Omen - Battle Cry (1984)

Raw epicness are the only words that can describe this heavy metal diamond,as this band from LA, California tell us tales of  brave warriors,powerful wizards and giant dragons crafted through savage riffs,intense solos and a magnificent, yet barbaric vocal performance. The album draws influence primarily from the NWOBHM movement following in the footsteps of the early works of bands like Iron Maiden and Angel witch.However the punk influence is mostly discarded and the band emphasizes more on melody and creating an epic atmosphere, and for that they are often considered to be one of the pioneering bands of the United States Power Metal movement (USPM). Every song in this album is great.That's right, no crappy songs or fillers here, just pure epic heavy f-ing metal from the first minute to the last. Songs like ''Death Rider'',''The Axeman'' and ''Last Rites'' are so awesome that you can't resist the urge to headbang like a maniac and sing along to every anthemic verse and chorus.
So in just a few words ''Battle Cry'' is one hell of an album.Every old school lover that is worthy of his name is bound to love it.You'll love it even more if you're a fantasy geek just like me!

   
Album & Band Info :  Metallum Page
Download Link :  Mediafire Link

Demon - The Unexpected Guest (1982)

These guys from the small town of Leek in Staffordshire,UK are truly one of the stand-out bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) and one of my favorite bands ever.Their music does not follow the typical NWOBHM standards and it is being pushed to a very different direction far more melodic and artistic than the rest of the bands of the movement and that's what makes them so special.Now, as for the album I believe it is their magnum opus.The thing that makes the album so awesome is that it's incredibly catchy and memorable.After you give it a few listens you will be able to remember every riff,verse,bridge,chorus and solo in the album and you will want to sing from the first to the last note.Every member of the band gives 100% of his passion and excitement in order to deliver us this masterpiece.The guitars,the bass,the drums are all perfect.As for the vocals, I believe they're nothing special but they fit quite well and deliver the pretty dark (for their time of course) lyrics really satisfactorily.Tracks like ''Don't Break the Circle'' and ''Deliver us From Evil'' are heavy metal anthems, the former being an all-time fave to the older and younger generations of metalheads alike.

So all and all ''The Unexpected Guest'' is a great album from an amazing era.Every NWOBHM fan should give it a try.

Band and album Info :Metallum Page
Download link :Link

Watain - Sworn to the Dark (2007)

 Here comes an album from which may appear different views, depending on what your beliefs are about Black Metal and its new waves.
 Watain's Sworn to the Dark is not an album that may impress you by the "blackness" it inspires. It's not an album that apparently keeps the tradition of black metal openly with the compositions that it's consisted of (and that's why I said about the beliefs above).
 However, what truly impressed me in this album was the very same compositions and I'll tell you why: First of all, it keeps the atmosphere of a black metal album, with its endless tremolo picking and its lyrics about mythical creatures, satanism and darkness.
 Secondly, you can find a great variety of riffs and pretty many lyrics, something I believe that is good. What's more, the songs do not follow the same pace for long, as they change a bit after a while.
Finally, even though it's an album that cannot be categorized with what Darkthrone and Mayhem played, it's an album that does not lack intensity and anger at all!
 I had my arguments about this album and I had to tell them to you, so as to justify this for all those who are going to say "New wave of Black Metal sucks, I won't listen to that!". What you should do, is to not compare it with the rawness obsolete of the oldies...listen to it as a different genre and you'll see, you won't be disappointed!
Support them if you like them and go see them live if you're lucky!
Album & Band info here: Metallum Page
Download here: Mediafire Download

Green River - Rehab Doll / Dry as a Bone

 Well, this is where all began as far as the grunge movement is concerned. Of course, that's my personal opinion, but whether it is the begining of grunge or not, this band was a major influence to the legendary Seattle-based scene that was about to conquer the world few years later. This is a compilation of their first two EPs and I'm reviewing it as a single album cause I think they match perfectly. You're not going to hear something innovating or unprecedented. The music is simple, yet no boring, up-beat and groovy with an old-school, well presented by the average production vibe. The band members obviously know how to play their instruments and manage to keep it far from technical wankeries. The guitar solos are a highlight of the album because of their perfect matching with the rest of the music, and so are the vocals(e.g."Baby Takes") . They are handled by Mark Arm, well-known for being the main-man of grunge legends Mudhoney. Mark, as he'd do later, hands out an amazing perfomance, filled with emotions like anger and passion, feelings that could not be described in a better way than his screams. Of course, we can clearly hear the influence of drugs throughout many songs, but that's not anything special. The lyrics contain plenty of themes such drug abuse, personal issues and struggles, love and humour. Overall it is an amazing execution of -let's say- typical alternative rock, a personal favorite of mine and a great, I mean GREAT, influence to bands as Mudhoney, Nirvana and the grunge movement in its entirety.
Highlights: "This Town", "P.C.C.", "Unwind", "Baby Takes", "Searching", "Forever Means", "Smillin' and Dyin' ", " One More Stitch" ( damn I like this band a fuckin' lot. )
Also, you can here the whole compilation here.

Demigod - Slumber of Sullen Eyes (1992)

 It's been a while since you heard from us, so the return brings you one of the greatest death metal masterpieces.
 Finland is a country, which has made a name for its great death metal (and not only) bands and Demigod with Slumber of Sullen Eyes are a great example!
 A death metal album that screams brutality, strife and anger with its intensive riffs and its brutal growls, but keeps the pace in a specific limit, without being tiring with the endless blastbeats and triggers that a lot of death metal bands used to play. The lyrics are based on outer space, sorrow, anger, chaos...whatever a death metal band could be focused on, of course. Οn the other hand though, Demigod was a band who didn't use Satanism and themes of human suffering (amputations, kills, cannibalism etc.), something that was really innovative in their time.
 From the start till the end of this journey, the songs keep you in the same atmosphere, taking you to a realm of emptiness and darkness, as the chaos springs up to add profanity and hate. After listening to the disc you'll be lying in infinity! (Towards the Shrouded Infinity)
 Slumber of Sullen Eyes is an album that confirms the reputation of the Finnish bands, an album that surely deserves a lot and should be considered some great material for its genre.
 Haven't checked it out yet? You should!
Find album info here: Metallum Page
Download here: Mediafire Download
Support them and buy the album if you like them!