The Calm Before the Storm

Editorial Reviews
IndianapolisMusic.net, June 21, 2004
. . ."the calm before the storm" . . . is simply one of the best rap albums I've heard yet this year.

kabuki, Ableton.com, April 2004
Completely tight. Rhymes, beats, production, polish. TIGHT. Rock solid. What else can I say. This is GOOD hip-hop.

Album Description
The blackSoil project delivers pure, organic hip hop that satisfies both the purist's lust for the real boom bap and also the never ending craving for something different—something that'll take you off the beaten path, down a road less traveled, and drop you off at the prearranged destination!

The Calm Before the Storm is the blackSoil project's second release on indie label Reserved Records and is, according to one critic, "simply one of the best rap albums I've heard yet this year."

The Calm Before the Storm

The Calm Before the Storm, Music, The Blacksoil Project, Pure, organic hip hop that satisfies both the purist's lust for the real boom bap and also the never ending craving for something different—something that'll take you off the beaten path, down a road less traveled, and drop you off at the prearranged dest

Calm Before the Storm
Average customer rating:

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

General | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music
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Outside the Frame

Old Enough to Know Better

Goodnight Sweetheart

That's the Truth

This Time Around

ASIN: B000002N5C
Release Date: 2007-01-08

Tracks:

My Heart Has A History
Take It From Me
I Do
12 Step Recovery
I Meant To Do That
One And Only One
All Over Me
Calm Before The Storm
On The Inside
Pass Me By (If You're Only Passing Through)

Customer Reviews:

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!

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.

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.

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!!!

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.

Average customer rating:

Storm Before the Calm
Dekapitator
Manufacturer: Relapse
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000R8R6JS
Release Date: 2007-08-06

Tracks:

The Storm Before The Calm
Toxic Sanctuary
Deathstrike Command
Run With The Pack
The Call To Combat
Eye Of The Storm
Earthscorcher
Screams From The Holocaust
The 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!

Average customer rating:

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

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

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Tomorrow
Love
Before the Dream Faded
The United States of America
Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

ASIN: B00005Y82X
Release Date: 1995-09-01

Tracks:

Don't Look Back
To L.N./Who Doesn't Know
I'm Coming Home
A Message To Pretty
In The Midnight Hour
Frozen Laughter
She Loved Me
Mr. Wind
Big Boss Man
Bright Lit Blue Skies
The Rain Falls Down
Baby Please Don't Go
Slow Down
I'm Crying
Signed D.C.
I'm Coming Home
A Message To Pretty
In The Midnight Hour
My Little Red Book
Catch The Wind/The Singer Not The Song
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place
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:

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.

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.

--.......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:
Calm Before the Storm
Dare
Manufacturer: Mtm Music & Publish
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
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Beneath the Shining Water

ASIN: B0000250ER
Release Date: 1998-05-01

Tracks:

Walk On The Water
Some Day
Calm Before The Storm
Rescue Me
Silence Of Your Head
Rising Sun
Ashes
Crown Of Thorns
Deliverance
Still In Love With You

Average customer rating:

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

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Prime Evil
Possessed
At War with Satan
Resurrection
Welcome to Hell

ASIN: B00000JKG7
Release Date: 1999-07-27

Tracks:

Black Xmas
Chanting of the Priests
Metal Punk
Under a Spell
Calm Before the Storm
Fire
Krakin Up
Beauty and the Beast
Deadline
Gypsy
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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

Average customer rating:

New Classics for Guitar and Cello

Manufacturer: Valley
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

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Hometown Live!
Heartstrings
The Mystery

ASIN: B00009WW56
Release Date: 2003-07-22

Tracks:

Minstrel's Courtyard
Parisian Waltz
Theme For Two Friends
Great Blue Heron
Toronto
Arioso
Calm Before The Storm
Song For Liona
Living Out A Dream
Little Sister's Child
Waiting For Matthew
Estudio Brillante
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:
Storm Before Calm
Primordial
Manufacturer: Karmageddon Media
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Death Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
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The Gathering Wilderness

ASIN: B000A1OF0K
Release Date: 2005-07-11

Tracks:

Heretics Age
Fallen to Ruin
Cast to the Pyre
Suns First Rays [Instrumental]
What Sleeps Within
Sons of the Morrigan
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.

Average customer rating:

An outstanding example of dark metal!!

Storm Before Calm
Primordial
Manufacturer: Hammerheart America
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Death Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
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Imrama/Journey's End
The Gathering Wilderness

ASIN: B00006LSM0
Release Date: 2002-10-01

Tracks:

The Heretics Age
Fallen To Ruin
Cast To The Pyre
Suns First Rays
What Sleep Within
Sons Of The Morrigan
Hosting Of The Sidhe

Customer Reviews:

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!