Bato
Editor in charge, webmaster and writer
Member since 2005
The first album I bought was...
W.A.S.P. - The Last Command
I was just getting into rock and metal in the mid-80s and I got cassettes of The Last Command by W.A.S.P. and Love at First Sting by Scorpions. Once I heard it, I was warped and fucked-up for life.
My top 3 albums of all time are...
Metalica - Master Of Puppets
Slayer - Reign In Blood
Machine Head - Burn My Eyes
Best concert I've been to...
Metallica live at Roskilde Festival 2003
The best album artwork is...
Cannibal Corpse – Wretched Spawn
The cover art is by Vincent Locke. This is the last studio album to feature Jack Owen, one of the band's founding members, and up to 2012's Torture, the last with a graphic album cover. It summers up what this band is all about.
A kid asks me what metal is. I hand them a copy of...
Slayer – Reign In Blood
The ultimate metal record, it took everything to the next level. The melodies, the guitar playing, Tom Araya’s vocals… if I had to choose another one… Master Of Puppets by Metallica.
The album that should not be is...
Megadeth – Risk
I don’t think there’s a good song on that; Dave was trying to do something different and it didn’t work. Maybe there’s something to it, so I didn’t have any preconceived notions, and it’s not like it was insulting, it just had to purpose and one can compare it to Iron Maiden’s X Factor or Van Halen’s III.
The first album I bought was...
The Doors - Strange Days
The first time I heard The Doors was from an old cassettes that my mother had lying in a drawer. I think it was around 80s. Then I heard about The Doors, and have done it ever since.
My top 3 albums of all time are...
Metallica - Metallica
Kamelot - One Cold Winters Night
Type O Negative - The Best of...
Best concert I've been to...
Type O Negative at Vega Copenhagen, Denmark 1999
The best album artwork is...
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
The reason it is best album is that it represent the last album their former bassist Cliff Burton starred in before his tragic death later that year. The album was also a reminder of Burton's death in bus accident shortly after the release which they supported on that tour. If I had to choose another one it would be Souls Of Black by Testament.
A kid asks me what metal is. I hand them a copy of...
Metallica – Master Of Puppets
The album is often regarded as an add up of new methods of thrashmetal. There are many good songs that get your blood pressure to rise, while your head is about to explode.
The album that should not be is...
Helmet - Monochrome
I did not think that there are many good songs on this album. The songs are very slow with a few variations.
Zoran
Writer, photographer & webmaster
Member since 2007
The first album I bought was...
Billy Idol – Rebel Yell
I was 11 or so and I found the mixture of punk energy, pop catchiness and the visual approach very appealing.
My top 3 albums of all time are...
Tool - Ænima
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
Best concert I've been to...
Pantera, September 25th 1994 at KB Hallen in Copenhagen, Denmark
The best album artwork is...
Tool – Lateralus
This cover is an ode to creativity. Perfect mixture of extreme simplicity and complexity as well as statement that the obvious is not necessarily the best way to catch the buyer’s eye.
A kid asks me what metal is. I hand them a copy of...
Metallica – Master Of Puppets
This album just sums up some of the most characteristic aspects of metal music. Musically it’s complex and aggressive, but at the same time melodic and fairly approachable. Lyrics deal with the darker sides of life and the creativity in song-writing is dazzling.
The album that should not be is...
Gene Simmons - Asshole
There are way too many, but in the end they are insignificant and as such not worth mentioning. But if I have to come up with one, such album then Gene Simmons’ album Asshole is a very good example of zero creativity, zero originality, zero content and zero humor despite the fact it’s its very key selling point.
The first album I bought was...
Scorpions – Best
I don't remember my exact age when I bought this album, only that it was the first time I had enough money between my hands to buy an album. And having heard my parents playing a lot of Scorpions classics, all of them present on this album, I couldn't resist.
My top 3 albums of all time are...
A Forest of Stars - A Shadowplay for Yesterdays
Winterfylleth - The Divination of Antiquity
Wolves in the Throne Room - Malevolent Grain
Best concert I’ve been to is…
Bolt Thrower at Metalfest back in 2010. It was the first time that I got the chance to see these legends live, and I can for the life of me not tell you, even to this day, what songs they had as part of their line-up (except for World Eater). For me, it was an hour-long lasting extacy-like state, by far the best experience of my life.
The best album artwork is...
Artillery – By Inheritance
Studying the album cover while listening to songs on the record such as “By Inheritance” or “Bombfood” really makes this album come alive to me. On top of that it is, plain and simple, an awesome piece of artwork.
A kid asks me what metal is. I hand them a copy of...
Bolt Thrower – Realm of Chaos
My favourite album by a small margin, ahead of sThose Once Loyals. This album has all the raw aggression and depth of the eighties which they later passed on to their successor records, which is probably why they are a cult band today.
The album that should not be is...
Any HIM record. For some reason I have never really taken a liking to HIM. Pretty much everything about them music-wise bothers me.
Bror
Writer
Member since 2023
The first album I bought was...
Manowar – Hail to England
By no means my type of metal, but I remember being told by my bass-teacher that I should check out the style of Joey DeMaio. I will never forget the way the salesman at the local record store did his utmost not to crack a smile at the 14-year old buying the cheesiest album possible, complete with sword-wielding musclemen in speedos…
My top 3 albums of all time are...
Suicidal Tendencies – Lights Camera Revolution
Dissection – Storm of the Light’s Bane
X Japan – The Art of Life Live (yes, it’s an EP, but you won’t have 34 better minutes than this)
Best concert I’ve been to is…
The Mars Volta live at Sentrum Scene Oslo, Norway 2009.
The best album artwork is...
Ulver - Bergtatt: Et eeventyr i 5 capitler
The cover of Ulver’s debut is as eerily beautiful as the music. A foreboding, dark forest perfectly hints at the coldness you experience when listening to the album, but there’s genuine, nature-inspired art going on and the cover becomes the perfect representation of what the album actually is.
A kid asks me what metal is. I hand them a copy of...
Anthrax – Among the Living
Maybe an unconventional choice, but Among the Living is a groovy, catchy and fairly juvenile album that showcases several sides of metal. It’s not too brutal and potentially off-putting and it might serve as the perfect gateway to bands like Slayer and early Metallica. Piece of Mind and The Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden are both good alternatives.
The album that should not be is...
Metallica - …And Justice for All
Yep, you got that right. … And Justice is a banger of an album and the real answer here would of course be your personal pick from Load, Re-Load and St. Anger, but I will never be able to forgive Lars, James and Kirk for taking their grief out on their new bass players sound by practically muting it and thus only punishing themselves and the fans in the process.
… And Justice for Jason!
The first album I bought was...
Venom Prison - Samsara, Megadeth - Rust In Peace and Death - Leprosy
Initially I was more interested with the idea of investing in cassette tapes, but it was my brother who convinced me to purchase vinyl for the superiority of sound and authenticity. At that moment, both of us were in HMV (it pains me to the core to admit), I had around £70-80 and was a spend-frenzy teenager. So picking up one title turned into three, and all three were a variation of discovering new music and owning albums I really wanted in my home collection.
My top 3 albums of all time are...
Best concert I’ve been to is…
The Sun’s Journey Through The Night at Electrowerkz, London, UK (8th May 2022). Atmospheric black metal done perfectly, will be hard-pressed to find another band like it.
The best album artwork is...
Dragged Into Sunlight - Hatred for Mankind
God rest his soul, Justin Bartlett has a real touch of genius to his work, and when synergised with the misanthropy of Dragged Into Sunlight’s Hatred for Mankind, what you see is exactly what you get. A timeless classic.
A kid asks me what metal is. I hand them a copy of...
Exciter - Heavy Metal Maniac
For a record that literally contains the words ‘heavy metal’ on it, Exciter's 57-minute barrage has the ruminative feel of old-school vogue whilst sounding relevant and fun. This album shows metal isn’t all death, demons and destruction, it can be something very feel-good.
The album that should not be is...
Lou Reed & Metallica - Lulu
No. Just no
