The Scrounger's Report

Mar. 01, 2001

The Mini Metal Scrounger's Report.

It was a trip to Casa de Inbred, and as usual I spent more
than I should have...

A pair that were majorly disappointing:

K.O.D. - Kingdom of Dead. 1993. Magnetic Air.
   Half-assed death metal. Luckily it was only $2.50.

Venom - Greatest Hits and More. 1999. Deadline Records.
   I knew I wanted some classic Venom in my collection,
   so I figured that a 3-disc set for $15.99 wouldn't
   be a bad deal. The "In Memorium" disc is throwaway shit.
   I've only listened to a few tracks to one of the other
   discs, and one or two show potential, but by and large
   this isn't very good.

Ok, now to some keepers:

Mortal Sin - Face of Despair. 1989. Vertigo (Australia)
   Melodic thrash.

Various Artists - Doomsday News 2. 1989. Noise Records
   Tracks from Coroner, Watchtower, Midas Touch, Deathrow,
   Mordred, Rage, Vendetta, and Mania.

Metallica - Garage Inc. 1998. Elektra Records.
   I'll eventually get all the Metallica discs, if I
   find them cheap enough. This 2-CD set was $6. Sounds
   about right.

Sodom - In the Sign of Evil/Obsessed by Cruelty. 1998. Steamhammer.
   No clue. Haven't listened yet.

V/A - Testify! (The Best of Christian Metal). 1988. Arrival/K-Tel.
   Tracks from Barren Cross, Shout, Whitecross, Jerusalem,
   Mark Farner, Ruscha, Bloodgood, Neon Cross, Mastedon, and
   Gardian [sic].

And the 3 new releases:

Freedom Call - Crystal Empire. 2001. Steamhammer/SPV.
   Haven't listened yet, but if it's anything like the
   first one, it will rule.

Primal Fear - Nuclear Fire. 2001. Nuclear Blast.
   Hey, it sounds a lot like a Primal Fear album!
   Only listened to a couple of tracks thus far, but
   sounds samey to me.

Children of Bodom - Follow the Reaper. 2001. Nuclear Blast.
   Yeah, baybee! Phenomenal! Their best thus far. I keep
   wondering what their stuff would sound like with clean
   vocals at the helm, since instrumentally they blow away
   98% of the power metal bands out there today. And then
   I realize that if they had clean vocals they'd be "just
   another power metal band." They've really carved out a
   niche. I mean who else is doing this type of amalgam of
   power metal and death metal? I can only really think of
   Bal Sagoth, but despite how much I like Power Cosmic,
   they don't come close to COB. Now if only we could get
   them to put out an album LONGER THAN 40 FUCKING MINUTES!
   
-Dan