604. The Michael Schenker Group / MSG. 1981. 3.5/5

After leaving the band UFO following a successful five album stint, and briefly flirting once again with his first band the Scorpions, Michael Schenker had gone on to form his own band called The Michael Schenker Group and released their debut album to some acclaim. Hot on the heels of that, as was the way bands generally did in the days when selling albums was still a profitable way of making money, the band looked to immediately record their sophomore effort. That first album had been recorded with session musicians apart from lead vocalist Gary Barden, but when the band had gone on tour they had brought in bass guitarist Chris Glen, legendary drummer Cozy Powell who had just finished his run in the band Rainbow, and Paul Raymond, Schenker’s former bandmate in UFO who duelled on both keyboards and rhythm guitar. It was this line up that then went into the studio to write and record the follow up to that first album, which became the slightly unimaginative “MSG”.

Perhaps the important part about this era of the band is that the writing style of the songs was directly aimed at radio airplay and commerciality. That is not to say that they didn’t want that, but they didn’t directly write the songs in a manner that would lend itself to that kind of arrangement. Schenker’s prominence with UFO brought with it a following in itself, and with Raymond also now involved it brought that audience with them to see what they could produce, and Cozy’s followers from several bands he had been involved with did the same. And though Gary Barden was very much an integral piece of the band, both by being the lead vocalist as well as being heavily involved in the writing of the songs, it was still the strength of his voice that sometimes caused concerns – or at least, it did from a listeners point of view.

The album itself starts off on the right foot. Although it the modern age and the way heavy metal music has developed over the years it may appear to be a plodder and somewhat dated, "Are You Ready To Rock" was always a great opening to the album on its release. Its catchy chorus and dedicated guitar riff drive the song along while allowing all of the individuals in the band to make their presence felt early on. This segues straight into the song that perhaps more than any other song post-UFO has become Schenker’s signature, the one that defined him and who he was. Though the lyrics are based around the antics of psychotic serial killer, there’s no doubt that the title of the song could be literally explained as being about Michael Schenker himself, suggesting that when he lets loose on his guitar it is his attack, and given that many of his contemporaries felt he was extremely difficult to work with because he was mad (which can be easily backed up by the number of artists he has had working with him over the years, and the very short amount of time each of them ins able to stay in the band), then the title of “Attack of the Mad Axeman” always felt like an appropriate title for him. It has always been one of my five favourite Michael Schenker songs, dominated by the solo that is pure Schenker in output. This flows straight into "On and On", another top shelf Schenker song with a great vocal feel as well as riff line, and is followed by “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie” where Barden’s vocals are at their best and Schenker’s guitar work is again absolutely superb.

The second side of the album is unable to live up to the overall excellence of the first side. “But I Want More” feels more like that is what they are doing with the song, in essence it feels like a short song being extended into an inconsequential jam on stage that should have finished about five minutes before it actually does. Schenker’s guitaring through the back half of the song is great but it doesn’t feel like it is going anywhere. Then comes the rock ballad, “Never Trust a Stranger”, written solely by Paul Raymond, and it feels more like a solo song than a band song. His keyboard dominates the first half of the song which just sighs along like ballads do while Barden’s vocals find the element that he seems to prefer, which is a little disconcerting seeing as he should be a hard rock singer rather than a rock ballad singer in this band. The song is saved from being a total disaster by Schenker’s solo break in the middle, but it seems like a strange choice to throw in here. Order is restored with the harder, rockier faster pace of “Looking for Love”, which not only showcases all of the band in a much better fashion it has Schenker dominating the middle to end of the song with a scorching solo that much better defines the joy of MSG than any half cut ballad does. Somewhat sadly, the album concludes with “Secondary Motion”, a song that is unsettled throughout between what it should be and what it turns out to be, as though the band is unsure exactly what style the song should be. Again, at least Schenker’s guitar is able to play us out but it just could have been a much better end than the way it was written. Or – am I just being over critical? There is always that possibility... but I’m not.

I’ve had a special place in my music heart for many years for Michael Schenker, so much so that I can look past some pretty average music to see the gems that sparkle amongst it. And if I was to give an honest appraisal of his work since 1980 – and probably even before that – it would be that he has a great knack of writing some bloody brilliant tracks, and then just as many that don’t quite hit the mark. And most of that is just through my own musical taste, because he does an amazing job of having the same situation crop up with almost every album he is involved in. There are the brilliant tracks, heavy and loaded with guitar riffage goodness, there are the average songs that may not be special but generally also have some great guitar moments, and then there are the slower ballady tracks that get mixed in which for me tend to shut down the overall enjoyment of the money. I am of the opinion that you could pick me out any two MSG albums form any era, and by throwing out the slower stuff I could make any of them better by combining the best tracks into one.
In many way, MSG has dated since its release, steeped as it is in its mid-to-late 70’s styled guitar and keyboards moments along with Barden’s pleasant but not overtly strong vocals. The top shelf tracks still do the business, while the others feel as though they are in the wrong place entirely. The shining light continues as ever to be Schenker’s guitaring, which to be honest is the reason we all come into these albums. And at least there was not the aim for commercialisation on this album as was the case a little further down the track, when even Schenker’s guitar was basically shelved in the name of finding a radio hit.

For me, this is still one of my favourite Michael Schenker Group albums. Perhaps it has its couple of flaws, and perhaps it is dated with age around the edges, but fans of the band will still enjoy it today BECAUSE of what it is, and not because of what it is seen to be by others.

603. Metallica / 2011-12-10: The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA, USA. 2011. 4.5/5

This is the fourth and final of four nights that Metallica played as their 30th Anniversary celebrations, bringing together old band mates and musician friends to have a rocking old time.
All four nights had a similar theme and arrangement, though with different songs and guests.

Each night started with an instrumental, and the fourth night was the turn of the brilliant "Orion" to be played in all its glory. What a magnificent song it is.
For the 'back catalogue collection' on this evening, there was more great songs. "Through the Never", "Ride the Lightning", "The God That Failed" and "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)".

Then came the "new song" of the night, one of the four songs that had come from the Death Magnetic sessions but not made the cut for the album. All four were later released on the Beyond Magnetic EP. Tonight's addition was "Rebel of Babylon", which to my ears would have been the closest to making the Death Magnetic album.

From here we move into the 'special guests' stage of the evening. First was Dennis and Annette Diaz, who had scored a YouTube hit with the performance of "Master of Puppets" at their wedding. Tonight they were on stage for "Blackened".
Bob Rock, who produced four Metallica albums, and replaced Jason Newsted when recording the St Anger album, came out to play two songs off that album, "Dirty Window" and "Frantic".

One of the highlights came next, with legendary bassist Geezer Butler joined the band on stage to play their medley of the Black Sabbath classics "Sabbra Cadabra" and "A National Acrobat". To top that off, Ozzy Osbourne himself then made his way on the stage to perform the stock standard "Iron Man" and "Paranoid". Just brilliant.

For the fourth and final time, Jason Newsted returned for another two song stint with his former band mates. One wonders how he felt at the end of playing "King Nothing" and "Whiplash", knowing it would probably be the final time he did so.

The end of the night, and the four nights, was left to the originals.
Hugh Tanner, who came on to play "Motorbreath" was in band's with Hetfield at school. 30-odd years later, to play with them on stage, must have been a moment.
This was followed by the moment that probably every Metallica fan around the world had been waiting for, the return of Dave Mustaine. After 30 years of ill words between the parties, they were all back on stage together. They belted out original Metallica classics "Phantom Lord", "Jump in the Fire" and "Metal Militia" to great applause.
To top this off, original Metallica bassist Ron McGoveny and another former guitarist in Lloyd Grant, who played on the original recording of "Hit the Lights", joined the mass on stage to play this song. It was a real trip down memory lane for everyone.

The evening finished with an all-star jam, everyone from the night coming together to play the party encore, "Seek & Destroy".

There was plenty of interesting pieces on this recording, and in most ways it was the perfect way to conclude the first 30 years of Metallica.

602. Metallica / 2011-12-09: The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA, USA. 2011. 4/5

This is the third of four nights that Metallica played as their 30th Anniversary celebrations, bringing together old band mates and musician friends to have a rocking old time.
All four nights had a similar theme and arrangement, though with different songs and guests.

Each night started with an instrumental, and the third night was only the second time ever that "Suicide & Redemption", was played live.
For the 'back catalogue collection' on this evening, well... what more could you ask for really. "Master of Puppets", "... And Justice For All", "Of Wolf and Man", "Fade to Black" and "The Thing That Should Not Be", all awesome songs. These were followed by "I Disappear" and "The Outlaw Torn"

Then came the "new song" of the night, one of the four songs that had come from the Death Magnetic sessions but not made the cut for the album. All four were later released on the Beyond Magnetic EP. Tonight's addition was "Hell and Back", which is listenable enough, if overdrawn.

From here we move into the 'special guests' stage of the evening. First was another member of Metallica's 'MetClub' fan club, Joseph Guariglia, who came up to play on "Blitzkrieg". This was followed by Jerry Cantrell from Alice In Chains coming out to help with two songs, "For Whom The Bell Tolls", and vocal harmonies on "Nothing Else Matters".
Animal from Anti-Nowhere League came out to sing his standard "So What" before Cantrell returned with Pepper Keenan from Down, big Jim Martin from Faith No More, and Gary Rossington from Lynard Skynard to do the Skynard song "Tuesday's Gone" which Metallica had covered on the Garage Inc. album.
Jason Newsted returned for his third night in succession, this time to belt out crowd favourites "Fuel" and "Fight Fire With Fire".

Tonight's main event was the arrival of Glenn Danzig to help perform Metallica's favourite Misfits covers, those of course being "Die, Die My Darling", "Last Caress" and "Green Hell". It's great to hear the great man with the band behind him.

Can you top that? Well, you go close when you bring out the Godfather, Judas Priest's Rob Halford, to perform "Rapid Fire". Brilliant stuff.

The evening finished with an all-star jam, everyone from the night coming together to play the party encore, "Seek & Destroy".

Once again, the night was an eclectic affair, with something for everyone. The recording shows it off well, as an historic moment in the band's career.

601. Metallica / 2011-12-07: The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA, USA. 2011. 4/5

This is the second of four nights that Metallica played as their 30th Anniversary celebrations, bringing together old band mates and musician friends to have a rocking old time.
All four nights had a similar theme and arrangement, though with different songs and guests.

Each night started with an instrumental, and the second night was the first time ever that "To Live Is to Die", was played live, the brilliant instrumental from ... And Justice For All which is the last recorded material with Cliff Burton's name on the writing credits. It was a wonderful way to start the gig, and perhaps left it far too much to live up to following it.
We are again then presented with an assortment of the back catalogue - the ever present crowd favourite "Enter Sandman", the great and under-utilised "Holier Than Thou", the awesome "Disposable Heroes", "Bleeding Me", "Wasting My Hate" and "My Apocalypse".

Then came the "new song" of the night, one of the four songs that had come from the Death Magnetic sessions but not made the cut for the album. All four were later released on the Beyond Magnetic EP. Tonight's addition was "Just A Bullet Away", which is okay, but shows why it didn't make the cut initially.

From here we move into the 'special guests' stage of the evening. First was another member of Metallica's 'MetClub' fan club, Andrew Dowis, who came up to play on "Breadfan". Again, how lucky is this bastard. This was followed by "The Memory Remains" with Marianne Faithfull, who provided supporting vocals on the song on the album Reload, followed by a great version of Sweet Savage's "Killing Time" featuring the band's lead vocalist and bass player Ray Haller.
Then band then rolled out "Turn the Page", a Bob Seger song that Metallica covered for Garage Inc. and then spent eleven weeks at #1 in the US. This was sung by Kid Rock, who has also covered the song, and sung it with Metallica in the past. After this, John Bush (whose band Armored Saint had played earlier as support) came out and crushed a version of "The Four Horsemen", bringing the house down.

The next set of songs brought Lou Reed onto stage, to perform three songs from the collabarative album that he and Metallica had released earlier in 2011, Lulu. It had been a controversial move, and the album that was the result of this was panned. Those that like the album will enjoy this. I do not, and really don't.

Jason Newsted came out for the second evening in a row, and helped to return the set to the heights it should be at with blistering versions of "Creeping Death" and "Battery".
The pinnacle of the night came with the original member of Mercyful Fate coming out to perform Metallica's tribute to the band released on Garage Inc., titled "Mercyful Fate", which contains the songs "Satan's Fall", "Curse of the Pharaohs", "A Corpse Without Soul", "Into the Coven" and "Evil". Just awesome.

The evening finished with an all-star jam, everyone from the night coming together to play the party encore, "Seek & Destroy".

Though not as terrific overall as the first night, this still has enough interesting moments to fill a couple of listens.

600. Metallica / 2011-12-05: The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA. 2011. 4/5

This is the first of four nights that Metallica played as their 30th Anniversary celebrations, bringing together old band mates and musician friends to have a rocking old time.
All four nights had a similar theme and arrangement, though with different songs and guests.

Each night started with an instrumental, and the first night was a wonderful version of "The Call of Ktulu", one of their best, just a brilliant song. This was followed by an eclectic selection of songs from their back catalogue that are rarely heard live - "No Remorse", "The Shortest Straw", the awesome "Leper Messiah", recent opener "The Day That Never Comes" and "Carpe Diem Baby" for the first time ever live.

Then came the "new song" of the night, one of the four songs that had come from the Death Magnetic sessions but not made the cut for the album. All four were later released on the Beyond Magnetic EP. Tonight's addition was "Hate Train", which is arguably the better of the four over these nights. This was followed by the Nazareth cover, "Please Don't Judas Me".

From here we move into the 'special guests' stage of the evening. First was a member of Metallica's 'MetClub' fan club, John Dent, who came up to play guitar on "Wherever I May Roam". You would probably be just a little bit stoked about being able to do that. Then Metal Church's guitarist John Marshall, who was also a guitar tech with the band, and has on occasions filled in for James Hetfield when he has been incapacitated, came up to play on "Sad But True", before Rob Trujillo did a bit of doodling with "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth".

Support act for the night, the Finnish cello group Apocalyptica, who started out their life as a Metallica cover band, came out to join Metallica on stage and help out on a great version of "No Leaf Clover" as well as adding their unique style to the first half of "One". Following this, former bass player Jason Newsted made his way out to perform "Harvester of Sorrow" and "Damage Inc." with his former band mates, taking obvious glee in providing backing vocals once again in both of these songs.

More cover songs followed this. Saxon's lead vocalist Biff Byford came out and sang on a rousing version of that band's (probable) most famous song, "Motorcycle Man". After this, arguably the two people most influential in Metallica's musical love and direction came out, the mighty Diamond Head's lead singer Sean Harris and lead guitar Brian Tatler. To the delight of fans and band alike, they performed four of their songs that have been made more famous by Metallica than they probably could ever have been - "The Prince", "It's Electric", "Helpless" and "Am I Evil?", all absolute classics. This is what makes this night special, this kind of coming together of a legendary band, and the band that THEY looked up to and was inspired by.

The evening finished withan all-star jam, everyone from the night coming together to play the party encore, "Seek & Destroy".

This is a great live album of a great event and it is well worth a couple of listens for posterity.

599. Tenacious D / Rize of the Fenix. 2012. 3/5

It was somewhat of a surprise to learn that the D was going to release another album. Not because I thought they were done, how do you approach a new album after the previous album was the soundtrack to your own movie, which bombed big time at the box office? Well, you make the album (or part of it, anyway) the story of that, and just move onwards!

It is great to hear Jack and Kyle back again, and for the most part the songs are upbeat and humorous. It is probably unfair to try and compare to their earlier efforts. Their self-titled debut album contained the very best of everything they had written and played for a decade. Their second album was also the soundtrack to their movie, and as such the material was well done. On this new album, they had to start from scratch and come up with new material and new ideas. It's not like they could just come together and write a bunch of songs about love or any other subjects. They also had to be amusing and clever, because that is what the D do. And in a lot of ways that is even more difficult to do, because the backlash can be twofold.

Without trying to overanalyse the whole production (which I think I have already done), it is an album that is enjoyable to listen to without the great memorable tracks that their previous two albums have. "Rize of the Fenix" answers the questions of what the D have been doing since 2007. "Deth Starr", "Roadie" and "Throw Down" are all in the classic sense Tenacious D songs. On the other side, songs like "Rock is Dead" and "To Be the Best" remind me of songs off the Team America: World Police soundtrack ("Montage" anyone?), but probably not quite as good. And as clever as a song like "39" is, I really think it is drawn out far too long.

I haven't got the same vibe about this album as I did with the previous two albums. This may well change over time and more spinning of the album. It's clever and funny, but without the memorability of that which came before.

598. Primal Fear / Unbreakable. 2012. 3.5/5

Primal Fear have built themselves up to the kind of band that you want to be - they have the reputation that, once you know they have a new album on the way, you are excited about it, and look forward to hearing it and buying it. As a band you couldn't ask for much more than that. Given the excellent quality of  their previous release, 16.6: (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, this was one I was looking forward to.

Overall, it is another great Primal Fear album. The songs here are more melodic that those on recent releases, and the keys are more prominent. From the very beginning the album is kick-started and driven by the powerful drumming of Randy Black, who again excels in the precision and speed of his tubs, and the vocals of Ralf Scheepers, who just keeps the intensity of the songs at a premium. These two are the stars on the album for me.
You won't find anything too different on here than you can find on other Primal Fear albums. There is the mix of the faster speed metal type songs as well as the power metal slower ballad style songs. My preference has always been for the faster, heavier songs, such as "And Then There Was Silence" and "Unbreakable (Part 2)", whereas the token balled "Born Again" for me is in the category of song filler - not a bad song, but not one that does anything for me.

It may sound a little generic in places, but that is a small price to pay for a band that continues to produce such wonderfully adept albums. For me it doesn't quite match the previous album, but it certainly ranks ahead of its predecessors New Religion and Seven Seals.