530. Danzig / II: Lucifuge. 1990. 4/5

In 1988, Danzig released its self-titled debut album on Def American Recordings, an album produced by Rick Rubin and featuring the collective talents of Chuck Biscuits on drums, Eerie Von on bass, John Christ on guitar and Glenn Danzig on vocals. The album was a success from the outset and the band toured worldwide in support of it throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for Slayer on their South of Heaven tour in North America, and Metallica on their ...And Justice for All tour in Europe, two of the most successful and attended tours of the late 1980’s. Following this they subsequently headlined their own tour, which included support acts such as Mudhoney, Accept, Armored Saint, White Zombie and Sick of It All. This all helped lead to “Danzig” becoming the band's best-selling album, eventually going platinum in the US.
The follow up album was always going to be an important step for the band, and to this end, it took 11 months and spread between three different studios to write and record. Some of this was interspersed with the tours that were mentioned previously, but overall it as the longest that Glenn Danzig himself had ever spent in the studio recording an album before.
In an interview with Steffan Chirazi in RIP Magazine in 1990, Glenn said in regards to the upcoming second album; "Well, I think the last record, compared to the last Samhain record, is basically what we would've done anyway. This is more Danzig. The last album had more of me in it, and while I write the lyrics and the songs, this one had more of a band stamp on it. Like when you see the band live, this is much more of that kind of energy and power. Everybody's much more comfortable with each other now. We've toured with each other, hung with each other. The rhythm section is much tighter. It's just a much better band, and that comes through on the album."
All of this transposed into the band’s sophomore album, one that would twist the wheels of change a further notch around the spiel, and into the darkness of Lucifuge, a title that translates to ‘flee the light’, which indeed this album does.

One thing that this band does not do is conform to any genre of music, nor look to appease the music critics when it comes to what they are writing. And one of the main elements of this sophomore release is the significant use of blues music on this album, something that can be a surprise to the uninitiated. Compared to the more uptempo and hard core tracks, the blues tracks – which really are very much almost straight blues with a slightly harder tone in the music – do mark a major change to the pace and style of the album. And they're the ones that pop out at you when you listen to the album. The third track following the two outstanding openers is “Killer Wolf”, a song that Glenn himself has called "my version of an old blues song about a guy who wolfs around the door of every girl in town”. This has more attitude and familiar characteristics than a true blues track, but the heritage is there for all to hear. Conversely, Glenn described "I'm the One" as "another blues song...about a guy realizing his destiny”. "I'm the One" was apparently originally recorded for the first album. In an interview with Guitar Schoo magazine in 1994, John was quoted: "We actually recorded 'I'm the One' for the first record, but we decided to save it for this record. It fit the mood of the second album much better. Glenn wanted to do that song for a long time – he even knew what kind of video he wanted it to have long before we did it. It's a cool song: just some guitar and vocals and a little hi-hat in the background”. This is pure blues with the only point of difference being Glenn’s distinctive vocals to separate it from any of the great blues artists. In the back third of the album, “Blood and Tears” offers us a blues-based ballad of sorts, and Glenn’s ability to on occasions channel the vocal cords of Elvis Presley come to the fore here. It is a song that for all intents and purposes should not work, a punk hardcore influenced group of musicians creating a 1950’s styled blues rock ballad in 1990 should be a recipe for disaster. And still, these four musicians make it work. Glenn has said in interviews it is his favourite from the album. I personally would choose several others in front of it.
Now while there can still be blues themes drawn from the other tracks on the album they have more to them than just those elements. “Tired of Being Alive” has a great groove from the outset, settling in musically in a wonderful mood that is not dark but sits comfortably in an almost sinister like loop. Chuck’s drumming here seems understated but is far more than that, breaking out in a way that enhances the song itself without dominating it, and merges seamlessly with Eerie’s bass line. John’s circular riff keeps the track moving forward, and all three combined build to the end of the track, where in the last 30 seconds they are all suddenly at the front of the mix in a more powerful conclusion to the track. Glenn is the main star here though, his vocals drive the track throughout, marking one of the best songs here without any histrionics or overpowering from any of the band members. “Her Black Wings” is mostly dominated by Glenn’s pure emotive vocal chords, the ones that when he utilises them just create everything great about the song. The power coming from his lungs into his vocal chords at moments on this track are booming and demanding your full attention. He sounds so good on this song, and it is another where John’s short but important guitar solo breaks out and highlights its appearance on the track. “Devil’s Plaything” is one of the best songs here, drawn mostly from Glenn’s vocals that take centre stage here in that dominating fashion that bring out the best in his singing and in his songs. “777” moves along between the quiet to the mid-tempo pontificating from Glenn, mixing both tempos on the longest song of the album. Through the over repeated lyrics and lack of variety in the riff this song does have its drawbacks. “Girl” features hard riding vocals, hard hitting drums and hard riffing guitar, all in that slow mid-tempo that can sometimes have songs get bogged down in themselves, but the sheer hard playing on this song makes up for that. And then the closing track of the album, “Pain in the World” is basically a doom metal song, with that wonderful doom sound from the guitar and bass that booms through the track from start to finish, Chuck’s drumming rolls and patterns moving in and out of sync with the track, and Glenn preaching of the pain and agony in the world around him. Once again John, Eerie and Chuck offer so much in this song that is sometimes overlooked.
Beyond this though, it is the opening two tracks on the album that steal the show. “Long Way Back from Hell” is a song that found its development more difficult than most. John was quoted in an interview about the track: "We worked on the beginning of that song for a long time before we finally got it right – it always sounded too empty. But when Eerie came in with that galloping bass-line, it all kind of fell into place. It has a lot of energy to it and was probably one of the best songs on that album”. And it is the energy and faster tempo that really gets the album into gear from the outset, and Glenn’s enthusiastic and energised vocals alongside John’s ripping solo in the middle of the track that makes this song a beauty. This then segues beautifully and perfectly into “Snakes of Christ” which takes all of the positive energy from the opening track and channels it through into this second song. Building on the prototype Danzig songs from the first album such as “Twist of Cain” and “Mother”, “Snakes of Christ” takes us further on that ride, and creates one of the best one-two punch openings of an album from 1990. And given the quality of the albums released that year, that is a big statement, but one that still holds up 35 years later.

While I wasn’t too far off the mark when it came to discovering Danzig the band on their arrival on the world stage with the release of their debut album in 1988, it wasn’t until a couple of years later that I did actually hear that album. And was at around the time that this album was released, because I was offered a taped copy of this album not too far in the future from that moment. It meant that I was discovering both of the band’s first two albums at the same time, something that I think on this occasion actually worked pretty well, because I had them on the same cassette tape recorded for me, and I could just listen to one and then flip it over and hear the other. I do remember comparing the two at the time, and occasionally toying with the idea of taking my favourite tracks from the two albums and making one ‘album’ as such. But even at that time it didn’t feel right to do that, I had to listen to each album all the way through, because that’s how albums were meant to be listened to.
The very slight reservations that I had back in the early 1990’s when it came to Lucifuge are the same very slight reservations that I hold with it today. A couple of the songs, if I take them out of the context of the album itself, do have characteristics that aren’t exactly my cup of tea. It is fair to say that the more blues-based tracks and the slower tempo tracks are ones that I can take or leave under most circumstances, and that the ones that flow in that direction on this album sometimes make me a little impatient for the next track. But it is a small thing. When I go to this album and put it on, I never think of skipping a song while I’m listening to the album. It never enters my head. But in a more specialised position of actually sitting down to listen to this album critically, these are the kind of things that I notice. I’ve had this album out over the last week to once again enjoy its tones, and my critiquing of it here has not affected how much I still love this album. Of the 12 studio albums the ban has released, this remains a very solid #3 for me in their catalogue. And it is songs like this that keeps it there.

529. The Offspring / Ignition. 1992. 2/5

When I saw this in the local record store I got very excited and bought it immediately. It wasn’t until I was perusing the cover when I got home that I realised that it wasn’t the new album from The Offspring, it was in fact an earlier album that I wasn’t aware even existed. This was back in 1995, after I had devoured Smash to its limit, and was looking from more from the band.
OK, I thought, let’s give it a whirl. I put it on, played it a few times, and lost interest in it. To me, it wasn’t what I had come to love from the band, and I wasn’t taking to it. It went back into the CD cupboard, and fell into a dark recess.

Fast forward to 2008, and it makes its reappearance for this long winded review process. Ignoring the thoughts of thirteen years ago, I put it on with an open mind and an interest in the outcome.

Now there is no doubt who the band is. It is very much the musical and vocal style of The Offspring. However, even after half a dozen listens to the album, it still isn’t grabbing me. I can’t even really pin point what it is that doesn’t do it for me. Is it that there just isn’t enough ‘oomph’ in the songs, or is it just that because I came into the band (like so many others) on Smash that I can’t quite make the transition back to the earlier material? Really, I’m not sure. The one thing I do know is that I find this to be only average, and not the above-average stuff they did for the next three or four albums.

Rating: Still unable to like it much after all these years. 2/5.

528. AC/DC / If You Want Blood, You've Got It. 1978. 4/5

There’s a point in every band’s career that they need to record and release a live album. There are any number of reasons why this is the case, but in the main it is something that is required in order to showcase to the fans who have not seen them in concert exactly what they can do in a band’s natural environment. It can also be a handy move in order to give a band a break from releasing albums year after year, as was the case during this time, and offer them a bigger break away from either touring or recording or both.
Also during this time frame, live albums would often be double albums, in order to have all the songs played on the night or nights of recording on the album. Here though AC/DC have gone for the short and sharp version, with just the single vinyl album containing 10 tracks. The setlist on the night this was recorded was only 12 songs, which meant that a part of the encore was not put on, as well as the song “Dog Eat Dog”, which is a shame as it is a terrific song. N the end does it detract from the album as released? No, it doesn’t.
What you are left with here is the band on stage, arguably at their absolute peak when it comes to their performances, at the very least with Bon Scott at the helm. As a result it is a gem of an album to put on and bathe in the gloriousness of AC/DC live on stage.

There are some quite brilliant songs on this album, and they sound superb. They are pulled from most of the band’s albums to this point in time, and just rock the house down. The opening salvo of “Riff Raff” and “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be” is a tour de force, the blistering assault from Angus Young on lead guitar and the bombastic vocals from Bon Scott out front. Behind them the trio of Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams and Paul Rudd provide the best rhythm section in the business. “Riff Raff” in particular here is dominating, the true high voltage that the band sang about in the song of the same name. Just brilliant. “Bad Boy Boogie” also works well here, a drawn out section that allows the band to showcase its talents further.
I have never really been a fan of the song “The Jack”. For me it is ponderously slow, it is repetitive throughout the chorus, and delves heavily into the blues guitar, something that I can take or leave at the best of times. Obviously here in the live environment, t used as a crowd motivator and to include the crowd in the song, so as a live tool I guess it does its job. Personally, I would preferred to have heard any of two dozen songs played instead of it. “Problem Child” here actually proves that point as far as I am concerned, as the tempo switches back into top gear immediately, Bon’s vocals hit back to their best and the band is re-energized. It’s a great contrast of those two parts of AC/DC and for me shines a light on the positive aspects with force.
The second side of the album comes at you with similar ferocity in the best possible way. The fantastic joy of “Whole Lotta Rosie” lights up the stereo as it jumps out of the speakers, followed by “Rock n Roll Damnation”, the high voltage that is “High Voltage”, and then the power chord extravaganza of “Let There Be Rock”. A brilliant punch by punch collection of the best of AC/DC one after the other. The other song I’m less than fond of here is “Rocker”, which ends the album and was the encore on this tour. It’s a fast paced song that would no doubt have been a crowd favourite at the time. But again there were many other songs that could have been substituted in for it that would have been at least as good if not better. These are picky things here, and no doubt not the thoughts of a majority of AC/DC fans. It just seems like a missed opportunity to me... some 45 years on...

There are two things I’ve mentioned about live albums on past episodes, and they are these: one, any live albums should immediately be a 5/5 album because it should contains the band’s best songs of the era in their best environment. For the most part, this album does that really well. Two, while there are generally reasons why a band would put together a live album that has the songs in a different order than what they were played in, would really prefer they didn’t change the order. I prefer to hear the setlist as it was played. That isn’t the case on this album, with a couple of songs omitted from the release, and the others put together in a different order, probably to have them marry up nicely for the two side of the vinyl. Whatever the reason, they do have the songs join together nicely here so that if you didn’t KNOW it wasn’t in setlist order, you would never notice.
I don’t even recall when I actually got this album. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t until after 2000, as I still only had the basic AC/DC collection up to that point, despite having seen them four times (all from the front or second row which was as big a fluke as you could wish for). It would definitely have occurred during my period of making sure I had copies of every album the band had released, which was around that time. I know I’ve always enjoyed it, mainly because, what’s not to like?
The following year the band released the seminal “Highway to Hell”, climbed to the very top of the hard rock tree, and then found tragedy awaiting. But that story is for another episode.

527. Billy Idol / Idol Songs: 11 of the Best. 1988. 3/5

Sometimes - not always, but sometimes - it is just far easier to go out and buy an artists' Greatest Hits album than to get all of their albums, because in the long run all you want are two or three songs. Of course, in this day and age, you can just go to iTunes and buy only the songs you want! However, in a previous age that wasn't possible.

Thus the reason I own this CD. Because in the long run, there was only two songs of Billy Idol that I HAD to have in my collection. One is “White Wedding”. The other is “Rebel Yell”. Sure, they now appear more as 80’s cliches and the kind of radio fare that could be found in the day. But to a middle-aged 1980's teenager they are both still great songs, no matter what you think of the rest of his career. They still bring out the fist whenever they come on the radio, or someone's stereo, or more disturbingly at club karaoke.

As to the remainder of the album, all of his ‘hits’ are here, and the majority of it is still quite listenable. Songs such as “Flesh For Fantasy” and “Hot in the City” and “To Be A Lover” are still catchy enough that I can find myself singing along to them, and not always when I am alcohol-induced. For me however, he was always hard pressed to beat the success of the first two tracks I mentioned, and in many ways that has always coloured my perception of his later work. In the long run, the average rating of a greatest hits album can only reflect somewhat poorly on the majority of available material.

526. Judas Priest / Idaho Bootleg [Bootleg]. 2004. 4/5

After an absence of more than a decade, Rob Halford reunited with Judas Priest in the new century, and to celebrate the band went out and played a semi-world tour. This bootleg comes from that tour.
Containing a setlist comprising as many great Priest tunes as you can fit into a couple of hours, this was the reintroduction of Judas Priest reformed. Now, as good as this setlist is, it really is disappointing that everything in-between – i.e. the two albums the band recorded with Ripper Owens – looks as though it will now be confined to the “never to be played again” file. And that is a shame. I mean, wouldn’t you like to hear Halford singing some of Ripper’s songs?

Anyway – there is nothing out of the ordinary here, apart from the fact Rob doesn’t try to hit all those notes that he did twenty years ago. He is content to modify his vocals to almost-human levels.

Rating: An A grade bootleg recording of a band looking to reclaim the past. 4/5.

525. Doug Anthony All Stars / Icon. 1990. 4/5

The Doug Anthony All Stars, named in parody after Doug Anthony who had been the leader of the Country Party and also been Deputy Prime Minister in the Fraser Government, first came together in 1984, busking in the streets of Canberra. Richard Fidler had been playing guitar when he met Tim Ferguson, both of whom were attending university. Ferguson joined Fidler for an impromptu and energetic version of “Wild Thing”, a performance that filled the coffers from the passing parade. They decided to begin performing together, and along with another friend Robert Piper formed the group. After a year Piper left due to his increasing commitments, something that has led him to a career with the United Nations and roles in coordinating the peace processes of the middle east and in occupied Palestine. In his place, fellow performer Paul McDermott was brought into the group.
The All Stars were a comedy parody group, creating songs of humour with a dark edge to them. With McDermott’s drafting into the group, the material became edgier, with Fidler suggesting he changed the group’s dynamic. They moved to Melbourne following their success in winning the top award at the Adelaide Fringer Festival in 1986, in the hope of saving enough money to make an assault on the holy grail, the Edinburgh Fringe festival. They found that Melbourne audiences were initially not responsive to their show, something that began to draw a reaction from the group on stage. Ferguson and McDermott in particular began to adopt more abusive characters as their stage personas, while Fidler remained the happy and unaware character, which led to Fidler’s character being the butt of jokes from the other two. This growing part of the act, along with the biting tales being incorporated into their songs, gave the group their unique style, and on reaching the Edinburgh Fringe in 1987, they played to sold out crowds. This led to further success in the UK and being nominated for the Perrier Comedy Award the following year at the Edinburgh Fringe. With great success in the UK and having toured Canada and the US and Germany as well, they returned as conquering heroes to Australia in 1988, where they were met with... silence. In fact, things were so bad that they had to revert back to busking on the streets to make ends meet.
This all changed the following year in 1989, when they were invited to appear on a new comedy show on the ABC called “The Big Gig”, a live hour of comedy every Tuesday night that featured the best standup comedians and groups in Australia. The Doug Anthony All Stars appeared each week – indeed, they were on every episode of the show for its first three years. Their abrasive candour on stage, combined with their hilarious original songs and amazing voices were a huge hit. Accompanied only by Fidler’s acoustic guitar, the three combined their excellent voices to create comedy and music that was the highlight of each week of the show.
With so much material now built up, the group decided to release an album of the songs they had written. It was to be a test of their popularity both in Australia and abroad. Their subject matter could be biting yet humorous, and there was always the chance that they would offend groups on a large scale. But it was also possible that they could find an even wider fan base with the project. Thus came the album “DAAS Icon”, and the next phase of the band’s career.

This is an album of its age, and there would be those people out there that believe that this album could not be recorded in 2025. If that is the case, then it would be a sad day for comedy cynicism and parody. The Doug Anthony All Stars are not afraid of making fun and pointing the funny bone at political and religious establishments, nor should they be. Some have said in the past that they find the group childish and unfunny, that their material takes cheap shots and is disrespectful to the institutions it is aimed at. These people are the ones who have no sense of humour, and are unable to laugh at clearly comedic outpourings on what they consider serious topics. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but whether that opinion should be able to suffocate another's is a different matter entirely.
The band’s first foray into their quest of defining all religion comes from the opening track “Commies for Christ”, which also acts as an introduction of the three personas of the band. Once through that we take a trip combining the communist regime and the DAAS boys view of their version of God, beautifully expressed in comedic ways. This is just the first of many songs on the album that address god and his many religions. “Krshna” is just a terrific song, with wonderful parodying of the religion but while coming from a position where they are speaking in a positive way about it, from the point of view of a new convert. Some of my favourite lines are in this track, including, “And I’ll pray all night to Krishna, cos he’s a damn good listener, and he never ever ever answers back”, and, “and when Irish eyes are trying to make the Pommie’s pay, we’ll get krishna and his shotgun to join the IRA”. This line got this song and album banned in the UK on its release, though it was soon overturned in court.
On the other hand, “Little Gospel Song” is precisely that, a beautiful song that would not be out of place in a gospel church, with only Richard’s acoustic guitar accompanying Paul’s lead vocal and the backing from Tim and Richard. Songs like this prove that their talents as performers are real and not put on, that they could write and perform material that is not comedic or politically charged. “Go to Church” rides at the other end of the spectrum with the band’s slightly overblown thoughts on where the church has headed in those years with the increased advent of the televangelists and their less than moralist conventions.
And yet despite this, there are plenty of other songs here that have no connotations of that at all. “My Baby’s Gone to Jail”, replete with horns section to fill out the song, tells the story of a girlfriend who has been carted off to jail for any number of incidents, all listed in the song’s lyrics. “Jack” is an almost gospel piece, created only by the three vocals of the band, beautifully combined to tell the story of Jack the coal miner, and the weight on the shoulders of his craft. It is another example of the talents of the three and the differing styles they use in their songs throughout. “Change the Blades” does the same but in a rollicking fashion, talking of the burden and sorrow faced with the elements and changing factors in one’s life, again bringing the horns in to push a sound that you wouldn’t expect with the lyrical aspects of the song. “Shang-a-Lang" is a politically motivated song fused in racism, and uses a passage from Martin Luther King in the middle of the song to highlight the pointedness of what they are implying. Tim takes lead vocal on this song and really nails it home. On the other hand they also have the song called “Dead Elvis”, where they sing about performing a dance called the Dead Elvis. It radiates with their comedic talent with lines such as “You don't move your arms And you don't move your legs You just do the do the dead Elvis, You don't grind your pelvis It's the dance of the dead C'mon and do the, do the dead Elvis”. This moves into the wonderful “I Want to Spill the Blood of a Hippy” which was released as a single. Channelling the sound of the 60’s psychedelic songs, Tim takes on lead vocals again to give the movement and those trying to revive the time a spray, the violent overtones of the song apparently not pleasing some groups out in the world. However, it is the comedy tones that should override this and which make it such an entertaining song and performance.
“Rat” mimics “Little Gospel Song” in that it is just a beautiful combining of vocals over backing keyboards, once again in a gospel fashion. This is then followed by the wonderfully laconic and traditional one-up-manship storytelling of broad lic nic, with tall tales becoming taller as the song progresses. Sung with a touch of the Scottish about it, this again rates as one of the best songs on the album, and the most singable lyrics, my favourites being “Well, I severed my leg to win a One-legged race, And when I won I stitched it Right back into place. I fought Mohammed Ali, I've seduced Mata Hari, I've even worn a sari When I impersonated Gandhi. And I dare any man here To call me a liar, But I swear I've seen Ezekiel, I swear I've seen Isaiah, Toasting marshmallows in Beelzebub's fire”
“2x” is an instrumental that then leads into “Motorcycle St Sebastian”, another rollicking ride led by Paul’s vocals. The final track on the album is the second single, “Bottle”, a really perfect tale about an alcoholic and his battle with the bottle, his love and desire for the drink though he knows it will kill him. It’s another example of a track that has not comedy, no agenda, but just a beautiful song on a touching and pertinent subject, where the Doug Anthony All Stars again showcase their talents on another level.

When “The Big Gig” started on ABC TV on Tuesday evenings in 1989, it became a must watch. It was an entertainment show that showcased the best up and coming Australian stand up comedians, comedy groups and music. It introduced me to so many brilliant acts, many of which I then went to see in their own live shows, such as Glynn Nicholas (whose brilliant stage show ‘Kissing Frogs’ is still one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen), the Empty Pockets (of whom Matt Parkinson was one half of the duo, who went on to win Sale of the Century and is now Goliath on The Chase Australia), Jean Kittson, Anthony Ackroyd and so many others. But the one who really stood out was the weekly appearance of the Doug Anthony All Stars. They were anarchic, out of control, belligerent... but above all brilliant and funny. They blew up the stage every week, and all of this was AFTER they had already made a huge splash overseas at the Edinburgh Fringe. Amazing.
When this album was announced and released, I grabbed it immediately. In the long run, I was hoping that all of the songs they had played on The Big Gig would be on here so I could enjoy them all over again. And for the most part, they were. And yes, it is most definitely the comedy songs that I bought it for. “Commies for Christ”, “Krshna”, “Dead Elvis”, “I Want to Spill the Blood of a Hippy”, “Go to Church”, “Broad Lic Nic”. They all jump off the CD and out of the speakers. But as you listen to the album, you gain an appreciation for their talents with songs like “Jack”, “Little Gospel Song” and “Bottle”.
I’ve had this album on again for the last week and it has been fantastic singing along to all of these songs again. They are better to watch the band performing them as a part of their act because that is in their best element, but this album has never disappointed whenever I put it on.
DAAS parted ways in 1994, ostensibly for all three members to go and do their own projects. It wasn’t until an interview in 2010 that Tim Ferguson revealed they had parted because he was unable to do the physical side of the comedy their act required. It wasn’t until two years after they split that he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis which he still lives with today. In the end, their ending did allow the furious fire and focus of their material in that short space of time to remain relevant even to today.

524. Iced Earth / Iced Earth. 1990. 3.5/5

This is the initial foray into the world of Iced Earth, and for a debut it is a pretty fair effort. Improvements were to be made, but the basics are all here from which the building blocks could make their foundation.

I guess it is a common discussion point amongst fans of Iced Earth, but here we go again. While the music itself is terrific, with some great riffs and excellent drum and bass lines, the vocals let it down a little. That’s not to load vocalist Gene Adam with any blame for some shortcomings, but there is little doubt that future vocalists (and I guess here you immediately think of Matt Barlow) were betted suited to the material. This argument becomes almost gospel when you consider that many of these songs were later performed by Matt Barlow on other Iced Earth releases, and there is no argument that he performed them better.

Concentrating on this release however, the vocals are adequate and the music is great. “Iced Earth” and “Colors” rank as my favourite songs on the album, and though it probably does tail off toward the end, it is still a good listen, and worth it if only to see how they started out.

Rating: A better than average debut. 3.5/5

523. Iced Earth / I Walk Among You [Single]. 2008. 3.5/5

First taste of Iced Earth reunited with Matt Barlow as lead vocalist from the forthcoming album The Crucible of Man (Something Wicked Part 2).
The new song sounds good. Barlow’s vocals suit it nicely, and there is some power to the song. If this is an indication of the new album then bring it on.
Also here are two songs from Framing Armageddon (Something Wicked Part 1) which have been redone with Barlow singing instead of Ripper Owens. Probably not the songs I would have chosen, if they were trying to prove anything. I still think Ripper’s versions sound better.

Rating: Is there better to come? 3.5/5

522. The Offspring / I Choose [Single]. 1997. 3.5/5

This was the final single from the Ixnay on the Hombre album.
Containing the title song, it also mixes another song from the album, “Mota”, along with a live version of “All I Want”.

Rating: Average enough for the time. 3.5/5

521. Yngwie Malmsteen / I Can't Wait [EP]. 1994. 3/5

I Can’t Wait indeed. At a time when Yngwie continued his push for commercial success, this EP found its way into the record stores.
In almost all respects, this is the same old average stuff that Yngwie produced during the 1990’s – harmless fluff with the odd blistering solo thrown in to remind everyone that he can play guitar a bit.

It is the two live tracks which show up the difference. “Rising Force” sounds fine, but the vocals prove just how important it is to Yngwie’s work that, if he must have a singer on his tracks, he needs to be a good one. Vescara is shown up here – badly. On the other hand, the live version of “Far Beyond The Sun” is just brilliant, and a full reminder of the magnificent material he did release in the 1980’s. If only he had realised that there was no reason to change and chase commercial glory.

Rating: Nothing overly special to be found here. 3/5.