Let’s face it, with Christmas just around the corner everybody is thinking about gifts. One of the most popular gifts, both as a stocking stuffer or a “tree present” are CDs. But maybe you have a teenage boy or girl in your family that’s a fan of heavy metal, a genre of music you know nothing about. With bands named Hatebreed and Slipknot you don’t even know where to begin your search. Hopefully I can help you out and highlight just a few of the great albums that were released this year that your special little “metal head” will love.
I’ve been a fan of metal (and just about every other form of rock) since I could understand the differences between the music so I’m not just throwing things out here, I do have some idea of what I’m talking about. All of the albums listed here are now in my personal collection and I can personally vouch for each one. The most important part of purchasing any type of music, be it rock, country, or rap is knowing the maturity level of the person you’re buying the album for. I’ll try to warn parents of younger listeners about any content they might want to avoid but please forgive me if I miss a few words here and there.
10. The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance is an American rock band from New Jersey and The Black Parade is their 4th album. It was released on October 24, 2006 and peaked at Number 2 in it’s first week on the Billboard Top 200 and at Number 1 in it’s first week on the United World Chart. The entire release is a concept album that follows the story of a character simply known as “the patient”, a young man who unfortunately suffers an untimely death. The title of the album, as stated by the band in an interview on MTV, was chosen because of a belief that death comes to every individual in the form of their most powerful memory. The patient was taken to a parade at a very young age by his father, so his death comes in the form of a Black Parade. The album follows the patient’s quest for redemption after learning that, due to heart complications, he has less than 2 weeks to live. Over the course of the album he experiences a full range of emotions including regret (evident in the song “Cancer”), anger (evident in the song “Mama”), and finally hope (shown the album’s offical closing song of “Famous Last Words”). The album contains 13 tracks (with a bonus hidden track at the end) and lasts for just under 52 minutes. Aside from the patient’s death the album doesn’t contain anything to vulgar. It should be appropriate for any teen with a good grasp on reality.
9. Inhuman Rampage by DragonForce
DragonForce is a British power metal band that formed in 1999 following the breakup of black metal band Demoniac (and other British rock bands). Inhuman Rampage was released on January 20, 2006 (US, January 9th in the UK) and has continued to sell strong throughout the year. The album peaked at Number 103 on the Billboard Top 200 but fought it’s way to Number 1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, a chart that only includes new and developing talents. The album has received a decent amount of publicity in the US with the song “Through the Fire and Flames” having substantial rock radio play and the video being shown in moderate rotation on FUSE TV. The album only has 8 tracks (a number that seems like an industry minimum) but lasts for an impressive 56 minutes. The Japanese version of the album contains a bonus 9th track and lasts for almost 63 minutes. The album itself is pretty clean and, again would be appropriate for any teen with common sense, but the Special Edition release contains a DVD that has a “making of the album” feature on it that would be inappropriate by anyone under 16. The two versions can be differentiated fairly easily because the Special Edition version has a Parental Advisory sticker while the album itself doesn’t.
8. 10,000 Days by Tool
Tool is a Los Angeles-based metal band that has been around since 1990, a time when rock was shying away from the hair metal bands like Skid Row and Bon Jovi and moving to the harder sounds of metal and grunge. 10,000 Days is the bands first album in 5 years and was released on April 28, 2006. 10,000 Days debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard Top 200 with 564,000 copies being sold upon it’s release and was certified as platinum a little over a month after it’s release. The album itself is a classic Tool release, playing off the same styles they’ve used throughout all their releases while continuing to grow with the times by adding minor tweaks to their style. The album has a total of 11 tracks and rumbles on for an impressive 76 minutes. The album is relatively open, jumping from one meaning to another but the title song “10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2)” and the song before it “Wings for Marie (Pt. 1)” are written as a tribute to vocalist Maynard James Keenan, who suffered a stroke that rendered her partially paralyzed. The length of time between her stroke and her death was 27 years, approximately 10,000 days. The album is pretty clean, avoiding a Parental Advisory sticker, amking it appropriate for metal heads in their early teens.
7. Christ Illusion by Slayer
Slayer, one of the 4 “Founding Fathers” of thrash metal (along with Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeath), has been in the game since 1982 and Christ Illusion is their first album since 2001’s God Hates Us All. It is also the first album since 1990’s Season of the Abyss to feature original Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. Chrst Illusion was released on August 8, 2006 after being delayed from it’s original release date of June 6, 2006 (to coincide with The Date of the Beast – 666) and peaked at Number 5 of the Billboard Top 200. While the songs on the album jump around alot style-wise, most of them feature lyrics about controversial topics. The song “Jihad” is about the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, written from the eyes of the terrorists while “Eyes of the Insane” is about a group of American soldiers fighting in the Iraq War being driven insane by what they see during the battles. There is a total of 10 songs on the album (with an 11th being rumored for future imports and special editions) but only lasts for a mere 38 minutes. With the lyrics of the songs and the album cover itself, which depicts a mutilated Jesus Christ being drugged out and standing in a sea of blood, this album should NOT be purchased for anyone under the age of 16 and even then should ONLY be purchased for those metal fans who understand just what this is – a form of entertainment not to be taken literal.
6. The Paramour Sessions by Papa Roach
Papa Roach is a California nu metal band that has been active since 1993 but didn’t really hit the mainstream until the 2000 release of Infest. The Paramour Sessions is their 4th major label release, following 2004’s Getting Away with Murder. The Paramour Sessions was released on September 12, 2006 and debuted at Number 16 on the Billboard Top 200. The album itself has a more darker tone than most of the bands past releases with songs like “Forever” which contains references to drug use and “I Devise My Own Demise” which talks about suicide. “Roses on My Grave” and “Time is Running Out” also reference suicide. The first single from the album, “…To Be Loved” has garnered alot of mainstream success, even being chosen as the new theme song to WWE RAW. The album has a high number of new tracks with 13 with a relatively average runtime of 46 minutes. The UK and US release of the album contains the bonus track “SOS” while the UK version also includes a bonus live version of “Scars”. The Mexico release of the album features a Spanish language version of “Scars” and the iTunes Store version has “The Addict” as a bonus. With the drug and suicide references this album should only be purchased for the more mature metal heads.
5. Destroy What You Enjoy by Powerman 5000
PM5K is a Boston-based alt metal band that has been making albums and touring since 1989. Destroy What You Enjoy is the band’s second release since their “transformation” from an industrial metal band to a more punk-feuled raw sound. It was released on August 1, 2006 and reached Number 120 on the Billboard Top 200. The style of the album changes drastically throughout, changing from the odd yet energetic “Now That’s Rock ‘N Roll” to the raw punk “Enemies” to memory inducing “All My Enemies are Ghosts. It even goes a little bluesy with the closing studio track “Miss America. The final track on the album, “Heroes and Villians”, isn’t listed as a bonus or hidden track but it is live and is also one of the many highlights of the album. It consists of 13 tracks but, like Slayer’s Christ Illusion is only 38 minutes long. This album provides yet another dose of classic Powerman 5000 style, being a little different than the release before it but still sounding like every release they’ve had. This fun and energetic album dares you to tap your feet and sing along with most of it and is acceptable for metal fans of almost any age.
4. Shot to Hell by Black Label Society
Black Label Society is a heavy metal band fronted by former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde. BLS has released 8 albums since it’s creation in 1999 and Shot to Hell is their first under their new label Roadrunner Records. The album was released on September 12, 2006 and managed to force it’s way to Number 21 on the Billboard Top 200. It has a nice blend of heavy, hard tracks and mellow, bluesy tracks that could be enjoyed by people of all ages. The album goes from the kill them all, take no prisoners metal sound on such tracks as “Concrete Jungle” and “Give Yourself to Me” to the reflective ballads with awesome guitar solos on “Sick of it All” among others. The track’s 13 tracks play out to a decent 44 minutes of music. Zakk Wylde said he wrote most of the tracks “with a 14-year old’s ear” and it shows because the entire album is appropriate from about that age up with some tracks being acceptable for even younger listeners.
3. Phobia by Breaking Benjamin
Breaking Benjamin is an alternative metal band from Wilkes-Barr, Pennsylvania that has been active since 1998. Phobia is their 3rd studio album. The album was released on August 8, 2006 and sold 131,000 copies in its first week, good enough to secure the Number 2 spot on the Billboard Top 200. The album’s style varies from song to song, even featuring a number of slower, methodic songs that have a piano backing. There is also the classic post-grunge metal sound Breaking Benjamin has become known for, evident is songs such as “Had Enough” and “Unknown Soldier”. The first pressing of the album included a bonus track, an acoustic version of “The Diary of Jane” while the Chinese release featured 2 bonus songs, an acoustic version of “So Cold” and “Rain”, both songs that had already been released in America. “The Diary of Jane” (non-acoustic) was the first single from the album and has garnered mainstream success, becoming the fastest single to rise to Number 1 in 3 formats: Modern Rock, Active Rock, & Rock. The song was also heavily featured in the game NASCAR 2007. Phobia has alot of various “pop” tones to it and can easily be purchased for metal fans of just about any age.
2. Kiss of Death by Motorhead
Heavy metal legends Motorhead, who have been active since 1975, returned in 2006 with their 19th studio album, titled Kiss of Death. Kiss of Death was released on August 29, 2006 to high critical praise. Although failing to make a real significant impact worldwide, it led Motorhead to Number 4 of the German music charts, their highest ranking in that country. The band goes from bluesy metal on “One Night Stand” to powerful guitar riffs on “The Devil I Know”. The greatest song on the album has to be the ballad of the bunch, “God Was Never On Your Side” which is a scathing indictment of those who claim to be killing and going to war in the name of God. The album has more of a bass sound than some of the more recent albums, lending lead singer Lemmy Kilmister’s voice an even deeper, harder sound. Some releases of the album also feature 2 bonus tracks, a new studio version of the band’s classic “R.A.M.O.N.E.S” and a cover of Metallica’s “Whiplash”. Kiss of Death sports 12 tracks that run for 45 minutes with the 2 bonus tracks adding another 5 minutes of music wonder. Kiss of Death is acceptable for most metal fans but be warned, Motorhead is something of an aquired and addicting taste. If your metal head has never heard Motorhead and really enjoys this album be prepared to start searching your local music stores for past releases from this amazing British band.
1. Educated Horses by Rob Zombie
Industrial rocker Rob Zombie returns to the music world with 2006’s Educated Horses, his third studio album since breaking off from the band White Zombie. This is Zombie’s first release since 2001’s The Sinister Urge. The album was released on March 28, 2006, debuting at Number 5 on the Billboard Top 200. It is the classic Rob Zombie blend of classic blues with American metal and contains just as many references to America’s sordid past and classic B-grade horror movies than his last 2 albums and 2 films, “House of 1000 Corpses” and “The Devil’s Rejects. The opening track “Sawdust in the Blood” is a modified version of the instrumental piece “Trust Me” from the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the songs “American Witch” and “Lords of Salem” contain heavy references to the Salem Witch Trials. “Foxy Foxy” goes back to his more industrial beats and contains references to classic film legend Lon Chaney Sr while “The Devil’s Rejects” is a song based directly on Zombie’s own movie of the same name and features the band’s guitarist playing steel guitar, giving the song a different sound than the rest of the album. The album features 11 tracks with my only real complaint being it’s length, which is only 38 minutes. Educated Horses shouldn’t be purchased for anyone under 16 but, like Motorhead, if they’ve never heard Rob Zombie be prepared to purchase both The Sinister Urge and Hellbilly Deluxe in the near future.
So hopefully that helps anyone who has a metal fan on their Christmas list but has no clue what to get them. These are just 10 of the great albums released this year and the age suggestions for each album can pretty much be applied to all of that particular artists releases. Also please remember that the most important part of selecting music for anyone is knowing their maturity level. And for you parents that are reading this and want to get back to your rock roots look for the Axl Rose and the new (although not really improved) Guns ‘N Roses return to the studio with the long awaited Chinese Democracy which will be released on November 21, 2006.
Reference:
- Learn more about heavy metal and other forms of rock at www.rollingstone.com See where other albums ranked at www.billboard.com
