My Dying Bride - A Line Of Deathless Kings (2006)

[Doom Metal]

My Dying Bride is band that is hard to describe, but the term 'brutally beautiful' comes to mind. The band's music is both elegant and harmonious at the same time as being extreme and discordant. Generally their albums contain large sections of pure gothic misanthropy, but 'A Line Of Deathless Kings' took the band in the opposite direction. This album is still firmly planted in the destitute graveyard of doom metal, but gone are the long passages of sorrowful yawl - instead replaced with death metal intensity that is unusual for the band post their early demos. From the onset of the opener 'A Line Of Deathless Kings' it is clear this is a heavier album than usual, and even tracks like the tale of forlorn love 'L'amour Decruit' still have a massive doom sound rather than the soft passages the band is known for. In fact there is very little on the album that doesn't hammer its way into the listeners ears, and ending on the massive double hit of 'Deeper Down' and 'The Blood, The Wine, The Roses' is one of the best album closers of the era, or any era really.

Beatallica - Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band (2007)

[Comedy]

I thought it was time to have some fun by reviewing a band that impersonates and mashes up such classic bands as The Beatles and Metallica. Yes that's right, Metallica singing Beatles songs mashed with Metallica songs. And let me tell you the mash up is absolutely brilliant. Brought to us by Jaymez Lennfield, Grg Hammerston, Kliff McBurtney and Ringo Larz. Some very creative minds behind this band in general and more-so this release which I think is the pinnacle of their talent. Up to this they had a couple of E.P.s to test the waters I guess before this being their first full length. Starting a listen to the first track which is the title track, you hear Lennfield kick off which is a brilliant parody of Hetfield's vocal style. It's a quick 2 minute song which is the case for half the songs on the record. I'm not going to do track by track so you get a sense of the track names and the melding of the title between Beatles and Metallica songs. Simple to say it is incredibly creative. I do have to pick out a few tracks that are my favourite. 'Blackened In The U.S.S.R.' - starts with the Blackend intro which is brilliant, then takes a Beatles turn singing to Back in the USSR. 'Sandman' very similar in the intro, then turns into the 'Taxman' type sound. Brilliant. 'A Garage Dayz Night', which you can guess which Beatles song this is linked to, with a short reference to 'Wherever I May Roam'. 'Anesthesia (I'm Only Sleeping)' where you have to ask in what right mind would you link this classic Cliff solo to the 'Happy Birthday' song? You have to hear it to believe it. My favourite on the record is clearly 'Hey Dude'. This is the flip where a Beatles song is the base for the song and Jude is changed to Dude. Thy rhyming lyrics in the song are genius. Extremely clever work. 'Remember that metal is in your heart, then you can start, to become a shredder.' There has been some releases since but with less to work with compared to a 2007 release where they had 30 years of Metallica to work with, they haven't been as creative as this release. Take a listen if you still want to hear from your favourite bands but not in a corny way.