597. Unisonic / Unisonic. 2012. 3/5

It was pretty difficult not getting excited about the release of this album. Since their short time together in Helloween in the late 1980's (which produced two of the finest metal albums of that or any other era, the magnificent Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 and the incomparable Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2), Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen have moved in opposite musical directions. Hansen formed Gamma Ray, the premium metal band, and produced some of the best albums of the past 25 years. Kiske was involved in one of the worst, Helloween's Chameleon before renouncing his heavy metal spurs and producing some average albums that never ever showed off what an amazing vocalist he is.

Despite Kai Hansen's presence, I did not come into this expecting a heavy metal album, and that is not what this is. The music and songs had to be written in a style that would have pleased the leader - a compromise of styles, if you will. What you get is an assimilation of the band's that all of these members have been in, and an attempt to make that work.
There is plenty to like, and plenty to take stock of. The two major writers are Hansen and bassist Dennis Ward. While the album isn't fractured, it comes across as slightly schitzophrenic.

Hansen's contributions are a standout, and able to be separated from the pack. His are the songs that inject a bit of speed and a bit of grunt in the guitars, as well as the better lead break from both guitarists."Never Too Late" is one example. The similarities to Gamma Ray's "Time to Break Free" from the Land of the Free album, both musically and lyrically (yes, Kiske actually provided lead vocals on the song) are very easy to ascertain. But his contributions have been 'scaled back' from the absolute heavy and speed metal style of Gamma Ray, to fit in with the much more hard rock style that this band is about, no doubt to fit Kiske's preferred style.
On the other hand, Ward's contributions obviously reflect the style of his previous band's, such as Pink Cream 69 and Place Vendome (of which Kiske was also a part). They swing more towards the hard rock ballad style of song, rewuiring Kiske's soaring vocals to be at the forefront of the moody musicianship, much in the way that Whitesnake's "Is This Love?" did a quarter of a century ago. There is nothing wrong with that if you like that kind of stuff, but really, we've heard this before in Ward's afore-mentioned bands.

Compare, for instance, "Renegade" and "My Sanctuary", which are back to back in the middle of this album. "Renegade" is a Ward song, and it has that moodiness about it, and almost floats along with Kiske soaring to that mood. Then comes "My Sanctuary", essentially a Ward song, that Hansen has contributed to the music. It feels like a Ward song, but Hansen has come in and added some grunt, added some metal to it, and the song is all the better for that influence. To me, if this could have been done to the WHOLE album, rather than just the two or three songs that Kai 'helped out' with the music ("Unisonic", "My Sanctuary" and "We Rise") it would have been a better mix throughout. As it stands, the  momentum of the album ebbs and flows between the somewhat faster and heavier tunes, and the slower more circumspect soft rock moments.
Michael Kiske has the writing credit for one song on the album, the closing ballad "No One Ever Sees Me". It is the perfect example of the direction Kiske prefers his music in this incarnation of his life. It is pure syrup both musically and lyrically, and even the solo break from Kai can't redeem it for me. I am sure there are plenty of fans out here who will love this song. To me it may as well be Mariah Carey singing it, because it is a travesty.

I wanted to love this album. I wanted it to be a pinpoint, the album that all other bands would have to better if they wanted to have the best album of 2012. That hasn't  - and couldn't - happen. Despite the calibre of the musicians collected here, their styles were, for the most part, unable to combine to bring about the miraculous. There are good songs here, including "Unisonic", "Souls Alive" "Never Too Late" and "My Sanctuary", but the average tends to hold back the good. Instead, this is an album that is well worth a listen, but at the end of the day will become a shelf-filler.

596. Iron Maiden / En Vivo! 2012. 5/5

The simple review for this is "Here is another Iron Maiden live album. It's Iron Maiden, performing their songs live. It's a no brainer. It's brilliant. 5/5"

The major problem with putting out a live album or live DVD or both after almost every tour is that, for half of that release, you are hearing the same songs over and over again. And I honestly disagree with the band, that you MUST play a certain selection of songs at every gig ever. And so it is here. Once "The Evil That Men Do" has come to its conclusion, you can for all intents and purposes turn off the album, because you have heard the conlusion to an Iron Maiden concert before. It is a shame, and of course the songs themselves are still brilliant, but how many live versions of the same songs do you need to hear?

Anyway, getting over that, this is another terrific entry into Maiden's live collection. All of the new songs from The Final Frontier sound as brilliant live as they did when I saw them in concert in Sydney on this tour - they certainly sound better live. I was never overly taken with "Coming Home" and "El Dorado" when I bought the album, but they are better in this atmosphere. "The Talisman" proves itself again as the best song from that album, and one of their best since the reformation in 1999.
It was good to have some other songs back into the setlist as well, such as "Dance of Death", "The Wicker Man" and "Blood Brothers" which are fantastic. I again wonder at why "Fear of the Dark" remains in the setlist. I am very over that song.

It's simple. An Iron Maiden live album is pretty much a 5/5 album, given the song selection, musicianship and production. And this is no different. It was a great concert to see, and this is translated wonderfully to this album. One wonders why, after all of these live releases in the past 13 years, why there was no live album released from the A Matter of Life and Death tour, especially when on that tour they played that entire album live! Wonders may never cease...

595. Overkill / The Electric Age. 2012. 3/5

Given that as I write this review, the only two Overkill albums I have heard are this one and its predecessor, I guess I don't have the history of the band to help guide my judgement. This could be a positive or a negative in many respects, but it is what I have.

So, given that Overkill are a thrash metal band from the 1980's, you would have to say that this album holds up well, given it is a thrash album in 2012. OK, so it's not any great leap from what thrash metal was back in the early 1980's, though the production is a lot better than it was in those days, and to be honest, even these songs would be faster if they were written and recorded then. But this is a fair album given that.

In an age where the giants of the thrash metal age are still out there putting metal to the masses, albeit in a less angry and not-quite-thrash-anymore-but-heavy-metal kinda way, this album can still find a place amongst the groove metal and progressive metal and metalcore and power metal bands that flourish in greater quantity (though not necessarily quality) than pure thrash metal does.

If you like this style of metal, there is plenty here to like. Solid song structure, good rhythm section, solo's to suit and vocals that hold it all together. I would include "Electric Rattlesnake", "Save Yourself" and "Good Night" as some of my favourite songs from the album.

It's easy to say that there isn't a whole lot new here, and by that I mean that you could easily hear this coming from a thrash album in 1985. In the same way that bands like Exodus and Death Angel are still out there producing good albums in this day and age, Overkill have proven here they can still do the same.

594. Lamb of God / Resolution. 2012. 2.5/5

From the very beginning, there is no doubt that this is a Lamb of God album. And I say this simply because to me it sounds like every other album of theirs that I have heard or own.
Is this a bad thing? Well, it is up to interpretation. Everyone knows an AC/DC album when it is put on, because they are almost the same through out their career. But if you love AC/DC this doesn't diminish your love of the band or the music.
In reality, this is the same with Lamb of God. The production is similar, the guitars and rums and vocals are all in a similar vein to everything they have done. What it comes down to is - what is your opinion of Lamb of God as a band? If you love the band, you will probably be head over heels in love with this album. If you dislike Lamb of God as a band, you will dislike this album much as you have their previous efforts.

I sit on the fence with both this band and this album. I was hoping for more of Wrath when I heard it, and for the most part was disappointed. I came into Resolution with an open mind and hope of something different, something more. What I found was a stock standard LoG album. The start of the album just doesn't grab me, which is a problem for any album. I don't mind the mid-section songs, there is a little bit there that raises the senses slightly, and then it fades out towards the close again.

In summary, fans will probably enjoy this. As Lamb of God are not one of the bands that I have an obsession with, this perhaps drag down my assessment of the album in the same way my love of some bands drags my assessment upwards.

593. Primal Rock Rebellion / Awoken Broken. 2012. 4/5

Being the middle aged father of three working class husband that I have become over recent years, I knew nothing of this collaboration until its full announcement on the Iron Maiden website just before the album was released. I can honestly say that I was pleased to hear of it.
Adrian Smith is a giant in the industry, and his song writing has always been fantastic. Being a part of Iron Maiden, it is possible to see that he can have his creative talent hamstrung by the fact that Steve Harris has a stranglehold on the writing and performance part of the recording process. In the past he has had other creative outlets outside of his time with Maiden, including A.S.a.P and Psycho Motel, as well as his time with fellow Iron Maiden alumni Bruce Dickinson.
Mikee Goodman is formerly of the band SikTH, which I cannot say I have heard any of. However, his credentials were certainly top shelf from what I have read elsewhere.

From the very beginning, this comes across as refreshingly different and pleasingly not cliched in its approach. Those of us who know Maiden can immediately recognise the traditional Adrian Smith style, and yet it is much different from what most would know from that band. The guitars are a grungier heavier style through the meat of all the songs, and yet still melodically so. The solo breaks are typically brilliant Adrian. Through this, the songs are a different style and yet comfortably familiar. Mikee Goodman is no less important in this collaboration. His vocals fit like a glove to the music, and though I have not heard him on anything but this album, I must say that I am impressed with his singing and writing. Smith and Goodman's vocals also combine beautifully in some of the songs (see especially in "Tortured Tone"). Add to this the drumming of another original SikTH member Dan "Loord" Foord, which is terrific, and this is really comes together as a complete package.

Songs like "No Friendly Neighbour", "Bright as a Fire", "Tortured Tone" and "Awoken Broken" are my favourites (so far) on this album, as much as for the variety they showcase. Goodman's vocal ability is perhaps best appraised in "Awoken Broken", when he gives half a dozen different techniques in the one song, which only enhances the song, not detracting from it. There is almost as much variety in Smith's guitaring technique, and not forgetting the bass lines that he also plays on the album.

Apart from showcasing the members obvious skills both in musicianship and writing, this feels like more than a side project. This feels like a fully fledged band, that has the ability to go as far as the members want it to. Maybe - probably - that won't occur. No matter what, this is brilliant debut album, one that transcends many musical genres, and that will grow on you the more you listen to it.

592. Wolfsbane / Wolfsbane Save the World. 2012. 2/5

To be honest, I always thought that this was a strange move. I guess in the current music environment, where so many bands appear to be reforming to do tours that a tour by the band with a 'greatest hits' package was always possible. But after 18 years, a new album? Could there be anything new? Could there be any magic? Was Wolfsbane that good to begin with?
Anyway, the decision was made, and here it is, the 2012 version of Wolfsbane. And to be honest, it still sounds like Wolfsbane, which to me always sounded like a Van Halen cover band without the brilliant guitar solo's (sorry Jase, but it's the truth) and without being able to pull off the sexual innuendo like David Lee Roth (sorry Blaze, but it's the truth).

This is really the case here. The music on this album could have been pulled straight off Down Fall the Good Guys, such is the sound produced. It all has a very 1980's character about it (and yes, I know their albums were recorded in the 1990's), and it really is out of place in 2012. Perhaps if you hadn't followed the career of Blaze Bayley since 1994 it would have more substance to it. But Wolfsbane's lead singer has done much better for himself over those 18 years, performing not only with Iron Maiden for five years, but producing his own heavy thumping albums under his own moniker. To listen to Blaze's Blood & Belief album, and then listen to this, is to wonder how it could be the same person involved in the writing and singing of those songs.

So this is very tongue-in-cheek, and should be taken that way. But with almost no discernible changes in music or lyrics or subject matter, despite the long gap between albums, this really is an album that is stuck in the wrong time of music history. It is dated even though it has only just been recorded and released. It's fun enough to listen to if you are a fan and know the band, but those from the outside may find that this sits uncomfortably. Even for someone who owns all of their albums, this doesn't sit well.

591. Blaze Bayley / The King of Metal. 2012. 3/5

Given Blaze's track record in the early 2000's with his initial releases after leaving Iron Maiden, he has had plenty of credits in the bank with me. The albums Silicon Messiah and Tenth Dimension and Blood & Belief were all super albums that at least matched what Iron Maiden were putting out at the same time. The last two albums have been good without the spectacular nature of the afore-mentioned albums, and so perhaps Blaze has been eating into those credits.
Still, given that he has come out and named this album The King of Metal he has either put himself under enormous pressure to match the title, or he has succeeded.

As much as I would have liked to be able to report that this was indeed a return to the best that Blaze can produce, it isn't in me to do so. That isn't to say that this is a bad album - it just isn't a great album. No doubt that one of the things about not having a stable band line-up is that you can't co-create an album, and have a vision of this album and future albums. When you only have hired hands, they can't always be involved in the creative process. In this case, I think that has affected the content of the album.

I think the songs vary in great degree from the good heavy material that Blaze has become known for ("The King of Metal", "The Black Country" and "The Rainbow Fades to Black"), to the very ordinary slower ballad like material ("One More Step" and the closer "Beginning") to the confused 'not really sure what this song should be like' material ("Fighter").

I admire Blaze for the way he is continuing his career, and doing so in a cost effective way so that he can get to all his fans all over the world. To be honest, I think that to stretch himself in the future he needs to find himself a collaborator, much in the way Bruce Dickinson and Roy Z worked in the late 1990's together. Someone to help filter the good material he is still coming up with, from the filler that just isn't up to standard.
The King of Metal doesn't quite come up to the standard of his previous material, but it is a damn sight better than the stuff that was recorded on the new Wolfsbane album that came out at about the same time. Stick with your own stuff Blaze, and steer clear of that rubbish!

590. Adrenaline Mob / Omerta. 2012. 3.5/5

Given the calibre of the musicians in this 'project' band (and surely that is all it will be) it was hard to go past it when the album was finally released. Even the announcement that these musicians from 'progressive metal' bands wanted to do a 'straight metal album' helped to excite me. Honestly, how could it miss?

So i get the album, throw it on in anticipation, and the first two listens, I wonder what has happened. I just didn't get it. Russell Allen's vocals just didn't seem to fit at all. What was happening there? The guitars and drums were good, but what was the style of music? It wasn't what I'd call straight heavy metal. Mind you, I am old and a teenager of the 1980's metal scene, so my interpretation of this would be somewhat different from others.

Leave it for a week. I come back to the album with a fresh mind, and suddenly it has changed, mostly for the good. Now I am actually looking forward to the grunging screams of the chorus of "Undaunted". Immediately the album clicked. I got what they were aiming for. The style is so different from what these individuals had done before in their other bands that I just hadn't been able to get past that. With the benefit of having heard the album two or three times, and coming back with a clear head, I could appreciate the music so much better.

So how does it rate? In terms of musicianship, this may well end up being the album of 2012. Russell Allen's vocals have a harder edge to them than is absolutely apparent on his Symphony X work, but they work wonderfully well, and are the driving force behind the best songs here. Mike Orlando's guitaring in places is spectacular, and his work on his solo's in the majority of the songs is stunning. Mike Portnoy's drumming may be surprisingly free of some of the ludicrous rolls and fills that encompassed most of his work with Dream Theater, but its (comparative) simplicity is perfectly suited here, driving each song without taking away the focus of the other members. If there is a drummer out there with a better drum sound than Portnoy, then I don't know who it is, because as per usual it is immaculate here.

Songs like "Undaunted" and "Psychsane" and "Hit the Wall" and "Come Undone" are fantastic songs that have a great feel and groove to them. They are my favourites from the album.
In the long run, only two songs from the album are a disappointment, the ballad-esque "All on the Line" and "Angel Sky", and this is only because I'm not a fan of the power ballad. Most fans of power metal will probably think they are great. Don't get me wrong, the musicianship is brilliant on these songs, they just aren't my style of metal.

Most metal fans will find something on this album to enjoy. It's well worth the few dollars you plonk down at the record store to find out for yourself.