Years of Decay 2002

On this album KORN utilize synthesizers and vocal effects to great effect, yet don’t lose heaviness in the process. The guitars are crunchy and heavy as all hell, Jonathan Davis’ vocals are incredibly versatile as always, going from soft and touching to raspy and brutally aggressive in an instant. Also included are some nice bass-parts as well as punchy and compelling drums, driving a lot of the songs to even greater heights! There’s not one track on here that I would skip on repeated listens, while they aren’t necessarily all classics in their own right, they differ from each other enough to not get stale and still complement the flow and general structure of the record. Thematically the band deals with some pretty heavy subject matter on “Untouchables”, such as depression on the whole, but also deeper facets of it, such as suicidal thoughts and feelings of being empty and useless, as well as depression fuelling hate and possibly even violence. Especially these topics are what makes this album so important to me, I’d say it came to me at the right time where I myself went through some struggles. The album at points really is the sonic embodiment of a mental breakdown, maybe a bit overused by the band, but they really hit that “Am I going insane?” feeling.
KORN’s fifth album was, still is and probably always will be my personal favourite of their entire discography, not only because of personal connection, but also because the sheer musicianship and deeply emotional lyricism on display here make “Untouchables” an excellent album. Think of “Nu Metal” what you want, this is a classic!
Favourite tracks: “Blame”, “Hollow Life” & “Hating”

the trve Medvson

This was the best time for HORNA? I don’t comment that. I like everything (music) about them. The past releases, this one, the following ones. It is a band that I try to get everything I can. Cause I like them. The music they play, the feeling they have. It is quite simple. They do Black Metal and a good one, and I love the music.

The Key keeper

This is the purest death metal from Poland, whether you like the band or not, we must recognize that they are an institution in themselves and that they have managed to carry the banner very high, also putting the rod high for all those new bands that would take them as an influence to define their style and sound. Piotr doing the things right, always. Starting with the first track, Epitaph delivering power and strength from the second 0:01, this album presents some highlights pieces like “Wisper”, “When Darkness Calls” demonstrates the perfect technique and the neat and devastating sound of its riffs makes this album even better song after song. “Torch of War” is another delightful piece followed by “The Code” they are taking us towards the end of the album that can be listened to repeatedly without getting bored during one of those days of fury that we all have in our hectic lives. I repeat, this is not their best, but they continue their legacy of brutality and technical mastery.
This is a great 2002 album, in my opinion, it still is in a valid form and shape and will continue for decades.

Jammerfal

When it comes to what new releases of 2002 caught my attention, literally none come to mind. I was just starting to get into PANTERA at this stage and I hadn’t yet discovered Phil Anselmo’s primary “other” band, DOWN, the Louisiana supergroup also featuring members of EYEHATEGOD, CROWBAR and CORROSION OF CONFORMITY. So I came to this release a little later. Lacking the extreme technicality of Anselmo’s “main” band, I saw DOWN for a long time as a lesser musical afterthought, but as the years go by DOWN are a band I have more and more time for and this, to my mind, is easily their best release.

Far more varied and adventurous than their debut, “Down II” is stuffed full of great, stomping, down-tuned, badass, 70s Rock infused, sludgy goodness. Some of the band’s all time standout bangers are here, like “Ghosts Along The Mississippi”, “Beautifully Depressed”, “Dog Tired” and my personal favourite, “New Orleans Is a Dying Whore” where Anselmo lets fly with the kind of lyrically opaque, seedy, nastiness that he excels at.

Alongside these highlights and plenty of strong, no-nonsense rockers, the band also shows their versatility with interesting deviations from the more typical hard riffing on tracks like the quirky, jaunty, organ-infused “Stain-Glass Cross”, the contemplative, stripped-back “Where I’m Going” (showing off some great pedal steel guitar work and maybe foreshadowing Anselmo’s recent EN MINOR project), the tremendous, dark and bluesy “Learn From This Mistake” and its great, jazzy counterpoint “Lies”.

Album closer “Landing on the Mountains of Meggido” sees the band embark on a proggy, spaced-out, acoustic guitar driven voyage, with LED ZEPPELIN invoking, rock-god motifs scattered all around (in the band’s own doomy, idoiosyncratic way), and while there’s a strong 70s Rock flavour to a lot of this album, the band never descends into mere retro, indulgences. DOWN are definitely a recognisable accumulation of their individual band members’ other musical explorations (as well at the Hard Rock sounds they add to the mix), but the sound they craft is very much their own. Between them Anselmo, Pepper Keenan, Kirk Windstein, Jimmy Bower and Rex Brown have been a part of a hell of a lot of great music, “Down II” is no slouch in any of that company.

Tom

A small step back. To be honest 2002 was pure shite as an year in metal. I personally don’t listen more than 8-10 albums from that year. The nu-shite was completely taken over the stage and lots of big bands were either quiting, or were swimming into the sea of those mediocre musical trends.

“Eternal 1919” is a heavy album, a calling out the troops for a battle album. Starting from the opener “Bleed for me” which is probably my favorite BLS track ever, the album continues in a riffy, doomy, heavy straightline with “Lords of Destruction”, “Demise of Sanity”, “Life, Birth, Blood, Doom”, “Battering Ram”, “Graveyard Disciples”, “Refuse to Bow Dow”. Of course there are heartful ballads – “Bridge to cross” and “Lost Heaven”, demsntrating the hurt soul of Zakk and his tremendous ripping playing.

“Eternal 1919” is a great album, and will say it again – BLS is a band NOT for everybody. It reuqires time and mood to get into Zakk music. In between the doom riffs lies a hidden pain and sorrow, bluesy melancholy and huge kick off power. STRONGER THAN DEATH!

Count Vlad

This is Symphony X epic masterpiece “The Odyssey”.

First, I would love to talk to you about how important reading is. It helps with language and writing of course. Also, storytelling is engraved in human DNA since the first humans gathered around a fire. This is also the case with the music of course. We are all drawn to good storytelling and good music, right? I find both elements in Symphony X music. And the Gods smile.

“The Odyssey” is not a concept album per se, the thing is that the final song about the adventures of Odysseus is so good that it tends to obscure the rest of the album. And that might be it´s the only flaw so to speak, or at least it´s my perception. But make no mistake, I don´t think there is no low point in the whole album. So, if u haven´t paid attention to this one or you may want to revisit, the time has come! The land of knights, wizards and epic journeys is waiting in a prog metal setting!

Of course, the song to choose here is none other than:

By Zeus!

Perrö

stripped of their green crowns, abandoned by life and covered by an immaculate white blanket of snow, undisturbed, unstained. The album has an immense breathing space, yet it never comes across as tedious and the metallic moments are quite sparse, however the feeling of loneliness compensates for the lack of what would be considered heavy. This was unlike anything I heard before it, considering I was coming from bands like Watain, Dark Funeral or Gorgoroth, and even now, years after the first listen, I still can’t find anything that captures quite the same emotions The Mantle stirs up inside me.

Metal Gentleman