Released: 2007
Whether you have a friend to whom you wish to expose the extreme side of things or whether you are just testing the waters yourself and wish to explore further, Earache's massive 6-CD box set Metal: A Headbanger's Companion is a good place to start. This immense collection features every artist the label ever released, comprising a whopping 106 tracks spread over a range of genres. Indeed, calling it Metal is really a complete misnomer designed to attract that specific audience because not only are the tracks grouped together into their stylistic similarities, Earache has even labelled each volume according to what these are. Nevertheless, any collection with this many songs is going to have something on it to make it worthwhile and this is a pretty impressive bunch of tracks from some of the greatest extreme music acts of the last 28 years.
As mentioned, each volume features a different genre and what could be more appropriate than filling the first CD with 17 death metal songs? How about making the first five Deicide, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, At the Gates and Carcass? Want more? What about Decapitated, Entombed, Bolt Thrower, Hate Eternal, Akercocke, Vader, Blood Red Throne and more? If that wasn't enough, volume two is entitled "Grindcore", and what better way to kick that off than with "Scum" by Napalm Death. Grind was always at the heart and soul of Earache Records and this second CD is stacked with 20 tracks ranging in duration from Brutal Truth's five second "Collateral Damage" to December Wolves' gruelling six minute "Desperately Seeking Satan". Also here is more Napalm Death, two songs each from The Berzerker, Anal Cunt and Mistress, the immortal Terrorizer, more Carcass and Bolt Thrower and the excruciatingly insane Watchmaker, one of the most extreme bands ever.
Next up is the ambiguously titled "Metal/Rock", a somewhat uneven 19-track jumble of thrash, melodic rock, stoner, nu-metal, metalcore and rapcore stuff that couldn't be comfortably included anywhere else. This isn't to suggest there's not good stuff on here. Carcass appears yet again, this time in a more melodic guise, alongside The Haunted, Cathedral, Usurper, Confessor, Biomechanical and the awesome Sleep. New thrashers Evile get a spot too, but a good percentage of this CD is made up of radio rock like Shortie, horrible nu-metal like Addiction Crew and indescribable rap-metal like Dub War. Volume 4 provides further proof that Metal was the wrong thing to call this; indeed, even "Industrial" as the title of this chapter is utterly inappropriate. Most of the 15 tracks here would be more likely played at rave parties than on a metalhead's stereo. Ultraviolence is Hi-NRG techno with no metal element whatsoever, Generation X-ED, Scorn and Signs ov Chaos are industrial techno not industrial metal and Mortiis is ambient electronica. Sure, he used to be in Emperor, but Def Leppard used to play heavy rock too. Still, this CD does have Meathook Seed, Pitchshifter and the almighty Godflesh so isn't not a complete waste but, let's be honest, this one is as metal as a Prodigy album.
CD 5 is "Punk and Hardcore". Again, not metal but there's plenty here that a headbanger could throw themselves around to: Municipal Waste, for example, as well as The Dillinger Escape Plan, Clutch, Coalesce, Hellbastard and Extreme Noise Terror. And Napalm Death again, of course. In fact, this volume could well rip a new arsehole in much the same way as the first two. The sixth CD, "Leftfield" is a showcase of the more experimental acts that have wandered through Earache's offices, starting off with the sublime Cult of Luna and their creeping 11 minute epic "Finland". This one is indeed the CD to check out for those wanting to go beyond the standard limitations of rock and metal with such inclusions as Ephel Duath's twisted jazz metal, Painkiller, Godflesh, Carnival in Coal circus of craziness and, finally, the hilarious Crotchduster with their amalgam of everything, "Mammal Sauce".
This is an incredibly misnamed and exhausting set of CDs and if Earache were serious about pushing it as a metal collection and not just a catalogue-wide compilation of everything they could find then they could have ditched the "Industrial" CD altogether and kept half of the "Metal/Rock" one in the archives. Nonetheless, if you know someone who really wants to hear a bit more of this extreme music stuff and doesn't want to buy 50 different albums, then this may be the ideal recommendation.
CD 1 - "Death Metal"
Whether you have a friend to whom you wish to expose the extreme side of things or whether you are just testing the waters yourself and wish to explore further, Earache's massive 6-CD box set Metal: A Headbanger's Companion is a good place to start. This immense collection features every artist the label ever released, comprising a whopping 106 tracks spread over a range of genres. Indeed, calling it Metal is really a complete misnomer designed to attract that specific audience because not only are the tracks grouped together into their stylistic similarities, Earache has even labelled each volume according to what these are. Nevertheless, any collection with this many songs is going to have something on it to make it worthwhile and this is a pretty impressive bunch of tracks from some of the greatest extreme music acts of the last 28 years.
As mentioned, each volume features a different genre and what could be more appropriate than filling the first CD with 17 death metal songs? How about making the first five Deicide, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, At the Gates and Carcass? Want more? What about Decapitated, Entombed, Bolt Thrower, Hate Eternal, Akercocke, Vader, Blood Red Throne and more? If that wasn't enough, volume two is entitled "Grindcore", and what better way to kick that off than with "Scum" by Napalm Death. Grind was always at the heart and soul of Earache Records and this second CD is stacked with 20 tracks ranging in duration from Brutal Truth's five second "Collateral Damage" to December Wolves' gruelling six minute "Desperately Seeking Satan". Also here is more Napalm Death, two songs each from The Berzerker, Anal Cunt and Mistress, the immortal Terrorizer, more Carcass and Bolt Thrower and the excruciatingly insane Watchmaker, one of the most extreme bands ever.
Next up is the ambiguously titled "Metal/Rock", a somewhat uneven 19-track jumble of thrash, melodic rock, stoner, nu-metal, metalcore and rapcore stuff that couldn't be comfortably included anywhere else. This isn't to suggest there's not good stuff on here. Carcass appears yet again, this time in a more melodic guise, alongside The Haunted, Cathedral, Usurper, Confessor, Biomechanical and the awesome Sleep. New thrashers Evile get a spot too, but a good percentage of this CD is made up of radio rock like Shortie, horrible nu-metal like Addiction Crew and indescribable rap-metal like Dub War. Volume 4 provides further proof that Metal was the wrong thing to call this; indeed, even "Industrial" as the title of this chapter is utterly inappropriate. Most of the 15 tracks here would be more likely played at rave parties than on a metalhead's stereo. Ultraviolence is Hi-NRG techno with no metal element whatsoever, Generation X-ED, Scorn and Signs ov Chaos are industrial techno not industrial metal and Mortiis is ambient electronica. Sure, he used to be in Emperor, but Def Leppard used to play heavy rock too. Still, this CD does have Meathook Seed, Pitchshifter and the almighty Godflesh so isn't not a complete waste but, let's be honest, this one is as metal as a Prodigy album.
CD 5 is "Punk and Hardcore". Again, not metal but there's plenty here that a headbanger could throw themselves around to: Municipal Waste, for example, as well as The Dillinger Escape Plan, Clutch, Coalesce, Hellbastard and Extreme Noise Terror. And Napalm Death again, of course. In fact, this volume could well rip a new arsehole in much the same way as the first two. The sixth CD, "Leftfield" is a showcase of the more experimental acts that have wandered through Earache's offices, starting off with the sublime Cult of Luna and their creeping 11 minute epic "Finland". This one is indeed the CD to check out for those wanting to go beyond the standard limitations of rock and metal with such inclusions as Ephel Duath's twisted jazz metal, Painkiller, Godflesh, Carnival in Coal circus of craziness and, finally, the hilarious Crotchduster with their amalgam of everything, "Mammal Sauce".
This is an incredibly misnamed and exhausting set of CDs and if Earache were serious about pushing it as a metal collection and not just a catalogue-wide compilation of everything they could find then they could have ditched the "Industrial" CD altogether and kept half of the "Metal/Rock" one in the archives. Nonetheless, if you know someone who really wants to hear a bit more of this extreme music stuff and doesn't want to buy 50 different albums, then this may be the ideal recommendation.
CD 1 - "Death Metal"
- Deicide - Homage for Satan
- Morbid Angel - Maze of Torment
- Napalm Death - Suffer the Children
- At the Gates - Blinded by Fear
- Carcass - Incarnated Solvent Abuse
- Decapitated - Spheres of Madness
- Entombed - Left Hand Path
- Bolt Thrower - World Eater
- Hate Eternal - Behold Judas
- Akercocke - The Penance
- Severe Torture - Endless Strain of Cadavers
- Vader - Dark Age
- Blood Red Throne - Mephitication
- Anata - Downward Spiral Into Madness
- Nocturnus - Droid Sector
- Carnage - Infestation of Evil
- Massacre - Corpsegrinder
CD 2 - "Grindcore"
- Napalm Death - Scum
- Brutal Truth - Walking Corpse
- The Berzerker - Reality
- Terrorizer - Dead Shall Rise
- Bolt Thrower - Through the Eyes of Terror
- Mistress - In Disgust We Trust
- Napalm Death - You Suffer
- Anal Cunt - Pepe the Gay Waiter
- Mistress - Happily Ever Disaster
- December Wolves - Desperately Seeking Satan
- Watchmaker - Conference Call Immolation
- Cadaver Inc. - Primal
- The Berzerker - Mono Grind
- Brutal Truth - Collateral Damage
- Nox - Satan Ex-Machina
- Anal Cunt - No We Don't Want to do a Split 7 Inch With Your Stupid Band
- Carcass - Pyosisified (Rotten to the Gore)
- Unseen Terror - Charred Remains
- Hellbastard - Justly Executed
- Filthy Christians - Zombie Holocaust
CD 3 - "Metal/Rock"
- Carcass - Keep on Rotting in the Free World
- The Haunted - Hollow Ground
- Cathedral - Hopkins (Witchfinder General)
- Adema - Shoot the Arrows
- Candiria - Remove Yourself
- Biomechanical - Regenerated
- Society One - Hate
- Linea 77 - Charon
- Urkraft - Liberation
- Evile - Enter the Grave
- With Passion - Pale Horses Ride
- Addiction Crew - What About
- Shortie - Truth
- Gandalf - L8X Queen
- Sleep - Dragonaut
- Confessor - Collapse Into Despair
- Usurper - Metal Lust
- Pulkas - Rubber Room
- Dubwar - Nar Say a Ting
CD 4 - "Industrial"
- Godflesh - Defiled
- Mortiis - Parasite God
- Pitchshifter - Triad
- Society One - Everyone Dies (Rock Stars Don't Count)
- Ultraviolence - Hardcore Motherfucker
- Generation X-ED - Industrial is Dead
- Scorn - Silver Rain Fell
- Signs ov Chaos - Believe
- Adrenalin Junkies - Holocaust Blast
- Ewigkeit - It's Not Reality
- Morbid Angel vs. The Berzerker - Day of Suffering
- O.L.D. - Glitch
- Misery Loves Co. - My Minds Still Speaks
- Meathook Seed - Famine Sector
- Ultraviolence - Strangled
CD 5 - "Punk & Hardcore"
- Municipal Waste - Unleash the Bastards
- The Dillinger Escape Plan - I Love Secret Agents
- Clutch - Impetus
- Candiria - Blood
- Coalesce - A Safe Place
- Heresey - Nausea
- Napalm Death - The Kill
- Extreme Noise Terror - Murder
- Hellbastard - Death From Above
- Disgust - Mother Earth
- December - Umbilical
- Beecher - Fucntion! Function!
- Linea 77 -Touch
- Fudge Tunnel - Hate Song
- Iron Monkey - Supagorgonizer
- Rabies Caste - Got it from Blake
- Crowpath - Chased, Caught and Charged
- Janus Stark - Enemy Lines
- Lawnmower Deth - Do You Want to be a Chuffed-core?
- Heresy - Visions of Fear
- Intense Degree - Skate-bored
CD 6 - "Leftfield"
- Cult of Luna - Finland
- Callisto - Blackhole
- Ewigkeit - It's Not Reality
- Ephel Duath - Crystalline Whirl
- Scorn - Days Passed
- Painkiller - Dr Phibes
- O.L.D. - Break (You)
- Godflesh - Tiny Tears
- Carnival in Coal - Right Click... Save as
- Blood From the Soul - Guinea Pig
- Akercocke - Prince of the North
- Mortiis - I Am the World
- Spazztic Blurr - Mexicali
- Crotchduster - Mammal Sauce
Rating: 70%
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