Better with age?

KISS - Hot In The Shade

I literally listened to this only once, so I wasn't expecting much at all, but fuck me, it's actually listenable. There's a couple of half decent songs, the percentage of filler is smaller than usual, and even those filler songs are better than usual. Love the cover too.

Soilwork - Natural Born Chaos

I remember there being a bit of a buzz around the time this was released. I was living in South Korea at the time and went and bought it soon after it's release. At the time I thought it was OK, but nothing super-impressive. I still don't think it's super-impressive. It's mildly interesting background music. It really doesn't do it for me.

In Flames - The Jester Race

Better than I remembered, but it's still probably not gonna get a lot of listens.

Machine Head - The Burning Red

I may have judged this too harshly. Yes, it's got a few nu-metal turds floating in the bath, but in between, there are some fucking powerful bangers, which I haven't heard in years. Just listened to a bit of a podcast about the recording of this album, and the song "Five" sounds like it was quite traumatic to record. Oh yeah, and Robb Flynn hates that "Message In A Bottle" is the most popular song here, because it was just meant to be a bonus track.

M.O.D. - U.S.A. for M.O.D.

Offensive as fuck? Yeah, but it was supposed to be. Still OK in the modern world? Probably not. But hey, Varg apologists still listen to Burzum and justify it by saying they just like the music and don't agree with the lyrics, so I'm doing the same. The difference? Billy Milano has apologised for a lot of his most offensive lyrics (Aren't You Hungry? and A.I.D.S.) while Varg is still a right wing extremist nutjob.

Anyway, hadn't listened to this for years because I only have it on cassette, and no longer have a player. It's also not on Spotify. When you get past the most offensive stuff, there are a couple of absolute gems on here, and then some total clunkers. Still not an album for polite company...

Jesus Martyr - Sudamerican Porno

This one brings back some memories. I got this in a tape trade with an Argentinian guy called Nikarsh, who I used to chat with on ICQ way back in the late 90s. Anyway, it's a good mix of groove, thrash and industrial metal. There's some absolutely ripping songs on this.

Winger - Winger

Blech! Winger deserved every single moment of abuse and ridicule flung at them by Beavis and Butthead! This is just dreadful. It doesn't even qualify for an ironic/nostalgic trip back to the 80s.

I bought it with a handful of other old tapes - 10 for $10 I think. I think there's Trixter, Kingdom Come, Poison, and something else awful I can't quite remember in that lot. It seemed like a good idea at the time...

Slipknot - Slipknot

Just... nah.

Soulfly - Soulfly

Such a mixed album. A couple of stunning tracks, and then big piles of shit. No, still don't like it.

Children of Bodom - Are You Dead Yet?

Another trade. Sometimes with trades (up to CD-rs by now) you end up getting stuff you don't really want. Like this. Me and Bodom never really got on. As a death metal album, this is complete arse. However, I reconsidered it a little. This is more an exercise in death metal as pop music. There's melodies and harmonies, and most of the abrasive edges filed off. When I think of it like that, it's not quite so bad...