Headbanger's Ball - The Revenge Review
Posted by Brandon Ratliff on 04.12.2006
Music to bang your head to. Well, most of it anyways.
Headbanger's Ball - The Revenge
Release Date: April 11, 2006
Label: Roadrunner Records
Recommended Downloads: Too damn many.
Allow me to begin this by saying due to the fact that this is a compilation album, I will be doing the review in my old style, the track by track breakdown. Obviously my personal feelings on a lot of these tracks will be different than yours, so I am just going to judge the album as a whole on the artists they put together for it, and...well, it's kind of hard to say what else. Hopefully you will be able to tell whether or not you'd like to buy it based on this review, which is the whole idea anyways.
Tracklisting
Disc One
1. Slipknot - Before I Forgot
2. Korn - Liar
3. Iron Maiden - The Trooper (live)
4. Hatebreed - To The Threshold
5. Mudvayne - Forget To Remember
6. Avenged Sevenfold - Burn It Down
7. H.I.M. - Vampire Heart
8. Trivium - A Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation
9. Lamb Of God - Now You've Got Something To Die For
10. 10 Years - Wasteland
11. Disturbed - Guarded
12. As I Lay Dying - Through Struggle
13. Lacuna Coil - Our Truth
14. Underoath - It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door
15. Mastodon - Blood & Thunder
16. Killswitch Engage - A Bid Farewell (live)
17. Black Label Society - In This River
18. Bleeding Through - Kill To Believe
19. In Flames - Take This Life
Total Runtime: 1:16:47
Disc Two
1. Chimaira - Nothing Remains
2. Bullet For My Valentine - Suffocating Under The Words Of Sorrow
3. Arch Enemy - Nemesis
4. It Dies Today - Severed Ties Yield Severed Heads
5. Opeth - The Grand Conjuration
6. Norma Jean - Liarsenic
7. Devildriver - Hold Back The Day
8. Still Remains - The Worst Is Yet To Come
9. God Forbid - End Of The World
10. Throwdown - Burn
11. From First To Last - The Latest Plague
12. 36 Crazyfists - I'll Go Until My Heart Stops
13. Dragonforce - Through The Fire And The Flames
14. A Life Once Lost - Vulture
15. High On Fire - Devilution
16. Bloodsimple - Sell Me Out
17. Haste The Day - When Everything Falls
18. Walls Of Jericho - A Trigger Full Of Promises
19. Kingdom Of Sorrow - Buried In Black
Total Runtime: 1:17:49
And without keeping you waiting any longer, here is the meat and potatoes. Gah, I'm hungry now.
Disc One
Slipknot - Before I Forget: This is more or less the single version of the song. The only real difference is some of the vocals seem to be a bit softer than the album version. It's not cut down in any way though, or shortened at all as the radio version is. My personal feelings on the track are well noted however, as it's been my favorite track from Vol. 3 basically since the day of release. Great song, which recently won a Grammy. Not that the Grammys are relevent anymore.
Korn - Liar: From their pretty widely disliked See You On The Other Side, this song is basically one of the best tracks on the album. For some reason, on my laptop speakers the guitar sounds nearly nonexistent, but on headphones it sounds heavier than hell. Odd. Anyways, as I said this is one of the better tracks from their new album, so it was a good choice.
Iron Maiden - The Trooper (live): Taken from the band's Death On The Road live set, this is the live rendition of what's arguably their most popular song. Everyone knows this damn song, and it shows as you can hear the crowd singing along throughout most of it. Vocalist Bruce Dickenson seems to have lost very little with age, though at a couple of points he sounds as if he has to strain to hit the notes. Overall though, this version of the track sounds good. The band is tight, the crowd is good, and the quality is high.
Hatebreed - To The Threshold: This song is currently unreleased, but is said to be one of the tracks from the upcoming Hatebreed album, which is rumored to be released on Roadrunner Records. It's a pretty solid track, but it doesn't really sound much different from anything else they've done before. With the addition of a second guitarist things will probably change a bit with the final product, but as it is, this track is your typical pissed off Hatebreed track.
Mudvayne - Forget To Remember: Previously on the band's newest album Lost And Found, and also the lead single from the Saw II soundtrack. This is the album version of the song, but as far as I know it was never changed when released as a single. Pretty good song in my opinion. It has a tendancy to get stuck in my head a lot though.
Avenged Sevenfold - Burn It Down: Though it was more of a pre-release thing released to build hype for City Of Evil and the real single Bat Country, this song is still pretty well known. It has a kind of weird guitar harmony line to it, but overall is a pretty solid track. Of course, this band is also pretty widely hated, but just because it isn't all like "rawr rawhhh rawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!" all the time with the vocals. I guess that's Blabbermouth for you. Make no mistake though; like them or not, these guys have a lot of talent in them.
H.I.M. - Vampire Heart: Anyone else notice the little guitar line that starts this song off sounds an awful lot like the Halloween theme? Maybe it's just me. H.I.M. are probably the weirdest hard rock band that is widely known out there, what with talk of band circle jerks before shows, and things of the like. Still, they write undeniably catchy tunes, and this song is no exception. I really think they could still pull it off being a bit heavier on the guitars, but that's probably the metal lover in me talking. I guess it can't really be heavy and be "love metal" at the same time. How ironic.
Trivium - A Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation: From their Roadrunner debut Ascendancy, this is one of the most memorable songs on the album because it has it all: thrashy guitars, scathing vocals, and even the "hey!" chant that makes you want to put your fist in the air and give the finger to the police as you pass by him going thirty miles an hour over the speed limit. 411Mania is not responsible for any traffic tickets you may, and probably will incur doing this. You understand that any time spent in jail and/or close relations with Big Bubba is entirely your fault. If you try to sue us, I will slap the shit out of you personally. Yeah, that's what I thought.
Lamb Of God - Now You've Got Something To Die For (live): This track is taken from the band's Killadelphia live set, and like I said in my recent review of that set, the sound is great, and all five band members are completely spot on. Give this one a listen if you haven't already.
10 Years - Wasteland: Slowing it down a bit, the album next goes to Wasteland by seemingly overnight success story 10 Years. This track is the single from their The Autumn Effect album, which has done pretty well thus far. I think it's a pretty good song, despite the fact that it has been horribly overplayed. Do they even have a second single yet?
Disturbed - Guarded: The official unofficial (yes, that was on purpose, and yes, I am referencing X-Play) first single from Ten Thousand Fists. Like them or not, that was a solid album. Not a huge amount different from their past work, but rather a combination of the best elements of both. I do maintain that Dan Donegan uses way too many guitar overdubs (with the verse of this being a good example), but this is a decent enough track. I prefer Deify from that album to any of the singles from it thus far though. Here's to hoping they release that song as the next single.
As I Lay Dying - Through Struggle: For those of you that read my stuff regularly, you will know that I have been on a huge As I Lay Dying kick recently, and this song is a good one to show you why. They just sound so goddamn good together, with guitarists Nick Hipa and Phil Sgrosso playing off of each other really well, and Tim Labesis' vocal delivery always remaining completely scathing, but honest at the same time. If you like this, go to my Myspace page and check out Meaning In Tragedy.
Lacuna Coil - Our Truth: This is the first single from the band's recently released Karmacode album. The reviews are fairly mixed on the album, but it was about what I expected it to be. There are a couple of tracks I liked better, but this is an understandable choice for first single. I don't get the weird thing near the end where the music fades out and comes back in, but whatever. Also, did anyone else notice the little synth part right in the beginning sounds like the intro to one of the Linkin Park songs from Meteora? I don't remember which one though. American influence indeed.
Underoath - It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Of Your Front Door: I still can't see what the big deal about this band it. They sound like My Chemical Romance with heavier guitars for some weird sense of musical credibility. It's that whole Myspace thing I guess. Oh well.
Mastodon - Blood & Thunder: Another band I never really got. Wonderful fucking musicians, but I could never really get into them. Maybe that'll change with their next release though; who knows.
Killswitch Engage - A Bid Farewell: This was the first album I ever reviewed, but that was before I wrote for 411Mania. Maybe someday I'll look up those reviews (there were about five or six I think) and post them just for comparison's sake. This was taken from the live DVD Set This World Ablaze, and it sounds like a true live track. I can't describe it any better otherwise. Great version of a great song. When the hell is there going to be some new material though? Shit.
Black Label Society - In This River: You either love this song or you hate it. As you probably well know, it was written as a tribute to the fallen Dimebag Darrell, as he and Zakk Wylde were extremely close. I like the song myself, as it is extremely heartfelt. Some say that the song was written before Dimebag died, but I don't know. Even if that's true, the video still is a great tribute.
Bleeding Through - Kill To Believe: This is the first single from the band's new album The Truth. A good album, but I liked This Is Love, This Is Murderous a little better. Even still, the verse riff is great, and the chorus is fairly catchy. I wonder if they'll release Line In The Sand as a single? It's a soft song, but it's like...ahh...it gets stuck in your head like crazy.
In Flames - Take This Life: This is one of the most kickass songs in a long time. If you disagree, well, I'm sorry, but you are just plain fucking wrong. Seriously. That second intro part that has the double kick drums going just rules like no other. Yeah, that's the way it is.
Disc Two
Chimaira - Nothing Remains: Taken from their self-titled album released last year, this song was the face of the new beast. Dropping what little bits of nu-metal they had in The Impossibility Of Reason, this song (and subsequently, album) was a full-out onslaught of metal. Great song with a really cool video.
Bullet For My Valentine - Suffocating Under Words Of Sorrow: While they write good riffs for the most part, this is another band I just can't seem to get into. They may have blacklisted themselves recently with the whole Rob Zombie tour thing, but that's irrelevent. This isn't a bad song by any means, I just don't feel that the clean vocals fit very well. The screaming is very well done however. It's also got a cool guitar solo in it. Word.
Arch Enemy - Nemesis: I'm never really sure what to think of Arch Enemy. Sometimes Angela Gasglow's vocals sound good, sometimes they sound like she's strangling a retarded cat. The music to this song is pretty good (especially the verse riff), but the vocals in the verse just kind of...well, they sound like the aforementioned cat. The chorus isn't too bad though, so thankfully the entire song doesn't suffer vocally.
It Dies Today - Severed Ties Yield Severed Heads: I had only heard of It Dies Today by name before now, and they're pretty decent. Their sound is, to be honest, basically jacked straight from As I Lay Dying and Darkest Hour, but they are still pretty good at copyi...err...drawing influence from it, so I'll let that slide. The breakdown doesn't quite have the balls to it that it sounds like it should, but that's partly a problem with the mix, and partly with the seemingly forced clean vocals. Overall, it's decent, but nothing special.
Opeth - The Grand Conjuration: If you call yourself a fan of metal and haven't heard this song, allow me to say one thing: for fucking shame. This is the single edit of the song, and even with that it still traverses a lengthy five minutes and three seconds. This song shows those young punks that not only can Opeth be on a major label and still bring it, but also that the band doesn't lose their intensity with age. Grab yourself some Jack, put on this song, throw up the horns, and show the current generation of emo/scene kids what real music sounds like.
Norma Jean - Liarsenic: Eww...no. Next
Devildriver - Hold Back The Day: God...I remember reviewing The Fury Of Our Maker's Hand when it first came out...damn, that was nearly a year ago. Either way though, this is, while not the best song on the album (in my opinion, that is the title track closer), it is still a heavy-assed song. Make sure to play this immediately after the Opeth track. \m/
Still Remains - The Worst Is Yet To Come: This has to be the catchiest death metal song I have ever heard. Not much else to say. Jordan Whelan (or whatever the hell his name is) has got to be one of the best young metal guitarists I have even seen. This is off of their major label debut Of Love And Lunacy, which is a great album. If you like this song, I'd recommend picking that up also.
God Forbid - The End Of The World: Taken from their pretty successful and completely kick ass concept album Constitution Of Treason, this is one of the finer moments in God Forbid's history that I am familiar with. Slick production leads way to a great sounding track that you can't help but to sing along with...if you can keep up with it that is. I also recently saw them live, and they kicked ass at that too, so all-in-all, God Forbid rules. A lot.
Throwdown - Burn: These guys sound a LOT like Hatebreed, but that's not really a bad thing. This is a pretty good song, but I can see a lot of people actually thinking it IS Hatebreed, so I guess look a little closer. They've been getting a lot of press recently as well, and if this track is any indication, they do deserve it.
From First To Last - The Latest Plague: What the hell is it with bands like this (see also Oath, Under) having really stupid song titles? I tried to hear whatever is supposedly good about this track, but alas, I could not find it. It just sounds like a muddled mess with whiny vocals.
36 Crazyfists - I'll Go Until My Heart Stops: I wasn't sure about this song the first time I heard it, but every subsequent listen has found me liking it more and more. I absolutely can not wait for Rest Inside The Flames to be released, and this song is a good example of why. Will something on there top the phenominal The Heart And The Shape in my mind? Only time will tell...
Dragonforce - Through The Fire And Flames: Recently signed to Roadrunner Records in America, Dragonforce has a lot going for them. They have an odd sound combining newer metal with stuff like Queensryche and Iron Maiden, so it's kind of one of those "something for everyone" bands. This song is extremely unusual, but still interesting to listen to.
A Life Once Lost - Vulture: Another one of those really good bands that I just can't get into. Great writing skills and everything, but I think they could probably use a little bit better engineer and a little more producing. If that happens, watch out.
High On Fire - Devilution: I have no idea how to describe these guys...I guess mix punk with New York hardcore and toss in some current metal, and that's them. I don't know. Interesting song though.
Bloodsimple - Sell Me Out: Ah, something a little more conventional. This is from the band's great debut A Cruel World. I kind of always figured this would work as a single, and I don't know if they released it as one, but it's a great song. A little softer than their other stuff, but even so, it's still a pretty damn metal song.
Haste The Day - When Everything Falls: I LOVE the music to this song, but the vocals just don't sound that great. I think the guitars could use a bit better tone to them, but otherwise the music rules. The chorus is decent vocally, but the verse and the chorus just don't fit together, and honestly they sound like two different songs, which is never good. Guys, learn to make that shit flow. Not literally though.
Walls Of Jericho - A Trigger Full Of Promises: The snare drum sound sucks, but this song is pretty good. Ben loves these guys, and while I think they could use a small bit of work in certain areas, I find them to be pretty good myself. And damn that woman can scream.
Kingdom Of Sorrow - Buried In Black: Formerly known as Crowbreed, this is the much anticipated project between Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta, Kirk Windstein of Crowbar and Down, and Derek Kerswill of Seemless. It's honestly a lot like Pantera meets Hatebreed. Great fucking song though, so I hope they push this project a little more when the members have time.
Overall, this is definitely an album that have something for everyone. From your hard rock in Disturbed and 10 Years, your "love metal" courtesy of H.I.M., your ballad-that-makes-you-want-to-cry-but-still-feel-manly-doing-it-because-it's-about-a-fallen-guitar-hero in Black Label Society's In This River, your live shit, your metal, metalcore, hardcore, and anything else you can add a -core to...there's a little of everything here. I apologize for not breaking the songs down a little more, but as it is, this review took me damn near three hours. There's just so much shit here to listen to it's insane. I do applaud Roadrunner and Headbanger's Ball for putting together a solid compilation, and if you can find it at a reasonable price, I wholly recommend picking it up.
The 411: Great compilation. With thirty-eight tracks, there's something for everyone here. Old songs, new songs, live songs, and...something that rhymes with new songs, this album has a little of everything for your horn-throwing self. There are a couple of songs I would consider missteps, but don't let that stop you. Go show some of your favorite artists some love and pick this one up.
