Somber Angel" now). The few originals on here aren't too bad, and some of them are actually really good songs, but they're more or less just a collection of riffs that Jon and Matt wrote while on tour and passing the time. When you open the liner booklet, the very first thing you read is a note from Brian explaining the album and how it's a bunch of b-sides, re-do's, and covers. It's basically a nice little demo EP that's been given the LP treatment. It doesn't feel like a complete album, which is why it's down here. Still better than Art of Balance, though.

While I agree with you, K, Megadeth did have a bit more impact on metal, and are one of the most popular bands of the style. When reciting great speed/thrash metal bands of the 80's, nobody EVER misses out on Megadeth. Exodus and Testament? Yeah, people forget about them. But not Megadeth.

...no, it really doesn't. JBL's one of the most over heels on the entire roster, and Bradshaw really kicked it up a big notch with the gimmick change to become somebody that was **GASP** entertaining. His matches may be pretty shitty, but he has complete control over the gimmick, and his heel antics have made me a fan. Orton was somebody that was getting over and would have greatly benefitted from a slow build to the World title, but he was one of the few workers on the roster at the time that was over enough to even be considered upper-mid. He didn't deserve it right away, but I won't say he was the most UNDESERVING. You know who came to mind right away? Justin Credible. I'm in the vast minority that enjoyed his run with the ECW World title, mostly because of how Dreamer and Storm tried to get the belt off of him but failed and how it took the man who he tore the house down with in '98, Lynn, to do it, but I never thought Justin Credible was as awful a champ as others have made him out to be. Fuck, Mike Awesome was a less-deserving champion than Credible, since at least Credible was there for more than a paycheck. But, then again, Awesome had an awesome (no pun intended) feud with Masato Tanaka over the title, and his mini-feud with Spike Dudley was mildly entertaining. So yeah...my vote for least-deserving champion (ECW, WCW, WWF/E) would have to be...Jeff Jarrett. He didn't deserve the belt in WCW, he didn't deserve to keep the belt as long as he did in TNA, and he doesn't deserve any belt he may get in the future with TNA.

I agree. You like the long songs, and I don't see a purpose to proving to anybody that you can play long songs.

ECW was fucking emotion. That's how I'd describe it. Because the wrestlers were presented as real people and not huge superheroes or demons from beyond, you felt for them. You could touch base with a lot of what was going on. Raven/Dreamer had the whole outcast vs. jock feel to it that so many people could identify with. Raven/Sandman with Raven turning Sandman's own son against him actually made ECW fans cry (and ECW fans back then were notorious for being heartless bastards). Dreamer/Dudley Boyz in '98 based on Buh Buh Ray and D-Von breaking Beulah's neck (Beulah McGillicutty was Dreamer's valet towards the end of the feud with Raven in '97 until she left in the summer of '98 to go back to college, and is Dreamer's real-life wife) was something everybody could feel: a man's love was stolen from him while he was powerless to do anything about it. If you went to an ECW show you left knowing that the wrestlers worked their hardest to make sure you were entertained. They didn't have huge corporate sponsors and shareholders to fall back on if they needed money. They needed to work for it. And all they really wanted from you while you were there was your respect. Knowing that they made you sit there and enjoy yourself and then want to come back again was their payment (which is a funny statement because it's especially true regarding ECW's end). It was professional wrestling for the people and by the people. If you went to an ECW show, you were a part of the show. It had that feel to it. ECW did more for their fans than any other company did at the time. CyberSlam was an annual show where the wrestlers would chat with the fans and put on a show. Think about that: an annual event where fans could meet the wrestlers and shake their hands before and after they worked. ECW was your corner deli. Sure, the food may not be as delicious as the meat down at the Stop & Shop, but the people there were nicer to you and didn't throw a sandwich together without any care for what you actually wanted. ECW was a fucking revolution in the wrestling industry, and without it Steve Austin would have been Chilly McFreeze, The Rock would have been happy-go-lucky Rocky Maivia, and Mick Foley...well, okay, Foley would still have been fucking weird and quirky.

That's okay. The Midnight Movies of old are the cult classics of today.

Entertainment is entirely subjective. My girlfriend hates Return of the Living Dead and can't stand Zombie Apocalypse, two things I love. I find Iron Chef to be pretty lame and am sick to fucking death of Tool, two things she loves. Whatever. I'll catch this on HBO as well. It'll prolly take me a few watches to truly appreciate, since I hated Napoleon Dynamite and didn't find it funny until the third time or so I watched it. I kept watching it because it was on when nothing else was, and I eventually liked it. Maybe Nacho will be the same.

Yes...mediocre and crappy albums...personally I'd rather have all of my albums since my golden years just be "meh" than be "oh fuck, that's terrible." I'm not a fan of Divine Intervention, I think Diabolous in Musica sucks, and God Hates Us All showed a lot of promise. Kerry, Jeff, and Tom were fucking angry again. Christ Illusions has artwork done by the same guy that did the artwork on their trifecta of albums (Reign in Blood, South of Heaven, and Seasons in the Abyss), and "Cult" is actually a pretty good thrash metal song. I'm looking forward to it more than I am for anything Metallica could put out that wasn't an album covering NWOBHM bands and The Misfits. And it's not really that Justice is overly technical...it's that it's too long. There's songs that are long because they sound better long and make sense long ("Master of Puppets," "The Call of Ktulu," "Ride the Lightning," and "One")...and then there's length for no fucking reason, which is what most of Justice was. "Dyer's Eve" was the right idea for that album: short, to-the-point, heavy, and fucking angry. It was an angry album, written right after Cliff died to help them cope and to show that they weren't breaking up just because a member died. It didn't need songs that are 9 minutes long, most of which is just repeating the chorus over and over.

Well, Kev, you and I were at the same show. Pretty damn solid show. Not the best show I've been to this year (that would be Bodom/Chimaira at Lupo's in March, IIRC), but a good show nonetheless. Thine Eyes Bleed I thought they showed some minor promise at first...then I heard the "chugga-chugga" bullshit. Okay, people, get the fuck away from that, it's annoying. Listen to some Acid Bath: they're breakdowns are HEAVY and they don't fall back on chugga-chugga. It's slowed down, as in a BREAK DOWN in the speed, and builds up. Singer had a decent amount of energy, but...meh. Forgettable band altogether. Mastodon You know...pretty boring live. I love 'em, but...they're pretty fucking boring live. Opened with "Iron Tusk" and then went right into "March of the Fire Ants," and closed with "Blood And Thunder." Played "Aqua Dementia" and I believe a song off their new album, but a pretty short set. Children of Bodom I'm pretty sure that the Lowell setlist was the same as the one you saw in Jersey, CB. I know they ended with "Downfall," the second song was "Needled 24/7," and there was no "Bodom After Midnight" or even "Warheart" to be heard. That sucks, since "Bodom After Midnight" is my favorite song by them. Alexi seemed really, REALLY fucking off tonight, and the opening melody to "Needled" was off by a second or two. That doesn't sound too bad, until you realize that one second RUINS A SONG. Worst time I've seen Bodom, and also my third. Not a big Bodom fan anyway, but they've done better the other two times I've seen them. A LOT better. Lamb of God Sucked. Went with my girlfriend and our friends Petone and Caitlin up to see Steph's friend Bobby at the food shack thingy near Section B, and hung out their for 3/4 of their set. Made fun of them by growling "waaah, my daddy hates me because I'm a faggot" a few times, and then went down to the floor so we could rush towards the front for Slayer. Had to sit through too many fucking Lamb of Ghey songs then (including "Redneck," which sucks like all of their tunes, and some song that Randy said is for all of the old-school metalheads...which I found hilarious since all of the old-school metalheads there were pissed that LoG was on the same bill as Slayer), and I'm so happy they're not on Sounds of the Underground this year. Slayer Worst time I've seen Slayer. Fifth time I've seen them. Again, everybody was pretty off tonight. Only on a couple of songs, but Tom didn't sing a whole lot. Setlist was similar to the Jersey show, just in a different order. It was (IIRC): South of Heaven Silent Scream War Ensemble Blood Red Cult Dead Skin Mask Disciple Seasons in the Abyss Raining Blood Hell Awaits Antichrist Angel of Death I'm not sure if they came out for an encore, but I don't think they did because we left during the start of "Angel of Death" to avoid traffic fucking us in the ass TOO bad, and the parking lot was flooded a minute or so after we got out there. There was some fucking 6'6" douchebag who looked like a huge junkie that was all "FUCK YOU, PUSSIES" because people on the side of the pit (which for Slayer turned into an "L" for some reason) weren't moshing, so he kept running into people. He'd shove people down while just walking by him, and this one kid who couldn't have been taller than 5'6" shoved back, so a small fight broke out...and the smaller kid pretty much had the bigger douchebag on the fucking ropes, so-to-speak. So the big guy just laughed, shook his hand, and the motherfucking UNDERTAKER* was there and just laughed. Big douchebag didn't try any shit when he was around him, haha. *The Undertaker is a staple of Massachusetts metal shows. He's a pretty tall guy, about as tall as the big douchebag if not an inch or two taller, with long hair that's pulled back into a braided ponytail and fangs. He wears a collared shirt with the sleeves tattered but not FULLY torn off, and is, in general, just a bad motherfucker in the pit. He's not like FSU where they'll just beatdown anybody they see fit, he just walks in the pit and shoves people around and helps a lot of people up. Overall, good show. Seeing The Misfits (well...Jerry, Robo, and Dez) this Friday in Somerville, so I have a feeling that's going to top last night. Sounds of the Underground with Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder, and Gwar in July, and then Strhess Tour with Shadows Fall, Suffocation, and Darkest Hour in August. Would've been going to Stuck Mojo tomorrow night in Maine, but my co-worker Mark took Tuesday off (which was my plan) so I can't make it.

I hope Truth wins it. He deserves another run where he's booked as a champion. His first Heavyweight title win brought attention away from the X-Division, and has pretty much been the only thing to do that in TNA's existence besides Raven/Jarrett.

I'm listening to it right now. Intro is still pretty good, very Black Album-esque with a hint of Justice...then it turns into "Fuel" redux. Opening "main" riff is played a little too long, slight variation that would sound SOOOO much better palm muted. Verse has some decent flow, similar to "Ain't My Bitch" in sound with a little bit of "Frantic" thrown in. Chorus is pretty lame (which is sad since Metallica's strongest part of the song is usually the chorus). Okay, I can't listen to it anymore. It sounds like a St. Anger song with a solo. That's all it is. A lot of promise here and there, but they resort to the same old "HEY, LET'S SAY 'FUCK OFF' TO PLAYING METAL AGAIN AND JUST START WRITING SOME BULLSHIT PSEUDO-GROOVE STUFF" that they've been churning-out since '95. Though I must say that the riff under the solo is pretty decent. Even if the solo sucks.

Well, they could certainly get some more of the trippier moments of the film down VERY easily. Also, Below is the one that takes place in the WWII sub, aye? Or is it the one about a bunker that a bunch of partying teens get locked in?

Sounds like Brotherhood would be better off as just an exhibition film about the child sex ring with the "revenge from beyond the grave" an afterthought. That's more horiffic: a bunch of pederasses making child snuff.

Who would have thought 6 years ago that Kevin Nash would be squashing an entire division? ...oh, right...

...good for Double J. Now actually DEFEND TNA beyond Rhino. Because a lot of the things Heyman said about TNA - about them not building new talent despite their younger guys being so fucking over with their fans its incredible - is 100% right.

That's why I don't care for Justice too much. It's just James riffing for the sake of riffing and not for the feel of the song. Kill gets away with it because it was their first full-length (and I'll forever feel that the slow "break" part of "The Four Horsemen," the Kirk-written solo, is completely unnecessary and just pure masturbation), but Puppets and Lightning had songs that were long but had a purpose and didn't drag. I JUST realized that "Fade to Black" was nearly 7 minutes long the other day. The years I've spent listening to it, and it's always just seemed to fly by. I think the only song off Justice that has the kind of flow that Lightning and Puppets had was "One," and maybe "Dyer's Eve." I'm a big fan of the closer. It doesn't get enough love. Probably their heaviest song, actually. But yeah. Load is a good rock album, but it's not a Metallica album. After the standard they set with the first 4, and even with The Black Album, to go to Load was just too big of a transition. At least Slayer slowed down gradually from Reign to Diabolous, and the new track "Cult" seems like a decent-enough return to early 90's Slayer. Only, you know, with the awesomeness of Lombardo's drumming (I always give him the BJ when it comes to listing favorite drummers). I hope the new album is at least on par with Load. That's it.

FNM's cover of it really is pretty damn good. Dunno if it's better than Sabbath's, but it's definitely on par.

Nah. Not enough robots or alien demons.

Fuck...after Puppets they wandered far afield.

You know, I don't know why. They're too borderline of a hardcore band, though. Some of their songs are straight-up speed/thrash metal, and others are just pure hardcore (most of Bigger Than The Devil, for example). At least with Shadows Fall and Sepultura (both of whom I nominated) the metal sides shine while the hardcore influence is present but not overpowering (though in Sepultura's case, I suppose their influence on hardcore is bigger than hardcore's influence on them).

But my argument was that he knew next-to-nothing, and my evidence was his points.

Iron Maiden vs. Iced Earth The original is always better than the knockoff. Sepultura vs. Megadeth There's really one Megadeth album I can listen to in full, despite their impact and Dave's talent. Pantera vs. Dream Theater Partially for nostalgic purposes due to Dime's death, partially because I hate guitar wankery that has no purpose. Judas Priest vs. Helloween I'm a bigger Helloween fan than I am a Priest fan, but Priest and Sabbath and Maiden are the trifecta of old-school British metal. Black Sabbath vs. In Flames Fuck Gothenburg. And fuck everything after Clayman, too. Slayer vs. Ozzy Osbourne I'm really sick of everybody creaming themselves over Ozzy's solo career. It sucked outside of a few songs, Randy Rhoades is overrated, and there's a reason Ozzy resorted to a reality TV show to regain popularity. Metallica vs. Emperor Mostly because I can't get into black metal, since St. Anger was inexcusable. Motörhead vs. Anthrax Lemmy is God. Belladonna sucks. SOD > Anthrax. 'Nuff said.

No, really?! Entertainers put on a show?! NO FUCKING WAY!!! And no, it's not really worth it, but when you talk about a style of music you know so little about as if you were some fucking expert, then yeah it needs to be done. Well, that's when I really got into metal, too. I was 14 when Slipknot first came out with "Wait and Bleed." I went through a Slipknot phase, even. Doesn't mean I didn't know they weren't true metal (though if there was ever a nu-metal band that caused controversy over whether or not they were actually metal, Slipknot was it). No shit. Gore metal shouldn't be taken seriously, it's a joke. And I think Tack would have something to say about death metal not being serious. Ahem...ANY death metal you listen to was influenced by thrash. NWOBHM > Speed Metal > Thrash Metal > Death Metal. If you're listening to a band because of nothing but the vocals, you're listening for the wrong reasons. And Overkill fucking sucks anyway. I never said you could tell fashioncore bands apart. I'm glad you keep thinking I'm all about fashioncore, despite me always listing SOD and The Haunted (note: THRASH BANDS) among my favorite bands.

Eh, to each their own.

Yeah, it is, but so is every other thread in this folder, or the entire forum, for that matter. Fuck, I think the only debates/arguments/etc. that actually do have any bearing beyond "my dick is bigger than yours" would be some of the ones in Current Events. Still doesn't stop J0bber from knowing a whole fuck lotta nothing about a style of music I've loved and cherished for as long as I can remember.