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Features, PiercingMetal Says

PiercingMetal’s “Best Of” 2005: Music – Video – Concerts

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Having only launched PiercingMetal.com in April, this list is not a super long one. However, it does feature some of the releases that we found most favorable along with the shows that we enjoyed the most. Maybe you agree with us on some so please take a look.

Logo - The Best Of

The Best CD’s of 2005:
Mercenary “11 Dreams” (Century Media Records): One of the finest mixes of Metal genre to come out of Century Media records this year

Soilwork “Stabbing The Drama” (Nuclear Blast Records): This CD made a fan out of me, and is likely to do the same for you.

H.I.M. “Dark Light” (Sire Records): First official US Release and mixes elements of their previous work to a fine blend. Try this melodic gothic act out and you will not regret it.

Judas Priest “Angel Of Retribution” (Epic Records): Reunion, simple as that, they show why they are Metal Gods to this very day.

Iron Maiden “Death On the Road” (Columbia Records): The 40th live album from Iron Maiden shows up their last try and is quite enjoyable.

Korpiklaani “Voice of Wilderness” (Napalm Records): Ever hear Folk Metal? You will be a changed person when you do.

Leaves Eyes “Vinland Saga” (Napalm Records): Atmospheric Gothic Metal and this CD take you to another world.

Journey “Generations” (Independent): Anyone who stopped supporting Journey because of Steve Perry leaving is an idiot because Steve Augeri rocks. This is one of the best Rock records of the year.
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Music, Reviews

“Alive 2: The Music” by Anthrax

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Artist: Anthrax
Title: Alive 2 (2005)
Label: Sanctuary Records
Release Date: 9/20/2005
Genre: Heavy Metal
Rating: 7/10

Released in tandem to the DVD of this performance along with a Greatest Hits compilation comes the reunion of the classic Anthrax lineup. In the 13 years that passed since the “Among The Living” team performed on the same stage the band continued with limited original members. It was still strong and had a good show of support but it did not have the impact on the old material that the classic group once had. This CD comes as the audio release of the concert DVD that bears the same name and with it listeners can once again hear Joey Belladonna, Danny Spitz, Scott Ian, Frankie Bello and Charlie Benante united. The recording is good but as someone who attended this particular show I was saddened to find 5 tracks not on the release from the set list that was performed. Recorded at New Jersey’s Starland Ballroom on June 3, 2005 this particular show was a highlight of many Metal heads Summer. While this should have been released as a double CD to capture the full effect, you end up getting the picture just enough to enjoy yourself. The band sounded tight and energetic and the audience reactions can literally be felt through the speakers. A review of the DVD and this Concert appear elsewhere on the site so check them out to draw your own comparisons on the event.
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Reviews, Videos

“Alive 2: The DVD” by Anthrax

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Artist: Anthrax
Title: Alive 2 (2005) The DVD
Label: Sanctuary Records
Release Date: 9/20/2005
Genre: Heavy Metal
Rating: 8/10

One of the biggest Metal happenings in 2005 definitely had to be the reunion of the classic Anthrax line up of 1985. It was 13 years since the Metal Community saw Joey Belladonna, Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, Dan Spitz and Frankie Bello on the same stage once again and this film gives us a front row seat to the action. The “Among The Living” lineup is revered and respected in the Metal world for the impact that they had on the genre overall. Recorded on June 3, 2005 at New Jersey’s Starland Ballroom you are brought right into the mosh pit and will not suffer any damage as a result of it. I attended this piece of Metal history and have a comprehensive concert review elsewhere on the site and I can only tell you that as crazy as it looks you had no idea of how wild and fun this was unless you were there. Watching the video made me recall the absolutely killer time that me and my Friends all had as Anthrax belted out “hit” after “hit”. The band sounded incredibly tight for such a recent reunion and given this was the first real performance it was truly incredible. I looked back to my notes on the concert to confirm that several songs were left off of the DVD. Songs like “Got The Time”, “Antisocial”, “Metal Thrashing Mad” and “Lone Justice” did not make the cut for some reason and this was probably my only disappointment. Perhaps licensing was an issue with the covers, but I think the others should have remained. There is a chance that they did not come out good on the film because one of them makes an appearance on CD in “Antisocial”. I think it would have been smart to release the entire show which would make it the perfect memento of this historic performance. The overall production on the DVD is excellent and the sound and use of camera angle works very well. When I saw the show I only saw one boom camera and did not notice anyone else around shooting. I am glad there was more than one for that would have made this a very dry DVD to watch.
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Reviews, Videos

“KISS My A**” [DVD] by KISS

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Artist: KISS
Title: “KISS My A**”
Label: Mercury/Universal Music
Release Date: 1/25/2005
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 8/10

This DVD was released as a companion to the CD bearing the same name and on it we saw music superstars like Garth Brooks and Lenny Kravitz giving us their versions of KISS classics. There were a number of good performances on the record and served as a reminder that more people were influenced by KISS than you would have perceived. With the DVD you don’t get an exact copy of the music from the CD with all of those artists and instead are treated to a plethora of vintage makeup clips that are shown in full. When KISS released “X-Treme Closeup” the viewer was able to see a lot of these clips but they were not presented in their entirety. Having them in full to enjoy the complete song was a pleasant change to be found on this DVD. In the format of the CD we do have Anthrax doing their rendition of “She” and The Gin Blossoms performing a nice version of “Christine Sixteen”. The two tracks are pretty much shown as a whole but not a lot more in that aspect is showcased. KISS makes sure to treat you to added interview commentary and thoughts as well as maintaining a focus on vintage makeup era clips. The big product at the time was the comprehensive “KISSStory” book. This was a massive photo history tome that was 9 pounds and 400 pages. Gene and Paul give some background on this as well. There are 13 full clips with several being from the “Love Gun” and “Dynasty” tour which are nice to see. However, the teaser aspect of this makes you want the full show no matter how good or bad the quality is. KISS fans being very strong in what they want to purchase from the band will jump for even the grainiest of footage. Let’s hope for more full-content vintage shows in the future.
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Music, Reviews

“No Hit Wonders” by Anthrax

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Artist: Anthrax
Title: “Anthrology: No Hit Wonders (1985-1991)
Label: Universal Records
Release Date: 9/20/2005
Genre: Heavy Metal
Rating: 8.5/10

Heavy Metal & Thrash would be very different musical genres if not for many of the contributions made by New York based band Anthrax. Combining catchy lyrics and blistering riffs with thunderous drumming this band was special from the get go. They were energetic and intelligent and often showed a truly dark sense of humor with their material. Over the years there had been a number of lineup changes and while the music remained heavy there were subtle differences in some of its delivery. In 2005 the band would prove to have a banner year for on the 20th Anniversary of their release “Spreading The Disease”, the group reunited with all members of the “classic” lineup and celebrated with a World Tour. Once again the Metal Legions would get to experience Joey Belladonna, Scott Ian, Frank Bello, Charlie Benante and Daniel Spitz do what they did best together which was perform kick ass music. The release of “Anthrology: No Hit Wonders” takes selections from the following albums Spreading The Disease (1985), Among The Living (1987), State Of Euphoria (1988) and Persistence Of Time (1990), and also makes sure to use stuff from the EPs I’m The Man (1987), Penikufesin (1989) and Attack Of The Killer B’s (1991). It is a celebration of this era’s work and fans of the bands life at the classic lineup time will love this. The John Bush fans however might have a problem for none of the material that he performs on is featured here.
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