934. Avantasia / The Mystery of Time. 2013. 3.5/5

Avantasia started off as an idea, a one off project that would give the world a metal opera, and an opportunity for like minded wonderful musicians from the heavy metal genre to come together and produce something special. More than a decade later, and following denials of further albums before the appearance of said albums anyway, and a growing spectacle as a result, we now had two complete stories told. With the Wicked Trilogy having been put to bed, The Mystery of Time signalled a new era in the Avantasia story.

It was always going to be important to have some sort of changes on this album, not only to separate the stories being told from previous albums but also to ensure that we didn't get bogged down with the same sounds - or more precisely, the same performers. Otherwise there was a danger that it would be appear to be more of the same. As will always be the case with Avantasia, some of the regular performers do return, but it is the addition of the 'new blood' that helps to give this album its own face.
As with the previous Avantasia albums, The Mystery of Time is opened by an epic, anthemic song, one that creates the scenery and imagery from the outset. Here it is "Spectres", and not only does it capture you immediately with its change in style from the previous trilogy, it starts off the new story in a positive fashion. Joe Lynn Turner makes his first appearance on an Avantasia release, and his distinctive vocals mesh with Tobi's perfectly here. While the structure of the song seems a tad unusual to me - it's almost like two songs cut and pasted in a couple of places - for the better part of the song it works. This is followed by the faster paced action of "The Watchmakers' Dream", where Turner again plays a starring role. To be honest, it is great to hear him on songs such as these, which stretch him from the genre he usually resides it, and gives him a great platform to really show what he is capable of. Again alongside Tobi's vocals, they work really well together. My only question mark on the song is the greater use of the keyboards in the song. I mean, that middle part just makes it sound like it is trying to be a Rainbow or Deep Purple song, two of the bands that JLT has fronted at different times. Too much! Let the power metal ride!
"Black Orchid" drops that tempo back into mid range again, looking for the powerful vocals to come through and drive the song forward, while the greater orchestration and keyboards that are prevalent through this album rise along with it. Biff Byford of Saxon fame comes aboard here to lend a hand, and he sounds great though without having a great deal of impact on what has been laid out for him. "Where Clock Hands Freeze" raises the stakes again, and Michael Kiske again makes his mark and provides another key moment on an album. It is still remarkable given his aversion to metal music for so long, that a song like this is what Tobi must have insisted he perform on. The faster pace, the double kick drums and guitar riff all suit his voice perfectly, no doubt why Tobi continues to put him out the front for such occasions. Another watershed moment where Michael Kiske is the star attraction. This is followed by "Sleepwalking" which features Cloudy Yang and a very pop rock commercial sound about it, which doesn't grab me a great deal but is obviously aimed at another audience.
"Savoir in the Clockwork" is the epic track of the album, clocking in at over ten minutes, combining the best of everything that Avantasia does. It may be too keyboardish in places for my tastes, and a tad too much orchestration, but it sounds brilliant. Add to this combining the vocal talents of Turner, Byford, Kiske and Sammet all in the same track, and you have something special again. Yeah ok, the quiet silent part in the middle of the track does become annoying - why oh why is it required? - but overall it is a solid track. "Invoke the Machine" is another of the harder rocking tracks on the album, and Ronnie Atkins does a great job on vocals through this track, while the highlight is perhaps the guitaring of Oliver Hartmann who really lets loose in his solo slot. "What's Left of Me" is the slower creeper track, fronted by Eric Martin who excelled on these type of tracks in Mr Big. No prizes for guessing it is probably my least favourite song on the album. This is followed by the redemption of "Dweller in a Dream", where once again Tobi has saved his fastest and most uplifting musical treats to share between himself and Michael Kiske, which again provides the spotlight of the album. The album is then closed out by "The Great Mystery", which probably delves a little too much into the contemplative side of soft metal for me to enjoy completely, despite the excellent vocal performances again from Turner, Byford and Sammet, along with frequent Avantasia vocalist Bob Catley.
The good side of this album mirrors the excellence that can be found on that which has come previously, while the stuff that doesn't quite measure up for me is probably more to do with personal preference of heavier material than the quiet and keyboard backed slower material. Overall though this is another fine addition to the Avantasia collective.

Rating:   "Time flies from the space of an hour"  3.5/5

895. Five Finger Death Punch / The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Volume 1. 2013. 2.5/5

Prior to the Soundwave Festival in 2014 I started researching the bands of whom I had little to no knowledge, and checked out their music in an attempt to decide who I was going to see and who I could safely avoid. Five Finger Death Punch was one of those bands, and had conveniently released two albums during 2013, allowing me to get an up to date perspective on a band that I had heard nothing about to that point in time. This was the first of those, and the second was the following Volume 2. While I didn't have a lot of time before the Festival to digest the album, I found enough to make me interested enough to follow them up on the day, and their live show was excellent, and they continued to pique my interest without ever really grabbing it completely.

Fast forward two years, and my thoughts haven't changed a great deal since that time. The style of metal that Five Finger Death Punch play is not in the main region of my listening pleasure. At times they fall terrifyingly close to a Nickelback theme, which always makes me doubt what I see in any of their music. At times they sound like they are trying to do a Fozzy cover, but surely that would be just plain silly.

"Diary of a Deadman" is a really strange way to end an album that has completely mixed its style so much that its hard to find a point at which you can like the whole shebang. It feels as though it wants to be a ballad again, but between the quiet spoken vocal pieces and the loud drum and riffing sections that then lead us back to the hardcore vocals it just can't make up its mind, and thus I am left in a quandary as to whether I like it or not. I probably don't. The title track is in the same boat, a hardcore ballad that tries its hand at winning over those kind of fans. Like most of the songs here this isn't terrible, but it lacks something that can drag it above the average.

"M.I.N.E (End This Way)" is one of those songs here that delves into the Nickelback arena, a dangerous path for any band to cross given the polar opposites of most people's feelings about that band's music. There must be people out there who like this kind of stuff. I do not.

The obvious fan favourite is the opening track "Lift Me Up", which includes guest vocals from Rob Halford. Always a nice way to gain some promotion amongst the heavy metal community. It has the right energy and structure to be a flag bearer for the album. If the whole album was like this it would be closer to a winning situation, but that is not the case. "I.M.Sin" is perhaps the only other song that comes within cooee of standing on its own, "Dot Your Eyes" would probably be fine except it does sound as though Ivan Moody is trying a bit too hard on vocals.

When I saw the band live I enjoyed their show, I enjoyed their set and though it didn't reach out and grab me like other bands did on that day I felt as though there was something on offer. Repeated listenings to this album has left me more disappointed than disavowed. Perhaps in the long run they just aren't for me after all.
Rating: "I'm gonna change history". 2.5/5.

816. Iron Maiden / Maiden England '88. 2013. 5/5

Back in 1989, Iron Maiden released a live video of the concert from Birmingham on their 'Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour' entitled Maiden England, and for those of us lucky enough to find the right package, it also came with a CD which contained an abbreviated version of the set list, also entitled Maiden England. For years though, it was not available to the general mug punter, unless you recorded the audio from your VHS copy onto cassette to take around with you. Yes, that was an option in those days of the early 1990's. Eventually though, whether it be from the wish that all mug punters should be able to listen to and view this great material, or a way of squeezing more money out of the Maiden promotion machine, it came to pass that not only was the footage remastered and released on DVD for all the kids who had been born since it was recorded to view, it was also re-released on CD and vinyl in remastered form.

All of this was good news for those of us who are still living in the 1980's in our middle age. Better yet was the fact that the audio version was remastered and released in its entirety, meaning that five songs that had been left off the original CD version in order to keep that release to a single CD were now being reinstated, and the release becoming a double album.
Restored to this release that were missing from that original album were "Can I Play With Madness?" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name". "Can I Play With Madness?" was the sixth song from the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album in the set list, and is just as terrific as ever. As the first single taken from the album it is great to hear it here again. "Hallowed Be Thy Name" has been in the set list ever since it was first recorded, and having it restored here helps to complete that set. Also restored is the complete encore trio of "Run to the Hills", "Running Free" and "Sanctuary", all Maiden favourites and all as iconic as the band itself.

As I stated in my review for Maiden England, there was always a possibility that this would forever be compared to the brilliant Live After Death album, and be seen as the inferior younger brother. Certainly it did not, in fact it eventually complemented that album perfectly, bookending the best part s of all Iron Maiden releases during that decade. Now here with the full concert reinstated and remastered to its full beauty, we truly have two great live albums worthy of each other, showcasing the greatness that is Iron Maiden.

Rating:  Now I've got to look for sanctuary from the law.  5/5

746. Gamma Ray / Master of Confusion [EP]. 2013. 4.5/5

What do you do when you have promised your record company a new album, all to be completed by a specified time, and you aren't within cooee of having it completed? Well, you take two tracks you have completed, add a couple of cover songs that you have also done in the studio, tack on six live songs from the last tour as some fun filled, and you have a lengthy EP titled Master of Confusion to put out to keep both record company and fans at bay! See? Easy!

The two new songs, which eventually found themselves onto the next studio album Empire of the Undead, are both terrific. In fact, they are arguably the two best songs on the new album, but that is for another day. "Empire of the Undead" and "Master of Confusion" canter along at a cracking pace, showcasing the best of what makes Gamma Ray so great. "Master of Confusion" tends to tell the story of how this EP came into being, regarding the label waiting for the new album to be delivered, but it doesn't come. Great stuff, fun songs, and brilliantly performed.
The two cover songs are also done at the highest quality. The Holocaust cover "Death or Glory" is done to perfection. Though I know the original version only slightly from the dozen times I have heard it, the Rays have done an awesome job on their homage. This is followed by the cover of the Sweet song "Lost Angels", with added grunt and speed from the original version, it fits in superbly here.
The final six songs were all recorded live on the Skeletons & Majesties Tour, and all of these songs featured on the live album released the previous year, Skeletons & Majesties Live. They are a mixture, with "The Spirit", "Wings of Destiny", "Gamma Ray" and "Insurrection" being terrific. "Farewell", the ballad-like number from Land of the Free comes across well here in a live environment, but my lack of love for these kind of songs should tell you how I feel about it. Also, "Time to Break Free" from the same album includes vocalist Michael Kiske who sang lead vocals on the original song, but the fact that the song is slowed down, and he doesn't really extend himself on it, makes it a tad disappointing.
As a filler EP between releases, this is still a good album to have and listen to, even if some of it had been herd before, and some of it was to be heard again down the track.

Rating:  We're like an open fire, a raging thunderstorm, we are the masters of confusion  4.5/5

742. Stryper / No More Hell to Pay. 2013. 3.5/5

No matter what way you swing when it comes to religion and the matters of God, you cannot help but be impressed by the music that is produced by Stryper, and more to the point, you cannot help but enjoy this album. Whatever their thoughts were when they came into writing and recording this album, they have finally managed to find a formula that is reminiscent of their glory days back in the mid-to-late1980's, utilising their greatest assets to produce an at times scintillating album.

This goes back to their metal roots. There is a definite push on this album to make heavier songs and heavier music, and you can't argue with the results. The drumming and drum sound here is terrific. Rob Sweet appears to be playing his kit harder, and getting the maximum thump out of his toms. The 'visual timekeeper' of old is more than holding up his end of the bargain on this album. Listen to songs such as "Sticks & Stones", and you wonder how he has any unbroken drumsticks left. The always remarkable lead guitar of Oz Fox continues to astound. He and Michael Sweet have a unique and brilliant guitar sound, one that any band would give their eye teeth for. Not to mention Michael's amazing vocal chords once again. He still retains once of the most remarkable voices in music, let alone the hard rock and metal scene. The notes he still hits are ridiculous, without ever sounding like they are forced. The end of "Saved by Love" is a perfect example of this. His vocal harmonies with Oz Fox match those they perform with their guitars. Unbelievable.

I don't listen to Stryper for the lyrics or their perceived message. I listen to Stryper for the music, for those amazing guitars, and to hear Michael Sweet sing. I know every word off the album To Hell With the Devil because I was 17 when it was released and that's what you did when you were 17. Now I could barely tell you a line I remember from this album, but that doesn't mean I like it any less.
I'm not trying to oversell this album, because no matter what your music taste is you will find flaws here along the way. I'd be more impressed if the songs were faster, because that's what I like. My favourites from the album would include "Legacy" and "Te Amo" for that reason. And sure, after a while some of the songs will begin to repeat on you. But it is the style they have headed in that I like. If you enjoyed Stryper back in their golden years you should also enjoy this. If you haven't been a fan, this is unlikely to convert you. Pun intended.

Rating:  I’ve seen enough to write tale after tale.  3.5/5

707. Lita Ford / The Bitch is Back... Live. 2013. 3.5/5

Following up her excellent Living Like a Runaway album from last year, Lita Ford and her band has been out on the road heavily promoting both the product and her live show, with the result being this live album The Bitch is Back... Live, an excellent mix of new material from her latest album and the best of her material from her back catalogue in the 1980's and 1990's.

It's been a long road for Lita, having been away from live performances for the better part of 15 years. What this album does showcase is that she can still sing, and she can still play guitar as effectively as she ever has. The band gels together nicely, and the crowd seems enthusiastic. Lita's byplay between songs sometimes seems a little forced or clichéd, but perhaps that worked for the audience when it was recorded. Surely there is no need to tell your audience to "check out these lyrics" as she does before "Hate". If they've come to see you play live then I'm sure they've already checked out the lyrics.
After opening up with the Elton John cover "The Bitch is Back", Lita showcases her new material to good effect. "Relentless", "Living Like a Runaway" and "Devil in my Head" all come across as good hard rock songs, which all have that extra grunt here in a live setting than their studio counterparts are able to show. "Back to the Cave" and the rollicking "Can't Catch Me" from the Lita album keep the good vibe of this album rolling.
The older songs, such as "Out For Blood" and "Dancing on the Edge", sound really good here, much better in the live environment they deserve than on the under-produced studio albums that they came from. Here they sound like the full blooded hard rocks songs they always should have been. The same can be said for new songs like "Hate", which really benefits from the harder edge the live sound gives the song.
The album finishes with arguably the two biggest songs of her career, "Close My Eyes Forever" and "Kiss Me Deadly". While they both sound great, there are a couple of times when it just sounds like Lita is trying to sing too perfect, instead of letting that live voice come on through. Just a small observation in the whole scheme of the album.

This is a veritable greatest hits compilation in a live setting, and it all comes together rather nicely. For anyone who has followed Lita's career this is a pleasant surprise, and verification of the talent she has not only as a guitarist and singer, but as a writer. Whatever had been the motivation to move away from music, her return with Living Like a Runaway was proof she still had something to give, and The Bitch is Back... Live is further proof that she and her band can still pull it off on the stage. probably not one for the fence-sitters, but fans will enjoy this release.

706. Def Leppard / Viva! Hysteria. 2013. 4.5/5

Earlier in 2013, Def Leppard took up a short term residency in Las Vegas. The highlight of this was that for the first time the band was going to play their biggest selling album, Hysteria, in full every night. Obviously this created quite a surge of interest, and given that it was going to be a limited season, and that it would only occur in the one city, there was little doubt that it would be released both audibly and visually so that fans from all around the world could enjoy the occasion. Thus we are presented with Viva! Hysteria.

Playing the entire album live more than 25 years after its release must have been a gamble, but it the end it is a triumph. Joe Elliott's voice, which I always felt was perhaps going to be the major issue in attempting most of these songs, covers all steps wonderfully. Of course, given that the majority of the songs on this album have still remained in the band's setlist over the years certainly helped. But the first time I put on Viva! Hysteria was a trip down memory lane. It took me all the way back to 1987, the year I finished high school, and played the original Hysteria over and over. The band here is terrific, not only instrumentally but vocally. Everything comes together in a great performance of a terrific album. My favourite songs from the album were always "Animal", "Gods of War" and "Run Riot", and they are still the best songs here. The performance is completed by the addition of two of the band's biggest songs from the Pyromania album, "Rock of Ages' and "Photograph". Terrific stuff.

But wait - there's more! And what's more, the extras are even better! In support to themselves each night, the band came on under the assumed name of Ded Flatbird, which apparently was one of the misheard names the band was called in their early days. On separate nights, the band would play a different setlist as the support band, containing songs that they hadn't performed live for years. For me, the great part was that the majority of these songs were from their first two albums which have been buried in the mists of time. And it is a real buzz to hear the band play songs like "Good Morning Freedom", which was only ever released on the single for "Hello America" off their debut album On Through the Night. Brilliant. Then add other songs from that album such as "Wasted" and "Rock Brigade" - how is a song like "Rock Brigade" not in their setlists more often? I love it. Then there is the brilliant "Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)" from High 'n' Dry. But it is the second support gig that really smokes, headed up by "On Through the Night" and "Slang", before playing the entire Side A (for those that remember the vinyl release) of the brilliant High 'n' Dry album - "Let it Go", "Another Hit and Run", "Saturday Night (High 'n' Dry)", "Bringin' on the Heartbreak" and "Switch 625". Just fantastic! What an awesome spectacle for those that got to attend this gig on that night.

Fans of Def Leppard - certainly those that have been fans since the 1980's - will love this. Not only is it a homage to their most popular and biggest selling album, it pays respect to many of the songs that paved the way for that album, and ones that haven't been performed in a long, long time, as well as the sprinkling of other songs from the era since that found their foundation in Hysteria. This CD/DVD set is a wonderful moment in time, one that all Def Leppard fans will love.

705. Motörhead / Aftershock. 2013. 4/5

It's a new Motörhead album, and though this will be their 21st studio album release, they can still pack a punch. OK, so maybe they will never match up to their classic albums from previous decades, but really, if you ask anyone what their favourite Motörhead albums are, and they will all have a different opinion. That's because over a long period of time, the band has been able to match the quality of its work.

The album kicks off with the immediate hard rocking "Heartbreaker" which not only instantly signals this as a Motörhead album with the grumbling bass and guitar work, but sits at that similar Motörhead tempo that sometimes feels as though it is just ambling along, but actually pushes you faster and harder than you expect. This is followed by "Coup de Grace", another perfect example of the band's best music - hard, fast and catchy. Great solo as well from Phil Campbell.
Now, I'm no blues fan (see any of the rants involving the last half a dozen Gary Moore albums of his life when he decided to follow the blues rather than his rock/metal brilliance of the 1980's), but the band gets away with it for me here. "Lost Woman Blues" is a nice tribute to this style of music (albeit a much heavier version than traditional blues), with all three members performing their roles with distinction. "Dust and Glass", which appears later in the album, is not so much blues as a slower, wistful track that, for me, also interferes with the overall intensity of the album. Both these songs just halt the momentum a bit too much for my liking, which overall is a disappointment.
The prevailing mood is restored with "End of Time" which is followed by the rollicking "Do You Believe". A lot of people consider that every Motörhead album sounds the same, and to a certain degree they are correct, in the same way that AC/DC have their signature sound, and Iron Maiden have their signature sound. After almost 40 years though it is only natural that you will find some similar pieces amongst the collected woodwork. Have a listen to the bridge in "Do You Believe", and tell me you don't find yourself singing "Love Me Like a Reptile" from Ace of Spades. Uncanny likeness, but not an abrasive one. "Death Machine" and "Going to Mexico" are also great songs.
There is a lot to like here, including some great soloing from Phil Campbell on songs such as "Crying Shame" and "Knife". His guitar work all through this album is arguably some of his finest ever with Motörhead. "Queen of the Damned" is old school Motörhead, thrashing along at a breakneck speed with guitars and drums throbbing. In fact, the whole album feels like a throwback to the glory days of the band. It is quintessentially Motörhead. "Keep Your Powder Dry" and "Paralysed" conclude the album on a high, and it is not a difficult choice to play the disc again from the beginning.
Along with Campbell's guitaring, Lemmy's signature bass work still hold every song together. It is the familiarity of this that continues to make the band so beloved by the fans. Mikkey Dee's drumming is also fantastic, keeping the three piece in perfect synchronisation along the way.

As I mentioned at the start, it is difficult to compare this album to the those from the past, given the history they have and the high esteem they are held in. In putting my neck out, I think it compares favourably with everything and anything they have released before. This is a resurgent album, and we can only hope that with Lemmy's well publicised health problem over the past twelve months that it isn't the last we hear in this resurgent phase of the band.

704. Dream Theater / Dream Theater. 2013. 4/5

It's far too easy to fall into the trap of "this is their best album since..." or "I haven't heard a song like this from the band since...". Dream Theater seems to get this with practically every release, and while I don't play those kind of games, given the enormous joy I have for their back catalogue, I always look forward to each new album from this band to see if they can match what they have provided us before.

The opening salvo of "False Awakening Suite" is pure Dream Theater theatrics, setting the tone for the album to come in fine style. It feels like the opening to a show, with curtain closed ready to reveal the start of the movie or concert at any moment. Great stuff. Both songs that follow, "The Enemy Inside" and "The Looking Glass" focus very much on the progressive side of Dream Theater's music, both having their moments guitar riff wise but for the most part settling in their mainstream of James LaBrie's soaring vocals holding sway over a keyboard driven melody throughout.
The instrumental "Enigma Machine" is a triumph, not only the heaviest song on the album but the most technically proficient for all players. John Petrucci's shredding here is fantastic, tripping the light fantastic in a virtual riff-o-rma, and also featuring great work from John Myung and Mike Mangini in the rhythm section.
"The Bigger Picture" delves back into the slower tempo song that tend to send me off to sleep. It has its moments, both with a couple of great riffs fro Petrucci and some of LaBrie's better vocals, but when the band fall into this almost power ballad type of song, it loses me instantly. No matter how good the musicianship is and the vocals are, I can't say that I'm a fan.
"Beyond the Veil" and "Surrender to Reason" are both good rather than great songs. 'Beyond the Veil" again probably concentrates too much on the keyboard power/progressive material with LaBrie sighing over the top for the most part, while "Surrender to Reason" has a nice Petrucci riff underlying the song, along with great work especially from Myung and Mangini again.
Worse is to follow in the category from which "The Bigger Picture" lies though, with the wistful and remorseful "Along For the Ride", which involves even more of the kind of things that make me reach immediately for the skip button. Perhaps I just expect more from Dream Theater because of the band they are, but I find this to be really average on all levels.

The album (eventually) comes to its conclusion with the 22 minute monster "Illumination Theory", another of the band's songs that might come under one title, but with various acts that signify the change in tempo of the song at various points along the way. "I. Paradoxe de la Lumière Noire" acts as the introduction to the song, before "II. Live, Die, Kill" kicks in, starting this lengthy mind bender in the right mode. From here it morphs into "III. The Embracing Circle" which is more like a movie or musical score, so much so that it completely breaks up the mojo of the entire song, if only because it is so completely different and mood changing. It's like an ad break on television, it's a time to get up and make yourself a cup of tea. After four minutes of this it crashes back into "IV. The Pursuit of Truth", the best act of the song, with Petrucci and Rudess really hammering through their solo pieces with gusto. The concluding act, "V. Surrender, Trust & Passion" is much like it's title, a chance for LaBrie to croon as he does best over the top of a dramatic power ballad keyboard arrangement, before Petrucci's guitar solo closes out the major finishing piece, followed by two minutes of Rudess piano at the end. The song has it all, drawing from all corners of the Dream Theater entity, and though many will love it in its entirety, other like me will probably believe the best parts of the song could have been salvaged for a shorter, tighter delivery. But then, it wouldn't be Dream Theater if that happened.

Mike Mangini's drummingon Dream Theater is really just superb. Having come into the previous album with everything pretty much done, this is his real first chance to put his stamp on the band, and in reality he steals the show. His timekeeping is spectacular, his rolls and synchronisation are stupendous. Mike Portnoy may have entertained visions of returning to his band in the future, but one can't see that occurring while Mangini is playing like this.

Having gone through here song by song to review the album, it feels a little like I don't find a lot to like. But as with many Dream Theater albums, I find that you need to take on the album as a whole and not try and break it down in order to like it. Sure, some of the songs on their own would be painful to take over a period of time, but in just listening to the album from start to finish without any predetermination involved, I really do enjoy the album. It can never come close to matching my favourite Dream Theater albums, but it is more than pleasurable just the same.

703. Death Angel / The Dream Calls For Blood. 2013. 4/5

The return of the mighty Death Angel for the next album in their second coming has been a wait in itself, but it is not a disappointment.

Death Angel is steeped in the finest traditions of thrash metal, and they once again prove that thrash is not dead, nor has it been compromised by those bands that holds its values closest to their hearts in the modern age. The magnificent rhythm section held together by bassist Damien Sisson and the sensational brilliance of Will Carroll just careers along here, keeping the tempo tight whether it be at a normal pace, or suddenly speeding up to gigantic proportions. As the 'new section' of the band, they probably had a bit of living up to in the eyes and ears of the fans who have followed this band from the beginning, but they have cast aside any doubts as to their ability to help continue the Death Angel legacy.
Mark Osegueda's vocals are again front and centre of this release, and he continues to walk that fine line between pure vocalist and note perfect semi-screamer, still somewhere between early Hetfield and early Araya. How he can continue to sing for the entire song, like he does in "Caster of Shame" for instance, is just amazing. His vocals here are still as stunning as they have ever been, passionately coming at you with that brilliant thrash power he is renown for. It makes it almost impossible to sing along to - just because who has that kind of vocal range? - but it is just brilliant all the same.
The vocals would probably be the highlight of the album, if it wasn't for the awesome display put on once again by the duelling magnificence of guitarists Rob Cavestany and Ted Aguilar. Their guitaring is pinpoint perfect, whether it be acoustically or rhythmically underscore riffs, or simply shredding in duet through the middle of a song, or their amazing solo technique. This is the essence of thrash metal, and these two are the stars of this album, their guitaring stealing the show on all counts. Amazing stuff.
"Detonate" is an excellent example of the strengths of this band as a whole. The harmonic guitar intro moves into the thumping drum beat, and the building of the vocals decibels, while the meandering speed of the song also builds to its crescendo as the guitar solos crush until the dramatic conclusion. Brilliant stuff.
My favourites on the album include "Left For Dead", "The Dream Calls For Blood", "Execution / Don't Save Me", "Caster of Shame" and "Empty", as well as the great version of Black Sabbath's "Heaven and Hell", which not only teaches us where a piece of this band's inspiration is, but also that there was only one Ronnie James Dio.

Metallica and Megadeth, and even Slayer, stopped being thrash metal bands a long time ago, and morphed into the heavyweights of heavy metal that they are. But thrash hasn't died, and along with the new bands coming through, it is still the giants such as Death Angel and Testament and Exodus who lead the charge for this sometimes forgotten legacy of metal. The Dream Calls For Blood is another installment of that legacy, and keeps that thrash candle burning brightly.

702. Megadeth / Countdown to Extinction Live. 2013. 4/5

Following on from the success of their 2010 tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their finest album Rust in Peace by playing the entire album live, and releasing it as a DVD/CD package, Megadeth decided that the idea was so popular that they would do it all again. Thus, towards the end of 2012 the band hit the road, this time mixing in some of their greatest songs with a complete rendition of 1992's Countdown to Extinction as the main course.
We've reached an age where, in the last decade, the live album has become the norm rather than the unexpected. It used to be that a live album came out only once in a generation, in order to showcase the live setting of a greatest hits compilation. Now, however, bands like Iron maiden are releasing them every couple of years, which is fine if they keep finding people to buy them (like me). On top of this, it has become a fad to play a complete album, from first track to last, in a live setting, also something that has been taken on in excitement by the fans. Now your favourite albums can be heard completely, even the songs that have never had a live airing before this came to pass.
Is this a good thing? Well, in essence it's for the real fans, and not the part-timers.

For me it was fun to hear this whole album done live. Sure, I don't think the production of this release was as pure as with Rust in Peace Live, but I really enjoyed hearing it. There's no doubt that if you want to hear the songs in their pristine condition you would grab the original album from the shelf and put it on, but this was still excellent. The best songs here in the live setting for me were "Symphony of Destruction", "Foreclosure of a Dream", "Countdown to Extinction" and "Psychotron".
The album is bookended by other great Megadeth songs, the favourite for me here being "Peace Sells", with the audience participation taking the cake. Still a great song, and Dave letting the audience sing the chorus sounds awesome.
In the long run you can probably take or leave this release depending on how much you enjoy live albums. It is not the most pristine of releases, but it brought back a lot of memories for me, and showcases another album from Megadeth's halcyon era.

701. Black Label Society / Unblackened. 2013. 2/5

I can only say that I went into this album with some serious reservations as to what I was going to encounter once the disc hit my CD player. I mean, the 'unplugged' album craze that started in the early 1990's with the help of MTV was something that, for many bands, worked really well to showcase their music in a different arena, and certainly Seattle bands such as Nirvana and Alice in Chains efforts were truly brilliant. But then it began to seep into the heavy metal genre, and you just knew that things could only get very very bad when that started to happen. Why? Well, did you really need to have Queensrÿche doing songs unplugged, just because "Silent Lucidity" had become such a huge single hit? No, you did not. And then, as the decade wore on, we even had the mega-huge metal bands such as Metallic and Megadeth performing parts of their concerts in an unplugged setting. Seriously - I did not have to hear "Motorbreath" or "Symphony of Destruction" unplugged, I just need to hear it at a thousand decibels and at a hundred miles an hour. Just because "Nothing Else Matters" somehow becomes your biggest single hit doesn't mean you need to trash your other brilliant songs.
So we come to this album, a live set by Black Label Society, stripped back to a certain degree and bringing forth not only a form of heavy metal music that I generally abhor (the afore-mentioned 'unplugged' set), but with it the mix of already recorded slow instrumental-type songs that are my least favourite part of the BLS armoury, and brilliant faster paced BLS songs, but in a slowed down acoustic driven atmosphere. So did this album really ever have a chance with me?

Without dragging this review out into the dark depths of time, I am as disappointed with this release as I have been with almost ever Black Label Society album since 1919 Eternal. The musicianship is just superb, with the whole band sounding just fantastic. Zakk once again showcases all of his skills, from his piano playing to his fine guitar work, and especially in some of the solo sections where he improvises and extends to guitar junkies delight. The sound engineering and mixing is terrific, and the album sounds wonderful as a result. But it is slow and melancholy and with every acoustically driven song in the BLS catalogue, and it just downright bores me to tears to listen to it. At just on two hours for the double disc set, you can't help but find yourself yawning profusely by the time the end finally arrives.
Perhaps the greatest damning effect of this is what has been done to arguably one of the band's finest songs, "Stillborn". It has been drawn out to a molasses-stretching almost nine minutes, ridding itself of all of the speed and heaviness of the original, with Zakk moaning his way through the vocals before substituting a four minute solo break in the middle to perhaps try and make up for what they have done to the song. Zakk's guitaring is great, but it has monstered what I consider a classic song.

I'm sure there are many fans out there up for this, who enjoy Zakk's slower material, and will as such find this to be a masterpiece. For me, I think this may well be the final nail in the coffin when it comes to Black label Society releases. It has been over a decade now that I have been hoping for more, and on most occasions I come away feeling massive disappointment. That is no reflection on the material as such, just that it is just not what I enjoy listening to. With that being the case, it is probably time to close the cover and move on.

700. Trivium / Vengeance Falls. 2013. 4/5

I was looking forward to this album for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I think possibly for the first time since I have been listening to Trivium, I was ready for a new release from the band. I enjoyed In Waves but never really got fully connected to it. This time around however, I also have the knowledge that I will be seeing the band live for the first time at the upcoming Soundwave Festival, which also raised my excitement at hearing the new album.
I had the album at work, and played it on constant rotation, but after three or four listening cycles I was still slightly ambivalent about it. Sometimes you need a trigger to get you into an album, something that finally hits home for you that the band or the album works, and from that point you can see (or hear) it everywhere. At that point you find that certain element that you couldn't necessarily find on previous listens. In most circumstances it is one song on the album that really draws you in, and then the rest will follow. For me that song turned out to be one of the bonus tracks, a cover of two of my favourite Misfits songs, "Skulls" and "We Are 138". "Skulls... We Are 138" is an awesome tribute to an awesome band, and is a wonderful homage to the original versions. Hearing the passion that went into this was my trigger, and the rest of the album fell into place as a result.

It feels as though this album has been drawn into a more commercial aspect, if only because my wife has heard this now and doesn't hate it, unlike Ascendancy for instance. It is a more mature sound from those early albums, no doubt directed by producer David Draiman. And while some long time and fanatical supporters of the band may start to feel there is a degree of selling out involved, I can only say that I really enjoy this album. The production is slick, and each instrument is clearly defined in the mix. Nick Augusto's drumming is simply superb, his precision is a joy to air-drum along to. The guitars too and terrific, with some fantastic riffs and lineage. Matt Heafy's vocals, for me, are just getting better and better. There is little doubt that there is a toning down and lessening of the growling vocals from the band's early days, but I really think they are being compensated by the quality of the music as well. While I always felt that the songs on other albums lacked power when they were dominated by clear vocals, here on Vengeance Falls that is certainly not the case. This is a complete package musically, and Heafy does a superb job.
My favourite songs from the album include "Villainy Thrives", "At the End of This War" "Vengeance Falls" and "Strife".

This is the fourth successive day at work where Vengeance Falls has been the only album on rotation, and it is still getting better with each listen. If that isn't a ringing endorsement to the album then I don't know what is.

696. Newsted / Heavy Metal Music. 2013. 3.5/5

After years of waiting for the re-appearance of the "real" Jason Newsted, his revitalisation has finally arrived in the form of his band's first full album, daringly titled Heavy Metal Music. I say daring, because it could have fallen flat on its face if it couldn't live up to its name in the ears of the listening public. Everyone's idea of heavy metal is probably different, but Newsted can rest easy on this occasion.
What I get most from this album is that there is a great solid base in every song to launch into something even more powerful and memorable, but in some ways it never quite happens. I just felt that with most of the songs, they could have used a bit of thrash speed about them to get the most out of the riffs that were a part of the songs. For the most part this settles in a very moody metal kind of tempo, never really extending itself beyond the same time signature all the way through. In some ways I feel like the music has been written around the lyrics, and given that Jason knew he was going to be playing as well as singing, he didn't want to move too far away from the mold he had set so that he didn't have to complicate things. Perhaps that's unfair, and also wrong, but that is what it feels like to me when listening to some of these songs.

I like the opener "Heroic Dose", it starts the album off on a great note. It has a good riff, nice solo, and Jason's moody vocals over the top. This is followed by "Soldierhead" from the Metal EP, which is excellent, utilising a bit more speed than is prevalent through most of the album. This was Jason's first released taster from his "return to heavy metal" which was well received at the time. "As the Crow Flies" is another great tune, again set up by a solid riff underlying the whole song and accentuated by the vocals. Terrific stuff.
"Ampossible" has a very Hendrix guitar riff to begin with, before settling back into a similar rhythm as is the mindset of the album. Jason bravely puts his vocal range out there on this, stretching it to its limits. I admire his courage because that's not an easy thing to do when it isn't the best string to your bow. This song rocks even moreso because of it. "Long Time Dead" is another rumbling creeper, building nicely in energy and aggression throughout the song with the drums and guitars and especially Newsted's vocals to a satisfying conclusion.
"Above All" sounds to me a lot like an Alice Cooper song on crack. The guitars sound like an Alice Cooper album from the late 1970's, and even Jason's vocals remind me a lot of Alice Cooper, especially when he is singing "you're freaking out, you're freaking out, you're freaking out!". This is a different style from earlier songs, but it works in well.
"King of the Underdogs" is the second song from this year's Metal EP, which initially helped the album because of its familiarity. "Nocturnus" is a slower, darker song, emoting memories of early Black Sabbath in tempo and composition. "Twisted Tail of the Comet" is another eclectic piece, again drawing from Sabbath's legacy when it comes to the guitaring late in the song. This is another song which builds through the song to end on a high. "Kindevillusion" and "Futureality" close the album out, and while they are both okay, I think they are both just a little overlong and repetitive.

Personally, I think it is great that Jason has gotten out there again and put himself forward. This album finally says "this is me, this is my music". It is something we have all been waiting for since he terminated his role in Metallica. I think we all expected something special from him - I mean, why else would you leave Metallica if you didn't have something brilliant to share with the world? Then we suffered through the agony and pain that was the cesspit called Echobrain, the reasonable efforts with Voivod, and the calamitous rabble of Rock Star: Supernova. After all of that, one had to wonder if anything good would ever come from the past decade of turbulence.
And so we have Heavy Metal Music. It isn't Album of the Year material, it isn't even Debut of the Year stuff. It is a very solid metal sounding album, with some good riffs, some good lyrics and some good intentions. I admit that I expected something a bit more punk oriented and with a bit more speed than the majority of this album contains, but all that aside, there is some excellent stuff here. And let's face it, this is just the beginning for this band. As a starting point, it is well worth getting on board.

695. James LaBrie / Impermanent Resonance. 2013. 3/5

Dream Theater lead vocalist James LaBrie continues his impressive musical output between his band's albums with his latest solo band effort, Impermanent Resonance which is another step forward in this vector of his career. Having built up his band over the course of his last couple of solo efforts, they come together here and really begin to make there own mark.

The album kicks off in a frenzy, which really hits you from the first moment of the first song. The heavy drum and guitar riff is offset by LaBrie's brilliant vocal alongside the screaming vocal of his drummer Peter Wildoer. "Agony" is a fantastic opening track, combining the best elements that this band has brought to the table in recent years. The energy and preciseness of the music sets the album off with a bang. This is followed by "Undertow" which continues in this frame. It is easy to see influences from bands such as Linkin Park and Sevendust, but they have really made their own sound from these influences. The opening tracks are aggressive yet placating, expressive yet stylistically within a rock framework. It is great to hear this album has set itself apart from the style that is prevalent in Dream Theater. Whereas their music can be technical to a fault, with time changes thrown in as much to be different than to serve the purposes of a song, this is much more of a straight forward heavy rock sound and beat, sticking to historical beats rather than trying to reinvent the timescale. Wildoer's screaming vocals really bring a new dimension to the music, and further from hindering LaBrie's natural brilliant vocals, they complement them wonderfully within these songs.
While I think the first half of this album is excellent, I do believe it drifts off in the second stanza, and heads towards a disappointing conclusion. Songs like "Back on the Ground" and "Holding On" I find tedious and boring, given their natural tendency to drift towards being a power ballad but try to stay just heavy enough to be catagorised that way. Even "Lost in the Fire" is that way inclined. "Say You're Still Mine" is very much a power ballad, and really does kill the latter part of the album for me. The closer "I Will Not Break" helps balance some of that off, there is just a little too much... softness... for me in the back half of this album.

Marco Sfogli on guitar is again superb. It's a tough ask to have someone ask you to play guitar in your "other" band, knowing that you are going to be compared to that "other' guitarist. His work here and on previous LaBrie albums does not pale in comparison to John Petrucci, though there appears to be less of his break out guitar solos as there has been on previous efforts. Wildoer's vocals are well supported by his terrific drumming on this album, and Ray Riendeau is great on bass. Co-collaborator and keyboardist Matt Guillory has again done marvellous work in both writing and playing on the songs here.

In the long run this is a mixed bag whichever way your music loyalties flow. I'd have loved to have heard more of the metal energy that cam in the first four or five songs of the album, whereas others may think they came at them too hard, and prefer what comes on the second side of the album. Perhaps in an effort to keep everyone happy, they may well have done neither to any great satisfaction. A good album, that perhaps could have been better.

670. Metallica / Soundwave Festival Sydney 24-2-2013 [LiveMetallica]. 2013. 5/5

This is another of the ever-popular releases by Metallica from their LiveMetallica conglomerate, where you can purchase every live show they do.
This one was from their headlining set at this year's Soundwave Festival in Sydney, which I attended. As it turned out however, I did not actually see Metallica that night. Apart from the ridiculous crush to get into the stadium, and the impossibility of finding a seat or even a standing room position in which to see them, I had decided that I should head out to the outer stages and check out some bands that I had not seen before. The only songs I actually heard that night were "Orion" (which sounded awesome) and "One", as I walked around the outside of ANZ Stadium on my way to my next 'gig'.

I got this anyway, as I like to collect gigs that bands have done in Sydney. And the setlist here is a virtual who's who of Metallica's best, with songs that Australian's haven't heard live from the band for a long time, such as "Hit the Lights", "Holier Than Thou", "Ride the Lightning", the aforementioned "Orion" and "Fight Fire With Fire". Terrific stuff. Throw in classics like "Master of Puppets", "Creeping Death", "Blackened" and "Fade to Black" and you have a great gig list. OK, so James mightn't be able to sing those songs like he used to, and Lars doesn't even pretend that he can play the drums on those songs like he used to, but it is still great to hear them live.

Am I disappointed I didn't actually get to see this set live? Yes and no. I'm glad I saw the bands I did at the time, and the fact I can listen to this now whenever I want makes up for that in my mind.

669. Queensrÿche / Queensrÿche. 2013. 3.5/5

12 months after the acrimonious split between band and lead singer, and twenty years after what appears to have become their theoretical peak, this album, the eponymous Queensrÿche can settle most of the arguments that have floated around for most of that time. There will still be two sides to the arguments, but no doubt one side will be more heavily populated with this release.
Led by new lead vocalist Todd Le Torre, a man whose own voice lends itself almost remarkably to his predecessor, this is the first album released by the Queensrÿche band in their new era. The lead break on the opening song makes it clear immediately that this is the real deal. This is just a part of what has been missing for so many years, and here on "Where Dreams Go to Die" you immediately open your eyes and say to yourself "There it is... THAT'S Queensrÿche!". There is more urgency in all of the songs, each one different from the next, but none allows the album to drift into an ineffective sleep, which has been a real bugbear of mine over recent releases. The strength comes from guitaring that exudes more energy, a drumkit that appears to have rejuvenated itself and begun to emit the kind of power drumming that it was once renown for, and a vocal capacity that is at the forefront of every song, be it slower and melodic or faster and powerful, and not reedy or seeping into the background.

In comparison to the album released by Geoff Tate under the Queensrÿche moniker, Frequency Unknown, it really is no contest. Put more succinctly, that album headed in the same direction as the previous three or four full Queensrÿche albums, albums that were written by Geoff and others outside the band, and are almost universally shunned by the majority of Queensrÿche fans. This album, written entirely by the band members including Le Torre, is much closer to what most Queensrÿche fans would relate to as a Queensrÿche album. The band SOUNDS like Queensrÿche again, and Le Torre's vocals are driving the songs, not halting them in their tracks. Want to really notice the difference? Play this back-to-back with Frequency Unknown or Dedicated to Chaos or American Soldier. The music doesn't lie. This album has energy bursting throughout, and compared to the dull and lifeless example of the other three albums mentioned there is no contest.

But here's the bottom line. This is a major recovery of sorts, and it is enjoyable to listen to and to realise that this band still has more to offer than the past decade or so has shown. But even having said that, there are no songs here that really make you sit forward in your chair when you hear them begin, ones that snap you to attention in anticipation of what is to come. From a personal point of view, this album is faithful to the progressive style of music that the band played on their early albums, but I think the opportunity for some more firepower in some of the songs was missed. That may well have been what the band was looking for. A song like "Vindication" is probably the fastest song on the album, but to me could have had a bit more grunt in it. Still, this is a small, personal taste conclusion. The song is still great, and is one of the pointers towards the two halves of the Queensrÿche play that has been going on. Another is "A World Without", one of the slower songs on the album, but executed with the real Queensrÿche presence so that it doesn't become a dreary ballad-type.

The more you listen to the album, the better it gets. I don't want to sound like a broken record (no pun intended) but this is the first time in a generation when I can honestly say I love listening to a Queensrÿche album. I didn't have to try hard to love it, and then failed. If anything, I was as hard on this during my first listens as any new album release in recent years, because to me the band had to prove that they really could produce something to show that the past twelve months, the past five years, the past fifteen years, was really worth it. And they HAVE done it. They have produced an album that not only shows they can still be a force in the music world, but that the future may even be brighter.

668. Megadeth / Super Collider. 2013. 2.5/5

With Dave Mustaine being the fairly opinionated guy that he is, one wonders what his response might have been if, back in 1983, before Megadeth had formed, he had been offered a copy of 2013's Super Collider and asked what his opinion of it was. I'm guessing that his response would have been in the negative, perhaps even a violent negative. I just can't see that the man who was about to write such classics as "Wake Up Dead" and "Hook in Mouth" would think that there was very much of virtue in the album that he had been asked to listen to.
Given this, I can really only agree with that opinion. I'm not sure what I expected from this album, given what I felt was the unevenness of the last few Megadeth albums. What I didn't expect was the almost total lack of grunt and power. I mean, Megadeth was at the forefront of thrash metal, wasn't it? You'd have a hard time convincing anyone of that if they had heard nothing of Megadeth except this album. Honestly, this would be like putting on what you thought was the new Foo Fighters album, but finding out it is actually the new Nickelback album. That is the difference between what I would consider Megadeth to be and what I found on Super Collider.

Is it bad? Well, no I guess not. But wow it is different. The opening song "Kingmaker" is OK, a decent riff and it moves along at a reasonable pace. "Super Collider" is a drifter, in that it never really kicks into gear, and Dave's vocal just wanders through the song with out ever gaining any momentum. "Burn!" almost sounds like a reject song from Countdown to Extinction or Youthanasia, one that didn't have enough to be considered for those albums... but it makes it here. The same could be said for "Built for War". Having made it this far into the album, you really begin to wonder what the motivation was for the band this time around. Sure, there are some reasonable licks and solos in the mix, but where is the energy and emotive moments, the ones that get up out of your chair and start pumping your fist in the air, or playing that air guitar or drum kit? They can't be found here. I mean, "Off the Edge" is a boring, repetitive hard rock song that goes nowhere musically or vocally. It is lifted by the solo break, but then it is back to monotony.

"Dance in the Rain" is OK, it too reminds you of those previously mentioned albums with Dave's monologue replacing singing for much of the song. "Forget to Remember" is my favourite song on the album, but I'm not really sure what attracts me to it. My next favourite would be "Cold Sweat", the Thin Lizzy cover that concludes the album. It really cements the whole experience as a very un-Megadeth release. There is basically no metal on here at all, it is a very hard-rock oriented album, albeit with that Megadeth sounding twist. And seriously, what the fuck is with the fiddle and other assorted instruments in the song "The Blackest Crow"?! That song really makes me question where this band is headed. I don't have anything against artists trying some innovation in their material, but I do question the setting. B-sides of singles, or one-off EP's between albums, would be the perfect place. Megadeth has already had its Risk and I'm not sure they need to go down that path again.

Whatever Dave was looking to achieve with this, I guess only he knows. It is Megadeth's highest charting album since Youthanasia which only goes to prove that good marketing can get people to buy almost anything. As for its musical direction, as a lifelong fan of the band almost since their inception, this album is the one that has caused me the most concern. Perhaps it is a one off, where some new things were attempted that will not be the case the next time around. Or perhaps this is the beginning of Megadeth's journey to commercial hard rock, and the attempt to pander to hard rock fans. Whatever the answer is, all I can suggest is that while this is not a complete dead loss, it has drifted into what I would term as "easy listening hard rock". It is up to the individual as to what they like, but for me, this isn't it.

667. Masterplan / Novum Initium. 2013. 3.5/5

Following on from what turned out to be the rather lukewarm previous album Time To Be King, Masterplan has again parted ways with lead vocalist Jorn Lande, which may well turn out to be a blessing in disguise, given that the band probably needs to find its own identity away from that of their oft-quoted and adored former singer. This brought on a real reformatting of the band, with Martin “Marthus” Skaroupka (drums), Rick Altzi (vocals) and Jari Kainulainen (bass) coming in for this album to join original members and writers Roland Grapow (guitar) and Axel Mackenrott (keyboards).

From the very beginning of the album, it is obvious that Masterplan has regained their mojo. It is immediately obvious in both the music and the singing. Rick Altzi sounds much like Jorn Lande without being a clone or copycat, and as such his vocals fit very snugly into the Masterplan edict. Songs such as "The Game", "Black Night of Magic" and "Return from Avalon" are top shelf songs, up with the best this band has produced.

So, if I stick to my usual power metal album checklist, I think you'll find that all the boxes are ticked.

1. Fantastic drumming throughout, punctuated by some at times superb double kick that really drives the songs along (kudos " Marthus")
2. Awesome European power metal vocals, reaching the heights and stretching my own singing beyond its limits as I try to sing along. I have not heard of anything else that Rick Altzi has done in his career, but he is the absolute perfect fit for Masterplan, and his work here is incredible. Take a bow.
3. The power ballad, laden with keyboards which dominate. Yep, we've got a couple, and yes for me they just slow the momentum of the album at the wrong times. Look, for power metal ballads the ones on this album aren't so bad and they are well done so I can forgive them a little.
4. Lots of guitar driven songs. Roland Grapow's magnificent guitaring and great soloing here continues to produce the goods.

Truth be told, I am surprised by how good this album is. It's not that I expected it to be awful, but with Masterplan they are always going to have the unenviable task of being compared to their first two album, which they are unlikely to be able to match. Their next two albums were good without ever touching those heights, and with a lot of the band moving on before this albums release... well... who was to know what would come. What HAS come has been the trademark Masterplan sound, excellent songs that showcase the best that this band has to offer. The new members all produce the goods, while Roland and Axel continue to lead this band into new territory. One of the best albums so far in 2013.

665. Alice in Chains / The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here. 2013. 2/5

It was great news for all that Alice in Chains was producing another album. After the excellent comeback of Black Gives Way to Blue there was plenty of cause to be excited at the prospect. There was also a whisper that the band was looking to produce a heavier album this time around. Now, it's all fine to come out and do a heavy album and really push that aspect. With my love of heavy metal, I encourage it from most bands. But heavy is not just tuning that guitar down to a guttural peak and play slow chunking riffs, it needs to have direction and variety, and a hook to grab you and drag you in. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here really lacks that hook.

There is not the same emotion in the songs or the strength in the vocals. Not the same inspiration, nor the same drive. They seem to be dawdling along to their destination, not taking you along for the ride. The lyrical aspect here is almost nauseating, like reciting poetry in a monotone, uninflected voice. Everything seems to be playing in the same key, at exact the same tempo.
And I think that this is the main problem here. While it SOUNDS like an Alice in Chains album, it just doesn't have the energy and heart of an Alice in Chains album. It really just plods along, almost like an approaching migraine, grinding its way along at the same sort of pace and constant nagging, until you can really take no more. Yep, this is grunge, but almost to an excess, as if they were saying "These are our roots, rediscover them - to the MAX!"
"Voices" is the first song that really tugs at the memory strings. I can almost hear Layne's spirit coming in to harmonise along in the chorus. But even this song just misses a chance to show some power and reach out and grab you through your chest. Instead, it warbles along, like a stagnant stream searching for a surge of water behind it to push it along. That surge never seems to arrive.

Unlike it's predecessor, Black Gives Way to Blue, which had some great songs, the vocals here are pretty much just tracking together. There is no great duelling of voices between Jerry and Will, nor any great harmonising between them.
In the end this has come to a disappointing climax. There just isn't anything here that can lift this album above the average.
It's not that I hate this album, it's just that, overall, I don't like it either. It missed the mark, and it is missing some of the vital ingredients that made Alice in Chains a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps in a live environment these songs would come to life, but from my stereo speakers it sounds like a funeral, and the bell may be tolling for thee.