CONDITIONS: Flourescent Youth (2010)

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Not my usual scene, I was turned onto this after reading about them in Metal Hammer, and this is a great album. It's one of those albums that really makes an impact when you first hear it, giving the impression of true magnificence, but over time it has receded a little, to merely a great album. That said this was easily one of the top ten albums of 2010, and 'Better Life' is an absolute belter of a tune!

AGENT STEEL - Mad Locust Rising (1985)

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Another classic Thrash e.p., this one released between the first and second albums in 1985. 'The Swarm' is merely a short intro into the blisteringly fast title track which easily eclipses everything on the 'Skeptics Apocalypse' album, truly frantic and vocally deranged, this is a definite career high point for Agent Steel. On the flip side we had a pretty good run through of Priest's 'The Ripper' followed by another Thrashtastic original entitled 'Let it be Done'. Interestingly, this segued into a mid-tempo chug which heralded the promising  'Day at Guyana' on the upcoming 'Unstoppable Force' album.

MEGADETH - Countdown to Extinction (1992)

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Megadeth's answer to Metallica's 'Black' album, and an unashamed bid for commercial success. Countdown to Extinction (originally to be titled 'Symphony of Destruction', but changed for commercial reasons!) certainly  gave Megadeth a considerable sales boost, if not exactly satisfying the fanbase eager for 'Rust in Peace' part two. While it is a blatantly commercial re-imagining, and let's face it, a whole-hearted sell out, the album is not without merit. Songs like 'Foreclosure of a Dream' and 'Architecture of Aggression' stack up well against the dreary plod of songs like 'Of Wolf and Man' and they even had the decency to include the nifty 'Ashes in Your Mouth' which is a million times Thrashier than anything Metallica were doing at the time. Overall a solid album, with undeniable flashes of brilliance and quality, and a crystal clear production by Max Norman (something that was sadly lacking on the otherwise monumental 'Rust in Peace').

RATT - Out of the Cellar (1984)

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I don't know if they have one now, but for years Ratt were denied a Metal Archives page because they just weren't Metal enough! I guess that might be because their first proper album came out on a major and all the rough edges were sanded off straight off the bat, whereas Motley came out a little earlier and did a couple of rougher sounding albums before their glossy overhaul. Regardless, this is a good album, yes it's not remotely heavy in the modern sense, and it has a massive pop feel to it, but it's still, at it's root, a metal album. Sorry.

SAMIAM - Astray (2000)

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Punk infused with a massive dose of melancholy, this is a quality album, but unless you are in the mood for it you might find it a little oppressive. Brilliantly catchy at times, and heartrending at others, this puts me in mind of the Cure at times (though it sounds nothing like them). This band could've been huge if things had gone their way.

MILLENCOLIN - Machine 15 (2008)

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I'm convinced that Millencolin are never going to make a 5M album now. They've made several great albums, but none which really make that last little jump to true magnificence. Which of course doesn't mean that their albums aren't worth the time of day, because they certainly are, it's just that they don't have the depth of a Bad Religion, or the irreverent attitude of a Dwarves. This is still a good record with plenty of catchy songs and well worth investigating.

MANOWAR - Into Glory Ride (1983)

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"Above the wreckage of your mortal world I sta-a-aand..." bellows Eric Adams on 'Revelation (Death's Angel), the first song I ever heard from this album. This is so metal it hurts, and seals Manowar's place in Metal history for all eternity. In truth there are parts of this album that suck, notably the insane warbling on one of the longer tracks, but when you have songs like 'Revelation' and 'Gloves of Metal' you can forgive a band a lot.

LACUNA COIL - Shallow Life (2009)

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Oh deary me, one glance at the reviews on Metal Archives will tell you that I am out of step with the rest of the world on this one. For me, Lacuna Coil started wonderfully with their debut mini-album and got slowly worse with each release. How shocked was I then when I picked this up and found the band moving into slightly poppier territory and sounding much better for it. This style absolutely plays to the band's strengths and gives Christina the chance to shine. Sadly, rumour has it that the new album will be 'heavier', which I imagine means that they will be returning to their dreary (but commercially successful) previous style. Shame.

MEGADETH - So Far, So Good...So What (1988)

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Having dispensed with the services of Gar Samuelson and Chris Poland, the two Daves returned with a pretty boy guitar teacher and a Fred Flinstone-esque drummer and still pretty much managed to deliver the goods. Chuck Beehler's drumming is best described as lumpen throughout (especially compared to his jazzy predecessor) and Jeff Young's contributions were adequate rather than particularly stunning. Despite this the album contains some bona-fide Megadeth classics, including 'In My Darkest Hour', 'Into the Lungs of Hell' and 'Hook in Mouth'. But the cover of the Sex Pistol's 'Anarchy in the UK' can piss right off, thank you very much. 

CORONER - Punishment for Decadence (1988)

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This is the only Coroner album that ever really clicked with me. Combining the Thrashified Malmsteenesque riffing of the first album with a keener sense of songcraft and hooks, 'Punishment for Decadence' also has a nice late 80's production which makes it rather easier on the ear than the tinny 1989 follow up 'No More Color'. Love Ron Royce's voice too, like a Germanic Nasty Ronnie almost, well maybe not... Obvious standout track has to be the classic 'Sudden Fall', although many would call for 'Masked Jackal' since it was a video clip.

T.K.O. - In Your Face (1984)

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Looking at the cover you would be forgiven for thinking this was real nancy-boy stuff, probably even in the Pretty Boy Floyd league of naffness. But you'd be wrong. Because what we have here is Grade-A early 80's Glam Metal. Think early Motley Crue or Ratt, only heavier, grittier and with a better singer and a more bad ass attitude. Most bands of this ilk sounded great until they got signed to a major and glossed up to fuck in the studio. Thankfully this album is raw and all the better for it, it's Glam Metal with the emphasis firmly on the METAL.

DIMMU BORGIR - Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia (2001)

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Easily my favourite Dimmu album, this one is leagues ahead of everything else they've ever done in my opinion. Chiefly the reasons for this are the improved songwriting and the phenomenal performance of drummer Nick Barker (ex- Cradle of Filth, among many others). Barker impresses right from the off as the band steam into the first track proper 'Blessings Upon the Throne of Tyranny', with his insane blasting snare and precise footwork. This album also benefits from another two essential components which set it above the run of the mill, ICS Vortex's incredible clean vocals and an excellent production courtesy of Studio Fredman in Gothenberg. As an added bonus, if you get the box CD you also get a romp through Twisted Sister's classic 'Burn in Hell', which is quite amusing. 

GORDON GILTRAP - Fear of the Dark (1978)

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Certainly the only album which could be described as 'folk' you are going to find in my collection (well, All About Eve maybe...), and even then this album has something of a 'rock' edge, despite being played for the most part on an acoustic guitar. Giltrap's playing is pretty mesmerizing and I remember hearing this for the first time about twenty four years ago and being thoroughly blown away by it. It still sounds pretty impressive today and the acoustic parts don't date (unlike the rather weak side one closer 'Weary Eyes').

SAVATAGE - Hall of the Mountain King (1987)

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My favourite Savatage album by quite a long chalk, this one isn't sullied by the overuse of piano's or laden with Andrew Lloyd Webberisms, it's just proper Heavy Metal done, well... properly! Production wise, it's not perfect, but it certainly has energy and Chris Oliva is on good form throughout, throwing around a ton of great riffs and solos. Jon Oliva sounds pretty damn good here too and puts in quite a lung-bursting performance. Solid.

RAZOR - Violent Restitution (1988)

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In a year when many great bands were releasing sub-standard albums, it's nice to recall that this was the album that briefly put Razor back on the straight and narrow. 'Malicious Intent' (1986) and 'Custom Killing' (1987) were both lacking the killer instinct that made Razor's first two albums Thrash classics, and this one started to tip the scales back the other way, perhaps in no small part due to the replacement of M-Bro with a decent drummer! Sadly this was to be the last album for vocalist Stace McLaren and after that Razor were never really the same band.

CELTIC FROST: Morbid Tales (1984)

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Hard to believe this mini album was created by (largely) the same people that spewed up the hugely overrated 'Apocalyptic Raids' e.p. just a few months previously. For early dark Thrash Metal you can't go wrong here, awesome guitar tone, simple but effective riffs and superb aesthetics, Celtic Frost certainly made their mark here and went a long way to putting 'Hellhammer' behind them.

VARIOUS ARTISTS: Speed Kills (1985)

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The legendary 'Speed Kills' introduced many people to the wonderful world of Thrash Metal back in 1985, but the compilers were clever enough to realise that there would be many like me who were already on board and so made sure to include some rare and previously unreleased tracks to lure us in. At the time of release, the Slayer, Possessed, Exciter and Venom tracks were all exclusives, cunning indeed. Okay so this didn't exactly open my eyes to a ton of bands that I hadn't already heard of, and I suspect the big winner out of this was possibly Bulldozer, because I'd never heard of them before this and I bought their album on the back of this compilation, unfortunately the song featured here was the best one on the album, but that's the name of the game I suppose!

HELLOWEEN - Walls of Jericho (1986)

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Probably my favourite Helloween album still, this was the first and last time that you could ever really call Helloween a proper Thrash band. Even then Helloween were clearly not aligning themselves with the likes of Slayer and 'Gorgar' clearly wants to be 'Ride the Lightning'. That indiscretion aside, this is a great album and closes with Helloween's best song, the epic 'How Many Tears'.

VISION - Watching the World Burn (2000)

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A very good album with some killer songs and one absolute classic (Close Minded) this is the only proper 'Hardcore' album I've ever really clicked with. Typically for this genre it's fairly predictable, but this fuses energy and songwriting so well that you can't fail to love it.

MARILLION - Misplaced Childhood (1985)

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This one is a bit like Venom's 'At War With Satan' in that it's a definite game of two halves. Here the lightweight first side drags the score down while the magnificent second side pulls it right back up. Forget about 'Kayleigh' and 'Lavender' the second side is truly where it's at here, a beautifully crafted concept piece which still sounds great twenty five years later.