1309. Scorpions / Moment of Glory. 2000. 4/5

Having reached 30 years as a band, and having survived the many tumultuous changes in music that had occurred over that period, there isn’t much that the Scorpions had not been able to see off. Their popularity had been rusted on with a number of popular album releases through the 1980’s that had produced iconic songs that lived in the memory of their fanbase, and was then topped off with the worldwide success of their 1990 album “Crazy World” and the chart topping song “Wind of Change” that had tapped into the public sentiment about the bringing down of the Berlin Wall to end the cold war. It was these moments that had guaranteed Scorpions an undeniable place in their fans hearts forever.
By the end of the 1990’s however, this was beginning to be stretched very thin. 1996’s “Pure Instinct” had overindulged in the power ballad mentality in overwhelming numbers, which had seen their rock oriented fan group beginning to wonder if the horse had bolted. Following on from this had come “Eye II Eye”, which was another radical departure in that it moved towards a pop sound, an interesting choice for the late 1990’s. This album with its massive changes again alienated big portions of the fan base, despite their single “Mysterious” reaching number 26 on the US charts. It marked a decade that the band had been through a number of stylistic changes that markedly diverged from what was generally happening in the popular music scene, and while this may have been an important thing for the band to do, to continue to push themselves to be flexible with their music, it was not to the overall enjoyment of their long term fans.
So what was to come next? While they had not gone down the unplugged route – yet – the band turned their attention to again pushing the boundaries, though by the time they came to do so, those boundaries had already been given a huge shove. The decision was made by the band to try and record a collaboration with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, which was to feature rearranged songs from the Scorpions repertoire, as well as some classical interludes. Initially, English composer Andrew Powell was asked to provide the arrangements, and Michael Kaman was designated to be the lead on the orchestral material. Unfortunately for the band, Kaman left this project early on when the opportunity came to work with another band who were doing a very similar thing in regards to recording with an orchestra. That album that became S&M, was the biggest hit for Metallica in the late 1990s decade and it made them the leaders of the pack when it came to this kind of album. And despite the fact that Scorpions were doing this as a studio project whereas S&M was alive recording, eventually it was seen that they were copying this concept, when in retrospect, they had germinated the idea as early as Metallica had. Finally, they were able to come to terms with Austrian arrange and conductor Christian Kolonovits, and he proved to be the correct collaborator. Recording for the album took place between January and April of 2000, which led to the release of the final product which was titled “Moment of Glory”.

The album opens with the retitled and expanded glory of “Hurricane 2000”, the excellent reimagining of the band’s most famous and popular song “Rock You Like a Hurricane”. This has been particularly well orchestrated and fills it with an even more anthemic vibe than the original song contains. As a way to give the listener the best idea of the concept that the band is trying to look for here, this song does it perfectly. That opening minute that the philharmonic dominates before Schenker’s opening iconic riff comes in is superb, and from here the two combine as one to create an amazing version of this song. This is followed by a new song written especially for this album, “Moment of Glory”, which is an interesting piece as this had to have been composed with the Berliner Philharmonic in mind to add their pieces. It is very much in the expected power ballad variety of Scorpions track, and is one that has been utilised since this album’s release. And yeah... it’s fine. It morphs into the kind of track certain sections of the fan base would have been looking for.
One of the band’s amazing (if not their most amazing) power ballads “Send Me an Angel” is the next to get the treatment, and we are once again treated to an amazing vocal performance by Klaus Meine, alongside the beautiful orchestral arrangement provided as the background. This song sounds completely brilliant whenever it is performed, but this version with the enhanced acoustics it one of the best. Another of the ‘everyone in the world knows this song’... songs... “Wind of Change”, also gets its chance to shine in this environment, and yes, it too has had a makeover that brings to the fore especially Klaus’s vocals once again. But it does sound a little flat following the previous track, because the platitudes and emotion of that track well and truly outstrips that of “Wind of Change”.
“Crossfire” opens with a version of “Midnight in Moscow” which in turn was a version of the Soviet patriotic song “Moscow Nights”, a classically composed instrumental which ties in nicely to the opening of “Crossfire” itself from “Love at First Sting”, played as an instrumental track and beautifully performed. This then moves straight into the so-called “Deadly Sting Suite” which is a combination of two tracks: “He’s a Woman, She’s a Man” from the album “Taken by Force” and “Dynamite” from “Love at First Sting”. Once again here, like the previous track, this is just an instrumental performance of the combined tracks, which showcases the combining of the band alongside the orchestration, and is excellently performed by both sides of this equation. These songs allow the band to show how wonderful the music is that the band writes, and how it merges so well with the Berlin Philharmonic, without a focus on the vocals of Klaus which had dominated the two power ballads.
“Here in My Heart” is a cover of a song written by well known songwriter Diane Warren and originally released by the artist Tiffany. I’m not going to lie to you here – I don’t understand the motivation to do this song on this album. There is a nice duet between Klaus and Lyn Liechty, but apart from that it is filler. “Still Loving You” is yet another of the Scorpions massive power ballads, and it receives the same sort of care and performance as the previously performed power ballads. Then comes the increased energy of “Big City Nights”, one of the band’s best high velocity tracks, and while the backing orchestration is good, this song really doesn’t need it, it isn’t the kind of song that is going to be improved in this situation. It also has a guest vocal performance from Ray Wilson, which again seems completely unnecessary. The album then concludes with “Lady Starlight”, the final ballad on the album, one that fits the purpose of this album but perhaps misses the mark if you are someone like me who was hoping for more hard in the rock.

At the time that this was released, I was still coming to terms with bands that I had grown up with who had played the greatest of heavy metal of my generation... suddenly devolving into other methods to their music. Metallica and Megadeth, both playing acoustic sets in their concerts, was something that... let’s just say it didn’t sit well with me. Listening to them was akin to torture. And it is fair to say that when these albums began to appear with bands utilising symphony and orchestra, I felt zero need to seek them out and listen to them. It was in fact only through the tireless and endless pushing from the kids half my age I was playing cricket with at the time that I relented and listened to Metallica’s “S&M” and found that it probably wasn’t as bad as I feared it would be. The song selection though remained less than exciting. So that by the time this album was released, I felt less aggrieved by being forced to listen to such an album.
So I got the album and put it on. And the opening burst of the band’s most famous track does come across well. Well enough to deserve a few listens on its own aside from the rest of the album as it turns out. And then as you move through the album... yeah, it sounds great. The band always sound terrific and that is no different here. And the orchestra do a great job and generally fill the songs out well.
But just how often is this something that you are going pull off your shelves and listen to? Is this the kind of thing that is going to interest you enough to keep coming back time after time? I mean, to me it is still a gimmick. A clever one yes. A worthy addition, yes. But for the fan, is it something you will have a desire to revisit on a regular basis.
I have had this on again for the last couple of days, and to be fair that’s more than I would really have bothered with if I wasn’t being thorough for this episode. Once, actually, was enough. It is an enjoyable album. It has some very good Scorpions songs, moulded into shape to have them backed by this orchestra. And for anyone out there who enjoys the Scorpions and hasn’t heard this album, then certainly you should find it and listen to it, because everything about it is done wonderfully well. But this is one of those albums that I was very keen to get the script drafted for, so that I could move onto the next albums and review. Because it isn’t an album I have any need to listen to on multiple occasions back to back. It is a great one-off listen to remind you of their skills. And then, back on the shelves, until the next time.

1308. Edguy / The Savage Poetry. 2000. 3.5/5

There have been many stories over the course of this podcast of friends who come together at school and form a band, and that band either sprouts offshoots that go on to become one of the biggest bands of their age, or the actual band stays together and does that of its own accord. All of these individuals in the band would have had dreams of fame and success. One of those was Tobias Sammet, who at the age of just 14 got together with fellow school friends Jens Ludwig, Dominik Storch, and Dirk Sauer in 1992 and formed a band called Edguy, named after their Maths teacher. Jens and Dirk played guitar and Dominik played drums, while Tobi took on the singing role. Initially the band played without a bass player, until Tobi took it upon himself to take up the instrument along with retaining lead vocalist duties. By his own admission, the band was not very good to start with, covering songs from their favourite artists. In 1994 the band wrote and recorded two demos, which they sent out to various record companies, all of which rejected them. So far, this story heads in the same direction as most when it comes to school friend band groups.
In 1995, the band went a step further, recording a full-length demo album, containing nine tracks, and even self-released it to garner some publicity. It was this release, which they called “Savage Poetry” that finally got the ball rolling for the band. Shortly thereafter, they signed with AFM Records who wanted to re-release “Savage Poetry” with more widespread distribution. Edguy however decided against this. It has been reported that they were unhappy with the way the album sounded by this stage, and they didn’t want it to be the first thing released by them on a major label. Instead, they headed into the studio to record their official debut album titled “Kingdom of Madness”, which was released in 1997.
Flash forward to 2000, and on the back of three studio albums Edguy has found its niche in the power metal world. At this time though, Tobi Sammet is deep into writing and preparing for a supergroup project that has been his passion, of writing an opera based around power metal music. That project would eventually come to be called Avantasia and the album would be “The Metal Opera”. With Sammet’s creative flow being consumed by this project, Edguy decided that for their next album, they would completely re-record their demo album from 1995 and release it as their fourth studio album. This they could do as it kept the band busy without requiring the time necessary to creatively compose a new album while their main songwriter was otherwise engaged. And thus came about the album with the slightly adjusted title and slightly adjusted track list called “The Savage Poetry”.

When you listen to this album having already heard the original demo of this album, you immediately notice the light years of difference between the two, in just a five year period. The first improvement noticeable is how far Tobi’s vocals have come in that time period. It is chalk and cheese between his vocals on the demo, and where they are on this release. Even when this was recorded, the band’s fourth album, these guys were only 22 years old, so the natural improvement not only in Tobi’s vocals but in the playing overall is stark as they grew into manhood. The music is tighter, and Tobi sings with more attitude and vigour, while they have also included keyboard arrangement that fill out the songs in a much better way, without trying to compete with Edguy’s proven assets of the twin guitars. New drummer Felix Bohnke, who joined the band for their previous album “Theatre of Salvation”, also adds a more powerful and fast double kick style to the songs that didn’t exist on the originals.
The opening track “Hallowed” is a great way to get into the album, an anthemic-like beginning both musically and with the combined choiring vocals through most of the song. The middle of the track with the traded guitar solos and melodic combining of the two is definitely the best part of the song, with the over-repeating of the same lyrics in the back half of the song a little over the top. This is followed by “Misguiding Your Life” which has a great thrashier start to the track along with requisite scream from Tobi get the song off to its solid beginning. There is a terrific mix of thrash tones and power metal highs through the course of the song, and the speed of the song balances everything nicely. The melodic guitar solos through their assigned slot also accent the best parts of the band's methodology, and the bass line beneath fills everything out to perfection. From here the album segues perfectly into “Key to My Fate”, a song that frames this era of Edguy as well as showcasing the influences that started the band and then got them to this point. The great opening heavy riff starts this off terrifically as an entry to Tobi’s vocals. Then the guitar solos, which act as a perfect homage to Helloween, who were an obvious heavy influence on the band from a young age, and that is brought to bear here. This section is the highlight of the song, wonderfully supported by Felix’s drumming and Eggi’s bass line. This was the song on the demo that showcased the talent the band had at that time, but here in its re-recorded and reformed version it is one of the band’s best ever instalments.
Power metal bands by decree must have power ballads on their albums. And the time has come for that to occur here, with the song “Sands of Time”. Over the course of their history, Edguy have actually written and performed some quite excellent power ballads – and this is not one of them. I understand the mentality to have to provide a section of the fan base with these types of tracks, but they just do nothing for me. Here Tobi offers us his keyboard laden version of this, which is more ballad than power ballad. It’s a skip song. And what is more the pity is that it is sandwiched between two great songs, as it is followed by “Sacred Hell”, which charges out of the blocks in the best Edguy fashion, double kick and guitars keeping up, while Tobi’s chorused vocals take up the baton and cry from the hilt. It is a typically structured Edguy song, indeed it also has similarities to the songs that appeared on Avantasia’s “The Metal Opera” and is another of those great solid tracks good albums need to back up the most popular and well-known songs.
The other thing that power metal is known for is the epic tracks, and Edguy’s first (only chronologically from the demo) is “Eyes of the Tyrant”, that rifles through the gears and covers every extravagance that the genre demands of such songs. It opens and closes with the moody keyboard and Tobi’s quietly building vocal, before bursting to life with the true opening riff of the song. Led by the double kick rolling drum beat and bass line, this ten minute extravaganza has everything you would expect, including a wonderful sweeping guitar break into the solo spots and then the melodic harmony transition back into the verse and chorus. It showcases every peak of the band in the one song and is one of the main attractions of the album. This is followed by “Frozen Candle”, the second longest track on the album which doesn’t scream epic as much as it does heavy standard. The start and end of the track comes across like material on the band’s true heavy metal album “Hellfire Club” down the track a few years, but it has an almost acoustic break within the middle of the song that negates that. It is still a good song, though perhaps the changes do end up making it a tad long.
Moving from the two long form songs of the album back into the second power ballad “Roses to No One” is, again, a pained one. This is a guitar-based power ballad rather than the keyboard-based ballad earlier on the album, which fits more closely with what you might expect from a power metal standard ballad. If you are a fan of these songs there is certainly something here for you with the choir backing vocals and upraising spirit singing, and the power ballad guitar solo. For me, I reach for the skip button extremely quickly. The album closes out in much better style with “Power and Majesty”. Lyrically, it is a bit like it was written by a 17 year old, which by perchance it was! But musically it takes off from the start and barely pauses to catch breath. There's a great galloping beat about the song that it reminiscent of Iron Maiden in its execution, and the solo from Jens is excellent. This powers along to the end of the song and is an effective and enjoyable way to complete the album.

Though I had been a fan from early on in my heavy metal upbringing of bands that would dominate the genre that became power metal, Helloween and Gamma Ray, it wasn’t until the turn of the century that I began to truly investigate and wrap myself in the bands of the genre that I now truly adore, such as Blind Guardian and HammerFall, Stratovarius and Sonata Arctica, and in particular Edguy. So these initial albums had already been released before I began to come on board the band. It was 2001’s “Mandrake” that first caught my attention and made me think that I needed to not only drown in what this album offered, but also to go back and find their first four albums and check them out as well. And that journey actually had me coming across a copy of the original demo version of “Savage Poetry” before I came across this 2000 version of “The Savage Poetry”. And in many ways that was a good thing, because I got to hear what the band sounded like at that very early stage of their career, and then got to hear this version of the album, re-recorded and improved immensely by five years of solid recording and touring and maturing, both musically and in the ages from 17 to 22.
In the quest for totally laying all my cards on the table, it is the albums after this by the band that are my favourites, ones that are conceivably heavier and with greater attitude and better songwriting musically and lyrically that I enjoy most. But what I like about this album is the unbridled joy you can hear in the music as you listen to the album. “Misguiding Your Life” and “Key to My Fate” especially showcase all of this, the speed of the former and the heaviness of the latter being guides to the way the band was heading at that time. And yes, it is true that listening to this album now does give you an insight into just how Tobi was progressing with his Avantasia project at the time because musically there are similarities along the way.
I’ve had this out again for the past few days and listened to it half a dozen times, and I have enjoyed it just as much as I have in the past. In the long run it was a savvy move to re-record their original demo to give it the polish it needed, and it filled a hole while Tobi was otherwise engaged. And if you like power metal in any way, you will find something at least here to enjoy. If you don’t, then you won’t.

1307. UFO / Covenant. 2000. 2.5/5

UFO as a band (some would say in name only) had a rough time in the lost years between 1987 and 1995 following the loss of members of the best known era of the band. With the changing music landscape around them the band found it difficult to retain its position as one of the heavy influencers in the industry. The late 1980’s surge of thrash metal and glam metal had taken away their position as a trailblazing hard rock act, while the arrival of grunge in the early 1990’s had further eroded their fan base. In 1995 though, the band at least had some forces on their side with the recording and release of their 14th album “Walk on Water”. The reformation of the band’s best known lineup of Mogg/Way/Schenker/Parker/Raymond at least gave that album a shot of nostalgia, and the hope that this reformation could produce something that would capture the imagination of the old fan base once again, and perhaps draw in some new fans. And to a certain point it did. While the album did not chart, it saw a rise in album sales and concert sales. Even in the tough days of the alternative rock and metal scene there was hope for the band on the back of this album. And then, as seemed to be a given when he was in any band ever, Michael Schenker pulled a Michael Schenker and left just weeks into the tour to support the album, and one of the drawcards was gone again. Drummer Andy Parker was on the outer again too, and finally Paul Raymond also moved on, and the band was almost back to square one again.
But things seem to move fairly quickly around the band, and they did again here. In 1998, Schenker returned to help the band complete the tour when Raymond had left, and on the back of this the trio of Mogg, Schenker and Way, along with new drummer in Aynsley Dunbar, returned to the studio to put together the band’s first new album in five years, the longest period between albums in the band’s career, which was to be called (apparently not ironically in the slightest) “Covenant”.

When 2000 arrived, music fans were getting a little nostalgic. They were beginning to look back on the days of their youth, and think about all of the great bands and music they had grown up with, and that wouldn’t it be great to hear some of that kind of music being written and recorded again. It brought about several bands of the era looking to return to their roots of a kind, and not write albums that tried to channel what was popular at the time but write an album that brought back memories of the days of their prime. This was the age that UFO found themselves in, and indeed appears to be the direction that this album heads in from the outset. Everything about it holds true to the way the band adorned their albums through the 1970’s. The majority of the album is composed by Phil Mogg and Michael Schenker and in the main they are looking to create songs that have that structure that transformed the band into one of the leaders of the hard rock era of the mid-to-late 1970’s. Here though it emphasises the main components of the style of tracks they are producing. In this way, the hard rock songs have a bit more punch to them vocally and on guitar than perhaps they would have back in the day, and the quieter ballad based tracks seemed just a bit more drawn back within themselves as well. That may seem like a simplified way of explaining how this album sounds, and you are correct. Mainly because the sound of the album is hard to define. The keyboards have more of an organ tone about them rather than what Paul Raymond would have played had he been in the band on this album. That organ sound does tend to dominate itself out of the background and more into middle ground on “Covenant” and in the process draws comparisons to the sound that Deep Purple had in their heyday when Jon Lord’s organ was a dominant component of the music.
“Love is Forever” starts the album off on the right foot. It is a heavier version of a song that UFO are renown for, perhaps the best example here on the album of a song that has its roots in earlier times but incorporates the way music had evolved, and the true hard rock coming through in the guitar riff and especially solo from Schenker. It blasts the album out of the blocks and is a formidable beginning to the album. This is followed by “Unraveled” that continues with the same themes, a typical Mogg/Way composition that puts the rock in hard rock. Schenker’s solid riff is catchy, giving off Kiss-like vibes along the way, and Mogg’s toughened up vocals with support from Way and the back up vocalists here makes for a fun and foot tapping song. “Miss the Lights” goes with a more contemporary sound, the rhythm riff sliding along as Mogg croons his vocals over the top in a style reminiscent of Bad Company or Free. And as it turns out, this along with the next couple of songs on the album do line up with that same sound from those same bands. “Midnight Train” most definitely does that, as does “Fools Gold”. There is a very similar style of rhythm pattern through “Midnight Train” and “Fools Gold” as well, which does give the songs the feel of a sister duo.
Mind you, this might be a controversial view, but “In the Middle of Madness” sounds like it could have come from a John Cougar Mellencamp album, if Mellencamp had utilised on organ sound on his albums. Even Schenker’s riff and solo sound like they could have been off Mellencamp’s 1985 album “Scarecrow”. The whole song could almost have been lifted off that. Now that is an interesting comparison I know, but if you ever happen to listen to THIS album and you hear this song, and you know THAT album, then you may well agree with me. Though to be honest, finsing anyone out there besides myself who knows (and owns) both of those albums seems like a longshot. “The Smell of Money” and “Rise Again” are both musically more similar to the opening tracks on the album, though stripped back in tempo and somewhat slightly disturbingly Phil Mogg seems to be channelling the vocal chords of Scott Strapp, the lead vocalist from the band Creed. This was the time when they were at thier most prominent, so perhaps utilising that vocal style was thought to have been a good move. I’m not as certain of that as perhaps Mogg was if that WAS the case.
“Serenade” has a very modern Deep Purple sound about it, perhaps through the forward mixing of the keyboard organ which does tend to move in a Jon Lord kind of circle throughout, as does Schenker’s guitar with the Ritchie Blackmore tones about it. The move between softer tones and the harder grind, with Schenker’s guitar going from clear to harder, and a solo that could very easily have been out of the Blackmore playbook. It is a song that finds a number of influences. “Cowboy Joe” on the other hand channels everything that makes the band great. Mogg’s vocals are terrific here, back to their very best, and Dunbar’s drumming is far closer to the powerful style that Andy Parker used to play. It may be an imperfect copy of the great UFO template but it does the job here. Closing out the album is “The World and His Dog” which incorporates classic and wonderful Schenker guitar solos into the mix of the song. The rhythm of bass and drums again has the powerful feel that creates the best UFO songs

As most of the regular listeners to this podcast will know by now, my favourite and mostly only period of UFO is the 1970’s albums, where the big five made five great albums and a live album beyond compare. Everything that they did during that period to me is untouchable by every other era of the band, which doesn’t mean there weren’t some good pieces of albums that came after that, it's just that they never really managed to make another album that came close to those original ones. And, in the main, that is the downfall of the release of this particular album. Because “Covenant” has a lot of very likeable tracks on it, even if for the most part I spend my whole time when I listen to this album trying to work out what each song reminds me of – which band and era to me that it sounds like UFO are trying to mimic here. But when they released this album, it came with a second CD, which contained live performances of the tour to promote the previous album, but they are all songs that are from their best known albums. I fact, the majority of the 7 live tracks come from two of those albums. And what this live album does, when comparing it to the studio album it is attached to, is remind you of HOW BRILLIANT those songs were from 25 years in the past are, and that they stand head and shoulders above every song released on this album. It feels like an own goal to have put this with this album. No doubt it was as an incentive to the long term fans to go out and buy the album, and that probably worked well. But it sure hurt the comparison to the new material.
As a result of what I have said earlier, I don’t listen to this album very often. To be honest, I have probably listened to this album more in the past seven days than I have in the previous 15 years. I only came to it initially because Michael Schenker had returned to the band to record the album, much as he had for the pervious album “Walk on Water”, soon to receive its own episode on this podcast. And what this week has reminded me is that this is an average album, one that I might be willing to raise to a rating of a better than average album if I was of the mind to want to listen to it on a more regular basis. And therein lies the problem when you have far too much music in your collection to give everything a fair hearing. Like all bands, when I decide that I want to listen to something from a particular band, I have my usual half a dozen go-to choices. And this isn’t one of them for UFO. While I think they made an effort to return to a more familiar sound on this album and compete against what was happening in the music world 25 years ago, there are a few clunks along the way. I wouldn’t even say the clunks are bad because those songs are still fine to listen to, or have been for me this week at least. But I’m not jumping out of my skin to listen to John Cougar Mellencamp and Creed and Deep Purple knock offs. I’d rather hear songs that emphasised the great points of this band rather than mutations of others. That to me is the only real downfall of this album. It’s the same old story in the long – it isn’t a bad album at all... it just isn’t a great one either. It doesn’t compete with “Lights Out” or “Force It”. And neither should it. You should be able to enjoy albums of a band from different eras without making a judgement on them in that way. But, I just want to listen to “Lights Out” and “Force It”. So, I do.

1305. Mötley Crüe / New Tattoo. 2000. 2/5

The 1990’s had not been kind to bands of Motley Crue’s ilk. Having spent the previous decade at the top of their game, living the life of excess in every imaginable way, while being at the forefront of the hair and glam metal movement, and at times setting the template for other bands to follow and replicate their success, the change in the rules in the 1990’s was the first keystone that loosened on the path. This was followed by the volatile working relationships between certain members of the band finally falling into ruin, requiring changes to both the way the band approached their music, and also who would be involved in their music going forward. Five years had stretched between the high point of their career with “Dr Feelgood” and the follow up, the self-titled “Motley Crue”. This album had seen the departure of lead vocalist Vince Neil and the recruitment of John Corabi as his replacement, and the bluesier sound envisioned on the album was critically acclaimed and yet mostly rejected by the fan base, or of that which remained. The same line up began to write songs for the follow up to that album, but their record label, who feared another hit to the album sales and therefore their own profits, engineered a reunion with Vince Neil coming back to the fold, and Corabi being moved aside. The resulting album, “Generation Swine”, saw what was described as a ‘return to form’ by the record label, though the songs mostly had Corabi’s stamp over them, and were obviously composed for his vocals and not Neil’s.
The reunion was not universally loved, and drummer Tommy Lee was the main hold out. The ill feeling between Lee and Neil had not dissipated, and it was also during this time that Lee had many domestic disputes with his then wife Pamela Anderson, which led to him serving jail time for domestic violence. While in jail, Lee had decided that he wanted out, and following his release from prison, and completing a greatest hits tour the band had booked, Lee left the band.
In his place, Motley Crue recruited former Ozzy Osbourne drummer Randy Castillo to take his place. Castillo was a proven performer, a professional, and bringing him into the band at this time seemed like an excellent proposition.
The band spent three months in early 2000 writing and recording the new album. In recent interviews, following the acrimonious split between the band and guitarist Mick Mars, Mars was quoted in an article for Rolling Stone magazine as saying that he didn’t write any of the material on “New Tattoo” nor barely played on the album, and that he was being held accountable by the band because of the poor performance of the previous album “Generation Swine”. "I didn't write any of those songs, since I wasn't invited," said Mars. "I think I played one lick on that album”. Nikki Sixx, interviewed for the same article, dismisses that claim, saying Mick played all lead and rhythm guitars, and whatever else he wanted to. Mars also has three co-writing credits on the album, so it is hard to know exactly what the real truth to the matter is. In any case, the album was released in July 2000, at a time that fans were looking for music from their favourite 80’s artists that more reflected the music of that time. This was Motley Crue’s chance to deliver on that statement.

The opening track “Hell on High Heels’ hits the brief immediately when it comes to providing a song that gives the listener the feeling that they are back in the heyday of the band. No, it isn’t spot on, because the band is older now and it doesn't have that same intensity and energy that those original songs did, but it does provide exactly what the fans and record label would have been hoping for, a song with some similarities to that era.
From here, the lyrical content of the songs of the album begins to take shape, and for the most part it comes across as... unseemly. “Treat Me Like the Dog I Am” just immediately makes you think ‘what the hell are these guys up to here?!’ It is also the start of the writing partnership between Nikki Sixx and James Michael, a musician and producer who would be tied closely to future projects that involved the two of them, including Brides of Destruction and Sixx AM. Here the music is of the right attitude, but it is hard to sing along with the lyrics without either laughing or cringing. In most cases, both. Then they offer us a country acoustic based ballad, the title track “New Tattoo”. Now somewhere along the line this became something that Motley Crue wanted to do, and they are all the worse for it. The band’s point of demise can almost be pinpointed to the success of “Home Sweet Home” from “Theatre of Pain” that was reviewed here on a recent episode, because that led the band down the path to chase that success and it has ruined so many of their songs in the process. This is rubbish, with no redeeming features. It should be played to kids in school in detention to punish them, because it would certainly stop them from ever doing anything to be sent back there again. Even then, it is better lyrically than what is served up on “Dragstrip Superstar”. The music is fine, sounds good even, but lyrically this is another Nikki Sixx clanger. “Jailbait playmate, freakshow masturbate, fuel inject carburette, underage penetrate”. Jesus Nikki how old are you? Actually, don’t answer that. If it wasn’t for the good riff and great solo on this song is would be at the bottom of the barrel. In many ways, it still is. But then you come to the next great instalment on the album, “1st Band on the Moon”, a straight Nikki Sixx song, but you wouldn’t need to take long before you came to that conclusion. Seriously, once again the music is good enough. It isn’t ground breaking, but it is good. Vince sounds great. But the lyrics are puerile trash. Great sounding guitar Mick, I like the solo in the middle of the song. Just... c’mon... it can’t be that hard to come up with something else to sing about. Well... apparently not, because there is more of this to come on “She Needs Rock N Roll”. On the surface it’s just a typical teenager needs to listen to rock and roll music, but the connotations – well, not connotations because the lyrics are straight to the point – just seem like they should have been locked in a box in the past and forgotten. Sure, maybe I’m just old and don’t need to hear this stuff anymore, or feel like I WANT to sing along to it anymore. That part is true, but goodness me there must be a way to be more inventive in songwriting.
Yes, all of this will continue for the remainder of the episode. You have been warned.
The generic side of the band’s music comes to the fore with “Punched in the Teeth by Love”. Firstly, musically. There isn’t a great effort here to create something that is different from anything that hasn’t been done before. Before we even get to the lyrical content, if the music had been more inspiring – you know, offering a great riff or bass line or scintillating solo – then this song may have been better than just generic fluff. But it doesn’t. But then the lyrics: “Flash a smile like an alligator, move her hips like a generator, all over town like an oil spill, if there’s meat on the bone she’ll wag her tail”. This song is credited to all four members of the band, which truly makes it worse. And the repeated concourse of the song title through the last few minutes of the song is overbearing. Not that the follow up is any better, as “Hollywood Ending” is the power ballad that desperately tries to recreate the success and depth of feeling that their ballad hits of the past have provided. In this case though, it is a pretty half hearted effort to do so. Even the quick fade at the end of the track seems like it is an afterthought, a way to stop the pain from going on any longer. It is almost a country acoustic ballad much like the earlier one on the album, that’s the depths that this song falls to, replete with the background singers in the chorus. The band’s writers are trying to pull out all the tricks to create the illusion that this album is bringing back the best of the band from its greatest era, but it is a poor facade that they hare building on. This is a god-awful song.
I can’t work out if “Fake” is an autobiographical song, or if it is actually trying to proclaim that the band is different from the people that they discuss within the lyrical content of the track. They are obviously having a crack at record labels and critics alike, but are they owning their own excesses or blaming them on others? Are they trying the accept that they haven’t always done the right thing, or are they just trying to drag everyone else into the mire with them? There are two ways of interpreting the lyrics. What IS true is that musically, again, this is fairly average fair, unexciting, stuck in a rut and stuck in a rhythm, without the great music that drives the best Motley Crue songs. It may be a statement but as a song it doesn’t do much to advertise that fact. Still, lyrically it is like Shakespeare compared to Nikki Sixx’s offering on “Porno Star”, which is exactly as you would expect a Crue song with this title to be about. Listen to this marvellous composition: “Dot com, dot cum, web cam super scam triple x cyber sex, shoot my rocks on the box, peeping tom on the net, down I’m going down going down, I’m a cyber junkie what a freak”. Welcome to the new millennium everyone. The album then concludes with the cover of The Tubes song “White Punks on Dope”, a song title that is probably very appropriate for some members of this band.

As I related very recently on the episode dedicated to the “Theatre of Pain” album, my introduction to Motley Crue came reasonably early on in my conversion to the heavier side of music. I had asked my heavy metal music dealer to record me an album that had become the next in my line of requirements. He asked me what I wanted him to put on the other side of the cassette, to which I said to him to choose something he thought I might like. The cassette came back with “Shout at the Devil” as the chosen second side album, and I never looked back.
I got a copy of this album reasonably soon after it was released. At the time I hadn’t heard the “Generation Swine” album, and though I was disappointed that Tommy Lee had left the band I was also pleased to hear Randy Castillo had joined in his place, and was looking forward to what he would add to the album. I still had an overall positive mindset when it came to the band and was hoping that what they produced would be worth the wait. And as it turned out, when I did get the album, I wasn’t disappointed in it terribly. It wasn’t “Dr Feelgood” or “Shout at the Devil”, but it was mostly upbeat and sounded as good as I had thought it might without any outlandish expectations. The band hadn’t turned to nu-metal or industrial metal, so most of it seemed above board. After the requisite number of listens, it moved into the usual pile to be found some time in the future.
This has had the very occasional play since. It isn’t something that I go to when I am in the mood for Motley Crue. A couple of times in the years since I have worked my way through the catalogue and this has come up again, and I listen to it and move to the next album. And mostly through that time I have avoided the obvious question that arises from my podcast episode today. And that is - how did Vince Neil bring himself to sing some of this crap? Because overall, I don’t mind the music. The two country ballads are complete and utter rubbish, don’t get me wrong. Whenever I have listened to this album since, I always wonder if Nikki Sixx had a desire to go down the route Def Leppard did at one stage and collaborate with country and western artists and make that kind of music. Because that is what those songs remind me of. But apart from those, and though some of the songwriting is slightly generic in the way it comes across, the music is mostly good, and I can listen to it without any qualms whatsoever. But the lyrics... my goodness, there is some utter crap there. Though the band has only released one album since this, they have still done a lot of touring, at least up until the aborted Final Tour status that they must have stolen from Kiss. And apart from the tour to promote this album, they have never played ANY of these songs live again. And it is no surprise, because even though in this day and age it is difficult to understand anything Vince Neil actually sings anyway, I’m sure he just drew a line under these songs and said “Nikki, the lyrics are shit, I refuse to sing them”.
So yes. Music is fine, lyrics are crap. That is the best way to sum up “New Tattoo”. Even when listening to it this week, I find myself enjoying about half of the album, and groaning loudly about the other half.
Motley Crue were booked to tour Australia on this album, but unfortunately firstly Randy Castillo got sick, a duodenal ulcer requiring surgery that then discovered cancer, which killed him less than two years after this albums release. Then his replacement Samantha Mahoney from Hole also had problems and the tour never happened. Perhaps that was for the best. The album still resides in my collection, but it is one of the ones that will remain in ‘near mint’ condition as the years pass.

1304. Killswitch Engage / Killswitch Engage. 2000. 3.5/5

The morphing and movement within the broad channels of heavy metal as the calendar approached the new millennium has brought about a true divergence in the music that was being written and the bands that were creating these new segues from the Metal movement. Some of these new tangents being created included the well versed and repeated options of industrial metal, alternative metal, metalcore and nu-metal, each of which had their supporters and detractors, and also the bands that had championed each wave as it came through. Within all of this, there were bands who became the leaders of each new metal stream that came into being, bands who without even knowing what they were doing were at the forefront of a musical style that was on the verge of becoming something more popular and groundbreaking.
Killswitch Engage formed following the disbandment of metalcore bands Overcast and Aftershock in the late 1990’s. Following Overcast’s breakup in 1998, bass guitarist Mike D'Antonio came together with the guitarist from Aftershock, Adam Dutkiewicz. These decided to collaborate together, and with Dutkiewicz deciding he was now going to play drums, they recruited Aftershock band mate guitarist Joel Stroetzel to come on board. This trio began to collate and demo material. Numerous songs were written without a lead vocalist - indeed, all of the songs that made the debut album had been written before a lead vocalist had been found. Adam’s brother, who had also been the lead vocalist for Aftershock, also owned a record label, and signed to that label was a band called Nothing Stays Gold. Their lead singer was a guy by the name of Jesse Leach, and after some cajoling from Adam he came on board to perform the same role for the new band, which took on the name Killswitch Engage. Apparently, the band's name is derived from an episode from Season 5 of The X-Files entitled "Kill Switch".
In 1999, Killswitch Engage recorded a demo containing four tracks, including "Soilborn", the first song written by the band. The demo was first released at the band's first show, opening for melodic death metal act In Flames, in November 1999. While writing the album, D'Antonio asked Ferret Music if they would sign Killswitch Engage as a favour to him, as he had done the illustrations for the covers for some of the albums released through the label. As metal was becoming less popular at the time, at least in terms of album sales, the label’s representatives felt that they might be the last metal band they would ever sign. And thus, it came to pass that the band released their debut album in July 2000, carrying the name “Killswitch Engage”.

There is little doubt that this is a very different band than what you'll hear on the albums going forward. And judging debut albums on what then followed is a difficult thing to do at the best of times. But perhaps that is more so here. Like most debut albums, the band’s sound on this release is very raw and unrefined. Some suggest it is the band’s heaviest output, but that argument can be also bleached out a little by suggesting it was just a natural progression from the two bands that this band came together from, and that it was after this that they developed their own version of the sound they wanted to produce.
Jesse Leach's vocals are certainly a central figure to the album, and for the time and what was being recorded they are up and about. They offer mostly the scream rather than the melodic but for the time this was the norm. The lyrics offer some change within that structure. On the album opener “Temple from the Within: “So easy to look back on life, and question what I want - You teach me to inscribe these words upon my heart, you cover me with the shadow of your hate”. The album’s lyrics follow along the lines of believing in yourself, and making a difference in society. Sometimes that isn’t always easy to pick up through the vocalisation that it rendered on the album. “Vide Infra” picks up the pace, and at times comes close to being in a death metal tone, while also invoking slightly more melodic pieces, and this is followed on by “Irreversal”, where Jesse unleashes the full complement and range of his growls and screams into his clear lines as well. The switch from stand still slowness of riff back into the high energy double kick driven faster tempo brings several different ranges to the track.
“Rusted Embrace” follows the same basic song structure: intro, first verse, chorus, second verse, and so on. Guitar solos are basically non-existent, which does seem a shame and something that has been overlooked, a piece of the puzzle that would have improved these tracks with something out of the box to offset a little of the sameness that does creep in after a time. The instrumental “Prelude” kicks off the second side of the album, and showcases the excellent musical talents of the three musicians. It is interesting that just this two minutes offers a different side to the band that isn’t really heard throughout the rest of this album. It isn’t groundbreaking, but it is something that was incorporated more going forward. It segues nicely into “Soilborn”, the first song the band ever wrote, before Jesse came on board as well, so hearing the more melodic guitar on this track as well, combined with Jesse’s growl, actually combines terrifically well. The opening five minutes of side two is well worth the wait. This is followed by “Numb Sickened Eyes”, which combines a great guitar riff which is almost melodic but doesn’t quite reach that level, which then moves into a heavier rebuttal as the song progresses. The tempo and timing changes through the song are difficult to take, even when you are totally familiar with the song. They seem unnecessary and only to provide a point of difference rather than as an accentuation of the song itself.
Better is to come with the galloping guitar and drums as we enter into “In the Unblind”, kicking this song into a different level, suggesting tones of things to come down the track a little. With the tempo at its best, Jesse’s vocals are also given the chance to showcase the growl and not just the scream, and this song is one of the album’s best because of all of these factors. If any song on this album truly represents the best of this young and raw version of Killswitch Engage, it is this track. The album then concludes with the instrumental track “One Last Sunset”. The quietly contemplative build in the track, from the piano beginnings and into the slowly increasing domination of the guitar, brings a suggestion that this is about to break out into something truly special, a song with shuddering guitars and drums that will create an epic conclusion... and then it just doesn’t get going. Indeed, it is almost just a piano piece to bring the album to its finish. It never ceases to be a surprising disappointment, given what has been showcased on the album prior to this. You expect power and domination to complete the album. Instead, we get unrevealed puzzlement.
So this is where it all started or the band, and yes it is more metalcore here than what they became on later albums, but what this album does is introduce the main players to the fans, and showcase what they had to offer going forward. And sure, Jesse Leach disappeared for a decade when it felt that they were on the verge of that breakthrough. And given that, perhaps it was the best thing that happened for the band in the long runs. Fans have differing views when it comes to that discussion. The vocals aren’t quite as prevalent on this first album as they would become, and we get more of the guitar and bass here in a natural element.

It was through sheer good fortune that we came across Killswitch Engage the band, though it was four years after this initial album had been released. We went to the Metro Theatre in Sydney to see Anthrax on their “We’ve Come for You All” tour, and they had two support acts that night. One I was familiar with, by name and reputation at least, which was Soilwork. But the opening act I didn’t know anything about. But by the time they were halfway through their third song, we all knew that we were going to have to track down this band immediately. At the time of course, Howard Jones was the frontman, but the band and their music was just so incredible, it was impossible not to see that these guys had something special about them. That concert was on April 26, 2004, and they told us that night that their brand new album “The End of Heartache” was coming out in two weeks. And thus, the arrival of Killswitch Engage into our music realm was enacted.
As for this album? I didn’t hear any of the Jesse material until after “As Daylight Dies” had been released and I had been saturated in it, and was starting to look for their other material. And, it is fair to say that it was different enough that it took some time to get my head around it. Not just Jesse’s vocals, but also the music itself. As may fans of the band would agree with, the band’s sound is far more refined once Howard came along and released those two amazing albums that I have just mentioned. They are of a different era, built on the lessons learned from both this album and its follow up “Alive or Just Breathing”, and incorporating the differing styles of their new lead singer. So yes this album was different, so it wasn’t something I jumped on board with immediately or with any great enthusiasm. In the long run, it wasn’t until Jess rejoined the band in 2012 that I came back to this album, mostly in preparation for what he was going to bring back to the band. And I won’t lie – I am a Howard enthusiast, and I still have trouble with parts of this album that could be attributed to my favouring of Howard’s vocals.
Still, I’ve had this album on again over the past couple of days, and it hasn’t been unwelcome. It will never rate as one of my favourite pieces from the band, but I enjoy it more now than I did when I first discovered it back in 2008 or so. Perhaps that is old age creeping in, or a more localised element of being more used to Jesse’s vocals now than I was when I first had the album. Having seen the band a number of times now with Jesse on lead vocals has probably helped with that. There are still good moments on this album that are worth following up if you haven't been down this path before, but it is fair to say that of the Killswitch Engage catalogue, this would rank down at the bottom of the list for me. And as always, that isn’t necessarily a reflection on THIS album, it is more a reflection on what came after it.

1293. Various Artists / Music from and Inspired by M: I-2. 2000. 3/5

When the first Mission: Impossible film was released in 1996, it was a smash hit. The remake of the original TV series from the 1960’s and 1970’s was a rollicking film full of amazing action sequences and the required surprise ending. And as always, it also left the door ajar for a sequel to be made. So when it was announced that Mission Impossible 2 was going to be made it was big news. For Australians, the fact that it was to be filmed in Sydney also gave it an extra bit of enticement. The film itself? Well many people think it is terrific. I was always underwhelmed by it.
What the producers did decide on that had some merit was to load up a soundtrack album with some of the heavy hitter bands of the time, and give them the chance to create a song that could be featured in the movie itself. When compiled, some of those songs were featured in the movie, while the rest were put together on this album, which was stamped as “Music FROM and INSPIRED BY Mission Impossible 2”, so as to cover their backsides when it was finally revealed that not all of the tracks appeared in the film itself. All of the songs were recorded and produced by the bands themselves.
And it is an eclectic selection of bands and artists, which is very much a snapshot of heavy music at the time. Because it is dominated by nu-metal bands and alternative metal and rock bands. And if you are fans of that era in music then this album is most probably already in your collection. But if you are not fans of the standard of the turn of the century, then there are probably a lot of reasons not to go near this album. As a study of the era though it acts as an interesting collection to listen to and remember just where certain parts of the world were at when it came to the evolution of heavy music. It isn’t really necessary to tie this to the movie, but then again perhaps the enjoyment of the movie or the music comes from how you view the other.

The Australian version of this album has an overloaded 19 tracks on it, and the running time in total is an hour and 20 minutes. It’s almost as long as some films, though not as long as this one was. There are three bonus songs tacked onto the end of the regular 16 songs, one is “Iko Iko” by Zap Mama, an electronica reggae version of this well covered song, while the other two are by Australian artists, “Sucker” by 28 Days is a solid hard rock track from this very good Aussie group, ne that keeps the intensity high, while the “Theme from Mission Impossible” by Josh Abrahams is a nice way to exit the album.
Back to the top of the track list and this is where the heavy hitters of the album reside, to drag you in from the outset. Leading us off is Limp Bizkit with “Take a Look Around”, which utilises the main riff of the Mission Impossible theme tune as its basis and works onwards from there. I can’t say that I know a lot of Limp Bizkit and most of what I hear is not really my cup of tea, but I do like this song, the way it moves from moody to heavy to clear to raging. The song is a little long at over five minutes but it's a good listen. Metallica’s “I Disappear” follows, and interesting bridge between what they had written for “Reload” and would then write for “St Anger”. It is more or less their nu-metal anthem, one they made a film clip for that was probably better than the film itself, and which would go on to be the catalyst for their legal action over the peer-to-peer networking application Napster when a demo of this song appeared on that network well before the release of this album, or the song as a single. It is sometimes overlooked as it doesn’t actually appear on a Metallica album. Rob Zombie’s “Scum of the Earth” is typical Rob Zombie and blasts through the album as a result. The Butthole Surfers’ “They Came In” is an interestingly recorded track, full of differing instrumental effects that showcase a side of the band that isn’t always obvious. Then “Rocket Science” by The Pimps mirrors the Limp Bizkit style of rap and metal grooves. The cover version of Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar” is performed by the Foo Fighters with two differing performers. Firstly, the song is sung by drummer Taylor Hawkins, who gives the vocals a whole new sound. He is obviously a fan of the band, and his performance is passionate as a result. This also has Brian May guesting on guitar which gives the solo through the track lovely sound that only May can provide, as a counter to David Gilmour’s original. It’s an interesting interpretation of the track. Chris Cornell’s “Mission 2000” has moments that sound great, when his vocals hit those tones that we all know and love, but the track itself does fall a little flat. On the other hand, Godsmack’s “Going Down” was recorded during sessions for their debut album but not used, and was recycled here and then on their sophomore album.
Into the second half of the album, the lesser known acts get their chance to showcase their wares, and the range of genres of music here extends as a result. “What U Lookin’ At?” by Uncle Kraker, who had worked with Kid Rock up to this point in time, has a similar vibe to his music here. “Backwards” by Apartment 26 sits in an alt-metal phase, and given the relative newness of the band is an interesting choice for this soundtrack. The song is solid but is very rigid in composition. Diffuser’s “Karma” is very alternative rock of the late 1990’s but is an enjoyable trip down typical movie soundtrack songs from teenage coming-of-age movies of the day. It could easily have been in the movie “Empire Records” for instance. Buckcherry’s “Alone” is a standard hard rock offering from the band here.
Powderfinger’s “Not my Kinda Scene” is the standout from the back half of the album, the professional and excellence of their music immediately noticeable around the other tracks here. Tori Amos’s “Carnival” will please her fans but is not instantly brilliant, while the Hans Zimmer track “Nyah” seems like something that could easily have been omitted at the final hurdle.

I remember buying this after the movie had been released at the cinemas. I’d been to see the movie, and as I mentioned earlier, I had been underwhelmed with it. It isn’t a patch on the first movie, the story and the stunts. But some of the music from the movie I thought had been pretty good, and having sat through the credits in order to see who contributed to the songs I decided I may as well go out and buy the CD of the soundtrack. And, overall, it was good. I wouldn’t say that I’m a fan of all of the bands on the album, but I enjoyed about half of the album from the first couple of listens.
I have quite a number of soundtracks in my collection, and they all get bought after I’ve seen a movie and like the music, and then they get an occasional listen and then go back on the shelves. This album is no different. I listened to it when I first bought it, and then it has been residing in amongst my other CDs forever. I don’t remember when the last time was that I listened to this album. When I go to listen to music at home, I go for an album by a band, not really a compilation or soundtrack album. Sometimes I’m in the mood for that but mostly I swing the other way. So while I have these soundtrack albums that I have bought over the years, they don’t get much of a run. Which is one of the reasons I do this podcast. To pull these albums off my shelves and give them a chance to listened to once again. Just like Andy and his toys in Toy Story.
I guess I feel about the same way listening to this album today as I did all those years ago. It’s okay. It has some good songs here, and some that are very dated to the era. There are bands and artists here that I have never really listened to much that sound better than I would expect. There are bands here that I generally enjoy that have offered a reasonable track to the album. And as with all soundtrack albums there are bands and artists here that I just don’t know at all, and don’t really feel any desire to change that.
I could have skipped doing an episode on this album and it would probably not have bothered anyone in the world. All it would have done was annoy me because I knew it had an anniversary, and it was in my collection, and I passed over it. So now it is done. Everything is in order. And we can all move onto the next episode.

1290. Black Label Society / Stronger Than Death. 2000. 3.5/5

The continued inconsistency of Ozzy Osbourne and his recording and touring routine was an obvious basis for the formation of what became the band Black Label Society. Ozzy had decided he was going to retire from touring after the “No More Tears” album, which left guitarist Zakk Wylde as a free agent as such. Of course, this retirement was short lived, and in 1995 Ozzy and Zakk recorded the “Ozzmosis” album, though only after writing sessions with Steve Vai had broken down. Then things become a little bit murky. Apparently at the time Zakk was considering an offer to join Guns ‘N Roses, and even though he had been a part of the Osbourne camp since 1988, they decided to replace him for the tour to promote the album rather than wait for him to give an answer one way or the other. Not the first, nor the last, musician, to discover the rough side of the Osbourne tongue.
Eventually, Zakk decided to write and record his own album, under the band name Black Label Society, even though he wrote all of the songs and played all of the instruments except for drums, on which Phil Ondich made his contribution. The album, “Sonic Brew” received good reviews, and as such Zakk moved to create a follow up. Once again for this album, all of the songs were composed by Wylde, as well as him contributing all of the vocals, guitars and piano. Ondich once again provided the drums. There is also a cameo of some heavy duty growing on the title track from Mike Piazza, whose contribution proved as a singer he is a very good baseball catcher. As with the previous album it was released in Japan first in early March, with a bonus track to appease the usual record company rumblings. The US and international version of the album then came six weeks later in mid-April of 2000, under the title of “Stronger Than Death”.

“All For You” makes a statement from the opening of the album. As good an album as his first effort had been, “All for You” hits new tones from the outset. Zakk has all sorts of stuff going on with his guitars, all quintessential Zakk Wylde, all writhing their way through the entire length of the track. Everything about it is sludgy and feels like you are trying to work your way through the mud, but it is glorious in its cacophony and wall of sound coming out of the speakers at you. Zakk’s vocals perfectly offset what he is laying down musically, and the resulting feeling of being buried in a sweaty cramped nightclub having the time of your life is inescapable. Then jump on board for “Phony Smiles & Fake Hellos” where Zakk unleashes lyrically more than musically on something that has obviously really pissed him off. Because here he just unloads with a withering attack on those he sees around him with the titled phoney smiles and fake hellos. Lyrics such as “You're just a fabricated lie, that doesn't exist, Dropping names where ever you go” and “Just a no talent nothing with a ten ton ego, Until your 15 minutes are through” and “Just a powertripping, mindtraping, backstabbing, junkie, Thinking your hype is true” are just a taste of the vitriol Zakk sprays here, and I’m here for every minute of it. A great song.
“13 Years of Grief” isn’t letting up on the anger being sprouted on this album. I don’t know if this was written about someone Zakk knew or about something he saw on the news or was just a conglomerate of things, but he certainly isn’t impressed with the 13-year-old protagonist here who is going to jail for six months. It's a great ugly thumping rhythm riff that accompanies Zakk’s hardcore vocals, and a solo that completes the tale. Tell us what you really think Zakk!!
“Rust” reverts to the slower sadder rose-coloured overtones of what can be described as a ballad, but a smoky sludgy molasses slow one at that. So, not your typical song of this genre, all dripping with Zakk’s southern rock styled acoustic guitar into the guitar solo that does more than enough to indicate this is what this song is without destroying it with something that is a cut and paste mirror image of the genre. Lyrically Zakk holds things together by not going the full ballad route, with lyrics such as “Living, fighting, obsessing, Just as long as I can share it all with you, Yesterday, today, tomorrow, come rain, come shine, Hell and back, the beginning, in-between, till the end of time”. These kinds of songs did become a bit of an overkill on later albums for Zakk and Black Label Society, and “Rust” does go on longer than it needs to, but here, as the exception rather than the rule, it plays out well within the mix of the album. The difference of opinion follows in “Superterrorizer”, a song stretched to beyond five and a half minutes with a minimum of vocals and an expansion of riffage to offset the delay. Zakk’s solo on this song is fantastic, minted by the changing speed and grind of the rhythm riff. This then bleeds into “Counterfeit God”, which is very much in the straight up-and-down grinding song that is reminiscent of much of the metal from the second half of the 1990’s decade. Structure, simple. Guitar rhythm riff, simple. Solo guitar spot, generic. Vocals, just average. It feels like a song with these lyrics that should have had more substance to the music itself, but does not. It is serviceable but is missing some of the grunt from the earlier tracks. So too with “Ain’t Life Grand”, whose lyrics again seem to demand music and vocals that truly bear down on the topic at hand and have some real menace about them. Instead, both tracks come away as feeling incomplete. The vocal qualities of the opening tracks are not transferred here, where one feels that if these songs sounded more like those that they would be a far better fit to this album.
“Just Killing Time” is the second ballad track on the album, this one the piano ballad that Zakk would become more prolific with as the band moved onwards. He certainly puts his own mark on the concept, the piano acting as the basis of the track and the wailing guitar solo extremely prominent through the back half of the song. Zakk does these well, don’t get me wrong, and as a part of this album I am happy to listen to it when I have the album on. Would I CHOOSE to listen to it in other circumstances? Nah.
The title track “Stronger Than Death” pulls itself back into the best style of Black Label Society songs, with Zakk’s grungy sludgy rhythm guitar riff dominating and his squealing lead guitar travelling over the top of this, and Zakk’s vocals back in the lower growling tone that he does so well. The album concludes with the eight minute monster, “Love Reign Down”, something that seems once again a little out of place and perhaps not a necessity. 8 minute epics are not an unusual way to close out an album, and when they pop they really lift the album as a whole. This isn’t a terrible song, but it does drag out when it could have been cut off shorter which to me would have made the end of the album more palatable. But hey, I’m not a songwriter, so what would I know?!

Zakk Wylde had been a favourite as a guitar player ever since he first emerged with Ozzy Osbourne on the album “No Rest for the Wicked”. His style and squeal had made him a great asset and offsider to Ozzy on those albums and tours he participated in. In 2002 I came across his solo album “Book of Shadows”, something that was completely different from what I expected, but still mostly enjoyable. Then I ran across my first experience with Black Label Society, “1919 Eternal” and I thought “what the bloody hell is this?!” It was again different from what I expected, but it was something that still grabbed my attention. From there it was a short trip back to also discover that there were two earlier albums in the band’s catalogue, and so I had to experience those as well.
My first impressions at that time of “Stronger Than Death” was that I enjoyed about half of the album, could quite happily tolerate the other half of the album, but what I probably wanted at that time was more speed, more fire and less sludge. If I could go back now and talk to my 20-odd year younger self I would have said ‘if that’s what you are looking for, you are in the wrong shop’. I was also looking for something that was more like “1919 Eternal” and this, while similar, is not the same. Over time, and more listening to the album, I just let the album be what it was and enjoyed it for the same reason. Getting my own CD copy of the album and being able to hear it in better clarity through my own stereo, made the experience far more enjoyable.
Flash forward to the past week, and the CD has been out again in the Metal Cavern and getting its mandatory listens for this podcast episode. Nothing much has changed for me. There are lots of great songs here, Zakk’s biting lyrics and uniquely sung vocals, and typically wonderful guitar riffs. For the most part the bass is buried under the cacophony of other guitars being played, but that isn’t really too noticeable when listening to the album. The two ballads here are fine but not my favourite parts of the album. At least here there are just the two tracks styled in this fashion. Down the track they did become more prevalent. It is probably the reason why most fans of the band still rate this album as one of if not the best by Zakk and the band, because here at least there is that basis of the metal sound the fans are looking for. For me, of the 11 studio albums the band has released, I would rank it as my second favourite. The other that ranks above it has probably been given away in this closing monologue.
Zakk did find a way back to Ozzy’s band in bits and pieces over the next few years, but what helped set up Black Label Society’s NEXT album was a bunch of songs Zakk actually wrote for Ozzy... but that’s a tale for another episode...

1283. AC/DC / Stiff Upper Lip. 2000. 2/5

AC/DC. Kings of the world. Certainly, they had built their brand up wonderfully over the 25 years they had been recording and releasing albums, being able to move on from tragedy and behind the scenes troubles to create a market that not only wanted but NEEDED the band and its material.
Even in the 1990’s, the decade where music had morphed into so many different varieties of metal and grunge and hard rock and alternative, AC/DC managed to stay relevant. 1995’s “Ballbreaker” had still performed exceptionally well despite the time period it was released in, and the demand for concert tickets never ebbed during this decade. And as the turn of the century approached it felt as though that may never change.
Indeed, the preparation for the follow up to “Ballbreaker” occurred much earlier than may have been expected. Malcolm and Angus Young actually began writing new material for a new album as far back as mid-1997 when they were based in London and the Netherlands, mostly with Malcolm on guitar and Angus bashing away on the drums. Some may have thought this superfluous, that a drum machine could have done the same job, but there you go. After eight months the brothers had a dozen songs completed. When it came to recording the album, the Youngs’ had decided to fall back on producer Bruce Fairbairn to helm the controls. Fairbairn had been the produced on the extremely successful 1990 album “The Razor’s Edge” as well as the follow up live album titled simply “AC/DC Live”. However, his schedule meant that there was some waiting time required to secure his services, and then tragically he passed away in May of 1999 before the two had ever entered the studio. Instead, the band fell back upon a familiar face and known quantity in George Young, elder brother of both Malcolm and Angus. George of course had been co-producer of the band's earliest albums alongside his former band mate Harry Vanda. On this occasion however, George was producing on his own, no doubt with his brothers looking over his shoulder. Brian Johnson was one who commented that he felt that the recording of the album was far more streamlined with just George at the console.
The album was recorded and mixed at Bryan Adams' Warehouse Studios in Vancouver, Canada between September and November 1999. The band recorded 18 songs in total, from which they eventually chose 12 to go on the album. From all reports the recording went smoothly, with Cliff Williams saying in an interview on VH1's Behind the Music in 2000, "It's a killer album. It was a very easy-to-record album in as much as Malcolm and Angus had everything ready to go, so we basically just had to come along and perform as best we could."

20 years on from their massive breakthrough album with “Back in Black”, Brian Johnson’s first outing with the band, there was the hope that AC/DC could produce something that came close to matching its impact. Perhaps that was pressure that was misplaced. Including that album, this would be the band’s eighth album with Johnson on lead vocals recorded over that 20-year period. In contrast, Bon Scott had helmed six albums in a five-year period. As a comparison, it had been five years between the release of “Ballbreaker” and “The Razor’s Edge”, and five years again between “Ballbreaker” and “Stiff Upper Lip”. Angus would turn 45 a month after this album’s release. Malcolm had just turned 47. Brian was 52, Cliff 50 and Phil 46. Looking back now, it is somewhat hard to believe they were this young when this album was released. They were theoretically still in their prime, though obviously at a point of their careers where they were able to feel comfortable with whatever material they wanted to write and record.
It’s a new century, and it is the same old AC/DC. Or is it? The songs on this album from the very start are what naysayers of the band’s music claim has been happening since time immemorial. That rhythm, that solid timing structure that is a hallmark of AC/DC’s music, is there from the start. The difference that actually punctuates the music here from their most recent albums “Ballbreaker” and “The Razors Edge” is that it for the most part noticeably slower in tempo throughout. And while this plays a part in making you believe there is also less energy in the tracks because this tempo has dropped, it is noticeable that those energy levels are missing from quite a bit of this album. Where do you actually hear it? Well, pretty much in the songs that were released as singles. Those three songs are the title track and opening number “Stiff Upper Lip” and “Safe in New York City”. This doesn’t necessarily make them the best songs, because a lot of this album suffers from very real ageing problems.
“Stiff Upper Lip” offers you what you would expect from an opening track on an AC/DC album that is also the lead single from the album. Well, with the possible exception of an AC/DC hook that gets you in and grabs your attention. It’s a rumbling track but without any real fireworks. “Meltdown” follows but doesn’t really live up to the title of the track at all. It is a slightly harder tempo than the opening track, where the final thirty seconds of the track is the hardest part about it. “House of Jazz” harks back to the sound and tempo of a couple of songs from that afore-mentioned “Back in Black” album, specifically “Let Me Put My Love into You”. The tempo, the way the lyrics are sung, almost the music itself, could almost have been drawn from that song and the sound of a couple of other tracks like that. Am I the only one who has picked up on that? I’m not sure, but the similarities are there. “Hold Me Back” on the other hand reminds me of “The Razor’s Edge” in places, with a change in style for the drum beat by Phil Rudd all through the track, and Malcolm’s rhythm guitar mirroring that era. It’s a mix up of styles through this part of the album that doesn’t stop here.
“Safe in New York City’ is just... a strange song, though it fits the calibrations that are set by the band on this album. The rhythm sets its mark, Angus does his pieces over the top when it is appropriate, and Brian sings his vocals, the populist piece being an oft-repeated tome of the title of the track as the so-called chorus of the song. Phil Rudd’s faster 4/4 drumming actually sets the song up nicely to give them a platform to really explode out of the blocks with song, but it never really reaches that point and is mor restrained that it probably should have been. “Can’t Stand Still” reactivates the more blues rock direction this album takes. Even Brian’s vocals draw from the blues even more than you would expect, and with a rare Malcolm Young solo interjection which sounds just like a blues guitarist riffing off the rhythm and vocals in an old blues basement night club. The morbid like tempo continues into the interestingly titled “Can’t Stop Rock ‘n’ Roll”, because this isn’t the kind of slow death show that rock ‘n’ roll was known for. Rock and roll is supposed to be uptempo and vibrant, not settled into a death march from which this song barely struggles out of at any point. Look, the feel of the song sounds great, Brian’s vocals are terrific, and the others play their parts well. And there is no denying the band has played tracks like this all through their existence. So perhaps I’m the one out of order here. It wouldn’t be the first time. “Satellite Blues” tries to get the bounce of the album back out of the quicksand. This was the third and final single released from the album, which suggests why the tempo here is an improvement of some of the songs that have come before it. It is toe tapping, but is it any more than that?
“Damned” has that standard AC/DC beat that the fans are after, with the rhythm of bass and guitar grafted on, as Brian and Angus do their thing in their designated areas. Then “Come and Get It” feels as though it should be a breakout track, one that hits roof tempo wise again and brings the album back to life. Instead, it is the same dreary tempo, deep diving into the blues riff and just clomping along like someone wearing concrete shoes. While there are several moments on this album that feel as though they would benefit from a more active and engaging song, they all end up like this.
“All Screwed Up” is the longest song on the album at a little over four and a half minutes, and surprisingly feels like it. It drags on too long, and that could well be because the standard rhythm that backs the song, along with a standard Angus guitar fill and Brian lyrical vocal delivery, just gets too much if it goes on longer than three and a half minutes. Or is it because by the time you get to this point of the album you thin maybe it is time for something different. That could also have occurred far earlier than this. However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel, with the arrival of the closing track “Give it Up”, which finally delivers more of what a casual or even middling fan of the band would be looking for. Energy! Tempo! Energy from the whole band! Yes, it did take some time, but finally the final track on the album delivers something that everyone can enjoy and at least gives the album an ending that is worth waiting for.

Have you ever gotten the feeling that a band has just put out an album for the hell of it? That they just felt it was time that they did some new material and threw it out there? There’s no doubt that in the case of “Stiff Upper Lip”, that is NOT the case. The writing, planning and recording of the album came together over a 2+ year period, so the planning could not have been more thorough. But as mentioned earlier, there was a five year period between their previous album and this one – and it was to be another 8 years until their next album “Black Ice” surfaced. It has become more the norm over the years to have such gaps in releasing albums, as file sharing became more prevalent and the way to make money was no longer from album sales but concert ticket sales and merchandise.
However, even for AC/DC, this is as formula driven song writing as you can come up with. It's very laid back, there's no speed in the music to speak of, and while it sounds great coming through the speakers of headphones with big thumping drums and guitar riffs, it just doesn't have the drive that the best AC/DC albums have. It is missing key ingredients, ones that were either being sifted out over time, or that the band decided, with the changing landscape of the music world and their place in it, that they just didn’t need. I think it was a mistake. No doubt all of the songs would sound better live, but here on the album they mostly seem to drag out well beyond necessary with the available lyrics in each song. And it is probably fair to say that as with all of AC/DC through the years, they don't actually have a bad album. Some are far better than others.
I didn’t have this album when it was released. The purse strings were tight in 2000 when my lovely wife and I were back living with my parents as we tried to save for our first home, and this was not a priority. I knew the singles and was not overawed by them, and the album was on repeat in the car of a good mate of mine whenever he drove me to and from cricket which we played together. So I knew it. I just didn’t feel I needed to own it. Eventually down the track I found a second-hand CD of the album which is the copy I still own today.
That CD has been out again for the last few days, along with having it playing at work. And as always, it is not unpleasant. It is AC/DC after all, and their style is pretty much etched in stone. It’s just that there are a lot more dead spots on this album than there are on others in their discography. The biggest fans of the band won’t hear them, they will probably just hear what they like and like it all. I’m slightly more discerning than that, which comes from being a fan of the band for so long, and having a love affair with albums much earlier in the catalogue. And though of the 17 albums in the band’s discography I rank this at #17 it should not allow you to think this is a worthless album. It is however an average album. I saw AC/DC for the fourth and final time on this tour in 2001. I had seen them three times previous to this, all from the front row of the Sydney Entertainment Centre, and had decided that for me that would be good enough. Then my friend I mentioned earlier who had this album in his car said he had a spare ticket, and would I like to come. I thought, well, I wonder what they sound like from the middle section of the complex, and agreed. It wasn’t until we were on our way to the gig that I asked where we were sitting. “Front row!” my friend informed me enthusiastically, which is why I have seen this awesome bands four times from the front row. And they were still great on this tour. It was the last time they played in smaller venues before reverting to stadiums, and they still knew how to deliver. Why wouldn’t they? They are AC/DC after all.

1281. Deep Purple / In Concert with The London Symphony Orchestra. 2000. 4/5

Back in 1969, at the time that the Mark I lineup of Deep Purple had given way to the Mark II era of the band, keyboardist and founding member of the band Jon Lord had completed his pet project “Concerto for Group and Orchestra”, the music composed by Lord with lyrics written by new lead singer Ian Gillan. It was recorded and released in December 1969, and while it did not have much success in the US, it gave the band’s reputation a huge boost in their native UK, just as they were about to release the legendary first album of the Mark II lineup, “Deep Purple in Rock”. However, the original score for the concerto was lost in 1970, and it was feared that it would never be performed again, as the band began ascending the hard rock and metal path that took them to stardom.
Fast forward to 1999, and Jon Lord was piqued into action by a meeting with a Dutch fan of the band named Marco de Goeij, who was also a musicologist and composer. In the mid-1990s, while writing an article about the original “Concerto for Group and Orchestra”, De Goeij learned that the musical score for the concerto had been missing since it was last performed in 1970. He then actually set about the painstaking task of reconstructing the score by listening to CD recordings and watching videos of live performances. When Deep Purple were performing in the Netherlands in 1998, de Goeij presented his work to Jon Lord. From here the two of them continued to refine and finish the score until it was completed.
From here, Lord decided that the band had to once again perform this live, and he elected to have the band perform it once more at the Royal Albert Hall, but this time with the London Symphony Orchestra rather than the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and with Paul Mann as conductor rather than Malcolm Arnold. He and the band then also decided to make it a true performance, with featured songs from each member's solo careers played during the performance, as well as a short Deep Purple set, and including special guests to help out with the solo pieces, with guest musicians such as Ronnie James Dio, the Steve Morse Band, and Sam Brown. The performance took place and was recorded on 25–26 September 1999 at the Royal Albert Hall in London with the London Symphony Orchestra and released on 8 February 2000 on DVD and CD.

The first two songs of the album are Jon Lord compositions from his 1998 solo album “Pictured Within”. The first song, also titled “Pictured Within” is beautifully performed and sung by Miller Anderson. Lord’s piano work on this track is amazing, and it is just a beautiful song, so distant from what Deep Purple do, and yet so synonymous with his work on the keyboards. It is just magnificent. Then comes “Wait a While” featuring Sam Brown on vocals, which is just as poignant and beautifully performed. Even as I listened to this album over the last week, I found myself wondering why I haven’t sought out this album – Lord’s album – to listen to. I will be rectifying that in the coming days. Both of these tracks, and their vocalists, are truly wonderful. Beautiful.
The next two songs I have been well familiar with. For Roger Glover’s section, he decided to perform two songs from his own project from 1974, “The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast”, something he hoped to turn into a musical and full blown event that never quite came to pass. However, here, he invited Ronnie James Dio to come and perform the two songs he sang on for the album in the role of Froggy – “Sitting in a Dream” and the wonderful “Love is All”. And they are both just sensational here with the symphony backing the band as well. Dio, as always, delivers in style, and both songs are as joyous as they are on the original album.
Then comes two tracks from Ian Gillan and his solo expeditions. The first track is “Via Miami” off the “Accidently on Purpose” album that he and Roger Glover released in 1988. Glover actually played all instruments on the original album while Gillan sang vocals and played his favourite harmonica. The version here is a more upbeat bluesy version with the horns from the symphony dominating in the foreground. His other song is “That’s Why God is Singing the Blues” from his third solo album “Dreamcatcher” in 1997. It was written by Dave Corbett, and as the title suggests is based in the real blues of the 40’s and 50’s.
Three more songs finish off the first CD of this two disc album. The first of those is Steve Morse’s contribution, a song from his days with his previous band the Dixie Dregs called “Take it Off the Top” from their second album “What If” from 1978. It is an instrumental that utilises the talents of then-current members Dave LaRue on bass and Rod Morganstein on drums. The last two songs are classic Deep Purple tracks that get a great backing from the symphony. First is the wonderful instrumental “Wring That Neck” from 1968’s “The Book of Taliesyn” which gets a great round of applause from the crowd in attendance, and then a stirring version of the “Machine Head” classic “Pictures of Home” another awesome version, and the first CD closes out in style.
The ”Concerto for Group and Orchestra” itself opens up CD 2. I think it is fabulous. Combining the Orchestra and the band in different points of view, at different moments throughout the three movements of the performance, is fantastic. There are moments where it is just the orchestra, moments where the band takes the lead, and then the moments where it all combines into a wonderful cacophony of instruments. Trying to describe it would be futile. Suffice to say that it is something worth sitting down and listening to. And it does need to be done in the home, through the stereo, and taking in the magnificence of it all. And while it may be sacrilegious to suggest this, I really believe Steve Morse’s performance on guitar outstrips that of Ritchie Blackmore on the original recording of 1969. Of course, the technology is better now but I really believe Morse’s guitar here is a standout. I haven’t added any of those three movements to this episode, because they are all lengthy. But I do recommend you get out there and listen to it, because it is well worth your time doing so.
Once this is completed, the band and their partners then bring forth three songs from their most recent albums – the terrific “Ted the Mechanic” from the “Purpendicular” album, the haunting “Watching the Sky” from the “Abandon” album, and the brilliant “Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming” from the “Purpendicular” album as well. All three are fabulous, sound wonderful and are a joy to hear in this environment.
The final song, as ever, is “Smoke on the Water”, one where they invite Ronnie James Dio on stage to help sing. The CD version has no problems, but it is interesting on the DVD version where Dio obviously forgets the lyrics to Deep Purple’s most famous song, and one he must have experienced many times when he was in Elf when they supported Deep Purple on many tours. Embarrassing? Not really, but a little funny all the same. And when Gillan lets the crowd sing the chorus on their own, it makes it all worthwhile.

I’ve never owned a copy of the original 1969 “Concerto for Group and Orchestra”. I’ve heard it plenty of times and generally have concentrated on the other songs that are done as a part of it. The concerto for me was never something I was particularly interested in having. I mean, in this day and age, if I find it on vinyl for a reasonable price, I will certainly buy it, but I don’t have the urge to go out there and find it.
When this album was released, I was back home in Kiama after five years living in Sydney, living with my parents and not earning a whole lot of money, so I didn’t get this when it was released. It wasn’t until closer to the end of the year that I decided to pick it up when I was far more financially viable, and it wasn’t so much for the concerto itself, it was for the additional pieces that came as a part of the album. And yes, those major parts included Ronnie James Dio. I enjoy the two songs from the Butterfly Ball and laugh during his attempt to sing “Smoke on the Water”. But Gillan’s solo songs are also great, and then you have those Deep Purple classics, firstly “Wring That Neck” and the wonderful “Pictures of Home”, and then the newer songs “Watching the Sky”, “Ted the Mechanic” and the marvellous “Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming”. All are terrific and are well performed with the symphony orchestra filling the gaps behind them. And the concerto itself? Yeah, it’s fine. If you put it on the stereo and have it going in the background while you are doing something else, you will find it is a well performed piece. It’s just that if you want to listen to Deep Purple you are going to go for the real stuff.
The concerto was performed a few more times over the next 12-18 months, and not long after this in February 2002, Jon Lord left the band he helped to create, in order to prioritise other musical avenues that he wanted to pursue. He said subsequently, "Leaving Deep Purple was just as traumatic as I had always suspected it would be and more so – if you see what I mean". That direction was the classical and orchestral direction, one that he followed with renew passion until his passing in 2012. And this album provides a lasting memory and tribute to not only the combined work of the members of Deep Purple, but of Jon Lord’s genius in being able to compose such a concerto, and yet be intimately involved in the writing and playing of some of the most memorable hard rock and heavy tracks of the 1970’s, both sides of which are still influenced by this today.