The Place Seems Still Alive When the Smoke is Going Down

Scorpions (Germany)

Blackout

April 10, 1982

Arguably the highest regarded of Scorpions releases (though I do have a soft spot for In Trance and Lovedrive). These Germans took quite a while to gain recognition over seas due to limited early releases and banned controversial cover artwork. Before "Rock You Like a Hurricane" made them international superstars, "No One Like You" brought the first glimpse of savage glory well into their careers. Success came with the balance of catchy hard rock, the brief addition of Matthias Jabs' blazing fretboard assaults (they were quite reigned in compared to Michael Schenker's), and Klaus Meine's distinctively animalistic vocals. The sound seemed to follow the commercial success of Van Halen, but I will take this over the latter any day. Dumbass dad-metal hits like "Can't Live Without You" and "Arizona" tangle up against bar room bruisers like "Now!," "Dynamite" and "China White." No one will argue this was pretty tame in 1982, but it gave a reason to check out their stellar 70's releases that paved the way for teutonic proto-thrash. Make some love in the back of your car to this. Read more for the album stream.

Oh, Ye Great Mysterious Shepherd of Waves

Ahab (Germany)

The Call of the Wretched Sea

September 29, 2006

Okay, so this really should have been my very first post for this blog. As far as I'm concerned, Ahab is on a whole different ship when it comes to music. Their debut, The Call of the Wretched Sea is an absolute behemoth that needs to be heard by absolutely everyone. I cannot overstate this. Majestic nautical funeral dooooom of the most crushing magnitude, all based on Charles Dickens' classic Moby Dick. You just can't beat this kind of class. Once in a very long while you find a band that perfectly encapsulates the very idea of 'awesome' in the most literal sense. The weight of all the oceans in the world is felt within these seven magnificent and elegantly written tunes. Delicately submerged ghostly whale songs whistle eerily calm odes to all that has been before and all that will ever remain amidst the blackest deepest canyons of the seas, never before charted by any man. Discover new depths of awareness, sunken treasures await you. Monolithic slabs of eternal enchantment, older than time, deceptively beautiful in a realm easily mistaken for otherworldy. This is doom metal royalty, pay your respects and listen to this masterpiece below.