This is a 3CD compilation album from AFM Records, a label that has heralded traditional/power/true metal for some considerable years. Featuring some massive artists, this is a compelling summary of some great metal music over the past 15 years.
When you look at the artist list, some are instant winners, for example, artists like U.D.O, Doro, Onslaught, Paradox and Destruction have laid some of the blueprints for their respective genres long before the time that this 15 year retrospective heralds. Compilation albums like this are bound to throw in some curveballs. Artists that have previously passed me by or quite frankly been ignored by yours truly based in some cases based on word of mouth, have really raised my respect on this effort and given a big middle finger to my cynical outlook based on earlier material observed some time ago. In this camp I bunch Avantasia, Masterplan and Mob Rules, their tracks are rather special. Another band, Iron Savior (that was started with and used to feature Kai Hansen) proclaims a proper metal statement with an anthem entitled ‘Heavy Metal Never Dies’ (from their latest statement ‘The Landing’), this really does grab you by the horns and gives a great sense of a “metal family” when you listen to the lyrics. As you would expect from some bands featured, a lot of their latest material is promoted, Onslaught’s ‘Godhead’ is probably my favourite track from their current effort (‘Sounds of Violence’) and what a storming rendition of heavy thrash metal this is. Other recent gems include the latest AFM material from Doro with ‘Celebrate’ (featuring Saxon’s Biff Byford) and Oz’s ‘Dominator’ from the album ‘Burning Leather’ that is one of the best releases of this year in my opinion and one of the comebacks of the century.
With Thrash and Traditional metal well represented over 3CD’s, it is without doubt that some of the recent power metal powerhouses would feature. No matter what you may think about the genre, and in my opinion in recent times, bands have lost the raw energy in this genre by concentrating on the melodic side of it; you cannot deny that some of the major players are totally relevant to the modern metal scene. Heavenly, Edguy and Orden Ogan feature prominently, the latter two bands have tracks from earlier in their career’s included, therefore, this compilation truly does represent the last 15 years of the label, something that is a big selling point and also, releases like this really do generate further interest in artists and their back catalogues, this was certainly the case for myself before the internet age, and it’s still relevant today because hours of research over the internet are saved by releases such as this, but I would have liked some exclusive tracks included along the way, but bear in mind, this is a sampler CD set of their roster, some artists tracks are shortened compared to album versions.
Considering the material on offer and the range of artists that feature, it is with a raised fist in the air that I salute the AFM catalogue, their artists and this compilation. Label samplers are often filled with recent label output to generate more sales, but in this case, a complete history of the label is included. Even if you have the material by these artists, this 3CD set is a great effort, and in itself makes for a wonderful compilation album, if you ever made mix tapes in your youth (yes, analogue recordings!) then this is a modern equivalent. Filled with big hitters and surprises along the way, ‘15 Years Metal Addiction’ is a strong testament to the worldwide metal scene and a most relevant release title.
www.afm-records.de
Paul Maddison
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