Sinister Reviews

Down Vs. Pantera

Alrighty so I am changing Saturday Showdown to Tuesday Takes and This one is definitely more of a controversial topic because we’re talking about one of the most beloved bands of all time (arguably) going up against what was once a side project that is now a full-time project. The topic in question is, which band would one prefer? Down or Pantera?  I know I know it’s a hot button issue with some people so with that let’s take a look……….

So I’ve been reviewing bands, albums, etc. for a good while now since I started doing and thanks to my podcast cohost and good friend Brian, I’ve been hearing music differently.  I guess you could say I’ve gotten more eclectic in my musical pallet and if you would’ve asked me which I thought was better or even told me that Down is better I would’ve said that’s crazy or written you off. But really think about it from a songwriting and musician point of view, Down is in fact the better band. Why would I say such a thing you might ask?  Well, it’s quite simple really. Because it’s true!!  I mean the best example that I can give as to why I personally find Down to be the better band is because if you look at the first album, NOLA, it’s very laid-back, very southern, very blues and has a very Sabbath tone.  Not to mention the musicians in that band are all top-notch and are brilliant songwriters.  Now I am not discounting or saying that the Abbott Brothers were not great musicians themselves. They were by far some of the greatest musicians ever to be put on this earth and it is a damn shame that they are no longer with us, especially Dime!!  When you put Pantera albums against Down albums and really listen to them, there is a lot more going on with Down.  The riffs, the vibes, the lyrics, and the atmosphere just kind of hit you differently. I think that Phil writes better lyrics when he’s in Down and I also think that Kirk Windstein and Pepper Keenan are better riff writers. Yes I am well aware that stylistically both bands are different and that no one and I mean no one can sound like Dime. Many have tried but it’s a perfect example of often imitated but never replicated. Here’s something fun to do next time you’re listening to the Planet Caravan cover on the album Far Beyond Driven, immediately listen to Temptations Wings off of NOLA. It’s such a cool flow.  Maybe the reason why I’m saying all this is because as much as I love Pantera, I find myself going back and listening to Down a lot more.  You know what they say when you get older, your tastes change and I guess for me they certainly have.

Anthrax Vocalists

Ok so to switch things up, I’m introducing a new segment called Tuesday Takes. So for this segment what I’m going to do is take either a band that has had a significant member change, pit two albums against each other, etc.   For this one I’m going to make this one a little bit easier on myself and squaring up today are the vocalists of Anthrax.  So for this head-to-head, we have a four-way battle featuring Neil Turbin, Joey Belladonna, John Bush, and Dan Nelson (yes I’m including him because he is a part of their history). So with that, let’s take a look………..

I would say that when it comes to this band, they are very interesting because they have had a fair amount of member changes but the ones that people talk about the most are their vocalists. Now starting off we have the Neil Turbin era which includes his only album that he sang on that being Fistful Of Metal. Fistful Of Metal in my opinion is probably the album that I revisit the least amount of times.  It’s not that it’s a bad album by any means but it’s just I don’t know a little on the boring side. I’m sure when it came out and this was the only album of theirs that was available. Yeah it was great and I’m sure there were people that wore out their cassette tapes, listening to it.  I think kicking Neil out of the band was probably one of the best decisions that this band made because at some point it was bound to happen. 

Now we get to the Joey era and I gotta say if you haven’t heard the album Among The Living, stop what you’re doing right now and go listen to it. It’s hands-down one of the best metal albums ever made.  It was my first metal album that I ever bought, and it was one of the gateway bands that got me into thrash metal.  Everything about that album is perfect and it’s definitely a desert island album.  But that album aside the other albums that they put out with Joey are just as good.  There are some obviously that are better than others like for example, I usually don’t go back and listen to very much off of Spreading The Disease but it does have some great songs and you can tell with that album in particular that they still had that sort of Fistful Of Metal sound. The album that followed Among was State Of Euphoria and that particular album took me a while to get into it felt rushed, but even Scott and Charlie will echo that sentiment. Now a lot of people will say that the Among era was them at their peak however, I disagree. I would say that during the Persistence Of Time era was their peak. They were on tour with bands like Iron Maiden and they also did the Clash Of The Titans Tour with Slayer, Megadeth, and Alice In Chains. This was also the time when they were a guest on that show Married With Children. Shortly, after that, they kicked out Joey and replaced him with John Bush of Armored Saint. 

People will say that this was they are grunge era, but it is most certainly not. I mean, think about what was popular at the time and who they had just come off tour with. The main difference is that John Bush actually wrote the songs and it played a big part as to how they turned out.  It’s just different and in a good way. Seriously if you are a fan of this band and you are kinda sleeping on this area of the band, go back and do yourself a favor and listen to these albums.  Now I will say it is a damn shame that a couple years ago they were on tour for their 40 year anniversary and as I was leaving the venue I bumped into John Bush. I wanna say that he is one of the nicest people you will ever meet and I asked him why aren’t you up there?  Your albums are a big part of this bands history. His exact words to me were “I don’t know man it’s not my show.”  I told him that’s a damn shame and that his albums are great and that he made this band great.  He thanked me and said he appreciated the support.  And in December 2025, he will be performing songs from his time in Anthrax with members from his side project band Category 7 and I CANNOT WAIT!!!! I never got to see him play these songs live when he was a member of Anthrax so I am very much looking forward to this. 

I could end this segment here, but I can’t help but also mention the Dan Nelson era. I feel like the year 2007 through 2009 was a very weird time for this band.   They end their classic lineup reunion era tour thing and they get this guy Dan Nelson who in my opinion sounds like a Phil Anselmo rip off. Like he’s not a bad singer he just does not fit this band and hearing someone like that singing the classic songs just seemed off and strange. Now there are no official albums with this guy however, you can see bootleg performances on YouTube. He did in fact, record vocals for the Worship Music album but once they got Joey back in the band, they re-recorded his vocals. It would’ve been interesting if they had released something with him on it but it’s not a big deal that they didn’t. I’m pretty sure that almost everybody who’s a fan of this band is glad that they kicked him out.  I think at the end of the day they probably just didn’t like each other and felt that they couldn’t move forward with this guy. 

So we’ve now reached the end of this segment now if you’d ask me a few years ago, how I felt about the Bush era of Anthrax I would’ve said that I much prefer the Joey Belladonna years.  I have been saying that Joey made the more classic/memorable albums, but John Bush made the better albums, and I love that when I talk to people at shows, they know exactly what I mean. But seriously all of their albums are great and if you are a fan of thrash metal, they are an important band especially for this kind of music. 

Winner: Bush era 

Tuesday Take: Metallica Vs. Megadeth

It’s an argument as old as time. An argument that has around as long as the dinosaurs because for this Tuesday Topic, I’m going to be taking a look at the argument Metallica vs. Megadeth.  Now I know I know I know how could one argue against the David Scott Mustaine?? I mean this is the guy that created the heavens and The Earth, invented music, invented the guitar, and of course invented thrash metal gave birth to bands like Metallica to Slayer and even to Pantera.  I mean really anybody that thinks Black Sabbath was invented by Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward is wrong. It was the all powerful David Mustaine. So with that, let’s take a look……………..

Alrighty on a more serious note this argument really is as old as thrash metal  and to be honest, it is a lot of fun to get into it with other people. Now I get why people would say that Megadeth is the better band.  I mean the technical abilities of Dave Mustaine are unmatched. I mean, if you really listen to especially the older albums, his rhythm plane is justice technical as anybody’s lead playing. A prime example would be the song Holy Wars. I mean, just listen to that ending. It’s so damn technical and bad ass.  I mean, it’s been very well documented that Dave was trying to outdo his former band mates which brings me to Metallica.  Now, as I said earlier from a technical standpoint, Dave is the superior guitar player but when you look at it and really listen to all of their albums, (especially back to back) Metallica is clearly the better band. I’ve said lately that Metallica went for quality over quantity.  You can even look at it from an album perspective.  Let’s be honest thrash metal wasn’t really big in the 90s so lots of bands had to change their sound and both Metallica and Megadeth were no exception.  

One of my arguments is when it comes to 90s Metallica, how many people talk about the albums Load and Reload?  Lots of people in fact, the gate keepers for metal (who by the way are some of the most insufferable people ever) always talk shit about those two albums.  Now apply the same thing for Megadeth. How many people bring up Cryptic Writings, Youthanasia, or even Risk?  How many songs from those three albums even make it onto Megadeth’s setlist during their concerts?  My point is whether or not you like Load or Reload, people remember those albums. They may not remember them or speak fondly of them, but they still get brought up in conversation.  And again do the same thing for Megadeth.  What I would say is listen to the 90s albums from both bands side-by-side. You can clearly tell that Dave is trying to make a Metallica album. Now I did come across a comment online where someone said that Dave carried Metallica. That has to be one of the dumbest comments I think I ever read and I did respond to it, but Dave was only in the band for three maybe four years so he couldn’t have carried them that far.  At the end of the day, I am a fan of both bands, but if you’re going for which band is the better of the two it’s clearly Metallica.  How many lineup changes has Megadeth had vs. Metallica?? As I said, both bands are great and I am a fan of both but the clear winner here is in fact Metallica. To quote Kerry King “Metallica has a singer. Sorry Dave.”  

The “Low Points”

It’s time for another Tuesday Take and I came across a YouTube video about Megadeth in the 90s and that got me thinking how does (what is considered by some) their worst album stack up against the other bands of the Big 4’s lowest rated albums? Now this is part give these albums, a second chance, part discography highlight, part in defense of, and part review.  So with that, let’s take a look…………

 Megadeth: Risk- it wasn’t that long ago that I did their rewind review, which obviously included this album. Sometimes I will actually like the album better than when I originally reviewed it.  That is not the case for this album and I can see why this is considered one of their lowest rated albums.  It just has no elements of thrash metal and quite honestly does not really even sound like a Megadeth album.  Now this would be Marty Friedman’s last record with them and even he could not save this album.  This isn’t the most unlistenable album I’ve ever heard and there are a couple of decent songs on here such as Prince Of Darkness. This also came out in 1999 I believe and it does have that late 90s feel to it which if you are feeling nostalgic, you might appreciate this a little bit more. Now the follow up album The World Needs A Hero wasn’t that much better but it was certainly a slight step up. At the end of the day, you can tell that Dave Mustaine is trying so hard to be like Metallica and it is too bad that Dave focuses more on quantity over quality.  That’s not to say I’m not a fan of Megadeth. I just don’t really listen to them as much as I used to.  

Slayer: Diabolus In Musica- OK here’s where we get to the more of the in defense of. Yes I know this album came out in the late 90s when NÜ Metal was big and there are some that would actually call this album their Nü Metal album but I don’t get that.  I’m sure the way it’s mixed and recorded might remind some people of that style of music but to me this is very much sounds like a Slayer record. I do know that Kerry King has said many times that he does not like this record and to that I say why?  Like he really doesn’t like this record.  So let’s just say for argument sake that this is their worst record.  You mean to tell me that Kerry, Jeff, Tom, and Paul paid for studio time, wrote and recorded these songs, gave their stamp of approval, and then did tours like Ozzfest 99 on an album that they didn’t like?? That just doesn’t make sense to me.  This is a very underrated record and a very good record at that and I seriously think that those who are on the fence need to give this another listen. I mean, just listen to the opening song Bitter Peace, Screaming From The Sky, or Death’s Head. I mean, this is one of my top Slayer records. 

Anthrax: Stomp 442- OK so this one I had a little bit of a hard time choosing albums. There are some that would say this album is their low point and there are those that would say the following album Volume 8 is there worst. To me neither album is their low or worst album.  Ultimately, I feel like at the end of the day. This is the album that most fans would say is the least favorite or one of their least favorite.  And to be honest, I really don’t know why.  It’s a great album and it’s got a heaviness to it that you don’t really hear on their other albums. I can see how someone would say that this feels uneven or what not. I mean, it is the first without lead guitar player Dan Spitz and I do feel like this is the first album to start off their sort of turbulent era. I do feel like when it comes to this band. This is one of those albums that doesn’t really get mentioned a lot and that’s really too bad because it does have some really great songs on it.  Overall, it’s a very fun album and it definitely needs to be listened to.

Metallica: St. Anger- ah yes St. Anger. Probably their most divisive album.  Now I admit, I was one of those people that absolutely hated this album, but in recent days, I have found a new appreciation for it.  Once you actually start listening and I mean really listening to this album the snare it really kind of blends in and you don’t really hear it.  Now I firmly believe that this was very much a James Hetfield album.  Like this band absolutely needed to make this album otherwise there would be no Metallica.  Just read the lyrics to the songs and you can clearly tell this was more of a therapeutic kind of album and sometimes bands need to make albums like this in order to keep going.  Now musically it’s a very good album. I do wish that there were some solos, but it’s not really a dealbreaker for me here.  When they play these songs live, they will improvise guitar solos, which is cool. But if you’re one of those ‘Tallica fans that absolutely hates this album please go back and listen to it because it really is a great album and if you read the lyrics to some of these songs, you’ll see why they made this album.  

These aren’t bad albums but rather over-hated in their own sort of way (even Risk to some degree).  There are worse albums out there than these four now when it comes to an album like Risk, that one’s definitely a WTF were they thinking?  I mean, really though looking back on that particular album it’s more of a product of its time.  But in an event, all of these albums in someway, shape or form are great albums, some better than others, but at the end of the day, there are worse albums out there than these.  I would encourage anybody that is a fan of these bands to go back and give these albums a listen.  

Rankings:

1. Metallica- St. Anger
2. Anthrax- Stomp 442
3. Slayer- Diabolus In Musica
4. Megadeth- Risk

Is This A Cover Band?

Ok it’s time for another Tuesday Takes!! This particular take is something that I’ve gone back-and-forth with people about and it has been brought up on the Audioeclectica podcast (which you should be listening to because it is awesome and great and awesome) every now and again. The topic for today’s take is what makes a band a cover band.  I know that people have their own opinions on this and well some of them are wrong and some of them are correct and some of them well they’re probably right in the middle.  So with that, let’s take a look………….

So where do I start with this one?  You could take a band like LINKIN PARK and call them a cover band just simply due to the fact that they went and got themselves a new singer (who is awesome BTW) but that is an incorrect statement. Bands change singers a lot and Emily is the perfect addition/replacement for LINKIN PARK.  Also, they have a new guitar player to me changing two band members does not make it a cover band.  Not by any means.  I would say what makes a band of cover band is when all of the original members are gone and only one is left.  Take the terrible band Suicide Silence for instance.  You could say that band is absolutely a cover band at this point.  Why did I choose to pick on this band well aside from them just being terrible they were the first band that came to mind.  I mean much like LINKIN PARK they have a different singer.  Their singer died so they got a new one therefore, if you wanna go by the logic of changing singers makes you a cover band then they’re a perfect example of that.   But if you wanna look at an older band, perhaps Lynyrd Skynyrd would be a better example.  I mean, come on seriously how many original members are left in that band?  You could even say Jethro Tull is a cover band.  But if you also want to go by the logic that changing your singer, makes your band cover band then OK let’s go ahead and say that Pantera is a cover band.  And no, I’m not talking about the current iteration. I’m talking about when Terry Glaze was kicked out and replaced by Phil Anselmo. That might be a controversial take to some, but if that’s your logic then yeah Pantera became a cover band when Phil joined.   You could even say that (one of my absolute favorites) Exodus is a cover band.  There are zero original members left in that band even Gary Holt is not an original member.  Another one of my favorites, Napalm Death is another band with zero original members.  Now the reason why I haven’t said that bands like Megadeth and Soulfly aren’t cover bands is because those are basically the visions of the two frontmen. I mean, really Megadeth Is Dave Mustaine and Soulfly is Max Cavalera and I’m pretty sure in the case of Soulfly. He wanted to have a revolving door of musicians.  So really at the end of the day does changing a couple of band members make that band a cover band?  I don’t think so.  I mean, if every single time a new member replaced another one then that would make every band a cover band.  

Pantera Vs. Pantera

Welcome back to another Tuesday Takes and for this one we’re taking a look at the two eras of Pantera and specifically their two vocalists Terry Glaze and Phil Anselmo. Let’s take a look………..

Terry Glaze Albums: Metal Magic, Projects In The Jungle, I Am The Night

Phil Anselmo Albums: Power Metal, Cowboys From Hell, Vulgar Display Of Power, Far Beyond Driven, Great Southern Trendkill, Reinventing The Steel

So for those (although I’d be shocked) that didn’t know Pantera had a vocalist by the name of Terry Glaze that sang on their first 3 albums. For those that are reading this that are not too familiar with their history, there was a hair metal phase in which Dimebag went by Diamond Darrell and Rex Brown went by Rex Rocker. The sound on these albums are definitely more on the KISS and Van Halen sounding side but ultimately I am not a fan of these albums. Now when they kicked out Terry Glaze and brought in Phil Anselmo, their sound didn’t change on the next album in fact it (Power Metal) sounds a lot like it could be a Judas Priest album. Phil sounds a lot like Rob Halford and it’s really surprising how different he sounds compared to the later albums. They were very, very faint traces of the previous era on Cowboys but once you finally get to Vulgar it’s definitely gone. I do remember when I did the original Pantera review a couple people asked if I was going to review the glam era which I was like of course I am because you have to take the bad years with the good years. At the end of the day, the early era of Pantera isn’t unlistenable and there are far worse albums, but I’m probably not gonna go back and revisit these albums unless I decide to update the review.  But one more thing, I know that people are saying that the current iteration of Pantera is a cover band.  Now I completely disagree, but the reason people are saying that is because obviously Dime and Vinnie are no longer with us (RIP) and they have Charlie Benante and Zakk Wylde filling in but if that’s the logic you’re gonna go with then wouldn’t kicking out Terry Glaze make them a cover band?? Also you’re not a cover band if you only replace two members. 

The Haunted Vocalists

For this Tuesday Take, I thought I’d take a look at two vocalists from one of my favorite bands The Haunted. Now both have made some great albums and yes there are reviews for The Haunted on the website but for this I want to examine which era is preferred the first album and then the mid 2000’s with Peter Dolving or the early to current era with Marco Aro. Keep in mind, I absolutely think both are great and both have made some absolutely badass records!!  So with that, let’s take a look………

Peter Dolving Era Albums: The Haunted, rEVOLVEr, The Dead Eye, Versus, Unseen

Marco Aro Era Albums: Made Me Do It, Live Rounds In Tokyo, One Kill Wonder. Exit Wounds, Strength In Numbers, Songs Of The Last Resort

I remember I first heard of this band actually from the Ozzfest 2005 poster and then I remember FUSE did a coverage of that same Ozzfest. I think it was there that I ended up seeing the video for the song No Compromise and then immediately I went out and bought the album Revolver. I’m pretty sure it didn’t leave my CD player for a good solid three months.  Shortly after that, I ended up going to either Amoeba or Warehouse and bought all of the previous albums. Fast-forward to 2006 and obviously they had to make a follow up album so you can imagine my excitement just knowing that a new album was coming.  I went ahead and pre-ordered the album The Dead Eye and I gotta say I was……………..let down. At the same time, I liked the albums with Marco and when they released the albums after Dead Eye, it made me really love those albums. Then came Versus and you could kinda tell they were maybe trying to go back to the sound they had on Revolver but ultimately it didn’t really work and it certainly didn’t work on the album Unseen. By the time that album came out, I was pretty much ready to write this band off. I figured that this band had strayed so far away to what made them great that there was no going back.  Fortunately, albums like Exit Wounds and Strength In Numbers squashed, that thought. When I heard that they got Marco back in the band as well as their original drummer, Adrian Erlandsson and Ola Englund on second guitar, I was so incredibly thrilled. Even the brief moments of rehearsal footage with Marco singing Peter’s songs made me even more excited!!  I was very lucky to see them live with the lineup that they have now and it is absolutely bad ass!! There’s just an energy that this band has that shows they’re excited to be playing live (it would be really nice if they came back to the US).  I will say that the three albums after Revolver are not bad albums, but they don’t work as Haunted albums. 

Soilwork Vs. In Flames

So a few days ago, I was on YouTube and I came across the music video for the song Trigger by In Flames and then I remembered that there was also a video for the song Rejection Role by Soilwork and that both of them are connected. So for this Two-Cent Tuesday, I thought I would put these two on the chopping block. So with that, let’s take a look…….

I feel like the early 2000s was a special time for heavy music. I mean, you had new albums from bands like Anthrax, Lamb Of God, Every Time I Die, Dimmu Borgir, Arch Enemy, The Haunted, etc.  Two albums that stood out were Reroute To Remain by In Flames and Figure Number 5 by Soilwork.  I guess they decided to make a music video for each song where they’re fighting or brawling or whatever. You can clearly tell that the setting for both videos is somewhere in Sweden or in some other Nordic country, but there’s kinda no winner in either video. It sort of seems like they left it up to whichever one you prefer is the winner. What’s cool is that you can watch both music videos back to back and it’s like watching a mini movie. Quite honestly, I wish more bands would do stuff like this because it just kind of makes it more fun and for these videos, you can clearly tell that both bands are just having a really really fun time.  Personally I am more of a fan of Soilwork but again both are great albums. I also would like to point out that both of those albums helped break them (I feel like Ozzfest 2005 cemented that).  Again, both are fun videos from great albums and definitely check them out if you haven’t or if it’s been awhile.

Winner: Soilwork