Storm Before Calm [Import]

Storm Before Calm [Import]

Storm Before Calm [Import]

Track Listings
 
1. Heretics Age
2. Fallen to Ruin
3. Cast to the Pyre
4. Suns First Rays [Instrumental]
5. What Sleeps Within
6. Sons of the Morrigan
7. Hosting of the Sidhe

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
The fourth album from the epic dark metal band. 7 tracks. Hammerheart. 2002.

Storm Before Calm,Primordial,Hammerheart America,Death Metal/Black Metal,Heavy Metal
Calm Before the Storm
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • excellent
  • Surprisingly Good Album
  • Favorite Singer, Songwriter, and CD!
  • one of my best cd
  • Great Cd
Calm Before the Storm
Paul Brandt
Manufacturer: Reprise / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Country | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music
ContemporaryContemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music
CanadaCanada | North America | International | Styles | Music
Similar Items:
  1. Outside the Frame
  2. Old Enough to Know Better
  3. Goodnight Sweetheart
  4. That's the Truth
  5. This Time Around

ASIN: B000002N5C
Release Date: 2007-01-08

Tracks:

  1. My Heart Has A History
  2. Take It From Me
  3. I Do
  4. 12 Step Recovery
  5. I Meant To Do That
  6. One And Only One
  7. All Over Me
  8. Calm Before The Storm
  9. On The Inside
  10. Pass Me By (If You're Only Passing Through)

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars excellent.......2007-04-14

Very few CD's are worth their full price value but this is certainly one of them. Anytime I buy a CD and can just leave it playing while I do... whatever, and not feel the need to jump over and hit "skip" every other song, I am indeed grateful. I can do that with this one! Sure, I have my favorites - My Heart Has a History (also a very good video on CMT!), I Do (which I plan to have played at my next wedding, if I ever re-marry!), I Meant to Do That - almost painful to listen to but haunting...Some real good tunes and Brandt is simply adorable to look at! Nice deep voice, good writing - give this humble Canadian boy a chance!

4 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Good Album.......2007-02-20

This album wasn't as popular as it could have been. With good ballads and a little twang as well, it had enough balance to climb higher in the charts. But, if you're looking for an album that has some mellow tracks to sip a beer to, while adding a little change of pace with the more "twangy" tracks... this might be one you stick into your CD player. "I Do" is a nice romantic ballad, as is "On The Inside", and "I Meant To Do That" is a mellow track with a bit of a sad twist. "My Heart Has A History" is a catchy tune as well, hitting the charts back then.

5 out of 5 stars Favorite Singer, Songwriter, and CD!.......2007-01-18

I don't see how anyone could go wrong with this CD. It has a great variety of songs, all with catchy beat, and good, meaningful, lyrics.
My all time favorite is My Heart Has a History. Paul's range is amazing.
I agree, he is underrated, and underplayed.

5 out of 5 stars one of my best cd.......2004-12-21

I bought Paul Brandt's Calm Before The Storm six years ago, and believe it or not, I still play this CD almost everyday, providing that I have some other 1,500 country CD to choose from. The first time I heard his deep, sultry voice, I felt like ' oh my god, this must be my most favorite CD EVER, and I was right. Apart from his singing talent, he also possesses perfect writing skill, as you can hear from the title track 'Calm Before The Storm'. There was no filler song on the entire album; all song was great. The only weak point for this CD, as far as I can tell, is that it stays too long in my CD player, and I have little time to listen to my other CD!!!

5 out of 5 stars Great Cd.......2002-06-08

I bought this cd a few years ago and its one of my favorites. A good cd speaks for itself. This is a cd that you can listen the whole way through and love every song.
Storm Before the Calm
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Storm Before the Calm
    Dekapitator
    Manufacturer: Relapse
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    GeneralGeneral | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
    ASIN: B000R8R6JS
    Release Date: 2007-08-08

    Tracks:

    1. Storm Before the Calm
    2. Toxic Sanctuary
    3. Deathstrike Command
    4. Run with the Pack
    5. Call to Combat
    6. Eye of the Storm
    7. Earthscorcher
    8. Screams from the Holocaust
    9. Scourging

    Album Details

    Bay Area Thrash Metal Warriors Dekapitator Strike Back with Death Strike #2 the Storm Before the Calm, their Debut for Relapse Records. A Sharper, More Traditional Thrash Metal Attack that their Early Work, "The Storm Before the Calm" Impacts with all the Subtleties of the Armageddon Itself. Nine Nuclear Metal Offensives Bursting with Razor-sharp Staccato Riffing, Nerve-severing Vocals, and Full on Battery of Classic Metal Are Delivered with the Neck-snapping Fury of the Masters of the Genre. Dekapitator Are the Formidable New Leaders of the Thrash Metal Renaissance. Thrash Til Death!
    The Calm Before the Storm
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      The Calm Before the Storm
      Draw Blood
      Manufacturer: Trash Art
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

      GeneralGeneral | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
      Pop RockPop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
      ASIN: B00065GHQK
      Release Date: 2004-10-26

      Tracks:

      1. The Show Must Go On
      2. From Fanatic To Fool
      3. Burden And Purpose
      4. A Terror In The Kingdom Of Heaven
      5. Buried Dreaming
      6. Lights Out
      7. Dearest

      Product Description

      1. The Show Must Go On
      2. From Fanatic To Fool
      3. Burden And Purpose
      4. A Terror In The Kingdom Of Heaven
      5. Buried Dreaming
      6. Lights Out
      7. Dearest

      Format: CD
      Calm Before.../Alive Again at Andover
      Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
      • A nice slice of New England garage!
      • Excellent Garage Record!!!
      • --
      Calm Before.../Alive Again at Andover
      The Rising Storm
      Manufacturer: Arf Arf
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

      PunkPunk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
      Garage RockGarage Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
      Folk RockFolk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
      Similar Items:
      1. Tomorrow
      2. Love
      3. Before the Dream Faded
      4. The United States of America
      5. Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

      ASIN: B00005Y82X
      Release Date: 1995-09-01

      Tracks:

      1. Don't Look Back
      2. To L.N./Who Doesn't Know
      3. I'm Coming Home
      4. A Message To Pretty
      5. In The Midnight Hour
      6. Frozen Laughter
      7. She Loved Me
      8. Mr. Wind
      9. Big Boss Man
      10. Bright Lit Blue Skies
      11. The Rain Falls Down
      12. Baby Please Don't Go
      13. Slow Down
      14. I'm Crying
      15. Signed D.C.
      16. I'm Coming Home
      17. A Message To Pretty
      18. In The Midnight Hour
      19. My Little Red Book
      20. Catch The Wind/The Singer Not The Song
      21. We Gotta Get Out Of This Place
      22. Time Won't Let Me/Respectable

      Album Description

      First released in 1967, this is the crown jewel of sixties garage, with original copies fetching over $4,000 on eBay. Originals plus savvy covers of The Remains, Rockin' Ramrods, and Love make this a classic. Bonus 1983 live LP Alive Again at Andover.

      Customer Reviews:

      4 out of 5 stars A nice slice of New England garage!.......2007-01-12

      This is a pleasant enough compilation from a group that is is essentially an unknown entity by most oldies enthusiasts. "Frozen Laughter" is undoubtedly the highlight but I thought the group did a credible job on Love's "A Message To Pretty" as well as most of their other original 60s recordings.

      In my book the final ten "reunion" songs are not total throwaways but taken for what they are worth, an amateurish uncoordinated goof session, they are certainly listenable. The guys appear to be having a good time, no doubt fueled by a bit of spirits, and that comes through loud and clear.

      I would not recommend this to the casual listener but I believe that anyone with a devout interest in 60s garage would find this CD to be attractive from both a musical and historical perspective.

      4 out of 5 stars Excellent Garage Record!!!.......2004-01-02

      This is one of the great,pure garage rock records that actually lives up to its great reputation. Bands like the Barbarians, Savage Resurrection, and Knickerbockers seem to enjoy great reputations while their albums suck! I believe this record was released in 1966. The soul covers are the only downfall to this album but even these songs are solid and quite respectable. Mr. Wind, Frozen Laughter, A Message To Pretty, and To L.N. are excellent folk rock songs with a garage touch. Frozen Laughter in particular is the album's standout being a sublime slice of folk-psychedelia. Don't Look Back, I'm Coming Home, and She Loved Me are effective, driving garage numbers as well. In addition, the label has added a reunion concert as a bonus. This material is not included in the review and should be ignored completely.

      3 out of 5 stars --.......2003-09-13

      It's hard to take a critical stance with a band of such modest ambition as the Rising Storm, but their music is in the world for anyone to purchase, whether the band forsaw that at the time or not. Actually there's quite a bit to like about these guys, but not if you're into heavy garage/psych sounds - the bag the Rising Storm get mistakenly placed in.

      More than half of this record is made up of covers that are, more often than not, weak. There's a few solid uptempo numbers like 'Don't Look Back' and the group original, 'I'm Coming Home,' with its surf guitar. Their version of the blues standard 'Baby Please Don't Go' is an unusual reading for it sounds as though it was recorded at Sun Studios. However, the one rocker you should really dig is 'She Loved Me'. You may not find a better slice of adolescent hormone celebration than this anywhere. The song rides an insistent wave of fuzz guitar and the drummer fails to understand his limits, but the cake is when the singer repeats the line, "And then she said she loved me" - news which the guitarist immediately celebrates with a guitar run full of such profound naive conviction that it's actually stunning and even heartbreaking - the sonic equivalent of the adrenaline rush and sheer joy that follows the successful courting of a young woman. It's even more effective with the cheap fuzztone he's got because it sounds as though his guitar is trying to take that next step to manhood with him.

      'She Loved Me' aside, the big news on this record is the original folky ballads the band wrote themselves. 'Frozen Laughter' is the jewel of the bunch with its lyrics adapted from T.S. Eliot's 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' and hazy atmosphere. The "Honey, is that you?" spoken intro and tape cut-up at the end are both brilliant. 'To L.N./Who Doesn't Know' (outstanding title) displays an extremely sophisticated melodicism that's the all the more amazing considering that these are the same guys who did 'She Loved Me'. 'The Rain Falls Down' is good as well.

      The final ten tracks on this release consist of a live gig the band did at their fifteen-year high school reunion in 1982 and its inclusion was extremely ill-advised.
      Calm Before the Storm
      Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
      • Experimental, but not without many faults
      • MIND BLOWER !!!!!!!!!
      • Not Venom's best, but still an O.K. album
      • A REALLY different Venom.
      • Venom's low point
      Calm Before the Storm
      Venom
      Manufacturer: Cleopatra
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

      BritainBritain | British Isles | Europe | International | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
      British MetalBritish Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
      Death MetalDeath Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
      Hard RockHard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
      Thrash & Speed MetalThrash & Speed Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
      MetalMetal | Hard Rock & Metal | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
      Similar Items:
      1. Prime Evil
      2. Possessed
      3. At War with Satan
      4. Resurrection
      5. Welcome to Hell

      ASIN: B00000JKG7
      Release Date: 1999-07-27

      Tracks:

      1. Black Xmas
      2. Chanting of the Priests
      3. Metal Punk
      4. Under a Spell
      5. Calm Before the Storm
      6. Fire
      7. Krakin Up
      8. Beauty and the Beast
      9. Deadline
      10. Gypsy
      11. Muscle

      Album Description

      Remastered 1999 reissue of their 1987 album, which features the last recordings with Cronos on vocals before the band split. 11 tracks, including 'Black Xmas' and 'The Chanting Of The Priests'.

      Customer Reviews:

      3 out of 5 stars Experimental, but not without many faults.......2005-05-25

      After the disappointing album Possessed and Mantas hightailing it to pursue a solo career, remaining members Cronos and Abaddon recruit two guitarists to take his place. With a new line-up in place, Venom would march into the studio and record their fifth studio album Calm Before the Storm.

      With this release, Venom (or what I've read from interviews, Cronos) decided to do some experimenting. Unlike Possessed where the music sounded worn-out, redundant and de-evolved, Storm does the total opposite and goes too far into left field and in the process Venom alienated a lot of their fans. Cronos and crew threw most of their "black metal" sound out the window for a more upbeat traditional simplistic thrash sound.

      Don't get me wrong, I don't mind when bands experiment (unless its Metallica). Without bands changing their sound or experimenting, we wouldn't have stellar albums like Iron Maiden's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son or Judas Priest's Painkiller. But Venom's experiment...well...I guess it might have been better if the songs overall were better.

      What really hurts album is the songs aren't that great. The new "sound" might have been more stomach-able if it produced some killer tracks. The only real standouts are Black X-Mas, Chanting of the Priests, and the title track, but that's about it. These songs are only memorable because of some catchy courses and some good rhythms. Black X-Mas, probably the albums best track, is far too short clocking in at just under the 3 minute mark. This only adds salt to an already open wound.

      The rest of the songs are just simple and unmemorable. Metal Punk is an attempt at a "punk" metal song, and it fails. Under a Spell, Krakin' Up, Beauty and the Beast, Deadline, Gypsy, and Muscle all suffer from mediocrity with poor to silly lyrics and a considerable lack of good guitar solo's. It's sad to say but after listening to this album, I can see where Venom sorely misses Mantas's guitar talent and song writing abilities. Many people might be unaware but Mantas was responsible for most of Venom's more memorable and kick-ass songs from their earlier releases and without him, the band seems lost.

      The one really good thing is that Venom finally got decent production as there is no comparing the production of Storm and Possessed when it comes to production quality. Sadly, just because an album has decent production doesn't necessarily make it good, as with the case here.

      Fans retaliated against the album and Cronos knew it, so he took Mantas's replacements and jumped ship to record some solo albums where he would continue to refine this new "sound", and I have to admit, he did craft the sound better in his solo efforts (He would even re-record the song "Fire" for his solo compilation creatively titled "Venom")

      Will die hard fans like this CD? Most probably won't but there are a few fans like me that will find at least a few songs too like here.

      Calm Before the Storm...another entry into Venom's interesting and complex history as a heavy metal band. More interesting entries would come later....

      It should also be mentioned that Storm has been re-released numerous times sometimes under different tiles and covers. Make sure to steer clear of the versions released under the names Metal Punk and Beauty and the Beast as they are cheap issues with silly cover art and considerably lower sound quality. Either get the original Neat Records release with the original lightning bolt cover or the Deadline re-issue with some sort of weird man/cat creature on the cover.

      5 out of 5 stars MIND BLOWER !!!!!!!!!.......2004-10-27

      This record is Venom's fifth release,their first since guitarrist
      MANTAS left the band and was replaced by two extremely competent lead guitarrists.The 2 first tracks are excellent but traditional heavy metal style,exciting but kinda dissapointing compared to previous albums.From track 3¨Metal Punk¨on,all hell breaks loose
      and the music starts whipping you in pure thrash fashion,of a very unique and particular style-new Venom-we could call it.It's
      so intense and fast paced you won't believe your ears.The sound,unlike all previous albums,is increbible,almost pefect and featuring dynamics to spare !!! The new guitarrists'technique is
      polished AND dirty at the same time,and Abbadon is at his best on the drums,that sound like a machine gun !!!
      This release won't dissapoint either old or new fans,I just won't ever figure why it is so underrated,really beats me.It is,in my humble opinion,one of the best trash metal albums of all times.

      3 out of 5 stars Not Venom's best, but still an O.K. album.......2004-06-06

      This is definitely one of Venom's weakest albums. Not THE weakest, because that would be 1992s "The Waste Lands". That one sucked. "Calm Before the Storm" originally started with "Deadline" as the original title, when Mantas was still in the band, but then left. He was replaced by two guitarists: Mike Hickey & Jim Clare. Unfortunately, even the two of them weren't as good as Mantas. In fact the sound on the entire album is kind of "thin". The guitars just sound kind of weak, not very powerful and just a little "hurried", like they had to finish recording the album real quick or something. Still, the songs themselves are pretty good for the most part. The best ones here are the opening track, "Black Xmas", which sounds more like the original Venom did; "Metal Punk", a good little aggressive thrasher; the somewhat commercial "Under A Spell", a song that Cronos actually attempted to sing on; "Calm Before the Storm", another powerful tune with some good drumming from Abaddon; "Fire", another thrasher; and "Gypsy", which also has Cronos doing some nice vocalizations on. One weak song here is "The Chanting of the Priests". This one just sounds too rushed. It's not nearly as good as the live version (with Mantas) on "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik". Here it's just sloppy. You can tell that Venom were at a really low point in their careers here because the album was originally released by K-TEL! Yeah, that K-Tel. All in all, not a very "dark" album like their earlier ones, but it's still a pretty decent one. At least they tried. And if you really like Mike & Jim's guitar work, check out Cronos' first solo album, "Dancing in the Fire", which kind of sounds like "Calm...", because when he left Venom, he took them with him.

      4 out of 5 stars A REALLY different Venom........2003-06-08

      I think that people ignore this particular Venom album because it lacks the dark atmosphere and blasphemous lyrics of their previous albums. Instead, the concepts are a little more varied than on earlier works. It does not measure up to their earlier work, but it is by no means a bad album. The main reason I'm giving this album four stars is because of the departure of Mantas, who to me, was the most important aspect of Venom. Without him, the music leaves something to be desired. Still, there are plenty of great tracks on here including "Black Xmas", "Metal punk", "Under a spell", "Calm before the storm", and "Gypsy". I would not recommend this album to those just starting to get into Venom, but it is still a great buy and a nice piece of straightforward metal.

      2 out of 5 stars Venom's low point.......2002-06-11

      This isn't a bad album, in fact if this were recorded by nearly any other heavy metal band of the era it would be a great effort. But by Venom's standards, "Calm Before The Storm" just doesn't measure up. I would think the major reason for this album's relative weakness is the absence of Mantas, whose powerhouse playing and imaginative writing really propels Venom and provides the band with their signature sound. Cronos runs the show here, so what you really have is a Cronos solo album-- and his solo work could never hold a candle to Venom. Luckily, Cronos left, Mantas returned, and by 1989 Venom were back and mightier than ever with "Prime Evil", the first of 3 all- new studio efforts by Venom during their peak years ('89-'93) with vocalist Tony Dolan. You'll need "Calm Before The Storm" if only to complete your collection. Just don't expect the sound of Venom; there is no mayhem to be found here. (Note: This album has been reissued several times under various titles and for less money, which would be your best bet as the sound is equal on them all.)
      New Classics for Guitar and Cello
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        New Classics for Guitar and Cello

        Manufacturer: Valley
        ProductGroup: Music
        Binding: Audio CD

        GeneralGeneral | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
        GeneralGeneral | Folk | Styles | Music
        GeneralGeneral | New Age | Styles | Music
        MeditationMeditation | New Age | Styles | Music
        Similar Items:
        1. Hometown Live!
        2. Heartstrings
        3. The Mystery

        ASIN: B00009WW56
        Release Date: 2003-07-22

        Tracks:

        1. Minstrel's Courtyard
        2. Parisian Waltz
        3. Theme For Two Friends
        4. Great Blue Heron
        5. Toronto
        6. Arioso
        7. Calm Before The Storm
        8. Song For Liona
        9. Living Out A Dream
        10. Little Sister's Child
        11. Waiting For Matthew
        12. Estudio Brillante
        13. Recuerdos

        Product Description

        1. Minstrel's Courtyard
        2. Parisian Waltz
        3. Theme For Two Friends
        4. Great Blue Heron
        5. Toronto
        6. Arioso
        7. Calm Before The Storm
        8. Song For Liona
        9. Living Out A Dream
        10. Little Sister's Child
        11. Waiting For Matthew
        12. Estudio Brilliante
        13. Recuerdos

        Format: CD
        Storm Before Calm
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          Storm Before Calm
          Primordial
          Manufacturer: Karmageddon Media
          ProductGroup: Music
          Binding: Audio CD

          Death MetalDeath Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
          GeneralGeneral | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
          Hard Rock & MetalHard Rock & Metal | Imports | Stores | Music
          Similar Items:
          1. The Gathering Wilderness

          ASIN: B000A1OF0K
          Release Date: 2005-07-11

          Tracks:

          1. Heretics Age
          2. Fallen to Ruin
          3. Cast to the Pyre
          4. Suns First Rays [Instrumental]
          5. What Sleeps Within
          6. Sons of the Morrigan
          7. Hosting of the Sidhe

          Album Description

          UK pressing of the fourth album from the epic dark metal band includes the original 7 tracks plus the bonus track 'The Burning Season'. Karmageddon Media. 2005.
          Storm Before Calm
          Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
          • An outstanding example of dark metal!!
          Storm Before Calm
          Primordial
          Manufacturer: Hammerheart America
          ProductGroup: Music
          Binding: Audio CD

          GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
          Death MetalDeath Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
          GeneralGeneral | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
          Similar Items:
          1. Imrama/Journey's End
          2. The Gathering Wilderness

          ASIN: B00006LSM0
          Release Date: 2002-10-01

          Tracks:

          1. The Heretics Age
          2. Fallen To Ruin
          3. Cast To The Pyre
          4. Suns First Rays
          5. What Sleep Within
          6. Sons Of The Morrigan
          7. Hosting Of The Sidhe

          Customer Reviews:

          5 out of 5 stars An outstanding example of dark metal!!.......2002-12-07

          "Storm Before Calm" is an astounding release that emits an almost blinding aura of quality. The music of Primordial is frighteningly powerful, grandiose, and utterly transcendent. Hailing from Ireland, their lyrics and conceptual imagery is rich with Celtic mythology, enthralling mysticism, and convincing references to the noble codes of the mediaeval warrior. Their music can charge along to invoke a storm of breathtaking assault but also calms to present deeply affecting, pensive passages that highlight the fear and despair that encompasses the moments before and after battle.

          Primordial's contribution to the world of melodic Black Metal is one that I stress should not be overlooked. They make it all seem exciting and novel again. Their approach is mature, progressive, enthusiastic, and intensely emotional. Even the fastest and most aggressive parts are infused with a hypnotic beauty that not only tugs at the strings of the heart but also quickens the pulse into throbbing, euphoric overdrive. The listener is hard pressed to resist the band's majesty and not be carried along into their misty gray world. Nemtheanga's voice provides the final pinch of pain and suffering to the near overwhelming grandeur of the driving anthematic music. From a soaring venomous rasp to his frequently employed near guttural groans make for an honest, genuine expression of primal passion. Some vocal purists might wince at Nemtheanga's regular tendency to slip out of key, but for whatever reason, it works and has the same profoundly distressed effect that worked so well for the early Anathema releases (both the Darren White period and when Vince Cavanagh first approached the mic on "The Silent Enigma") The emotion is raw and riddled with a convincing anguish, rather than the blind manufactured rage that seems to fuel most aggressive metal vocalists. There is vulnerability here, as opposed to inflated machismo.

          Though Primordial is by no means a simple band, they do not bother with virtuosity for virtuosity's sake. Their music is genuine, precise, progressive, and terrifying in its grandeur. It is the importance and coherence of atmosphere that shapes how the music is structured and what is necessary to make the songs strong and memorable, and what brings them to life. The Black Metal aspects come straight from the early old school days of the genre's infancy, but are filtered and cleaned up to present a crisp, clear production (I might suggest a comparison to the guitar stylings Opeth and Katatonia in a frenzied, manic state or perhaps Burzum with melody). Basically, they make Black Metal listenable, while remaining faithful to the necessary aggression and confrontational elements that are part and parcel to the purest examples of the genre.

          I cannot say enough good things about this release. I decided to avoid highlighting the strengths of individual tracks, simply because "Storm Before Calm" is comprised of seven tightly structured songs that work in unison to present a complete continuous work. It is best to be absorbed as a whole and I hope that fans of elite, high quality dark metal music of all kinds do not wait as long as I did to begin a relationship with this indisputably talented band. Metal fans would be wise to purchase this release immediately!

          *extracted from my review at StarVox.net
          Calm Before the Storm
          Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
          • Poet is amazing!
          Calm Before the Storm
          Poet Name Life
          Manufacturer: Immergent
          ProductGroup: Music
          Binding: Audio CD

          GeneralGeneral | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
          GeneralGeneral | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
          GeneralGeneral | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
          Experimental RapExperimental Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
          Pop RapPop Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
          ASIN: B0009UVBJ0
          Release Date: 2005-07-12

          Tracks:

          1. She Got Me
          2. See You Live
          3. Phuture
          4. You & I
          5. Rain
          6. Get Down Tonight
          7. So Into You
          8. Off The Wall
          9. Bive Eternis
          10. Shaddow Ninja

          Album Description

          As the DJ for the Black Eyed Peas, Poet Name Life has established himself as one of the newest members of Los Angeles' music elite. His first full-length album, Calm Before The Storm, features tunes embodying a dynamic and futuristic musical collision between worlds of live instrumentation, free-form jazz, club-moving, head-bobbing, hip-hop, and loungy, tweaked out electronics. Poet innovatively combines spacey Moog riffs, stripped-down turntablistics, hard drumbeats, and the lush instrumentation of live musicians.

          Customer Reviews:

          5 out of 5 stars Poet is amazing!.......2007-06-18

          This is Poet's amazing new album. Poet's extremely talented (not to mention awesome to party with). Even though this album is not exactly like his stuff with the Black Eyed Peas/Fergie, you'll still love it if you like anything from BEP/Fergie.
          Calm Before the Storm
          Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
          • Venom Progresses...
          • Experimental, but not without many faults
          • Dumb, But Entertaining
          • Buy their early work instead!
          • Decent metal
          Calm Before the Storm
          Venom
          Manufacturer: Dead Line
          ProductGroup: Music
          Binding: Audio CD

          BritainBritain | British Isles | Europe | International | Styles | Music
          British MetalBritish Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
          Death MetalDeath Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
          GeneralGeneral | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
          Hard RockHard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
          Thrash & Speed MetalThrash & Speed Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
          Hard Rock & MetalHard Rock & Metal | Imports | Stores | Music
          ASIN: B0000087JV
          Release Date: 1999-07-27

          Tracks:

          1. Black Xmas
          2. Chanting of the Priests
          3. Metal Punk
          4. Under a Spell
          5. Calm Before the Storm
          6. Fire
          7. Krakin Up
          8. Beauty and the Beast
          9. Deadline
          10. Gypsy
          11. Muscle

          Album Description

          Remastered 1998 reissue of their 1987 album, which features the last recordings with Cronos on vocals before the band split. The booklet includes a full band discography. 11 tracks, including 'Black Xmas' and 'The Chanting Of The Priests'. A Neat Metal Records release.

          Album Description

          Remastered 1998 reissue of their 1987 album, which featuresthe last recordings with Cronos on vocals before the bandsplit. The booklet includes a full band discography. 11tracks, including 'Black Xmas' and 'The Chanting Of ThePriests'. A Neat Metal Record

          Album Details

          REMASTERED & FEATURES A FULL BAND DISCOGRAPHY.

          Customer Reviews:

          4 out of 5 stars Venom Progresses..........2007-02-26

          What we have here is an album that progressed one step forward and two steps back. While the price of experimentation can often be the loss of your fan base, usually you find a new fan base...the problem with Calm Before The Storm is that the only people who could find this album bearable or, as I do, enjoyable, are part of the old fan base.

          There are a few very good songs on this album (Black Xmas, the title track, Under a Spell, Beauty and the Beast) that do hold up to their previous albums. Something is lacking without Mantas, however.

          But listen to this album and compare it to Resurrection. This album sounds like what Resurrection would have sounded like without Mantas. Which is why it is a step forward. Venom did what they came to do on the first four albums and killed it, so it was about time they did something different. I just wish it was slightly better than this, but it is not a bad effort.

          3 out of 5 stars Experimental, but not without many faults.......2005-05-25

          After the disappointing album Possessed and Mantas hightailing it to pursue a solo career, remaining members Cronos and Abaddon recruit two guitarists to take his place. With a new line-up in place, Venom would march into the studio and record their fifth studio album Calm Before the Storm.

          With this release, Venom (or what I've read from interviews, Cronos) decided to do some experimenting. Unlike Possessed where the music sounded worn-out, redundant and de-evolved, Storm does the total opposite and goes too far into left field and in the process Venom alienated a lot of their fans. Cronos and crew threw most of their "black metal" sound out the window for a more upbeat traditional simplistic thrash sound.

          Don't get me wrong, I don't mind when bands experiment (unless its Metallica). Without bands changing their sound or experimenting, we wouldn't have stellar albums like Iron Maiden's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son or Judas Priest's Painkiller. But Venom's experiment...well...I guess it might have been better if the songs overall were better.

          What really hurts album is the songs aren't that great. The new "sound" might have been more stomach-able if it produced some killer tracks. The only real standouts are Black X-Mas, Chanting of the Priests, and the title track, but that's about it. These songs are only memorable because of some catchy courses and some good rhythms. Black X-Mas, probably the albums best track, is far too short clocking in at just under the 3 minute mark. This only adds salt to an already open wound.

          The rest of the songs are just simple and unmemorable. Metal Punk is an attempt at a "punk" metal song, and it fails. Under a Spell, Krakin' Up, Beauty and the Beast, Deadline, Gypsy, and Muscle all suffer from mediocrity with poor to silly lyrics and a considerable lack of good guitar solo's. It's sad to say but after listening to this album, I can see where Venom sorely misses Mantas's guitar talent and song writing abilities. Many people might be unaware but Mantas was responsible for most of Venom's more memorable and kick-ass songs from their earlier releases and without him, the band seems lost.

          The one really good thing is that Venom finally got decent production as there is no comparing the production of Storm and Possessed when it comes to production quality. Sadly, just because an album has decent production doesn't necessarily make it good, as with the case here.

          Fans retaliated against the album and Cronos knew it, so he took Mantas's replacements and jumped ship to record some solo albums where he would continue to refine this new "sound", and I have to admit, he did craft the sound better in his solo efforts (He would even re-record the song "Fire" for his solo compilation creatively titled "Venom")

          Will die hard fans like this CD? Most probably won't but there are a few fans like me that will find at least a few songs too like here.

          Calm Before the Storm...another entry into Venom's interesting and complex history as a heavy metal band. More interesting entries would come later....

          It should also be mentioned that Storm has been re-released numerous times sometimes under different tiles and covers. Make sure to steer clear of the versions released under the names Metal Punk and Beauty and the Beast as they are cheap issues with silly cover art and considerably lower sound quality. Either get the original Neat Records release with the original lightning bolt cover or the Deadline re-issue with some sort of weird man/cat creature on the cover.

          3 out of 5 stars Dumb, But Entertaining.......2004-02-24

          I was never into Venom, but this album really caught my attention after hearing "Beauty and the Beast" on the radio. And even though it's incredibly stupid overall (check out "Muscle"), I found myself almost loving it. Plus, I think the band was in on the joke, which makes it even better. It's not a Must-Own by any means, but if you happen to find it for cheap, it's good for a few laughs.

          1 out of 5 stars Buy their early work instead!.......2000-01-12

          This CD is just not worth it. Plain, cliche songs that completely lack the unique and grinding Venom-sound of their older work.

          My advice is to check out their first two albums, and make sure you also listen to the fantastic, grossly underestimated "At War with Satan" and the even better "Possessed" (a genuine masterpiece), but don't get caught buying their later work or the numerous collections...

          3 out of 5 stars Decent metal.......1999-03-11

          I have not listened to this album for years, since my tape has seen the end of its day. I can only go by distant memory. This, as I recall, was the first album by Venom after losing guitarist Mantas. They had two other guys come in and fill the slots. This album completely abandoned the old school Venom sound in favor of a more mainstream metal approach. Gone are the pentagrams, inverted crosses, and satanic lyrics. Don't get me wrong this is not a terrible album, and Black Christmas is a cool song. It's just that it does not stand up to their previous classics. This album marked the end of classic Venom and the beginning of a downward career. They have now regrouped all 3 original members and put out a good album. The only true Venom consists of Mantas, Cronos, and Abaddon...

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          Music Info

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