1346. Angel Witch / Frontal Assault. 1986. 2.5/5

The journey of Angel Witch through to the release of their third studio album is one that many bands from their era had to tread. In fact, many of the bands of their ilk failed to ever reach the point where they would record a second album, let alone a third. Angel Witch’s self-titled debut album quickly became a cult hit, but this did not translate into mainstream success or big dollars for the band. The band then spent a curly four years winding its way through the potholes and pitfalls of changing band members and line up, management issues and a changing musical landscape before they finally came around to record their second album “Screamin’ n’ Bleedin’”. There is a school of thought that the band was too melodic for the underground and too dark for the mainstream. With heavy metal moving in two major directions, the commercial hair metal route and the brooding and dark thrash metal route, Angel Witch found themselves between a rock and a hard place with their more traditional heavy metal style.
The band’s second album had seen guitarist and founding member Kevin Heybourne continue as the leader of the band, with new members bass guitarist Peter Gordelier and lead vocalist Dave Tattum joining him. The replacing of Heybourne on lead vocals with Tattum had been a polarising decision, with Heybourne deciding to concentrate on his guitaring duties was the best option for the band. Tattum’s vocals after Heybourne’s beloved versions on the debut album made the second album one that met with a little resistance as a result.
Coming into the follow up, drummer Spencer Hollman came in to join this trio. Given that it had been almost five years between the band’s first and second albums, it was more than surprisingly that it took only seven months for the follow up album to appear. It was comprised of completely new material, with none of the songs brought in coming from earlier in the band’s career. Perhaps the quick turnover gave the band some momentum to work with, by bringing more new material out quickly it offered fans something to grab onto, as well as saying “we aren’t going to leave you wondering when our next album is coming out, here it is!” And now, all that had to be determined was this – given the very short turnaround between albums, was the material that the band (in essence Heybourne) had composed strong enough to make this album a better experience than the previous one? All would be revealed as Angel Witch released their third studio album titled “Frontal Assault”.

 
The title track “Frontal Assault” opens up the album. It jumps out of the blocks immediately without any chance to prepare for what is to come. The tempo jumps immediately into a pleasing double time and forceful style. The driving riff from Heybourne and the mostly single toned vocal line from Tattum tend to combine the darker and thematically musical tones of the band’s early work with a slightly brighter and faster pace to bring it into focus for the age the album was recorded. It acts as an excellent way to begin the album and set the focus for what is to come. This is followed by “Dream World” which begins with a great guitar riff before Tattum’s vocals join in quickly once again. The bass line from Peter on this track is excellent and nicely positioned in the mix to give it the added focus it deserves. The addition of Heybourne’s contribution to backing vocals during the chorus draws attention to the two contrasting styles of Angel Witch’s vocalists. It is an interesting decision to combine them both here in this way, given Heybourne’s higher vocal range that brings about the point of difference with Tattum’s very one tonal level throughout. Heybourne’s solo again dominates the track and gives the song the exclamation point it needs. There’s a bit of everything on this song that makes it interesting and fun with the more melodic and brighter sound.
“Rendezvous with the Blade” begins with the best sounding start to the song, inducing a real injection of energy into the music, it bounces along, continuing the desire to combine the sounds like a true Angel Witch song into a desire to bring a modernisation to the album. The strong riff and excellent solo from Heybourne bring the real strengths of the band to light here. Tattum does not over extend his vocal lines and there is a drive from the bass line and drums on the song. There is also a nice melody in the vocals during the atmospheric backing. Heybourne’s guitaring on this track is the defining quality, and offers a true dive back deep into the band’s core sound of its early days. Following this is “Religion (Born Again)”, where Heybourne leads us off again with the start of the track. A great heavy riff and drum beat elicit a bobbing of the head in time to the song. Tattum's vocals are at their best in this environment, not trying to stretch beyond what they are capable of, and in the process creating a great sounding track. Lyrically it plays out with a great solo play from Heybourne. It’s a decent song, delving into topic of the cycle of religious belief and disbelief, combining spitting lyrics with a solid musical backing to close out the first side of the album.
The second side opens up with “Straight from Hell”, where the band returns to a straighter heavy track, a great riff from the outset and Tatton again sticking mostly to his range where he sounds at his best. It’s the basics that are performed well here. You can’t argue with the great riff from Heybourne, the rhythm is doing their job by creating the bottom end of the track, and the vocals are some of the best on the album. It’s a solid punchy style that brings back the heavier aspects of the band’s music. Angel Witch head into their epic song phase with the follow up song “She Don’t Lie”, one that tells the story of a girl messing with black magic and in the process stabbing her lover to death. Well played! There is a much more melodic feel to this song as a result of the story, changing up the music and the subject matter, and creating a song where the two don’t match, but in the process creates a song worthy of what it is. It is an offbeat tragic love story mixed with dark forces, and the way the music is composed to tie in with the lyrical content suits it perfectly. Tattum’s vocals here also suit everything that surrounds him.
Back into the fiery pit we go with "Take to the Wing”, from the outset the tempo increases frantically, a great speed set by the rhythm and guitar. Angel Witch the band are at their very best on tracks like this, where the pace is brought up to the top of their game, and Heybourne’s cracking guitar solo through the middle of the song electrifies it even further. Tattum charges along on this track, taking control vocally and seemingly enjoying the ride he is taking. This breaks the mould in some facets for the band who have not always dealt in fast paced almost thrash like tendencies, but this remains one of the band’s best songs through their catalogue. That may just be because of my preference and penchant for speed in music, but I think they found a winner on this song. Immediately though on the following track “Something Wrong” we are back into the tempo and mood that Angel Witch like to surround itself with, a track with a more introspective mood, with a sense that recalls the band’s earlier work. The pacing is measured, allowing the vocals and guitar phrasing to take centre stage. Thematically, it deals with internal struggle and disillusionment while the guitar solo is one of the album’s more expressive moments, adding depth to the song’s reflective tone. If you would like me to choose between the two styles of which these last two songs have been performed, I will have “Take to the Wing” every time.
The album closes by returning to a more urgent musical and thematic focus with “Undergods”. Drawing on the core music of the debut album once again, this is a compact and intense track, with a driving rhythm and momentum. Heybourne offers even further proof of his ability to create a riff and solo that captures the ears. It gives the album a closing track that befits what has come before it.

For those of you who have an interest in the band Angel Witch, I highly recommend that you check out the podcast Feckin’ Metal Podcast, hosted by the wonderfully entertaining and informative Ferghal. In 2025 he and his guest host the equally entertaining George did a deep dive retrospective of the band over several episodes, discussing the band and all of its releases. In particular, episode 106 concentrated on this particular album, and it is more than worth your while going back and listening to – along with everything else on that podcast. It is one of the best out there.
Some years ago now, once we had come to the years of file sharing, I had set out on a quest in or to track down all of the albums of all of the bands that I had heard about from the years between 1979 and 1982 that made up what has been dubbed as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. I wanted to not only discover some new bands and music, because those that I had been listening to now for 20 years were getting old and in some cases running out of good music to offer, and I wanted to know more about those groundbreaking years and the bands that were a part of it. One of those main ones was Angel Witch, whose debut album I discovered quickly and enjoyed immensely. That album you can listen to on this podcast on episode 174 if you are interested in its story. I then started tracking down the other albums of the catalogue, which began with the predecessor to this one, “Screamin’ n’ Bleedin’” from 1985, which you can also check out on episode 131 of this podcast. And then came this album.
It is negligible as to how much I listened to this album when I first tracked it down. During this experimentation period I got a LOT of albums I’d not heard before, and so I was trying to fit a lot in t a very short listening space that I had. So I know I listened to it a few times before moving on to the next, and that at that time it hadn’t grabbed me enough to make me want to listen to it more. A few years later though, about ten years ago when I was beginning to ferry around the kids to various after school activities, I would often have an hour or so to kill while waiting for them, and I began to recycle back through those NWoBHM albums, and THIS time, this album caught my ear. And perhaps that was surprising. But there was enough in the music here that reminded me of what I enjoy about Angel Witch, and I spent a happy few weeks of this being my go-to in the car a couple of times a week.
Finding a copy of this album that is anywhere near a price I am willing to pay to buy it has proven elusive, and it is nowhere on streaming services, so my burned CD copy remains my way to listening to the album (though like most things you can find it on YouTube). And having pulled it out again this week, I have enjoyed having it back playing in the Metal Cavern. There will always been a couple of disappointments with this album, at least until the Heybourne pulls his finger out and remasters and rereleases all of the albums from the band, because the first one is the production. Obviously, there was little money in the budget to give this the kind of polish that would really lift it. Because the songwriting overall and instrumentation is very good. The other point is that Kevin Heybourne, having been the lead vocalist on the debut album, had Dave Tattum singing here on the previous album and this album. Now he does offer some vocals on this album in places, but the chance to have both men singing on this album complementing each other is a missed opportunity. Despite this, I still enjoy this album to this day. I think it has some great material, and while the vocals may well be an acquired taste, I still think that once you listen to the album a couple of times and are used to Dave Tattum’s style they are effective enough and pleasant enough to listen to.
Angel Witch went through an interesting phase of their career following this album. Tattum was moved on shortly after the release and tour of this album, and the band played sporadically as a three piece for some time afterwards. It wasn’t until many many years later that a follow up album emerged, something that will hopefully be discussed on a much later episode of this podcast.

1334. Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi / Seventh Star. 1986. 3/5

There were several times over the years that the legendary guitarist Tony Iommi attempted to progress down the path of performing in a solo band; to write, record and perform in an entity that was NOT named Black Sabbath. When he has his initial discussions with Ronnie James Dio, after Ozzy Osbourne had been fired from Black Sabbath and it looked as though that band may well cease to exist, they were about putting together a separate project together that would not perform under that banner. Eventually it was Dio that joined Black Sabbath as Osbourne’s replacement. When he had discussions with Ian Gillan after the split with Dio and Appice, it was about performing in a project that would not bound to the Black Sabbath name. It wasn’t under that album was completed that all involved saw that it would indeed be released as a Black Sabbath album. And following that album, titled “Born Again”, when Gillan had returned to Deep Purple to bring back their own Mark II lineup for a reunion album and tour, and bass guitarist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward has also both moved on for their own reasons, Iommi was faced with that reality head on once again. That surely, on this occasion, Black Sabbath would be lain to rest, or at the very least be given some time out to pasture.
And so, he prepared to write songs for a new project, a Tony Iommi project, one that would not be judged as a Black Sabbath album, where he could put together material that would not necessarily fit in a Black Sabbath world. And this is what he did. His initial plan was to write material and have a different vocalist on each track. His wish list included singers such as Robert Plant, Rob Halford, David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. However, negotiating with their own publishing companies proved too difficult to sort out that idea, and he gave up on it. After a couple of short stints with vocalists David Donato and Jeff Fenholt, which included recording some demos that eventually were leaked and bootlegged extensively, Tony did come together with Glenn Hughes. After collaborating on a couple of songs, they agreed that they would do an entire album together, one that would allow Iommi to write material that he could never do under the Black Sabbath name, a deliberate move where he could show a versatility away from that band’s progression.
As with all things in music of course, not everything happens that easily. Record executives, no doubt seeing diminishing returns if they promoted the album as a Tony Iommi project, insisted on the album being released under the name Black Sabbath, even though not only was the tone of the album completely unrelatable to the material that band had released up to that point, but also that Tony was the only remaining member from either of the Mark 1, 2 or 3 lineups. It really was a complete cock-up, because this in no way sounds like a Black Sabbath album. But the executives and company weren’t having it. In the long run, the album was credited as “Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi”, which is surely one of the most ludicrous and preposterous band titles in the history of music. Tony had always been a part of Black Sabbath – why was it now Black Sabbath FEATURING Tony Iommi!?!? Did that solve the case that it was, and still should be considered, as a Iommi solo album? No. It does not. And the fact that it is listed as a part of the Black Sabbath discography is still something that feels out of place. It should be written out of that line up and just admitted as a solo release. Why? Well, that is something that we will now come to discuss.

The major reason for the certain amount of blowback that this album has received over the years is because of the way the songs have been composed, and just what the INTENTION was when those songs were written. They were written in the main by a legendary guitarist who was looking to compose a different type of song from what he had produced over the previous 15 plus years with his highly successful and influential band, alongside another legendary vocalist whose vocal style was usually lent to a different style of music than what was being expected from the band that this album was eventually referred to. And there is no doubting the quality of Glenn Hughes as a vocalist. Anyone who has heard him sing on the Deep Purple albums “Burn” and “Stormbringer” can attest to that. But he isn’t a heavy metal singer, or one that is ready to sing those types of songs that Black Sabbath had produced in the past. And between these two, they looked to produce an album that could combine Hughes’s talents along with Iommi looking to find a different drive away from his usual template. This is the way that the album should be listened to, not as an album of the Black Sabbath discography.
That being the case, there are some really good songs on this album, and some songs that require a certain amount of consideration of the reasoning behind why they were written. The album opens strongly with “In for the Kill” with a great introduction for new drummer Eric Singer, who Iommi had ‘stolen’ from his then-girlfriend’s solo band, Lita Ford, something that Iommi admitted in his autobiography helped to end that relationship (along with always doing copious amounts of cocaine with his mate Geoff Nicholls). The rumbling bass line from Dave Spitz helps create a great mood, and the rolling tempo geared with Iommi’s riffing offers a solid entry point into the album. “Turn to Stone”, which is the third song on the album, follows a similar route. It is uptempo, it has what I like to call on this album a great alternate Iommi riff and solo (one that isn’t the metal groundbreaking style of early Sabbath, but of a terrific hard rocking style that suits what he wants to achieve on this album) and Glenn’s vocals rage along in sync with it. It is another really good track for those that enjoy hard rocking fast tempo music. We then have the Geoff Nicholls keyboard heavy introduction of “Sphinx (The Guardian)” that acts as the precursor to the title track “Seventh Star”, a slower song that feels as though in a previous incarnation would have been far gloomier and doomier than this song is. Still, it has a terrific bass line from Spitz that is supported by the greater influence of the keys throughout from Nicholls, that simple solid drum beat from Singer, and Glenn’s vocal crooning over the top. Add to this another great riff from Tony and an even better composed solo through the middle of the track. All it seems to be missing is more energy throughout, both from Tony’s guitar and Glenn’s vocals. If he REALLY sang this, like we know he can at the top of his pipes, it could have been far more extraordinary.
Side 2 opens up with “Danger Zone” which has the most energy and punch of the album. The riff is harder, Glenn sings harder, and it sounds so much better as a result. “Angry Heart” phases in and out of soft rock while clinging somewhat desperately to the tendrils of hard rock around the edges. It channels some of the pieces of pop rock songs of the era with a greater emphasis from the Keys of Nicholls in the mix, and in this case it is Glenn’s vocals that carry the song, giving it the depth of character that makes it worth listening to.
The best examples of the experimentation Tony wanted to produce with this album can best be heard from three particular tracks. “Heart Like a Wheel” is basically a freeform blues exposition. The fade in of the song at the beginning is a bit standard, and the slow tempo and blues base of the track has you imagining the basement club filled with smoke, while an average blues band goes about its work. The ring of Singer’s snare on the track comes through too loud in comparison to the rest of the music on the song. Iommi plays as brilliantly as ever, and it is songs like this that he wanted to experiment with on this album, and the reason why the album is the way it is. And I’m all for it – it just isn’t the kind of song I enjoy, no matter who is playing it. At close to seven minutes of blues exploration, it overstays its welcome. The closing track to the album “In Memory…” is the second ballad of the album, this one of a truer character in that respect. It segues out of “Angry Heart” almost unnoticed apart from the softening of the mood of the track with the guitar closing to clear, and Glenn’s vocals rise to his beautiful ballad qualities that he is quite magnificent at.
Then comes the kicker. The second song on the album is the promotional single that was released, titled “No Stranger to Love”. If you are ever of a mind to do so, it is worth checking out the music video on YouTube and you’ll have an even better idea of how far away this is from being a Black Sabbath album. This is a pure power ballad, with every trick in the book that power ballads use to entice those that love these kinds of tracks into their web. And it is where this album loses a lot of listeners, because as the second track on the album it is so unexpected and so historically different. But here’s the thing - if you take it in the context that this ISN’T a Black Sabbath album, then you can judge it on face value, to like it or not like it. It is the major dividing song on this album, the one that truly sets itself apart from the track list. As discussed here it isn’t the only song that doesn’t necessarily fit the template that most want it to, but it is the major divisive one.
If you look at this purely as a solo album, does that cover up the large spindly cracks that being classed as a Sabbath album uncovers? No, it does not, and this song just goes to prove that. But approaching this as a solo release does at least give your ears the context they need to understand WHY it sounds so different to every other Sabbath album. Glenn Hughes is a brilliant vocalist, one of the greatest voices ever, and what he sings here is different from all other Sabbath vocalists. Anyone who has listened to the Iommi/Hughes album “Fused” from 2005 will know that these two can write and perform a thumping album. But this was 1986 and in an era that has its inherent problems.

“Seventh Star” was one of the first Black Sabbath albums I ever heard. This was mainly due to one of my best friends at the end of high school, who became particularly interested in the band during that time. As a result, he not only collected their albums in the same way I did – by having them taped for him by other friendly people onto blank C90 cassettes, but he also purchased this album on vinyl. He would often have it playing when I frequented his house, though initially I had trouble placing who the band was. It sure didn’t SOUND like Black Sabbath, musically or vocally. Once I had worked out the story behind the album, I made sure that he recorded it for me on my own C90 cassette that I offered him. This particular friend, who has been my brother-in-law now for over 30 years, remains a big fan of this album. I admire him for that in many ways.
I have had a difficult journey with this album over the years. I actually think that discovering it when I did has helped me accept it more than I might have had it been later on. At that time I was in the middle of two years where I was trying to discover and digest as much music in this new genre that I had found as I could, and anything remotely interesting I grabbed on to and listened to. And while this was certainly not as heavy as most of the music I was getting in to, it was still ‘labelled’ as Black Sabbath. And probably because I was enjoying bands such as Bon Jovi and Europe as much as I was Metallica and Iron Maiden at the time, I found I could listen to this and enjoy it as well. But I won’t deny that it wasn’t all that I hoped for. I first listened to this album a short while after finding “Heaven and Hell” and “Mob Rules” and “Paranoid”, so in comparison to those albums, it just wasn’t even in the same weight category. I listened to it and enjoyed it, but it was like comparing Dom Perignon to Blowhole Spumante (and that is a Kiama reference that most of you will not know, but I think will understand).
Why didn’t Glenn Hughes also play bass on the album? My guess is that his bass playing is too funky to incorporate into the songs Tony was writing, and that they needed a more mainstream style. But it also begs another question as to why this doesn’t sound like a Black Sabbath album. Because of Geezer Butler. As important and necessary as Tony Iommi is to making a Black Sabbath album sound like Black Sabbath – and a lot of Iommi’s guitaring here is fairly generic and his soloing is kept to a minimum, which given it is his greatest source of drawing in the fans is a little strange - I’ve always believed the same is true of Geezer Butler. Without his iconic bass sound, the songs lack the energy and drive to make them that good. Of course, this was not meant to be called a Black Sabbath album, was it?
If only this album could be re-recorded. Not now, of course, but if Iommi and Hughes had decided to do this all over again when they got back together in the mid-2000’s and added the kind of energy and power the songs deserved, this could be a far better and more enjoyable album. Just listening to it again this week, that much has been obvious. Better production, more passion in the songs. It wouldn’t have made it a world beater, but I think it would have found a way to better showcase the strengths that some of these songs do possess.
As one of two stand-alone albums away from the Ozzy Osbourne, Dio and Tony Martin eras of the band, “Seventh Star” suffers from mis-direction of the band name and the turmoil that went with the band members and tour that followed. Hughes was fired just six gigs into the tour and replaced by Ray Gillen, who if you listen to the remastered version of this album has the live songs from that tour, where Gillen sounds magnificent. Of course, he was then fired while recording the next album, so the turmoil had continued past this album.
My vinyl copy has been on my turntable in the Metal Cavern again this week, and I still enjoy listening to it. And as I am sure has become obvious over the course of this episode, I don’t listen to it as a Black Sabbath album. I listen to it as the first of the Iommi/Hughes collaborations, which eventually stretched to the 1996 DEP Sessions and then 2005’s “Fused” album. Songs like “In for the Kill”, “Turn to Stone” and “Danger Zone” are still as enjoyable to me as they were back in 1986. And yes, “No Stranger to Love” is still a completely average track. Yeah, look, I still sing along to it every time I listen to this album, but I feel dirty doing it. I love both Iommi and Hughes, but I still can’t abide by the power ballad. It is a conundrum.
If you take “Seventh Star” as a non-Sabbath album you will find it is worth a listen, flawed as it may be. There are pieces still worth a listen, even if it is as an historical reference. If you want to hear what Hughes and Iommi can REALLY do together, find a copy of “Fused”. It tears this to pieces.

1132. Iron Maiden / Somewhere in Time. 1986. 5/5

Following the recruitment of Bruce Dickinson as the singer of the band, Iron Maiden had put together three albums that launched them from English pub band to worldwide sensation. The addition of Nicko McBrain on drums had only lifted this, and on the back of The Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind and Powerslave, Maiden had then taken an 18 months trip around the world on the World Slavery Tour, conquering all corners of the globe and resulting in the amazing live album Live After Death.The band then agreed to take a long sabbatical in order to recharge and reload, and no doubt get to know their families and friends once again after such a long time away from home. Eventually, the time came for the band to put together their follow up to the Powerslave album and the tour it had spawned. No doubt they were under no illusions as to the difficulty of the task that faced them, trying to follow up the quality of albums that had preceded this.

Perhaps the biggest problem they faced was that Bruce Dickinson was facing a mini-crisis, or a slump. In both his own autobiography and in interviews about the album since, Bruce admitted that he had been completely burned out by the schedule the band had had over the recent years, and his ability to come up with material had been seriously compromised. The song ideas that he brought in for the new album had been based around acoustic instruments, as he felt at the time that the band had to make some changes to their sound if they were to remain relevant. The fact he came in with these radical ideas caught the band by surprise, and indeed Steve Harris was quoted in several interviews as saying they were ‘bollocks’. Steve admitted Bruce had suffered the most of their long touring schedule, but also rejected out of hand using any of the ideas Bruce had come in with. Bruce had even considered quitting at that point such was his reluctance to continue on.
Coming to the table as the saviour on the album was Adrian Smith. Adrian had often collaborated with Bruce and Steve on songs in the past, indeed some of Maiden’s best songs. With Bruce sidelined from the writing part, Adrian took on a much greater role, contributing three of the eight tracks on his own, and with Dave Murray helping out on one track as well, the album had its eight songs.
Though Bruce’s desire for change in the style of music the band produced was not carried forward, there was a significant change made by the band, as Dave and Adrian had been experimenting with guitar synthesisers during their down period, and for the first time on an Iron maiden album, they appeared heavily throughout the album that became Somewhere in Time.

It’s funny looking back on the kind of things some metal bands said they would ‘never do’ – Metallica would ‘never do a video for a single’, Iron Maiden would ‘never use keyboards’. Despite the fact they would do just that from their following album, the guitar synths here on Somewhere in Time added to the whole atmosphere of the album, and although the album was never meant to be a concept album, it is amazing how the songs seem to tie up to a slightly loose adaption of that. The opening track “Caught Somewhere in Time” does exactly that, and the mood set by the synths may well be different from barnstorming previous album openers like “Aces High” and “Where Eagles Dare” but it is no less effective in getting the album off on the right foot. Indeed, the opening of all of the tracks of the album is quite spectacular. The use of the synths mixes in perfectly with the guitars of both Adrian and Dave and gives these songs a unique sound in comparison to all the songs the bands had produced before this album, an even more melodic guitar sound than these two had achieved previously.
“Wasted Years” became the first single from the album, written by Adrian and becoming perhaps his best known and most recognisable Iron Maiden track. His intro riff to the song became the most played on guitar at our school during 1986 and 1987. Perhaps the best use of the guitar and guitar synth combination comes on his next song “Sea of Madness”, which switches easily between the two and also between the two moods of the song itself, in many ways giving the impression of the sea and the rolling swell such is the way the song also rises and falls in the same way. “Heaven Can Wait” is another of the best songs here, bursting with energy both musically and vocally with Bruce at the top of his form throughout, and with the crowd-inducing ‘whoa-oh-oh’ section in the middle that was perfect for when the song was played live and wanted to capture the crowd in the moment.

The second side opened with “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner”, another of Steve’s songs based on films. The opening of the song finds Iron Maiden at their melodic best, just a beautiful serene way to open the track before blasting into the energetic dash for the line. This is followed by the second single from the album, Adrian’s “Stranger in a Strange Land”, brilliant in its simplicity yet technically terrific drumming and guitaring. “Deja-Vu” is the shortest song on the album and one that is often the most derided of the track on this album. In much the same way the “Quest for Fire” from the “Piece of Mind” album is often overlooked in any discussion on Iron Maiden songs, “Deja-Vu” sits apart from the discussion of the album in most conversations or interviews about the subject. It is not a bad song at all, but comparatively against some of the more brilliant tracks it seems a little out of its class.
Perhaps the piece de resistance is the closing track, “Alexander the Great”. Following on in the tradition of “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, “To Tame a Land” and “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, “Alexander the Great” loses nothing in comparison to those three masterpieces. Like those songs it is the longest on the album and is not only the perfectly majestic way to conclude the album, it creates such an atmosphere that it is difficult not to just flip the album over and start all over again.

All albums are new to you at some stage of your life, but this was the first Iron Maiden studio album that I got to experience from the actual time of its release rather than catching up on them all a year or more afterwards. It was towards the end of Year 11 for me in 1986, and this album eclipsed those final few months of the school year. Everything was about this album, every single nuance of every single song, knowing every single word within the first couple of days, burned into my brain. It was a life defining moment, in that everything I did during those months are all brought back to me whenever I listen to this album, and that listening to this album triggers those memories. I used to take my portable cassette player with me to school, and we would listen to the album during recess and lunch every day. I took it with me when we walked to our school sport, and we would all sing along for the whole walk there and the whole walk back. On one particular day the conversation came around to which song would you leave off if taping the album to a C90 cassette in order to keep it on one side, and in trying to explain that if you left off “Sea of Madness” that would achieve that, it instead became about me hating “Sea of Madness” and believing that initially it was the worst song on the album, before expanding that to becoming the worst song Iron Maiden had written, to being the worst song ever written period. An injustice that continues to be repeated to the present day.

So it is safe to say that this album had an amazing impact on me. The changes in using synths seemed to not go down well with some people, fearing the mid-80’s influence that was being used in popular music at the time would infiltrate the band’s music further down the track. Like all bands, Maiden’s sound did change over the years since in accordance with what music trends were appearing, but they have never lost that quintessential Maiden attributes, and that is also true here. While some experts were less enamoured by the changes after the previous three amazing albums, for me and those of us in our generation, the awesomeness of Somewhere in Time is never in question. The anthemic lyrics of “Wasted Years”, “Heaven Can Wait” and “Stranger in a Strange Land” equal the emotional payoff of “Caught Somewhere in Time” and “Sea of Madness” and “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner”. And when you have one of your best mates who gets stuck in an Ancient History exam, and to get out of it he simply expands on writing down the lyrics of “Alexander the Great”, and gets 3/10 for the essay, you know Iron Maiden are still being the most awesome band in the world.

Somewhere in Time is still a landmark in heavy metal music, because it showed that you could experiment with your sound without losing the essence of your music, and you could still produce a blockbuster album even without one of your main songwriters being able to contribute to it.

1122. Bon Jovi / Slippery When Wet. 1986. 4/5

By the time 1986 had come around, Bon Jovi had already been around for a few years, and had released two albums, the eponymous Bon Jovi released in 1984 and the follow up, 7800° Fahrenheit released in 1985. Both albums had been a moderate success and had managed to get themselves noticed by the, again, moderately successful singles, “Runaway” from the debut album and “In and Out of Love” from 7800° Fahrenheit. But the band was ambitious, and in their two main members, lead singer Jon Bon Jovi and guitarist Richie Sambora, they had a pair of song writers who had the ideas to get them there. But they decided that they needed some help to get them started on their next album if it was to achieve what they were hoping. They were looking for a more mainstream sound than they had had on their first two albums – though, from a personal perspective in this instance, what they were actually looking for was material that struck a chord rather than looking to be more commercial. So in putting together their new album, they made some, in retrospect, canny decisions. Bruce Fairbairn was brought in to produce the album, man who had already had success with Loverboy and Aerosmith, and would do so after this with bands such as AC/DC, Scorpions and Van Halen. Bob Rock, who would produce mega albums from bands such as Motley Crue and Metallica following this, was brought in to mix the album. And a phone call was made to the man known as “The Hit-Maker", Desmond Child, to help collaborate with Bon Jovi and Sambora on a few tracks to help them get the kind of sound and appeal that they were looking for. From all reports and interviews, the band put together something like 30 songs in the writing process, and eventually auditioned them to locals to judge which songs would eventually go on the album.Did hiring Desmond Child have an influence? Well, you would have to judge that for yourself I guess. Child co-wrote four songs on the album, the balladesque “Without Love” and rock ballad “I’d Die For You”, and also two other songs you may know, “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Livin’ on a Prayer”. So yeah, I’d say he was worth whatever he got paid for helping out in the writing department.

Slippery When Wet became a template for the most commercially successful albums through the second half of the 1980’s, and one that most hair metal bands in particular tried to follow to replicate this album’s success. It is a combined selection of rock tracks and unashamed soft rock ballads, of harder songs that don’t always get the attention of the million selling singles, and of slower tempo tracks. Because of the mega success of the singles released from the album, many people don’t even know half of the songs on the album, even though they probably have a copy of it at home.

The timing of the release of the singles from the album kept Slippery When Wet and Bon Jovi in the music charts and on the stereos of people worldwide for an 18 month period from mid-1986 through to the end of 1987 and beyond. Four singles were released, each spaced roughly four months apart so as not to step on the toes of each other. You know them all, and you know the words to them all as well. “You Give Love a Bad Name” was brought out a few weeks prior to the album’s release and immediately caught on radio and MTV which set up the album’s release perfectly. This was followed by “Livin’ on a Prayer” which is the song everyone still knows Bon Jovi for. It is the anthem that never stops being sung anywhere in the world, by the young and the young at heart. We’re always halfway there. It stayed on rotation on music video shows for a year, and feels as though it has never left radio rotation for the last 35 years. Six months later came “Wanted Dead or Alive”, a completely different tempo song with the acoustic guitars which again caught the attention of the 16-30 years olds and made them swoon over Bon Jovi and Sambora all over again. And the fourth and final single was the rock ballad “Never Say Goodbye”, surely always tagged as being a single and one they would have hoped would be a winner. And it did well but given the amazing success of the album’s first three singles it was probably always on a hiding to nothing.
On the back of these singles, the album was a raging success. Both “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Livin’ on a Prayer” went to number one around the world including the US and Australia, while “Wanted Dead or Alive” reached top ten. This meant that Slippery When Wet became to the first album of the metal genre to have three top ten singles on it.

But an album can’t be considered great on the singles alone, and as much as I enjoy those three main singles released from the album, they aren’t what just makes this album terrific – because if you were only putting the album on for those songs you would eventually be sorely disappointed. You have to take a look at the rest of the contributors to realise what makes this album so special. The opening blast of “Let it Rock” actually is the perfect set up for the album, the mid-tempo anthemic chanting draws you in from the start, making you feel a part of the crowd and the experience itself. Once the two multi-million selling singles follow this you have “Social Disease” which is just as important in the scheme of the album and not far behind them regarding great Bon Jovi songs. “Raise Your Hands” is probably still my favourite song from the album, it is the hardest track on the album as far as I’m concerned, and in regard to getting the blood pumping it is the winner here.
For the lovers of the soft rock ballads, the back half of the album is where they are hiding, and if you enjoy that part of the genre then this is the money shot for you. “Without Love” is very much in this category, for me a little whiny on vocals. “I’d Die For You” harks back to the early Bon Jovi years, and indeed reminds me constantly of their first single “Runaway” such is the dominance of the keyboards here. Then the final single “Never Say Goodbye”, where the band goes into full-on soft ballad mode. The album is then concluded by the hard rocking “Wild in the Streets”, concluding the album the way it started on a positive note.

The album spanned musical tastes and the generations. Radio listeners loved it, pop fans loved it, rock fans loved it, metal fans loved it. The album was loved by primary school kids and adults from 20 to 50. Everyone could find something on here to their musical taste, and once the album had that in, it was able to drag them into enjoying the rest of it.
On the other side of the coin, I doubt that the album has the same impact on those that didn’t grow up with it at the time of its release. It’s popularity today is based more on the blanket warmth of memories that it inspires rather than the relevance and timelessness of the songs the album produced. Many from the following generations indeed appear bemused when this album is brought up in conversation as one of the great albums, and you can see why that would be. Not only have parts of this album dated over time, anchored to the decade that it was written and recorded, Bon Jovi’s recession into an almost easy-listening act in recent times does nothing when trying to articulate just how huge and important this album was back when it was released. Perhaps today, on the 35th anniversary of its release, it is a day for reflection on that. Because in its time it was an album that almost every music fan of every genre of music owned a copy of. And that more than anything else showed its importance of its age.

Rating:  "Oooohhhh, we're halfway there..."  4/5

1067. Motörhead / Orgasmatron. 1986. 3/5

It was a turbulent time for Motörhead through the middle part of the 1980’s. The band had lost guitarist Eddie Clarke, who had been replaced by Brian Robertson and who had then been dismissed himself after the tour following the previous album. This led to long term drummer Phil Taylor also handing in his resignation, and along with now no longer having a record contract they were tough times for a band that was being nominated as a major influence on every new heavy band coming into the market. By the time the smoke had cleared Motörhead had not one but two new guitarists along with a new drummer, and the album that came to fruition from all of this was Orgasmatron.

Given the differences in style that seemed to cruel the last album to the ears of fans and critics, you can probably understand the direction that this album went in. The addition of two guitarists increased the wall of noise coming out of the stereo speakers, and while it isn’t necessarily a fuller sound it most certainly is a different guitar sound again. In some songs it comes across as similar to many Motörhead classics, but in other places the phasing and distortion and pedal effects make themselves present right in the front of the mix. The title track and closing song “Orgasmatron” is one of the best examples of this. Not only is the tempo dropped to a slow crawl, the guitars are distorted and twisted and creating what is a unique sound for a Motörhead song, while Lemmy intones about his thoughts on the hypocrisy of religion, politics and war. It is unusual when you first hear it, and it does take some time to get used to it, but once you do it is enjoyable. “Doctor Rock” is a more straight forward rock song that the band likes to play, though is another where I find the unusual format hinders my liking of the song. Add to this “Claw”, which not only integrates the same sort of song arrangement but then has Lemmy screaming the title throughout the final third of the song. I still feel that on Another Perfect Day Lemmy’s vocals never sounded better. Here though, and especially on these two songs, it feels that he’s deliberately trying to steer clear of that, and to me it is an overreach.
There are some great classic tracks here though, even if most of them have been forgotten over the years by some fans. The opening track “Deaf Forever” is a beauty, cranking along in old school Motörhead style that is a pleasure to listen to. “Nothing Up My Sleeve” and “Ain’t My Crime” also get the album off to a great start. “Mean Machine” is one of the better songs and yet I have always felt that it could have been better, that it just lack a spark that could have lifted it even more. The opening to side two of the album is excellent, with the opening riff of “Built For Speed” reeling back in the doubters and producing a headbanging action with immediate effect. This is followed by “Ridin’ With the Driver” which is also at the right tempo and energy to keep the album moving, and then finished off with the aforementioned “Doctor Rock” and “Orgasmatron”.

This album is a grower, and like most of the albums Motörhead released in the 80’s and 90’s sometimes you have to be in the right mood to appreciate them. Another Perfect Day sounded great from all aspects but the songs didn’t quite resonate. On Orgasmatron the sound is perhaps closer to the base Motörhead sound but is still different enough to stand apart. I am still about 50/50 as to where this stands with me overall. As a first outing for the second coming of Motörhead the band it does promise more than it probably delivers in the end.

Rating: “March or croak, flame and smoke, burn forever in eternal pain”. 3/5

1030. Ozzy Osbourne / The Ultimate Sin. 1986. 5/5

At the beginning of 1980, Black Sabbath had fired Ozzy Osbourne as their singer, had replaced him with Ronnie James Dio, and was about to release an album that restored their reputation and standing in the heavy metal world with “Heaven and Hell”. Meanwhile Ozzy was putting together a new band to restart his own career in the business, with doubts floating around as to whether or not he would be able to do that. Flash forward six years, and Black Sabbath was a shadow of its former self, having just released an album called “Seventh Star”, reviewed here on this podcast just recently on episode 184. Ozzy Osbourne however had moved to the top of the metal world on the back of his first three albums released under his own name. It was quite the turnaround, and one that was probably not lost on Tony Iommi at the time. The rise to the top however had not been smooth behind the scenes, with the ruthless nature of the music business making sure that Ozzy Osbourne was seen as the untouchable frontman for whom everything he touched turned to gold, while those who had as much to do with the success being garnered were finding the rug being pulled from under them.
Songwriting as much as performance was the reason Ozzy had managed to make this remarkable comeback, and yet those musicians involved were finding it difficult to get their dues. Bob Daisley has as much to do with his revival as any other person involved in his career, including wife and manager Sharon, and yet his reward had been to have to fight for his royalties from the first two albums and having been left off from live tours. His on again, off again, relationship with the Osbournes has been a struggle. So too had guitarist Jake E. Lee found his situation. For the “Bark at the Moon” album, Daisley had accepted a writers buyout of his royalties, deciding that getting a lump sum up front was better than having to fight for his money down the track. Jake also found this out the hard way. In an interview with Eddie Trunk in 2014, Lee was quoted:
“But they promise me, 'You'll get what's coming.' And I keep asking because I'm getting really close to finishing all my stuff on the record, and finally, once I lay down the final track of my guitar playing, they said, 'Ah! We have the contract for you.' And in it, it says, specifically, 'Ozzy Osbourne wrote all the songs. You had nothing to do with any of the writing, you have no claim to publishing, and you cannot say so publicly.' And I looked at it. I'm looking at Sharon, and I said, 'This is not what you told me before.' And she says, 'No, it isn't.' 'Why do you think I'm gonna sign it?' And she says, 'Because if you don't, we'll give you a plane ticket, you go back home and you stand in line and you sue us. In the meantime, we have all your tracks, we'll get another guitar player, he'll redo your tracks, and you'll have nothing.'"
“Bark at the Moon” remains a ludicrous situation where it claims that ‘All songs composed by Ozzy Osbourne’ even though it is completely untrue. All for the sake of money. Thus, when it came to producing the follow up album, Jake steadfastly refused to do anything until he had a contract that stipulated that he would receive full writing credit for everything he composed. It was a tough way to learn his lesson. And of course, it probably also ultimately cost him his job.
On the other hand, Ozzy had had a short stay at the Betty Ford clinic, going in for substance abuse. On his release, he met up with Jake and Bob in London to hear what had started coming together. Jake had composed the majority of the music while Bob had contributed the majority of the lyrics. In an interview for the Bob Daisley website, Bob was quoted:
“Ozzy (or someone other than me) came up with the titles for all the songs on this album, including the title track. I had co-written a lot of the music with Jake E. Lee in Palm Springs while Ozzy was in The Betty Ford Clinic there. All the vocal melodies were Ozzy's and most likely the song titles. I was dismissed after a little tiff between Ozzy and me and then called back to write the lyrics for the album a month or so later, so things developed while I was gone. Bass player Phil Soussan used some of my bass lines on the album. But yes, I wrote all the lyrics for that album except for 'Shot in the Dark'”.
Randy Castillo had been brought in to play drums for the album, while the bass players spot was a revolving door. When Daisley had been sent packing, a little-known bass player named Ralph Hood from Grand Prix was brought in – a fascinating story that you can hear in full on my Patreon channel if you are interested. When he was dismissed, Greg Chaisson was hired, and just as quickly let go. Finally, it was Phil Soussan, formerly of the band Wildlife, who played on the album.
Thus were the circumstances of the pulling together of resources to create “The Ultimate Sin”, Ozzy’s fourth album, and one that has been a source of contention ever since its release.

The album opens up with the thumping of drums from Randy Castillo, drawing in the fading in of guitar and into the opening riff supported by the bass guitar, before Ozzy joins and begin his diatribe for the start of the title track “The Ultimate Sin”. The mid-tempo acts as a conductor to have the drums driving the heavier tone at the opening. The lyrics sung by Ozzy here are interesting, and I’ve always wondered if Daisley was giving us another subtle crack at the Osbournes in regards to the writing credits from the previous album, and how on this one both he and Jake get their deserved credit.
“Anyway I look at it now, the doors are closed and cannot be opened, bury your anger and bury your dead, or you'll be left with nothing and no one. There's no point in screaming, cause you won't be heard, now the tables have turned, it was the ultimate sin”. Probably not, but I don’t think that interpretation was too far from his mind when he wrote them. It’s a great start and an underrated opening track, which is energised through the middle by Jake’s solo. This moves straight into the guitar riffing beginning of “Secret Loser”, one of my favourite Ozzy tracks. The faster pace pulls you along in its wake, joining in as Ozzy serenades you with “Loser, I’m a secret loser!” The Jake solo is followed by a great breakdown in the middle of the song where Randy plays along on his toms along with the bass, with barely a ripple from the guitar while Ozzy sings over the top, only to crash back into the chorus through the guitar and bass riffing back in hard and heavy. Great stuff.
“Never Know Why” settles in the same mid-range tempo that most of this album resides in, with the heavy 2/4 beat on the drums allowing Ozzy to follow the tempo vocally over the top of Jake’s riff structure. It sounds simple enough as a song structure, but it is effective in that it allows the guitar solo to be hero of the song, while the rhythm holds forth prominently throughout. Jake’s solo to play out the track is the shining light of the song and gives it its moment in the sun. The anti-war song “Thank God for the Bomb” follows, and uses a similar technique in the middle of the song with the tom roll followed by the guitar solo, and is just as enjoyable. Bob’s lyrics offer a reversal of the typical anti-war song, openly suggesting that perhaps it is the proliferation of all of these countries nuclear arsenal that is stopping nuclear war from occurring? Ozzy sings: “War is just another game, tailor made for the insane, but make a threat of their annihilation, and nobody wants to play. If that's the only thing that keeps the peace, then thank God for the bomb”. True enough indeed at a time that this event was still thought to be an inevitability. “Never” rounds out the first side of the album – and really, who was doing the titles of these songs? “Never Know Why” closely followed by “Never”? Isn’t that confusing? “Never” continues on with the war theme of impending doom, with Bob’s lyrics asking questions that he was always so good at composing: “If the Messiah is coming will he be too late, to reconcile our fears with our hate, and the memory of freedom that imprisons our heart, as we're greeted by the cold hand of fate”. All of this is perpetuated by the on-rolling rhythm and Jake’s great riffing, bringing side one of the album to a satisfactory end.
The second half of the album is where the real money shots reside. It starts off with the excellent “Lightning Strikes” which is prefaced by a great entry guitar riff from Jake before Ozzy gives it all on vocals. This is a quintessential Ozzy song from the era, and anyone who has seen the video for it, with Ozzy in all his glory, will know it with the hair and the outfit that he struts around in on it. The lyrics sum it all up as well, with Ozzy pontificating: “I'm not apologizing, I am what I am, there is no compromising, I don't give a damn” and that Jake solo in the middle of the track is iconic and legendary. This is followed by what is arguably the best song on the album, “Killer of Giants”. The opening guitar, bass and keys sequence, followed by Ozzy’s perfect vocal for the lyrics, before crashing into the harder edge of the song itself, is one of the best moments in all of Ozzy’s solo material. The second anti-war song on the album also brings to notice the tension that was in the air around the world at this point in the decade, opening with the lyrics: “If none of us believe in war, then can you tell me, what the weapons for? Listen to me everyone, if the button is pushed, there'll be nowhere to run”. Another terrific song.
“Fool Like You” and “Shot in the Dark” complete the album in style. “Fool Like You” is highlighted by the terrific drumming from Castillo. It may a simplified 2/4 beat that sounds like it is just holding the rhythm of the song in time, but it is the solid beat that he produces along the way, with the addition of the occasional flourish, that make this sound so great. It is a great track to drum along to as a result. Jake’s guitar riff opening is the part that drags out in, and then to the heart of the rhythm riff as Ozzy chimes in hammers down on... well... the fool like you! With Ozzy singing “You think you know it, you think you know it all, but you don’t even have a clue, and control is still in view for a fool like you, that’s true. Is there a reason for the way that you are, or does it just come naturally, to have an idiosyncrasy to be a fool like you. That’s true.” And the bridge leading into Jake’s solo, the change in key and Ozzy singing “He’s hiding, residing, deep within the crowd, a hand out, he’ll pull you, down..” is fabulous, and Jake’s solo leads us through to the final conclusion and he plays us out again with a continuation of his guitaring genius. Following on from the previous two tracks on Side B it continues the renaissance of the album. Which is then concluded by “Shot in the Dark”. This song actually came from Phil Soussan’s previous band Wildfire, and was reworked with different lyrics (apart from the title of the song) and a different musical structure. On the album it is credited solely to Ozzy and Phil, which seems a slight aberration to the rest of that band who worked on the original track. Still, this is the Osbourne’s, and we have seen just how this story goes. The opening riff from Jake is sensational. As wonderful as the melody of Ozzy’s vocals are on this track, it is Jake who provides the real impetus, the real highlights throughout, the guitar riffing outstanding and his solo’s again iconic. It is a great way to complete the album.
In the years since its release, "The Ultimate Sin” has been harshly regarded by many, including two of the principals of the album, Ozzy and Bob Daisley. Daisley has often called it his least favourite Ozzy Osbourne album, suggesting it is weak and uninspiring. Ozzy himself would often go around calling it “The Ultimate Din” and lamenting that was poorly recorded and of a far lesser standard than his previous and future releases. His blame lay at the feet of producer Ron Nevison. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 2019 he was quoted: “Ron Nevison didn’t really do a great production job. The songs weren’t bad; they were just put down weird. Everything felt and sounded the fucking same. There was no imagination. If there was ever an album I’d like to remix and do better, it would be The Ultimate Sin”.

Ozzy Osbourne came into my music listening sphere quite early on in my heavy metal music awakening. Indeed, I knew and listened to Ozzy before I began listening to Black Sabbath. That tale can be found on an episode of my Patreon channel entitled “Let the Madness Begin” for anyone who is interested in further discussion and podcast listening. It is an interesting tale, but one too long to go over here once again.
This album was released at the very start of this metal awakening, which meant that it was front and centre of my listening at a time when I was devouring anything new. In essence, I had been binging Iron Maiden for about four months, so that when this album came into my peripheral vision, I climbed on pretty hard. It was pushed at the time by the music video for “Shot in the Dark”, and it was prevalent every weekend on the music video shows I watched, especially “Rage” late night on ABC TV. It was hard to miss, in the era it was recorded in, and Ozzy’s hair and fashion sense. He may or may not have been looking to draw in from the glam and hair metal scene, but some of those outfits he wore at the time sure LOOKED like he was aiming for it! So I pounded this album when I first got it, one of those first albums that my Heavy Metal Music Dealer recorded for me on a C90 cassette. And Ozzy’s vocals were the central defining point for me at that time, but Jake E. Lee’s guitaring was a close second. I loved everything he put out there on this album, and once we saw the video from this tour, released as ‘The Ultimate Ozzy’, watching him play live was enthralling.
So we flash forward to the modern day. My vinyl copy of this album was lost many years ago, and I have been patiently waiting for my pre-ordered copy of the new remastered vinyl release to be released and delivered to my door. Instead, I have been listening to my old and battered CD copy in the Metal Cavern, and as always, it has been great reliving an album I have loved for so long. And here is yet another album that I have reviewed for this podcast where my opinion does seem to differ from the mainstream fanbase, where it is regarded less highly than what I think of it. As mentioned earlier, both Ozzy and Bob both are less than excited with it. So I sat back and listened discerningly, looking for signs that I might normally wash over just because I have accepted this album for what it is and that I have that undying love for it. A couple of things do come to mind. I can perhaps hear why there might be concern over “Never Know Why” or “Secret Loser” or “Thank God for the Bomb”. Perhaps they aren’t as strong as the songs on Side B. Perhaps they are weaker. And perhaps fans coming into this album beyond the time it was recorded and released will judge it against the style and production of an album like “No More Tears”, which is a tough judgement to make. Would better production on this album – and it is noticeably unremarkable it must be said - bring through the great elements recorded here? The drums appear a bit muddy in places, along with the bass sound. I’m hoping this has been rectified on my new vinyl copy, so that is not something I can judge here now. All I can say is that, for me, from when I first got this album, I have enjoyed every part of it, so it may well be in a cocoon that cannot be penetrated when it comes to criticism.
But one of the main things I have noticed with this album compared to Ozzy’s first three albums, in the years since “The Ultimate Sin” was released and I grew to know Ozzy’s albums so well, is the bass lines on this album. Phil Soussan is a very good bass guitarist, and what he plays and what he chose to use within the framework of all of these songs sounds good. But he is not Bob Daisley, and it is the one album up to “No More Tears” that Bob Daisley does not play on. And so, it sounds to me like it is missing something, and for me that is what is the big missing piece of the album. It is like Black Sabbath albums without Geezer Butler. Bob was excellent on all of the albums he played on in adding his little runs, that add a bit to moments in the songs where they needed it, and gave the song a flavour that is obvious when it isn’t a part of the track. I believe, perhaps naively, that this album would have been better for having Bob Daisley play bass guitar on the tracks he helped to compose. Perhaps Ozzy picked up on this but has never wanted to admit it. We’ll never know now.
The question could well then be asked – why do I love this album so much when others will find its simplicity to be slightly boring and uninteresting? It’s a fair question, and the answer will reside in the fact that I grew up with the album from the time of its release. It was one that my friends and I lived off at the time, and it speaks as much about my youth as it does about whether the songs on the album are average or awesome. The simple answer I guess is, my personal taste is satisfied by what this album offers. I think it is a shame that Jake, Bob and Randy did not play together again, and Phil as well. Jake and Phil were moved on after the tour to promote this album, with the reasoning behind their dismissals never publicly made known. Jake’s refusal to write anything until he had a binding contract, and Phil’s refusal to sign over his rights to “Shot in the Dark”, most likely played a major part in that. Once again, money and the Osbournes seems to be a prickly pear at worst.
Music speaks to all of us in different ways. I still find this as enjoyable and entertaining as I did thirty five years ago. And as a snapshot of the era of heavy metal, it is still one that showcases much of the direction that existed in 1986. And it continues to bring back great memories for me of that time whenever I put it back on my stereo.

981. Megadeth / Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? 1986. 5/5

My introduction to Megadeth’s sophomore album was inevitably through the magic of music video, and their appearance on music shows such as Rage on ABCTV late on Friday and Saturday nights. Both videos for “Peace Sells” and “Wake Up Dead” were excellent, and the songs even better. My problem living in Australia in 1986 was that it was almost impossible to find this album. It wasn’t until I finally discovered Utopia Records in Sydney that this became easier. As it was, it was a miracle when I finally found this on vinyl in a rack at Wilson’s Records in Wollongong in early 1988, and I finally was able to experience the album of Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? rather than just the two songs I knew so well by that time.

Is there a finer opening song to an album than “Wake Up Dead”? It would be far too difficult to nail down an exact answer to that, but I have always felt that while there would be many songs that could be rated as an equal, certainly none is better than this. The needle would hit the vinyl, and then BANG, we are straight into the album, with Dave explaining to us about his sneak entry into his own house that evening. The difference between the opening thirty seconds of this song and everything that appeared on their debut opus is startling. That album was raw thrash just thrown out there, a wall of noise coming at you at a rush of speed. “Wake Up Dead” is heavy – fucking heavy – but refined in a way those early songs were not. The band is tight, the music is hammered together and the production is a hundred times better without stripping back any of the anger and fury that is pouring out of the speakers. This is a classic, and Dave being able to come up with songs about particular relationships was something that he can still draw on. “The Conjuring” is the follow up, and continues in a similar vein. However, though it is fast and heavy it doesn’t come across as frantic as the band’s earlier material. It is full of great riffs and fast and heavy material, but it is not in a frenzy. It is a real triumph as to how quickly the band matured in writing and playing, and about how better production can tighten songs that are pliable due to their strength.
“Peace Sells” is a classic in its simplicity, beautifully held together by Dave Ellefson’s wonderful bass line rumbling along underneath the simple by effective drum and guitar riff, while Mustaine stands on his soap box and pontificates on his vision of the world as he sees it. It also comes with the perfect lines for crowds to cry back at the band during concerts, an easy form of hero worship through the lyrics. The music video exacerbated this through its clever depiction of world events, and it spoke to the teenage generation at their hearts. Combine politics and anger in a song. It’s a winner. This then crashes straight into “Devil’s Island”, with Ellefson again flying along on bass guitar throughout while Mustaine and Chris Poland have a ball in their selected category. It’s amazing how fast a five minute song can go when it goes at this pace. Great stuff.
The opening to the second side of the album is “Good Mourning / Black Friday”. Good Mourning is just that, a slower mournful opening with Dave’s spoken feelings, before we suddenly fall downhill into Good Friday, which holds the torch for speed metal high and proud on this album. This flays along at what Dark Helmet in Spaceballs would call Ludicrous Speed. It is almost impossible for the listener to keep up with the song, and I can’t imagine how on earth Mustaine and Poland managed to pick their guitar strings at this speed. This is just awesomely fantastic, and even though it will rick your neck completely you can’t help but thrash along in time. Brilliant stuff. “Bad Omen” starts off in a similar vein to Good Mourning, but maintains a more attainable speed once the song starts, before careering over the edge as well in the final third of the song.
If there is an issue to be had, then it is with “I Ain’t Superstitious”, a cover version of the song originally recorded by blues artist Howlin’ Wolf. This version is (of course) a lot different from the original, but it is still noticeable that it doesn’t completely fit the vibe of the rest of this album. It is listenable, yes. And it must be said, even perfect albums can have a slight flaw in them (yes I know that is basically a contradiction, but I don’t care). Everything is forgiven by the closing track “My Last Words” which again starts with a slower riff before bursting into the heart of the song at speed, and Mustaine taking the bull by the horns and letting it charge. This is a terrific closing track, leaving you just as high and blazing as you are by the opening of the album. Just scintillating.

Apart from any reservations raised by “I Ain’t Superstitious”, it is practically impossible to find any weaknesses in this album. While Gar Samuelson’s drumming is sometimes criticised, his work here is solid and builds the basis for the other three musicians to weave their spell. Dave Ellefson is tremendous, and his bass guides throughout are a major component of what makes these songs so heavy in the bottom end. Chris Poland and Mustaine himself once again show a wonderful combination in their guitaring, and it is a disappointment that Poland was dismissed following this album (along with Samuelson) for excessive drug use as their partnership is just fantastic here. On top of all of this, Mustaine’s vocals continued to suit his songs, and with a deepening political and social bent in his lyrics the album ticks all of the boxes. Even as a stepping stone to further great albums to come, this still holds its own and stands the test of time some 30 years on.

Rating:  “I want to watch the news….. this IS the news!”  5/5

976. Europe / The Final Countdown. 1986. 3.5/5

Imagine if you will that you grew up through the 1980’s, those magical teenage years and high school years taking up the middle of that decade. Consider the music that purveyed most of that time – New Romantic, Pop, Post Pop. The influx of the synthesizer, the infusion of the saxophone. The many forms that the genre of heavy metal took in this time, from NWOBHN to thrash to hair. Now imagine that at a time when Bon Jovi had made their massive breakthrough into every corner of music listeners with their release of Slippery When Wet there was also another band that released an album that at the time was just as big with singles that produced just as much fervour as those from Bon Jovi. And now come back to the present, thirty years on, where while Slippery When Wet is still held in the highest regard amongst those of the generation and even of those generations that have come since, The Final Countdown is more often ridiculed by all. I’m here to tell you that it deserves the same amount of respect that Slippery When Wet has.

There is no comparison to the two albums, and I don’t want to do that, because that is unfair to both. Europe’s third studio release may have ridden on the back of the major single release that came to promote it, but that doesn’t make it a one trick pony. I also don’t want to pretend that the empathy and love I have of this album is not directly related to the memories it brings back of my final high school years every time I put it on to listen to it. But that is one of the greatest properties of music, and in this respect it has a heavy influence. No doubt there are thousands – probably millions - of people out there who loved this album when it was released who either find it so sappy or cheesy now that they can’t listen to it, or just don’t want to admit that they still find it entertaining. There’s no doubt it is rooted to its era. But that doesn’t make it bad.
Europe was one of the precursors to the European hard rock and heavy metal sound. The heavy influence of the synth and keyboards on this album can be directly related to bands such as Stratovarius and Sonata Arctica through the 1990’s and into the next century. The brilliant guitar of John Norum – which so often gets overlooked because ‘he plays in Europe’ – finds the perfect time in each song to make its influence felt to the maximum degree. Joey Tempest’s vocals are as clear and precise as you could hope for. The rest of the band - John Levén on bass, Mic Michaeli on keyboards and Ian Haugland on drums – are also superb. And the hair, the hair of 1986 just makes it all the more joyous.
No, this is not a perfect album, but I never suggested it was. Even back in 1986 I was struggling to get through the power ballads that bands would release, and would then gain radio airplay over and over again, driving you insane at the idea that the better and heavier songs could never gain that kind of radio exposure. “Carrie” of course is the major example. It is sugar syrupy sweet, and while it is an occupational hazard when listening to European metal bands of this type that you must put up with this kind of track, I would so much like not to. I can bear it because it brings back 1986, but that is all. Those that tend to turn their back on this album cite the title track, the mega-hit “The Final Countdown” as ‘too 80’s’. Well yes, that’s kind of the idea. But even though they may deny liking it, all of my kids know the song and the words, so it must be catchy, mustn’t it? And who doesn’t still air guitar to John Norum’s solo? Ditto with “Rock the Night”, a great follow up and still as toe tapping as it was in the day. “Danger on the Track”, “Ninja” and “Cherokee” all still have that simple pleasure that Europe could deliver. “Time Has Come” and “Heart of Stone” are mid-range rock songs, while “On the Loose” picks things up again before the album closes out with “Love Chaser”.

I won’t even pretend that people who grew up in the decades following the release of this album will mostly turn up their nose and wonder how it could ever have been as popular as it was when it was recorded. It was a different era and music changed quickly during those years. But if you ever hear one of these songs being played, take a look around at the people in the vicinity and check out which ones are tapping their foot or bobbing their head. They are the ones from my generation, from the heady days of 1986, when the world was still a simple place and and everyone still had hair.

Rating:  “We’re heading for Venus (‘Venus!’), and still we stand tall”.  3.5/5

967. Accept / Russian Roulette. 1986. 3/5

Just a few episodes ago I reviewed Accept’s third album “Breaker” (episode 203 for those that have not and would like to check it out), and during that review I suggested that it was the album that first truly saw the creation of the sound that Accept would go on to make their own, to indeed become the basis of Accept and their music. And from that album the band had recorded and release three further albums in less than five years, each a further statement and progression in that quest. And each, in its own way, influential in its own right. And each proving to be more popular amongst the fan base as it also increased with each new album. “Restless and Wild” was released in 1982, whose opening track “Fast as a Shark” has been credited as one of the leading influences into the burgeoning speed and thrash metal genres. Then came “Balls to the Wall” in 1983, with its three anthemic tracks that found a place in the developing heavy metal scene that was also finding a place in the MTV music video halls as well. Having produced those two albums themselves, the band had managed to find the sound that worked for them and propagated it into a functioning lifeform.
Then came “Metal Heart”, with Scorpions producer Dieter Dierks coming on board to produce and oversee the album, one you can hear all about on episode 23 of this podcast. It’s cleaner, more polished sound offered the band the opportunity to break into the US market in a similar way that Scorpions had done, though in the long run “Metal Heart” did less well than the ‘ballsier’ (pun motivating intended) “Balls to the Wall” album.
When it came to recording the follow up album, Dierks was not invited back, and the band once again took over the producing duties themselves. This also seemed to be on the back of a decision to go back to the sound the band had found on the album prior to that last release. Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann in an interview was quoted as saying: "Maybe we were trying sort of go back to our natural and not polished Accept sound with that record. We weren't really all that happy with the polished and clean-sounding “Metal Heart”. I was sort of very happy with my guitar playing on that record and very happy with my parts, but I remember the whole vibe of the band was at the time that we don't want to go through this again with Dieter Dierks who had produced Metal Heart."
Despite the slightly changed output, the band was riding high in almost every aspect as a band, and there was no reason that this wouldn’t continue with their seventh studio album on which they rolled the dice with “Russian Roulette”.

With the return of full control of the album’s output firmly back in the band’s hands, there is a slightly darker tone in the lyrics and perhaps even musically on this album, one that tends to move beyond the direction “Metal Heart” had been heading. “TV War” opens up in a speed that is reminiscent of “Fast as a Shark” from the “Restless and Wild” album. It jumps out of the blocks with a great frantic riff and is blistering in its speed and attack on its subject matter as well, cynically commenting on the way TV covers a war zone as though there is no direct effect on those watching form home. In many, in the current climate, it is still very accurate. The double kick from Stefan Kaufmann and machine gun bass work from Peter Baltes creates the perfect rhythm for the guitars to rifle over the top, and Udo is in fine form from the outset. A great opening to the album. This carries on into the mid-temp stomper in “Monsterman”, which again kicks off with a fantastic riff that becomes the solid basis of the track. It hooks you in from the start, dragging you in to kick along and sing along with Udo as well. It’s a heavier track drawn solely by the ripping solid rhythmic riff and hard beating drum beat, and allows Wolf Hoffman in particular to journey between melodic guitar and menacing riffing. Udo has a ball almost sneering through his vocal delivery, all of which brings a wonderful moody heavy break to the song.
The title track “Russian Roulette” harks back to the “Balls to the Wall” era of the band in the way it starts off softer both musically and vocally until it builds up into the pre-chorus and then hits you with the very AC/DC-like chorus that mirrors their rhythm style and vocally the chanting of the chorus with Udo and their backing chorus. What is most noticeable about this track is the growing maturity of the band compared to those albums mentioned already here, of what is considered the band’s first golden age. Because this draws on the free spirit and enthusiasm of that time, but brings more depth to the music here, as well as the vocal expression of the track. It takes the lyrics which drip with the band’s anti-war message, and hammer it home with a thick heavy rhythm sound and yet singable almost-anthemic like lyrics into the during the chorus. It drives home the message, and makes for an entertaining song as well.
OK. So I guess we then need to discuss the next track, “It’s Hard to Find a Way”, Accept once again dipping their toe into ballad territory. The couple of differences here though perhaps allow it some grace. Firstly, Udo does sing it, unlike the ballads of the earlier albums where Peter Baltes used to sing them. Secondly, this has a grittier tone, obviously through Udo’s vocals but also musically as well. Wolf’s, guitar solo does offer the usual melodic feel of these types of tracks, before breaking out into a harder finish once the band returns for the final chorus into the conclusion of the song. So yes, it does have ballad tendencies without digressing all the way into the mire. This is followed by “Aiming High” which brings the album back to the way it started, with a return to the peed and intensity that provides some of the best moments from Accept. The fast and driving rhythm again sets the scene, and while the lyrics generally critique ambition and power in their own way, the music runs and draws on pure adrenaline. This is topped off by Wolf’s iconic solo guitar break where he lets go and frees up his arms to create a cracking interlude. It is a fabulous way to close out the A side of the album.
“Heaven is Hell” opens the B side with as direct and pointed a lyrical scope can be when it comes to speaking about religion and its ‘side effects’. Musically it again channels as a more mature style of the sound that came from the earlier albums, tempo-wise it sticks well and truly to the middle ground and even on the maudlin side, lyrically it leaves you in no doubt about where the its heart lies. At over seven minutes it is one of the band’s longest songs, with its shifting moods and rising and falling tempo changes offering the listener a true think piece lyrically and musically. “Another Second to Be” jumps back into the urgent punchy track that Accept do seem to be at their best at, a more typically resonant heavy metal song that pushes along and may be straight forward in output but also thoroughly enjoyable and fist pumping in the same instant. “Walking in the Shadow” drops back an instant in tempo to follow this, once again offering the deliberate hard riffing and anthemic chant in the chorus that mixes between styles again. The typical standard Accept track of the era is where this song treads again, with more moody guitaring and vocals that draw the best from the band.
“Man Enough to Cry” once again draws on the undeniable influence AC/DC has had on Accept’s music, the solid punching rhythm here accentuated by the hard riffing guitars and the backing chant vocals in the chorus to support Udo. It’s a bouncy soundtrack that still incorporates that wonderful guitar tone from Hoffmann and Fischer, combining beautifully to alter the mood just enough during the solo break to give the song a shift in sonics. The album is then brought to its conclusion with “Stand Tight”, another song that channels musically “Balls to the Wall”, as much of the album does – but with more defiance and energy and focused brooding mood than that album has. It showcases a band that continues to make steps forward in its musical journey.

Having only recently reviewed another Accept album, as explained earlier in this episode, regular listeners would be aware of my journey into discovering the band Accept and their albums. Though I had tasted their wares during the years, it wasn’t really until the released of their 2010 comeback album “Blood of the Nations”, and having enjoyed it thoroughly, that I seriously went back and began to listen to their back catalogue.
When it came to “Russian Roulette”, that came at the end of a long deep dive into the six albums that preceded it in the discography. In a simplified way, each album I listened to in order, I enjoyed more, and so I guessed that by the time I reached “Russian Roulette”, that may well have been accepted as going to happen again. But what I found when I did begin to listen to this album was perhaps a little more than that. At that time, almost 20 years ago now, I thought that it was just because the sound on the album was slightly different again from their previous four albums, just enough to keep it interesting for the listener, and that this was what made it enjoyable for me to listen to.
Over the last week or so, I have discovered what I believe is the real reason I enjoy this album so much. Because in listening to it in isolation, having just recently spent another couple of weeks listening to the “Breaker” album for that recent episode of this podcast, I’ve found what draws me to it. It is the way the songs all have a comfortable, familiar feel to their structure – that they have drawn inspiration from the great performances of those three earlier albums. But they haven’t copied them here to create new songs, they have improved on those sounds, they have modernised and matured the sonics of those tracks, and brought them to this album. I have mentioned a few times on this review how songs or parts of songs have a familiar sound about them that remind me of earlier tracks or albums, and yet are fuller or bigger or expanded for the time the album was released. So there is a lot to draw in. The Accept sound on the album has progressed, as you would hope it would rather than just having the same dynamic as every other album they release, but it still reminds you of WHY they are Accept and what drew you to them in the first place. That’s what attracts me to this album in particular. It sounds like Accept, but just to a replica of any Accept album.
What is hard to conclude is that this album saw the band go on a hiatus, at a time that it felt like they were on an upward trend. Important members left, all of which left plenty of questions marks about the future of the band going forward. That story is for another day, but it still feels somewhat disappointing that this lineup of the band did not produce a follow up, given the excellence that is found here.

924. Nuclear Assault / Game Over. 1986. 3.5/5

Perhaps the greatest component about thrash metal - and certainly this is probably more relevant to the early origins of the genre and not necessarily the latter day proponents - is that it is just FUN! What's not to like about drums that are flying along at an indelible speed, careering almost out of control, as the guitars riff and crush along at the same tempo, whilst the front man sings and screams his/her lyrics over the top. And who cares what the lyrics are about? Death? Satan? War? It's not a contest to become the most poignantly relevant band in the world you know! (well, not for everyone). It's about enjoyment of the music and how that music makes you feel when it comes on.

Nuclear Assault grew out of the dismissal of bass guitarist Danny Lilker from Anthrax, and his decision to not only put together another band, but one that wanted to go in a more aggressive fashion than his previous band was heading. Bringing together John Connolly, Anthony Bramante and Glenn Evans, the band released the EP Brain Death before releasing their debut album Game Over two months later.
This is a ripping album. There is no pretence about its origins or the lyrical content. If there was a textbook on how to produce thrash metal albums, this would be the template. The drums are precise, with double kick almost all the way throughout. The guitars fly along at great speed, and emit their highpitched solos on cue. The lyrics cover those topics that are not unusual to bands that wanted to shock in the mid-eighties - the devil, hell, war, death. The fact that opponents to this music always cite the topics of the lyrics as the main reason they should be banned or worse is always the most amusing part. No one takes them seriously, surely, neither the lyrics or the people who form groups to ban such songs/bands. It's all a big game, laughable, and makes the songs enjoyable because the lyrics don't take themselves seriously.
The brilliant instrumental "Live, Suffer, Die" opens the album on the right note, before crashing in to "Sin" and "Cold Steel". Numerous mentions of Lucifer and evil in these first two songs no doubt tickled the fancy of PMRC back in the day. "Betrayal" and "Letter After the Holocaust" continue the ride in glee.
There is no let up throughout the album. Each song kicks in and takes the album back up a notch. The simplistic and effectively short sharp attack of "Hang the Pope..." is a highlight, being as it is so very angry and yet ludicrously silly in the same 45 seconds. "Radiation Sickness" and "Nuclear War" are impossible to avoid your head banging in time with. The short break for "My America" is followed by the scintillating "Vengeance" before the final change up of "Brain Death" brings the album to a brilliant conclusion.

This is another of those albums that I am eternally disappointed that I didn't discover in my teenage years when it was released. I can only imagine that my enjoyment of it now would only have been increased if I had had in during those final years in high school, singing and screaming along to it in the school yard like a madman. The fact that my enjoyment of it today is still so high makes me believe that if it had grown into my subconscious in those days, it would be an almost indispensable album for me now. Despite this, it still ranks highly among those early purveyors of the original thrash metal sound.

Rating:  "All of those who oppressed me, are about to meet their end"   3.5/5