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Lord Belial - Angelgrinder

Page views dictate content.  That's how the Internet functions, and it's why Yahoo's index page is inundated with tabloid fodder.  Random Reviews Incorporated dares to be different.  Obdurate in the face of dismal traffic, this website deals in topics that are determined by whimsy.  My whimsy!  I like writing about Swedish black metal, but if past numbers are any indication, very few souls will point their browser in this direction.  So be it.  I'm currently listening to Lord Belial, which means that I'm going to tell you about Lord Belial.

Most metalheads will sing the praises of 1997's Enter the Moonlight Gate, their second offering.  It's considered an arrant classic in the field, and for good reason.  For some unknown reason, it's rarely mentioned that the band continued to release stellar material until their break-up in 2009.*  2002's Angelgrinder is album number four, and holy flea-flicking Christ, it levels the competition.  There are plenty of epic guitar solos, meaty riffs, and well, that should be enough to sell you on this unholy puppy (I'm starting a band called Unholy Puppy).  Moreover, the production is clean without feeling aseptic.  Favorite track?  Probably "Satan Divine."

*There is an asterisk because Lord Belial reconvened last year to record the superlative Rapture.

Shores of Null - The Loss of Beauty

If you know me, you know that I love Alice in Chains and doom metal.  If you know Alice in Chains, you know that their sound danced on the periphery of doom (intercut with a bold helping of sludge).  Shores of Null combine that very subgenre with AIC-esque vocal harmonies.  To be indecorously specific, they meld "grunge" and deathly doom, a dysprosium* alloy that doesn't creep up as often as it should.  I'm surprised that more bands haven't taken this route.  The Loss of Beauty came out in March, and it proves that a heavy riff can pair well with a melodic chorus.  Favorite track?  Try on "Nothing Left to Burn" for size.

*There is an asterisk because I wanted to state that I only used "dysprosium" to be an ass.  It IS a metallic element, so suck it.