417. Metallica / Fuel [Single] [Disc 3]. 1998. 4.5/5

Third part of the three-disc single set.

Both of the live versions of "Fuel" and "Until It Sleeps" sound great, while the demo version of "Fuel", as with all demo versions, are good to hear once or twice, and then not again.

Rating: Good extras again. 4.5/5

416. Metallica / Fuel [Single] [Disc 2]. 1998. 4.5/5

Disc two of the three disc single release.

The two live versions of "Wherever I May Roam" and "One" are as good as ever, but of course we've heard them before on the Live Shit: Binge and Purge release. Could have given us some newer stuff that's a bit rarer - but of course there are THREE versions of this single!!!

Rating: Still good stuff. 4.5/5

415. Metallica / Fuel [Single] [Disc 1]. 1998. 3/5

First disc of a three-disc single release, to enable some money grabbing, no doubt. The fact is, I wouldn't have bought them except I got all three for less than the price of one cost originally, second hand.

Apart from the actual single here (which is probably the only decent song that they offered on the abysmal Reload), we have live versions of "Sad But True" and "Nothing Else Matters". OK, they are performed well, but we've heard these songs live before. Did they have nothing else they could have put out there?!!

Rating: Quite honestly, a boring release. 3/5

414. Alice Cooper / From The Inside. 1978. 3/5

Alice Cooper is one of the masters of writing albums with entire concepts locked into the songs. His track record in this respective is almost unparalleled. So, with From The Inside Alice has done it again. Paired with Bernie Taupin, who was co-responsible for so many of Elton John's greatest hits, Alice produced an album that was inspired by his own stay in a sanitarium to deal with his alcoholism.The characters in each of the songs are no doubt inspired by those that he met within the walls of that institution.

So, about the music. OK, it's not as cutting edge as some of his previous work. In some ways it is some of his more mainstream stuff. Whether that was the feel he was looking for, or was the natural influence of co-writer Taupin, who can tell. Overall though, the songs don't have quite the hard feel of his best work from the 1970's. The songs skip along well, and their stories as always are funny and interesting.
Best for me would include "From the Inside", "Wish I Were Born In Beverly Hills", "Serious" and "Inmates (We're All Crazy)"

Rating: Worth a listen if only for Alice's journey through one of his demons. 3/5.

413. Death Angel / Frolic Through The Park. 1988. 3/5

I'm not sure if it is just me or not, but Frolic Through The Park doesn't quite match up to the rest of Death Angel's magnificent discography. The exact reason for this, I can't put my finger on.
As I have said on many album reviews, this doesn't make this a bad album. It just lacks something that most of Death Angel's material has that makes it extraordinary. Here we have the same ingredients but the souffle hasn't risen.
Some of the songs have the tempo that raises the eyebrows - such as "3rd Floor" and "Road Mutants" - but in general I think most of the album is a bit flat.

Perhaps I am a bit critical, as in comparison to some of their other work, most albums will probably have the same critique about them. And while the cover of the Kiss classic "Cold Gin" is fine, did they really need to do a cover? Perhaps at this early stage of their recording career, they thought they did.

Rating: Still not a bad album, but it is the runt of the litter. 3/5

412. Silverchair / Frogstomp. 1995. 3.5/5

When all the commotion surrounding the arrival of this band, made up entirely of schoolkids, and their ‘discovery’ by the JJJ radio network in their competition, I must admit to some ambivalence. I was happy to see a ‘school’ band make it in such a unique way, but as their style wasn’t quite what my scene was, I used it as my excuse not to follow. In reality, I guess because they were so hyped by the media, I shied away from them, not wanting to be seen as ‘one of the crowd’.

Looking back now, and listening to this album again after some years, I can fully appreciate just how good it is, and how mature it was for their age. It’s not hard to write a song (in theory) but to write one that people will like, and will grab their attention, is a bloody good trick. This album gels together so well, with each song slotting into place perfectly.
Led by the three major singles from the album, “Israel’s Son”, “Tomorrow” and “Pure Massacre”, this is an album that mixed the influences of the band members into a ground-swelling popular movement, especially in Australia. Blending the grunge and alternative scenes, along with a hint of Metallica and Megadeth, Silverchair hit the big time in a big way. Frogstomp still stands as a triumphant entry to the world music scene.

Rating: One of the best Australian albums of the past two decades. 3.5/5

411. Metallica / Fresno 14-3-04 [Bootleg]. 2004. 3.5/5.

An A- quality bootleg from the St Anger tour, which I guess I got purely to hear if the new material sounded better than what came out on the actual album St Anger. As is turns out, it doesn’t really inspire at all.

The return of “Blackened” to the setlist is one of the bonus pieces. However, what this bootleg highlights is that, now that Hetfield does try to ‘sing’ everything, the older songs have lost their grunt. “Blackened” doesn’t sound angry at all – it sounds like a melodic track now. You should be able to hear the growl of ‘Blackened is the end!’, but instead you get a high, almost girlish tone in the voice. Not cool. I understand why James has had to alter his singing, but it really deprives their early material of the emotion that they need when they are being performed live.

Rating: New songs in the setlist for the first time in a long time, but it doesn’t make the heart jump. 3.5/5

410. Dead Kennedys / Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables. 1980. 4/5.

This had been out for a number of years before I was first exposed to it, but it made an impression I can tell you. 15 years old and fairly impressionable, Dead Kennedys debut album came at me like a tracer bullet and intrigued me from the start.

The band’s wonderful punk inspired sound, led at the front by Jello Biafra’s unique vocals, and songs that make you laugh and think at the same time, makes for a winning combination.
I know a few people who are friends of mine who like to spend hours discussing the lyrics of the songs, and what the meaning behind the meaning behind the lyrics are. Personally, I like to just listen to the songs and sing along, and generally laugh. Surely they aren’t meant to be taken seriously… :)
From the opening of “Kill The Poor”, followed by the wonderfully sentimental “Forward To Death”, into the thought provoking “Let’s Lynch The Landlord”, you can’t help but enjoy it. Let’s not forget “Chemical Warfare”, and then the album’s star attraction, “Holiday In Cambodia”.

This is an album that brings back a lot of memories, and putting it on again over the past couple of days has been just terrific. It makes me wonder why I haven’t played it for so long.

Rating: An all-time classic. 4/5.

409. Freddie Mercury / The Freddie Mercury Collection. 1992. 3/5

As one of the greatest singer/vocalists of all time, this compilation concentrates on the material he did apart from Queen.
It contains a mixture of styles and tempos, some of which are agreeable and others which are more painful. Some of the songs still sound good, others are inextricably tied to the era that they were recorded. Obviously, this can hamper your judgement – as it does here with me. To listen to “Love Kills” now is to hear the music that will forever be the mid-1980’s, and certainly most of that style of music still grates in my ears. But when this song was released, I simply could not get enough of it, and played it over and over again. Sometimes now I still listen to this song, and wonder how I loved it so much. I still like it, but more in a reminiscing kind of way.

Other favourites for me here include “Foolin’ Around” and “Mr Bad Guy”, while the diversity of his duet of “Barcelona” with Montserrat Cabelle shows off his versatility perfectly.

You wouldn’t say it was his greatest work, but it is worth listening to in order to see what he could do in a different environment.

Rating: If only for his voice… 3/5.

408. Silverchair / Freak Show. 1997. 2.5/5.

You always wonder how a band that has been phenomenally successful with their debut album is going to be able to follow it up when it comes time to release that second album. It is therefore interesting that my first impressions of this album was from the first time I saw/heard the opening riff to the first single from it, “Freak”. Believe me, it caught my attention immediately!

Freak Show has it’s extremes, probably highlighted by the ferocity of “Freak” and the gentle swooning of “Cemetary”. Both were singles, and both are probably the best two songs on the album.
Apart from these two, I find it difficult to really get into the album. The variation between styles is a little disconcerting for me. It’s almost like a compilation of different genres of music. In particular, "Abuse Me", "Lie To Me" and "No Association" take this to another level. Trying to get into an album with so many technical changes isn't so easy. I’m sure that works for some people, but my opinion is that Daniel Johns just isn’t sure at this stage of the band’s career as to which direction they really wanted to head in – punk, hard rock, grunge or metal. While I think most of the songs are on the good side, none apart from those mentioned really grab you the way you want a good album to do.

Rating: Perhaps too much is sometimes not enough. 2.5/5

407. Iced Earth / Framing Armageddon (Something Wicked Part 1). 2007. 2/5

OK, so we are going to make a concept album (or in this case albums) based on the story from an earlier album we have already recorded. Interesting ploy. It does raise a number of questions.
1) Will the storyline be interesting within the framework of the lyrical content?
2) Will the musical content capture the mood of the lyrical content?
3) Will all the strings pull together to produce a good album?

I must say I still think the beginning of the album – “Something Wicked Part One” and “Setian Massacre” – is catchy, and I still sing along to it. I also enjoy “Ten Thousand Strong”. All good songs, sung wonderfully well.
But what is it that, for me at least, turns me off the whole album? I guess there are a few things. There a number of musical ‘interludes’ between songs – mood setters, I guess you could call them – and I think there are far too many to retain interest in. Also, as much as I am a fan of Tim Owens, sometimes he just doesn’t come off, and on some of the songs here he just doesn’t come off. Whether that is in the writing or the performance is open to question.

So in the long run, I think this missed its mark. I don’t know what the answer is. Will Matt Barlow make a difference? Are his vocals what were required here? I don’t think so. I just think the guys had a reasonable concept for an album, but just didn’t quite grab me with their interpretation. No doubt millions think differently.

Rating: On a different plane from what I expected. 2/5.

406. Vanishing Point / The Fourth Season. 2007. 2.5/5

I should begin by saying that this is my first impression of Vanishing Point's work, and having never heard them before it is a difficult thing to come out and review and rate from a novice's point of view. However, that is exactly what I am doing.

I must say this is much more 'progressive' than I imagined it would be, and their sound is certainly a step away from what a generation of Australian hard rock/metal bands have done. Now - while this is a good thing, because originality is important, it didn't quite grab me like I was hoping. Sure, wonderful vocals and vocal range, good musicianship as well. But the keys and synths are probably a bit much for me and my tastes, and the songs don't quite have the 'oomph' factor to really grab my attention.

Perhaps I wanted to like this too much. I was hoping for an Australian metal band to blow me out of the water. And I have no doubt this material would sound so much better in a live atmosphere. But for me, I'm just a little disappointed.

Rating: Missing an ingredient or two. 2.5/5

405. Fozzy / Fozzy. 2000. 3.5/5

For many of us who have been amateur musicians who have put together bands with our mates to get together and jam to our favourite songs, this album is a dream scenario. Go into a studio, lay down a handful of songs from the bands' you love to listen to, and then release it on an album. Awesome. What more could you ask for? A couple of your own original songs in there as well, to hopefully create some interest in your own work so you can expand this in the future? Why not?
Fozzy began life when members of the band Stuck Mojo, led by Rich Ward, decided to go out and play as a cover band and play their favourite cover songs. The addition of high profile wrestler Chris Jericho as lead vocalist lifted the band's image, and brought forth this first album.

The two original tracks on the album are average hard rock songs. , "End of Days" and "Feel the Burn" are fine to listen to without being spectacular. The remaining eight songs on the album are all covers of their favourite tracks, and range from the average to impressive. Dio's "Stand Up and Shout" is handled with aplomb, while there is a certain humorous element lent to Krokus' "Eat the Rich". The middle section of the album continues in this vein, with Twister Sister's "Stay Hungry" followed by Iron Maiden's "The Prisoner" and Motley Crue's "Live Wire".
Perhaps the best two songs here are the versions of Ozzy Osbourne's "Over the Mountain", which sizzles with great riff work from Ward, and Scorpions' "Blackout" where Jericho offers his best work. Judas Priest's "Riding on the Wing" is a tough call to finish on, especially vocal-wise. No easy job trying to match Halford's vocals on this song.

As with most cover albums, there is an initial period where this is listenable, until such time that you just refer back to the original artist for the songs. However, as an introduction for this line-up, this is well worth a listen.

404. Stratovarius / Fourth Dimension. 1995. 3/5

Coming out in the mid-90's, Fourth Dimension comes out with some similar sounds and some interesting arrangements. Starting off with the excellent power metal stylings of "Against The Wind" and "Distant Skies", you can't help but be impressed with how the band has progressed since their early albums. Personally I think it is the most solid start of an album for the band.

Similarities between other artists of their genre are prevalent. The instrumental "Stratovarius" and the song that follows, "Lord of the Wasteland", carry a very Yngwie Malmsteen-ish style to them, probably a little bit too much so. Mind you, by the mid-90's Yngwie had lost his magic, so it was up to someone to keep the dream alive... :)

Overall, this is a very solid album, and another great addition to the Stratovarius discography. If only their later stuff was like this earlier stuff... but I say that about sooo many bands.

Rating: Some quite brilliant pieces blended with other above average material. 3/5

403. Blind Guardian / The Forgotten Tales. 1996. 3/5

An interesting compilation of rearranged tracks from previous Blind Guardian releases, and some cover versions of some slightly left-field songs from other bands.

The rearranged and acoustic/orchestral versions of their songs come across surprisingly well. They come across as almost completely new songs, and sound great.
The cover versions range from the bizarre (“Mr Sandman”, “Surfing USA”), to the surprising (“The Wizard”, “Spread Your Wings”). “Surfing USA" has a ridiculously heavy guitar solo, which certainly ‘updates’ it from the Beach Boys original. “Spread Your Wings” is wonderfully well done without compromising Queen’s original version.

Rating: So, not a new album, and not a best of. But an interesting interlude nonetheless. 3/5.

402. Exodus / Force of Habit. 1992. 2.5/5

Just like a pair of pants that are just a little tight, this album doesn’t quite feel right. It feels OK for awhile, but the longer it goes, the more uncomfortable you feel.
The reason for this? I don’t know for sure. I do know that I’ve had a similar feeling with albums before – Metallica’s Load would be a prime example. But the differences are obviously felt by many fans of the band.

So what is it that this Exodus album is missing that other have? To be honest I really can’t put my finger on it. There are songs that don’t live up to what they could be. For instance, take “Good Day To Die”, a reasonable idea for a song. But why is it really just dead average instead of being top shelf? I keep listening to it, and even now think it should go off in one direction and build to a crescendo, when it takes another route, and ends off diving off a cliff. I think the material is there somewhere, but was like a map that has been folded up wrong – it just doesn’t fit or look right.

“Thorn in my Side” is the opening song, and probably my favourite. After that… well… it’s more average fare.

Rating: You expect better from one of the major influences of thrash. 2.5/5

401. UFO / Force It. 1975. 3.5/5

Moving on from their breakthrough with Phenomenon comes UFO's next album Force It, and further evidence that they were bound for greater things. This album is full of what makes UFO such a great band. Certainly, at the time this was released, it must have been one of those albums that appealed to those who were looking for something heavier in their music. Pete Way and Phil Mogg combine their vocals beautifully. Andy Parker's timekeeping is just great. His drum sound is as good on this album as it ever got. And, possibly for the first time, Michael Schenker's guitaring is blasting front and centre, taking the centre stage it deserved at that time.

Force It has a great range of songs, especially for the era. Combining the heartstarting opener "Let It Roll", rocking "Shoot Shoot", classic "Out in the Street" and timeless "Mother Mary", this album has almost everything covered. Add "This Kid's" as the closer, which has Schenker's "Between The Walls" instrumental combined, which ends the album on a high.

All in all, this has all the best bits of UFO tied into one. Whilst they had even better to come, this album showed that the band had the songwriting and musical talent to become one of the best of their era.

Rating: Great stuff from some great artists. 3.5/5

400. Dream Theater / Forbidden Dreams [Bootleg]. 2002. 3/5

This is an excellent A- bootleg from Dream Theater's Japanese tour, containing pretty much their best material to that point in their career (1994 and 1995). As per usual with Dream Theater, there are five or six instances where the band go off and do their 'instrumental' break for 5-10 minutes at a time. A fan will enjoy and tolerate them. Others may not.

I still think their live DVDs are the best way to appreciate this band. This does have its moments however.

Rating: Good quality bootleg that captures the band at an interesting time of their career. 3/5.

399. Black Sabbath / Forbidden. 1995. 2.5/5

Whether or not this is ever considered the official end of Black Sabbath's legacy, it certainly has the feel of it. While the decision to continue on with Tony Martin on vocals was admirable, given what he had contributed on the albums in the late 1980's, one has to wonder what direction they were hoping to head for. Was the addition of Ice T as a guest vocalist and indication that they were heading for a sound more prevalent of Body Count? I don't know.

In the end, although the album still has some semblance of a Sabbath album, there is something missing that can't help it rise above average. In a similar (yet different) way that Technical Ecstacy and Never Say Die had indications that something in Black Sabbath had to change, the indictations are here on Forbidden that it was time for another radical solution. It turned out to be a reunion of the Original Four for Reunion.

It's not all bad, but it is very average. There are no outstanding Iommi riffs, there are no breakthrough Martin vocals, nor any thrilling Powell drum fills. Even if it was sold off as an Iommi solo piece you would be ambivalent, but with Black Sabbath you always expect great things. However, like they did two or three times in their long outstanding career, this one doesn't quite make it.

Rating: The curtain falls gracefully. 2.5/5

398. Van Halen / For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. 1991. 3/5

By the time this was released, I was probably coming to the conclusion that Van Halen were finished. I mean, they had had a pretty fair run, and even following the departure of DLR they had produced a pretty good follow up with Sammy Hagar and 5150. But not much had come since, and to me the magic was sifting away.

Even when this came out, it didn't grab me like other albums had. Probably at the time I had other parts of the genre grabbing my attention. Still, it begins pretty solidly, "Poundcake" and "Judgement Day" are good solid songs that provided a good sart to the album. The problem for me from that point onward is that the rest of the album, while quite listenable and not awful, doesn't bring anything new to the mix. I think they had a chance to go out on a limb and return the band to its peak, if only Eddie was unleashed and allowed to really hammer on those strings again. For whatever reason it is, the thing that made Van Halen great is being restrained.

This is not a bad album, but it is one that is just above average. Putting it on and listening to it is not a chore. Expecting it to get repeat listens is probably expecting a bit too much.

Rating: More of the same from the Van Hagar era. 3/5

397. AC/DC / For Those About To Rock (We Salute You). 1981. 3/5

Trying to follow up the monster that was Back in Black must have been a daunting task, but with a stellar stable in their back catalogue, AC/DC had been producing consistently brilliant albums for six years, and even with the loss of Bon Scott they had hardly skipped a beat thanks to the recruitment of Brian Johnson. There was no reason to believe it wouldn't continue.

They couldn’t have started off better. Track one, the title track, is one of their all time classics and is still in their live set to this day. It is a quintessential AC/DC track, building up beautifully from the quite guitar at the front to the completion with the cannons firing at random. It is a terrific anthem, directed from the band to the fans, and it is still as powerful today as it was on it's release. A real classic. This is then followed by “I Put The Finger On You”, another up tempo track that keeps the album moving in the right direction. With these two songs to start the album you can only think you are in for something special once again.
From this point on, however, the album falls back into what would become the ‘stock-standard’ AC/DC slew of songs that probably found their beginnings on the previous album, but would seep through their releases for the next 30+ years. You know the ones, the mid-tempo songs with standard 2/4 drum timing with the bass and rhythm guitar locked in to make that solid back beat, while Brian sings his lyrics over the top, which generally contain choruses that just repeat one line over and over again so that it becomes a chant, and Angus throws in his pieces when it feels necessary. This isn't meant to be a criticism as such, because they've done it so well for so long. But it can certainly become repetitive, and sometimes it feels as though it just goes on too long. Here on For Those About to Rock (We Salute You), many of the songs have very little spectacular about them. Some are good, some are just average. Stuff like “Let’s Get It Up” and “Inject The Venom” and "Breaking the Rules" I find that I have to be in the right mood to enjoy, otherwise I just think ‘skip to the next song please’. It became a theme for the band's albums throughout the 1980's. They mixed some standout songs with a lot that many people would have difficulty in placing what album they were actually released on.

This album marks the beginning of a number of albums throughout the decade that all had promise, without ever really climbing back to the heights of the albums that had preceded it. There's no problem with that, all bands face it at some stage. There is nothing bad on this album, but there are a couple of tracks that could be described as boring, and when that happens it can test your mettle.

Rating:  We're just a battery for hire with the guitar fire, ready and aimed at you  3/5

396. Foo Fighters / Foo Fighters. 1995. 4.5/5

1995 was an interesting time for albums for me. One of them was this one. With the demise of Nirvana, a band called Foo Fighters was formed by that funny looking dude who used to be the drummer for the aforementioned band. I couldn’t be sure that he would have many musical ideas – I mean, he was just a drummer, right? OK, so the promotion for the album said that he wrote all the songs and played most of the instruments, and even SANG all of the songs. Wow! Better buy it and check it out!

As history now notes, it was a triumph. Dave Grohl WAS more than just the drummer for Nirvana. This debut disc has a bit of something for everyone – faster rocking tracks, slower melodic tracks – and more than anything else begs the question as to what may have happened had Kurt Cobain hung on a little longer? Would Dave’s writing talent been allowed to surface or not?

It did take a while for the album to grow on me. Although it hooked my interest from the outset, it took awhile to actually like all of the songs on the album. I guess because there is some diversity in the tracklist. This soon sorted itself out over the next couple of months as I grew to love the album.
Favourites here for me include “This Is A Call”, “I’ll Stick Around”, “Weenie Beenie” and “Wattershed”

Rating: Great debut from a band we may never have seen. 4.5/5

395. Sonata Arctica / For The Sake Of Revenge. 2006. 3.5/5

When you aren’t overly familiar with a band, the Live Album can be a real test. The songs on the album could entrance you, which then will leave you a little hollow when you discover the studio versions of the same songs are not as spectacular. The songs may leave you unimpressed, if the vocalist doesn’t seem to be able to hit the correct notes, or the guitars sound a little off if they improvise a little in the live environment. In other words, the Live Album of a band you aren’t overly familiar with can Make It or Break It for you.

Here then is Sonata Arctica, a band I am still relatively new at listening to, and here is their live album, For The Sake Of Revenge.
So what’s the verdict?
The verdict is, I think this has a lot to offer. The vocals of singer Tony Kakko are very much at the front of the mix, and this isn’t really a bad thing, because he really can sing, and does it great live as well. As with the power metal genre, the keyboards are also heavily prevalent, while the guitars and drums are just great.

More to the point, most of the songs are terrific. Some are a bit slow and ‘almost’ of the ballad persuasion for my liking, but overall this is a great collection. Songs such as "Misplaced", "8th Commandment" and "Blinded No More" are perfect examples of what makes Sonata Arctica the band they are. They have an anthemic quality that really attracts me. "Broken" is also a song that I have always enjoyed.

I have given this a solid workout over the past few days, and I still find it easy to return for more. That can only be a good thing, can’t it?

Rating: An excellent live album from this band, who are one of the quiet achievers in European Metal. 3.5/5.

394. Blind Guardian / Follow the Blind. 1989. 3.5/5

From the first time you put this album on, you can’t help but like the way it sounds. Starting off with a recognisable Requiem chant (anyone who has seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail will know it immediately), we then burst straight into “Banish From Sanctuary” at a rate of knots, and we are away. It is important to start an album off on the right foot, and Follow the Blind does that beautifully. "Damned for All Time" careers onward at the same speed, with super drumming being followed by the flying riffs of Olbrich and Siepen's guitars. This is undoubtedly speed metal at its finest. You get a real feel for Hansi's vocals on this album, as they are not as multi-layered as they become on later releases.

"Follow the Blind" brings back to more conventional metal, not utilising the speed aspect, and becoming a little repetitive and cliched towards the end of the song both lyrically and musically, and it probably drifts on a tad too long too. "Hall of the King" is another goos song in the vein as those that openeed the album, as is "Fast to Madness". "Beyond the Ice" is just brilliant, and the duelling harmony Iron Maiden-esque guitars that complete the last couple of minutes of the song are just awesome. "Valhalla" is also excellent, along with guest vocalist Kai Hansen who trades with Hansi throughout the song.

The album concludes with two covers. The first is a great version of the classic Demon song "Don't Break the Circle", which is extremely faithful to the original while also bringing a little Blind Guardian to its output. The second is the Regents and Beach Boys song "Barbara Ann", which is almost a comic way to bring this album to its conclusion.

As a later arrival to the Blind Guardian fold than most, I find this to be one of my favourite albums of theirs. Following in the best footsteps of the forefathers, this album skips along at a hefty pace, driven along by a particularly good drum beat. The vocals are almost anthemic on this album. They do not dominate the songs, just help them to progress. Hansi’s vocals sometime get a little too over layed, but on this album I think he is almost at his peak. There is also not an attempt at a domination of guitar licks and solos as there sometimes seems to be – here they also complement the song and the other band members contributions.
This is a terrific follow up to Battalions of Fear and I love the real speed metal edge it has. It's what sets it apart a little from what was to come.

393. Joe Satriani / Flying in a Blue Dream. 1989. 4/5

When this was first released, I knew little bits and pieces of Joe Satriani’s work, but was not huge on it. I had Surfing With The Alien but that was all.
A lot of people were disappointed with this when it came out, feeling that Satch had sold out by actually having some songs with lyrics in them. Not only that, the lyrics were sung by himself, and he wasn’t much of a singer. All in all they felt it was rubbish.

I felt, and feel, differently. The variety of songs on this album outdoes what he had done previously. The mood and character of them all makes for an eclectic album, there is no doubt about that, and I certainly can’t sat I like everything on it. But the good is very very good, and the bad is probably only ordinary. His instrumentals are still as good as ever. “Flying in a Blue Dream” and “The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing”, the first two cuts on the album, are just great songs, and yet so completely different in arrangement and style. The songs where Joe lets loose on vocals are about a 50/50 mix. I like “Strange” whereas a lot of people don’t. “I Believe” is a pretty sappy song, without a lot of redeeming features lyrically or musically. “Big Bad Moon” is a classic, I just love it. Being 20 and in a band, we used to jam this out when smashed, it was great fun.

Like I said, I love this album, for the most part. I also saw Satch touring on this album, which was just unbelieveably great. The album was a one off, and I probably still enjoy it so much because it brings back such great memories… but isn’t that what music is all about?

Rating: Probably my favourite Satriani album. 4/5

392. Scorpions / Fly to the Rainbow. 1974. 3/5

This was the second album released by the Scorpions, and in their earliest form they still possess the characteristics that have made them who they are today.
Being the early to mid 1970’s their music retains the psychedelic qualities that laced the music of the period. As a fan of the band, I can say that it is not my favourite type of song genre, but I can see past it in instances like this, because the band is who they are.
For me there is no doubt the highlight of the album is the opener “Speedy’s Coming”, the major up-tempo song on the album. For the remainder, it is mostly that early seventies stuff, which while still great in its own way, is not the same as the material they came up with later on. Still a good solid album. Though.

Rating: More from the early days. 3/5

391. AC/DC / Fly on the Wall. 1985. 2.5/5

Once you get on a roll with all of these AC/DC albums, there are times when you really do have to check to see which album you are listening to, such can be the similarity in songs on occasions. Even for those of us who had all of these albums as they were released during the 1980's and listened to them to death, until the grooves in the vinyl had been worn down even further by the needle, it can sometimes get a little confusing when you go back to the albums today as to which songs appear on which albums. Perhaps that's just the brain cells dying off from too much heavy metal or other substances, but any excuse can sometimes be justified.

So here is Fly on the Wall, another AC/DC album, and like pretty much everything they released in the 1980’s, each song has the same solid core, with only a couple of tracks that really come out with some flair to make them stand out from the rest. As with every other AC/DC album from this decade, this can be both a blessing and a prison sentence, but AC/DC do it so well that you can’t help but love the majority of it.
Following on from Flick of the Switch, which I believe was a step up from For Those About to Rock (We Salute You), this album again has some terrific songs. “Fly on the Wall”, “Danger” and “Back in Business” are enjoyable enough, while
“Sink The Pink” and “Shake Your Foundations” are the two standout tracks on the album. Both were released as singles and did well in Australia in pushing this album. However, in all honesty, the album is still a bit uneven. It lacks something that the previous album had, where the format and style of the songs seemed to emit more energy, and move along with less bumps. Here the flow tends to be up and then down, and a lack of cohesion between songs. I don't believe the band rested on its laurels in producing this album, but apart from the three or four songs that are obviously the better tracks, the remainder is quite average in the long run.

Rating:  No one can stop us cause we're feeling too right  2.5/5.

390. Alice Cooper / Flush the Fashion. 1980. 3.5/5

The great thing about Alice Cooper’s music is that it is always cutting edge, and that it has adapted over the years to keep pace with the changes in the culture of the business, without ever losing its individuality. It’s true to say that it hasn’t always worked (in my humble opinion of course), but he has always been one to change, to shed his skin to adapt to the world around him.
Flush The Fashion is a case in point. Moving with the changing world of music from the 1970’s to the 1980’s Alice has updated the sound of his music to coincide, marking a change from his previous albums. Whether his fan base at the time related to it, I can’t say.

I think it works. It took a while to grow on me. On initials listens I was undecided, but after maybe a dozen times of playing the album, I began to get it. From that point on I could put it on without any qualms. Even from a modern perspective looking back, I think it is a good Alice Cooper album. It has the humour infused into the music, which the best Alice music does. Songs like “Model Citizen”, “Aspirin Damage” and “Nuclear Infested” for me are the better songs on the album. There is even the rockabilly sounds of “Leather Boots” which, while it doesn’t really do much for me, showed Alice was willing to continue to move in new directions.

While this certainly won’t ever rate as one of the classic Alice Cooper albums, I think it has been a little underrated. Alice himself is in fine form, and is obviously enjoying the moment.

Rating: Better than your average bear. 3.5/5

389. Iron Maiden / Fear of the Dark. 1992. 3/5

How does one go about judging Fear of the Dark. On my reaction at the time of its release? Or how I feel six months after its release? Or on how I feel about it now, some 15 years later? Certainly a combination of all three would be a sensible option, but I must confess that my love of this album has reached peaks and troughs over those years.
When this album was first released, I was just excited to have a new Iron Maiden album out. I was interested to hear how Jannick Gers would contribute to the writing of the album. I was hoping for more of Seventh Son of a Seventh Son than No Prayer For The Dying. With changes going on in my life with work and girlfriends, I guess I wanted the security of another Maiden album to love.

Even on first impressions, I was confused. Sure, the rollicking opening of “Be Quick or Be Dead” and “From Here to Eternity” grabbed me from the start, and the lull into the moody “Afraid To Shoot Strangers” was also effective. However, at this point I began to wonder what album I had actually purchased. “Fear Is The Key” has a very Deep Purple mood to it, and considering that Jannick used to play in Ian Gillan’s band I guess this is understandable. Whether it fits my idea of a Maiden album is another question.
Then there is the power ballad – and dear god I never thought I’d have to use that terminology with an Iron Maiden song – “Wasting Love”. Now, I am incredibly biased on this issue, but here it is – this is AWFUL!! To me it denigrates the name of Iron Maiden. I’m sorry, this just can’t be true. It is trash, and is the low point of the album.
The second half of the album just doesn’t seem to recover. These are half arsed, B-side material songs, not the quality that you associate with this band and these writers. I guess most of them aren’t really bad songs, but you expect so much more from a band like Iron Maiden. They are just average fare – “The Apparition”, “Chains of Misery”, “The Fugitive”, the rather ordinary “Weekend Warrior” – one has to wonder how they happened to become album-worthy. “Judas Be My Guide” rates slightly above this lot, listenable without being absorbing.
Even the title track, “Fear of the Dark” has been cruelled for me. As much as I loved it when this album first came out, the vast number of times it has now been in the band’s setlist, and therefore on every live release ever since, has dulled that love. I don’t hate it, but I can do without hearing it anymore.

How much did the fact that Bruce was on the verge of leaving the band affect this album? Who can tell. When it was released I still played it as much as any other new album at the time. No doubt I was blinded by the fact that it WAS Iron Maiden, so it HAD to be great… didn’t it?

Little has changed. This is an average Iron Maiden album. My rating of it may appear high, but that works on the theory that a bad Iron Maiden album is still better than most of the albums that have been released. It’s ranking overall would leave only Virtual XI below it. That perhaps is its final damnation.

Rating: Even the most brilliant sometimes have their dull days. 3/5.

388. Deep Purple / Deep Purple in Rock. 1970. 5/5

A rather marvelous thing happened way back in 1970. Deep Purple had threatened to do something extraordinary, what with their combination of John Lord’s keyboards vision and Ritchie Blackmore’s emergence as a great and innovative guitar player. Though their first three albums were stuck firmly in the flower power of the 1960’s, a new decade awaited, and a fresh sound was what was needed. Vocalist Ian Gillan had come on board, and the band produced their first album together.
Deep Purple In Rock was recorded, and the legend that is Deep Purple had finally emerged.

The jump in quality of song writing and performance from Deep Purple to Deep Purple in Rock is quite astounding. The whole band lifts a couple of notches in their performance, while Ian Gillan is instantly awesome as the frontman, his soaring vocals fitting the new harder edge that the songs had attained.
This is the album where this band began kicking. Every song is a classic. Kicking off with the brilliant “Speed King” and “Bloodsucker”, the band shows their wonderful diversity with the awesome “Child In Time”, a song they simply couldn’t have done without Gillan’s voice. If it was fate that brought these five men together, then fate is a wonderful thing.

This is an album for the ages, an album that helped to kickstart the heavy metal revolution. Deep Purple as a band never looked back from this moment. This is an album every lover of music must listen to, as its historical significance is just as important as the wonderful outlay of music it contains.

Rating: One of those albums everyone must be exposed to. 5/5

387. Iron Maiden / Flight of Icarus [Single]. 1983. 5/5

The song that first enabled me to find myself into Iron Maiden was "Flight of Icarus". Sure it was a single, but it was while listening to Piece of Mind that this song drew me in, and as a result the rest of the album, and as a result... well, Iron Maiden became the band that was #1 in everything in my life.

I didn't get the single until a few years later, and as with all singles it was the B-side songs that I mainly got it for (as well as adding it to my collection of course). Here there is only one song, a version of Montrose's "I've Got the Fire". The band had already covered this earlier in their career with Paul Di'anno on vocals. here we have Bruce Dickinson showing us his pipes. It is easy to say that this version gives both Maiden's earlier version, and Montrose's original version, a swift kick in the pants. Awesome.

Rating:  Top shelf.  5/5

386. AC/DC / Flick of the Switch. 1983. 3.5/5

One of the great trademarks, and perhaps liabilities, of AC/DC is that when you buy each of their albums, you already know what it is going to sound like. I guess that is especially so since Brian Johnson took over the reigns as vocalist, as the songs for the most part have fallen into an even more predictable formula. as I have said before, that doesn't necessarily make them average songs or albums, it just makes them... similar!

Flick of the Switch is another AC/DC album that doesn’t have a lot that could be described as special about it. There are no songs that you would describe as outstanding tracks, but the album also has nothing wrong with it either (unless you believe they are getting a little monotonous). The rhythm section is as solid as ever, keeping each song moving like clockwork, allowing Angus to occasionally burst into a solo or lick, while Brian keeps his monologue going over the top. Once again, it is a very solid mid-tempo pace the band has fallen into.
Really, there is nothing to complain about here if you are a fan. I guess there isn’t so much of the Angus trademark guitar on here as there has been in the past, and not even as many back-up vocals (such as in “Nervous Shakedown”) from the lads as there was in the past. Trying to compare it to other albums is fruitless though. Perhaps the major problem with each of the three albums that followed the seminal Back in Black is that fans wanted another one just like it, or another like Highway to Hell. Wishing for more albums like those in the past is not just a trait that is unique to AC/DC - there are any number of bands that fans wish could reproduce their past, rather than accepting what is placed in front of them and enjoying it for what it is.

In the long run, Flick of the Switch is similar to the recent past and the immediate future, but it does have its differences. The repeatable choruses can sometimes begin to grate, but that is only a small thing. I think once you’ve listened to it a few times, you begin to realise that it is better than the norm. It might be simple and not technical, but it’s still just as catchy as all other AC/DC albums. Once you hear it, you can’t help but hammer a beat along with it.
Favourites for me include “Rising Power”, “Flick of the Switch”, “Nervous Shakedown” and “Landslide”, while songs like "Guns for Hire" and "Deep in the Hole" and "Bedlam in Belgium" may be repetitive but they sure are catchy. An underrated album.

Rating:  She's gonna blow you all sky high, flash the eye electrify  3.5/5

385. Queen / Flash Gordon. 1981. 3/5

This is a difficult album to rate. Of course, it is first a motion picture score, the music behind the movie, not a bunch of songs that have pieces of them played at different times of the movie. Unlike future release A Kind Of Magic which was all songs that were used in the film “Highlander”, this is actually the score used in the film, therefore it’s not your typical Queen album.

Now, taking that into consideration, if you are going to listen to this album, do it at dusk with a glass of red, and just let it flow over you. OK, there is some hokey stuff in there, but you have to approach this almost like it is elevator music to get the most out of it. “Flash’s Theme” and “The Hero” are the two actual songs on the album, and they both rock like only Queen can.

Rating: Still better than most original scores. Makes the movie what it is as well… 3/5.

384. Anthrax / Fistful of Metal. 1983. 3/5.

Listening to this album almost 25 years after its recording and initial release, you have to be subjective when it comes to rating it. It was different era in recording, it was a new era of metal that was beginning to seep through, and it was the first release of a band that became huge and release some of the all-time classic metal albums.
Taking all of that into consideration, and leaving aside the production values for the moment, this is a solid debut with some good songs mixed with some average songs. The core of the band was to survive for many years, but listening to the album I guess it was always a forgone conclusion that vocalist Neil Turbin was expendable. His is a very uneven performance given the material written here. There doesn’t appear to be any consistency in his wailings, it goes up and then even further up. Perhaps that’s his style, but it does drag the material down a little in places.

The good songs are very good. “Deathrider” and “Metal Thrashing Mad” are classic Anthrax songs, and along with “Panic” and “Anthrax” are the best on the album for me. The cover of Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen” isn’t bad either, but seems a strange choice to go with on your debut album. I’m sure there was a reason behind it somewhere.

Overall, an average debut. Better was to come, but all of the qualities that you love about Anthrax are found here in their earliest form.

Rating: Got my foot pinned to the floor, you can hear the engine roar! 3/5.