Scores of releases are based upon personal enjoyment (just as it should always be). My scale is as follows:

80 — 100 ➔ Highly enjoyable and all-time favourite releases
70 — 75 ➔ Very good with medium replay value
60 — 65 ➔ Acceptable with low replay value
40 — 55 ➔ Mediocre, underwhelming or I just don't care for it too much
1 — 35* ➔ Detestable junk (usually irritating, but some of it can also be quite humorous XD)

*I'm aware that on the Metal Kingdom one can't give scores that are lower than 40, but I will still make mention of them in my reviews/comments if need be.

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People who copy/paste and spam the same damn comment for nearly every album they rate are lazy, uncreative, redundant assholes.

Skrape's "New Killer America" is an album that I remember seeing a lot back in the early 2000s. It always seemed to pop up in the weekly paper ads of electronic retail stores such as Best Buy and Circuit City (back then, all the latest releases came out every Tuesday.... do they still do that these days?). However, I didn't ever get the chance to listen to this album until just recently. Why did I put it off for so long? Huh, I'm not entirely sure, as I've always enjoyed Nu Metal and this seemed like it'd be right up my alley. Perhaps I was subconsciously repelled by the awful cover featuring that disgusting toe? (Or is that a thumb?). Well, whatever it was, I'm glad that I still eventually bothered to check out "New Killer America", as it's quite good, catchy Nu Metal (kind of like a mix of Linkin Park and Deftones, with a pinch of Staind). The first half of the album is where the better tracks are though, as things start to drag a bit in the second one. ... See More

It’s not every day that one gets the opportunity to listen to Metal made during the time of the former Soviet Union. The production on "День Гнева (Dies Irae)" is quite poor and reminiscent to the kind that you would hear on a low-budget Progressive Rock album from the 1970s, but in this case I can overlook it as the music itself has HEART and SOUL. What stands out the most are the lead guitar solos; they’re often beautiful, emotive and intricate, bearing a palpable Neoclassical flavor (á la Yngwie Malmsteen, or Ritchie Blackmore). I really love the opening track, “Работай (Work)”, which is early Russian Power Metal albeit with a rugged quality. “Мы живём, под собою не чуя страны (We Exist Without Feeling Our Land Underneath)” has a slower, stranger, sinister and more theatrical feel to it while the instrumental of “Ария на тему Марчелло (Aria On A Theme Of Marcello)” sometimes almost makes me want to shed a tear or two (particularly the second section; the first sounds like Van Halen’s “Eruption”). All of these tracks are highlights, but I do enjoy the rest of the album as well. By the way, the lyrics are also intriguing, so I recommend searching up translations for them. ... See More

Sevendust’s sophomore release, "Home", might just be a step up from the self-titled debut, although it is not by much. Present here is “Denial”, which was a staple on a (now defunct) Alternative Rock radio station that I used to listen to a whole lot back in the early 2000s. I’ve always loved everything about this track; from the jolty percussion to Lajon Witherspoon’s angry yet melodic voice and that awesome chorus. Over two decades later, I still praise it as being one of the greatest songs that Sevendust ever wrote. Unfortunately, since the bar is set up pretty high with “Denial”, nothing else on "Home" really measures up to it. With that stated, there are some other enjoyable tracks here such as “Waffle”, “Grasp”, “Home” and “Insecure” (a little acoustic interlude that sort of foreshadows “Angel Son”). Skin of Skunk Anansie and Chino Moreno of Deftones are also brought in as special guests on “Licking Cream” and “Bender” (respectively). Despite the added Alternative Metal star power, I don’t feel as if their appearances spice things up too much for the album. As for the rest of the tracks, they’re mostly alright, if not very memorable (“Grasshopper” in particular stands out for the sole reason that it’s just some type of joke featuring someone singing in a Southern/twangy voice, a cappella style). Wrapping things up, "Home" doesn’t feel very consistent (which can actually be said for all other albums that I’ve heard from Sevendust), but has its glowing moments nonetheless. ... See More

After Rob Flynn split from Vio-Lence he fully dedicated himself to Machine Head, of which he formed in 1991 with guitarist Logan Mader, bassist Adam Duce and drummer Tony Costanza (Attitude Adjustment's Chris Kontos wound up replacing him briefly after though). Machine Head produced a demo two years later, eventually getting signed to Roadrunner Records. Through this renowned label they released "Burn My Eyes" in 1994 (turning out to be one of Roadrunner's best-sellers). With Thrash Metal already undergoing a state of decline by this time, Machine Head opted to take the Groove Metal route that Pantera, Exhorder and Prong were molding just a few years prior. "Burn My Eyes" is an electrifying record, one that's loaded with heavy riffs and killer drumming (oh, and let's not forget those natural harmonics!). Rob unravels his rage on top of it all as he shouts about personal afflictions, societal turbulence and religious zealotry. The opener, "Davidian", instantly gets the adrenaline rushing and is without a doubt one of the highlights ("Old", "None But My Own", "A Nation On Fire" and "Block" also rule). In summary, Machine Head's most solid album. ... See More

A very good debut from American Visual Kei ("what?!") band, Salems Lott, featuring many anthemic songs that pay homage to '80s Metal. My favorites are "When Heaven Comes Down", "You Can't Hide From The Beast Inside", "Shattered To Pieces", "Thin Ice", "Mother Of Chains" and "Alexandria's Genesis". By the way, whatever happened to this band? Haven't heard anything from them in six years now... (I remember reading an interview with them, and they appeared very skeptical of the entire music industry. Could they have called it quits?).