1002. Eagles / Desperado. 1973. 3/5

Following up their debut album, the eagles had originally come up with the idea of doing a more ‘serious’ album, a concept album, one where they would write songs about anti-heroes. While it never really eventuated the way they may have first envisioned, it does focus on the old west and the life as it was in those days. More importantly, they again put together an album of songs that showcased their amazing talents, both musically and vocally.

“Doolin-Dalton” starts the album off strongly, led by Don’s easy vocal and a non-threatening musical background which was initially to be the set up for the whole concept of the album. This is followed by “Twenty-One” which is very much a Bernie Leadon track, solidly written around his favourite banjo and with Glenn’s slide guitar thrown in, it is an upbeat bouncy song that lifts the mood of the album immediately. This segues straight into “Out of Control”, and the harder guitar riff and vocal quality making it much closer to a rock song with Glenn’s guitar and vocals dominating. The album has built up, with each of the three opening songs acting like waking up from sleep, with the quieter slower opening track into the bouncing second track and the much louder and rockier third track. It works well.
That style changes up once again for the classic “Tequila Sunrise”, a song that has become a stand out in its own right. Its gentle tones and wonderful vocal line from Glenn just seem to flow along in an unhindered way, simple tones and range that make it sound so easy but is so difficult to reproduce if you don’t have the talent to do so. This, like all of their early classic songs, stands apart from everything else on the album. The other song of this category on the album is the title track. “Desperado” is the slow piano based ballad sung by Don. It has become one of the Eagles best known songs, but was never released as a single by the band. In fact, it wasn’t until Linda Ronstadt released her version of the song that it became so huge, and was then sought after by fans everywhere. I don’t mind the song, but I don’t list it as one of my favourites.
“Certain Kind of Fool” with Randy singing lead vocals flows along nicely with his unique vocal range dominating and giving this a completely different mood from the other tracks on the album. Following the “Doolin-Dalton” instrumental segue of Bernie Leadon’s banjo playing, the album flows into “Outlaw Man” which was the second song released from the album. It has a rockier feel that the overall genre of the album, a faster energy throughout that makes it pleasant enough to listen to.
“Saturday Night” returns to the gentler side of the band, with the four way harmonies of the vocals and the acoustic guitar underneath the main focus of the song. This again segues into “Bitter Creek” another gentle country and western based song revolving around those amazing voices and the guitar and piano. It’s the crooning background harmonies that get you every time, even if it seems to stretch out for the last two minutes of the song on repeat. The album is then completed by the reprise of “Doolin-Dalton” and “Desperado”, completing the loop of the songs that bookended the first side of the album.

While Desperado is still very listenable, especially if you are in a quiet mood and you are just looking for something inoffensive to be playing in the background, this is still the Eagles in their original form. It’s the country and western side of their career, before the guitars and drums began to take a more firm outlook on the band. I still like the album, and anyone who loves the sound of those harmony vocals will like it as well. Even so, when I go looking for an Eagles album to put on and sing along with, I will go to one of the later albums rather than this.

Rating:  "It's another tequila sunrise, staring slowly 'cross the sky, said goodbye".  3/5

1001. Tears for Fears / Songs From the Big Chair. 1985. 3/5

Back in 1985 this was one of those albums that just about everyone either had their own copy of, or had had someone record a copy for them on cassette. On the strength of the singles that were released from the album, it became one of those that was sought after. It was about the time that I had started to forge ahead and find albums of bands whose songs I liked rather than settle for just the radio songs available. Often you would get the album and discover songs that you liked more than those singles, that you would never have heard if not for getting the album. Others you would realise that the best of the crop had been the singles and the rest was a barren wasteland. Songs From the Big Chair is a little of both for me.

The album leads off with “Shout”, which was one of the popular singles that crowded the airwaves through 1984, and of which everyone from my generation knows. I’m sure it was on the local radio stations morning program every day for six months. It still seems to be as popular today as it was in the day. “The Working Hour” for me has always come across as a bit drab, not really carrying on from the energy of the opening track. It’s not a bad song but it lacks something. Perhaps it is just the fact that it is sandwiched between two such huge songs that it tends to pale a little.
“Everybody Wants to Rule the World” is the gold nugget of not only Tears For Fears career, but almost for the entire decade of the 1980’s. It is still a great song today. My kids in their school choir sing it. It opens the movie “Peter’s Friends” in the perfect way, playing over a montage of the ‘big picture’ moments between 1984 to 1994. It’s upbeat, and the lyrics perfectly portray how we as teenagers of the time felt about life in general. It still touches all of the right places when I listen to it today.
“Mothers Talk” is a lot closer to the kind of sampling technique that was finding its fashion in this period of the 1980’s and that was becoming more commercial as the decade moved on. For me it was never a song I cottoned on to, though on this album, coming as it did as the closing track to side one, I enjoyed it enough. As a song on its own however it wasn’t one I rated.
“I Believe” is a true soft ballad track. I never really understood it as the opening to the second side of the album, as there is no energy driving it in a rock or pop sense, it really is just a gentle reflective song. I’ve always though albums needed a punch as the opening tracks, especially in the vinyl and cassette days when it was important to build on two sides. I think it probably works better in a CD or digital space where you don’t have to get up to change the record or cassette over. This is followed by “Broken” where the energy flow returns, driven by the keys and synth. “Broken” segues into “Head Over Heels” which shares a similar piano chord progression in places with the previous song. The similarities seem even more related when this then segues into a live reprise of Broken that was recorded previous to the album being completed. The album is signed off by “Listen”. And let’s just say that “Listen” is far too much like a poor man’s rendition of a progressive rock style free form instrumental journey with some lyrics thrown in to the mix for me. It’s a bit too psychedelically unformed for me to enjoy I’m afraid.

As a pop album of its time this was one of the best. It may not have been my chosen genre of music at the time – that was geared more towards bands such as Queen and The Police and Midnight Oil at the time, and was about to go full blown into the heavy metal phase – but it was still an album that gained my attention and that I played a lot. On reflection today I still think it holds up well for its style and age.

Rating:  “Welcome to your life, there’s no turning back”.   3/5

1000. Therapy? / Troublegum. 1994. 5/5

In 1995 at the rain-sodden mud-soaked festival that was Alternative Nation in Sydney’s western suburbs, one of the bands I had marked down to see that day was Therapy? I had heard none of their music and knew of them only from vague articles and posters in unusual places (such as in Steve Buscemi and Adam Sandler's flat in Airheads). Soaked to the skin with six beers in various pockets of my oversized jacket, I witnessed a set that impacted on me like few have, before or since. It was belligerent, raucous and quite awesome given the completely out of the way stage they had been placed on. I loved every song, and the following week I searched out the album that their guitarist and vocalist had said they were touring on. That was my introduction to Therapy? and the album Troublegum. The angst ridden anger-fest that has become one of the most important albums of my life.

When Therapy? came along, I was at probably the lowest point of my life. I only say this here so that you can understand why I have such strong feelings about the album that others may not share. It was a six month period that I muddled my way through not exclusively because of this album, but with the help of this album being a majority shareholder nonetheless. Every emotion I was feeling in my life at that time was mirrored in Andy Cairns music, lyrics and vocals on this album. However, Troublegum doesn’t remind me of that time at all, nor does it make me maudlin or upset because of it. Certainly it is still the best tonic to put on when I get down, or get angry. It does still draw out any anger I have in me when that is needed. What it does do is make me smile, because this is one of my magic talismans; an album I can put on at any time and draw from it the good feelings or power or inspiration or whatever it is I need, just from listening to it.

The opening salvo still never fails to deliver. Part of its charm is that there is no pause between songs. Each keeps coming straight after the previous song has finishing, or segues into it. It’s like one big long live set, with no pause for talking, just get into the next song. From the very beginning you are left in little doubt as to the direction that the album is taking. “Knives” comes at you wielding those glittering blades with anger and those crazy eyes. The vocals scream, the drums hammer and the guitars are guttural. There’s plenty of crazy in this song, and it is all the better for it. The alternative punk version of the angst-ballad comes next with “Screamager”, jauntily bopping away while Andy explains his taunts and echoes throughout. The catchy and simple chorus and fast paced punk guitar adds to the flavour. The segue into the hard core guitar riff of “Hellbelly” is then accompanied by the heavy hitting drums and ripping bass riff that crushes throughout the song. I love this song (but then again I love them all). The slightest of pauses leads into “Stop It You’re Killing Me” which continues in the same vein of what has come before. It’s hard hitting musically and lyrically, another great song to sing along with, especially when you are feeling aggressive. From here the wangling guitar riff opens into “Nowhere”, once again at a great pace that gives you everything whether you are at the gig or at home in the lounge room. This period of five songs to open the album is the equal of any other album I know. It’s non-stop, it gives you no time to rest, and it is adrenaline-inducing fun.

The middle of the album changes things up a little in places. “Die Laughing” has a different groove and different mood, rolling smoothly through the song rather than belting you bluntly over the head. “Unbeliever” is similar in a different way, where there is not so much aggression in the song. This is more the sad reflection on what is happening in life rather than being angry about that same life, almost like the slide on the other side of drunkenness as against the rise of the anger as the drunkenness is taking effect. Do I know this from experience? Perhaps. “Trigger Inside” perhaps has more of that anger involved, but is followed by “Lunacy Booth” that has a similar musical feel to the previous two songs.
There is a great cover version of Joy Division’s “Isolation”, which takes the angst of that song and revs it up a notch, giving the song the power it lacks in the original version. It’s fast paced and driven by the drum beat. Terrific. “Turn” and “Femtex” lead into the frantic and lost screaming of “Unrequited”, an amazing mixture of emotions as explained in the title of the song. The music and vocals mix together brilliantly in this song to accurately portray the subject matter, before exploding into the awesome guitar and drum fuelled riff opening of “Brainsaw”, a song that I have always loved… but have also always thought should have been better and heavier and louder given the opening thirty seconds of the track. That moment when it moves from the end of “Unrequited” into the start of “Brainsaw” for me is still just as brilliant as the first day I heard it. And let’s not forget the closing out of the album, with the quiet fade out of “You Are My Sunshine” that sounds like it is being played at an old fairground. An interesting touch.

Perhaps this album’s biggest problem is that it killed any chance for any other Therapy? release to get a fair hearing. With so much tied up in this album, any subsequent album had to be able to do these same things to me and FOR me to be considered close to its equal, and the band hasn’t been able to reproduce that. There are good albums yes, but nothing that can match what is on Troublegum. For the same reason I can understand (to a certain degree) when people say they don’t think this album is anywhere near as good as I think it is. That’s completely understandable considering what I have tied up in this album emotionally. Each song means something to me, and is tied to emotions I have felt in many different moments in my life. It still speaks to me today in the same way even though I don’t feel those same things anymore, because I remember what I felt at the times these songs remind me of.

Considering the journey music has taken me on in my life, it is fitting that an album that acted like a life preserver for me is the one that clocks up my 1000th album review since I began THIS particular journey some 12 years ago.

Rating:  “The world is fucked, and so am I. Maybe it's the other way round, I can't seem to decide”.   5/5

999. Iced Earth / Night of the Stormrider. 1991. 3/5

While Iced Earth’s debut album Iced Earth whetted the appetite without creating too many waves, there was great hopes that the follow up would be able to eradicate the lesser parts of that album and replace it with more of the good. In essence that meant replacing lead vocalist Gene Adam and bringing in John Greely in his stead, and more of that galloping guitar and drum beat flying through the songs to get it on the right track.

In short, in my opinion, it probably needed to be backed up with better vocals. I’m not exactly sure if vocalist John Greely based his vocal technique on any one singer, as he seems to jump around in style between King Diamond, Rob Halford and Cronos. The energy is there, but averages out all the good that comes from the music in the long run. I’m really couldn’t split Greely and original vocalist Gene Adam as to who annoys more as to downgrading awesome songs. And singling out the vocalist for being the difference is completely unfair I know, but whenever I listen to this album or its predecessor I can’t help but wonder how good it would sound with any of the future vocalists in charge. You only have to hear Matt Barlow’s live versions on Alive in Athens to know I’m right. And as it turned out, I gained a greater respect and understanding of this album from listening to Barlow singing these songs live on that album. Because they all sound better live, and the vocals have so much more power and tone there than they do here.
The opening three songs are great – “Angels’ Holocaust”, “Stormrider” and “The Path I Choose”. I don’t understand “Before the Vision” at all. Okay yes, I know it’s a part of the concept story but it doesn’t fit musically at all. Just another example of the sometimes muddled thinking about where to place songs on an Iced Earth album and how that may affect the run and mood of said album. “Mystical End” I think is only average, but this is followed by “Desert Rain” which lifts the bar again. “Pure Evil” is a song that changes inflection throughout, dependant on the style of guitar and vocals that come with it. I still think this is half genius and half ‘WTF?!’ But seriously, when the gallop comes in this song really goes hard. After more distraction from the acoustic bridge of “Reaching the End” we are treated to the excellent closing track “Travel in Stygian” which, despite its changes in tempo and mood throughout which does annoy me no end, finishes off the album in style.

While I may have overplayed the problems with the vocals that doesn’t eradicate any fault in the song writing. For me (and I may be on my lonesome here) I just don’t like the constant switching between moods in the same song. To me it halts the momentum of the song, and then the album. There is a lot to like here if you are a fan, and it does auger well for future releases, which of course is the good news that eventually came our way.

Rating:  "We paint the sky with blood tonight, setting free the damned to fight".  3/5

998. Primal Fear / Angels of Mercy - Live in Germany [Live]. 2017. 3.5/5

The expectation when you go to a live album is that you will get (hopefully) an authentic live experience from the band. One that hits you with a set list that is worthy of the band touring with, and then worthy of recording for the rest of us to listen to. In many ways then the live album is at the mercy of the album the band is touring on, and the selection of songs that has made up the rest of that tour. If the album is a good one then you expect the live album to be as well. If it is only average… well… you may have a problem.

Angels of Mercy - Live in Germany is a live album that I have listened to now for the two weeks since its release, and I can’t help thinking that there is something missing. I have not seen the DVD and am not judging it on that. It just isn’t working perfectly for me, and I can’t help but wonder whether this is as live as it is suggested. Is it overdubbed? I can’t be certain. But there are a few things that aren’t quite at the top of the game nonetheless. The relative sameness of Primal Fear’s recent material (as related in other reviews) mean that if you only concentrate on that double kick keeping time throughout it can get somewhat monotonous. That’s not what you are looking for on any album let alone a live release. There are also periods where Ralf Scheepers vocal range is beginning to require a bit of a tinker, and that can be slightly distracting when listen to songs for the first time in a live setting. It’s only in a couple of places where it is noticeable, and the use of delay tries to mask that, but most fans will pick it up. And yes there are places where I’m sure a little bit of doctoring has gone on in post-production. Perhaps I’m mistaken.
The songs you love sound great hear, and the ones you don’t at least sound good. “Final Embrace” and “In Metal We Trust” open the album in style. “The Sky is Burning” is just as annoying here as it is on the studio album.

Fans will get this album no matter what and will digest it as they always do. I know that we have been spoiled by the great live albums from other bands, and that not all live albums need to be judged against them. But it comes down to needing the live sound to be transferred faithfully to your preferred format, and for the songlist to be worthy of that live environment. This is a good live album of this band. It just isn’t completely brilliant.

Rating:  “In metal we trust”.  3.5/5

997. Danzig / Black Laden Crown. 2017. 3/5

Is there any use trying to compare Danzig albums against each other? The man himself has been around now for decades, and he has been a torch bearer and an influential player as much as he has been a crazy loon and a faller upon bad times musically. The revolving door of members of the band has been used more often as the years go by such that the name Danzig now almost literally mean the one and only Glenn Danzig. Whether that has been a problem with the albums the band has released is an individual assessment, as will the enjoyment of the songs brought forth. Perhaps sadly, other factors must also be considered.

The title track “Black Laden Crown” opens up the album and is an enjoyable start. Following this I must ask a question. Don’t you just love the rhythm of “Eyes Ripping Fire”? I do. This is what brings out the best in Danzig’s music. You’re head bounces along with the drum beat and riff, Glenn’s vocals do their best work in this environment, and you also get to insert a guitar solo to impress the mob as well. This is the format of song that I think brings out the best in the band’s work. “Devil on Hwy 9” goes in the same direction with the same qualities. “Last Ride” infuses the much slower maudlin pace that Danzig often sit on, but because of the energy of Glenn’s vocals it makes it a classic Danzig tune rather than a dull and bonded track that would be the case if anyone else attempted it. The problem with latter tracks such as “The Witching Hour” and so forth is that there isn’t that same energy in the vocal track, and this the songs begin to fall flat because of it. “But a Nightmare” seems to have guitar level problems but more importantly a guitar and drums riff that doesn’t change for the whole second half of the song makes it feel as though it drags on forever. “Skulls & Daisies” could have been improved greatly with the same enthusiasm in Glenn’s vocals as he gave in “Last Ride”. “Blackness Falls” sounds like the same song, with the same lack of drive. And “Pull the Sun” has that reasonable Danzig croon within but it somehow feels a bit like too little too late.
So now we can address some simple issues. Why spend three years over recording nine songs, with five different drummers? And the production is a mess, if not non-existent. You can hear the difference between tracks, where some come across as a normal sounding environment, and others sound like they are demos being recorded on an old four track in the lounge room or garage. Is this a thing? A rebellion against the fact everyone can sound like a pro now with a laptop and a microphone, so we must make this sound like it’s B grade as a two fingered salute to the amateurs of the world? I don’t know, but there’s a difference between ‘stripped back’ and ‘poor production’. This is generally the latter, and it doesn’t improve the album as a result. It also suffers from not having a band as such together to record the album. Along with the five drummers, of which Glenn himself was one, the rest of the guitars are recorded by Glenn along with Tommy Victor. As such, there’s not a lot of individuality there to help influence the tracks in a positive way. It cried out for players of the stature of former band members Johnny Christ and Eerie Von to make their instrumental pieces their own and add their own flavour to the tracks. Because this is basically the same two musicians on all the instruments, that flavour doesn’t tend to seep through.

I started off by asking should we compare Danzig albums from different eras. Mainly I guess that this questions comes across because the early music this band released was and is so impressively awesome that it becomes a difficult thing to equal. While I don’t think this is a bad album, I think the arguments as set out above do not allow it to break free and be as enjoyable as I feel it could be given the basics of the music. While not wanting to hark back on the band’s past, I think a dose of the inspiration of those albums would have spruced this up nicely.

Rating:  “Deep down the sound of a bloody song never ends”.  3/5

996. Jorn / Life on Death Road. 2017. 3.5/5

There’s little doubt that Jorn Lande is a marvellous singer. He has a voice that can croon just about anything, and he works it hard too, with barely a year passing without him having released an album on one of his projects, whether it be his own band as it is here or any of the many others he has participated in. It’s an interesting move for this album, as Jorn has teamed up with Mat Sinner, who apart from many other bands he is involved in is the founder and bass guitarist of Primal Fear, Alex Beyrodt, who is also the guitarist for Primal Fear, and drummer Francesco Jovino, who also played on Jorn’s last album and is now currently drumming for… you guessed it… Primal Fear! Given their track record (certainly in my opinion) you would have to think even before going in that it had the makings of a good album.

What we want from Jorn is songs like the opening title track “Life on Death Road”. This flows along beautifully, set up not only by Jorn’s amazing vocals but the twin guitar and double kick drumming. This is a brilliant heavy metal song, the kind I could settle for every single day from Jorn. It is followed by two other excellent tracks in “Hammered to the Cross (The Business)” and “Love is the Remedy” which both also showcase the excellent partnering these musicians have made.
“Dreamwalker” dials the tempo back to a dangerous moment. Jorn and the band still sounds great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s the style of the song that holds me back. No, it isn’t that horrid power ballad kind of style. Not exactly anyway. It is a change in mood from the opening tracks though, and while Jorn does love to sing in this style in his many different projects I often wish he did less of it. Fortunately we immediately forge out of that valley with “Fire to the Sun” which settles into an atypical hard rock template with guitar solo spots put in at no extra cost.
Not to put too fine a point to it, but the middle of the album does tend to go in the same direction as most of Jorn’s catalogue. That isn’t to say it is terrible, but to be honest it just gets a little boring and/or repetitive. You’ve heard it all before, and I guess that is the danger if you are putting albums on a very regular basis, for your own band or any other projects you may be a part of. Jorn’s vocals are wonderful, he has an amazing voice, but it does have that tendency to become a little bit the same if it isn’t regulated. This is why when he has done stuff for Avantasia or for Allen/Lande it doesn’t always come across that way because someone else is writing the sings and looking for a certain vocal. In “Insoluable Maze (Dreams in the Blindness)” he seems to be channelling Ronnie James Dio while in “I Walked Away” he is reaching for his inner David Coverdale. “The Slippery Slope (Hangman’s Rope)” picks up the pace in a much more pleasing fashion, with Beyrodt’s guitaring once again a pleasing facet. “Devil You Can Drive”, “The Optimist”, “Man of the 80’s” all settle in the middle ground. “Blackbirds” completes the album, and is dominated by the firing guitar of Beyrodt which keeps the song going with interest with his fast paced and single shot solo pieces punctuating the song throughout.

What is for me the most interesting part of this album is the fact that my favourite parts are actually the fantastic musicianship of the band. When Alex Beyrodt lets fly on that guitar, as he does in competition with himself in the opening track and at other moments throughout, and combined with the great rhythm of the bass and drums, this album really cooks. And that none of that has anything to do with Jorn’s vocals is as positive a moment as I can garner from this album. It’s not all peaches and ice cream, but most people will find enough here to like, be it vocally or musically or a combination of the two.

Rating:  “And I remember the day that Elvis passed away”.   3.5/5

995. Edguy / Vain Glory Opera. 1998. 3.5/5

After the official/unofficial debut of Savage Poetry and the starting promise of Kingdom of Madness, there is a lot to like about Edguy’s follow up, Vain Glory Opera. The songs are tighter and better recorded, especially the drums which kick along stylishly with session drummer Frank Lindenthal putting in a terrific performance, the production is leaps and bounds ahead of their previous album, and it feels as though the band has found its purpose and drive. For the most part anyway, because as with all power metal releases there will often be the odd quirk which holds it back from being perfect.

There are no qualms about the opening stanza of the album. “Overture” jumps into “Until We Rise Again” which immediately gives you the sense of the updated Edguy product. Along with the following song “How Many Miles”, the pace of the songs are more upbeat that the general tempo of the previous album, Tobi’s vocals are not only of a better quality but are better focused along with the doubling to give them a choir effect. The drumming is miles more impressive, and the fact that the guitars are now turned up in the mix and are also more effective and involved in the songs makes this a whole new chapter and an immediately more enjoyable one.
It’s not all sunshine and roses though. Edguy will forever be a slave to the genre that they are a part of, and as such they do have a tendency towards producing those terrible stains upon the power metal genre, the power ballad. There are two here on Vain Glory Opera, and both are as unbearable as the other. Certainly they are better constructed and produced than “When a Hero Cries” from the previous album, but it will rarely ever be seen by me as a way to enhance an album. “Scarlet Rose” pops into the mix after the opening three tracks, all of which have done an excellent job to getting the album to this point, and I’m afraid all of the momentum is halted at this point because of it. Once again, it isn’t a terrible song, and the band sounds great, but it is a disappointment. “Tomorrow” however does exactly the same thing, killing off the mood of the album in the second half. It sounds like it wants to be like Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” without every getting out of that first gear. My abhorrence of power ballads is well known to those that read my reviews, and the number of albums they have killed is innumerable. This is all keyboard and no guitar and basically no drums. If you want to do these kinds of songs, for goodness sakes do them as B-sides to singles. This is just awful.
The saving grace for “Scarlet Rose” is that it is followed up by the wonderful “Out of Control”. I do think I would enjoy this song without its special guest, as Tobi and the backing vocals sound great and the band really nail down their contribution, with hard hitting double kick drums and great guitar solos by both Jens Ludwig and Dirk Sauer. But what makes this song even better are the guest vocals within from Blind Guardian’s Hansi Kürsch. His energetic and magnificent contribution lifts this song from very good to great. I think this is the first ‘great’ Edguy song. It is lifted again when what is probably the second ‘great’ Edguy song follows it, the title track “Vain Glory Opera”. I guess it sounds a bit “The Final Countdown”-ish in the middle where the pomping keyboards take centre stage and the choiring vocals through the middle of the song, but again the guitar solo section is terrific, along with a contributing guitar solo from Stratovarius’ Timo Tolkki and the contributing vocals again from Hansi Kürsch. This is then followed by the fastest song on the album “Fairytale” which is a welcome addition to these three songs that are the star attraction of the middle of the album. This is the section where you can hear that Edguy have got themselves together and have found their mojo. Great harmony guitars, Tobi’s vocals are beginning to find that air that they needed and the rhythm of the bass and double kick drums that are driving the songs, and not just keeping everyone in time.
After this enjoyable interlude, the mood is dialled back a tad with “Walk on Fighting” which is only an average song in most aspects, before it segues into the aforementioned ballad tripe of “Tomorrow”. This again segues into the infinitely better “No More Foolin’” which returns the album to the fast paced drum and guitar driven antics where Edguy are at their best. This mirrors the best aspects of a band like Accept or Motorhead, with lyrics built to chant along to either at home or in concert. Seriously – why isn’t the album full of songs like this? Is it just me, or would Edguy’s reputation be immensely better regarded if they stuck this frame of the metal industry and withdrew from the power ballad side? Just to emphasise this, to finish the album the band does a rousing cover rendition of Ultravox’s “Hymn” which closes out this opus in style.

This is a 66% album for me. “Scarlet Rose”, “Tomorrow” and even “Walk on Fighting” are in a different league compared to the rest of the album. If you take those songs out it makes it a 38 minute album instead of a 51 minute album. Short, yes, but for me this would be a 4/5 or 4.5/5 album in that instance. Keeping them in does drop the overall rating of the album, and while it is in my opinion still above average it is disappointing that I cannot give it a better rank overall because of the misnomer of three songs.

Rating:  "Help me to gain the crown, here is my fate”.  3.5/5

994. Edguy / Kingdom of Madness. 1997. 3/5

I came into Edguy on the Mandrake album about 15 years ago, and it was that album and Hellfire Club that made me a fan of the band. So when it came to going backwards to discover the earlier albums there is always that doubt in the back of your mind, wondering if anything could be as good as the albums are where you actually discovered the band. Such is the case here for me with Kingdom of Madness, which depending on your view of the situation is either the official debut of the band or ranks second behind the original release of Savage Poetry. In any case, it is an undeveloped sound compared to the two albums I knew so well.

More than anything else, it is the song structure here that still has unsanded edges on them. The basics all sound good, but there is a definite difference in the maturity of the song writing and the structure of the songs as they are played. Perhaps what it is mostly is that the band itself seems unassured of its own place in the music world. The drums, while technically proficient throughout with that typical power metal double kick, are nonetheless for the most part just a timekeeping device rather than coming into their own. They are also very forward in the mix, much more so than the guitars, which is a little disconcerting. The fact that the guitars of Jens Ludwig and Dirk Sauer are not as prominent as they could be isn’t a huge factor but it does seem unusual given the history of power metal bands and what drives them to fans. It mightn’t have been such an issue for me if the drums had been more technical, but they aren’t. Even Tobi’s keyboards often seem higher in the mix that the two guitarists.
I get the feeling that these issues help to make the songs sound more simplistic and stagnant than they really are. The opening salvo of “Paradise”, “Wings of a Dream” and “Heart of Twilight” all have their moments, without any particular part of them jumping out at you and grabbing your undivided love of the track. Perhaps it was that there were other bands out there doing these kinds of songs better, with more emotive impact both musically and vocally that Edguy do here. You can decipher the bones of the songs and see and hear what they perhaps could have been, but they just don’t reach those lofty heights. They are good solid power metal songs that don’t get beyond that. The instrumental “Dark Symphony” seems a strange implement here to move into “Deadmaker”, which then changes tempo between the vocals and solo section in a combination that startles until you can get used to it. This is followed by “Angel Rebellion” which after a slow start picks up by the end to a satisfying conclusion.
“When a Hero Cries” is what makes power metal so difficult to completely embrace as a genre. The power ballad is a great stink on the face of metal, and this truly is one of the worst examples of such a song. Just keyboard with silent mournful vocals over the top. For goodness sakes, there is a place for this kind of garbage, and it isn’t on an album from a band that is purporting to make its way in the metal industry. It completely bombs out the momentum of the album, and truly makes you question why you decided to pick up and listen to this album in the first place. It is an abomination, a terrible piece of music that does not befit this or any release.
The closing track is the perhaps the first instalment of Tobi’s grandiose vision for the future, with “The Kingdom” stretching out beyond eighteen minutes in length. It does however have an unusual structure, with the laughing statement that breaks up the middle of the song. It then fades in and out of style, with the quiet reflection session coming out of a faster paced double kick pattern. Tobi is looking for the epic finale, the one that the punters will love and remember, similar to Helloween’s “Keeper of the Seven Keys” or Iron Maiden’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. It doesn’t approach either of those songs, but you can sense it is the direction he wished to head for.

Kingdom of Madness is still a good listen, with enough of the familiar sounds to make it worth your while. I tried to work out if I would enjoy this album more if I had come into Edguy at the beginning, and moved through their discography from the start rather than coming in at album number five and discovering them in reverse. My feeling is that yes, that would be the case. Despite that, for those that are power metal fans of this era, this is an album worth enjoying.

Rating:   “In the silence there’s a fear”.  3/5

993. Adrenaline Mob / We the People. 2017. 4/5

Adrenaline Mob’s sound is different from what the individuals in the band have done before with the other bands they are a part of. Here there is a real heavy groove about the guitars, the drums thump along in rhythm and the vocals are overall in a lower register with the attitude turned up to eleven. This was what the project was striving for when it was first conceived, to have these individuals come together to do a traditional heavy metal album rather than the various styles of the other bands they were a part of. I thought the first album was terrific not just because of the people involved in the project but because they pushed themselves and produced an album that was indeed different from their other bands. The follow up album I was less enthusiastic about because it felt like they were trying too hard. Here on We the People though it feels like they have that right balance back again, and the difference again rises to the top.

Russell Allen and Mike Orlando have this time brought in bassist David Zablidowsky and drummer Jordan Cannata to join them, and both are impressive here. As are the opening three tracks to the album. “King of the Ring” is a solid opener, and followed by the hard hitting title track “We the People” and the mid-tempo but surprisingly catchy “The Killer’s Inside” these three songs happily set the record straight on the direction the album is heading.
“Bleeding Hands” may not technically be a ballad, but it certainly covers that territory both lyrically and musically for the most part. I’m sure I could be argued about this falling into that genre, but peel back the thin outer layer of harder drums and guitar solo and what you have here is a rock ballad, and you just aren’t going to drag me in playing material like this. It’s a shame to have the album hijacked after a solid beginning. “Chasing Dragons” is a redeemer following it, with a much more pleasing vocal remedy from Russell, driven along by those double kick drums and solid rhythm from the guitar and bass.
The run of songs through the middle of the album are where the strength of this band lies in my opinion, and especially where this album shows off its worth. “Til the Head Explodes”, “What You’re Made Of” and “Raise ‘Em Up” all have that Orlando groove that he likes to perpetuate, but both the drums and the bass are stylistically able to individualise themselves so that they are noteworthy and relevant. While “Til the Head Explodes” sits into its mid-tempo, “What You’re Made Of “ busts out at a pleasingly faster pace without compromising the heavy sound (this is a ripper), and “Raise “Em Up” wants to be the anthem track of the album. Then in “Ignorance & Greed” Russell really utilises every part of his vocal range that he can, starting off as a deep growl, into his normal mid-range vocals before then reaching for the heights (but not the limits) of his higher range capacity. The rhythm track is low end and a really heavy thump to it, before coming to the final minute of the track where it slows to a hard and heavy hand while Mike Orlando solo’s over the top. Terrific song.
Whereas “Bleeding Hands” acts as the front bookend to these great middle album tracks, “Blind Leading the Blind” acts as the end bookend. Like the first track it is not what you would consider an out-and-out ballad, with the heavy drum parts morphing well with Russell’s hard edged vocals rather than a ballad-like soft vocal track, but it does have a slower feel to the song that evokes those kind of emotions listening to the track, and a solo that could almost fit into those types of tracks that you know I’m talking about – though it is also a bit edgier than those would be. As I said, I think those two songs frame the better part of the album with what comes between them.
“Violent State of Mind” returns to the heavier equation, and is the site of some indulgence from Orlando at the end of the song. “Lords of Thunder” almost feels like two styles of tracks sewn together, with the heavier chunking in the chorus lightening up during the verses. This gives the song two distinct sounds, one where the verses appear to be driven by Russell’s vocals in the same way he does for other bands with that beautiful soaring voice, into the heavier harder sound he generally uses with Adrenaline Mob tracks. I love Orlando’s solo here too. Another great track.
It wouldn’t be Adrenaline Mob without a cover song somewhere in the mix, and this time they have taken on Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” with gusto. Now while you are never likely to find anyone who can replicate the awesome energy of Billy Idol’s vocals and Stevie Stevens’ guitar on the original version, this is a fun and raucous version that ends the album on an upward note, and is worthy of the praise of ‘tribute’.

This is a terrific return to form for the band. The sound here again has been refined and matured before letting it loose and seeing what it can produce. The band sounds fantastic, and Russell’s vocals top it off. Welcome back Adrenaline Mob, it’s good to hear you out and about again.

Rating:  “You look surprised as hell to see this ugly face”.  4/5

992. Foo Fighters / Run [Single]. 2017. 4/5

So, 20-odd years on from Foo Fighters entering the music scene, what can we surmise from the release of this single. Is this a taste of what is to come from the next album, that is in the process of being recorded and for which a release may well be imminent? Or is this a one-off single, taking advantage of their schedule to remind everyone that they are still out there and working together?

Whatever is the case, it is an interesting single. In many ways it harks back to Dave’s early influences. It starts off in a quiet fashion, before Taylor’s drums jump in, followed by some very punk rock oriented guitar, and even more fashionably those famed screaming vocals from Dave himself that haven’t appeared as often in recent times. Can you, like me, hear bits and pieces of that old Seattle sound in there? Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden. I can hear them all. The fact that this tends to hail back to those grunge and punk roots more than the hard rock and even soft rock that has been the staple of recent years is interesting to me because I admit I would like to hear an album based around this kind of writing and performing. I don’t believe we’ll get it, but I know that Taylor is hitting those drums and cymbals bloody hard, and the three guitars distorted riffing together with Nate’s familiar bass line running underneath beautifully also mix well with the keyboards that are beginning to find their way into the band’s music.

Is Dave writing a metal/punk Foo Fighters album? Again, I’m guessing not. But this song is an enjoyable thought in the process.

991. Queen / Jazz. 1978. 5/5

The pressure of writing an album, recording an album and then touring an album, only to start the whole process over again, all in the span of 12 or so months, must be a difficult thing. The fact that Queen did this most of the way through the 1970’s and early 1980’s, producing a new album every year from Queen through to Hot Space, is a remarkable achievement, and the fact that the quality is generally of the highest order is even more remarkable. This most certainly is the case here on Jazz, which ranks with their very best.

The opening track “Mustapha” bounds along in an excited chanting of lines in various languages that at least all sound like they rhyme together and fit together in sentences, but to be honest I have pretty much zero idea what is being said or what the song is about. Despite this, it’s hard not to like Freddie’s enthusiasm and pronunciation of whatever it is he’s saying. I wonder if the band knew what the song was about? This is followed by the well-rounded and often sung “Fat Bottomed Girls”, which has a great rhythm line underneath the song, a great chorus track and guitar riff to go along with the grin hidden behind a hand of teenage boys everywhere as they sang it.
“Jealousy” rises and falls on Freddie’s vocals, manipulating the mood of the track simply in the nuances of his vocals. The relative gentleness of the track allows it to transition into “Bicycle Race” without losing integrity. “Bicycle Race” morphed nicely with “Fat Bottomed Girls” by mentioning it within the song, but it also has lyrics that reference the era that the song was written, and as such became a fun song to learn and then sprout the lyrics back at the people around you as you sang. These two short-but-sweet songs were always a popular part of Queen’s armoury, and found plenty of airplay due to their short playtime. “If You Can’t Beat Them” is an easy listening sing along track in a typical John Deacon style. It’s catchy and easy to move along with.
“Let Me Entertain You” has always been one of my favourite Queen tracks, though it is one I found from their live recording before I had ever heard Jazz. It is one of the heaviest tracks written by Freddie, though much of that comes from Brian’s guitar riff and his solo burst. Still, Freddie sings this hard and loud, preaching to the audience as he did so well. This still sounds great today. This is followed up by “Dead on Time”, another of Queen’s most aggressively hard songs led by Brian’s guitar again as well as Roger’s great drumming. These two songs back to back showcase the best of that heavier side of Queen, revealing that part of their personality for the world to hear.
The album dials back to that much gentler aspect of the band’s brilliance, with “In Only Seven Days” where Freddie shows how amazing his vocal capacity is, having shown his faster and energetic vocal range in the previous two songs to slipping into this easy paced song with gentle higher vocals. Amazing. This is followed by “Dreamer’s Ball” which sounds like it could have come from the A Night at the Opera album. “Fun It” is a quintessential Roger Taylor track with all of his tricks of the trade thrown it. He again plays most of the instruments and shares lead vocals throughout with Freddie. “Leaving Home Ain’t Easy” is Brian’s quiet ballad, almost Beatles-ish in its composition. Having heard the harder side, these four songs showcase the lighter side of the band, without losing any integrity in the tracks. Terrific stuff.
“Don’t Stop Me Now” is in my opinion one of the five best Queen tracks of all time. Positive lyrics, driving drums and lead bass riff, the piano being the major instrument throughout with Brian’s guitar just coming it to make highlight spots, and of course Freddie’s vocals topping everything off. If you could write one song and play it for eternity, it would quite probably be this one for me. It is a brilliant piece of song writing and musicianship.
“More of That Jazz” is written and almost completely performed by Roger, and it is very much his style of track. It is eclectic, staccato with lots of guitar and vocal lines and harmonies mixed into places that don’t seem to be in any form, but somehow come together to make a great song. Not only do we hear his own amazing vocal range, when you first hear the song you think something has happened to the recording, because suddenly snatches of other songs on the record start coming into the mix. It’s unusual, but became common place amongst Roger’s own solo stuff. Opinions no doubt range on it, but personally I like it.

There is something for everyone on Jazz and it all comes together in a perfect way. The musicianship is second to none with each members at the top of their game. The vocals of all three major contributors is superb, with Freddie quite awesomely showing he can sing just about any type of song. And the variety of the songs doesn’t intrude on each other, somehow they all tend to mesh together perfectly despite the wide range of influences that come into them. One of Queen’s best.

Rating:  "I’m a rocket ship on my way to Mars on a collision course, I am a satellite, I’m out of control”  5/5

990. Queen / News of the World. 1977. 4/5

There will always be a debate over what is the best ever Queen album, and generational change will always be a part of that. Whether it was the albums of the 1970’s that you think are the real deal, or the releases in the 1980’s that hold together best can often be dependent on which era you grew up with. By the time News of the World came around Queen was well established in the music scene, and even in comparison to those albums that had come before it this is an impressive and enjoyable release.

The album leads off with what are still two of the biggest arena anthems ever written. Any major sporting spectacular that you go to, you are a big chance to hear either one or both of these songs sometime within the framework of the event taking place. “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” surely need to have nothing said by me in regards to their greatness as songs and to their transcendence through all musical genres. They stand alone on their own as pillars, but when played back-to-back create the perfect atmosphere for anyone who needs a pick-me-up before a performance before an audience. Forty years on and surely no better anthems have been written.
The track “Sheer Heart Attack” was apparently only half written when the album of the same name came out, and so it appears here some time afterwards. Roger Taylor wrote the song and sings in the chorus, and plays on most of the instruments as well. It rattles along pleasingly after the opening salvo. “All Dead, All Dead” follows the opening blast triumvirate, and reels the mood back in fiercely, with this soft and slow piano based song written and sung by Brian with Freddie providing backing. It’s a tough ask to place this song after those first three tracks, and also to have it followed by yet another blockbuster in “Spread Your Wings”. As a result it feels a little lost, and perhaps out of place. “Spread Your Wings” is yet another of John Deacon’s amazing contributions to the band, and is highlighted by Freddie’s amazing vocal performance and the short sharp lead burst from Brian, which punctuates the middle of the song.
Following on from this, “Fight From the Inside” is an almost complete Roger Taylor composition - written by him, sung by him, featuring him not only on the drums by he played bass and rhythm guitar as well. Thus it isn’t surprising that “Fight From the Inside” does sound familiar to many songs that appear on Roger’s first solo album “Fun in Space” where he did practically everything. This is followed by Freddie’s “Get Down, Make Love” where he makes a loud statement in uncompromising terms.
“Sleeping on the Sidewalk” is a harmless song that lacks the kind of things that made Queen songs great. There is no great majesty of about the song, and Brian’s vocals are muted most of the way through, such that it is a quite soft and shallow song. “Who Needs You” is another Deacon song with Spanish guitar and maracas, and though it also is a good song with its own character, the softer side of these two songs also seem to change the course that the album was heading.
“It’s Late” almost bounds off the vinyl at you in comparison to the songs that preceded it, loud and proud, not only with Freddie taking centre stage but with the choir vocals filling the mix, and the drums, bass and especially lead guitar pounding out of the speakers. It’s a real theatrical hard rock song, with each member playing their part with boundless enthusiasm. “My Melancholy Blues” closes out the album with some trademark Freddie piano-based softly spoken vocals which sounds like it is being performed in a piano lounge, with just John’s bass and Roger’s drums in accompaniment.

This album flows evenly between the two sides of Queen’s imagery, with the hard rock anthems balanced by the thoughtful and less raucous piano and acoustic settings. It’s what Queen has always been about, combining the individuals styles into an album based on their strengths without compromising on quality. While there is a mix within the content that may be difficult for some to accept, overall this album provides you with the best of each individual without necessarily showing their combined talents together. For some that will make it feel unhinged rather than a group effort.

Rating:  “Kicking your can all over the place”  4/5

989. Metallica / Death Magnetic. 2008. 4/5

It had been a long hard road for Metallica the band. Not in regards to popularity, because they still sold out shows and had fans falling over themselves to see them. But the mixed reaction to their releases since 1991 must have caused questioning within the band and their management. Three studio albums that had their core fan base up in arms, a live album with a symphony in support, and a double album filled with cover songs was hardly the track record one would expect from a band of Metallica’s stature. One wondered if there would ever be an album again that could be embraced by the faithful.

In many ways, Death Magnetic was the ‘comeback’ album Metallica had to have.

I have no qualms in admitting that I had written off Metallica forever after the release of St Crapulous. The initial excitement of that album wore off so quickly once the realisation was that it sounded awful and was a completely depressing series of tracks. As a result I had decided I would not be buying the next album, and would have no problem if I never had to listen to it. And this may well have been the case if, at the time the album was released, I had not been working with a 19 year old fan boy who insisted on bringing the album to work and playing it, as well as demanding that I buy it and invest myself in it. From that point I slowly allowed myself to listen to snatches of songs, until eventually I did relent and purchased the disc. Because, as it turned out, Metallica seemed to have found themselves, even if it was in bits and pieces.
What was it that brought all of this on? Was it because on the St Crapulous tour they had begun playing more songs from their halcyon period, including songs from ...And Justice for All that they had abandoned for years, and as such realised not only how good those songs were but how much their fans appreciated them? Was it the introduction of Robert Trujillo to the studio for the first time in the writing and recording process? Was it the jettisoning of Bob Rock as producer for renown metal icon Rick Rubin to take the helm? Is it merely that the band realised the songs need guitar solos from Kirk, and for James to sing as he used to sing? Was it all of these things, or a conglomerate of pieces of them? I don’t know, but whatever it was, it was about bloody time!!!
Given that this is the case, I still think half of the songs are terrific, and the other half average or just above average. It goes without saying that writing and recording a song entitled “The Unforgiven III” is an unforgivable act. Honestly, was it just a bridge too far to expect that the band could completely sever their ties from the 1990’s and leave this behind them? The fact that this is also the most average song on the album is almost incomprehensible. Did Rubin not hear this and strongly advise the band to move in a different direction? They could have replaced this with any of the four songs they later released on Beyond Magnetic and the album would have been lifted. The other songs that I am less than enamoured with here could probably have been improved just by shortening them. The shortest song on the album is the final track at five minutes. The next is “Broken, Beat & Scarred” at 6:25 – one of the songs that would have been improved by a few cuts. “The Day That Never Comes” revisits those ugly days of the 1990’s in the way it sounds as well, and its eight minutes in length becomes unbearable about halfway through. “Cyanide” is better than these three mentioned songs, but both it and “The Judas Kiss” could have used a bit of refining.
The songs that light up the album are the ones that brought new hope for a brave new existence for Metallica fans. Opening with “That Was Just Your Life” and into “The End of the Line”, the album kicks off on the most positive note in years. It’s what first drags you in to the album. It certainly did for me. “All Nightmare Long” is my favourite song on the album, closely followed by the closer “My Apocalypse”, which mimics “Damage Inc” so closely that it has to be deliberate. There is also the instrumental track “Suicide & Redemption”, the band’s first since “To Live Is to Die”, which also is too much of a coincidence not to have been a planned reminder of past glories.

With so much bad blood having flowed under the bridge, it probably wouldn’t have taken a lot to put together an album that could be claimed to be ‘better’ than recent releases. Instead, there had been a major rethink, and the band has come through with the goods. No, it isn’t a return to their glory days. No it is not the next Master of Puppets. What this can claim is that it is a better than average metal record that would probably rate much higher with most people if it had been recorded by another band, but because it is Metallica it will always be judged against those halcyon albums. Put that aside, forgive the creaks that three or four songs offer here, and it is a very enjoyable metal album.

Rating:  “Hunt you down without mercy”.  4/5