All customer reviews by Graeme W.

Excellent album! ..... not so excellent re-release.....

Just to clarify: This review is NOT for the frankly brilliant War Master album, but actually of this supposed "special edition" release.

When I saw that War Master was being released as a "Limited Edition Special Release with Free Patch" I got pretty excited. I hate to admit but I wish I hadn't.

There's nothing really special at all about this "Special" edition. It's a standard slipcase with the same tracklist as any normal release of WM; no bonus tracks, no DVD like the Realm of Chaos re-release, no extra info or biog or anything in the booklet. Just a slip case you'd expect on a bargain bin CD from some motorway services station, advertising the other "special edition" albums in the series. And given that the Full Dynamic Range edition (with the DVD, no less) of RoC was similarly-priced, I feel somewhat let-down by Earache here: It feels like a cheap cash-in.

And I don't use the term "cheap" lightly. The printing on the back inlay looks pretty blurry compared to the bog-standard edition I bought several years back, and I'm not sure if it's just me, but for some reason this edition sounds worse too- I could be imagining it, but it sounds a bit thin and without that heft and impact of the other version I have. I will admit that there is a chance that this is just my judgement clouded by the rest of the package, but I did listen to both so...

As for the patch.... it's a printed patch (which is fine) but it looks pretty low-res, and the item itself measures 7cm x 7cm. It's pretty tiny!

I'm not sure who this is supposed to be aimed at. In my opinion it's not a great buy for long-term Bolty fans who have been looking for as near to official a patch as you can get, along with the promise of some "special" edition (assuming they'll already have WM on CD, if not also on Vinyl etc), so the only other option would be newer fans, who haven't heard this brilliant album yet. In which case they're probably better going for the standard edition and buying a patch elsewhere.

I know that it might seem I'm asking too much for a £10 release (but hey- I didn't buy it from EMP, I wish I did because I paid more- in fact I've noticed all EMP's Bolty stuff is rather nicely priced), but if you're going to market something as a special edition, you have to produce something pretty damned special.

Regardless of Earache's past relationship with Bolt Thrower, they have released some really good stuff in the past. Sadly this really isn't one of them.

A Ring Fit For Odin!

Toltec have really done a blinder with this ring! As previously stated, the pictures really don't do it justice. In the stories, Sindri crafted the ring in order to outdo Loki's gifts, and this is a very nice imagining of Sindri's gift to Odin. Adorned with Norse runes and a stunning copper and silvery contrast , it certainly does look like some opulent trinket or talisman a viking would wear! And even though it's chunky and with a nice weight to it, it doesn't feel bulky.
On the contrary it's very comfortable!

Definitely worth the money! And EMP once again didn't let me down; it arrived super fast and all safe and sound. Perfect!

Quite Nice

I recently bought this item, and It's quite nice. I think I was expecting a little more heft, it's a very light ring, but for £12, it's still a good price.

The finishing could be better though, I have a couple of marks on mine; presumably from whatever was used to infill the runes. A quick polish with Brasso or Silvo should fix this however.

All in all, it is a nice ring. The outer ring moves very nicely; I can tell I'm going to pick up a new habit spinning the outer part haha. And of course, EMP shipped it quickly over from Germany, recorded post (considering P&P was free because I have BSC membership!) equates to one happy metalhead.

A Melodic Masterpiece

Buying this because it was on sale, and intrigued by the cover, I have to say this came as a very pleasant surprise! It's certainly a hard album to place in terms of genre, because it flits so effortlessly between black metal, folk, straight-up heavy metal and even, dare I say it... power metal. It also has progressive moments, and all aspects are perfectly executed (and this is coming from someone who wouldn't normally touch power metal with a 10-foot barge pole!).
Vintersorg is essentially a one-man-band and, as I'm led to believe, a drum machine, so there's a veritable display of musical talent there- particularly in the vocals. These range from standard, but well-done, black metal rasps to an unusually low, but still adept, clean singing voice. It is quite unusual and certainly caught me off-guard the first time I heard them; but the fact stands that Vintersorg (the man AND the band) is a really good singer. I find the vocal lines pop into my head on a regular basis now; especially the title track.

All in all, this is a strong album with a good amount of everything for everyone. Well, I think so anyway!

Fantastic Blackened Folk Debut From An Underrated Band

As the title indicates, Manegarm seem to be one of these bands under the "folk metal" banner that get so oft overlooked. And yet this debut, certainly to my mind, lends to itself a depth that the more accessible folk metal bands seem to lack.

Although there are clear folk elements in the form of real (yes, real!) violins and the guest female vocals; this album is probably closer to a raw black metal template, although said template is used only as a guide. This allows Manegarm to exercise a more melodic and richer sound. I'd say it's the perfect balance between black metal ferocity and folksy melody; ably marrying the two disciplines with perfect harmony. So it's scathingly fierce and hauntingly beautiful, often at the same time! I have not heard the original master of the album, but certainly this edition really brings out every note and every iota of atmosphere with crystal clarity (without sounding overproduced or plastic).

As for the t-shirt. Quality is superb, both of the material and the prints. Both back and front are printed to an excellent standard.

On the whole this package is an excellent buy: £20 (£22 full price) for a remastered album AND a T-shirt with front and back print? All I can say to that is AYE!

Yaaaas! m/

You know, when I first saw this artwork adorning the backdrop of Kreator's December 2014 tour during a rousing cover of (funnily enough...) Number Of The Beast, I knew a shirt with this image HAD to find its way into my collection... But alas there was no sign of such a shirt at the merch stall...

It's a great homage to a great band (and incidentally great album and album cover); basically if you love Kreator and Iron Maiden then this is likely an essential item of clothing.

Quality-wise; the print is very well rendered- vibrant and of good quality pigments. The T-shirt is nice and soft (and light! Definitely a good summer or gig shirt) and hasn't shrunk like my other Kreator shirts (which admittedly are on heavier cotton).

Quite simply... I love this shirt!

Beautiful! But same as previous reviewer...

This is truly a fantastic piece! A raven skull "engraved" with the Helm of Awe Icelandic stave symbol; it's really a thing of beauty. Well-made, excellent subject matter and wonderfully rendered.

But yes, it does come with an, admittedly, VERY nice leather thong but I too would be afraid of losing it as the fastener looks a bit easy to come undone. Not to fear! You can take the thong out of the fastener, unthread from the pendant and put in a safe place because it can take a fairly thick piece of waxed chord (eg round boot lace) with ease. All it needs is a couple slip-knots and Bob's your uncle; problem solved! :)

So because of that... a 5-star win from me! Just keep the old leather thong it came with, because it's rather nice as well.

Those Immortal Words!

I got this t-shirt just Christmas past from the other half's parents and i absolutely love it. Great quality, so far no shrinkage after the first couple of washes; it's a good, solid-feeling shirt.

And of course it's got THOSE words printed on it along with Motorhead's enduring mascot AND a cheeky wee ace of spades. A classic design really, and you can't go wrong with that!

A Refreshing Change!

I love my olive green Warpig shirt! There's not much more can be said than that....

I've had it for about a year now, and I still wear it all the time. It's comfy, doesn't shrink when washed (like some shirts do), has still retained the majority of its colour and looks fresh. I've had a couple shirts this colour and they've faded and ended up looking pretty tatty relatively soon after purchase. But lo and behold this STILL looks pretty vibrant!

best thing about it? IT'S NOT BLACK! A really nice change from the standard fare. And the print of such a timeless icon of one of the best bands in heavy metal/hard rock/rock n' roll hasn't started flaking or anything yet, so a thumbs up for print quality there too!

Safe to say, smashin' t-shirt, and a welcome break from the norm (as much as I love my extensive collection of black shirts). Highly recommended!

Not bad at all!

Really the main reason for buying the Backstage Club Membership is the free postage right? And for that it's a great price in itself (especially if you were able to take advantage of the Advent Calendar promotion!). That's only 3 orders and you've gotten your money back. And given that EMP have some nicely-priced items, and do run good sales and promotions, makes it a little easier to justify buying; especially some of their items on the more expensive end of the spectrum.

As for the contents, it's all nice token stuff. The keyring's nice, although with your code on the back, it would have been nice to have this printed on the lanyard too (thus giving a point to the lanyard, and meaning if you use the keyring, you don't have to be so worried about wear...), but I just ended up sticking a bit of a label to it and writing the code on that so... hey ho...
Mind you... what is the code actually for?

The prospect of exclusive competitions, extra discounts and promotional items is also quite nice. So all in all it's a good wee package.