After a career to this point that consisted
of singing in about half a dozen bands, including giants Judas Priest
and Iced Earth and Yngwie Malmsteen, this is Ripper's first solo
release. As he was also the major contributer to writing all of the
songs, it is also an interesting insight into how his vision of his
music is sighted.
For me, from the very beginning, these songs
are just far too slow in tempo, and they appear to be that way in order
to showcase the strength of Ripper's voice than to actually write a good
song. "Starting Over" should be a belter as it has the right bones, but
the fire just doesn't take as the song drifts along without catching.
In "Believe" Ripper seems to be trying too hard to be passionate where
there is no passion in the song. It just ends up stretching a boring
song to lengths unnecessary, without any hooks. "The Cover Up" is poorly
put together. Once again the song melody is just all wrong, especially
when Ripper now decides it is time to hit his higher range when really
the song dictates that he should be down lower with the heavier type
vocal range. And what is with the lyrics? Wow. Jeff Loomis does save the
song a little, but there isn't much help there. "Is It Me" and "No Good
Goodbyes" sound like they want to be a cross between Alice in Chains
and Judas Priest without being able to pull off the sense of power and
angst that such a combination would produce. They both have flaws but
are listenable.
"The World is Blind" is another in a bland,
boring song arrangement. Ripper tries to do the mournful, ballad type of
vocals over music that does nothing, and gets closer to sending you to
sleep with its repetition than feeling any emotion. Very average,
especially considering artists as talented as Doug Aldrich, Billy
Sheehan and Simon Wright play on the song.
"To Live Again" gets
closer to what you would expect, a punchier song with Michael Wilton and
Dave Ellefson contributing heavily in the mix. Junior's bassline is the
best part of the song. But there is still a mystifying lull in the
middle of the song that just sucks the guts out of it, with Ripper
slowing up the pace again by trying to over-emote in his vocals, and in
the long run ties it to the rest of the tunes on this album. The same
goes with "The Light", the song just doesn't get out of first gear and
give itself a chance. We get the full complement of Ripper's range here,
somewhat layered over each other, but it just lacks strength.
"Play
My Game" is probably one of the better songs on the album, but it too
suffers from having any progress the song had made stopped dead in its
tracks by the middle of the song, which rips the heart out some great
guitar work which tries to get the song going before Ripper starts
chanting in slow motion.
"Death Race" is how this album SHOULD
have sounded. A great guitar riff starts off the song in the right
fashion, and Ripper gets going with his best work, not only singing some
worthwhile lyrics, but testing his range without feeling as though he
is trying too hard. This is all complemented by great guitar solos in
the middle of the song, and Ripper wins on this occasion. This is by far
the best song on the album, and if only this had been the basis for how
the whole album was written, we would all have been far more impressed
and happy.
Unfortunately, the lesson has not been completely learned,
as with "The Shadows Are Alive" the band try to put together a
memorable closer which doesn't come off as they would have liked,
despite some nice guitar work towards the end of the song. Why they had
to make the song so slow in taking off is beyond me, because the end
does start to come together. Make the whole song with the intensity of
the second half of the song and it would have been so much better.
Play My Game
really is a disappointment. It could have been a real talking point, an
effort that showcased exactly what Ripper can do in a fast heavy
environment. Instead, for the most part it plods along without a great
deal of life. Is he destined to go through his career as a 'singer for
hire' lead vocalist without really establishing himself as an artist of
repute? It's possible, and there's no great shame in that, but you would
just like to see someone who has a voice like Ripper really put out
some killer albums and get the respect and plaudits he deserves.
After the critically panned and sales failure (although they got my money) of the quite dreadful Chameleon,
Helloween had a lot of work to do to regain the faith of their fans and
the heavy metal community as a whole. The complete change of direction
of that album caused fans (particularly me) a lot of heartache, and one
could only wonder if they could ever return to the heady position they
had once held.
The victims of the fall out were lead singer Michael
Kiske (who in the years since his departure has been lumbered with much
of the blame for the direction that Chameleon
took) and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg, who tragically took his own life a
year later. In their place came in former Pink Cream 69 lead vocalist
Andi Deris, and former Gamma Ray drummer Uli Kusch.
The
instrumental intro of "Irritation" kicks off the album, before the
raucous beginning of "Sole Survivor" signs with intent the revival of
Helloween from the outset. The superb tub thumping from Kusch and a
heavy guitar riff blasts the album immediately into the right direction.
Andi Deris announces his arrival in emphatic fashion, his vocals
punching through with passion, and the album is off to a great start.
"Where the Rain Grows" is a great follow up, again played at a great
pace, and the real "happy" guitars that made Helloween what they were in
the late 1980's. You get that old uplifting feeling from these early
tunes, a quality that had gone missing on recent releases.
"Why?"
comes out as a rather scathing lyrically based song, questioning why it
is that if an omnipotent being exists, why does it not stop all of the
harm that is occurring in the world. As Andi Deris' first stand alone
composition for his new band, it makes quite a statement. The same is
true of "Mr Ego (Take Me Down)", another lyrically hard hitting song
that is backed up by great music, though on a less vibrant note. At over
seven minutes it is progressive not only in style but in length, and
perhaps it overstays its welcome a little. What really comes through on
these songs is that not only has the band begun to rediscover some of
their early mojo, they still have the ability to make a statement
without ramming it down your throat.
"Perfect Gentleman" is not only the most surprising song on Master of the Rings,
it is also quite possibly the best. It mixes heavy guitar with light
keyboards, genuine enthusiasm with pointed lyrics, and sung in the
blinded belief of the honest opinion. The performance of Andi Deris,
playing the part of the 'genuine man' is marvellous and makes the song a
gem because of it. You can only imagine that this was a biography of
someone the authors of the song knew.
Even given the highest
quality that the first half of this album provides, the terrific songs
keep coming into the second half. "The Game is On", "Secret Alibi" and
"Take Me Home" are all good songs that don't quite reach the heights of
those earlier, but are more than just average songs.
As an avowed
abhorrer of power ballads on any metal album, it comes as much of a
shock to me than anyone else that I love "In the Middle of a Heartbeat",
as big a power ballad as you could ever hope to hear. And yet, it is
performed so well, and sung with such passion that you cannot help but
like it. On an album full of surprises, this was a pleasant one.
The
album concludes with "Still We Go", an almost biographical song that
comments on the rise, and fall, and (hopeful) rise again of the band.
Roland Grapow excels in these kind of songs, and here he is at his best.
Great stuff.
My edition of this album came with a bonus CD, that
not only contains Roland's own "Grapowski's Malmsuite 1001" as a
tribute to his hero Yngwie Malmsteen, but other excellent B-side
material "Can't Fight Your Desire", "Star Invasion" and "Silicon
Dreams". It also has cover songs such as "I Stole Your Love" by Kiss,
"Cold Sweat" by Thin Lizzy and "Closer to Home" by Grand Funk Railroad.
All of these songs appear on the singles released form the album.
The style of Master of the Rings
is caught somewhere between an out-and-out power metal release and a
progressive rock element, with an assortment of songs that on the whole,
combine to make a terrific album. Needless to say it is a vast
improvement on its predecessor, and though many of the songs have great
riffs and terrific drumwork as well as Deris’ awesome vocals, it is
different again from anything the band has produced before. It is
however a stepping stone, and one on which they make significant
progress on as they move forward over the next three albums.
In the main, this album serves as the
soundtrack to the Stephen King penned movie Maximum Overdrive, a
moderately enjoyable film with big trucks that gain their own conscious
state. As a collection of songs, both newly recorded and a smattering of
good 'uns from their back catalogue, this becomes greater than the sum
of its parts.
The headline song is the title track, "Who Made
Who" which became a huge anthem through the late 80's. It's popularity
and importance to the AC/DC catalogue is obvious, and more than makes
this compilation on its own.
There are two other new songs on this
release, and both are instrumentals, "D.T." and "Chase the Ace". Both
are great additions as well (with "D.T." becoming a favourite to play
for the band I was in during my early twenties).
The remainder of the
album is packed with great songs from their other albums. I like it
because this is not a greatest hits collection, it is a soundtrack
collection, so rather than getting the most popular songs of the band,
you get a mix of songs that provided a background during the movie.
The obvious are included - "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Hells Bells" from the Back in Black
album boom along nicely, and fall into this category. There are the
great "Sink the Pink" and "Shake Your Foundations" from the underrated Fly on the Wall album, the understated "Ride On" (the only contribution from Bon Scott here) from the Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap album, and the awesome "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" from the album of the same name that closes out the album.
This
is not a greatest hits album, but it is a great collection of some
terrific AC/DC songs, not all of which are often considered when it
comes to putting together a 'best-of' list, that is more than worthwhile
owning.
Is it a brave move or a strange move or just a
progressive move to decide that you will not only record a concept
album, but for all intents and purposes make it just one song, in a
number of acts? This is pretty much what Fates Warning have done here on
A Pleasant Shade of Gray. The album is
basically one 55 minute song, in twelve parts without a title. It is so
designed that it is really not an option to throw on the CD and just
choose one 'song' to play, because it would seem out of place.
The
concept album is not a rare beast in the progressive rock and metal
genre. In fact, it is almost a prerequisite. the fact that it had taken
Fates Warning so long to release one could be seen to be out of place.
So
how do you approach this album? In my mind, after several listens, you
have to be in the right mood, and you have to let it play from start to
finish without interruption. It is, after all, just one song. Overall
this is quite a mellowing album, there really isn't a lot of metal about
it. It has all the complicated guitar and drum pieces that you expect
from this band, and certainly the complex time changes that dominate an
album of this genre. But it never reaches any thumping proportions. It
almost slides along like a waterfall cascading into a stream. And this
is where I feel you have to be in the right place to actually put this
on. If you want to slump quietly into your favourite armchair, perhaps
with a book, away from the world, this album can be very rewarding. It's
a reflective kind of album. If you are looking to put something on to
get the blood pumping, then this certainly isn't it.
Like many
people, it took me a little while to 'get' this album, to find its place
and to appreciate it for what it is. And once I had reached that place,
I did find it rewarding in its own way. It's not going to please
everyone, and it isn't for those that are looking for a metal album.
Would I possibly call it 'easy listening' progressive rock? Perhaps. But
the musicianship is faultless, and the vocals are spot on. Even so, it
won't be for everyone, and the lengthy passages of light instrumentals
may well turn off many followers.
Ozzy's previous studio album, No Rest For the Wicked
had introduced his new guitarist with his own unique style and sound,
Zakk Wylde. On the tour that followed the band was joined by Ozzy's
former Black Sabbath bandmate, Geezer Butler, on bass, while the
wonderful Randy Castillo retained his position on the drumstool. With
such a barnstorming foursome, the live shows on the tour were out of
this world, with all of the songs having both Geezer and Zakk putting
their own special touches on them. As a moment in time, it was perfect
that these live performances be captured and recorded.
Here then is the result, the EP Just Say Ozzy.Many
critics believe it is too short, and that a full live set should have
been released. That is possibly true, but coming so close on the heels
of the Randy Rhoads Tribute live release, it was perhaps seen as too much too soon. This would be rectified a few years later with the Live & Loud album.
My
opinion is that this was just perfect at the time. As an EP, it still
runs at thirty minutes, which in the days when normal vinyl LP's would
run at around 45 to 50 minutes was pretty good. It contains three songs
from the No Rest For the Wicked album, the
excellent "Miracle Man", the surprising "Bloodbath in Paradise", and the
floor leveling "Tattooed Dancer", where Zakk Wylde just smokes. There
is also a great version of "Shot in the Dark" from The Ultimate Sin
album. Topping off the album, no doubt inspired by Geezer's presence on
tour, the band play two Black Sabbath classics, "Sweet Leaf" and "War
Pigs". Awesome stuff.
On its release this was an excellent lay
over between albums, and showed that Zakk Wylde could perform live the
way he had recorded in the studio, and that Geezer Butler was still an
absolute legend. As a piece of history, it still holds its place.
With the news a couple of years ago that
Scorpions were going to release their final album, and then follow that
up with their final tour, there was expectation and weariness. Sting in the Tail
came and went, another average release with that good ol' Scorpions
sound. And then this arrives on the doorstep, and the initial thoughts
are, 'mid-tour filler?' Well, the answer is, for the most part, yes.
Scorpions
have had any number of greatest hits albums. I think I have five or six
of them myself. How many generations of listeners do you have to try
and lure in with yet another compilation, when in all likelihood you've
dragged in all the fans you can muster?
The lure of Comeblack
is the twofold set-up of the album. The first half contains several of
the band's most popular hits, re-recorded in the current day and given a
spit polish with a modern edge. And it is a veritable best of - "Rhythm
of Love", "No One Like You", "The Zoo", "Rock You Like A Hurricane",
"Blackout", "Wind of Change" and "Still Loving You". These are the songs
that made Scorpions the band they are. They all sound great. But we've
heard it all before. Could this not have been an opportunity, given that
this is supposedly the swansong for the band, to drag up some rarities,
some gems that aren't as well known, and up date them well and give
them some exposure to fans who may well not know they even existed? Did
it really need yet another shot at "Rock You Like A Hurricane" to get
people to buy this album? It's great to listen to, but I think it was an
opportunity lost.
The second half of the album are cover
versions of songs that the band enjoy or drew inspiration from. It is
an eclectic mix. The Gloria Jones song (though made much more famous by
Soft Cell's version in the early 80's) "Tainted Love" is given a funky
do-over, and is probably the best version of the secondary part of the
album. T.Rex's well known and well covered "Children of the Revolution"
is another standout. The other artists to be honored here are The
Beatles' with "Across the Universe", Small Faces' "Tin Soldier", The
Kinks' "All Day and All of the Night" and The Rolling Stones' "Ruby
Tuesday", and all of these versions have a bit of the Scorpions sound
injected into them.
While the album is done well, performed well,
and produced well, it's a novelty. The Scorpions songs will always be
better in their original album environment, because that's what we
remember them as. The cover songs are like all bands who do cover albums
- these versions sound OK for a few listens, but if the songs are any
good, you will always drift back to the original versions because of
that. Worth a listen, but in the end it's a stocking filler.
Plenty will argue about what are the best
debut albums of bands ever released. There will be widely differing
opinions, and many will point to their favourite band as having supplied
the answer to the question. If asked, high on my list would be The Legacy, as it ticks just about every box possible in delivering a wonderful album.
"Over
the Hill" is just an awesome opening song, a real smash-you-in-the-face
welcoming. "We are Testament, now take this!" This is what thrash metal
was all about, heavy blazing guitars, great drum work and a driving
forceful vocalist. "The Haunting" continues in this trend. Guitarists
Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson, who wrote almost all of the music for
this album, are in great form, keeping these songs at maximum tempo. I
love "Burnt Offerings", which is the song that follows, but its one flaw
is that it does feel sometimes that it is just oe riff being played for
five minutes straight. Not necessarily a bad thing, but compared to the
rest of the album it is a little unusual. "Raging Waters" has the speed
of the other songs, but is... how should I put this... a little
'lighter in substance' than the others. If you had only listened this
far into the album, you may well think that Testament were a bit
'samey'. This is relieved by "C.O.T.L.O.D." (Curse of the Legions of
Death), which restores the real Testament legacy (no pun intended) to
the forefront.
"First Strike is Deadly' is still a brilliant
song, one of Testament's best ever. It careers along at headbanging
pace, with Chuck Billy's vocals menacing over some brilliant guitar
work, especially in the solo break where true Iron Maiden-esque great
harmony guitars prove that these guys are not just a one trick pony. "Do
or Die" ups the pace even more, complemented by another brilliant solo
break. "Alone in the Dark" follows up and does exactly the same,
thrashing along with all elements pefectly in alignment. But then comes
"Apocalyptic City", the riff-lined, bass-thumping, drum-induced closer
to the album, that ramps it all up to eleven. There's no time to rest.
You start moshing from the start, and there is no respite. It is a crime
to finish the album on this song, as it leaves you so amped up that you
just need to start it again from the start. Brilliant stuff.
All
the great elements of the thrash genre are here - super duelling and
co-operative guitarists going at it hell for leather, with a great bass
and drum rhythm section perfectly in sync with their partners, while
Billy's vocals at times monster through the speakers at you. Peterson
and Skolnick can rightly be compared to Hannerman and King, and Hetfield
and Hammett on this album. They are just superb. If you are a confessed
headbanger, you already own this album. If you are wondering what the
deal is with thrash metal, then beginning with this album wouldn't be
such a bad idea.
Symphony X's debut came at a time when grunge
was already fading away in the memory, and complex guitar and keyboard
composing bands were again rising in estimation of the music listening
world populi. As soon as you put on the album there are the unmistakable
influences of bands such as Yngwie Malmsteen, Dream Theater and Michael
Schenker Group, not only musically but even vocally. Rod Tylor's
vocals are very similar in pitch to the half a dozen vocalists that
Yngwie has used through his career. Michael Romeo's guitaring and
Michael Pinnella's keyboards are also heavily influenced by these bands.
The
opening intro of "Into the Dementia" leads into "The Raging Season",
mixing together all of the elements of progressive metal and it was
known at the time, synth and keyboards, a faster guitar riff overlaid
with very Brian May-eque solo chords, and power metal vocal effects.
This song isn't sure if it is going to be a fast riff-fest or a power
ballad, and so it combines both. "Premonition" is led by Pinnella's keys
and synths, and though it drifts towards power metal ballad it doesn't
quite make it, leaving it also languishing between genres and not able
to distinguish itself. "Masquerade" is almost a 80's pop rock direction,
and apart from the solo (which really doesn't fit the rest of the
pattern of the song) the guitar is buried by the keyboards.
"Absinthe
and Rue" starts off with the very progressive nature of heavy guitar
riff and prominent atmospheric keyboards, along with the double kick
driving the song along, and although it is a good song, you feel as
though something is missing.
There is no pretence on "Shades of Gray"
however, it is a power ballad without a shadow of a doubt. I can see why
some fans would enjoy it, but to me it just bogs the album down at an
inopportune time.
"Taunting the Notorious" tries to restore the balance,
coming back in faster and heavier, while Tylor certainly tries to put
some oomph in the vocals. "Rapture or Pain" has a good feel to it as
well. "Thorns of Sorrow" could have almost been pulled off an Yngwie
Malmsteen album, though it is is the keyboards here that dominate rather
than the blazing guitar riff.
"A Lesson Before Dying" combines every
essence of progressive metal. We have the dominating keys, we have the
ninety seven changes in tempo and song parts, we have the bass given its
chance to harmonise, we have the soaring vocals, and eventually the
flailing of guitar. In the end, it feels as though five different songs
have been mashed together to form one twelve minute monster, and
really, none of it works well.While Tylor's vocals are good on
this album, they just seem a bit thin to carry everything that is going
on around them, and when they really need to carry some power, such as
in "Absinthe and Rue", they just don't quite come up to the mark. It's
nothing against him - I wish I could sing like him - but his replacement
from the next album onwards, Russell Allen, really does have that
presence.
As the opening salvo from this band, it is a bit of a
double edged sword. You can hear some good things happening, but in the
long run it feels as though the band are just trying too hard to make an
immediate impression and impact. It has its moments, but the best is
most definitely yet to come.
Given the improved success of their obvious attention-grabbing previous album, the sequel named Operation: Mindcrime II
the writing core of the Queensrÿche band obviously decided that they
were on a roll, and that the next step was... another concept album.
Because lightning always strikes twice, or three times. No... wait...
Anyway,
this is the direction they went in. That's fine. Nothing wrong with
having a theme or story running through an album. More important of
course is that the creative process is in place, and that the lyrics are
sustainable, and that the music itself is enjoyable to the fans. In
pretty much every one of these facets, this album falls apart, and
badly. There is nothing particularly wrong with the concept, that being
focused on the events of war in general, but American Soldier
is a flawed concept in all areas of song writing. The songs all
struggle their way through at a melancholy, even funereal pace.
Lyrically it just seems to repeat itself over and over. Songs are
permeated with the interviews of actual soldiers, which is fine if you
want to listen to actual soldiers giving their own stories. Honestly, in
a song-listening mood, they are just a hinderance. Or in most cases
this would be true, but when you have the unimaginative instrumental
creations that you have here it doesn't really detract that much. Why
would you create such boring, banal music which creates no enthusiasm
for the listener? As I said, it is all and fine to set out a story within the
framework of an album, but if the music does not inspire or enthuse or
ROCK the listener, then how can you possibly hope to retain your fan
base?!
The music here is definitely leaning towards a grunge
element. In many places it sounds like Soundgarden or Nirvana or Alice
in Chains - but without their killer hooks and sponteneity. This just
plods along from song to song, barely discernable from one to the next,
and not really giving you any real motivation to even try and make the
effort to find out. Where are the brilliant duelling guitars that
punctuated Queensryche's earlier work? Where is the scintillating
drumwork that drove the songs, not just kept a solemn beat in the
background? They may as well have had a drum machine in the background for
all the use they get out of Scott Rockenfield. Why is this happening?
What has caused this enormous change in focus direction with this band's
music? There is simply nothing here to get enthused about musically or
lyrically.
I revisited this because of the recent break-up
within the Queensryche band, and the rhetoric that is going back and
forth as to whom was responisble for the direction of the music in the
band and who was writing what. No matter what the outcome, it is obvious
that this album at least was driven forward by Geoff Tate and his
co-writers, who are not a part of the band.
In the long run, this
album is just a major disappointment and completely out of synch with the
best music that this band has written and performed at its peak. There
is no doubt that Tate's voice is still just wonderful, and that the
msuicianship is crisp and clear. The songwriting is just of such a
boring and uninspiring standard that it is difficult to believe this is
the product of the Queensryche brand. Something needs to change if they are to
rediscover their mojo, or they will be left to wallow in mediocrity
forever.
With Tobias Sammet bouncing between engagements with Edguy, and with the success of the expansionistic episodes of Avantasia's The Wicked Symphony and Angel of Babylon
as well as the live tour and album that followed, it was always going
to be interesting to see what he had left in the tank inspiration-wise
for his number one act. Not only whether it could live up to what Edguy
had done in the past, but whether it could pull itself out of the
massive shadow that the multi-starred Avantasia was casting.
What
they were thinking when they put "Robin Hood" as the lead-off song here
though, I have no idea. This was also the single lifted from the album (albeit a radio friendly 4 minute version),
but at over eight minutes in length it is about five minutes too long.
It could have had the chaff sifted out and shortened significantly to
make it a more appealing song. This song also enhances the opinion that the band has left behind the power metal of wonderful albums like Mandrake and Hellfire Club and progressed closer towards a rock direction.
"Nobody's
Hero" is like a throwaway song, something written as a B-side of a
single, not the second song of a major album. "Rock of Cashel" sounds
like it is trying to be a Blind Guardian song, without the pace and
power of a Blind Guardian song. It is quite bland and uninteresting
while bringing in the mandolins to try and create an old medievil fair
sound. Not good.
More is to come. The steel guitars come out in
"Pandora's Box", which, seriously, should never appear in a song by a
power metal band. It just isn't right at all, and while experimentation
is fine, surely not in this way. A power metal ballad featuring steel
and slide guitars makes this a dreadfully awful track with no redeeming
features.
"Breathe" tries to come back to something close to Edguy's
classic speed and power metal roots, before the almost gagworthy soft
rock ballad "Two Out of Seven" drags the album back into the sickly mire
of mediocrity. Is this all Tobi has left? It is repulsive.
"Faces in
the Darkness" tries hard to restore some semblance of order but is
still too close to the previous song to really enjoy. Finally, "The
Arcane Guild" comes, bringing a pacey guitar riff and vocals that more
closely resemble the Edguy of old. This is the pick of the album by a
country mile.
Of course, it was too good to last, and "Fire on the
Downline", despite great vocals from Tobi, is just another power rock
ballad with little substance or heart, as if the guitar section of the
band had been completely forgotten about.
"Behind the Gates to
Midnight World" isn't a completely lost cause, and it does have its
moments, though it isn't able to hold onto its momentum all the way
through. However, all this is offset by the lacklustre and weak effort
of "Every Night Without You". The closing song on the album is a close
fought tussle of worst ever Edguy song. This is pretty much like a
really awful Bryan Adams ballad, except that the Bryan Adams ballad
would be better than this piece of shite. Truly, truly awful uninspiring
crap.
I was so looking forward to this album when it was released, and have rarely been as let down by an album as I was by Age of the Joker.
As a power metal band from the continent, Edguy has been one of the
leaders in the first half of the previous decade. In recent times they
have slipped a little, and whether that can be attributed to the amount
of time their leader has spent with his 'side project', and that his
creative juices have been used more thoroughly on Avantasia than Edguy
is perhaps up in the air. Whatever the reason, this isn't what I was
looking for nor hoping for from a band who I have a lot of time and
respect for.
The lead-up to this album being written,
recorded and released was overshadowed by the circumstances regarding
drummer Mike Portnoy quitting the band he had helped to form. The months
spent producing the album had stories passing back and forth over what
had happened and why. In the long run, despite his obvious importance to
most parts of the Dream Theater machine, it was going to be interesting
to see what the band would produce given that his sway had now left the
process.
I think every Dream Theater album is beginning to morph
into each other, such is the similar nature of the song structure and
sound of the songs on them all. The opening track "On the Backs of
Angels" is a good song, but it's in the same element as most of their
opening songs. James La Brie even seems to be singing in the same pitch
location. What are they doing, just bringing out the same mold each
time and casting the same elements? That's not quite accurate of course,
but in many ways it's a lot closer to the truth. "Build Me Up, Break Me
Down" and "Lost Not Forgotten" are also atypical Dream Theater
movements, combining the melding of keyboards and guitar whilst the bass
holds the song together underneath these elements.
From here on in
though, it becomes really hard work. I know Dream Theater have made an
art form of 10 minute plus compositions, but truly, unless you have
enough in them to retain the interest, you begin to look for the 'skip'
button. On past albums they have done it in magnificent fashion on any
number of songs - "A Change of Seasons", "The Glass Prison" and pretty
much the entire Train of Thought album - but
here I confess it just seems like the songs drag on forever, and begin
to blend from one to the next. "Bridges in the Sky", "Outcry" and
"Breaking All Illusions" are only broken up by dis-interesting ballad
"Far From Heaven", before finishing with the less than inspiring
"Beneath the Surface".
I've no doubt that the hard core Dream
Theater fans will again consider this album to be a triumph and praise
its claims to the heavens. Personally I have struggled to be completely
enthused about a Dream Theater album since in the imperial Train of Thought.
While the musicianship continues to be of the highest class, the songs
to me just aren't holding my interest throughout. Comparing this to
fellow progressive metal outfit Symphony X's last two album's, Paradise Lost
and Iconoclast they just aren't in the same street. I'm not
proclaiming that the end is nigh for Dream Theater, but I know where my
preferences have switched to in recent years, and I'm not sure whether
they can be retrieved from that direction. This is not a bad album by
any means, but it just isn't a super one that you expect from this band.
The fact that I own this album at all is
perhaps a miracle, and certainly testament to the power of the music
that crowded the radio airwaves in my high school years. In that
mid-1980's period there was four albums that dominated the landscape for
those of us in high school - Dire Strait's Brothers in Arms, Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A, Bryan Adams' Reckless, and John Cougar Mellencamp's Scarecrow.
No one who was in school during those years could deny that they did
not know these albums, or the songs they produced. Whether you liked
them or not, everyone still knows the words and tunes to all of them.
And while in many cases it is the obscure unknown songs on an album that
can end up being the best and favourite tracks, here it is the singles
released from the album that are the obvious stand-outs.
The
album starts off with "Rain on the Scarecrow". a song whose underlying
guitar bridge I have always liked, providing the basis for the song's
framework. It is an understated yet dramatic beginning, unusual for most
opening songs. The short and sweet "Grandma's Theme" follows, featuring
Mellencamp's grandmother, before moving swiftly into another of the
album's singles hits, "Small Town". This is another mid tempo song
dominated by the country style guitar and Mellencamp's moody vocals.
"Minutes to Memories" continues in this vein, leading into another of
the popular singles releases "Lonely Ol' Night".
Following the
singles laden first half of the album, the second half is... well... not
quite a wasteland, but it is a barren landscape. While Mellencamp's
most popular and well-known songs are at best country rock at a solid
tempo, there seems less inspiration, less drive, less urgency on these
tracks. OK, they are boring. There isn't much there to keep those that
aren't a hard core fan interested.
The final song on the album,
"R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." has almost always annoyed me, but not because
of the track itself, which is the most upbeat on the whole album. The
reason it always twisted my nerves in high school was because all of
these teeny bopping kids would jump around singing the song with glee,
shouting the chorus at the top of their voices. Yeah - but we live in
AUSTRALIA not the USA! Why would that annoy me so much? Because I was 15
and believed they should change the lyrics to "R.O.C.K. in
Oz-tray-li-ya!" It didn't matter that I knew what the song was about and
why it was titled and chorused so, it was still annoying. Great to be
an opinionated teenager. LOL.
I haven't heard a lot of stuff from
Mellencamp apart from this album - sure, there are the other singles
out there that everyone knows, but as to listening to his other albums,
well I've had other priorities. Country rock, of which category his
music falls into, is not really my scene. As I said at the start, I own
this and know this because of its prominence during my high school
years. Certainly I still don't mind a lot of it and appreciate it for
what it is, but I've never had any inclination to move beyond it and
listen to any of his other work.
It's a tough call to try and back up for your
third album, especially when those first two albums are your seminal
eponymous debut album, and the soon-to-be-legendary second album. In the
case of Black Sabbath, the pioneers of the new music genre 'heavy
metal', they were only just warming up.
Both guitars on this album
are tuned down, the story being that it made it easier for Tony Iommi to
play his guitar, given the accident he had suffered some years earlier
to the fingers on his right hand. With Geezer Butler tuning his bass
guitar down to suit, it adds to the renewed sense of doom and foreboding
in the music on this album.
Hacking coughing starts off the
album, before bursting into the mud buzzing anthem of "Sweet Leaf". The
strength of the song is in its three major parts - the head bouncing
primary riff on which the vocals are laid, the thematic bridging riff
between verses, and the harried and violent solo riff where all three
musicians are basically doing their own solo break and mashing them
together. Great stuff.
"After Forever", if you pay attention to the
lyrics, almost comes across as Sabbath's attempt to deflect from the
assertion that they are a satanic band. this would be to the detriment
of lyricist Butler, whose religious upbringing hold sway here. No matter
in the long run, the song itself is terrific with another assortment of
great riffs (NB Biohazard's cover version on Nativity in Black: A Tribute to Black Sabbath is awesome).
Following
Iommi's instrumental "Embryo" comes one of the band's all time
classics, "Children of the Grave". The magnificent rumbling build-up
before exploding into its heavy thumping riff is still one of the best
beginnings to a song ever written. Lyrically it is still as hard hitting
as it was when it was recorded, and Ozzy gives a stunning vocal
performance.
Another Iommi instrumental called "Orchid" opens up the
second half of the album, before "Lord of this World" storms in,
featuring more great work from Geezer and Bill Ward. It is amazing that
these two can pretty much play their own solo pieces, and weave it into
the framework of the songs without it sounding like they are all out of
time or all over the place.
The one weak moment of the album follows
this. "Solitude" incorporates both flute and piano, as well as a
different vocal performance by Ozzy, allowing him to show his
versatility as well. All this is fine, but the song itself stretches to
five minutes, and it really takes the sting out of the album. If it had
been reeled back into about three minutes maximum, well, the impact may
not have been so great. It's great to hear Black Sabbath able to do
these kind of songs, but not so long and not within this framework.
Saving
the end of the album is the legendary "Into the Void", which comes back
to remind everyone of where this band is really heading, driven along
with Iommi and Geezer's bloodletting riff work over Ward's unrelenting
drumming and under Ozzy's rising vocals.
Master of Reality
continues the progression of Black Sabbath, from small time local band
to world domination. Five classic and legendary songs feature here, and
though they are done well it is only the slower instrumental pieces that
bring the rating down from out of the ceiling.
For an album that many believe is the best in
the Iced Earth discography, to me it just seems a little two-paced to
have that mantle laid upon it.
"Burning Times" is a good opening song, though I must admit it sounds much better live on the Alive in Athens
album. Ditto for the second song, "Melancholy (Holy Martyr)" which benefits in a live setting from being faster and more aggressive than it
is here.
"Disciples of the Lie" starts off the way an Iced Earth
song should, at a cracking pace with the flailing drums and guitars, and
Barlow reaching his range with his vocals, but even then in the middle
of the song we have the keyboards that become the prominant part of the
song - and why? Just get on with it already! Even more mystifying, we
then head into "Watching Over Me", a power ballad with acoustic guitars
and soft vocals mixed with hints of powered up guitar. As power ballads
go it isn't the worst, but it just halts the progress of the album
again, and we're only up to song four. It makes it almost impossible to
get into the mood of the album because it is in constant flux.
Back
into the action, as "Stand Alone" crashes the party and brings us back
into the true Iced Earth makeup. Short, sharp and to the point, "Stand
Alone" reasserts the album in the right direction. But then, by god,
let's chuck in another slow starter with moody vocals and acoustic
guitar. "Consequences" is that song, and by now, you have to suspect
that this was a delibertae arrangement for the album, because you surely
could have this set up by accident. Which then begs the question - WHY
did they do it this way?! It must work on some fans level I guess, but
all it does is piss me off because there is absolutely no consistency.
You get up and jump around and sing at the top of your voice for one
song, and the next you are slumped back down in the armschair waiting
for something to happen. Anyway...
Yep, you guessed it. "My Own
Savior" returns the tempo to that faster double-kick driven guitar
sound, before "Reaping Stone" draws on a later Sabbath tempo before
picking up towards the end of the song.
"1776" is an instrumental
interlude which (bugger me!) moves politely into a(nother) power ballad
in "Blessed Are You". Honestly, how is this good balance in an album?
(except for the fact that it's one fast, one slow, that is).
The
album is closed out by the Something Wicked Trilogy, "Prophecy", "Birth
of the Wicked" and "The Coming Curse". "Prophecy" makes a slow start
before hitting its form halfway through. "Birth of the Wicked" is a good
track, while following the somewhat inexplicable piano beginning for
about a minute of "The Coming Curse", it also kicks into gear and
delivers the goods.
This is quite a mystifying album. I fail to
understand how it was put together in such a fashion. To the listener it
just doesn't allow you to get a straight vibe of the album, so
changeable is the format. When it is on song, with tracks such as
"Burning Times", "Stand Alone", "My Own Savior" and the most part of the
trilogy, this is a terrific album. In the other places, bogged down as
they are like potholes on a freeway, it stops all cohesion. While the
good material is good, the slow material holds the album right back in
my opinion.
