1062. UFO / Strangers in the Night [Live]. 1979. 5/5

There’s always something magical about a live album. It’s where you get to hear exactly what a band is like in the environment that they are meant to be in. Let’s face it, you can make just about anyone sound good in a studio where you can overdub and cut and paste and play a section a thousand times over until you get it right. A live album is where there is nowhere to hide, and you have to be on to showcase how good you actually are. And on “Strangers in the Night” this is exactly what UFO do.
UFO had retooled and re-thought their music after the release of their first two albums, and with the addition of Michael Schenker on guitar had become a more hard rock based band than a synth based band. The addition along the way of Paul Raymond who could double on both rhythm guitar and keyboards gave the five piece all the weaponry they needed to become one of the best live bands in the world at the time.
One the back of their seventh album, and a run of five albums that are still considered the best the band released, UFO recorded several gigs on their US tour run to put together as a live album. What then followed was the perfect reflection of UFO’s career to this point in time. It has their most bombastic elements, it has their best songs. More than anything it showcases how terrific this band must have been in the live setting, and how each part of the band was so intrinsic in making the sound that was UFO. And unlike their individual studio albums along the way, here there is not a weak moment. It is pure unadulterated UFO.

I knew a few UFO songs from a Michael Schenker anthology double album I had bought a few months earlier before I found this double vinyl in my favourite second hand record store, and bought it on the spot. I didn’t know the band or its music very well but I knew Schenker and that he had been in this band, so I was keen to get home and give it a listen. It didn’t take long to realise that I had come across some real gold, and album that to this day I still get excited about whenever I put it on or hear it at a friend’s house.
From the outset there is so much to love here. The brilliant guitar riff to start off “Natural Thing”, the perfect segue and the harmony vocals of Mogg and Way in “Out in the Street”, and then into the classic UFO tracks “Only You Can Rock Me” and “Doctor Doctor”. The magnificence that is the live version of “Love to Love” with Mogg’s wonderful vocals and the brilliant guitar of Schenker stealing the show. Then there is the bombastic version of “Lights Out” that is as heavy a song that UFO perform which is followed by the extended version of “Rock Bottom” to allow Schenker to further showcase his brilliance on the guitar. Between this come all of the other hits that UFO had written up until this time, and nothing misses out. It would be difficult to come up with any weak points, or of any other songs that could replace those that are on this album already.
In a way this album ruined the studio albums of UFO for me once I got around to getting them, because I knew these songs perfectly by the time I heard them, but I knew the live version of the songs not the studio versions, and quite simply the live versions are far superior than their studio cousins. So when I started getting the early albums and listening to them I found that they didn’t quite have the same energy and momentum that the songs showed on this album. Over time of course that faded and I was able to enjoy them as much as any other of their work, but there is never a time that I put this on that I don’t love everything on this so much more.
The CD version has added back in two songs that start the concert, “Hot and Ready” and “Cherry”, and also reordered the playlist so that it is closer to what UFO played on this tour. I would normally have said “that’s great!”, but now for me it ruins the flow of the album just a little, because you miss that great start of the guttural guitar riff that leads into “Natural Thing” that for me was the perfect start on my vinyl copy. Now you don’t get to hear that until track five, and the album lacks a punch as a result.
I have often on this podcast made mention of the fact that I sometimes have trouble with live albums that chop and change the running order of the concerts they have been taken from, that as a preference I would like to have the songs in the order they were played at the gig, rather than what did happen quite a bit during the 1970’s, where the order on the album was changed to have the songs fit better on the vinyl. This for me is not one of those instances. Because I owned the vinyl version first, I am so used to that running order when I listen to it, that I have a lot of trouble with the order that is on the re-released CD version, which has the tracks back in almost concert running order. The opening four tracks on the vinyl – “Natural Thing”, “Out in the Street”, “Only You Can Rock Me” and “Doctor Doctor”, which is Side A of the first of the double vinyl – is the only way to listen to these songs.
The band is on fire, and each of them is just terrific on this album. Paul Raymond being able to switch between the organ and keyboards onto rhythm guitar to add a fullness to the live sound is fantastic and invaluable in the live environment. Pete Way on bass fills the bottom end out nicely, while Andy Parker’s drumming is fantastic. Phil Mogg’s vocals are superb, and he gives these versions of their songs a great kick. The star for me is still Michael Schenker, who despite his own feelings on the versions of the songs offered here again proves what a maestro he was with his instrument in his hands. His solos still steal the show on more occasions than not. His soloing on “Love to Love” is extraordinary, and the riffs throughout on “Lights Out”, “Doctor Doctor”, “Natural Thing” and “Only You Can Love Me” are superb. But “Love to Love” is something special. The combination between the synth keyboard and guitar, the beautiful bass of Pete Way and drumming of Andy Parker, and Phil Mogg’s vocals make this live version of this song superior in every way from the studio version.

I mentioned earlier that I had heard the Michael Schenker Group early albums while in high school, and then I picked up a Schenker best of double LP at Illawarra Books and Records in my first year of uni, and first came across a few tracks from UFO. Not long after this, I found this album in the same second hand store, and bought it immediately. And I have honestly not stopped playing it in the 36 years since that day. As soon as I heard the first side of the first album, I was hooked. Trapped. Ensconced. It was Schenker who grabbed me – but how can you ignore the rest of the band? Each of them was just as instrumental to their success as their lead guitarist. I had this taped on a C90 cassette and it remained in my car for years, an easy go-to when I got in to drive somewhere and needed some musical company.
Not everyone will agree with me, but with the departure of Schenker from the group during this tour, UFO lost some of its lustre. They released plenty more albums, many of which are very good, but none of which could touch the pure joy and amazement of this live album.
There have been some brilliant and unforgettable live albums released over the years. Think Iron Maiden’s “Live After Death”, think Slayer’s “Decade of Aggression: Live”, think Deep Purple’s “Made in Japan”. For me, this is the equal of those albums. It is truly one the great live albums released by hard rock and heavy metal bands, and for me it is the pinnacle of this band’s career, a defining moment that not only showed off their excellence but sadly proved to be the end of their golden years with the moving on of Schenker to other projects.

1061. UFO / Obsession. 1978. 2.5/5

UFO the band had been busy over the middle years of the 1970’s decade, putting out several albums and building a respectable following throughout the world. On previous albums they had managed to mix some brilliant songs that still resonate when played with some material that feels a bit lacklustre and of a lesser quality than the absolute top shelf stuff. Much the same can be said of Obsession which capped off the period with an ambivalence that could be said to be harsh on one hand but fair on the other.

I’ve always felt that there was only one heavy hitter song on this album, and it happens to be the lead track, “Only You Can Rock Me”. It remains the one song that stands out from the crowd on this release, and is still instantly recognisable whenever it is played today. The fact that it signals a lowering of the boom once it is over is what is troubling about this album.
As for the rest of the songs, I think they can be categorised pretty swiftly into two groups, the good and the average. It turns out that the majority of the good songs have Michael Schenker as a co-writer, whereas the majority of the average songs do not. Into the former group of good songs you can list tracks such as “Pack It Up (and Go)”, “Hot and Ready” and “Cherry”. Each of these has a better tempo, a slice of Schenker shredding on guitar and great Phil Mogg vocals. These songs follow my idea of the better UFO songs more closely than those in the average group, songs like the three end tracks on Side A of the album in “Arbory Hill”, “Ain’t No Baby” and “Lookin’ Out For No. 1”. “Arbory Hill” is a Schenker short guitar instrumental that serves no real purpose on the album and doesn’t lift anything. “Ain’t No Baby” and “Lookin’ Out For No. 1” fall too much on the side of soft rock ballad. I never cease to be disappointed when I listen to this album and hear these two songs again. “One More for the Rodeo” is probably one of the better tracks again, but I’m not sure if this is only because it is sandwiched between “You Don’t Fool Me” and “Born to Lose”, which even for AOR songs are stretching the friendship just a little too far.

This album was the final one that Michael Schenker played on for UFO for almost fifteen years and it was going out with a whimper rather than a bang. While the band is competent here, the music just feels as though it is going through a recycling process and that they were beginning to strain out the hard rock side of the songs and fall into the comfortable AOR radio sound instead. That being the case, I am happy to leave that right here.

Rating: “Who’s taking time out, who’ll take a shot now”. 2.5/5

1060. UFO / Lights Out. 1977. 3.5/5

Looking back on the UFO discography it is sometimes remarkable how the albums themselves aren’t similar, but the category or line-up of songs on them can be so similar. Most appear to be dominated by two or three songs while the rest can perhaps be seen to be making up the numbers. There would have been no way of knowing that would be the case in the writing process, but once again here it feels as though the quality and signature songs are the ones that brighten the album the best, and that they are the ones that Michael Schenker’s guitar dominates.

How this album could ever be regarded as ‘heavy metal’ is beyond me, because there is very little here that could be related to that genre. Indeed, the more you listen to it, the more you come to understand that it spends most of its life in a completely different setting. For this album the band brought in the addition of Paul Raymond who not only handled rhythm guitar but with the added bonus of mixing in some keyboards into the songs. UFO had used keys on their albums before but Raymond’s addition to the band made it a real focus. And it is the keyboards which almost typically tie this album and most of its tracks to this period, with that AOR sound coming to the fore. This is especially true of “Just Another Suicide” which always feels as though it was meant to be a heavier song, but because of the piano that dominates through the bridge and chorus it is transformed into a perfectly reasonable AOR song, but not a heavy track by any stretch of the imagination. “Try Me” is an even further regression as such, as every time I hear it I can’t help but think it is far too similar to an Eagles song with Joe Walsh on vocals, except this is even more of a ballad track. It seems such a waste, because UFO didn’t need these kind of standard ballad tracks to succeed, did they?
“Getting’ Ready” is more or less a straight up and down rock track, one of those songs that an album has to have to keep it ticking over in the middle. “Alone Again Or” is a cover of the song originally written by the band Love, and it too sounds from that era of the early 1970’s. To me in fact it sounds a hell of a lot like a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song. Like “Try Me”, I really don’t think this fits in at all. “Electric Phase” which follows has a better sound to it, though even here it feels as though the band should have been really stretching out and giving this song the opportunity to really get going, to let the handbrake off and let the harder edge and speed come into play.
When it comes down to it, there are only three songs on this album that are truly worth finding it for. “Too Hot to Handle” is a jaunty opening, a song with a good riff and singalong vocals that opens the album on the right foot and in the right mood. This is then framed by the closing song on Side A of the album, the title track “Lights Out”. This has been, and remains, my favourite UFO song. The opening bars to the guttural riff underneath the bridge and chorus, to Schenker’s brilliant solo and wonderful undertones from both Pete Way and Andy Parker, this is the top of the tree for me. Then the album closing track “Love to Love” does all the great things that an epic track should. It’s not a ballad, but it is the way all ballads should be, because it has heart and emotion and fantastic vocals from Phil Mogg. To top it all off, Schenker’s guitar solo to complete the song and album is superb and perfectly performed. And having criticised slightly the use of the keyboards in other songs, here on both “Lights Out” and “Love to Love” the keyboards work perfectly, and enhance rather than reign in the songs.

This was UFO’s highest charting album and is generally regarded as their best. To be honest I don’t think there is much that separates this from two or three other of their albums of this era. All of them have some great songs and some average songs. Here again there are, in my opinion, three great songs, two good songs and three that I don’t get a lot out of. It mightn’t be one that I’d put on a list of ‘must listen-to albums’, and it is still one that I like rather than love.

Rating: “From the back streets there’s a rumbling, smell of anarchy”. 3.5/5

1059. UFO / Phenomenon. 1974. 4/5

The early years of the band UFO appear from this distance in time as being on a completely different timeline from what the band eventually travelled through the decade of the 1970’s.
Lead singer Phil Mogg, guitarist Mick Bolton, bassist Pete Way and drummer Andy Parker formed the band in 1968 and having signed to Beacon Records they had released their debut album “UFO 1” in 1970, and was quickly followed by their second album, “UFO 2: Flying”. While neither album had reached the charts, and indeed at this time UFO attracted little interest in Britain and America, a single had attracted some sales in Germany, reaching #30 on their singles charts. The majority of their early work on both of these albums was strongly influenced by space rock - indeed, their second album featuring a 26-minute title track and a 19-minute-long track "Star Storm" and was subtitled One Hour Space Rock. Following that second album that was modestly popular at the time, the band soon realised the style was somewhat limited. Mick Bolton left the group in January 1972, and UFO set out to find a guitarist who could provide the band with a more standard rock sound.
After flirtations with future Motorhead guitarist Larry Wallis and future Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden, who played as a temporary touring guitarist for the band when they toured Europe, the band recruited Michael Schenker from the Scorpions in June 1973. Scorpions had opened up for UFO on that European tour, and they were so impressed with the young guitar maestro, who was only 18 years of age but already a well-respected guitarist, that they asked him to join. Having consulted his brother Rudolph, who gave his blessing, the deal was done. The injection of Schenker both on guitar and as a songwriter, meant that UFO were ready to make the jump from 60 based space rock band to fully fledged hard rock icons, and the first step to that process was the writing and recording of their first album together, titled “Phenomenon”.

Breaking away from their space rock style, UFO produce an album here that mixes a style that is of the mainstream hard rock of the era along with the extended instrumental passages that were common on the first two albums. The opening salvo of “Too Young to Know” has a sound that incorporates a sound similar to contemporary bands such as Bad Company and Free, as well as the Rolling Stones. Phil Mogg’s smooth vocals are the immediate focal point of the song, while Michael Schenker’s easy listening guitar also makes its presence felt through the majority of the song. The rhythm of Andy Parker’s drums and Pete Way’s bass guitar keep the momentum throughout the song. “Crystal Light” generally sticks to the same style of song that the band had produced on their first two albums, without it stretching beyond almost four minutes that this song goes for. There is an almost-Eagles-like feel to this song, in the quiet tones of the song rather than any of the country rock themes that band had around this time.
The star attraction of the album, and the first sign of the band’s growing direction, comes next with “Doctor Doctor”. From the subdued guitar beginning, into the Schenker riff supported by Parker’s hard drums, and then into the main riff of the song, this is the song where your ears immediately prick up and think ‘wow... that’s different!’ And it is as brilliant today as it was 50 years ago. This is where the harder edge of the band began to appear, and the popularity and success of this song is what drove what came beyond this album. Great melody, heavier sound, and Schenker’s guitaring, including amazing solo. The genesis of what UFO became is the basis of this track.
“Space Child” follows a similar type of path to “Crystal Light”, a quiet introspective song dominated by Mogg’s soaring vocals in the first half of the song and then Schenker’s restrained guitar solo in the middle of the track. This is followed by the other dominant hard rock track of the album, “Rock Bottom”, where again it is Schenker and his guitar that steals the show. It takes centre stage from the very beginning of the song, driven by Andy Parker’s drums through the opening section of the song alongside Mogg’s vocals. Once we reach the middle of the song it is Schenker’s freeform guitar solo that takes command, enhanced by the quite brilliant bass line from Pete Way in conjunction. It is a superb few minutes of music, showcasing both Schenker’s talents and again exacerbating the direction the band was to go on the back of songs such as this. Schenker would always extend the solo section when the song was played live, which again is always a treat. Alongside “Doctor Doctor” this is one of the band’s greatest songs.
Side two sits back in the middle range of the rock/hard rock genre. It opens with “Oh My”, a solid rock track, and moves into “Time on My Hands”, a song I feel mirrors the Eagles feel of “Crystal Light”, inoffensive but not with the power of the major songs here. “Built for Comfort” is a cover of the Willie Dixon blues song, and seems like a slight mismatch to the other material here. “Lipstick Traces” is motivated by the previous track, and instrumental concentrating on the quiet technical side of Michael Schenker’s guitar skills. It a likeable song, though again feels slightly out of place. The album then concludes with “Queen of the Deep”, a creeper that builds from a slow start to a bigger finish, again in the main through Mogg and his terrific vocal line and the Schenker/Parker/Way solid rhythm, with Michael’s solo again concertina-ed with Pete Way’s bass line and Andy Parker’s collared drumming.

When I first started listening to the UFO studio albums, it was a tough experience. I had first discovered the band on a Michael Schenker Anthology two album collection I had bought from my go-to second hand record store, Illawarra Books and Records, in 1988, and then from the same store the amazing live album “Strangers in the Night”, which was the first episode of this season of the podcast, back in January. That album acted as a best-of album for me for the band, and so I started to delve back into the studio albums that preceded that live album. The problem being, given how good all of those songs sounded live, it was difficult to go back and listen to studio versions of the same songs that didn't have the same energy and tempo.
This meant that once I first got “Phenomenon”, I found the songs and music to be much slower and less intense than I was expecting. Given that by the end of the 70’s decade the band had built itself up to being a furious hard rock band verging at times into NWOBHM style heavy metal, some of the songs on this album ailed to mesh with me at the time, and while I didn’t hate it, it wasn’t in the genre of music that I was very much into at that time.
In more recent years when I’ve gone to the album, it has been far more entertaining. Because I’m older? Because I’m more tolerant? Probably bits of both. But I think the main thing I did was realise that I love this band, so surely if I listen to this album and ACTUALLY listen to it, then I will enjoy it. And that is what occurred. Taking the time to listening to the album and not trying to make it something it isn’t. Because it’s not a 1980’s heavy metal album, it’s an album that is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and it was a band that was still discovering exactly what they wanted to be, especially with a brand new guitarist joining the ranks for this album.
I’ve had this on my playlist rotation for the past three weeks, and on top of that I have spent the past two days listening only to this album, back-to-back, over and over again. So in this three week period that’s approximately 30 times I have listened to this album from start to finish. And each time I grow more entranced with it again. Even now after all these years, I have picked up pieces that I haven’t really noticed before, and others that have grown in stature for me. That brilliant bass line from Pete Way underneath Schenker’s guitar solo in “Rock Bottom”, Phil Mogg’s vocal melody in “Oh My”, the wonderful mood of “Queen of the Deep”. All of those things are just a part of the mystique and beauty of “Phenomenon” as an album.
This was the first of a five album stretch that the band did through the 1970’s that is the golden era of UFO. All of it is terrific. This song is the leading light to where they were headed over those years.

1058. Symphony X / V: The New Mythology Suite. 2000. 4/5

From the very beginning Symphony X has produced albums of the highest quality, that are immediately catchy and have all the hallmarks of the best musicians going around. Building this reputation throughout the 1990’s the dawn of the new millennium brought forth their fifth album, one that drew together all the best pieces of their music that they had written to this time, and began to push them in a direction that would define the future sound of the band.

People have said that it sounds like a movie soundtrack, which isn’t a bad comparison given it is a concept album in its own right. Orchestrally (through the keys of Michael Pinella of course) it has very much that feel to it, which highlights the progressive nature of the music. The music fits the purpose, with the story of being told through the lyrics. Whether you are inclined to enjoy a concept album for the story or not is not as relevant as how much you enjoy the songs themselves, and once again the band has done a great job under the direction of the supreme Michael Romeo. Are there moments it gets a bit much? For me there are a few pieces that it goes too far in the progressive nature, where the keyboards are too much of the picture and the vocals are too high and airy, and a sense of power and momentum gets lost. This is a small thing to pick at, but it is there all the same.
How accessible Symphony X’s music is will always be a matter of debate. Every single one of the band members are magnificent on their chosen instrument. Russell Allen’s vocals are quite amazing, continuing to explore regions that many cannot with their vocal chords. Because of the nature of the songs written he often has to move to higher regions which he has little trouble in succeeding to do. Michael Pinnella’s keyboards and synths are a masterpiece, constantly able to create an atmosphere that defies and expands the songs as they are written. On these songs he has managed to make each song sound fuller and packed solid just through his own playing, and that is quite an achievement. Jason Rullo’s drumming on his return to the band is just as fantastic, driving the album along as the pace it deserves and requires. Bass guitarist Michael Lepond joins here for his first album with the band and makes his presence felt immediately with those rolling fingers up and down the fretboard giving that bottom end a perfect base. On top of all of this is the maestro Michael Romeo whose guitaring once again is a standout, able to switch between the songs where his input is more in the background of the orchestral arrangement and the songs where he takes centre stage and shows off his wares in a flurry. All of this together sometimes can scare off the average music listener, who don’t want this kind of sound throughout their songs. They want simple, straight to the point songs with a riff, maybe a solo, some lyrics and finish. That’s not what Symphony X do, they explore the ether of the progressive metal elements, pushing beyond what may feel like a simple length for a song and continue where others fear to tread. In the same way that Dream Theater has done for so many years, this album gives you everything and more.

This proved to be a bridge between the opening age of Symphony X and its future. Behind lay the progressive stage with those passages that sometimes sounded like a freeform metal song archive, driven in the first by the keys and synths. Coming up became the heavier definition of the band, where the music and vocals took that metal edge and began to explore what they could do with it. V: The New Mythology Suite is the bridge of the transformation, and the walk across is just as satisfying as the view of what is on the other side.

Rating: “Living by the law of the ages, prophets and sages forging Utopia”. 4/5

1057. Stryper / Soldiers Under Command. 1985. 3.5/5

If you come looking for Stryper albums, then you know what is involved. You can be Christian, you can be ambivalent, and that’s entirely up to you. But you should be coming for the music, and if that is what you are looking for then you will find a reasonable balnce of the good and bad that this genre and style of music can offer.

There are a couple of… terrible… songs. There’s just no other way I can describe them. Those terrible awful ballad tracks that for some reason bands insist they must produce in order to sell their records. Or gain airplay. Or something like that. Yes, I know there are some people out there who like them, but for me they can destroy what otherwise are perfectly decent albums. So here Stryper has produced a couple of beauties, those being “First Love”, which is so sickly sweet it encourages a gagging reflex every time I have to listen to it without skipping, and “Together As One” which is pretty much on the same level. I’m sure the band thinks they are a valuable addition to the album. No, they’re not. They destroy the momentum and feel of the album in its tracks. In the days of vinyl and cassettes I used to cut these songs out when I recorded it for the car, and it made the album a hell of a lot better.
Away from this, the solid base of the album comes from the songs such as “Makes Me Wanna Sing” and “Reach Out” which are the best type that Stryper put forward, hard rock songs that put forth their message but also give it to you with guitars and great vocals. “Together Forever” and “(Waiting For) A Love That’s Real” are also better than average tracks. “Surrender” and “Battle Hymn of the Republic” don’t quite finish off the album as great as it could, but neither do they destroy what has gone before it.
On the other hand, there are two songs here that stack up with the best of anything that was produced by hair metal bands throughout the decade of the 1980’s. The title track “Soldiers Under Command” and the first side closer “The Rock That Makes Me Roll” showcase the best that Stryper can offer, with the twin guitars of Michael Sweet and Oz Fox paired off with their amazing vocal work, and driven by the rhythm of Robert Sweet’s ‘visual timekeeping’ and Tim Gaines bass guitar. Both are terrific songs that call for pumping fists and banging heads and are the absolute highlights of the album.

Take the themes of the lyrics as you like, you can either live by them or ignore them. But the songs as a whole throughout are excellent if you enjoy the style of music that came with the hair metal generation of the 1980’s. Michael Sweet’s vocals are always the highlight for me of a Stryper album, the notes he hits are still amazing, while the trading guitars licks and solos of Sweet and Fox are more than good enough to keep the average punter interested. Knock your Christian socks off and listen to (most of) this album and there should be something there for you to enjoy.

Rating: “Stand up and fight, for what you believe in”. 3.5/5

1056. Guns n' Roses / G N' R Lies [EP]. 1988. 4/5

Guns N’ Roses debut album “Appetite for Destruction” had been a slow burner across most of the world. It was really 12 months after it was released before it finally began to take traction and began to sell in the millions worldwide. And because of this slow burn, the release of this EP came as somewhat of a surprise. Under normal circumstances, 17 months after an album’s release was probably a good time frame to come in with this album. Three singles had been released in that time frame, including “Sweet Child O’ Mine” which had come out five months prior to this. However, two further singles from that first album were still to come months after this release, with “Paradise City” being the big seller of them. Indeed, there was only one single released from this EP, and that wouldn’t be until April the following year, a few months after “Paradise City” had stormed the charts itself.
All of this combined to add some confusion to what the band and/or the record company was trying to achieve. And perhaps it was just simply that neither was aware of how this movement in popularity was gathering. Could either have guessed the success that “Paradise City” received when it was released, some 18 months after the album had first been put out? If they had, would they have delayed the release of “Lies” purely from a financial point of view? Or did the release of “Lies” when it was, riding the wave of the still-building Guns N’ Roses fanbase, allow it to not only get sales at that time, but more six months later, when the single release of “Patience” also went ballistic on the back of the success of “Paradise City”, and then poured more money into the coffers with those people then rushing out to purchase “Lies” as well? Whatever reason you come up with, it turned out to be a pretty profitable time for the band and their moguls.

The opening four tracks are all in a faux-live setting and made up the original EP “Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide”, which was released by the band prior to the arrival of “Appetite for Destruction”, with the release limited to just 10,000 copies. There are two songs from the band Hollywood Rose that Izzy Stradlin and Axl Rose originally formed which eventually morphed into Guns n’ Roses, and had all members apart from Duff McKagan in at one time or another. Those two songs are “Reckless Life” and “Move to the City”, and both are upbeat and fast paced songs that hint at the style of songs that was to come from the band. “Nice Boys” is a cover of an old Rose Tattoo song, and the band does a great version here, losing none of the original attitude. The fourth and final song here is an Aerosmith cover called “Mama Kin” which is the weakest of the four songs but is still a vast improvement on the original. Which wouldn’t be hard for most Aerosmith songs.
The four remaining songs are all performed acoustically and predated what was to become a glut of similar releases, driven in part by this release. It led to the hit single “Patience” which found itself on heavy radio rotation around the world, and in itself pushed other bands such as Extreme and Mr Big to release their own big selling acoustic numbers. This then led to the popular “MTV Unplugged” program that brought together whole sets of bands numbers played acoustically. Here of course there was only one actually released song that got this treatment, being “Your Crazy” which was faster and much more electric on the “Appetite for Destruction” album. This version was apparently more in the realm of the way they wanted the song to sound, which to me is ‘crazy’ (pun intended I guess) because the faster version is much better. “Patience” was the only single released, while both “Used to Love Her” and “One in a Million” are great sounding songs with lots of energy and performed with gusto. There is some degree of controversy over “One in a Million” in particular, with the use of some words that are taboo in describing racism and homophobia, and it is a shame that they overshadow what is a terrific tune and a song that is played superbly by the band in this instance.

As an accompanying piece with their debut album, "Lies” still stacks up well. With their continued growing popularity, this kept the band well and truly in the public’s hearing alongside their debut album. It’s a short sharp jab in the ribs and serves its purpose well. It may not be a go-to album on many occasions, but when you get around to it you remember just what made it so special. The combination of live sounding tracks and the acoustic based tracks actually works well as an EP, and combines both sides of the band in a terrific way.
When this was first released, I felt an aversion to buying it, and as a result didn't really give it a good listen until a few years later. Why? Well, the reason turned out to be that I wanted to be different from the crowd. “G N' R Lies” came out at a time when, in Australia at least, “Appetite for Destruction” was still in the throes of taking hold of the listening public, so it was actually the ’in-thing’ to enjoy Guns n' Roses as a mainstream act. When this EP came out, and with it the mixture of live and acoustic songs, those jumping on the bandwagon grabbed it with glee, and as a result I felt an aversion to liking it for fear that I would be lumped in with this popular music seeking crowd. Yes, the age of youth was upon me, however stupid that does appear in retrospect. And it is. The fact that "Patience" was such a hit made me withdraw even more from this release when it first came out. I wasn't a fan of the hit machine, which is what these acoustic tracks became, and led to so many hard rock and metal bands seeking to 'sell out' and perform songs just for radio exposure. It really stopped me actually buying into this album until the mid-1990's, at which point I discovered the great material that lay within, and not for the first time wondered why I was so stupid in the early years to deprive myself of this because of 'music fashion'. In the end, I had again been the one to suffer through my own desire to ‘not fit in’. Idiot.
Everything about this album still holds up today. I have had this going around for a few times a day for the last few weeks, and I haven’t gotten sick of it yet. The popularity of this album then bled into the soon to be released “Use Your Illusion” albums, as Guns N’ Roses continued, if only for a short glimmer of time, to rule the music world in all genres.

1055. Guns n' Roses / Use Your Illusion II. 1991. 3/5.

From the outset, the appearance of Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II on the same day created mayhem amongst fans of Guns n' Roses who had been waiting with anticipation for new material from the band. Two albums meant a lot of juggling when it came to listen and giving all of the material a fair chance to grow with love. Over time I came to enjoy the mix of material on Use Your Illusion I, and over time I came to consider just where it was that Use Your Illusion II couldn't quite match up to it.

There are two great songs on this album, ones that have resonated through time and still stand out as the best here every time they come on. The album opener “Civil War” is a classic, with its opening monologue taken from the movie “Cool Hand Luke”, the moody start to the hard and emotional ride beyond, it is one of the songs that shows the other side to Guns n’ Roses, not just the crass and pissed off side, the one where the band’s lifestyle comes through in the lyrics. “Civil War” shows a mature side, a meaningful side to the band’s song writing, and for me it is one of their best songs. The other is “You Could Be Mine” which found its way onto the soundtrack of “Terminator 2: Judgement Day”, and it too shows the technical side of the band and its musicians. It is a heavy, rollicking song that reaches for the pinnacle, and tests the limits of any singer’s vocal chords. Hard hitting drums, awesome guitars and great lyrics make for a terrific song and the best the band can offer.
Beyond this there are other layers of songs that fill the album, some are good and others are really only average. Unlike the other album I don't believe the songs tie together as well here as they do on it, and whether that is because most of this is 'newer' material is not something I can answer.
Sitting in the middle would be songs such as the piano ragtime sensibilities of "14 Years" which I alternately enjoy or dismiss depending on my mood at the time. "Yesterdays" again is heavily based around the piano and the tempo probably precludes my total enjoyment of the track. The cover version of "Knocking on Heaven's Door" doesn't do it for me like its sister track from Use Your Illusion I, "Live and Let Die", probably only for the fact that I've never really liked the song anyway. It's okay for the mix of songs available.
"Get in the Ring" is an abusive laden sledge fest at critics and hangers on over the career of the band, with little left to the imagination as to what they really think of those people mentioned. Once again, as with "Yesterdays" I can really get into this song on some days and on others I can quiet happily skip it if I'm not in the mood. "Shotgun Blues" is closer to the sound the band gave us on their first album and is more recognisable as a result. "Breakdown" is fine but a bit long on the run time. "Pretty Tied Up (The Perils of Rock 'n' Roll Decadence)" has its moments where it is fun to listen to, and for the most part so is "Locomotive (Complicity)", but once again it just goes on way beyond the length of time it needs to.
"So Fine" is written by and sung by Duff McKagan, and apart from that novelty the song is about average for the rest of the album. For my taste it is too slow and maudlin at the beginning to be an enjoyable track before it breaks out towards the end.
"Estranged" is a long winded, overblown extravagance of a song that goes nowhere and takes an eternity to do so. I have never found anything even remotely terrific about this track. With so many of these tracks it feels like they have been extended purely to try and get the album up to its maximum length of 78 minutes that a CD would hold in those good old days of the early 1990's. Sure, quantity can be better, but only if it is quality.
"Don't Cry" is the second version of this song, with alternate lyrics from the twin track that appears on Use Your Illusion I. I haven't ever been a fan of either version. "My World" completes the album in reasonable fashion without being able to rescue it from its own averageness.

As I said in my review of Use Your Illusion I, taking the best songs from both albums and combining it into just one would have been a much better idea, and produced a much better product. With that in mind, I don't think there would have been a great deal of material from this album that would end up on a combined effort. Much of this feels and sounds forced, and without great inspiration. Others may disagree, but unless there is some stimulant involved I can't get overly excited about what is contained within.

Rating: "I'm a cold heart-breaker, fit to burn, and I'll rip your heart in two". 3/5

1054. Bloodbound / Nosferatu. 2006. 4/5

In this wonderful modern age of music, the advent of digital music platforms has not only opened the doors of bands around the world to find a larger and wider fan base, it has made the discovery of those bands and albums so much easier for the music lover. And sometimes, when all of the algorithms work right and you get recommendations for album and bands that you might like that you've never heard, you find an album or band that lights up your life for a moment in time. And that is exactly what happened for me and Nosferatu.

There are albums that technically mightn’t be brilliant but that I love just for the music and especially the vocals. HammerFall’s Glory to the Brave is a leading example of that, in that it mightn't be instrumentally perfectly proficient but it has great tunes and superb vocals. This is another case in point and given that I discovered it in much the same way as I did that HammerFall album perhaps it isn't coincidental. The galloping beat of the double kick drums sets the tempo in every song, followed by those happy power metal guitars and brilliant double tracked vocals from Urban Breed create the perfect setting for anyone who enjoys this kind of metal. For me it is important that there are no power ballads here at all, no attempt to slow the whole album down by partaking in that style of metal that requires that kind of song to make it popular with the masses. No, not here on Bloodbound’s debut, all you get is upmarket speed with great guitars and soaring vocals throughout, with no respite. This gets bonus points for that alone. This has, for the most part, my favourite parts of this genre of metal without the crap. It might sound like it’s a formula as you listen, as the base of each song has a similar feel and sound because of the way the drums and bass come together. Some would say that this is exactly what all power metal is like. Personally, I don’t care how similar sounding the songs are as long as they are enjoyable and fun. And as it turns out, that’s what this album does for me. When I put it on, it lifts my mood immediately.
The opening track “Behind the Moon” is a beauty, immediately setting forth the solid base of what is to follow. “Into the Dark” is a great follow up, while the title track “Nosferatu” is another terrific song based around the double kick drum and excellent vocals. “Metal Monster” and “Crucified” continue the excellent material well into the middle of the album, each showcasing the best moments that the band has to offer. Then “Desdemonamelia” starts off at a furious pace before changing back and forth between a traditional heavy song and its power metal roots.
While many people have likened this album to a power metal version of Iron Maiden, I think the real influences can be heard in “Fallen from Grace” and “Scream in the Night”. “Fallen from Grace” has two verses that are sung very closely to the way the verses in Helloween’s “Eagle Fly Free” are sung and remind me heavily of it, while it is the guitar solo’s in “Scream in the Night” that have a heavily influenced Helloween sound about them. Great stuff. “For the King” continues in this direction, before “Midnight Sun” and “For the Battlefield” end the album on a great note.

Music is all about lifting your mood, enlightening your day and allowing your pain and anguish to drain away while you listen to it. For me at least, this album does this with relative ease. Put it on and give me four scotches and I’ll soar with the vocals for the length of the album. It won’t be to everyone’s taste, and I can even hear where people will have issues with the music. The love of music is subjective, and Bloodbound here have created the kind of album I can get on board with without a care in the world. Long live ballad-less power metal, and long live Nosferatu.

Rating: “With the light of day comes no sanctuary, as the shadows fade away”. 4/5

1053. Edguy / Theater of Salvation. 1999. 3.5/5

Much like contemporaries such as Sonata Arctica and Stratovarius, my everlasting problem with Edguy is the composition of their albums. You can generally split the songs into two categories, that being the faster and heavier versions of their metal songs and the slower ballad version of their metal songs. And for the most part their albums always excite me but also leave me feeling disappointed because of this. Theater of Salvation is no different on that scale.

The instrumental short "The Healing Vision" opens the album before leading straight into “Babylon” which is a terrific opening track that flies along from the outset with great vocals from Tobi Sammat. This is followed by “The Headless Game” which has a moodier and traditional heavier start to the song with a mid-tempo pace. “Land of the Miracle” is more or less a piano based power ballad, which by my definition takes any power out of the song. It’s okay for what it is, and the vocals are what really drives the song, but it's these kinds of songs that annoy me more than most others in all forms of music.
“Wake Up the King” sounds great, though the vocal lines seem little strange, even after all these years. They just don’t seem to follow what is being played instrumentally, and this is still off-putting. "Falling Down" slips back into that mid-tempo double kick scheme with Tobi sitting more or less in the one voice register, and mixes in a nice solo slot through the middle of the song as well as an inbuilt crowd singalong "woah-oh-oh-ooooh" leading into the final chorus. This leads straight into the faster "Arrows Fly" which kicks the tempo back up again, and is one of my favourites on the album, filled with those great power metal guitars while the vocals soar over the top without trying to do anything outrageous. Great stuff.
“Holy Shadows” is another song where the vocals in the chorus just seem out of ‘tune’ to what is being played musically. It's really very strange, and don’t feel right at all. It's a shame, because the rest of the song is really quite good, but I have trouble getting past this. “Another Time” is yet another piano based power ballad, and it doesn't matter how good Tobi sounds on this, it just makes me shudder every time I hear it. Yes, as always, I know what I've signed up for when I found and loved power metal bands. It doesn't mean I'll stop complaining about these kinds of songs though.
“The Unbeliever” is a MUCH better song, full of hard hitting drums, great vocals and terrific guitars. It immediately brings the right mood back to the album, one that should never have left it. Tobi sings hard and it is infinitely better than any ballad. Another of my favourite songs on this album. The album is then finished off by the epic title track, which flows from one mood to another in a satisfying climax.
There is a reasonable argument that Tobi has moved on from Edguy the band – that his Avantasia project has become his major focus over the past decade. Even at the time that this album was released it could be said to be true. The first Avantasia album was only a couple of years away from being released, and there are passages here that are reminiscent of the direction he went with it.

I always felt that the Edguy discography was growing towards something, improving with each album along the way until they reached their zenith, the album that would give the band the standing they deserved. While Theater of Salvation is not that album, it is yet another step closer to that goal. Like their previous albums there is plenty to like here and enjoy.

Rating: "I am the vision that comes to your mind when you denounce without regret". 3.5/5

1052. Primal Fear / Jaws of Death. 1999. 3.5/5

The exponential growth of the power metal genre in Europe through the 1990’s saw an explosion in not only the number of bands coming together to create the music, but the popularity of the music as a whole. Primal Fear, the band put together by former Gamma Ray lead vocalist Ralf Scheepers and Sinner bass guitarist Matt Sinner, were already in that explosion when they formed their partnership, and the release of the eponymous debut album created a new band with a sound that was in synch with the music being created.
On initial reflection, “Jaws of Death” is an album where none of the songs are outstanding, in the way that they jump out at you and make you love them. All the songs are solid and perhaps generic as a result, but in an age where singles were rarer, this album fits in with that ideal. There aren’t any songs here that you would immediately consider putting on a playlist of favourite tracks. There are no real standout tracks.
While Kai Hansen had provided lead guitar on three tracks of the debut album, for the second album the band brought in Stefan Leibing as the second guitarist, giving the band a true five-member platform, with both Tom Naumann and Matt Sinner providing keyboards on the album when necessary.

The opening of the instrumental “Jaws of Death” which then segues into “Final Embrace” is a good solid start to the album, coming at you in a fast tempo set by the double kick drums of Klaud Sperling, with a singalong chorus that makes the opening a good one. This is followed in quick succession by “Save a Prayer” which moves along a similar path with a nice solo break in the middle of the song. “Church of Blood” has more attitude in both music and vocals, the double kick drum driving the song along and Ralf’s vocals feel like they are more engaged and makes for a better listen, while “Into the Future” carries on along that same line of punchy drums and guitars and a great example of the range of vocals that Ralf Scheepers possesses.
The beginning of “Under Your Spell” brings about very strong similarities to the start of Judas Priest’s classic track “Out in the Cold” such is the similar way the keyboard opening sounds. Unlike that terrific song, this one is a bit dreary and just doesn’t quite manage to gather the momentum that has come before it. It sounds great, but it does feel like a missed opportunity to lay down a more memorable song. On the other hand, “Play to Kill” kicks back in at the right tempo and gets the album moving again in the right direction. A great guitar riff drives the songs and sets the stage for Ralf’s vocals to steal the show.
Moving into the second half of the album, the songs continue in the tempo that the band has set up in the first half, without any real change in which to differentiate what is going on. “Nation in Fear” is a case in point, sounding a bit stale and generic in song structure. “When the Night Comes” is a slightly slower tempo, a steady track that sounds very much like an AC/DC song. It’s an interesting cohesion within. Beyond this comes the final two songs, “Fight to Survive” and “Hatred in My Soul”, both which get back closer to what would be an optimum pace for this band, with Ralf again combining melodic vocals to create a more pleasing finish.
The band sounds great. Tom Naumann and Stefan Leibing on guitars do a great job and have some excellent moments when soloing. The rhythm of drummer Klaus Sperling and band leader Matt Sinner on bass is solid throughout and provide the platform, but for me it is perhaps just a bit too regimented for my liking. The double kick drums keep an even tempo throughout, which is probably just missing a bit of excitement to help lift some songs out of the average.
Trying to blend those high range vocals into the music being written is a tough task at any level. And this is where this just falls down a bit as well. Ralf Scheepers tends to sit back in a more comfortable vocal range than he has for some time throughout most of the album. As a result, it does give the songs a flatter feel musically, because we know what he is capable of. Perhaps in trying to keep his vocals in a safe zone with the songs he has cut out one of his best attributes.

Having been drawn into Primal Fear by the Gamma Ray connection on their debut album, it was a no brainer that I had to check out the follow up release in order to see just what the band could produce on their sophomore album. All of the right ingredients had been put forth on that first album without creating any massive waves. My hope was that the band would gel together better both musically and in the writing process and produce something that would be amazing. That may have been ambitious thinking on my part.
There is a trade-off between what you want and what you have. Primal Fear is a heavier version of the power metal genre because they stick with the dual guitar attack and tone out the keyboards to a bare minimum here. On the other hand, they also omit the super double-kick pace that comes with the speed metal aspect, and that drags the whole feel of the album back a little. And while everything sounds good here, there’s just a feeling that it is missing something that would have taken it to the next level.
I first ventured down the Primal Fear path just over 20 years ago, at the time when I was going down the Euro metal rabbit hole. The first album that I heard was actually the band’s follow up to this album, “Nuclear Fire”, and then “Black Sun”, both of which I loved immediately. Once I went backwards to get the first two albums, both seemed like they were a first step towards the sound that came on those two albums I first heard. It isn’t that “Jaws of Death” is an average album, it is just one where the band hasn’t quite found the best way to utilise their talents and find the sound that was to become their ideal medium. I have pulled out this album over the last week to catch up on what I have missed, as it has been a long time since I listened to this album, and overall my opinion hasn’t changed that much. The album is fine, but it doesn’t have the hooks you need for an album to grab you. Better was to come, at least in my opinion, and that was when Ralf pulled out his whole singing arsenal, and the band pushed harder and faster alongside him.
When it comes to the bands that led Europe through the 1990’s power metal explosion and into the 2000’s, Primal Fear is one of the flag bearers. Their style of music is not the keyboard-dominated one of many of the power metal bands of the continent and as a result they have the harder edge to their music that allows them to cross genres. Both the eponymous debut album “Primal Fear” and this follow up album “Jaws of Death” are a building of that style that Primal Fear took on as their own. As a result of finding their own style these two albums are both good without pushing the boundaries to their limits. That was something that came after this.

1051. Megadeth / Live Trax [EP]. 1997. 5/5

At the time I found this at my favourite record store (Utopia Records in Sydney for those who are interested) Megadeth had no official live album on the market. In the years since of course there are several, as well as old concerts released on deluxe editions of past album re-released, not to mentioned bootlegged gigs. But in 1997 when I found this there was nothing, and I can honestly say I was excited to find it.

The live EP contains seven songs within six tracks, with the opening salvo of “Reckoning Day” and “Peace Sells” combined into the first track. It was recorded over two locations, at Phoenix, Arizona (to which Dave announces is now “Megadeth, Arizona!”) and California. Being an EP it is necessarily short, but the songs selection was always going to be a concern.
The opening track “Reckoning Day” sounds fantastic, and segues perfectly into “Peace Sells” through the ending kick drum from the first song into the bass opening of the second track. Perfect symmetry. I like the introduction of “Angry Again” form the Last Action hero soundtrack, it’s a great song that could easily have been written off because it didn’t end up on a Megadeth album. The live version here is terrific. So too the live version of “Use the Man” from the Cryptic Writings album, on which the band was touring on at the time. Then comes the power and joy of “Tornado of Souls” which sounds fantastic live, as does “A Tout Le Monde” which follows it. Perhaps the star attraction for me here is “She-Wolf”. Before I got this EP I was undecided how much I enjoyed the song. Once I heard it live, I was hooked and sold.

I loved this from the outset. It’s a short sharp jab that whets your appetite before finishing all too abruptly, especially when the last thing you hear is “Now here’s one you’ll remember…” before fading out.
At the time of its released, this looked as though it was going to be the only live recorded material from the Mustaine/Ellefson/Friedman/Menza line up. Future re-releases of past albums have included live gigs with these four which is exactly as it should have been. Still, as a moment in time, this is still a great listen.

Rating: “Mother of all that is evil”. 5/5

1050. Megadeth / Rust in Peace. 1990. 5/5

Dave Mustaine always felt he was in a competition with Metallica, and despite three excellent albums of his own under the Megadeth banner he seemed to think he was always living in their shadow. How much all of this was taken into account when it came to writing and recording this album I don’t know, but as good as those early albums are, the stars aligned in what became the glittering jewel in the band’s catalogue with the release of Rust in Peace.

The coming together of this quartet was the final piece of the puzzle in bringing out the very best that Megadeth the band could produce. Previous drummers and guitarists had done a good job and performed well but various problems always meant that the revolving door in the band kept swinging. By 1990 there came two wonderful ingredients that made their influence felt from the get-go. In Nick Menza they had a drummer that understood the pace, precision and intensity that the drums needed to be in order to dominate and drive the songs that were being written. In Marty Friedman they had a technically brilliant guitarist who not only added expertise to the band but drove Mustaine himself to greater heights in order to ensure he wasn’t being ‘shown up’ and to keep everything on the same brilliant level.
Here again we can best judge a great album on not only the strength of the best known songs and their influence on the fans and other bands around the world, but on the songs that fill the other slots on the album. It’s an easy task to categorise the heavy hitters on the album, with the opening hostile attack of “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due” smashing the album off on the right foot before being followed by the brilliance of “Hangar 18”. The mainstay of “Hangar 18” is not the fun filled lyrics of space aliens being contained in secret hangars, but of the fantastic trading solos that make up the entire second half of the song. As Ellefson and Menza hold everything together in the background, Mustaine and Friedman tear it apart, reaching a crescendo at the end of the song where the rhythm is also cranked up to reach a brilliant conclusion. The third of the triumvirate is the thrash central core of “Tornado of Souls”. And that is not to categorise as these three songs as the only ‘great’ songs on the album, it’s just the ones most metalheads know well. To be honest I rate every track on this album as a great song, but the other songs here, the lesser known ones to those that aren’t out-and-out Megadeth fans, are absolutely enthralling.
“Take No Prisoners” is a ripping track, spitting lyrics and with great reply vocals in the right places and a furious soundtrack throughout with more great solo’s from Mustaine and Friedman that make it a classic. This is followed by “Five Magics” with more of the same. “Poison Was the Cure” is one of the most underrated songs in the Megadeth catalogue, flaying along at an amazing speed, highlighted by the precision timing of Menza’s drums and the picking of the three guitarists who don’t have time to take a break throughout the whole song. The cackling to start of “Lucretia” sets off a song with a brilliant groove throughout and offset by the solos towards the end, it is just another awesome track. “Dawn Patrol” sets itself perfectly in place after the fire and turbulence of “Tornado of Souls”, giving everyone a chance to catch their breath before delving into the closing track “Rust in Peace… Polaris” which ends in the same fury and fire that the album began with.
True thrash metal was probably reaching its use by date once 1990 rolled around, but this is one of the great hurrahs of the 1980’s exposition of the genre. But it is a different form, because the musicianship here is astounding and outstanding. Listen to those guitars of Mustaine and Friedman. They are simply outstanding. The bass work from Dave Ellefson is also just brilliant, and so essential to the sound of the album, and not buried in the mix such that occurred on another famous band’s album that was released just before this album. And on top of this Nick Menza’s drumming is superb. What makes this album so good and so listenable even all these years later is that each member is giving their moment to shine, to make a part of a song their own, and it is so much more enjoyable because of this. And it is metal of the highest order, something that made it almost impossible to replicate down the track.

Put this album up against any other metal album ever recorded, and it holds its own against it. It is furious and unrelenting, it is heavy yet accessible, and it is as brilliant and fantastic today as it was on the day it was released, which was the day when I first bought it and listened to it. In a year of amazing metal album releases, this one towered over the lot.

Rating: “I miss the warm embrace I felt, first time you touched me”.   5/5