1015. Edguy / Monuments. 2017. 4/5

Given the enormous amount of jumping between his two major projects that goes on, one wonders when Tobi Sammet has time to sit back and take a collective look at life itself. To be honest, does he start to spread himself a little thin? My argument for some time is that it is almost impossible to push yourself so hard between your day band – Edguy – and your guilty pleasure – Avantasia – and not spread yourself or your material a little thin. Thus, and I may be alone in this thinking, I believe that the past couple of Edguy albums have suffered from the fact that the best of Tobi’s creative juices have been flowing into Avantasia material rather than Edguy songs. Whether or not that is the case, when it came time to put together this album together to celebrate 25 years of Edguy’s existence, I think maybe it could be held as a reminder as to the power of some the earlier material of the band compared to the latter day songs.

So here is Monuments, the five disc and 160 page book collated from their entire career, consisting of two CDs which constitutes a greatest hits package, a DVD of a live performance from the Hellfire Club tour as well as other video clips, and two CDs of that live performance. It is a ripping collection, one that all fans of the band will love. As a true standing of ‘greatest hits’… well, everyone will have a different opinion on what that consists of.
The five new songs start off the collection, and I think they are great. In fact, comparing those five songs - “Ravenback”, “Wrestle the Devil”, “Open Sesame”, “Landmarks” and “The Mountaineer” – to the next three songs on the album, “9-2-9” from Tinnitus Sanctus, “Defenders of the Crown” from Space Police: Defenders of the Crown and “Save Me” from Rocket Ride, and I think you have a fair comparison to what I was saying earlier about the Edguy/Avantasia conundrum. The new songs have that sparkle back, whereas the three songs from those three albums (albums which I wholly admit didn’t tickle my fancy) seems to be missing vital elements. Good news for the new songs, and perhaps some justification for my feelings otherwise.
The other choices for the remainder of the first CD though are top shelf. Anything from Hellfire Club gets top votes from me, and the addition of “Ministry of Saints” and the masterful “Tears of a Mandrake” makes for fantastic listening. The second CD opens with the wonderful “Mysteria” and “Vain Glory Opera”, and then mixes in some older stuff, some less well known stuff and a bit more of the latter day material as well. That they managed to find a place for one song off Age of the Joker, the average “Rock of Cashel”, was surely more for appearances than for being a truly ‘great’ hit. Honestly, how a song like “We Don’t Need a Hero” doesn’t make the collection in front of at least half of these tracks is beyond me. But that comes back again to an individual’s taste.

Fans like me already have all of the albums, so buying this comes down to the five new unreleased songs (worth it), and the live CDs and DVD (worth it). 25 years is a fair journey for this band to have gone on. It has been a fun journey at that. The good news is that I don’t think the journey is over yet.

Rating:  "Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the freak show!"  4/5

1014. Killers / Murder One. 1992. 3.5/5

Having worked through a decade after his release from Iron Maiden, Paul Di’anno had produced a number of albums from a number of different projects. From the soft rock project under his own banner Di’anno, to an almost-superband experiment in Gogmagog, to several good reviews for his work with Battlezone, into a one-off tour with Praying Mantis, Paul had shown that he could still come up with material that was catchy and relevant, though mixed in with some less than exciting songs. His next port of call was in forming the band called Killers, and their debut release was this album, Murder One

Much like the other projects as mentioned above, and indeed of those that were to follow, there is enough good stuff here to suggest that Paul and his new comrades had a viable concern with their band. Opening track “Impaler” jumps straight out at you at a galloping speed with Paul’s vocals riding on a wave of hard hitting drums and pleasing riff variation. “The Beast Arises” doesn’t come as fast but is hard and heavy throughout, while Di’anno reaches for the screams of youth at different times of the song. The cover version of T-Rex’s “Children of the Revolution” had the potential to be a real stomping effort, full of power and individuality, and while this version is fine it didn’t really do anything that could have set it apart from other versions of the song. It’s not disappointing but it just isn’t fabulous either. “S&M” and “Takin’ No Prisoners” are reasonable variables of the previous songs, though the intensity is dialled back, and to be honest they drag on too long with not enough to keep them above the water line in regards to interest.
On the brighter side, “Marshall Lokjaw” is for me the best song Di’anno wrote in his post-Maiden collection of bands and projects. It has the high energy from both the band and vocalist that you would expect. This is where his vocals excel, the kind of song he has always been meant to sing. A rollicking backing track, setting the platform for Di’anno to give us the performance that he can, singing the storyline that the lyrics provide and allowing him to be centre stage for the entirety of the song, interspersed with the dual guitar solos in the middle. Terrific stuff. If only he could have based more of his music around this track.
“Protector” continues in the hard rock arena, with a simplistic riff line and drum set. “Dream Keeper” changes the tempo and style up completely, going for the mix between slower AOR 70’s sound and a Whitesnake or UFO like whining guitar. I can get the ideas of what they tried with this track, I just don’t think they quite got it. “Awakening” sticks to the standard tempo and 2/4 drum beat with Di’anno almost chanting his lyrics throughout.
Whether it was necessary to tack on the cover of “Remember Tomorrow” is open to question. The version is a good one, and Paul still sings it well, but surely by now it was time to take away the focus from the music that brought him his fame, and live or die by his own material. Or perhaps that is just it, he cannot sever himself from that period of his life. Looking back from 2017, that’s still accurate.

There is enough good material here to make you think this band could make a real go of it, and start producing some even better material. The album’s major problem was its conception date, smack bang in the middle of the grunge era, which for a short time was influencing everything in music. As such, albums like this were buried and forgotten. More is the pity. Five years earlier this may have made a mark. Perhaps even five years later. Instead, in retrospect it is a more than listenable album, and perhaps the closest Paul ever came being able to forge a band and career away from that other one he was in once.

Rating:  “Marshall Lokjaw, all guns blazing!”  3.5/5

1013. Mötley Crüe / Shout at the Devil. 1983. 5/5

Back in my teenage years, in the middle of the Age of Discovery where new music and new bands were hopping out of the ground by the dozen, I gained my first exposure to the band Mötley Crüe. Initially it was through the video clip for the song “Looks That Kill” that had popped up on music video programs at specified times, and eventually a friend picked up the album Shout at the Devil and taped it for me. Thus began my love affair with this band in general, but on a wider scale the hair metal genre as a whole.

In the years since of course I have all of the Crüe’s albums which meant having also listened to their debut album, which preceded this. It had been a good album that showed promise, but not on a scale that this album produced. The jump in quality and energy between it and this is quite remarkable. Some fans disagree and think that this album waters down the punkish edge that the debut had and thus made it less alternative and more mainstream. I can see where that argument could be made, but the extra ‘polish’ that may appear to be here does actually help to tie in the whole album rather than expose any lesser tracks such as could be argued appear on Too Fast for Love. Here on Shout at the Devil there is a nice mixture of tempo on the songs without ever losing the energy and power of the album, and each member of the band can be thanked for that. Tommy Lee’s hard hitting drums are a constant metronome. He doesn’t always sound like he is doing anything special outside of a regular drum beat, until you realise that the nuances he uses are so much more than average, they are extraordinary. His drum sound on this album is perfect, it doesn’t take centre stage nor is it hidden in the background, it rides along with the other four in harmony. Nikki Sixx’s base lines rumble along in much the same way, not appearing to be out of the ordinary but in fact are driving the songs, supplying the energy in the tracks throughout. Mick Mars and his guitar shine along the way, not only matching the riff of his bass partner but making the perfect punctuations when his solo slot comes up in each song. Topping this off is the marvellous vocals from Vince Neil whose falsetto voice pierces through in places that are sometime unexpected, supported by the chanting back up voices of his three band mates to allow him to be the star out front.
As to the songs themselves, I love every one of them on this album. That could be put down to having had this album imprinted in my brain back in those early days rather than the songs being spectacularly good, but that is the advantage of listening to the album and not just having heard a couple of singles off the album. For instance, most people would know “Looks That Kill” as it is a well aired video and song, but how many of those people would know of songs such as “Bastard” and “Red Hot”, or the album closer “Danger”? A very low percentage I would suspect, and these songs to me are just as enjoyable and important as “Looks That Kill” is. “Bastard” and “Red Hot” are the two fastest tempo songs on the album, and help to raise the action and adrenaline of the song list. They’re not singles by a long shot, but they are terrific songs that make up the core of the album itself. “Knock ‘em Dead Kid” and “Ten Seconds to Love” settle in that same range that every great album needs, the songs that may not be the stars of the show, but are terrific supporting cast. Then you can add in the excellent cover of The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter”, which to me is the best version of this song, by any band. Again, the key word is ‘energy’ and this version has plenty of that in order to get the most out of it.
“Shout at the Devil” and “Too Young to Fall in Love” are the two real foot stompers on the album, based around the great Mick Mars riffs and leading drums from Tommy Lee. They both have that heavy mid-tempo riff with the drum pattern that encourages not only hard foot tapping in time but a solid head banging rhythm as well. And that is one of the key characteristics of this album. Perhaps the song structure isn’t complex or difficult, but it is enjoyable and entertaining, and that’s all you can ask of an album.

Plenty have suggested this is Mötley Crüe’s finest hour. There is enough evidence here to suggest that’s a fair comment. I believe they at least equalled this with Dr. Feelgood a few years down the track, but as much as I like their other surrounding albums I don’t think they get close to this one in terms of greatness. The formula comes up as a winner on this album, and when I put this on three days ago to listen to a couple of times while I reviewed it here, it has now been on constant playback for those entire three days, and there is every chance it will continue to stay on my playlist now for a while to come. Surely that alone is enough to indicate just how highly I rate it.

Rating:  “He'll be the risk in the kiss, might be anger on your lips”  5/5

1012. Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force / Odyssey. 1988. 4/5

Yngwie Malmsteen’s fight for commercial recognition and success had continued to build throughout the 1980’s. He had a tough fight on his hands. Not only did he want to showcase his amazing guitaring, but he wanted to do it in a fashion that would also find itself commercially viable in the world of rock radio around the globe. No easy feat. The recruiting of the Johannsen brothers, keyboardist Jens and drummer Anders helped to settle the band, especially the keyboard and synth skills of Jens, but what was perhaps the best commercial move was the obtaining of former Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn Turner as front man for the album. The result was this album, and in that commercial sense Odyssey became the most successful of Yngwie’s career.

When this was released back in 1988, I just loved it. It was one of four or five albums that year that I wore to death, furrowing deeper grooves in the vinyl and stretching the tape on the cassette copy by the number of times I played it. Even those songs that were of the slower, verging on ballad-like qualities, the ones that in the not-too-distant future I would be decrying as a menace to heavy metal, I still loved and sang along to. Some people around me would write this album off as trash, as just a narcissist on guitar surrounded by musical fluff and patsy lyrics by a narcissist on vocals. In those days I was mostly blind to any of that. I loved the tempo and the atmosphere of the tracks, and the honeyed vocals of Turner allowed me to generally wash over the lyrics and just enjoy the songs as they came out at me. Any arguments to the contrary were for me shut down by the massive disappointment of the following album Eclipse which really did head down a complete commercial path. Again, I was mostly blinded against any criticism.
Listening to this album today, you can hear that it has dated quite massively. It is very much tied to the era, with the keyboard and synth highly involved despite the master craftsman on guitar being the showcase piece. And without appearing to bow to those naysayers of the past, Turner’s vocals and some of his lyrics are just a little too stonewashed and gratified to be completely comfortable with. It would be an easy thing to dismiss this as a stereotypical 80’s overhyped synth guitar album with little or no substance, and place it back in the racks.
But there is still more to this album than that.
It has those moments that are obvious attempts to crack into that radio market, songs that have been crafted by both the writer of the music (Malmsteen) and the writer of the lyrics (Turner) to find their way into the popular market. The single released from the album, “Heaven Tonight”, had that kind of business trade, the music video also helping to raise its profile. It may not have made the grade in Australia, but overseas the single saw good sales and promotion of the album itself. It is a genuine single, written to be so, and yet it is still enjoyable from a purist Yngwie fan to love. “Hold On” and “Dreaming (Tell Me)” are both in the power ballad category, though with that distinctive Yngwie guitar sound that puts it at a bit above that level, giving you something to enjoy that doesn’t always come with a power ballad. “Now is the Time” is not in this class of song, but it is quite a sugary rock song that suits the radio metaphor. If someone were to say to me that these were rubbish songs that made the album unenjoyable to them, I could understand where they were coming from. Not agree, but understand.
Because then you have the songs on here that make the ride well worthwhile. The opening track “Rising Force” is a cracker, starting the album off on the right foot and at the right tempo. After the somewhat powder puff remainder of the first side of the album it concludes with the rollicking “Riot in the Dungeons” which increases the tempo nicely. The second side of the album has the two star attractions, those being “Déjà Vu” and “Crystal Ball”. Either or both of these should have been singles if Yngwie was really serious about hitting that commercial market, and not because they are commercial songs in the same way that “Heaven Tonight” is. Both have those characteristics but they are not purposely written in that way. Both are great sounding hard rock track backed by trademark Malmsteen riffs and terrific vocals from Turner that make them stand out from the crowd. “Crystal Ball” especially is a terrific track that is still one of my favourite Yngwie songs. “Faster Than the Speed of Light” is also a fun faster track on the back half of the album. To top it all off, the three instrumental tracks – “Bite the Bullet”, “Krakatau” and “Memories” – all showcase Yngwie’s wonderful skills to their utmost.

I have no doubt that if I was rating this back in 1990 I would have been throwing full marks at this album. As I said, I loved this back in the day. With years for both the album and my music tastes to mellow somewhat, I accept that there are a few flaws on the album that I may well have ignored when it was released. None of that wipes away my enjoyment of this album to this day however. It may not be perfect and it may come across as overblown, but I still love it for all its cracks.

Rating:  “Through the doorways of the heart, step inside, the magic starts.”   4/5

1011. Dokken / Under Lock and Key. 1985. 3.5/5

Having found their stride with their second album Tooth and Nail, Dokken was looking to further announce themselves with this third album, Under Lock and Key. In an era where hair metal was beginning to gain a greater hold of the airwaves especially with the soft rock ballads that were seeping through along with the advent of music videos, it’s interesting to find that while those kind of sounds do find a way onto this album it is not dominated by them as much as could possibly have been the case.

The opening song “Unchain the Night” has that hard hitting mid-range tempo that Dokken liked to settle into in their prime, with the solid rhythm of Mick Brown and Jeff Pilson allowing Don Dokken to showcase his great voice, backed by the harmony of Jeff and Mick, and then opens up for the smooth flowing George Lynch guitar solo that highlighted the best tracks. There’s nothing outstanding about the opening track, but it is a solid opening to the album. “The Hunter” is similarly structured and is again another wholly enjoyable song without it ever stepping out and announcing itself as an outstanding track. “In My Dreams” moves down a different track, not being the ballad type of song that is yet to come, but with a somewhat gentler and higher vocal range being used it engenders a different feel from the opening two tracks despite retaining that hard rhythm throughout. The harmony vocals are especially prevalent here rather than Don being distinctly on his own.
“Slippin’ Away” is far too much in the soft rock ballad area for my tastes. As always, I understand the need for hair metal bands to indulge themselves in these types of songs in order to draw in that part of their supporter base, but to me it just acts as a distraction to the other great material on the album. “Lightnin’ Strikes Again” picks the tempo up again nicely, with the energy in the music driven by Don’s great vocals supported by the chorus of Jeff and Mick. This leads into George’s solo punctuation which is the centrepiece, before we come to the conclusion of the song where Mick’s drumming adds to Don’s piercing high octane vocal into the finish. It’s a terrific song to finish the first side of the album.
Side Two opens with “It’s Not Love”, the tougher side of Dokken’s drawing power. The lyrics may well be about the kind of subject that rock ballads could be crafted around, but the music and attitude here ensures that this is nothing like that. A great rhythm seconded by the George Lynch guitar riff and solo, along with Don talking tough throughout makes for a song that is at the heart of Dokken’s success. Somewhat disappointingly (for me anyway) “Jaded Heart” finds its way somewhere between this kind of song and the power ballad, so although we get the tough sounding vocal in the middle of the chorus of the song, we have the cry for passion like vocal as well, while the music is designed much slower and looking more for the ballad effect than the previous song did. From here we dive back in to “Don’t Lie to Me” which is much more like the Dokken I love, with the hard riffing guitar and harmony vocals through the bridge and chorus. This is their standard go-to song, not the power ballad but not the heavier material either. And while we run a similar course with “Will the Sun Rise”, the album concludes with the upbeat and jaunty “Til the Livin’ End” which has that faster pace and Don reaching for the limit of his range.

This is an album that for me showcases the hard-working and durable side of Dokken. No song on this album will come out at you and suggest it is an ‘all-time classic’, but the album as a whole tends to work well. As the middle release of what I would consider Dokken’s highlighted triumvirate of album, bookended by Tooth and Nail and Back for the Attack, this album mightn’t be spectacular but it is still very enjoyable.

Rating:  “When the lightning strikes again”   3.5/5

1010. Blind Guardian / Live Beyond the Spheres [Live]. 2017. 4.5/5

Sometimes you can forget how long Blind Guardian have been around. And it stretches into decades now, which is quite remarkable. Not only is it almost 30 years since the release of Battalions of Fear, they have also previously released two live compilations in Tokyo Tales and Live. So when you come in to deciding on a new live album, you know you have to bring your A game to the table.
Anyone who has listened to Blind Guardian knows how much works goes into their studio albums, and the way the songs are layered over each other with amazing and complex vocal harmonies supported by brilliant musicianship.

Like most of Blind Guardian’s stuff does, this album blew me away. It all sounds amazing. You can appreciate how good the older material still stands up today and how well the band plays it and how much the crowds appreciate it. But it’s the material off the last two studio albums that stands out here. Those albums have gone even further in complexity when it comes to instrumentation and the mixture of layers throughout, which sounds magnificent on the studio versions, but how on earth could you transfer that to the live setting? In this band’s case, with magnificent ease. The live versions are not just note perfect copies of the studio versions, they are fantastically produced versions where the band just hammers away at you, while Hansi melds and morphs the vocals into a form which he and his fellow vocalists can pull off live without affecting the magnificence of each track. It’s quite a feat, and one that I think they pull off spectacularly. The brilliance of songs such as “The Ninth Wave”, “Sacred Worlds”, “Wheel of Time” and “Tanelorn” loses nothing here in the live setting. Hansi’s vocal line in the chorus of “Sacred Worlds” is still as powerful, as different as it is without the choir of voices behind him that drives the studio version. Just brilliant.
This is a real package, with three discs stretching to almost 160 minutes, so very little is missed (though that is open to opinion). You have the faster, energetic favourites such as “Banish From Sanctuary”, “Lost in the Twilight Hall”, “Into the Storm”, “Majesty” and the ever ready encore of “Mirror Mirror” mixed in with “The Last Candle”, “A Past and Future Secret” and “The Bard’s Song (In the Forest)” all without compromising the flow of the album. Mostly of course this is because Blind guardian has always been able to do this. And yes, if I had been insisting on a song list it would have included favourites of mine such as “Welcome to Dying” and “Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill)”, but those have appeared on the previous live albums so I guess you can’t have everything.
The band as ever is just bloody brilliant. Mi Schüren’s keyboards are vital in the mix and they are terrific here. As always, Frederik Ehmke’s drumming is superb, and is locked in wonderfully with Barend Courbois’ bass guitar. That rhythm is rock solid and driving throughout. The twin guitars of Marcus Siepen and André Olbrich are wonderful, creating an atmosphere that is the basis of a great live album, flowing freely and with energy, while the magic vocals of Hansi Kürsch continue to amaze, such is their strength and power.

Into their fourth decade, and Blind Guardian continue to show not only that they are still relevant in the metal world, but are still one of the leaders of the power metal genre. This live album is perhaps not the place I would start if I was looking to find my way into the musicology of this band, but it would definitely be on the path.

Rating:  “Let’s get crazy for the last time…”.  4.5/5

1009. Riverdogs / California. 2017. 2.5/5

The band Riverdogs’ debut album of the same name was one that I only sought out because of Vivian Campbell. It was his influence in any band at the time that had me searching for their music. As I wrote in my review of that album, although it wasn’t the style of music that I was most enamoured with, it did have its moments and the album as a whole became an important one to me. Flash forward to 2017, and once again the only reason I have sought this album out is to hear what the four piece can do some 27 years later, and whether that lightning could strike twice.

When an album is marketed at the AOR scene, then surprisingly enough this is exactly what it is going to sound like. In interviews to promote the album both Vivian and lead vocalist Rob Lamothe said that they had been charged by the record company of creating an album that came from the same spirit as that debut album all those years ago. Fair enough too, as there was enough support around for that album when it was released to try and revisit it, especially with the higher profile and workload of Vivian, who now mixes his work with Def Leppard with his other band Last in Line, where he revisited another of his old bands with some success.
In the long run I guess what you need to ask yourself is whether or not the music is still relevant. With every conceivable extension of music genres being represented out there, is there still a niche for what equates to an almost easy listening AOR sound that resides, mainly in the 1970’s and early 1980’s. Because this is where this album is heavily anchored. And I can’t hide from the fact that I would prefer to hear more grunt in the music, and a bit more energy in the songs. Give me more solos from Vivian such as he plays in “American Dream” and “Catalina” and let’s extend the songs from those! Instead, we get the much more reflective type of song that allows Rob to serenade you rather than rock you, and there is no doubt if you enjoy these types of songs you find plenty here to like.
What cannot be faulted is the musicianship of the band. Rob Lamothe’s vocals are as honeyed as ever, and smoothly run their way through each song as though being poured from a spoon. The rhythm section of
Nick Brophy on bass guitar along with drummer Marc Danzeisen hold everything together in a comfortable and pleasing atmosphere. My bias is obvious, and when Vivian breaks out in a solo, this is when the album really soars, giving California the kick in the pants it needs. I still never get tired of hearing him play his guitar.

What probably nags me most about this is that I have a very real feeling of having heard all of this before. In many ways the band has done too good a job of trying to reproduce the atmosphere of that first album. In many ways, they have done so unerringly accurately, and that is what irks me slightly. After 27 years – and that really is an inordinately long length of time – you would hope to hear a progression, something that is an extension even. But what I hear is more a modernisation than a progression. I find myself willing the band to break out, to really get this train moving and hear what they can do when they unshackle the carriages and just let the engine fire up. But that doesn’t happen. They stick to their groove, and they do it well. They sound fantastic. But a bit more rock than AOR would have made this a much more superior album and a more listenable experience.

Rating:   If only to hear Vivian on guitar more.  2.5/5

1008. Halford / Resurrection. 2000. 5/5

After the separation of Rob Halford from the rest of Judas Priest following the tour to promote the Painkiller album, there was a feeling that the decade of the 1990’s was lost for all sides. That’s not to say that they were inactive, but the sum of their parts still probably didn’t add up to the whole that had come before it. Halford himself had already done projects such as Fight and 2wo, which had received reasonable hearings and reviews. It wasn’t until the year had clicked over to 2000 that a third project began, this time simply titled Halford, and with it the album titled Resurrection.

While there were differences in the music produced in his other projects before this one, Resurrection immediately feels like it is a return to the heavy metal that Halford was renowned for in Judas Priest. In the main, this can be attributed to the presence of Roy Z, who not only produced the album but co-wrote the majority of the material that was recorded. Z had previously performed a similar ‘second coming’ for Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, whose off-the-rails solo career was revitalised and reborn under Roy Z’s watch on the albums Accident of Birth and The Chemical Wedding. It had propelled him not only to being the solo star he deserved to be with his talents, but also back into the Iron Maiden fold. Here on Resurrection, Z does a similar thing, taking a man of unquestioned talent and a vocal range that was considered one of the best in all of the metal genre, and putting together a package that returned him to the top of his profession by writing songs that appealed to his main market. Along with Halford and Z, the songs were written in the main with the help of the album’s two guitarists, Pat Lachman and Mike Chlasciak, and their contribution both to the writing of the songs and their instrumental performance should not be overlooked.
Having everyone on the same page, in order to produce an album that best summed up the times in heavy metal and giving their leader the platform to sell it was massively important. This is an album that helps to slam the door on the previous decade, figuratively for Halford himself and on the slumber and increasing variety of music under the ‘metal’ banner. What Resurrection does is show that traditional heavy metal music was not dead, it had just been on hiatus, waiting for men such as these to bring it back to the surface once again.
This album has all of that, and more. The opening tracks are full of autobiographical lyrics brought forth with the energy that they deserve. Halford’s scream to introduce the opening title track is what punters had been waiting for, along with the squealing guitars, flying drums and fast paced track. “Made in Hell” followed this up with the same amazing energy pumping out of the speakers. It’s a great way to start the album, and it immediately draws in all of the naysayers.
The song output on the album does have a lovely contrast about it. Songs like “Silent Screams” and “Temptation”, where the tempo might be tied back a little but the intensity of the vocals certainly isn’t, “Twist”, which again bends and rearranges the tempo and sound of the song such that it isn’t traditionally metal but retains all the characteristics, and “Slow Down” all help to strengthen the show of versatility that Halford has in his music without compromising any of the characteristics that he is looking to reinforce here. Then you can concentrate on the faster, heavier songs that dominate and bring back the masses, songs such as “Cyberworld” and the album closer “Saviour”, and the duet/duel with Bruce Dickinson on the song “The One You Love to Hate” which mightn’t feature anything ground-breaking in the way of riffs or chords but still highlights the album because of the two vocalists involved.

It may be too simplistic to suggest that this is the album that Judas Priest should have followed up Painkiller with, apart from the fact that it is almost a decade on from that album and metal had been through some tough times during those years, and the fact that it contains different musicians and writers. That is also not to completely diss Priest’s Jugulator album, as it had similar differences. Looking back however (and again not trying to be detrimental to the other material) this album is better than anything that has been released by Judas Priest since Painkiller, though nailing down a reason for that would be difficult. Even my well-worn theory of the heavy involvement in this album by Roy Z doesn’t completely answer the question. In the end, we can simply be thankful that it not only revitalised Halford’s career and standing, but hastened his return to Judas Priest and the further works that band has done since. Even though, as expressed, they don’t match up to what he did here.

Rating:  “Here I am now, I’m your Saviour, there can be only one”.   5/5

1007. Van Halen / Van Halen II. 1979. 4/5

Retrospectively going back to review an album of such undoubted influence upon many bands of the 1980’s is a difficult thing to do, especially from someone who didn’t cotton on to Van Halen until the dawning end of the first DLR era. Thus my favourite albums have always been the mid-80’s releases. Even given the blues roots of the first album there was plenty to enjoy, especially when Eddie let fly and Dave just went with it. The second installment is more or less an extension of the first album, with a similar structure and song body about it.

As with most first albums, there was enough left over material from the band’s work to stretch into the second album, and I suspect mostly for this reason it does come across as a sister act with the debut release. I’m not sold on the cover version of “You’re No Good” that opens up the album. I’ve been spoiled by the version that is in the cult movie classic “House” for years, and this doesn’t do enough to top that. The first single from the album is the classic “Dance the Night Away” which harbours all of the great things about this band in one song. It may not be the most energetic of the songs here but given its exposure it is the most well-known.
For the majority of the album it’s an upbeat jaunty exercise, mixing the jive drum beat of Alex and funky bass of Michael along with the ridiculous guitar skills of Eddie and the athletic vocal chords of Dave, which are also packed in support by the other members. Each song is short and sweet, and action packed. When an album only stretches to 31 minutes you’re going to get that. Songs like “Somebody Get Me a Doctor” and “Bottoms Up!” and “Outta Love Again” all have that upside joyous vocal quality backed up by Eddie’s wonderful guitar licks. “Light Up the Sky” really does light up the sky, with Eddie’s flying solo and even a solo drum piece for Alex to get his chops around.
Whereas the first album had Eddie’s “Eruption” to listen to with mouth agape at his skill, here we have “Spanish Fly”, a one minute instrumental piece with Eddie again excelling on his instrument in a different form. It’s still great to listen to. This is followed by the straight up rock guitar stylings of “D.O.A” which still does most things right.
The final two songs on the album slow back down to a different tempo. “Women in Love…” and “Beautiful Girls” both go for a more reflective, less urgent style, and while others may enjoy them, for me it comes as a slightly disappointing end to the album after what has come before this.

This album feels like the band is having a party in the recording studio. The whole vibe is fun and fantastic, with all four members at the top of their game and sounding like they are having a great time. This moves away from the blues base of the first album and tends to take on the live sensation they must have been channelling at this stage of their career. Comparing it to the debut release, there are positives and negatives against both. In the end, on a comparable scale, I probably prefer I to II, but there’s not a whole lot in it.

Rating:  “I heard the wind a whisperin', strong magic comin' on”.  4/5

1006. Hansen & Friends / XXX: Three Decades in Metal. 2016. 4.5/5

Over the years Kai Hansen has been an inspiration and a leader of the European heavy metal community. Not only has he been a foundation member of several bands, all of which have made their sizable contribution to the metal universe, but he has guested on several other band’s albums with either vocals or guitar or both, or even acted as a producer. His contribution to the cause has been enormous and almost unparalleled. So when he announced that he would be doing this album, which is sort of a solo project and sort of a concept project, one could only wonder just what it would produce that would be different from everything else he had done over 30-plus years.

In moving aside from his other musical commitments in order to put this album out, it had to be a conscious decision that he wanted to be free to make something that couldn’t be held within the framework of the other band’s he has been associated with. He obviously wanted to be free to make decisions with the direction of songs without being held accountable to a band or the fans of that band and judged in that court. So apart from bringing on board musicians from other band’s to lay down the album, he has also invited some special guests and friends to help him out along the way.
I listened to this album a lot in the weeks after its release, and for me there was one glaring difference between it and Gamma Ray. I like this album a lot and listen to it with ease. But, how many songs here jumped out at me so much that I knew them from their opening riff, and knew the lyrics and actually sing along with them every time they come on? The answer is, about half, and that was significantly less than every Gamma Ray album ever, even than last couple which have probably not been quite up to the extremely high standard of the others. Therein lies the rub. It isn’t a Gamma Ray album, it is an obvious attempt by Kai to get out there and do something a bit different from what he has done with his number one band.
The band members here are excellent and perform their jobs accordingly. Eike Freese, the vocalist and guitarist from Dark Age, Alexander Dietz, the bass guitarist and backing vocals from Heaven Shall Burn and Dan Wilding, the current drummer of Carcass all play terrifically and sound fantastic, especially in songs like “Born Free”, “Contract Song” and “Follow the Sun”. Despite this being a Kai Hansen driven album, their contributions should not be overlooked.
All of the songs apart from the opening track feature friends participating, contributing either vocal parts or guitar solos to the mix, which makes it a fun romp throughout. “Born Free” acts as the single and opening track from the album, setting the scene for what is to come. “Enemies of Fun” combines the appearance of original Gamma Ray and current Primal Fear vocalist Ralf Scheepers and lifelong friend and Iron Savior frontman Piet Sielck for vocals. This is followed by “Contract Song” which has quite a bit of anger and angst behind it, and Dee Snider from Twisted Sister along for the ride. Yes, you can happily spit out the lyrics in this song, the venom behind them is obvious and somewhat joyous to sing along to. “Making Headlines” enables Tobi Sammet to return the favour Kai offered him on the first two Avantasia albums by combining his great vocal strength alongside Kai’s. This is followed by “Stranger in Time” which has another great combination of talent, with Tobi joined by current Gamma Ray part-time vocalist Frank Beck and also Michael Kiske, with some great harmonies and melody lines.
Into the middle of the album, and there is a change in tack and direction. “Fire and Ice” starts the process – and has anyone else picked up the similarity towards the end of this song to the end of Halford’s “Silent Screams” from his Resurrection album? That had to be deliberate, surely! “Left Behind” is the best example of a change in style for Kai and his music, with the writing feeling as though it was very much driven for the vocals of Clémentine Delauney initially before the introduction of the growl/scream vocal combination from Marcus Bischoff and album bass guitarist Alexander Dietz from Heaven Shall Burn. This is exacerbated by the very power ballad stylings of “All or Nothing” where Kai and Clémentine combine their vocal talents again. The changes in style here for me are the most difficult to get used to. It’s not that they are bad. In fact, they are performed fantastically. What I like most is that Kai has taken the opportunity of doing this on his own album rather than within the framework of his main band. I only wish other bands would do the same thing rather than mixing their song styles.
“Burning Bridges” helps to pick up the slackening tempo, but it is still very much in a straight forward hard rock song, with a simplified rhythm and drum basis and Kai not extending his vocal range in any way, keeping to a mid-range almost all the way through the song. The vocal talents of Eike Freese are also utilised here. The album finishes on a highlight though, with “Follow the Sun” rifling along with a great riff and drum pattern, and the awesome vocals of Blind Guardian’s Hansi Kürsch leading the charge with further help from Marcus Bischoff. This is almost the most energetic song on the album, and it is an excellent way to bring it to a close. Those vocals from Hansi and Kai here are awesome.

Since the first moment I heard him sing and play on a Helloween album, and when I first held in my hands the vinyl release of Gamma Ray’s Heading for Tomorrow album, Kai Hansen has been one of my music heroes, a man who seems to make magic flow from his fingers and vocal chords. Every other project and guest appearance he has made has always improved and lifted because of his involvement. This album did take a while to grow on me, but it has become one of my favourites in recent times. In the long run, that is no surprise whatsoever.

Rating:  “The key to your own heaven and the hell of your demise”.   4.5/5

1005. Iced Earth / Incorruptible. 2017. 3.5/5

I’m probably going to go down that same old street that I usually do when it comes to Iced Earth and their albums. It’s not a deliberate thing I assure you, but as with any band out there, you will have fans who can ignore the obvious, fans who will embrace the obvious, and fans who will be turned away by the obvious. Those factors will promulgate your feelings on this and every album by the band according to which sector you fall in to. So, for me, this is another Iced Earth album that has all of the qualities that can make it a great album, and album that old fans and new fans alike can gather around and love for all the right reasons. In many ways it dials back into the best days of the band. When the songs are motoring along, this is when the album is at its best.

“Great Heathen Army” starts off with the Iced Earth gallop, and Stu Block’s vocals rocket out of the speakers with the double kick accentuating and the hard line riffing of the guitars. “Black Flag” continues in a similar direction, again focusing on the tough rhythm of the song and Stu’ vocals. There is some real old school Iced Earth in the mix. “Raven Wing” is a perfect example of this, because not only does it musically come from the that era, but Stu’s vocals really come in with an amazing similarity to former vocalist Matt Barlow’s vocal tones. This could have been a poor rehash, but the heavy influence of the drums and heavy guitar riff rather than softening it back like Schaeffer often does makes this a beauty of a track, that perfectly references the past in the current band setting. I think it gets better with every listen. I can even forgive the following song “The Veil” because of it. This is where the tempo gets dialled back, accessing those tendencies of a power ballad without actually being one, but it just softens and slows back a notch too far for my liking. These are the kind of songs that I believe sometimes holds Iced Earth back. Too much of a reflective side.
“Seven Headed Whore” rights the ship with immediate impact, the flying double kick and Stu’s faster higher vocals coming to save the show. When he combines those two shades of vocals in a song it sounds amazing. Terrific song. “The Relic (Part 1)” doesn’t quite retain that vitality and seems caught between two vibes that don’t gel too well. The pseudo-instrumental “Ghost Dance (Awaken the Ancestors)” is fine, apart from the fact that it does just sound like any other Iced Earth song waiting for lyrics, with one big long rhythm piece, rather than the music speaking for itself. It’s no “Losfer Words” or “Orion”. “Brothers” too has a similar way about it, and tends towards the boring more than anything else. It lacks the quality listeners are looking for.
“Defiance” returns to the harder and faster tempo of the earlier songs on the album with more power in the vocals as well. Closing out the album is the almost-ten minute epic “Clear the Way (December 13, 1862)”, which winds its way through periods of quiet building to heavy guitar and drums, and is a pertinent way to conclude the album.

And so once again I have come to the end of an Iced Earth album, and once again I find myself sitting on the edge of the precipice. Depending on which way I fall I can love this album or be disappointed by this album, and once again I find that I cannot fall either way. There is much to like about the first half of the album, but there is much to be slightly disappointed in the second half of the album. I would suspect that the huge fans of the band will think this album is a triumph and be spectacularly happy with it. For me, as I hinted at during the start of this review, I find the album enjoyable to listen to without being able to rid myself of that feeling that with just a bit of a spit and polish it could really be terrific.

Rating:  “I am fates magician, I'll strip you of your doubt”.  3.5/5

1004. Spandau Ballet / True. 1983. 3.5/5

Perhaps one has to be a true child of the 1980’s decade to fully appreciate Spandau Ballet’s third album. Or even to like it. Or to love it. Because it has everything that firmly anchors it to that period of music. You get the full saxophone treatment here, mixed with the keyboards, piano and other percussion, along with the solid drums, bass and guitar that hold the additional pieces together. There is no rock and roll here, instead a harmonic mix of new wave and R&B caresses its way through the speakers in a way that is strangely alluring.

Given the way my taste in music diverged and hardened quite conclusively after 1985, some may find it difficult to believe that I still enjoy this album. When it was released however, my love of music was mostly dictated to what I heard on the radio, and back in 1983 these style of song that dominates this album was what was being mixed in with the synth pop that was infiltrating the airwaves. While I never owned a copy of this album at the time, friends of our family had it on vinyl and was often the go-to album when we went to their house for get-togethers, and so I did hear it quite often. Eventually I had a taped cassette version that was played when there was nothing on the radio or the mood came upon me. It was a different side of music from that of the other bands I had found at that time, which included Queen, The Police and Midnight Oil.
In today’s world of course, what this album brings with it is nostalgia, and the memories of the time it was released, which for me was the dominant part of Year 8 and 9 in high school. That remains one of the great joys of music, that you can not only enjoy it for enjoyment’s sake but for the memories it can revive. And that is one of the major drawing cards this album retains for me today, the memories it brings back of that time.
As for the songs themselves, some rise above others and some do even more than that. “Foundation” for instance is so very 1980’s, driven along by the keys and synth and probably too much of Gary Kemp’s backing vocals which dominate what could be termed the chorus of the song. It’s not that he can’t sing, but when you listen to Spandau Ballet what you are listening for is Tony Hadley’s amazing voice. He is the voice of Spandau Ballet, and so “Foundation” becomes a slightly less exciting so because of the shared vocals (and yeah, it is slightly annoying as well). “Code of Love” does tend to drag out a little too long without making much headway. Other songs such as “Heaven is a Secret”, Communication” and “Pleasure” all hold their best qualities in tow, moving along at a good tempo and giving the band members their opportunity to be heard in the mix.
The two superstar tracks of course are “Gold” and the title track “True”. This is where the band is at its best. Tony’s vocals are front and centre, and the sax is a major part without dominating. The faster build up and jaunt of “Gold” settles nicely with the slower pace and more commercially pleasing sound of “True”. That these two songs both come at the conclusion of Side A and Side B of the album also fits perfectly into the framing.

Almost 35 years on, True still stands as a testament to Spandau Ballet’s importance to the British pop scene in the early 1980’s. And despite my standard musical listening since this album’s release being in an entirely different ballpark, I still think this is an excellent easy-listening album that is worth your attention.

Rating:  “After the rush has gone I hope you find a little more time, remember we were partners in crime”.  3.5/5

1003. Led Zeppelin / Led Zeppelin II. 1969. 3.5/5

I suppose you can talk about the legacy that Led Zeppelin has until you are blue in the face, but if the style of music just isn’t what you enjoy you still aren’t going to rate a song, an album or a band as highly as those who are obsessed with that artist. Led Zeppelin II is one of those albums that the fans insist you must listen to, and in essence that you must love as much as they do, and immediately. No doubt it is fine to say that you must listen to this album because you must love it, but not everyone will. That said, this is an important album in the history of music, and while my ‘love’ of the album will not reach the heights of those biggest fans of the band, I can fully appreciate its relevance and position in the history and development of music.

For me, this is a pleasing next step in the band’s growth, and given that the first two albums are only separated by a matter of months in regards their release, it is interesting to note the progression made between the two releases. The heavy blues influence is still there for all to hear, especially in songs such as “The Lemon Song” and “What Is and What Should Never Be”, but the take on songs such as “Ramble On” and “Heartbreaker” is more progressive in that they still have that blues base but they have moved to a further rock influence – not completely mind you, but further along that track that they had been.
Listening to the album it very much feels as though it was written ‘on the run’, with most of the songs having the feel that it’s a freeform writing style, stopping and starting into solo breaks for all members. It’s a style very much of that age, where bands on stage happily jutted away between songs or even in the middle of songs, making it up as they went. Many of the songs here sound like that is just what they are doing, with a flowing structure rather than anything concrete. In the long run, it must have been almost impossible to tame and keep in check the four musicians in the band as they move towards the new decade. John Bonham just wants to hit those drums hard and fast and in a seemingly random order that falls into place perfectly. “Moby Dick” gives him that outlet, once both John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page have completed their own riffing at the start of the song. Both of these two musicians also sound like they are looking for greater outlets for their talents, and the morphing from straight blues backed songs to something a bit harder comes through. Combined with those honeyed vocal chords of Robert Plant you have a band that is bursting out of its original cocoon.
“Whole Lotta Love” is still the star of the show with that Page guitar riff, Jones’s cool bass line underlying the song, Bonham’s wonderful drum rolls along with Plant’s super vocal performance. It feels heavier than it actually is, but has wider musical appeal regardless. “What Is and What Should Never Be” has Beatles-ish qualities throughout, perhaps not a huge surprise given the era and the origin of the band. “Thank You” has both Deep Purple and Pink Floyd similarities, again no surprise given the heritage of all of those bands, and having all come from the same era, while “Heartbreaker” is dominated by the Page riff and the Plant vocal line.

I am happy to admit in reviewing and rating here that I can appreciate the great qualities of Led Zeppelin, especially the first half of their albeit shortened career, but I have never been a huge fan overall. That’s just my own taste, and much of their music retains a lot of their blues roots that doesn’t excite me. When they break out and reveal those songs that show more of a hard rock or even heavy basis, I can appreciate them more. Led Zeppelin II is for me a much more accessible album than their debut, and given the right mood I can listen to it from start to finish without any qualms whatsoever.

Rating:  “Hey fellas, have you heard the news?”  3.5/5