EXODUS Persona Non Grata | Weekly Heavy Metal Album Review

Released by Nuclear Blast Records on November 19th, 2021

Quick Background

Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1979. Their current lineup consists of guitarists Gary Holt and Lee Altus, bassist Jack Gibson, drummer Tom Hunting, and lead vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza. Known as the kings of the Bay Area scene along with Metallica, they are often credited as pioneers of the Bay Area thrash metal scene. Bonded by Blood is the debut studio album regarded today alongside Metallica's Kill 'Em All as one of the landmark albums responsible for launching the thrash metal wave This is also the only full-length studio album of Exodus to feature Paul Baloff on vocals. 

Persona Non Grata

Fast forward to 2021 and Persona Non Grata is Exodus' eleventh studio album. It is their first one since the very good Blood In, Blood Out in 2014. That album was their first release since the departure of the group's lead singer of nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of Steve "Zetro" Souza, who previously fronted Exodus from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004. 

Back to 2021, Persona Non Grata was produced by the band and mixed by Andy Sneap. The album runs for 60 minutes and features 12 songs, one being a short instrumental. Overall it's just pure Bay Area Thrash Metal in similar veins from the previous album and reminding a lot of 1989's Fabulous Disaster as well. Interestingly both Persona and Fabulous were recorded by the band together, on the same location for the process. 

The album opens with the title track and immediately a rapid fire riff from Gary blasts in at double speed. The riffs go on for about 30 seconds and continues during the verse, it's brilliant. It slows to regular tempo for the chorus and a bass on the foreground leads us to an incredibly groovy bridge. If that wasn't enough, the guitar solos lasting about one minute are some of the coolest of 2021. All in all with seven and half minutes, the band takes their time with this song, enjoying the riffs, the instrumental transitions and solos. Great opening track. Zetro delivered a strong performance in this album. He uses different techniques and broader range. And the title track is a good example of that. Another one is "The Fires of Division". 

"R.E.M.F." does not slow down the tempo, with just above 4 minutes, it's an avalanche in your years and never looses speed and aggression. How Tom managed to deliver this aggressive performance after a serious cancer removal surgery is beyond me. Things get groovier with "Slipping Into Madness" intro but it's still a high tempo song, for the first time on the album we hear gang vocals which we know the band often uses in their compositions. In this case is to emphasize the song title during the chorus. Several trading solos on this song and a twin guitar harmonization to make Steve Harris proud! 

"Elitist" features a punky feel and pretty catchy melodies, much groovier song than the heavier ones around it. But wait, the single "The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves)" is even more straightforward punk-ish song. It's only 3 minutes long and certainly a future live favorite. "Prescribing Horror" is one of my favorites on the album and also one of the singles. It's a mid tempo dark song. It describes the controversy surrounding the drug thalidomide, Experts estimate that thalidomide led to the death of approximately 2,000 children and serious birth defects in more than 10,000 children. The drug was banned in 1961.

"The Years of Death and Dying" goes traditional metal, it sounds like Accept in the 80's and it's a tribute to the fallen. "Cosa Del Pantano" is an acoustic instrumental that sounds great and serves as the intro to their epic 8 min "Lunatic-Liar-Lord". The longest song on the album is one of the best. What a fantastic chorus, groovy like some of their best classic songs. But actually the instrumental break is the highlight of the song, it's almost like a good old days Metallica instrumental song within a song. So many cool guitar solos in it. "Antiseed" closes the album with another rather long song, but equally brutal as the album started. 

The musicianship throughout the album is impressive. The guitar work is not too complex but effective and the riffs are sick. Drumming is superb and the bass is sounding so good. You have to pay attention but when you do you find this bass banging the chords. I'm sure that's the magic of Andy Sneap. 

The Picky Guy

My favorite songs on the albums were the more complex longer songs with lots of riffs and solos. So some of the simpler short songs while not bad at all, didn't interest me as much. And the album is a bit too long, not by much but 12 songs is quite a lot for thrash metal. While I am not in love with Zetro's voice, it works well in most songs, but sometimes it was too much Udo or Overkill sounding. 

Wrap Up Opinion 

After a long wait, Exodus delivered a great follow up to the already very good Blood in Blood out. If I didn't know the band, I'd have a hard time believing that is a thrash album written by veterans including a cancer survivor on the drums. The speed and aggression never stops. It's pure thrash metal for old timers and new fans. The production is modern and fresh and the band was able to mix very straightforward songs with longer more elaborated ones usually filled with riffs and solos. All in all a very good album and a really fun ride. Highly recommended, 84 out of a 100. 

SCORE: 84/100

Genre: Thrash Metal

Released by Nuclear Blast Records on November 19th, 2021

Rating System

99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
82 - 86 Very Good
77 - 81 Good
66 - 76 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad

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BEAST IN BLACK Dark Connection | Weekly Heavy Metal Album Review

Released by Nuclear Blast Records on October 29th, 2021

Quick Background

Beast in Black is a Helsinki, Finland-based metal band formed in 2015 and led by former Battle Beast guitarist and main songwriter Anton Kabanen. The band makes a very unique blend of genres and therefore created their own sound. While their influences include Judas Priest, Manowar, W.A.S.P., Accept and Black Sabbath. They mix that with Italo disco and Euro beat while using prominent synths. Greek singer Yannis Papadopoulos has a very dynamic and imposing voice, think Eric Adams from Manowar. This mix has worked for the band and they are on an ascendance with Nuclear Blast from the beginning. After the impressive success of their first two records - their debut Berserker (2017) and its follow up From Hell With Love (2019), Beast in Black is back with their third effort Dark Connection. I got to know them as an opening act during the debut album tour. I was immediately impressed by the quality of their song writing. And also by how cheesy and unapologetic they are: "this is what we love, what we do, if you enjoy it join us, if not too bad" kind of vibe.

Dark Connection 

Dark Connection. features 11 tracks in 48 minutes and two cover songs as bonus: "Battle Hymn" from Manowar and "They Don't Care About Us" by Michael Jackson. This combination says a lot about the band sound and influences. The album opens with the heavy high tempo "Blade Runner" and thematically this is a great choice to open the album. Films like Blade Runner were pioneers in the live-action cyberpunk genre and the album really gives out this vibe. Lyrics are mostly about heroic stories that are rooted in sci-fi, fantasy and cyberpunk. That's also clear from the artwork of the band's longtime collaborator Roman Ismailov. Given this theme it is no surprise that Dark Connection features the most prominent synths of all of Beast in Black's recordings so far. Despite that, at its core, it's still all about straightforward heavy/power metal. The band's mastermind Anton Kabanen is a genius when it comes to writing ageless melodies that are uplifting, catchy and just all around memorable. His music writing combined with Papadopoulos vocals is magical. In every song the Greek singer displays his powerful and versatile pipes singing irresistible melodies that will get stuck in your mind. Produced, recorded and mixed by Kabanen and mastered by Emil Pohjalainen, the album sounds modern and bright. In addition to the Italo disco and Euro beat influences, the band also adds symphonic elements to make those melodies and choruses sound even bigger. No wonder with every tour they get more popular, Beast in Black put out a fantastic and fun show to watch. 

But back to "Blade Runner", this is one of the heaviest tracks on the album, despite the synths, the crunchy guitars are very prominent. Overall all the elements discussed above are present here. With its 80's guitar intro, "Bella Donna" builds up into one of the catchiest songs due to its huge chorus. "Highway to Mars" keep things interesting and it's again a display of Papadopoulos' vocal abilities. It's a bit of a longer song with an interesting instrumental middle section that will clearly work well live. Interestingly 3 songs in and we are hit with the three first singles of the album: "Hardcore", the shortest song on the album "One Night in Tokyo" and "Moonlight Rendezvous". They are all very good tracks, less heavy than the first ones and with even more prominent synths. But these singles are all lots of fun. "Moonlight Rendezvous" has a very elaborated video of 7 minutes, it's a short film and it will certainly help the band to get further visibility. 

Now, the second half of the album is not as strong as the first 6 songs. But it is still very good. "Revengeance Machine" is a very heavy track featuring great performance from Papadopoulos (again). It sounds like Judas Priest's Turbo album on steroids.  "Dark New World" and "To the Last Drop of Blood" are good power metal tracks. A futuristic version of Rhapsody. "Broken Survivors" is another catchy one before we head to the album closer and longest song, the almost 6 minute "My Dystopia". Don't get fooled by the first bars, this is not a power ballad. It's a mid tempo song that builds up with ups and downs. It's quite symphony and makes me think of bands like Kamelot. Great way to close the album with something slightly different.

The Picky Guy

If I'd pick something to complain, I'd prefer to have a little bit more heaviness and somewhat less synths. Maybe next album they can bring up a bit more the rawness of the debut album. But this is more of a wish than a problem with Dark Connection. Overall the sound fits the concept. Also to be fair it's the first album without a power ballad, and that's a big plus. 

Wrap Up Opinion 

Of course if you are looking for complex progressive music or extreme metal growls, this is not your place. But if, like me, you are into cheesy power metal and want to have fun, then Dark Connection is a sequence of jewels fusing modern power metal and Euro beat from start to finish. In this context, there are no bad tracks. Anton Kabanen is a master of creating catchy music and via Beast In Black he won't apologize or contain his love for the cheesiness of the 80s or European power metal. But as opposed to the previous album, this doesn't sound like a retro album but a futuristic modern album. At the end of the day, the combination of love and believe for what you do with skillful song writing and talented musicians makes Beast In Black a band in strong ascendency and Dark Connection a very good album with 82/100. 

SCORE: 82/100

Genre: Power Metal

Released by  Nuclear Blast Records on October 29th, 2021

Rating System

99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
82 - 86 Very Good
77 - 81 Good
66 - 76 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad

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DREAM THEATER A View From The Top Of The World | Weekly Heavy Metal Album Review

Released by Inside Out Music on October 22th, 2021

Quick Background

The American progressive metal band Dream Theater needs no introduction. As of 2018, they had sold over 12 million records worldwide, and received two Grammy Award nominations. DT is not only one of the creators of progressive metal but also still one of the most popular bands in the genre. While I am not a fan-boy, I do like this band a lot and it's one of my favorite bands of all time. I have all their albums, even though I am not sure why I bought the Astonishing, and I've seen them live a few times. With that said, I can be critical and have high expectations. The Mangini era has been a hit and miss situation for me. But I won't get into the drummer discussion, because that's pointless. It is what it is. 

A View From The Top Of The World

A View from the Top of the World is the fifteenth studio album by Dream Theater and already the fifth one with Mike Mangini on drums who replaced Portnoy in 2010. The albums follows 2019's Distance over Time. This was of course accelerated by the pandemic and cancelled tours. 

A View from the Top of the World brings the band back to very safe territory in which they sound a lot like Scenes from a memory or change of seasons.  This is somewhat a reaction to the previous album where the band wanted to be heavy and concise. This time they allowed their freedom and as a result the new effort is, like the albums before DOT, a long album with only 7 songs but all relatively long. The title track is the epic closer with over 20 minutes in three parts. It is the first epic since "Illumination Theory" from 2013's self-titled album. 

Three singles were released to support A View from the Top of the World: "The Alien" on August 13, 2021, followed a month later by "Invisible Monster" and in October by "Awaken the Master"; each single was accompanied by a music video. The first single is also the album opener "The Alien". An almost 10-min with a heavy intro where the guitar riff and the drumming are the highlights. Later the intensity goes down and we have a beautiful guitar melody before the verse starts. While it all sounds good, it is too familiar, it's almost like a combination of parts from older songs refurbished into a new song. That bothers me and I can't get into this song. Unfortunately that's not the only moment that DT sounds like a copy of themselves on this album. The single "Invisible Monster" with 6:30 is one of the shortest songs on the album. With dynamic verses, engaging bridges and a catchy chorus, this was certainly a good choice for a single. The melodic and mid tempo guitar work is also a nice change of pace. "Awaken The Master", the third single, is the song using the Majesty 8, Petrucci new 8 string signature model. It sounds thick and low end but it's the same riff variations that is repeated all over the album. The keys sound good though, nice piano sound.  

"Answering The Call" while not bringing something new is a song that works for its catchy melodies. "Sleeping Giant" is an OK song with a good instrumental intro but then it falls flat to me and not that interesting. "Transcending Time" is one of the most straightforward songs on the album, around 6:30 minutes, it's mid tempo AOR influenced song. The interesting thing is that it works! At least as an one-off song. It's engaging and fun. Reminds me a bit of 80's Rush, specially due to the guitar arrangements and synths, and for the record, that's a good thing. And of course, the epic title track. A 20-min journey in three parts. This is one of my favorites on the album. It's dynamic and inventive. There is orchestration, other guitar sounds rather than low end riffs full 0000. I like the solos, the slow tempo/ballad section, it all works here.

Final note is that this recording session marked Dream Theater's first collaboration with Andy Sneap, who mastered and mixed the album, having recently worked with Petrucci on his second solo album Terminal Velocity (2020). It's also the first DT album to be recorded in their DTHQ new studio. Needless to say, it sounds awesome. 

The Picky Guy

My biggest problem with this album is that it is basically Dream Theater in auto-pilot. Everything sounds familiar and safe due to many ideas being recycled from previous albums. You can definitely play the game 'spot that riff' or 'arrangement ideas' from previous records. Unfortunately that bothers me and it's a bummer. But I am aware that it won't be a problem for many. Specially the crowed that wants "more of the same". 

Wrap Up Opinion 

I can't say that this is a bad album. Obviously the musicianship as always is exceptional, it's proggy, catchy at times, memorable choruses and also one of their best sounding albums ever. But to me the music writing was disappointing and the overall direction too safe and predictable. That's also why to me it can't be more than good. For those reasons, I am giving it 78/100, a good album, but not at par with most of their incredible discography entries. 

SCORE: 78/100

Genre: Progressive Metal

Released by Inside Out Music on October 22th, 2021

Rating System

99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
82 - 86 Very Good
77 - 81 Good
66 - 76 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad

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