It’s that time of year! That’s right, the time we dip our toes back into the previous year to check out some albums we missed. Are there any here that may have changed our Top Albums list? Maybe…listen to find out!
As a reminder, you can still go to THIS PAGE to find out how you can help this podcast contribute to Crew Nation and make us review whatever you want.
And remember – Be responsible. Stay healthy. Stay Metal.
Reviews:
Haken – Virus (Inside Out)
Eternal Champion – Ravening Iron
Svalbard – When I Die, Will I Get Better (Translation Loss)
Melted Bodies – Enjoy Yourself (Sweatband Records)
The Sideshow Podcast 
Great picks for shit you missed and very cool that you reviewed Haken. One point I’ll add is that Virus is one of those albums that when you dig into the lyrics and start to get a sense of the bigger picture musically, it adds another layer of appreciation. Concepts and musical themes recur in this album that stretch out from both their previous album, Vector, and their song “Cockroach King” on their 2013 album, The Mountain. I’m a sucker for that type of “conceptual continuity” from an artist.
I’ve also been listening to Eternal Champion and I like it. Is it the second best album of the year (as Decibel has it)? No, but it’s solid heavy metal of the type that I enjoy. Nick is being way too harsh by giving it a 2 for it not being original. At least you were consistent by giving something so original as Melted Bodies a 5.
As for Melted Bodies, I had not heard of them, but I have to note Nick’s comment of: “at first glance, this is stupid and silly”. The truth is, that is exactly how I felt after hearing one of Frank Zappa’s early albums. And similar to you guys with this Melted Bodies album, I stuck with Zappa and discovered that further listenings revealed genius.
I’ve actually been interested in checking out Svalbard, but there is just only so many hours in the day to listen to music.
I wonder what Brian would pick for making Nick listen to for Crew Nation? I’m guessing Perturbator.
So… I’ve actually met Iced Earth founder Jon Schaffer and talked politics with him (more like economic policy than politics, really). It was at Comic Con and he was promoting an economic/political cartoon movie. If I’m being honest, I did agree with him on a lot of economic issues at the time. But that time was in 2012 which was pre-Trump. I certainly feel that the current political climate and some of my own beliefs are different today than when I spoke with him, as his recent actions are indefensible (to put it mildly).