Megadeth - "Megadeth", 2026 I have a soft spot for Megadeth. Among the so-called classic bands, it's one of the few I can still listen to occasionally without getting tired of it; I certainly cannot say the same for many other bands I grew up with. I appreciate all of the band's records to varying degrees, and even Megadeth's 2000s run was surprisingly solid compared to its peers. Despite a few questionable albums throughout the band's career, Mustaine consistently maintained a high standard over the years, especially considering the number of records he released. The band's recent thrash metal renaissance was certainly impressive, with "Dystopia" and "The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!" featuring some of the best material released in quite some time, despite a few filler tracks and a production that sounded too modern for my taste. Therefore, it was sad and quite unexpected when Mustaine recently announced that he would put the band...

Nightstick - "Death to Music", 1999 Nightstick's third release in as many years is the one I return to most often. It's not necessarily the band's best, but it's the most accessible , if such a term can even be applied to a band like Nightstick. While the debut album, " Blotter ," was likely the most iconic and certainly the most extreme, it's not the kind of record you casually play on a random weekday afternoon or in your car; its follow-up, " Ultimatum ," was also a demanding listen. "Death to Music," however, is the closest Nightstick ever came to making a more traditional doom/sludge record—one you could fit into a playlist between a Buzzov*en album and a Weedeater one, so to speak. There's still a weirdness factor to it, but the songs are less meandering than usual, and there's a hint of musicality compared to the all-out misanthropic psychedelia of "Blotter" or the droning heaviness of "Ultimatum...

Nightstick - "Ultimatum", 1998 "Ultimatum" was released exactly one year after the debut album " Blotter ," and it represents a more focused effort for Nightstick—if "focused" can even describe anything from these Massachusetts maniacs. The production sounds more balanced, even though the songs were recorded at different studios; the discrepancies are barely noticeable and not overly distracting, especially since the band's sound is so sludgy and unpolished that a slightly more or less overdriven guitar tone or uneven mixing levels between tracks make little difference. The album is slightly more listenable and less ear-piercing than "Blotter," which some might see as a drawback for a sonically aggressive band like Nightstick; however, it remains a record likely to repel anyone unaccustomed to such uncompromising musical harshness. In other words, the band didn't sell out; the album is just a bit more coherent than the absolutel...

Nightstick - "Blotter", 1997 LSD can be applied to blotter paper, which is then cut into small, decorated squares, each containing a single dose. With an album title like this, best explained by its cover—showing the band members dropping multiple tabs of acid—there's little doubt about how the music will sound. It's best described as a highly psychedelic sludge/doom/noise nightmare that could be used to torture prisoners of war, all kinds of posers , or even your neighbor. You don't just listen to "Blotter"; you experience it. Formed by ex-Siege drummer Robert Williams, one might expect Nightstick to be a hardcore or power-violence band. While he retains the misanthropic, anti-everything attitude of his previous band, musically he took the opposite direction, though Siege's sludgy "Grim Reaper" song could have been seen as a sign of things to come. Since its formation, Nightstick has approached music much like late 1960s and early 1970s ...

Obituary - "Back from the Dead", 1997 "Back from the Dead" was released at a time when death metal was definitely out of the spotlight, with most fans and the press gravitating toward symphonic black metal, power metal, industrial metal, Swedish melodeath, or—in the worst cases—nu metal. The days of major labels showing interest in the genre were over, and even labels like Roadrunner and Earache were about to start looking elsewhere. Additionally, some bands lost key members along the way (Chris Barnes for Cannibal Corpse and David Vincent for Morbid Angel, to name two of the more popular ones), others lost their direction trying to follow trends or change into something else, and many household names seemed to have lost their inspiration. In this climate of confusion and uncertainty, most bands tried to keep going as best they could, with varying degrees of success. Despite releasing an incredible album like "World Demise" in 1994—arguably the most advanc...

Black Label Society - "Doom Crew Inc.", 2021 At this point in Black Label Society's career, it's no longer a question of how a new album will sound, but rather whether it will be more or less inspired than the previous one. It's pointless to hope that Zakk will come up with something comparable to his 1990s—or even early 2000s—output, although he occasionally manages to assemble surprisingly strong records, such as 2018's " Grimmest Hits ." "Doom Crew Inc." stylistically falls between " Catacombs of the Black Vatican " and "Grimmest Hits," offering a mix of the usual Black Sabbath-inspired riffs and the more generic, mid-tempo rockers that Wylde and company have churned out for years. Even the production is very similar to the previous record, with punchy drums by Jeff Fabb, meaty guitars and bass, and solid performances from everyone involved. Unfortunately, this time there's a noticeable step backward in songwritin...

Black Label Society - "Grimmest Hits", 2018 Zakk Wylde's admiration for Black Sabbath has never been a secret, so it surprised no one when he formed a cover band in 2014 entirely dedicated to the Birmingham legends, aptly named Zakk Sabbath . Playing Iommi's riffs and singing Ozzy's melodies repeatedly apparently influenced his Black Label Society songwriting as well, since "Grimmest Hits" turned out to be largely an homage to those masters and also stands as one of the most inspired BLS records in years. The production immediately feels punchier than on " Catacombs of the Black Vatican ," with new drummer Jeff Fabb delivering a powerful, in-your-face performance. It's unclear whether samples were employed to enhance the kick and snare, but the impact is certainly more in line with " Order of the Black " than the previous record, though the drums sound less processed here. They add significant power to the songs, though they can b...

Black Label Society - "Catacombs of the Black Vatican", 2014 2010’s " Order of the Black " featured unusually bombastic production and more aggressive material; it was a overall heavier record than the relatively more radio-friendly " Mafia " (2005) and " Shot to Hell " (2006). It would have been only natural for BLS to push the heaviness further on its new album, ominously titled "Catacombs of the Black Vatican," but instead, the band took a different approach. Arriving four years after the previous release, during which the band put out a mildly interesting compilation of unreleased material ("The Song Remains Not the Same") and a very good live album titled "Unblackened," featuring mostly unplugged renditions of Zakk’s catalog, "Catacombs of the Black Vatican" does not live up to its menacing title and artwork, instead reverting to a more accessible hard/doom rock style. The album even exudes a 90s grung...

Black Label Society - "Order of the Black", 2010 "Order of the Black" is the first BLS album released after an actual break; before that, the band put out about one album per year, along with several live DVDs, greatest hits collections, and more, all while touring relentlessly. Wylde also managed to release "Black Rain" with Ozzy in 2007—an album that sounded dangerously similar to his BLS work—and toured in support of it. Hats off to Zakk's work ethic, especially since he had nothing left to prove, yet he continued to release records and tour the world for years as if there were no tomorrow. The inevitable wear and tear, compounded by Zakk's legendary drinking habits, forced him to rest for a while in 2009, when blood clots in his legs finally compelled him to get sober. Always the one to man up when necessary, he shrugged it off and went on to record and tour as if nothing happened, releasing an album that showed no signs of slowing down or mell...