The Outlaws College Band

The Outlaws performing their most loved crowd favorite number Judas Priest - Breaking the law. Even though it was a very easy song, it was deliberately chosen to make a point to the catholic run establishment. and to the amusement of the band, the fans actually cheered them on.... Metal Forever

Band members Outlaws (1996 - 1998)
Dhiraj D'Costa - Vocals
Cronin D'Almeida - Bass
Gorden Fernandes - Guitars/Vocals
Jeethan Dsouza - Drums
Pritham D'Souza - Guitars

guest Musicians
Nelson 'malmsteen' D'Souza - Guitars
Merwin - Drums

Outlaws go commercial??

A rare Pic of the outlaws peforming their 'only one time' show at the Roce function of vocalist Gordon fernandes' cousin at the outskirts of Mangalore in a place called 'Kuthar'

and no outlaws never went commercial... infact, all they got for that show was free food & free booze...

My First band 'The Outlaws'

The Outlaws perform at the annual school day event of St. Aloysius High School in 1995.
band members
Glenford Soans - Keyboards
Gordon Fernandes - Vocals
Ajay Fernandes - Bass
Cronin D'Almeida - Guitars
Jeethan D'Souza - Drums
Pritham D'Souza - Guitars

The song played that evening was Scorpions - wind of change

My very first band 'The Outlaws'
pics here were taken in 1995









































The Guitarist with the blue Ibanez is Dylan Rodrigues, guitar god and prodigy & relative of another guitar god Trinity aka 'tiny' of Cryptic fame.

Novembers Doom - The Novella Reservoir (2007)

Track Listing:

1. Rain
2. The Novella Reservoir
3. Drown the Inland Mere
4. Twilight Innocence
5. The Voice of Failure
6. They Were Left to Die
7. Dominate the Human Strain
8. Leaving This

Lineup:

• Paul Kuhr
• Vito Marchese
• Larry Roberts
• Chris Djuricic
• Joe Nunez

the only thing that sucks in this band is the grammatical howler of its band name. thats all. the rest is just awesome.

November's Doom is easliy the American version of UK's doom death kings MY DYING BRIDE & the influence really shows. every track here is just a masterpiece & if you thought that they have reached their peak with their previous effort 2005's 'The Pale Haunt Departure', then you are going to be totally surprised.

it starts with a killer track 'rain' with its heavy intro & deep, dark, heavy death metal growls of the founding member, vocalist Paul Kuhr. the best part about his vocals is that , even though they can get quite brutal, one can follow the lyrics.

and he can also sound fantastic in his clean voice as displayed in 'Twilight Innocence', a ballad which sounds beautiful with its soft & crispy acoustic guitars.

'Dominate the Human Strain', 'Drown the Inland Mere', are absoloutely bone crushing heavy, 'The Novella Reservoir' starts with acoustic guitars & then transforms into typical doom death mode. here vocalist sings most in his typical growls & the chorus has clean vocals.

in fact, there is not a weak song here. every song has this haunting vibe its actually quite a challenge to listen to this album on a dark, rainy night without getting goose bumps.

even though this band comes in the doom death category, the music is quite fast paced & unlike other doom death bands which thrive on repeating a particular riff throughout the song, Novembers Doom thankfully prefer to take another path, that of sheer musical ability & melody which places them high & above the rest.

'They were left to die' & 'the voice of failure' demonstrate just that. brutal throughout the song, with the chorus being the most haunting & soulful.

numerous line up changes every album do not seem to deter Novembers Doom and they seem to be growing in strength with every album. it would be great to see what they can come up with next.

my rating
9/10

review by Pritham 'Metal farmer' D'Souza

Van halen - Van halen 1 (1978)

Track Listing:

1. Runnin' With The Devil
2. Eruption
3. You Really Got Me
4. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
5. I'm The One
6. Jamie's Cryin'
7. Atomic Punk
8. Feel Your Love Tonight
9. Little Dreamer
10. Ice Cream Man
11. On Fire

Lineup:

• David Lee Roth
• Edward Van Halen
• Michael Anthony
• Alex Van Halen

One of the greatest debut albums of all time, and also one of the greatest albums of all time, this is vintage VH.
though it cannot be called 'metal', the guitar playing style of Eddie Van halen influenced each & every metal guitar wannabe out there. the original 'atomic punk', responsible for creating and popularizing the 'air guitar' among fans, am sure if the greatest guitar player of all time Jimi Hendrix was alive to see Eddie Play, he would have gladly relinquished his throne for Eddie.

even though there were more popular metal bands before VH hit the stage, like JUDAS PRIEST, KISS, WHITE SNAKE, DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH, etc etc, it was Eddie's 2 hand guitar tapping technique that totally revolutionised the way the guitar could be played. & he got inspired from another legendary guitarist JIMMY PAGE(LED ZEPPLIN).

Its safe to say, that this album sounds a bit like a heavy LED ZEPPLIN minus the vocals off course.

and all their songs have this really catchy vibe to it. you just dont get tired even if you keep looping the entire album the whole day.
it all starts with 'eruption', a barrage of notes played at lightning speed by the 2 hand finger tapping technique & ends on a high note with 'on fire'.

the songs are short, catchy, melodic & make a point. even though the production sounds very 1970's, its still way ahead of a lot of other music that was released during that period.

"aint talking 'bout love", is still a crowd favorite with its A minor heavy palm muted intro. 'Runnin' With The Devil' show cases the vocal talents of David Lee Roth, who is such a fantastic vocalist live. 'Feel Your Love Tonight' would impress any teenage girl into going to bed with you, 'You Really Got Me' a cover of the KINKS with a heavy dose of VH guitar harmonics, 'Atomic Punk' with its catchy chorus riff are all classics.

they even cover JOHN BRIM'S 'ice cream man' with its old school rock n roll style, soft blusey intro & then typical VH bravado.

this album should easily fit in the top 5 hard rock albums of all time. it in fact it even reached diamond status, & only 3 other bands in music history have managed to do that. LED ZEPPLIN, PINK FLOYD & DEF LEPPARD.

VAN HALEN F****NG RULES

my rating
9.9/10

review by Pritham 'Metal farmer' D'Souza

Metallica - Master Of Puppets (1986)

Track Listing:

1. Battery
2. Master of Puppets
3. The Thing That Should Not Be
4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
5. Disposable Heroes
6. Leper Messiah
7. Orion
8. Damage Inc.

Lineup:

• James Hetfield
• Kirk Hammett
• Cliff Burton
• Lars Ulrich

this album can easily share the throne along with SLAYER in the greatest thrash metal album of all time. after releasing a great album in RIDE THE LIGHTNING,metallica surprised even their hard core critics with the release of MOP.

all the songs here talk about power & control & how everything is ultimately under the control of a higher authority.

the opening track couldnt have gotten a better name than 'battery', as it batters your ears till they bleed. the sense of melody is just impeccable & the solos are drool material. & its such a highly addictive song, that it took me 2 months to listen to the other tracks in the album!

'welcome home(sanitarium)' is taken from the perspective of an asylum inmate, while 'disposable heroes' is about how a soldier takes lives & sacrifices his own just at the order of his superiors.

and the 8 songs here clock over 60 minutes & whats great about that is, not a single section is boring or repetitive.
with this album, METALLICA have raised the bar so high, it became an impossible act to repeat. they were at the top, & it seemed like, there was only one way to go. down.

life can really be cruel as this happened to be the last album of bass player Cliff Burton before he passed away.

'Master of Puppets' is an extreme song & one has to think metallica sold their soul to the devil to come up with genius stuff. they slow down a bit with 'The Thing That Should Not Be ' and 'Leper Messiah' but the gargantuan guitar riffs just boast of power. absolute power. 'Orion' is a cool instrumental, & at that point of time, Kirk Hammet was billed over Eddie Van Halen as the next big thing to happen in guitar. 'Damage Inc.' as the name suggests can cause serious ear damage if abused on the ipod.

every song is a masterpiece, epic, brutal, hard yet melodic & powerful. this album is one of those rare releases that feels better with every repeated listen.

my rating
10/10

review by Pritham 'Metal farmer' D'Souza

Metallica - Ride The Lightning (1984)

Track Listing:

1. Fight fire with fire
2. Ride the lightning
3. For whom the bell tolls
4. Fade to black
5. Trapped under ice
6. Escape
7. Creeping death
8. The call of ktulu

Lineup:

• James Hetfield
• Kirk Hammett
• Cliff Burton
• Lars Ulrich

even though a lot of people keep debating as to which is the best METALLICA album ever, 1984's RIDE THE LIGHTNING comes very close to being one of the best ever in metal history. this is pure unadulterated thrash metal, music that after one listen, makes you wanna beat up someone.

the opening track 'Fight fire with fire' starts with a cool sounding classical guitar piece, which then evolves into a barrage of thrash riffs created to numb your brain.

even though this is not really a concept album, death seems to take centre stage in every song here. the nuclear apocalypse tinged opening track, 'ride the lightning' talks about the electric chair execution, 'trapped under ice' talks about drowning, 'creeping death' talks about the famous moses & the pharoah incident mentioned in the bible, 'fade to black' talks about suicide.

also fade to black is probably the greatest ever power ballad/thrash song ever written. that one song has inspired more people to playing metal guitar than any other song on the planet.

Lars in an exceptional drummer & James is perhaps the greatest rhythm guitarist ever. there is not a single dull moment in the entire album.

the solos are crafted to perfection, the rhythm section is totally made to injure the spine, the drums are on fire & the vocals though not yet matured, couldnt have been done better by anyone else

the production is good & gives an ambiance of a dark, war ravaged wasteland where everything seems to just die.

a 100 years from now, & this will still be regarded as one of the all time classics in music history.
you can bet on that

my rating
10/10

review by Pritham 'Metal farmer' D'Souza

My Dying Bride - Turn Loose The Swans (1993)

Track Listing:

1. Sear Me MCMXCIII
2. Your River
3. The Songless Bird
4. The Snow in My Hand
5. The Crown of Sympathy
6. Turn Loose the Swans
7. Black God

Lineup:

• Aaron Stainthorpe
• Andy Craighan
• Calvin Robertshaw
• Ade Jackson
• Martin Powell
• Rick Miah

doom death metal?? takes the listener by complete surprise when one listens to the opening track 'Sear Me MCMXCIII' with its funny name. evil yet utterly depressing piano accompanied with morose violins and narrative vocals which may not be the perfect start for a band just enjoying their success from their previous effort, but then this is no ordinary album

this album is solely responsible for the countless imitators of the 'doom death' genre , the most famous one being USA's NOVEMBERS DOOM.

just 7 song but over 1 hour of pure sadness. there are several shades of Gothic influences which only add more character to each song. this is one of those albums you wouldn't want to listen to if you have suicidal tendencies.
'Your River',''The Crown of Sympathy', 'The Song less Bird', 'The Snow in My Hand' are all depressing classics. and that's a good thing. there are some parts in the album which sound like as if Satan's having to deal with the loss of a loved one, evil , yet so beautiful & dark.

the guitars are very melodic at times, slow & then it changes all of a sudden to this real evil sounding passage that it scares the daylights out of you.
the riffs even though slow , weigh as heavy as a 10 ton hammer smashing against ones head. the moods that this album can create is quite phenomenal.

looks like Satan came down to earth, decided to form the ultimate depressing band on the planet, & gave its members music composed from the tortured pits of hell.

lethal album

my rating
10/10

review by Pritham 'Metal farmer' D'Souza

My Dying Bride - The Light At The End Of The World (1999)

Track Listing:

1. Into the Lake of Ghosts
2. Edenbeast
3. The Night He Died
4. The Light at the End of the World
5. The Fever Sea
6. Into the Lake of Ghosts
7. The Isis Script
8. Christliar
9. Sear Me III

Lineup:

• Aaron Stainthorpe
• Andy Craighan
• Calvin Robertshaw
• Ade Jackson
• Shaun Steels

one of the greatest bands to ever come out of britain, MDB were the founders along with compatriots ANATHEMA and PARADISE LOST of 'doom death' metal. the earlier albums were pure old school death metal, but these 3 bands later took their music in a different direction which we all are greatfful for.
as the name suggests, 'doom death', the music is painfully slow & filled with eternal sadness. the 'death' comes in the form of either the growly vocals death metal style which keep popping up in odd places in the album & also too many references of dying. hence 'doom death'

Aaron Stainthorpe's voice can convince anyone that he is really in pain, while the guitar work of founding member Andy Craighan is just addictive. all the songs except for 'The Fever Sea' clock well over 6 minutes.
the music is very slow, at times mid paced, with haunting melodies that just refuse to go long after you have finished listening to the songs, & the general ambience is very very dark throughout.

'Edenbeast', 'Into the Lake of Ghosts', 'Into the Lake of Ghosts', 'The Night He Died' are all brilliant compositions which take the listener to a world filled with ghosts, visions & even nightmares.

even though the music here is not head banging material, it cannot be sidelined in anyway. if you are one of those people who likes to live in cold places, wear long over coats & sip wine by the fire place while sitting on your rocking chair, then this is the perfect music for you.

my rating
9/10

review by Pritham 'Metal farmer' D'Souza

Spiral Architect - A Sceptic's Universe (2000)

Track Listing:

1. Spinning
2. Excessit
3. Moving spirit
4. Occam's razor
5. Insect
6. Cloud constructor
7. Conjuring collapse
8. Adaptability
9. Fountainhead

Lineup:

• Øyvind Hægeland
• Steinar Gundersen
• Kaj Gornitzka
• Lars K. Norberg
• Asgeir Mickelson

this should have come with a warning note "may cause melting of the brain"

when other progressive metal bands play progressive music just to sound really cool & technical, they mostly end up sounding like disjointed jam sessions. Spiral Architect on the other hand, make it possible to play highly technical music, without falling into pieces.

this band comprises of members playing in several black metal bands, is probably Europe's answer to America's CYNIC. plenty of influences can be heard here, from the classic YES, to the psychotic WATCHTOWER, to the weirdness of CYNIC, and yet, this album has its own originality.

this is what they have to say about their music on their official website
"Spiral Architect is about continual development, idealism, and intensity. Spiral Architect is controlled anarchy. The aim is to make music that challenges the listener, as well as pushes the abilities of the musicians and man."

this music seriously sounds like the members are aliens from another planet. If CYNIC"S FOCUS took like 10 listens to digest, this one requires a 100 listens. this music is just not meant for everyone, & thats whats so special about it.
the progression makes DREAM THEATER sound like a circus act, while the vocalist Øyvind Hægeland mimcs Devon Graves of PSYCHOTIC WALTZ. his high pitched vocals are just superb.

the guitarists shred the guitar to bits, & the drumming of Asgeir Mickelson who also plays with BORKNAGAR, VINTERSORG & IHSAHN, among others, is simply mind blowing.

this is the musical equivalent of a 10 year old kid(that being us) trying to figure out calculus (that being the album)

truley jaw dropping musicianship this

my rating
10/10

review by Pritham 'Metal farmer' D'Souza

Cynic - Focus(1993)

Track Listing:

1. Veil of Maya
2. Celestial Voyage
3. The Eagle Nature
4. Sentiment
5. I'm But a Wave To...
6. Uroboric Forms
7. Textures
8. How Could I

Lineup:

• Paul Masvidal
• Jason Gobel
• Sean Malone
• Sean Reinert

great release from a super group hailing from Florida, CYNIC never really got the credit they deserved. soon after this album , which is now considered a landmark in the field of progressive thrash/ death / the members decided to split up & join other bands. Masvidal & Reinert who were earlier with DEATH, along with Gobel formed GORDIAN KNOT, which is another super group consisting of members from various progressive rock & metal bands. Reinert also had AGHORA to keep him busy, while Malone hit the studios to record several sessions in jazz, and progressive rock. his collaboration with DREAM THEATERS Mike Portnoy & Kevin Moore along with guitar god Jim Matheos of FATES WARNING had prog buffs all excited.

coming to this album, it has strong complex song structures. Masvidal uses a lot of guitar synths & weird vocal effects to create an eerie alien like ambience. he shifts between clean & death growls with ease. Malone's bass playing is very technical to the point , one can easily mistake him for playing bass solo in every song.

'Veil of Maya', 'Celestial Voyage' , 'Textures', 'How Could I' are just classics in the field of prog/death.

this album clearly shows the influence it had on mighty bands like MESHUGGAH & TEXTURES.


even though its been more than 15 years since its release, it still requires at least 3 listens before one gets hooked to it. this is not really for the everage metal head, coz the music is not average, but for serious listeners who want to explore the boundries of where metal can really go, should love this album

my rating
10/10

review by Pritham 'Metal farmer' D'Souza

Death - Human(1991)

Track Listing:

1. Flattening of Emotions
2. Suicide Machine
3. Together as One
4. Secret Face
5. Lack of Comprehension
6. See Through Dreams
7. Cosmic Sea
8. Vacant Planets

Lineup:

• Chuck Schuldiner
• Paul Masvidal
• Steve DiGiorgio
• Sean Reinert

taking a much more technical & progressive approach to their song writing, death started the whole technical death metal style probably with this album. just look at the all star cast here. Paul Masvidal who later formed the critically acclaimed CYNIC, was in top form here, twisting his guitar to give progressive riffs n solos. Steve DiGiorgio with his fretless bass playing, Sean Reinert with his double bass assault & good ol Chuck better than ever. his guitar solos are extremely technical, complicated at times, & very fast. the fat bass seems to be everywhere. & Paul compliments chuck with excellent solos of his own.

this album speaks in volumes about human emotions & chuck and co let their music do the talking here.

though all the songs are considered classics now, 'Lack of Comprehension' is a total stand out track & even enjoyed good air play on mtv. yes mtv!

the music here though bone crushing, makes the listener tilt his head & listen to the music. really listen. classic stuff this

my rating
9/10

review by Pritham 'Metal farmer' D'Souza

Judas Priest - Painkiller(1990)

Track Listing:

1. Painkiller
2. Hell Patrol
3. All Guns Blazing
4. Leather Rebel
5. Metal Meltdown
6. Night Crawler
7. Between The Hammer & The Anvil
8. A Touch Of Evil
9. Battle Hymn
10. One Shot At Glory

Lineup:

• Rob Halford
• Glenn Tipton
• K.K. Downing
• Ian Hill
• Scott Travis

even though Judas Priest were formed in 1974, & have several great albums to their credit in the 80's, it was only after 16 years they virtually pulled the proverbial rabbit outta the hat. this album rules.....

there were shades of things to change in their previous effort, 1988' RAM IT DOWN, but the whole world was in for a surprise shock when they released this masterpiece.

there are no words to describe this. 'awesome', 'brilliant''classic', 'timeless' are words that come to mind while trying to describe this. each & every song is a class in its own right.

Downing & Tipton shred the guitar to bits, with their thrash tinged riffs coupled with really melodious solos, while Travis destroys the drum kit. Halford never sounded more powerful ever. one listen to the opening killer of a track 'PAINKILLER' shuts up all critics of true metal. the madness never stops, 'LEATHER REBEL', 'HELL PATROL', 'NIGHTCRAWLER' are your typical in your face heavy metal to its best. 'Metal Meltdown' has one of the craziest solo intros ever.

'A TOUCH OF EVIL' is one of the best power ballads ever written in metal history. & they end things on a fine note with 'ONE SHOT AT GLORY'.

like i said, this is one of those rare moments in music history, where everything was going right for a band. after creating this & reaching the top, they could only go downwards from here. an all time classic. a must have for fans of all genres of metal. even brutal black metal bands like EMPEROR, DIMMU BORGIR, BEHEMOTH bow their heads to this jaw breaking album.

my rating
10/10

review by Pritham 'Metal farmer' D'Souza

Candlemass - Nightfall(1987)

Track Listing:

1. Gothic Stone
2. The Well Of Souls
3. Codex Gigas
4. At The Gallows End
5. Samarithan
6. Marche Funebre
7. Dark Are The Veils Of Death
8. Mourner's Lament
9. Bewitched

Lineup:

• Messiah Marcolin
• Mats Bjorkman
• Lasse Johansson
• Leif Edling
• Jan Lindh

even tho this was their second album after the impressive Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, it was the towering personality of Messiah Marcolin which changed the fortunes of this Swedish band. The brainchild of bass player Leif Edling, this album is probably what started the 'DOOM' culture in metal.
the album is surprisingly heavy, the riffs are brooding & slow, tribute to the all time doom band BLACK SABBATH. some real gems here with songs like Gothic Stone, At The Gallows End, Samarithan.
there is not a weak moment in the entire album, sometimes it can get slow, but its never dull. even the song writing is awesome, & the album photo is a painting by Thomas Cole, which one can get to see at the museum of arts.
Messiah is one of those vocalists who powerful voice might uproot trees, metals Pavarotti. Mats Bjorkman and Lasse Johansson trade riffs skilfully. at a time when thrash was making headlines everywhere, & playing fast music was getting popular, candlemass changed everything by talking their music really slow. i timeless classic this one, and for us lucky fans, there was more to come from this great band

my rating
8.5/10

review by Pritham 'Metal farmer' D'Souza

Sepultura - Arise(1991)

Track List

01 Arise
02 Dead Embryonic Cells
03 Desperate Cry
04 Murder
05 Subtraction
06 Altered State
07 Under Siege (Regnum Irae)
08 Meaningless Movements
09 Infected Voice

Line Up

Andreas Kisser - Lead Guitar
Igor Cavalera - Drums
Max Cavalera - Vocal/Guitar
Paulo Jr. - Bass

one of the best metal albums to come out of south america, Brazils answer to Slayer, this is a collectors gem. Rage, is constant throughout the album, & theres plenty of music to headbang to. its very groovy & a fan favorite among mosh pits. 'under seige', 'desperate cry', 'dead embryonic cells', 'arise''altered state' are true power house metal compositions. the production is top class & compliments the groovy riffs by Kisser.
the only thing thats not really good is the lyrics, lots of grammatical howlers, guess they would have scored a lot if they sang in their native Portuguese, but they were young & had a lot to talk about & hence preferred to sing in English to reach a wider audience. anyways, their music does all the talking. Max' vocals never sounded more hate ridden & vengeful. guess he was pissed off with the corrupt catholic Church & the extreme poverty that had plagued Brazil.

best music to listen to while working out with heavy weights.

my rating
9/10

review by Pritham 'Metal farmer' D'Souza