1185. Ozzy Osbourne / Patient Number 9. 2022. 4/5

How the hell is Ozzy Osbourne still alive?! After the life he has led, and the substance abuse he has been a part of, it still boggles the mind that firstly he is still alive, and secondly that he is still able to perform on stage as well as he does, though that has certainly almost ceased in recent times. Indeed, following the reunification with Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler for the “13” album for Black Sabbath, it was felt that perhaps that would be the conclusion of his performing career. But no, instead he worked up to and into the covid pandemic period to produce the “Ordinary Man” album, one that utilised a plethora of guest musicians, and changed up his usual style of music. There was some chart success for the album, and also his collaboration on a single with Post Malone, and while this drew in some new fans to his music, it has to be said that many of the long term fans – myself included – felt as though it was a mixed bag, and that after several listens were happy to put it back on the shelves without too much thought of dragging it back out again.
So when it came to announcing this new album, it did come as a surprise. On top of his growing illness with Parkinson’s disease and everything else that he was working with, a new album, coming so soon after his previous one, seemed like a pipe dream. And it wouldn’t be unfair to suggest that my own feelings on a new album were mixed. On one hand, I’m always excited for the release of a new Ozzy album – how could you not be? On the other hand, most of his albums over the last two decades have been uneven, and in places just plain ordinary. You always hope for brilliance, but was there any scope for any of that to remain?
Once again, there were a lot of artists used throughout the album, though the bulk of the songwriting was done by Ozzy (presumably) alongside two other writers, producer, instrumentalist and song writer Andrew Watt, and Alexandra Tamposi who had co-written hit songs with many modern day pop artists. Other artists were then invited to submit guitar riffs and the like, from which they would then join in and help flesh out those riffs that the main writers liked into full songs. In the long run what this created was an eclectic album with different flavours and sounds, while still retaining a core within the tracks to ensure they fit well together on the album, which in my opinion made this album a much better listen than the previous album.

In my opinion, what makes this album an improvement on the previous album is that there has been a better quality of musician brought in to help write and perform on this album. Now that isn’t to decry those who were a part of the last album, but some of the guys brought in on this album KNOW how to write and play on an Ozzy Osbourne album. The number one in this category is Zakk Wylde, whose mysterious absence from Ozzy albums at times over the last two decades is noticed when it happens. It was definitely noticed on “Ordinary Man”. On this album Zakk is back, and plays on many of the songs and is heavily featured on four – the brilliant “Parasite”, “Mr Darkness”, the sensational solo section of “Nothing Feels Right” and “Evil Shuffle”. Ozzy has complained in the past of Zakk’s writing being ‘too Black Label Society’ for his albums, but when Zakk is shredding it feels like Ozzy is at his strength.
Then we have Tony Iommi who contributes to two songs, “No Escape from Now”, which sounds like it could have come straight off that Black Sabbath album ‘13’ with Tony’s solo, and also “Degradation Rules” which tries to hark back to the beginning, with Ozzy joining in on harmonica. It’s great to hear these two together again.
Beyond this, there are some other pretty handy axe wielders on show. Jeff Beck contributes on the first single and title track, as well as the later track “A Thousand Shades”, both excellent songs. Eric Clapton comes on board on “One of Those Days” and does a typically excellent job. And then take a look at the list of other guest musicians who contribute to these tracks. Drummers Chad Smith and Taylor Hawkins before his unfortunate demise, bass guitarists Rob Trujillo and Duff McKagen, as well as Josh Homme and Mike McCreedy. And not to forget the great violins in both “One of Those Days” and the terrific “Dead and Gone”.
All of this – the song writing partners, the amazing musicians involved – has created a wonderful portrait piece, one completed by Ozzy himself. His vocals are still just amazingly good, and how can you not love hearing Ozzy sing? There’s no shouting or screaming, there’s no missed notes or vocals a little off. Every song here sounds terrific, and Ozzy is absolutely on song in every way. And, as I’ve said before, for someone who has had his health issues and at the age of 73 is getting up there, his voice is still the one that many people think of as the best in heavy metal.

I was 50/50 going into this album when I heard of its imminent release. And I love Ozzy, but for me he hadn’t really done a truly Ozzy album since “Ozzmosis” back in 1995. Every album since has been flawed, boring, or pieces of both. He had moved away from the success of his early writing cohorts in Bob Daisley and Zakk Wylde, and gone with different sets of collaborators, and I felt that this harmed the success of those albums. He had even spurned Zakk from playing on some of those albums, and that didn’t feel right either.
But from the moment I hear the first single, which was the title track, it did feel and sound a lot more naturally like Ozzy Osbourne, and that gave me confidence going into the album proper. And I haven’t been disappointed. I don’t think there is a bad track on this album. Sure, there are a few that are a bit slower or go to other others that I am not entirely thrilled about when it comes to my music pleasure, but overall I think this is a triumph. And it is made by the players. It’s hard to dismiss Chad Smith, Rob Trujillo, Zakk, Iommi who are the main players here, along with all the other who make their contributions. The songs are written in the style that allows Ozzy to be himself, and be dragged along into the mix of the excellent musicianship and song structures that exist here. Whether you are a guitar lover, or an Ozzy lover, there is something for everyone here. It is undoubtedly the best album Ozzy has released in 25+ years, which is truly a remarkable achievement in itself, mirroring the recent success of Judas Priest’s “Firepower” album in channelling the past in a positive modern way.
Is this now the final hurrah for Ozzy? It seems almost impossible that he would be able to do any more live tours. But the excellence of this album so soon after “Ordinary Man” could perhaps suggest that, when it comes to releasing another album, or albums, then perhaps we have not heard the end of the great man. No matter what, this is an album to be listened to. In fact, for me, it is probably the album of 2022. And I never thought I’d be saying that about an Ozzy Osbourne album in the 2020’s.

1184. Skid Row / The Gang's All Here. 2022. 4/5

If you are as old as me, and were at that perfect age for when Skid Row first hit the music scene, and for a period of about six years stole the limelight and looked as though they had the world at their feet, then you have probably been waiting around for 25 years to see if they could ever regain those feet that appeared to come out from under them in the late 1990’s, with the somewhat acrimonious split with lead singer Sebastian Bach and drummer Rob Affuso.
In the years since, there has been a litany of lead singers and drummers who have populated the band, while the released work of the band has dried up to a trickle. Only two full albums, “Thickskin” and “Revolutions Per Minute”, were released in the years between 1996 and 2022, with another couple of EPs that tried to keep the flame alive beyond that.
Former Dragonforce lead vocalist ZP Theart had been with the band since 2016, and the talk of a new full length album began once again. However, despite the fact that Theart had a terrific voice, there always seemed to be a delay on just what was occurring with the band during this time. It was intimated that the personalities didn’t quite mix as well as they would have hoped, while it can be said that perhaps his vocals didn’t match the music either.
At the start of 2022 the band announced that Theart had moved on, and almost immediately they announced the recruitment of Erik Gronwall as his replacement. Little known outside of his native Sweden, Gronwall had won Swedish Idol in 2009, and gone on to a successful solo career as a result, and also joined the band H.E.A.T, with whom he recorded four albums.
At some stage Gronwall came on Skid Row’s radar, with many fans tagging them on social media about his vocals and how much they would suit Skid Row. There is little doubt that his range and voice do sound remarkably like original vocalist Seb Bach’s, but the band backed Theart despite this. Eventually though, the planets aligned, and the band decided to go with Gronwall, not only as their new lead singer, but to front the band on their first new album in 16 years.

If there was any real doubt as to why the band recruited Gronwall as their lead vocalist, the opening tracks to the album lay that to rest. From the opening strains of “Hell or High Water”, the similarity in the vocals between he and Bach is significant. “Hell of High Water” could almost have been dragged off the debut album such is its similarity across the board. The follow up title track of “The Gang’s All Here” ramps up the attitude, and utilises the best Skid Row has to offer – good backing vocals, nice guitars, and a happy feeling to the song. “Not Dead Yet” continues on in that vein, while “Time Bomb” has its moment but feels a little cliched amongst the first tracks.
“Resurrected” has that great attitude that the band’s best music has always contained, great guitar, terrific singalong lyrics and backup vocals that support Gronwall’s posing and pointed performance. It’s one of my favourites from the album. “Nowhere Fast” jumps between the mid-tempo range that modern Skid Row has adapted to, while also throwing in a bit of hard biting slow tempo drums to emphasise the chorus. “When the Lights Come On” changes things up again, visualising the kind of hair metal songs the band released on their debut all those years ago, focused on the same sort of subject matter and song highlights that they provided back in the day. This is one of the songs where Gronwall really sounds like the band’s first vocalist, in some places the resemblance is uncanny. And then there is the crowd chanting favourite “Tear it Down”, where you can imagine the crowd fist pumping and chanting along with the vocals in tandem with the band.
“October’s Song” is a long winded power ballad that for me is probably one that will sit well with the hard core fan base, but for my tastes doesn’t hit the mark. To be honest it doesn’t even work in a way of promoting the band on radio or those types of institutions, because at just over seven minutes in length it is too long. And really, if you are going to write this kind of song, make it four minutes maximum and get it over and done with. It’s not a mood killer, but it outstays its welcome well before the final chords are struck. “World on Fire” on the other hand fights back hard and sharp, and finishes off the album in the same way it started, with a fresh take on a band’s original sound and songwriting.

As I said in the opening, Skid Row came along at the exact right time of my life. All of those youth anthems that they wrote were aimed at my generation, and they were great years to be out there and listening to music and going to live gigs. I tried really hard to get into “Subhuman Race” but it just didn’t gel with me, and despite this and the changing of the guard, I still gave every Skid Row release a go and hoped it would be the one that rediscovered their mojo.
This is the one that has finally done it. Whether or not you want to call Erik Gronwall a Bach clone, it really doesn’t matter, because his vocals fit the band and the music they have written, and the band fits his voice. Some of the songs seem to be inspired by those early classics, without trying to replicate them. Maybe that’s just Erik’s voice, or maybe it was something that the band tried to achieve. Either way, what Skid Row does succeed with on this album is restoring the pieces to their correct order, and in many ways making them a listenable commodity once again.
I got this album on its release. Enough excitement had been built up with the initial selection of songs to whet the appetite, and I guess I was hopeful that everything would come together in a way that allowed this album to be as enjoyable as it could be. It isn’t about trying to make it sound like they did 30 years ago, it is about harnessing those memories and providing an output for them in the modern day. In all of those ways, the band has succeeded. I wouldn’t compare it to those first two albums, rather I would listen to it with the sound of those albums in mind, and allow that to swing the mood into this new era.

1170. Iconic / Second Skin. 2022. 4/5

The first wave of the covid pandemic – and yes without becoming political I don’t think it’s over just yet – bands and artists found a way to keep active by doing online jams with their own band and with other artists, keeping their names out there and keeping themselves occupied at the same time. And, as I mentioned in the intro here, some of those appear to have progressed to the point that players got together and pooled their material and had it eventually released to the listening public. It has also been true that record companies have looked to facilitate these kind of mergers amongst their own artists, in order to have more albums coming out at a time where it has been difficult to come together and make them happen. Nostalgia is a popular theme amongst these so-called supergroups, because they can contain either artists from bands from a bygone era, or songs with a sound like those old times to draw in the punters who yearn for a return to those ‘simpler’ times, or better yet a combination of both of these things.
And so that is what we have here, the coming together of some quality musicians in the quest for musical glory, and by naming the band “Iconic” it feels as though they are either pretty confident that the group is a killer line up, or they are just on themselves. Leading the charge is Joel Hoekstra, current lead guitarist for Whitesnake, and given that that band is apparently on its farewell tour, perhaps Hoekstra is auditioning his next gig. He has been joined by excellent bass guitarist Marco Mendoza, who has played for such bands as the Dead Daisies, Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders, as well as lead vocalist Nathan James whose main job is in the band Inglorious and Alessandro Del Vecchio on keyboards. This would normally be enough to draw in even the most undecided fans, but then you can add two further legends of metal music. Drummer Tommy Aldridge has been around for over 40 years, played for Ozzy Osbourne and Whitesnake amongst other greats, and lends his talents here. But perhaps the star attraction is Stryper vocalist and guitarist Michael Sweet, who comes aboard to lend both of those amazing talents to this crew. All in all, it’s a hard outfit to go past without at least checking out what they’ve produced.

Any doubts about what this band was going to bring to the table in regards to its music are shot down in flames from the start of the opening track “Fast as You Can”. Filled with great riffs, brilliant trading solo licks and the combination and duelling of crushing vocals, this is as good an opening track as you could wish to hear from a new formation in the universe. Everything about this song completely showcases the best of what each member has to offer. “Ready for Your Love” follows, and is the first of many tracks here that have an undeniable Whitesnake flavour to the music and vocals. It is in songs such as this one, along with “Nowhere to Run” and the slower “Worlds Apart”, where James’ vocals slow into that Coverdale croon, helping that Whitesnake comparison. Given that Hoekstra and Aldridge and Mendoza all have history with Whitesnake it shouldn’t be too difficult to understand why there is some similarities to that band’s music in places.
The title track again allows James and Sweet to combine with duelling vocals, which really lifts this song and the opening track above the rest of the album. James' vocals throughout are awesome and powerful, but paired with Sweet the combination is amazing. More of this would have made this album... iconic? More iconicer? It would have made it more superb I guess is what I’m saying. Sweet has been quoted as saying that it made a nice change for him to be playing more guitar than just singing on this album. C’mon, you’re in the studio, do more of both!!
“All I Need” is the power ballad, the kind that bands often depend on to draw in their fans, but I have to give credit where credit is due here, James’ vocals and the harder edge of the guitars throughout make this a great track. It actually reminds me a bit of the ballad the former band of Jack Black’s character in The School of Rock play at the battle of the bands... remember that? This is better though, much better. “All About” is a mid-tempo rocker that is lifted from the average through the vocals and harder riff edge of the guitars, with the solo section starring again. “This Way” is a less attractive power ballad, a bit more staid. “Let You Go” steers towards the 70’s AOR sound, the one time this album heads in that direction, but with a nice guitar solo in the middle to break it up. “It Ain’t Over” finds a nice groove and excellent guitar riffs to lift the album again, before “Enough of Your Love” concludes the album in what I can only describe as a slightly less showcasey fashion than I would have expected considering what had come before it.

There are a few things I can throw at you as to my thoughts on the album and the group as a whole. Firstly, it is tremendously disappointing that we won’t hear any of this material performed in a live setting. The band has no agenda to touring, with everyone having commitments to their actual bands rather than this group. And that seems like such a waste given what has been produced here. Even if they tried to get together for a festival run sometime next year, the album will be in the history books by then and have come off the radar. Secondly, as much as I love Nathan James’s vocals on this album, and he is quite spectacular in places, I do think it was a missed trick not to incorporate more of Michael Sweet in more than the two songs where he is involved in singing. But perhaps you can’t have everything. I think the guitars of Hoekstra and Sweet here are electric, with great riffage and excellent solo breaks between the two.
I was drawn to this album because of those playing on it, and I have to say that the positives far outweigh those couple of negatives I may have risen. Like all new albums, this takes a while to grow on you completely. But once those vocals and those guitars and that solid rhythm section come together, and you get to know the songs from repetition, I think it is a terrific effort.
This is the fifth of five new albums that I have reviewed for this blog over recent weeks, and for me this is the best of them, overall. Each has good things about them and a couple of negatives. This album’s negatives only come from a slight change in style of a couple of tracks, that despite this the band still perform so well you can’t help but enjoy them. That is what will keep this album on the turntable longer than other albums.

1169. Michael Schenker Group / Universal. 2022. 4/5

It has been two months now since the release of Michael Schenker’s new album. Schenker of course is a legend, and whether you know him as the guitarist for UFO in the 1970’s, or for his own band through the 80’s and beyond, or his all-too-short stints in Scorpions with his brother Rudolph, you will know of his prowess on the guitar and how influential he has been as a result. It’s hard to believe that many, probably myself included, felt that he had reached his peak thirty years ago, and that his album output could possibly exceed what he had produced to that point of his career, or that his success could exceed what he had achieve to that point. Indeed after some surprisingly good outings in recent years with the Michael Schenker Fest albums "Resurrection" (2018) and "Revelation" (2019), and then his 50th anniversary album “Immortal” just last year, there was nothing to suggest that the new album from the Michael Schenker Group “Universal” wouldn’t be more of the same.
Ronnie Romero again features on vocals on this album, and is also still the lead singer on tour, which recently included the summer festival season throughout Europe and will continue through the US after this. Now while Ronnie has a great set of pipes on him, it is interesting to note two things in this regard; firstly he is still sharing vocal duties with other guest singers on this album, all of whom (in my opinion) out do his own contributions to songs on this album. And secondly, for other reasons, during last year’s tour to promote the “Immortal” album, former lead vocalist Robin McAuley filled in, and from all reports was a hit.
Working again with producer Michael Voss seems to be something that Schenker is also comfortable with. In describing their working relationship recently, Schenker was quoted as saying “Michael Voss is happy to wait until I have worked out an idea and takes the time to really get to know the song, simultaneously developing ideas for the vocals. Then we work out the drums, bass and some keyboard parts together. He always has plenty of great ideas up his sleeve.”

While both Ronnie and Michael are real talents, they are only part of a wonderful line up that includes vocalists Michael Kiske (Helloween) and Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear), drummers Simon Phillips (Toto, The Who), Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Foreigner), Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow) and Bodo Schopf (Eloy), as well as legendary bassists Bob Daisley (Black Sabbath), Barry Sparks (Malmsteen, Dokken) and Barend Courbois (Blind Guardian, Zakk Wylde), along with Tony Carey on keyboards.
If you’ve enjoyed Schenker’s recent albums then you will find that this follows a similar pattern. Opening with the brooding ‘Emergency’ and the more melodic build of ‘Under Attack’ there is a definite trend towards the sound that slightly resembles that from the MSG albums on the 1980’s. They aren’t quite as anthemic or bright and energetic, but there are some concurrent similarities.
Following on from this comes the pointed and poignant tribute of “Calling Baal” into “A King Has Gone”, a tribute to Ronnie James Dio and particularly to the classic Rainbow album “Rising”. “Calling Baal” is an instrumental intro into the main track, and features Tony Carey on keyboards in a callback to his intro to that album that he played on, the opening keyboard solo of the song “Tarot Woman”. It’s a nice touch by Schenker to invite him to play on these two tracks given he played on the album it is paying tribute to. This is then extended to the appearance of Bobby Rondinelli on drums, who did not play on the “Rising” album but played for Rainbow in their latter 1980’s years, as well as the legend that is Bob Daisley, who again didn’t play on this particular album but did so on its follow up “Long Live Rock n Roll”. Thes three former Rainbow members give this song a nice touch of nostalgia, ably sung by Helloween’s Michael Kiske. Great stuff.
This is followed by “The Universe”, a soft ballad that sees Gary Barden and Ronnie Romero share the duet. ‘Long Long Road’ picks things up again, before the vocals of Ralph Scheepers return on ‘Wrecking Ball’, one again providing probably the real highlight of the album.
The final four songs all provide good moments. ‘Yesterday is Dead’ has a great riff and solo combination that Schenker does so well, before ‘London Calling (No not the Clash song – imagine that!) pays homage to the 80’s UK rock bands that put hard rock in the mainstream. It’s a great song that is probably lifted by Schenker’s solo again, another real treat. ‘Sad is the Song’ that follows gives off a Rainbow vibe especially in the verses which are vaguely Eastern, and in Schenker’s guitar work again. The album is concluded by the red hot fretwork of ‘Au Revoir’, the paciest song offering here and another of the best, and again really draws from that 1980’s MSG legacy.
The album features two bonus tracks, something in this day and age that barely matters given all formats seem to include them, so they may as well be considered album tracks. ‘Turn Off the World’ which with that opening guitar is actually one of the best on the album, while ‘Fighter’ is a mid-tempo rocker that would be worth inclusion just for the solo. So... let’s just say they are the final two tracks of the album instead, shall we?

I still get sucked into anything that has the name of Michael Schenker attached to it. It’s an addiction. Those albums for the 1980’s by the Michael Schenker Group, and the albums from the 1970’s with UFO, still contain some of the best riffage I’ve ever heard, and it is all from this man. So I always want to check out what he’s up to in the current day. And in recent times that has been a slightly paying off gold mine, because there have been some terrific moments over the albums he has released with all of his friends over recent years. And that continues on this album. I felt last year’s “Immortal” album had some good moments, and some average moments. It was, perhaps, a bit uneven. “Universal” is a much better compilation of tracks and players. Ronnie Romero and Michael Voss combine much better here in their vocals and songs, and Michael definitely delivers on a more aggressive scale when it comes to his guitaring. In fact, Schenker’s guitaring here is still just as brilliant as it ever was, and I think it is because he has started to look back a bit to those glory days, and realised that not only is that still what people are coming for, but that he is still capable of creating riff and solos of that calibre. And despite the fact that he has some great guests here, who all deliver as you would expect, it can’t work if the Schenker guitar is not on centre stage and the number one part of the mix. “Universal” is that album, and it is great to hear.

1168. Jorn / Over the Horizon Radar. 2022. 3.5/5

Jorn Lande has one of the most amazing voices in modern day heavy metal. Having started off in bands such as Ark and the legendary Masterplan as well as the well-received Allen-Lande project with fellow brilliant vocalist Russell Allen, Jorn has concentrated on two projects in recent years, being a part of the Avantasia project that was conceived by Tobias Sammet, and his own solo releases. Within those solo releases Jorn has often concentrated on bringing his own unique takes on great songs in doing cover versions of them and has released a number of albums just with cover songs on them. He did a whole album dedicated to songs sung by Ronnie James Dio, and two others called “Heavy Rock Radio” where he not only did some recent favourite metal song covers, but 70’s and 80’s popular songs with a heavy twist, which he does perfectly. His presence always seems to be around us, and he comes across as one of the hardest working artists out there.
Like all artists, the last couple of years has allowed artists the time to go within themselves and write material for release upon their release from covid internment. And for Jorn the result of that was this album titled “Over the Horizon Radar”.

From the outset, the vocals are as terrific as they have ever been. But they are also sitting in Jorn’s mid-range, not extending themselves to the horizon, as such, as they do on other albums.
The songs themselves are in a very mid-to-low tempo, many for the most part not getting much beyond second gear in regards to their speed. In many ways, this was the direction that one of Lande’s hero’s, Ronnie James Dio, went in his later years, and perhaps this was an inspiration to him in what he has achieved here. Now while there is nothing wrong with that, in my opinion it does make it difficult to have this album on too often. I started out by putting this album on in the car when I first started listening to it and it was always great, but four or five songs in i would begin to wonder how close to the end of the album I actually was. Too be fair that is an overstatement regarding all of the tracks here. The drive of the album also isn’t helped by the lack of an influence from the drums, as well as any superlative riffs from the guitars. But as with a lot of Jorn’s albums, it is about his vocals, and that doesn’t disappoint.
The opening does promise a lot, with the title track “Over the Horizon Radar” making its presence felt immediately, and followed by “Dead London”, where the tempo gets dialled right back but Jorn’s emotive vocals give the track an ominous feel. This tempo then remains into “My Rock and Roll” and “One Man War”, two songs that to me always feel as though they are lacking a punch to really get the album going in the right direction, but again that is a personal judgement call by me. “Black Phoenix” does have a slight rise in tempo and drive that helps make it one of the best songs here. This is followed by several songs that all retain the key elements of the album, sitting in the style that Jorn and his supporting band have set this album in. And as with the earlier tracks, there is nothing wrong with “Special Edition” and “Ode to the Black Nightshade” and “Winds of Home”, it is just that I feel that having the songs at a quicker tempo and adding a bit more riffage to would have enhanced their joy. “In the Dirt” is without a doubt the best guitar driven track on the album, and as a result immediately raises your head when it comes through the speakers. “Believer” is then followed by the final track, “Faith Bloody Faith”, an extended version of the song that Jorn entered as a contestant to become Norway’s entrant in this year’s Eurovision contest. The song failed at the final hurdle, with some experts suggesting it was too heavy to really be considered. Perhaps this is the case, but to me it is more suggestive of the style of song the decision makers wanted entered rather than the quality of the song, because the quality here is certainly not in question.

Jorn isn’t breaking any new ground here. He’s not creating a stylistic masterpiece nor revisiting any old ground by cannibalising star moments from his past. My opinion of Jorn’s work in the past is that he is a masterful vocalist who is at his best when he performs songs that have been written by other people especially for his vocals. The first two Masterplan albums were masterpieces where Jorn co-wrote with Roland Grapow and Uli Kusch. They are still a template for power metal from the early 2000’s. His work with the Allen/Lande project was all written by Magnus Karlsson. His parts in Avantasia have been constructed by Tobi Sammet and Sascha Paeth. It is where Jorn has performed on songs that integrate his amazing vocals with the amazing musicianship of those other projects, as well as writers who know how to put all of that together. Back to “Over the Horizon Radar” however, and there is some good material here, and some good pieces that find their way to the surface. And while I enjoy the rest of the album, I guess it doesn’t quite capture the imagination the way other music and albums do that Jorn has been involved in. And there is no doubt that the covid years contribute to that, as with other recent release albums, because the writing and recording process has been so stagnated.
Jorn is not the only great singer out there to find that, in my opinion, they need to be a part of a conglomerate to get the best out of them – Ripper Owens is another I can name immediately in that boat – but one thing that is for sure is that I will always check out any music where Jorn’s name is involved in the linear notes. Because his vocals alone are enough to bring me to the party. And the one thing I believe I get from this album is that, if you come into this without your expectations raised and without truly knowing Jorn Lande’s past amazing albums, you will gain a better perspective of it. Because you won’t judge it as harshly as I probably have here, because I know what has come in the past. This is still a terrific album, and it remains on my playlist up to today, and the slight disappointment I feel for some of the songs are only because I feel by bumping up the tempo and energy just a little on those tracks, it would have made this an even better album. And if you aren’t sure I know what I’m talking about, check out Masterplan’s eponymous debut album. And judge the differences for yourself.

1167. Halestorm / Back from the Dead. 2022. 4/5/

Prior to the covid pandemic hitting the scene, Halestorm had built a reputation for being one of the hardest working bands out there, known for their constant touring and releasing of singles and EP to keep their fans entertained. It has been four years since the release of the previous album ”Vicious”. Over the course of the next two years, Halestorm, consisting of brother and sister combination of lead singer guitarist Lzzy Hale and drummer RJ Hale, lead guitarist Joe Hottinger and bass guitarist Josh Smith, had risen to arena headline status in UK and throughout Europe and were growing bigger than ever in the US. Then the COVID pandemic struck. Almost immediately, the band set up a campaign called #RoadieStrong, in order to help out the roadies and crew whose incomes had dried up almost immediately overnight. In isolation apart from each other, like all other bands on the planet, there must have been doubts as to what would come next, and just when that would be able to happen. The band had begun to dabble in new songs before the pandemic hit, and in January 2021, they announced that they were beginning to write and record a new album, in a socially distance setting which no doubt was not a perfect situation. Lzzy again paired with composer and producer Scott Stevens to pen most of the songs. In August of last year they released a new single, “Back from the Dead“ to dip their toes back into the music world. And as the world began to poke its nose out from behind the curtains once again, the new album, also titled “Back from the Dead“, was released on May 6.

The album kicks off with the title track and first single from the album. Immediately dominated by the screaming vocals of Lzzy Hale and a bombastic beat, it’s a great way to open the album to announce their return. The band seems bigger, harder, more alive than you necessarily expect. It’s a great start, and is extended into “Wicked Ways” with RJ’s pounding those drums with ferocity, Lzzy giving it all vocally and some nice guitar work between herself and Joe. I love the aggression shown in these two opening tracks, showcasing the absolute best this band can produce, and getting close to the way they appear on stage as well. More of this please!
“Strange Girl” dials back that just a little, allowing Lzzy’s vocals to show their soaring skills without losing any of their intensity. A number of the songs here deal with mental health, the battle of light versus darkness in the mind, none more so than “Brightside” where little is left to the imagination in lyrics such as “Fake a smile and self-destruct, count it down, four, three, two, one, I'm over it, all the bullshit, and this fucked up world I'm living in”. It’s another terrific song, with a great rhythm that is perfect for the rant that Lzzy goes on. The second single “The Steeple” follows and keeps up with the power of the vocals driving the drums and guitars in the same fashion. This is followed by the acoustic driven “Terrible Things”, the quiet interlude of the album that not only showcases Lzzy’s amazing vocal range, but separates the first half of the album from the second half.
I’m not sure the second half of the album can match the first. In places in feels more forced than what has come before it. Or perhaps, like in “My Redemption” and “Bombshell” and “I Come First” and “Psycho Crazy”, the style of track that it is has just been done better earlier on the album. Or is it just too similar to better tracks earlier on the album? Make up your own mind on that. The closing track “Raise Your Horns” has some pertinent thoughts in its lyrics, but finishing with what is a piano driven ballad for me just hurts the excellent tracks that have come before it.
If I have a real bone to pick with the album is that I think it could use a few songs where the tempo is picked up and given a bit of speed to allow the band to really break out. This album sticks in that hard hitting drum tempo most of the way through, and it is effective and bludgeoning in the same breath. Just somewhere I would like to have seen a faster song or two, just to offset the balance between that hard mid-tempo and then the softer slower tracks.

I have flirted around Halestorm for a decade, occasionally listening to an album, occasionally watching video clips on YouTube or even a live gig, where they seem to be at their best. I enjoyed their cover version of Dio’s “Straight Through the Heart” on the “This is Your Life” tribute album to the great man. So I cannot and do not claim to be an expert on their music, just a casual fan of what I have heard and seen. But since the release of this album I have listened to it quite a bit, enjoying it more each time I put it on. The band sounds great, and the four piece has a booming sound to their music. The star attraction is not doubt Lzzy Hale herself, and her vocals are a revelation in a world where female hard rock singers seem to come and go fairly quickly. But she shows here that she can sing those ballads well while also blowing your socks off with her harder and tougher songs.
With 11 tracks, and the album just pushing 38 minutes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome which is always a good thing in this day and age. For me, despite the excellent singing on the two tracks, for me if “Terrible Things” and “Raise Your Horns” were substituted for two harder, faster songs this would be an epic album. Their inclusion for me halts this, but I’m sure the true fans of the band love these two tracks and in the long run they are the ones who will dictate their inclusion. And that’s the way it should be.

1166. Def Leppard / Diamond Star Halos. 2022. 2/5

Like the rest of the world, Def Leppard has been in covid isolation for the better part of the last three years, and while they rested up in their own parts of the world, there was no doubt a need for a reflection on where they stood in the world, and just where they wanted to head once the pandemic had receded. This is the band’s first new album since their self-titled effort in 2015, after which a world tour playing “Hysteria” in its entirety took greater precedence. Well, they know what is going to sell tickets.
We could have a whole new entry started up to discuss how the music in Def Leppard’s discography has progressed from 1979 up to the present day. And while the band has never strayed from the fact that they wanted to be a rock band, not a metal band or any other type of band, it seems as though even that statement has changed over the years. The further infusing of less heavy styles of music in their songs and albums over the years has been obvious. But through that, there appeared some hope of a recovery. “Songs from the Sparkle Lounge” actually had some really good songs on it, and a recovery of sorts stating their wish to infuse the music of their heroes from the 1970’s in their current day music, and the well-received early single released from this album, seemed to indicate that this might be the album that saw the band give us a really good hard rock album for the first time in years.

The album kicks off with the excellent rock groove of “Take What You Want”, an early indication of what style of songs this album is going to produce. It is a very 1970’s glam rock AOR beginning, in perfect Def Leppard style which gives it its relatability to the modern time. Rick Savage co-wrote this track with Joe Elliott, and also wrote the closing track on the album “From Here to Eternity” which also references that age with the same feeling of T-Rex and Queen. “Kick” is a typical Phil Collen penned track, maintaining a familiar structure of song and riff, while allowing both guitarists to showcase their exceptional solo skills for a short space of the song set aside for it. It never ceases to amaze me on Def Leppard albums, with two such fabulous and highly credentialled guitarists in the band, that on the albums at least there is not room for more soloing between the two. I know they want pop rock songs, ones that are basically radio bites, but surely the occasional break out of guitar feuding would be a great addition.
The album contains a lot of harmless songs of that same calibre that I spoke of – the Def Leppard pop-rock. “Fire it Up”, “SOS Emergency”, “U Rok Mi”, “Open Your Eyes”, “Unbreakable”. And then you have the quieter ballad-style Leppard tracks, such as “Liquid Dust”, “Goodbye for Good This Time”, “All We Need”, “Gimme a Kiss”, “Angels (Can’t Help You Now)” - the ones that scream radio airplay... well, in the late 80’s and into the 90’s at least. I’m not sure they will work the same way in this day and age. Two of them, “This Guitar” and “Lifeless”, feature guest vocals from Alison Krauss, which also brings in the country and western style onto the album. It’s all very easy listening stuff, the kind of tracks that can crossover for the band to draw fans from several genres of music loving folk. You know the drill. Def Leppard aren’t going to be re-inventing the wheel at this stage of their careers. The band knows, and the two principal writers in Elliott and Collen know, that their bread is buttered very much on one side now, and that’s what brings in the cash.

I haven’t purchased a Def Leppard album since “Slang”, and I haven’t done so again here, instead utilising the streaming music service to listen to the album. And there is a very simple reason why – because now that this review is done, and I am about to publish this review, I see no reason to ever listen to this album again. Now that isn’t a statement about its quality, or the skills of the musicians involved. It is simply that the style of music that Def Leppard has played for almost the last 30 years just doesn’t excite me at all. They have gone their own path, and I most definitely went on a different one. And the sugar coated soft metal ballads are ones that by now, when it comes to Def Leppard, you become immune to. But I must admit, when we have these country and western ballad songs, such as the duets with Alison Krauss, I really am in a quandary as to what is going on. This is where they cross over another line that surely no one ever thought they would. To be honest, I’m not sure there are any further lines they can cross.
If I am in the mood to listen to a Def Leppard album, I will always head to any of those first five studio albums. They are the ones that sit proudest on my CD shelves. Those albums and the songs are what I love about the band. Everything from that point on has been a completely different style, and not one that appeals to me much at all. And given the excitement and burst of tingling sensations I got when I first heard the two singles the band released off this album before its release, the end result is a little disappointing. But as I said, with Def Leppard, you know what you are getting, and if you enjoy what it is they are releasing then you will probably love this album, and if you are of my vintage and grew up with a different band, you will probably sigh and nod knowingly as you move on to the next band and album being released, and never look back.

1152. Scorpions / Rock Believer. 2022. 4/5

One of the greatest German bands of all time, the Scorpions, have now been on the music scene for over fifty years, and the milestone of that first album release occurred just a few weeks ago. In that time the band has been remarkably stable in line up, and remarkably consistent in both album releases and the quality of those albums themselves. The band had even decided to ‘retire’ a few years ago, citing a final album and a final world tour. And yet, here we are, having gone through two years of a global pandemic, and the Scorpions are still at it, planning yet another tour, and having just completed and released another new album, titled “Rock Believer”. So what keeps the band going, how do they retain their fans undying faith in them, and what can you expect from a new album from a group that has so much history behind it? As it turns out, I can't answer all of those questions, but what I can do is offer you an insight into the best that the new album has to offer, as I give you MY review of Scorpions “Rock Believer”.

Scorpions have had a quite remarkable career, from local German legends to worldwide chart topper, from hard rock and metal fist pumping anthems to multi million selling power ballads. And all of it has been done without selling out their sound or integrity. Whether you prefer their metal balltearers or their crooning ballads, you can appreciate the other because they all have those grounded Scorpions basics about them, that they are all undeniably written and performed by the same band.
The longevity of the band has been one of its hallmarks, with founding members Klaus Meine and Rudolph Schenker still there at the age of 73, and with legendary 66 year old guitarist Matthias Jabs who has been with the band since 1978 they continue to form the core of the band’s success. Along with bass guitarist Pavel Macwoda and for the first time recording with the group former Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee, the band had been toying with a new album as a follow up to “Return to Forever” for some time, and with the onset of the covid pandemic had an excuse to have to put their touring schedule on hold and use that time to get back into writing. All this after they had announced that they were going to retire from the music business following the tour to promote their 2010 album “Sting in the Tail”. So what changed after that?, Well, depending on who you listen to, the band just found that they were still enjoying the ride, and after the compilation “Comeblack” was released, they even had ideas for new songs, and so they continued onwards.
Ideas and initial writing for the album began in 2019, but with the onset of the covid19 pandemic the band found themselves with time to fill and the writing began in earnest. From all reports, the songs were written lyrics first which was unusual for the writing pairing of Meine and Schenker. And through 2021 there were videos posted by Mikkey Dee on his pages of the band in the studio, mysteriously recording new music but without any hint of what it was. So whether it was just a project that took a long time to form, or the fact that the band had time to spend in writing a new record, we came to a couple of weeks ago when the long awaited for new album, “Rock Believer” finally came to rest, and the fans responded in the only way they knew how. By celebrating.

So after fifty years of writing and recording some of the great songs of the era, there is no reinventing of the wheel here by the band. Their tried and true formula comes to the fore again, the same number of hard rock songs and the same number of slower more reflective tracks as they have done for so much of their career. It’s a formula that has worked well for generations, and perhaps it’s a little predictable in places. The opening track “Gas in the Tank” is a beauty, but both lyrically and musically it is of the same progression as other recent album opening tracks like “Going Out With a Bang”, “Raised on Rock”, “The Game of Life” and “New Generation”. They all are great tempo opening tracks, ones that get you in the mood immediately, and the lyrics are unashamedly about the place the band finds themselves at the time of their career. Here on “Rock Believer” the band has found they still have enough gas in their tank.
The days of unashamed ballads such as “Wind Of Change”, or pop-metal such as “Is There Anybody There?” or bold experiments such as “The Zoo” are long gone. Instead, barring two versions of the 'hold your lighters in the air’ styled “When You Know (Where You Come From”), (yes, one electric and one acoustic) they’ve stuck very much to the hard rock that they have built their career around, and done in such a way that it is hard to imagine they are at an age when most of us would prefer to be retired and in our armchairs.
The formula remains wonderfully intact: galloping guitars and deft choruses – or, as Meine encapsulates in less grammatical terms in “Gas In The Tank”: ‘let’s play it louder, play it hard’. Meine’s vocals, as powerful as they were when he’d rock you like a hurricane, have retained their emotional undertone, and incredibly appear to have deteriorated not a bit since those heady days of the 1980’s when he did actually blow out his vocal chords. He is a modern miracle, where he still seems to sing every song as he did when he first recorded them. Just as impressive is Matthias Jabs’s guitar playing, still which still stands out from the crowd, most heroically on the terrific “Shoot For Your Heart”, and that rhythm section is still just as powerful as it ever was. The great songs keep coming, with “Roots in My Boots” to “Knock em Dead” to “Rock Believer” dealing out the great vibes in the same way they always have.
The utilisation of the reggae guitar riff in “Shining of your Soul” further exemplifies that “past present future” sound, though to be honest it has never really excited me in the songs that the Scorpions use it in. On the other hand, songs such as the frantic and brilliant “When I Lay My Bones to Rest” and the single from the album “Peacemaker” are top shelf Scorpions tracks.
There are two CDs on the Deluxe edition, and I can’t understand why the first song of that second CD, “Shoot from the Heart”, is not on the main album. It is an absolute ripper, fast paced, Klaus really getting into the vocals and Matthias’ guitaring is just superb. It’s practically the best song on the album. This is followed up by the excellent “When Tomorrow Comes” where Klaus sings at us ‘Good morning, world. How do you feel? You look so tired’, and the unusual but interesting “Unleash the Beast”, all of which showcases a terrific band that continues to surprise as to just how good they are.

How good are the Scorpions? The first album I ever heard of the band was their “World Wide Live” live album from the mid-80's which was taped for me by my number one metal music dealer from high school, and I was hooked from the start. From there I went back and bought albums such as “Lovedrive” and “Love at First Sting” and “Blackout”, albums that I still today are their best. But really, are there any truly bad Scorpions albums? Sure, their first couple were of a different era, and they hadn’t really found their sound at that point, but from the time Matthias jabs joined the group, they have just been pumping out hit after hit, and it has been a joy to listen to. I thought especially “Humanity: Hour 1” 15 years ago was just an extraordinary album, one that showed they still had what it takes.
And in that spirit, I have thoroughly enjoyed “Rock Believer”. In many ways, the only ingredient that is missing here from those three monster albums of the 1980’s is a... ‘youthful exuberance’. And I guess what I mean in that way is that there is still such energy in these tracks on this album, but it isn’t a hyped up natural ‘we are mid-30's here we are’ kind of energy, it’s a ‘we are middle-aged but we can still rock’ kind of energy. And it is still the same things today that made Scorpions such a great band 40 years ago. Those Klaus Meine vocals that still defy belief – and that he still produces on stage too, as I can finally verify after waiting my whole life to see them. The raging guitars of Rudolph Schenker and Matthias Jabs, both still producing amazing riffs after all of these years. Schenker is still a marvel, still so tight in that rhythm, while the solos and over the top riffing from Matthias here still equals anything he has ever produced. It is a masterclass and still so satisfying and electric. And that rhythm section of Pavel’s bass and the legend of Mikkey Dee on drums is magnificent.

Judas Priest came out a couple of years ago, ironically another band who had whispered about a retirement album and tour about ten years ago, and released their album “Firepower” to worldwide acclaim, as having returned to their roots yet made a modern metal album which was loved by new fans and old alike. And for me, this is a similar album. The formula is tried and tested, there is nothing here that you will consider ground breaking. But it is that great old fashioned Scorpions sound, but in a modern way. The musicianship is second to none, it is recorded, mixed and produced to perfection. And the songs are all terrific. Is there another “Rock You Like a Hurricane” or “Blackout” or even “Wind of Change” here? No, because you don’t want another one of those. You want new songs that remind you how good this band is. And that’s what you get here on “Rock Believer”. Listen... and believe...

1151. Tony Martin / Thorns. 2022. 3.5/5

It is sometimes amazing to me that even those friends of mine who are massive Black Sabbath fans, as most of us are, only very few of them know Tony Martin’s part in the band’s legacy, or indeed know the albums he sang and co-wrote. And while it is not the only part of Martin’s long and storied musical career, it is the part that probably made him as a singer. And yet, ask anyone to name the albums he made with that band, and you’ll probably get a blank face. Now, some 25 years after that door was closed, Tony Martin has returned with another solo album, one that at the very least shows that he still has the ability to write and record some terrific songs.

It seems funny how Martin has almost stumbled into a doom metal career given the amazing range of his vocals. Often compared to Ronnie James Dio when it comes to vocalising, I’d always imagined that he would have succeeded more in a band where the music was in a more up-tempo style rather than the step-by-step slowed pace that permeates doom metal at its best. That’s just a personal opinion, because I guarantee you Tony’s vocals here match anything else he has done in his career.
Tony’s big moment of fame came when he scored the gig as vocalist of Black Sabbath in the mid-1980's when that ship was taking on water and looked to be heading for a big iceberg after several false starts following the Osbourne and Dio days. And yet he sang and contributed on five of the final seven Sabbath studio albums, with only “Dehumanizer” and “13” not featuring his vocals. And for the most part they are terrifically enjoyable albums. You should check them out if you haven’t already done so.
Since those days Martin has been prolific in the music business, appearing on many bands sings as a guest singer as well touring and recording both in his own band and other projects. Despite this, his music hasn’t always been easy to track down for fans, and on a personal level this has always been a disappointment. Tony Martin’s vocals were always superb, a great voice and a great range, and to have not seen him make his mark since those days of the late 1990’s is remarkable. So when it was announced that he had recorded a new solo album I was genuinely excited, because several artists in recent years have released albums that have harked back to their roots, to when they produced their best material, and have poured that into their new material. Judas Priest’s “Firepower” is the best example of this. So I hoped to hear a new album, a long overdue one, that provided us with the best that Tony Martin could offer, and while I didn’t expect his Sabbath-era material, there was always hope.

For anyone who is familiar with Tony’s work from the past, this album is a pleasantly surprising detour to something a little more aggressive both vocally and musically from what he has done before. That’s not to say it is as big a deviation as Black Sabbath’s “Forbidden” was from “Headless Cross”, but it is an interesting path. Anyone who knows Sunbomb’s “Evil and Divine” album from 2021 would know it is Tracii Guns and Michael Sweet’s foray into doom metal, and how well that worked, and this acts in the same way. Tony’s career with Sabbath would prepare you for this, but not completely, as it is a modern take on the classic doom metal sound, and does it really well. Martin combines with guitarist and co-writer Scott McClellan to create an excellent collection of differing tracks within the genre. With other excellent musicians in Venom drummer Danny Needham, and ex-HammerFall bass guitarist Magnus Rosen, the band is on song throughout.
Opening with the excellent “As the World Burns” that does sound eerily similar in its opening to the Sabbath song “When Death Calls”, it is probably the fastest and most intense song of the album, but that does not mean that it is all downhill form this point. Indeed the terrific mood created here is encapsulated as the album moves on. “Black Widow Angel” dials the tempo right back but still punches at you , before the atmospheric synths and drums through the first half of “Book of Shadows” perfectly offset Martin’s vocals where he shows how effortlessly he can sing and still retain perfect pitch throughout. “Crying Wolf” is perhaps a little out of place within that, as its more bluesy feel takes it out of the genre that has come so far. That’s not to say it isn’t enjoyable, it just sticks out like Adam Gilchrist’s ears amongst the other songs in its company.
The power of Martin’s vocals through “Damned by You” is just awesome, turning what could easily have been an above average song into one that becomes one of the best on the album. It is this vocal power that continues to keep Tony Martin so high in fans thoughts as a singer. “No Shame at All” is a mid-paced doom rocker that is enjoyable enough though without anything overtly brilliant to attract you to it, and “Nowhere to Fly” is the token sombre ballad that is one where you feel the urge to press the skip button if you are so inclined. All albums seem to have one don’t they, that ballad track that seems to be the one blight on society that covid hasn’t found yet.
The final four songs of the album follow the style of what has come before them “Passion Killer” is a standard mid-tempo doom song without any real surprises, no changes in riff stylings of drum pattern, and for the most part Martin singing in the same key throughout. “Run Like the Devil” changes things up, upping that tempo and with a faster running pattern that gives the band the chance to loosen the seatbelts and see where the road will lead them. “This is Your Damnation” drags things back again by driving the acoustically based track to its conclusion. Again, you all know my feelings on songs such as this. If you enjoy them, this is good. If you’d rather have more power and aggression, this is a sore point. The album the concludes with the title track “Thorns”, which mixes everything into the song to be what I guess the band is hoping will be an epic conclusion. I think it’s ironic that Pamela Moore, best known in metal circles for having played the role of Mary on Queensryche’s “Operation: Mindcrime” album, also has a role here on a song that sounds very like a late 90’s early 2000’s Queensryche song... which, if you are fan of Queensryche, you will know is a massive sledge on this song. If you switched Geoff Tate in to sing this, it would be a Queensryche song. Oh well, you can’t have everything I guess...

I can tell you that I am a great fan of the three albums Tony Martin sang on with Black Sabbath from the late 1980’s - “The Eternal Idol”, “Headless Cross” and “Tyr” - and as a result I think this album had a lot to live up to before I had even heard it. And one of the main things that I have taken away from this is that Tony’ vocals are a more mature version that from those albums. And given they are more than thirty years ago that shouldn’t be surprising. But along with the songs written, and the style of music they sit in, it is remarkable to listen to. The resulting contrast between the bottom-heavy instrumental sound and Martin’s largely clean and soaring vocals that have lost none of their power at the age of 62 is pretty stark, and yet these two opposing extremes work together effortlessly to create a highly unique and nuanced take on the modern heavy metal aesthetic.

In looking back at Tony Martin’s wonderful career, this stands as one of the most unique offerings to carry his name, and for me it is definitely one of his best. Not all of it may be brilliant. In some places it tends to get off track with a couple of bluesy acoustic numbers in “Crying Wolf” and “This Is Your Damnation”, which while they are performed adequately, they just seem out of place amongst the stronger tracks at the front of the album. The songwriting partnership between Martin and McClellan is almost as compelling as the former’s was with Tony Iommi, and hopefully if another installment of this duo is to come to light, it will manifest itself in a span of less than 17 years. Existing fans of this highly underrated master of the metal microphone will not be disappointed, and there is a far broader appeal to those in doom and groove metal circles than you would expect.