tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60254234196401621612024-02-19T01:33:28.102-08:00Hall of the Mountain KingMusic reviews, news and more | www.mountainkingmusic.comFred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.comBlogger849125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-30373633942778205132020-03-02T14:29:00.001-08:002020-03-02T14:32:29.808-08:00Review: Demons & Wizards, "III"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Overview</h3>
Fans have waited 15 years for the third album from Demons & Wizards, the side project of Blind Guardian vocalist Hansi Kursch and Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer. Was it worth the wait? That probably depends on how much you like the music their respective bands have pumped out in recent years.<br />
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What's hot?</h3>
Album opener "Diabolic" sets a high bar for the rest of the record. It's a dark, classic D&W-sounding piece, with a chorus lyric and melody designed to bring to mind their 2000 self-titled debut, in particular the song "Heaven Denies." Kursch's voice retains its power, though the melodies he's singing sometimes leave much to be desired. There's an interesting hard rock influence that comes in, particularly on "Invincible" and the AC/DC- and WASP-inspired "Midas Disease." I think they should have explored that sound just a little more.<br />
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What's not?</h3>
Much like the last several outings from Iced Earth and Blind Guardian, III has a few exceptional songs and a bunch that are just ho-hum. They're not necessarily bad, but they kind of follow the Jon Schaffer playbook when it comes to riffs and melodies, and even when songs start strong, they often wear out their welcome a little, as in the case of album closer "Children of Cain" and the Queen-tinged "Dark Side of Her Majesty."<br />
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The verdict</h3>
In 2010, this album probably would have been a lot more exciting than it is in 2020. That said, there's still some strong material here, and more of it is good than not. It by no means compares to the band's first two records, but fans of those albums will most likely enjoy it, if not quite as much.<br />
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<b>Check out: </b>"Diabolic," "Wolves in Winter," "Dark Side of Her Majesty," "Midas Disease"<br />
<b>Consider:</b> "Invincible," "Final Warning," "Timeless Spirit," "New Dawn," "Universal Truth," "Children of Cain"<br />
<b>Skip:</b> "Split"</div>
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Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-9594092592011081322020-02-27T13:28:00.000-08:002020-02-27T13:28:04.316-08:00Review: Ozzy Osbourne, "Ordinary Man"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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There has been talk of a new Ozzy record for a few years now, and it’s sparked hope that we’d get that one last really awesome album that would erase some of the lackluster releases of his later years and send him out on top.<br />
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Now we have it, and, man, this is tough.<br />
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The problem I have with <i>Ordinary Man</i> is that the songs are, I think, some of the best that Ozzy has recorded in years. But the album is extremely difficult to listen to, not because of the content, but because it sounds like utter crap. It’s like I’m listening to music through a busted speaker, especially in the heavier moments. I’m assuming that was the sound they were going for, but I don’t understand why.<br />
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Take third track “Goodbye,” for example. In the early going of the song, I’m thinking this is really good. The mix is not great, but it’s dark, it’s haunting, even producer Andrew Watt’s first solo is strong (and I’m not at all a fan of his work here). Then, about halfway through the song it breaks into a heavy gallop, and I’m done. It’s fuzzed out, breaking up, like they had the volume up way too high when recording. Was that intentional? Am I just too old to get it? Sorry, but I want my music to sound good.<br />
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I had hoped when we first heard “Under the Graveyard” a few months back that it was an early cut. Admittedly, the song has grown on me a little, but it has the exact same problem as “Goodbye.” It’s the kind of raw, emotional and introspective piece that I think Ozzy should be doing at this point in his career, but it sounds like hot garbage – like a first demo of what could become a fantastic swan song. I was hoping it would get some polish before the album was released. Instead, it’s still a distorted mess with a guitar solo that sounds more like a synth.<br />
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Which brings me to my second problem with the album. Ozzy has been known throughout his career for working with some of the best guitar players in the business. It’s one of the hallmarks of his career. Watt is not one of them.<br />
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I don’t think we necessarily needed Zakk Wylde back for this record. As much as I love Zakk, honestly, his work has become a bit stagnant. But maybe another young gun could bring a fresh sound. I still would have loved to see what Gus G could have done if given a chance to actually write for the Prince of (bleeping) Darkness.<br />
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While Watt’s sound is, I suppose, fresh for Ozzy, it’s awful. His tone, if it can be called that, is abysmal. Broken up, overly distorted, electronic and barely even sounding like a guitar – back to that aforementioned busted speaker.<br />
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For that reason, the strongest moments here are often the softest, like the title track duet with Elton John. First of all, it’s about time the two got together since Ozzy has always had a bit of an Elton fetish, going back to “Goodbye to Romance” on the Blizzard of Ozz record. Both singers show a lot of vulnerability on the track, and Slash delivers a very tasteful guitar solo. (Maybe he could have done all of the guitars on the album?)<br />
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Likewise, “Holy for Tonight,” where Ozzy once again picks up his Elton and Beatles influences, may be the strongest piece on the entire record. It’s certainly the best sounding. I even have to give Watt props for a solid Brian May-style solo that’s probably his strongest work here.<br />
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On the heavier side, “Eat Me” is a highlight track. Yes, it’s absolute single entendre, but it has a funky melody and a nice chorus hook and even Watt’s solo is solid. The dark and menacing “Today is the End” delivers pretty much exactly what I want from Ozzy. The appropriately spacy “Scary Little Green Men” with its punk-influenced chorus is a lot of fun, and it’s the one place where the messy mix almost works.<br />
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There are a few throw-away tracks on <i>Ordinary Man</i>. “Straight to Hell” with it’s cringy lyrics (“I’ll make you scream, I’ll make you defecate.”) was probably not the best way to open the record, and closer “It’s a Raid,” featuring Post Malone is pretty much a hot, unlistenable mess. But those are the exception rather than the rule.<br />
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Ozzy’s voice, of course, gets lots of help on this record, but that’s to be expected. How long has it been since we heard an honest, unaltered Ozzy vocal? I do like that we are occasionally allowed to hear just a little bit of his age and the wear show through the cracks, though, and it helps sell songs like “Under the Graveyard” and “Goodbye.”<br />
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In the end, I walk away from <i>Ordinary Man</i> frustrated and disappointed. The songs, for the most part, are on point, and this could have been that grand swan song for Ozzy. But it sounds terrible. I can’t count the number of times I started to enjoy it and then that buzzy, distorted production made me want to throw my headphones across the room. It’s a crying shame.<br />
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Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-82897333309027741262020-02-24T09:12:00.001-08:002020-02-24T09:12:09.886-08:00Review: Marko Hietala, "Pyre of the Black Heart"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Overview</h3>
Nightwish bassist/vocalist Marko Hietala gives us the English version of his 2019 Finnish release, <i>Mustan Sydamen Rovio</i>, and it's an interesting mix of classic hard rock sounds and the more folky and symphonic side of his main band.<br />
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What's Hot?</h3>
We already know that Hietala is an incredible songwriter, and that's on full display on <i>Pyre of the Black Heart</i>, both in composition and lyrics. Most of the songs here delve for lyrical depth, but I also enjoy that he's not afraid to have a little juvenile fun in his songwriting, as evidenced by the line in "Stones" where he sings "am I the butt of their constant crack?" There are also some interesting choices here and there on the album, like the synth-heavy sound of "Star, Sand and Shadow" which probably ends up closer to Nightwish than just about anything else here. But I really like when he just goes for the straight-up rock. "Death March for Freedom" is one of my most-played songs of the young year, mixing old-school, Deep Purple-style hard rock with some folky melodies. Hietala's vocals remain just as incredible, dark and powerful as fans of Nightwish and the many other bands that he's worked with would expect.<br />
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What's Not? </h3>
The album is a little ballad-heavy for my tastes, but to be fair, most of those ballads do sound fantastic in the original Finnish. "The Voice of My Father," in particular, haunts in the original language as "Isani Aani," which flows far better than the English lyric.<br />
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The Verdict</h3>
<i>Pyre of the Black Heart</i> features a fantastic collection of songs that showcase Hietala as a vocalist, composer and songwriter. He mixes rock, folk and pop very well to deliver an early contender. Most of the songs, however, are a bit stronger in the original Finnish. They just sound more natural and magical in Hietala's native language.<br />
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<b>Check out:</b> "Stones," "Star, Sand and Shadow," "Dead God's Son," "Death March for Freedom," "I Dream"<br />
<b>Consider: </b>"The Voice of My Father" (but definitely check out "Isani Aani"), "I am the Way," "Runner of the Railways," "Truth Shall Set You Free"<br />
<b>Skip:</b> "For You"<br />
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Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-74561972516445337072020-02-19T12:19:00.000-08:002020-02-19T14:49:52.969-08:00Review: Dirty Shirley, "Dirty Shirley"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Overview</h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMN-2Gbw-OLBV3rI-JL9rk-0EPMdcbZA5vQFeapfrmvTUMHZ0GP5gQ0g1hNlZ8SIPShuwDbJOjWUG3oAfkiJJqq0DZmLNNhMQCV-HKdaImxFPP82ZvkvTnikdYgZN_iQISIBjh6FNDs0/s1600/dirtyshirley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMN-2Gbw-OLBV3rI-JL9rk-0EPMdcbZA5vQFeapfrmvTUMHZ0GP5gQ0g1hNlZ8SIPShuwDbJOjWUG3oAfkiJJqq0DZmLNNhMQCV-HKdaImxFPP82ZvkvTnikdYgZN_iQISIBjh6FNDs0/s320/dirtyshirley.jpg" width="320" /></a>George Lynch may just be the busiest man in rock 'n' roll these days. Every time you turn around, it seems like he has a new project. The latest is blues rock outfit Dirty Shirley.<br />
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What's hot?</h3>
Vocalist Dino Jelusic is an absolute beast. His vocals make me wonder if Dio and Whitesnake toured Croatia together back in the early 1990s and if so, where his mother was that night. I joke, of course, but Ronnie James Dio and David Coverdale both are prominent in his influences, along with Jorn Lande. Even if nothing else worked on the record, it would be worth the listen just for his voice. Luckily there are also some tasty, nasty blues grooves from Lynch like the one on album opener "Here Comes the King" and a few strange moments like the Zeppelin-meets-Alice in Chains sound of "Grand Master."<br />
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What's not?</h3>
Dirty Shirley has the same issue that I have with a lot of Lynch projects. The songs that I like, I really like. There are a few tunes on the album that I want to crank up every time they come on, and the rest are just kind of meh. I don't really dislike anything on the record, but there are a lot of songs that just don't distinguish themselves from other bands who play this style.<br />
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The verdict</h3>
Dirty Shirley delivers a solid collection of heavy blues rock. There's nothing groundbreaking in the 11 tracks here (12 if you count two different cuts of "Higher"), but it's well executed. As always, Lynch's licks sear, even on the songs that are not quite as interesting, and it's worth the time to check it out for Jelusic's voice alone.<br />
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<b>Check Out:</b> "Here Comes the King," "Dirty Blues," "Cold," "Higher"<br />
<b>Consider:</b> Everything else on the record<br />
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Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-73146659029892781792020-02-11T14:19:00.000-08:002020-02-11T14:19:41.451-08:00Review: Annihilator, "Ballistic, Sadistic"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Be careful what you wish for: For years, I’ve wanted Jeff Waters to drop the ballads and musical experiments and just deliver a blazing, no compromise thrash record with Annihilator. <i>Ballistic, Sadistic </i>does exactly that.<br />
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When I heard album opener “Armed to the Teeth” a month or so ago, I got excited. Here was everything that I’d wanted from the band for a long time – an absolute ripper of a riff, blazing lead work from Waters and a nice breakdown. There was no nonsense, no playing around with other genres. It sounded like the Annihilator I fell in love with around 30 years ago.<br />
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That follows through on the other nine songs on Ballistic, Sadistic, dare I say, perhaps a bit too much. At the risk of turning myself into a huge hypocrite after begging Jeff Waters to return to this sound, the new Annihilator album does suffer, at times, from a lack of variety. From the very beginning, it jumps on top of you and starts pummeling like the girl with the bat from the “Armed to the Teeth” video, and it doesn’t give you a chance to catch your breath.<br />
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Waters really only lets off the gas pedal a couple of times, the first on “Psycho Ward,” which plays melodically a little more to classic metal and hard rock, particularly on the chorus and the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaJcTDjARak">closing lick of the song</a>, which gives it a very 1980s ending. I also hear a little nod to Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine in Waters’ vocal delivery on the tune.<br />
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The second break comes close to the end on “Lip Service,” a song driven by Rich Hinks’ bass. It’s still very much an Annihilator song despite the tempo change, reminding me perhaps of something from 1999’s <i>Criteria for a Black Widow</i>. But that hard-rock aspect rears its head again on the chorus, with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCdTDIbnOho">some shades of AC/DC</a> to my ears – that is, if Angus Young cranked up the distortion and played a whole lot faster.<br />
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Now would also be a good time to acknowledge the strides that Jeff Waters has made as a vocalist on <i>Ballistic, Sadistic</i>. Of course, it’s far from his first turn on the mic. After three records that featured three different vocalists, Waters took over the duties for the next three albums from 1994-1997 and did a passable job. Then, after the departure of the band’s longest-tenured singer Dave Padden in 2014, Waters again stepped up. These later efforts weren’t so great. The musical experimentation often stretched Waters beyond his capabilities, and in many cases, the vocals were the weakest link on 2015’s <i>Suicide Society</i> and 2017’s <i>For the Demented</i>.<br />
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He’s certainly found the sweet spot here, though, as the vocals are perfect. You can hear shades of former Annihilator snarlers like Padden and the late Randy Rampage that were instrumental in the band’s sound, but Waters also infuses influences from other singers into his own style. He’s found the right niche, and he just sounds far more confident and comfortable.<br />
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The rest of the album, as I mentioned earlier, is pedal-to-the-floor thrash madness, just what Annihilator fans have been wanting for a while now. There are some real gems among those more aggressive numbers, too. The punk-influenced “The Attitude” is a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgn0FLYS3EM">profane romp</a> that reminds me of the Misfits’ “Attitude,” both because of the lyrical similarities on the chorus and, well, the attitude.<br />
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“Dressed Up for Evil,” another favorite, is likely to earn me a speeding ticket at some point, and I never speed. There’s something about the song that puts me in mind of the band’s second album, <i>Never, Neverland</i>, and then amidst all the lightning riffs, there’s one of those classic tasty Annihilator tempo changes before the guitar solo as Hinks and Waters play off each other fantastically before some massive shredding.<br />
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“Riot” delivers a great vocal melody on the chorus with Waters delivering a snarling rasp. It’s perhaps the most hummable hook on the record, but loses none of its power in that.<br />
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<i>Ballistic, Sadistic</i> is, without a doubt, the best Annihilator album in many years. It delivers what fans, including me, have been asking Jeff Waters to do for a long time. Fans of the band’s debut <i>Alice in Hell</i> and sophomore album should be more than pleased with what they hear here, and I’ll admit, I’m enjoying the hell out of it. Is the album a little one-note? Sure. But it’s a damned good note.<br />
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Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-82983602272631703272020-02-06T13:56:00.000-08:002020-02-06T13:56:25.881-08:00Best of the 2010s, Part 3: Sturgill Simpson through Rob Zombie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
And finally, we come to the final installment of my favorite records of the 2010s...<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2013/07/review-sturgill-simpson-high-top.html">STURGILL SIMPSON – <em>HIGH TOP MOUNTAIN</em> (2013):</a></strong> I’m not sure there was a better traditional country album released in the past decade than <em>High Top Mountain</em>. With his later albums, Simpson became far more experimental. Some of that worked for me and some didn’t, but this is the place I’d like to see him get back to one day. The music is very much old-school country, with plenty of Waylon-style honky tonk and some shots of bluegrass, but there’s a definite rock ‘n’ roll attitude to songs like “You Can Have the Crown” or “Some Days.” Though I really like <em>Metamodern Sounds in Country Music</em> and <em>Sound & Fury</em>, this remains his shining moment to my ears.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2016/06/review-jackson-taylor-sinners-which-way.html">JACKSON TAYLOR AND THE SINNERS – <em>WHICH WAY IS UP</em> (2016):</a></strong> This one was a tough call between <em>Crazy Again</em> and <em>Which Way is Up</em>, but ultimately, it was the title track of this record that gave it the edge. Its chorus refrain of “too much sense for the left, too much heart for the right, why don’t we all say to hell with it all and raise a cold beer tonight” is a perfect encapsulation of the place that America has found itself in for the last several years, with political squabbles and tensions rising ever higher. It’s both an indictment of the situation and a plea to find some common ground that a lot of people need to hear. Interestingly, this record found Taylor distancing himself a little from the loud and rowdy party anthems of his past (the cover of Cheap Trick’s “He’s a Whore” notwithstanding, of course) and toward more traditional sounds. But it works well for him, and I particularly like his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CftIWWbR8I">cover of “Two More Bottles of Wine</a>.”<br />
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<strong>TESTAMENT – <em>DARK ROOTS OF EARTH</em> (2012):</strong> Testament’s two releases of the decade were both absolute bangers, but I have to give the slight edge to <em>Dark Roots of Earth</em> because I think the hooks are just a little better. After experimenting a bit stylistically in the 1990s, Testament has settled in to be one of those bands that just do what they do. You know what you’re going to get, but you also know that it’s probably going to be pretty good.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2012/12/review-texas-hippie-coalition-peacemaker.html">TEXAS HIPPIE COALITION – <em>PEACEMAKER</em> (2012):</a></strong> I keep hoping with each new Texas Hippie Coalition album that they’ll return to the Southern-fried sound that made this record stand head and shoulders above their other work. There’s a groove and swagger to almost every track on <em>Peacemaker</em> that you only find here and there on their other releases, and it’s the perfect backing track to frontman Big Dad Ritch’s braggadocious presence. No self-esteem issues there. They’ve never quite found the peacock-like strut of “8 Seconds” or the driving power of “Wicked” again, but this record is exactly what you expect (and hope) that a metal band from Texas will sound like – raw, rocking redneck noise.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2012/05/review-bob-wayne-till-wheels-fall-off.html">BOB WAYNE – <em>TILL THE WHEELS FALL OFF</em> (2012):</a></strong> Bob Wayne released several solid contenders this decade. <em>Back to the Camper</em>, his return to the DIY ethic after the experiment of signing with metal label Century Media, featured some of his best songwriting, and that only got better with the follow-up <em>Bad Hombre</em>. But when I look at all of those records, <em>Till the Wheels Fall Off</em>, his second and final record with Century Media, was the one that brought me the most fun. The rollicking title track never goes by without me cranking the volume, and the album as a whole offers a nice mix of his rowdy, gnarly side, his storytelling prowess and the more emotional songwriting that was to come on later projects.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2014/12/review-whiskey-myers-early-morning.html">WHISKEY MYERS – <em>EARLY MORNING SHAKES</em> (2014):</a></strong> As their career has gone on, Whiskey Myers has progressively moved more and more toward the rock side of the spectrum, with there being hardly any country/Southern rock sound to their latest and most successful eponymous outing in 2019. But it’s the sound of 2011’s <em>Firewater</em> and 2014’s <em>Early Morning Shakes</em> that hits the right notes for me. Raucous Southern rockers like personal favorite “Headstone” and the title track sit side-by-side with thoughtful and thought-provoking tunes like “Dogwood” and “Reckoning.” This album shows what Southern rock should be in modern times – compelling and meaningful songwriting that also hasn’t forgotten the genre’s wild-eyed, whiskey-drinking roots.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2014/06/review-white-light-cemetery-white-light.html">WHITE LIGHT CEMETERY – <em>WHITE LIGHT CEMETERY</em> (2013):</a></strong> Another one of those real shames on this list, White Light Cemetery broke up a few years ago after releasing two excellent albums. Fellow Louisiana natives, I discovered them a few years back when they opened for Jackson Taylor and the Sinners. It was a bit of an odd situation for a metal band to be opening for a country rocker, but they won the crowd over, and because of their performance, I left the bar that night with this album. They delivered a potent blend of stoner-rock riffs, doom atmosphere and Southern-fried grooves that could appeal to fans of Pantera and Lynyrd Skynyrd alike. In my mind, this debut album was the slightly stronger of the two (but only slightly), featuring stomping AC/DC-style rockers like “Bedroom Shaker,” groove-heavy slabs like “Dead & Bleeding” and brooding, contemplative numbers like “Rain Song.”<br />
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<a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2010/03/review-white-wizzard-over-top.html"><strong>WHITE WIZZARD – <em>OVER THE TOP</em> (2010):</strong> </a>I doubt any band had a more tumultuous decade than White Wizzard. A revolving door of musicians came and went around bassist/founder Jon Leon, and after a promising start to the band’s career, things stuttered and stalled. That led to Leon announcing the end of the band shortly after their most recent album <em>Infernal Overdrive</em> – which ironically, was one of their best. Not to worry, though, a year or so after that announcement, Leon walked it back, letting us know the band would return and started a Kickstarter. Drama aside, I slammed White Wizzard’s debut EP (which I have come to appreciate much more over the years) when it came out, so I went into <em>Over the Top</em> expecting the same. Instead, this album was everything I want in a metal record. It was packed with big riffs, gigantic hooks and all of the melodic traditional metal goodness that I was missing at the time. Songs like “40 Deuces,” “Iron Goddess of Vengeance” and “High Roller” still get my horns flying and my head banging 10 years later, even if their publicist at the time never delivered the T-shirt he promised me after my review said I’d proudly wear it – despite the band’s spelling of wizard, which sets my editor nerves on edge.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2016/02/review-hank-williams-jr-its-about-time.html"><strong>HANK WILLIAMS JR. – <em>IT’S ABOUT TIME</em> (2016):</strong> </a>This is, admittedly, a sentimental pick. I grew up on Hank Jr. I was raised in northern Louisiana, where country music was king: So, naturally, I hated it, with very few exceptions. Hank was one of those. Unfortunately, over the years, he got more full of himself and the music suffered as a result. He began to inject politics into his songs more blatantly, and his albums became something of a soapbox for those beliefs. There would be a good song here or there, but you had to sort through the crap to find it, and I usually didn’t bother. This record really got back to what Bocephus always did best. There’s not an obnoxious soapbox song to be found, just a heaping helping of country rockers and even a more introspective (if still a bit conceited) side on “Just Call Me Hank.”<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2016/06/review-rob-zombie-electric-warlock-acid.html">ROB ZOMBIE – <em>THE ELECTRIC WARLOCK ACID WITCH SATANIC ORGY CELEBRATION DISPENSER</em> (2016):</a></strong> This album came out of left field for me. I was a fan of White Zombie and Rob Zombie’s first few solo albums, but it had been years since he’d done anything that really caught my ear. I happened to click on a video of “Teenage Rock God,” and it connected with me immediately, putting me in mind of some of his earlier work. This album gave me just what I wanted from Zombie – catchy hooks, big riffs, weird samples and some psychedelic 1960s and ‘70s strangeness. It was a welcome comeback from an artist who I had written off.</div>
Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-63780517948937108742020-02-03T12:56:00.001-08:002020-02-03T12:56:03.620-08:00Best of the 2010s, Part 2: Gloryhammer through Soilwork<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today, we continue with the next 10 entrants on my list of favorite albums of the last decade...<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2015/09/review-gloryhammer-space-1992-rise-of.html">GLORYHAMMER – <em>SPACE 1992: RISE OF THE CHAOS WIZARDS</em> (2015):</a></strong> Yes, this is Christopher Bowes’ second inclusion on this list, but it’s a different band and just as much fun. Instead of pirates, we’re focusing on heroic fantasy and science fiction. The next chapter of Bowes’ tale about Scottish hero Angus McFife takes us to space in the “far future” of 1992, where Angus McFife XIII battles the evil wizard Zargothrax, released from the ice prison where the hero’s ancient ancestor had locked him. The story was a bit looser than the band’s debut, 2012’s <em>Tales from the Kingdom of Fife</em>, but the music had matured by leaps and bounds. It was a tough call between this one and 2019’s <em>Legends from Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex</em>, but in the end, I think the songs here are stronger overall – and there’s “Goblin King of the Darkstorm Galaxy.” If I’m most thankful for one thing musically in the last decade, it’s Bowes and the joy he’s brought me with both of his primary projects.<a name='more'></a><br />
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<strong>HELLBOUND GLORY – <em>PINBALL</em> (2017):</strong> The past decade was a bit of a strange journey for Hellbound Glory. After releasing three albums of rowdy and raucous country from 2008 to 2011, the band seemed poised for greater success when they landed opening slots for the likes of Kid Rock and ZZ Top. Then came a shift in direction on 2014’s <em>LV</em>, a stripped-down reflective affair that was really more of a solo effort for frontman Leroy Virgil. But in 2017, the wilder side of the band re-emerged with their first album on Shooter Jennings’ Black Country Rock label. <em>Pinball</em> recalls their earlier work, but is a bit more mature. It’s also grittier and heavier with songs like personal fave “Hellbound Blues” being pure rockers. As always, the songs feature Virgil’s blunt and plain yet poetic lyricism, even when singing about drug binges and robbing ATMs.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2011/01/review-holy-grail-crisis-in-utopia.html">HOLY GRAIL – <em>CRISIS IN UTOPIA</em> (2010):</a></strong> The past decade brought a resurgence in traditional heavy metal sounds that was a very welcome throwback for me. Two of the best albums in that vein hit in 2010, and they were related. Holy Grail arose out of a split in the band White Wizzard (more on them in part three of the list), and their debut album was fantastic. Vocalist James Paul Luna, who I had not been a huge fan of on WW’s debut, killed on these songs that were in a similar, but slightly more modern style. The sound was old-school and traditional, but not dated or derivative. Guitarists James J. LaRue and Eli Santana laid down absolutely blistering leads from the very first strains of “My Last Attack,” and the songs were chock full of addictive hooks. At a time when every band seemed to want to be heavier and growlier, it was just what I needed.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2013/03/review-shooter-jennings-other-life.html">SHOOTER JENNINGS – <em>THE OTHER LIFE</em> (2013):</a></strong> Another artist who has traveled some strange paths from his country-rock roots, Shooter did return pretty much completely to that with his eponymous 2018 release – but this one, with its mix of country, rock and strangeness, I think is stronger. He made a few waves with the single “Outlaw You,” which took a jab at the commercial country sound of the time. Beyond that, however, this was still an interesting collection. There are rowdy honky-tonkers (“A Hard Lesson to Learn,” “The Low Road”), weird pieces like “Flying Saucer Song” and the spacy “15 Million Light-Years Away” (featuring Black Oak Arkansas’ Jim “Dandy” Mangrum) and sincere and sentimental country songs like “Wild & Lonesome,” a duet with Patty Griffin. It closes with the odd-but-cool “The Gunslinger,” which remains one of my favorite Shooter tunes.<br />
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<strong>JUDAS PRIEST – <em>FIREPOWER</em> (2018):</strong> Was there a better metal album by any of the pioneers of the genre in the last decade? I don’t think so. After a tumultuous and uneven run through the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, the band started to find its groove again on 2014’s <em>Redeemer of Souls</em>, but <em>Firepower </em>is a return to form the likes of which we rarely see. It’s as though the band went into the studio determined to make the most Judas Priest record they could possibly make – no bullshit, no experimentation, just straight-up classic metal – and, man, did they ever succeed. The rhythms are driving, the riffs are biting, and Rob Halford’s piercing shriek is in fine form. <em>Firepower</em> will go toe-to-toe with any of the band’s classic records.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2013/05/review-tom-keifer-way-life-goes.html">TOM KEIFER – <em>THE WAY LIFE GOES</em> (2013):</a></strong> My feelings about this record are not quite as strong as Blackberry Smoke’s <em>The Whippoorwill</em>. I can still enjoy listening to <em>The Way Life Goes</em> without finding myself in a dark place, but the situation is similar. This record came along as I was trying to drag myself out of that hole, and for the most part, the songs here run toward the hopeful. Still, it was a record that touched me in a very personal way and really helped me cope with the things that were going on in my life. Because of his roots in the 1980s glam metal scene with Cinderella, Keifer has always been an overlooked and underrated songwriter, and the pairing with his wife Savannah Snow only makes that aspect of his talent more potent, as witnessed on this record and 2019’s <em>Rise</em>.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2015/10/review-marilyn-manson-pale-emperor.html">MARILYN MANSON – <em>THE PALE EMPEROR</em> (2015):</a></strong> I love the first three Marilyn Manson albums and the evolution that he went through on them. After that, only a song here or there connects with me, at least until this record. I randomly clicked on a YouTube video for “The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles” a few months after this one came out, and my interest was instantly piqued. This sounded like the proper successor to 1998’s Mechanical Animals, and I found that the rest of the music followed suit, nicely mixing the spacy Bowie-inspired sounds of that album with the heavy, industrial shock rock noises of his first records – and even a few things we hadn’t heard from him before. It was a fine return to form that sadly didn’t carry through to his 2017 release <em>Heaven Upside Down</em>, an album where he was dealing with quite a bit of grief in his personal life. Still, it ensures that I’ll at least give a listen to whatever Manson has coming next.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2012/01/review-nightwish-imaginaerum.html">NIGHTWISH – <em>IMAGINAERUM</em> (2011):</a></strong> This is a statement that would probably get me burned at the stake in some fan circles, but the biggest problem with Nightwish for me was always Tarja Turunen. Don’t get me wrong: She’s an incredible vocalist, but the operatic soprano just didn’t do it for me in the context of the band. Annette Olzon’s more rock-oriented vocals did, and <em>Imaginaerum </em>is my favorite record by Nightwish. It starts with “Storytime,” which is one of those songs that I listen to and wish that I were able to write. It has a great mood, it’s energetic, and the lyrics are fantastic. It’s a song you can get lost in, and it’s one of quite a few on Imaginaerum, which delivers up raucous rockers, mystical ballads and big, bombastic epics.<br />
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<strong>PARKWAY DRIVE – <em>REVERENCE</em> (2018):</strong> I pretty much checked out on the metalcore scene just a few years after it began, but I discovered this album in early 2019 and was completely blown away. I absolutely love the mix of heaviness and melody on the record, where touches of thrash and death metal meet more mainstream rock sensibilities. The raging “Wishing Wells,” which explores the anger and pain of coping with loss, would definitely be a contender for a top songs of the decade list – but it’s just one of a lot of great songs on <em>Reverence</em>.<br />
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<strong>SOILWORK – <em>THE LIVING INFINITE</em> (2013):</strong> I was very tempted to go with Soilwork’s 2019 release <em>Verkligheten</em>, but in revisiting a few of their records, I think this was their strongest of the decade. It’s a double album, which usually means a lot of filler. Yes, there is a bit of it, but not as much as you’d expect. <em>The Living Infinite</em> marked another slight turn of direction for the band, with some more progressive elements coming through in places, but it also delivered on the blazing melodic death metal that Soilwork was founded on and had been criticized a bit for moving away from on prior albums. This one may still represent the pinnacle of Soilwork’s songwriting prowess.<br />
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Look for part 3, coming soon...</div>
Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-21295162475563986382020-01-31T09:14:00.004-08:002020-01-31T09:14:59.034-08:00Best of the 2010s, Part 1: Alestorm through Delain<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It’s not until you sit down and actually start combing through the hundreds of records you’ve listened to over a decade that you realize how daunting the task of picking favorites over that period of time is. I barely remember who the guy occupying my body in 2010 was, much less where his head was musically when he picked his <a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2011/01/best-of-2010-top-10.html">Top 10 for that year</a>. It seems like both just yesterday and a lifetime ago.<br />
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After a bit of mild agonizing, I’ve chosen 30 favorites for the decade. It’s a completely random number because, basically, that’s as far as I could narrow the list – and even at that, there were a couple of tough cuts. They’re listed in alphabetical order because I didn’t have the fortitude to attempt to rank them 1-30, and if I had, it might be another decade before I’d be able to finalize the list. I’ve also limited it to one album per artist, even though several of the artists on the list had multiple records that I would have liked to include. As always, I stress that I am in no way saying these are the “best” albums of the 2010s, only my favorites, and I’m sure that I’ll kick myself for forgetting something as soon as it’s published. Still, off we go …<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2017/06/review-alestorm-no-grave-but-sea.html">ALESTORM – <em>NO GRAVE BUT THE SEA</em> (2017):</a></strong> If I had to name my artist of the decade, it would probably be Alestorm. No band brought me more pure, unadulterated fun and joy in the 2010s, and every album they released was a contender. It came down to a tough choice between this one and 2011’s <em>Back Through Time</em>, but in the end, I think <em>No Grave but the Sea</em> may be their best piratical adventure to date. It has some of the most memorable melodies, an injection of heaviness in the form of an increased presence of keyboardist Elliot Vernon’s harsh vocals – and as always, Christopher Bowes’ quirky and silly sense of humor. Oh, and it spawned the profane anthem about an anchor that will likely close every show they do from now on with a rousing, drunken sing-along.<a name='more'></a><br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2013/07/review-amon-amarth-deceiver-of-gods.html">AMON AMARTH – <em>DECEIVER OF THE GODS</em> (2013):</a></strong> Though the last couple of outings from the Vikings of Amon Amarth have been mildly disappointing for me, they were riding high with this one. The transition from death metal to more melodic tunes with traditional metal and NWOBHM influences continued. Disappointing, perhaps, to some fans of their more extreme roots, but exactly what I was looking for from the band. I never fail to crank up “Father of the Wolf,” “Shape Shifter” or the grooving “Hel,” which featured a prominent guest shot from former Candlemass vocalist Messiah Marcolin.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2015/12/review-amorphis-under-red-cloud.html">AMORPHIS – <em>UNDER THE RED CLOUD</em> (2015):</a></strong> Though I was a fan of some of Amorphis’ early music, particularly 1996’s <em>Elegy</em>, the later evolution of the band is the one that intrigues and entrances me. Mixing the brutal heaviness of their earliest work with mesmerizing melodies, 2009’s <em>Skyforger</em> was the pinnacle of their power for me, but <em>Under the Red Cloud</em> is a very close second. The sound isn’t a great departure from what Amorphis has done before or since, but they brought in a lot of traditional instrumentation and added a stronger folk-metal bent to the songs. For the perfect blend of raging power and melodic beauty, it’s hard to beat.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2016/03/review-anthrax-for-all-kings.html">ANTHRAX – <em>FOR ALL KINGS</em> (2016):</a></strong> I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong, and in this case, I was dead wrong. When it was announced that vocalist Joey Belladonna was rejoining Anthrax, I did a lot of bitching, moaning and predicting the demise of the band. I was a huge fan of the John Bush era and the grittier, less cartoonish sound he brought. As it turns out, the two most recent albums that Anthrax released with Belladonna were two of my absolute favorite of the past 10 years. (We won’t talk about the covers EP because it’s best forgotten). <em>For All Kings</em> was a definite contender for album of the decade in my mind – Top 5 at least, if I were ranking. The songs were great, the hooks were huge, and Anthrax was firing on all cylinders. Tunes like “Monster at the End” and “Blood Eagle Wings” remain staples of my daily listening, and their live show was also one of my favorite of the decade.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2014/06/review-anti-mortem-new-southern.html">ANTI-MORTEM – <em>NEW SOUTHERN</em> (2014):</a></strong> There are a couple of real shames on this list, and Anti-Mortem is one of them. <em>New Southern</em> is an absolutely incredible record, a potent blend of hard-rock hooks, thrash attitude and Southern swagger. They were one of my favorite new artists of the decade, and also one of the shortest-lived. Less than a year after this album was released, the band was no more. Brothers Larado Romo (vocals) and Nevada Romo (guitars) decided they wanted to explore new musical styles, though both would later join Texas Hippie Coalition, not exactly a great stylistic departure. Guitarist Zain Smith went on to form Locust Grove, which I like, but it’s not the same. If I could have one more album from any band that broke up in the 2010s, Anti-Mortem would be it.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2012/09/review-blackberry-smoke-whippoorwill.html">BLACKBERRY SMOKE – <em>THE WHIPPOORWILL</em> (2012):</a></strong> This one is tough. I consider it quite possibly the finest album of the last decade. Certainly, it’s the most important on this list to me for reasons beyond music. But I can’t listen to it. Haven’t listened to it in years. <em>The Whippoorwill</em> arrived during the absolute darkest days of my personal life, and every song on the album connected deeply with me – from the anthem of my life at the time, “Ain’t Much Left of Me” to the mournful title track to the defiant “Leave a Scar.” I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch or exaggeration to say that this album played a huge role in my being able to pull myself out of that abyss to be sitting here and writing this in 2020. The songwriting is superb and personal, and musically, it strikes the perfect balance between contemplative country and brash Southern rock. But there are just too many emotions tied up in this album for me, and it takes me to a place that I never want to visit again. That’s a shame because it’s a fantastic record, and Blackberry Smoke has never come close to matching it.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2011/10/review-alice-cooper-welcome-2-my.html">ALICE COOPER – <em>WELCOME 2 MY NIGHTMARE</em> (2011):</a></strong> Album sequels suck. They never live up to the original record. It’s a rule. But it’s apparently just another rule that Alice Cooper ignores. The songs here range from garage rockers (“Caffeine,” “I’ll Bite Your Face Off”) to pop (“What Baby Wants”) to disco (“Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever”) to surf rock (“Ghouls Gone Wild”) and even a Vaudevillian number (“Last Man on Earth”). In true Alice fashion, he recruits a couple of strange bedfellows. In addition to guest spots by expected artists like Rob Zombie and guitarist John 5, he also brought in pop singer Kesha and country star Vince Gill, who plays a mean guitar solo on “Runaway Train.” It’s dark, zany and fun, Alice at his best.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2010/03/review-daredevil-squadron-out-of-sun.html">DAREDEVIL SQUADRON – <em>OUT OF THE SUN</em> (2010):</a></strong> My introduction to Daredevil Squadron guitarist Angus Clark and vocalist Andrew Ross came as touring members of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. When I discovered they had another band, I had to check it out, and I was not disappointed. <em>Out of the Sun</em> is an interesting slab of hard rock that bounces all over the spectrum. There are trad-metal songs, like the Iron Maiden-influenced title track, 1980s sleaze rockers in “The Punishment Fits” and “Back Lounge,” progressive pieces, a nod to Thin Lizzy and a blues-rock track in the mix. Sadly, the band has only been sporadically active since this record, releasing a single every now and then, including “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3HpazJQ_yc">Them” in 2019</a>, but I’m still hopeful for a full-length follow-up.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2016/09/review-dead-daisies-make-some-noise.html">THE DEAD DAISIES – <em>MAKE SOME NOISE</em> (2016):</a></strong> This is my favorite of the revolving lineups of the Dead Daisies. I’ve been a vocal fan of the John Corabi-era of Motley Crue, and the addition of Corabi on the mic and Doug Aldrich on guitar really elevated this record above the Dead Daisies’ debut in my opinion. It’s a simple, straight-up hard rock record, but it’s fantastic for what it is. “We All Fall Down” would definitely make my list of favorite songs of the decade.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.mountainkingmusic.com/2014/05/review-delain-human-contradiction.html">DELAIN – <em>THE HUMAN CONTRADICTION</em> (2014):</a></strong> I’d heard Delain’s previous two albums and kind of liked them, but the lead single from this record, “Stardust,” just blew me away. Charlotte Wessels’ vocals on the song were stunning, and the dreamy number was an instant classic for me. It sent me running to hear the rest, and I absolutely loved it. With guest shots from Marco Hietala (Nightwish) and Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy), the album showed influences from 1980s pop, early 1990s alternative, power metal and just a small touch of melodic death. It’s a potent combination, and Wessels’ incredible vocals are the icing on top.<br />
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<em>To be continued...</em></div>
Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-55410853198943262192020-01-10T12:17:00.000-08:002020-01-29T12:19:33.145-08:00Best of 2019: Gloryhammer, Soilwork, Beast in Black, Tom Keifer, Sturgill Simpson and more<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There’s a contingent of metal fans who think the music should always be uber-serious and without any trace of humor. I don’t agree with those folks, and really never have, but I do get it. Many of us were drawn to metal from places of anger, pain or isolation, and we found solace in knowing that there were others feeling the same things.<br />
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As I’ve gotten older, I have gained a much greater appreciation for things that just make me happy. There’s enough going on in the world to validate my anger and sadness these days, and more often than not when I turn to music, I want to get away from that.<br />
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When Kirk Hammett and Rob Trujillo were getting bashed mercilessly by some fans this year for taking a couple of minutes of each Metallica show to have some goofy fun by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJvQXRgtxluml0XI5bcvTTzsxE9b7hrWC">performing absolutely awful covers</a> of songs that had some significance to the town they were playing, I was watching the YouTube videos and laughing along with them. I was happy to see them having fun and not taking things too seriously.<br />
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For the same reason, Nanowar of Steel’s completely ridiculous <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9WWz95ripA">IKEA-ad Christmas tune</a> “Valhallelujah” sits right next to Parkway Drive’s “Wishing Wells,” a violent and raging tale of coping with grief, on my list of Best of 2019 list. (And, yes, I know the Parkway Drive song wasn’t actually released in 2019, but more on that later).<br />
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So, if there’s a theme to my list of favorite albums of the past year, you’ll see that it’s not necessarily complex and serious musicianship that won me over in 2019, but rather the ability to make me smile and take me to another place for a few minutes.<br />
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<strong>BEST OF 2019 NOT RELEASED IN 2019</strong><br />
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<strong>PARKWAY DRIVE – <em>REVERENCE</em>:</strong> I was a fan of the early wave of metalcore in the late ’90s and early ‘00s with bands like Shadows Fall and God Forbid, but the style quickly got stale for me. These days, I tend to discount most anything tagged with the label automatically, so Parkway Drive was not on my radar until late January. We were listening to Sirius/XM on our four-hour drive back from a concert in Dallas that had been my son’s Christmas gift when I heard “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAY2bCmm8e0">The Void</a>” on Octane (his channel of choice). I thought it was kind of cool with a Metallica vibe. A couple of hours later, they played “Wishing Wells” on Liquid Metal, and the song just punched me in the gut. When I got home, I grabbed <em>Reverence</em>, and it remained a staple of my listening all year. It has the perfect balance of raging heaviness mixed with memorable melodies and riffs that just does it for me. It’s one of my most listened records this year, and if I had heard it when it was released in 2018, it would have easily been a Top 5 pick.<a name='more'></a><br />
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<strong>Now on to things actually released in 2019 …</strong><br />
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<strong>10. SPIRITS OF FIRE – <em>SPIRITS OF FIRE</em>: </strong>I honestly thought this album would end up higher on my Best of 2019 list. I’ve always been a fan of Tim Owens, and Savatage is one of my favorite bands of all time, so it was going to be hard for a project with Owens on vocals and Chris Caffery on guitar to miss. Lead single “Light Speed Marching,” a Judas Priest-influenced banger got me pumped for the album. The finished product, while solid, would have benefited from a more dynamic and lively mix. While it didn’t meet the admittedly high bar that I had set in my mind, it’s still a very good album that, as I expected, mixed elements of Savatage with Owens-era Priest. I sincerely hope this project continues because I want to hear more.<br />
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<strong>9. WIND ROSE – <em>WINTERSAGA</em>:</strong> I’ve had only a marginal interest in Wind Rose on past albums. I’d thought they were kind of interesting, but they never grabbed my attention. The gimmick, in case you don’t know, is dwarven metal – like beards, axes and mines Tolkien dwarves. Their cover of YouTube/Minecraft song “Diggy Diggy Hole” really set the tone for this outing. Its undeniably infectious melodies wouldn’t let go. Admittedly, I’m still not huge on a couple of the more epic numbers on the record, but more light-hearted and catchy tracks like “Drunken Dwaves,” and “Mine Mine Mine!” are just too much fun to deny.<br />
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<strong>8. IN FLAMES – <em>I, THE MASK</em>:</strong> It’s been a long time since I had any interest at all in In Flames. That was, until they released the single “I Am Above,” which was the best thing I’d heard from them in years. With the exception of the absolutely dreadful “(This is Our) House,” the songs that followed leading up to the release of the album were also intriguing. Granted, I only like about half of <em>I, The Mask</em>, with the other half being more inline with their more mainstream sound of recent years. But I really, really like that half of the album. Songs like the title track, “Burn” and “Deep Inside” hit the right balance between their melodic death past and their later sound.<br />
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<strong>7. JINJER – <em>MICRO / MACRO</em>:</strong> Yes, this is two releases, but since both were 2019, I’m going to count them as one for purposes of this Best of 2019 list. Like a whole lot of people, I discovered Jinjer from their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQNtGoM3FVU">incredible performance video</a> of “Pisces.” While I don’t think there’s anything as strong as that song on either of these releases, they continue to impress me with their blend of heaviness, melody and quirkiness. They can djent with the best of them, but also weave in elements of jazz, hip-hop and even reggae, and vocalist Tatiana Shmaylyuk wins in all phases, whether it’s sultry cleans, fiery rock vocals or guttural roars.<br />
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<strong>6. STURGILL SIMPSON – <em>SOUND & FURY</em>:</strong> After Sturgill Simpson’s critically acclaimed, but somewhat strange <em>A Sailor’s Guide to Earth</em>, I had hoped for a bit of a return to his country roots. This album is anything but. While <em>Sailor’s Guide</em> was mostly a miss for me, <em>Sound & Fury</em> definitely is not. An homage to classic ZZ Top and general 1970s-inspired weirdness, this album is by no means any less bizarre than his previous outing, but it’s a whole lot more fun – and you’ll remember that’s the theme of my list. The album rocks from front to back, and while it’s not country by any stretch of the imagination, I’ll take it.<br />
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<strong>5. TOM KEIFER – <em>RISE</em>:</strong> It’s been a long wait for new music from Tom Keifer, but worth it. While his previous solo release, 2013’s <em>The Way Life Goes</em>, had for the most part, a hopeful outlook, <em>Rise </em>seems more of a darker and defiant record in many ways. That starts with opening single “The Death of Me,” a goth-tinged middle finger of a song that relies heavily on his Cinderella roots musically, but updates the sound. The record also showcases some of his best songwriting, particularly on the title track, a favorite. There are some questionable choices in production. The songs are, at times, over-drenched in effects, including Keifer’s vocals – most notably “Touching the Divine,” which I think would have been much stronger left to stand on its own as a straight rock song. Still, Keifer proves himself once again as one of the most underrated talents in rock.<br />
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<strong>4. BLOODY HAMMERS – <em>THE SUMMONING</em>:</strong> Here’s another act that’s been hovering around the edge of my radar for a few years but put themselves front and center in 2019. The gothic-horror rock duo’s latest outing hit all the right notes for me, playing on influences from the likes of Type O Negative, the Misfits and even Johnny Cash. The sinister-yet-oddly soothing vocals of Anders Manga are the rightful centerpiece of everything the band does. <em>The Summoning</em> is a dark and atmospheric record, but at the same time filled with catchy riffs and great hooks that make it a perfect record for both an introspective mood or for blasting while heading down the highway.<br />
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<strong>3. BEAST IN BLACK – <em>FROM HELL WITH LOVE</em>:</strong> How much fun can an old 40-something metalhead have with one album? Beast in Black answered that question for me with a collection of songs that speak directly to me in so many ways. <em>From Hell with Love</em> backs up a truckload of cheese from both the over-the-top power-metal genre and the 1980s pop of my childhood, and dumps it right over the top of some killer riffs and hooks. This record brightened my year and received a high number of headbangs and sing-along moments, but not quite the most on my Best of 2019 list.<br />
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<strong>2. SOILWORK – <em>VERKLIGHETEN</em>:</strong> I’ve always been a fan of Soilwork and the way that they have mostly been able to evolve without sacrificing their roots in heavier music. <em>Verkligheten</em> takes that to a new level as one of the most varied records they’ve ever done. The tracks range from very melodic mainstream rock tunes like “Stalfagel” to pummeling reminders of their melodic death metal past like “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4K5XfnWdAo">When the Universe Spoke</a>,” and hits all points in between. Each song seems to bring its own feel and style but in the end, there’s no doubt that it’s all Soilwork. And, hey, a year-end list that includes albums by both Soilwork and an In Flames? Party like it’s 2002.<br />
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<strong>1. GLORYHAMMER – <em>LEGENDS FROM BEYOND THE GALACTIC TERRORVORTEX</em>:</strong> This one should come as no surprise. Can I just go ahead and reserve the top spot on my list in any year that a Christopher Bowes project releases a new album? Over the last decade or so, no one has entertained me more consistently with completely over-the-top silliness packaged in solid metal chops. It was no shock when Spotify informed me that “Hootsforce” was my most-played song of the year. It was also my most sung-at-the-top-of-my-lungs tune, followed very closely by a few others on this record. The songs from the third battle between our hero Angus McFife and the evil wizard Zargothrax never failed to put a smile on my face, even on some of the most depressing days of the past year. You can’t really put a price on a piece of music that always has the ability to bring you joy when you need it most, but you can name it my favorite album of the year. Hoots!
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Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-77863825125401309082019-10-10T08:25:00.000-07:002020-01-29T08:26:09.341-08:00Review: Iron Maiden at Dos Equis Pavilion (Sept. 21, 2019, Dallas, Texas)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I waited 35 years for this – since the first time I heard Number of the Beast (admittedly, a couple of years after its release) – but the biggest remaining band on my bucket list has been checked off.<br />
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One of the regrets of my teenage years has always been missing a 1980s show in my area that featured both Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. It was a mid-week concert during the school year, and I would have been hard-pressed to get my parents’ OK, so I didn’t try. As the years passed, I still had not seen either band for various reasons, and that decision loomed large. It was a long shot, but it would have been a shot.<br />
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I took care of Judas Priest, hitting a couple of shows over the past two years, and I vowed that I would not miss the next Iron Maiden concert within a reasonable drive. When tickets went on sale for the Dallas date last November, I was waiting to be sure that I got good seats. So even after having tickets in hand, there was still about 10 months of anticipation before I finally entered the Dos Equis Pavilion for that final payoff.<a name='more'></a><br />
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But let’s start a few hours before the concert. Old-school metal fans, for the most part, have always felt a sort of kinship, but I was particularly struck by the camaraderie of the Iron Maiden fans that traveled to this show. When I walked into the hotel lobby to check in, it was filled with fans. Upon seeing my Maiden shirt, I was immediately embraced as a brother.<br />
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A group that had traveled from New Orleans offered me a beer from the open case they’d set on the counter as they waited. I talked to a fan from Brazil who was also seeing them for the first time, but planned to follow them back to his home country for their Rock in Rio performance a few weeks later. There were handshakes, horns and high-fives all around. The wait to check in was lengthy, as we had all arrived at the same time and the clerk seemed a little overwhelmed, but no one cared. We talked Iron Maiden and metal, and got each other pumped up for the show.<br />
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I am a massive introvert, never comfortable in a crowd, particularly with people that I don’t know. But I’ve rarely felt more comfortable in a group than I did in that hotel lobby, surrounded by strangers from all walks of life with really only one common bond. When I went back out with the keys to bring in my family and the luggage, I had a big goofy grin on my face and I was more ready for this show than ever.<br />
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Then it was showtime. After a little opening-act nepotism with the Raven Age, featuring Iron Maiden leader Steve Harris’ son on guitar, everyone was wound up and ready for the main event. Or so we thought. I’m not sure how prepared I was for what was about to unfold.<br />
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As soon as UFO’s “Doctor Doctor” began to play, cheers started going up. Two crew members came to attention in military uniforms at the front of the stage and began to remove the black drapes to reveal a set covered in camo netting, the war theme that would mark the first set of the show. The lights went out, Winston Churchill appeared on the screens to give his famous “we shall never surrender” speech, and when the lights came back up, there was a life-sized Spitfire fighter plane flying over the stage, dipping and diving along with the song, as the band launched into “Aces High.” Bruce Dickinson came flying wildly onto the stage dressed in an <a href="https://ultimateclassicrock.com/iron-maiden-live-photos-2019/">aviator jacket and goggles</a>, and off we went.<br />
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How do you top that? Well, you have to be Iron Maiden.<br />
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The show started furiously, charging straight into “Where Eagles Dare,” followed by “Two Minutes to Midnight.” The latter gave us the first big crowd sing-along moment of the night, but far from the last.<br />
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Then we got to take a little breath as Bruce welcomed the fans to the show and explained what the Legacy of the Beast tour was all about – a celebration of all things Maiden. “We’ve got a lot to get through because we’re fucking old,” he joked. But for the next two hours, the band would prove that an absolute lie.<br />
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There was nothing phoned in, no old guys going through the motions to get paid. An absolute passion and joy in what they were doing radiated from the stage for the entire night. Harris and guitarist Janick Gers bounced around like much younger men. The twin guitars of Adrian Smith and Dave Murray were as tight as ever. Every time we’d get a shot of drummer Nicko McBrain on the stage screens, he had a huge grin on his face and looked like he was having the time of his life. And Bruce Dickinson? Well, he’s either found the fountain of youth or made a deal with some infernal entity. He ran around the stage like a madman, seamlessly mixing a healthy dose of goofiness with the gravitas required by many of the songs and, of course, making his trademark demand that we scream for him. At 61, he showed absolutely no sign that amazing voice was slipping.<br />
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After the intro, Maiden played the first of a couple of songs from the Blaze Bayley era with “The Clansman,” prompting Bruce to joke that if anyone recommended the song, “make sure <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmGUllniGHg">you fucking spell it right</a>. Clansman has a C.” The crowd roared with laughter and then roared the “Freedom!” refrain from the song back at the stage.<br />
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That brought us to one of the iconic moments of an Iron Maiden show, “The Trooper.” Fan cheers intensified as the 10-foot-tall Maiden mascot Eddie appeared, decked out in his soldier uniform. He stalked the stage during the song, sword fighting with Dickinson and swinging his blade around the other band members until, finally, the singer took him down with a musket shot, which also brought the first set of the show to a close.<br />
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When the stage lit up again, gone was the camo netting, and we found ourselves in a cathedral, complete with a gorgeous stained-glass backdrop depicting various versions of Eddie. A new theme emerged as the band <a href="https://youtu.be/Tt5hZAS5ELM">opened this portion of the show with “Revelations.”</a> Next up was one of the most surprising performances of the night for me. I’ve never been a big fan of “For the Greater Good of God,” but I was impressed and entranced by the live performance of the song. They cranked up the energy again with “The Wicker Man” and then revisited the Bayley era with “Sign of the Cross.”<br />
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That brought around one of my most anticipated moments of the show, “Flight of Icarus.” It’s one of my favorite Maiden tunes, and the band was playing it on this tour for the first time since the 1980s. As they started the song, Icarus rose in the backdrop, soaring over the stage. Dickinson came out equipped with, no joke, flamethrowers attached to his arms. As he sang, he shot bursts of fire into the air to punctuate the lyrics. That led up to the finale of the song where the sun’s rays, in the form of gouts of flame from the top of the stage, shot down around Icarus, who folded and dropped from view behind the stage. It was a fantastic moment that, like the Spitfire earlier, was worthy of a show-ending performance, but there was much more to come.<br />
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If you’ve seen any Iron Maiden live recording from the past 25 years or so, one of the most impressive segments of the night is always “Fear of the Dark.” The crowd sing-alongs on DVDs and live recordings are always enough to give you chills, but trust me, it’s nothing like being there and adding your voice to the chorus. As soon as the song began, so did the singing from the crowd, and it didn’t let up. Dickinson held us in the palm of his hand, directing us to add our voices to the chorus, and Harris and Gers got fans bouncing when the song kicked into high gear. It was an amazing performance to bring the second set to its close.<br />
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After a few moments of darkness, the spoken words “Woe to you, oh Earth and sea …” from the loudspeakers brought the biggest crowd reaction yet as we found ourselves on a new set featuring huge torches, more hellish visions and plenty of flames for “Number of the Beast.” After a fiery performance, both visually and sonically, Maiden wrapped up the first portion of the show with the eponymous “Iron Maiden,” and a huge demonic Eddie head with glowing eyes rose behind them to stare menacingly at the crowd as Bruce Dickinson told us that Iron Maiden was going to get all of us.<br />
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After a short break, the band returned for the encore kicking it off at a gallop with “The Evil That Men Do.” The finish included, of course, the only two songs that it possibly could. Bruce played the part of the condemned man for “Hallowed be thy Name” – which, in my mind is one of, if not THE greatest metal song ever. He sang the first part of the song from behind prison bars with the crowd almost drowning him out, then moved out where a noose dropped down for the faster portion of the song, whipping the crowd into a screaming frenzy just before his big finale vocals.<br />
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Then that instantly recognizable drumbeat of “Run to the Hills” to close the show, literally, with a bang. The song gave several opportunities for fan sing-along and for Bruce to have some goofy fun pretending Monty Python-style to be galloping across the stage on a horse. The whole thing culminated in Dickinson being chased across the stage by explosions before pushing down a TNT plunger at the top that set off pyro across the stage.<br />
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Once it was done, I collapsed into my seat, the first time I’d sat down since “Doctor Doctor” came on more than two hours before. I was out of breath, hoarse and completely exhausted. But when Monty Python’s “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” started playing as the lights came up, I’m pretty sure I had the widest grin on my face that I’ve had in a good many years, as I whistled along and started the road to recovery from what I’d just seen and participated in.<br />
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I’ve been to a lot of concerts in my lifetime. I’ve been to a lot of great concerts. I can’t remember a better one than this. As we walked out of the theater, looking for our ride home, the glow of the experience was tempered only slightly by the pang of realizing how many times I could have seen this and found a reason not to go. That won’t happen again.<br />
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The next day, I had a hard time pointing my car toward home instead of heading for Houston, where the next show was. If there had been anything left besides lawn tickets for that night’s Iron Maiden performance, it’s a battle that I can guarantee I would have lost – driving all night to get home for work Monday morning be damned.<br />
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Even as they approach 45 years in the business, I can say unequivocally that Maiden is the best live band that I’ve ever seen, and I find it difficult to believe that there’s a better one anywhere out there. I’ve seen shows that were flashier and filled with more pyro, and I’ve seen more serious affairs that highlighted skilled musicianship, but for the total package – spectacle, performance and passion – Iron Maiden can’t be beat.</div>
Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-15963091111759272882019-09-10T13:48:00.000-07:002020-01-24T13:49:52.071-08:00Review: Kiss at CenturyLink Center (Sept. 7, 2019, Bossier City, La.)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Sometimes, you plan concert trips a year in advance. Sometimes, you accidentally end up at a Kiss show.<br />
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When tickets went on sale for the End of the Road Tour in Bossier City last fall, I was considering going. My son had never seen Kiss, and though I believe this is a retirement tour just about as much as I believe in any other “retirement” tour these days, I had to admit that Gene and Paul are getting up there and this might actually be the last time I got to see them.<br />
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Then I checked the prices and decided that I’d seen Kiss enough times over the years. I saw them sans-makeup in the 1980s, on the reunion tour in 1996 and on a previous “farewell” tour. And honestly, the last time I caught them with the current lineup, they kind of phoned it in, and I left disappointed.<br />
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Fast forward to the night before the show, and a stray thought struck me to check and see if there were tickets left. There were, and there was a discount code that took some decent seats down to about $40 (which, of course, works out to about $70 apiece after Ticketmaster gets through with you, but that’s another rant). How could I say no at that price?<a name='more'></a><br />
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The first odd thing about the show was that there was no opening band. Instead, there was a painter. <br />
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How the heck does that work? <br />
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Surprisingly well. <br />
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I scoffed at the idea, but I have to admit that it was somewhat entertaining watching David Garibaldi energetically turn blank black canvases into paintings of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Elvis and, of course, Kiss over the course of about 20 minutes.<br />
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When he was done, it took about another half-hour to ready the stage for the main event, but finally, the opening drums of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” kicked in, and everyone knew it was go time.<br />
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Minutes later, the arena exploded in pyro and flame as the curtain dropped to reveal Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Tommy Thayer descending to the stage from the rafters as they opened with “Detroit Rock City.” Once grounded, they tore through a couple of other classics in “Shout it Out Loud” and “Deuce.”<br />
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Though they did slip a few more recent songs into the set, like “Say Yeah” and “Psycho Circus” (if you count 20-ish years ago as recent, and for Kiss, I do), it was heavy on the classics. I wouldn’t have it any other way. It spanned all eras of the band and hit most of the songs that I’d want to hear and a surprise or two. The only real disappointment in song selection was the lack of anything from <em>Revenge</em>, a personal favorite. Of course, last time we saw them they substituted “Unholy” for my wife’s favorite, “God of Thunder” – and years later, I’m still hearing the complaints, so I guess, it’s just as well they didn’t play it. (And, yes, I did check recent set lists to make sure “God of Thunder” was there before I bought the tickets).<br />
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After a couple of rousing crowd sing-alongs in “I Love it Loud” and “Heaven’s on Fire,” we got to the first big trademark moment in a Kiss show when, at the end of “War Machine,” the flaming sword was brought on to the stage for Gene Simmons to breathe fire. That set off all of the expected campy, but beloved antics.<br />
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Eric Singer got his moment during “100,000 Years” as his drum kit rose up on a lift for his solo. Being a guitar guy, a drum solo is usually code for “bathroom break” for me, but Singer’s performance was oddly compelling. He managed to hook me early, and it’s one of only a few drum solos over the years that I remember honestly enjoying.<br />
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“Cold Gin” was interrupted by Tommy Thayer’s guitar solo, in which he fired shots from his flying V causing deafening explosions to reverberate from the rigging. That led straight to probably the most iconic Kiss moment: Simmons took center stage, abusing his battle axe bass as he sprayed blood from his mouth and then lifted off to perform “God of Thunder” from the top of the arena.<br />
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As is to be expected, there was a bit of a lull after that climactic moment in the show as the band performed “Psycho Circus” and “Let Me Go, Rock ‘n’ Roll.” But then things picked up again when Paul Stanley jumped on a zip line and soared just above the heads of the crowd to a star-shaped stage at the back of the arena where he performed “Love Gun” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” before zipping back to the stage for the main set closer “Black Diamond,” the song in which Singer proved himself to be the strongest vocalist on the stage.<br />
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After the long goodbyes that no one in their right mind believed were real, Singer again took the stage <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf0ARx9Y6B0">behind a piano</a> to perform “Beth.” That led to another round of goodbyes that frankly was overkill for me. We all know you’re not leaving yet; just get on with it.<br />
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Eventually, they did, with a bit of a surprise in “Crazy, Crazy Nights.” The <em>Crazy Nights</em> album gets a lot of heat for its pop leanings, but I’ve always had a soft spot for it since it was the first Kiss album I actually owned. So, I was happy to hear it as the arena was lit up and Kiss-themed beach balls were dropped from the ceiling to be bounced around for a bit before fans started pulling them down and holding tightly to them as souvenirs.<br />
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Then it was time for the real finale, the only song that could close a Kiss show, “Rock and Roll All Nite.” That’s when the whole stage exploded and the audience with it. Simmons and Thayer took to lifts that carried them all around the front half of the arena, allowing them to get up close with fans on the first and second levels and in the middle of the crowd on the floor. For their part, fans sang along enthusiastically, and every bit of pyro that was left in the building went off at some point. It was all the excess that you’d expect and more, and I loved it.<br />
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When it was finally time for the actual goodbyes, I thought it was a bit funny that Paul Stanley told the crowd that they’d see us again. So much for that end of the road thing, huh?<br />
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There were a few gaffes during the night. At times, Stanley’s voice showed the wear and tear, and at other times, you could tell the band was getting some help from a backing track. There was also some poor research on the part of whomever was giving Paul his talking points, as he said they get to Baton Rouge and Shreveport, but not to Bossier City much. (For those who don’t know, Shreveport and Bossier are only separated by a river and the CenturyLink Center has been the premier music venue for both cities for about 20 years.)<br />
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But when things started blowing up, no one really cared about those minor issues. And plenty of things blew up. I realized pretty quickly into the show that those original ticket prices had to be high to cover the price of the pyro alone, and I often felt sorry for Eric Singer at the back of the stage absorbing the brunt of those flame gouts every time they went off. It was easily the most insane stage show from that perspective that I’ve ever seen from Kiss.<br />
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I had misgivings based on my last lackluster experience with the band, but in the end, I was glad that I went. My son got to see what all the hype was about and will have a story to tell about Kiss to his kids one day. And if indeed the Bossier City performance was a farewell, it was a much better one than I would have had if the most recent show I’d seen were my final experience. It was money well spent and memories well made.</div>
Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-54442718663107597572019-08-05T13:32:00.000-07:002020-01-24T13:36:02.807-08:00Review: Bloody Hammers, The Summoning<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hammers seem to be a theme in the music that I’m enjoying lately, but I really don’t have a problem with that.<br />
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<em>The Summoning</em> is the fifth record from Bloody Hammers, a horror-rock duo that hails, appropriately, from Transylvania County, North Carolina. Founder Anders Manga is the primary songwriter and handles the vocals, guitar and bass. The other permanent member of the band, Devallia, takes care of the keyboards, piano and organ, and they have a rotating cast of touring musicians. <br />
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I’ve always thought the band was interesting. I’d hear a song here or there and think, “that’s kind of cool,” but it didn’t hit me hard enough to send me looking for the rest of the record. The Summoning, however, hits all of the right notes for me.<br />
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I’d describe the album as an atmospheric experience, but not in the usual sense. Normally when I say that, I mean it would be something I put on to set a mood, but perhaps not something with standout songs. <em>The Summoning</em> would definitely set a mood, but it’s also chock full of really cool guitar riffs and nice hooks. <br />
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Bloody Hammers blend a lot of different styles well here. There’s the gothic electronic alternative of bands like Sisters of Mercy and some of the creepy atmosphere of Type O Negative, but there are also big, chunky Black Sabbath-style riffs, the occasional thrashy run and even a little taste of Misfits punk mixed in with a few other surprises.<br />
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There’s no doubt, however, that the voice of Manga drives the songs, and rightfully so. His vampiric vocals are oddly soothing, but also sinister, particularly in context of the subjects that he sings about. It creates a bit of an off-kilter situation for the listener that just adds to the mystique and atmosphere.<br />
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Through the 10 songs on the album there are some very interesting stylistic shifts, too. On one end, you have a song like second single “From Beyond the Grave,” which is a pretty upbeat and energetic tune. It opens with a heavy riff that’s a bit reminiscent of Helmet’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBfygUiS50g">1990s alternative classic “Unsung</a>,” but then traipses into gothic territory with Devallia’s synths setting the mood. It’s an addictive foot-tapper that will stick with you. <br />
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On the other end is the dark and moody “Condemned, The Prisoner,” which features nods to Johnny Cash both musically and lyrically. This one strikes a more bleak and hopeless tone as it tells the tale of a man awaiting his execution. There’s a power-packed chorus and a great Sabbath-inspired guitar riff about halfway through, and Manga’s voice even takes on a bit of a Western twang here and there playing on the Cash theme. It’s probably the strongest song on the record, but the point is that both styles work really well for the Bloody Hammers.<br />
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They play up the horror camp awesomely on album opener “Let Sleeping Corpses Lie” and first single “Now the Screaming Starts” (both named for 1970s horror films). “Sleeping Corpses” has an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1U_S_9OkvA">odd, bouncing guitar riff</a> that’s one of my favorites here and a fun, yet sinister chorus. “Screaming” is something like you might have gotten from a collaboration between Rob Zombie and Peter Steele of Type O Negative, moody but memorable and catchy. <br />
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While most of the songs here go for moodiness and atmosphere, there are a couple of heavier bangers. “Fire in the Dark” leans more on grinding guitars than many of the other songs, and “Tales that Witness Madness” and album closer “Unbreakable” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYy_ibechsE">approach thrash in places</a>. On the gothic side, you have “Welcome to Darkness” – which, to my ear, really showcases that Sisters of Mercy influence that I talked about earlier. <br />
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The title track is another personal favorite. Plodding compared to some of the other songs on the album, Devallia’s keyboards set a mood somewhere between 1980s pop and horror movie soundtrack, and Manga’s vocal when he delivers the chorus lyric, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTLl8fBbaEI">tonight the faithful have begun … the summoning</a>” just really gets me. It would be a beautiful song for a low-budget ‘80s horror flick about witches, and I absolutely love it.<br />
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So, if you’re looking for a soundtrack for your Halloween party this year, The Summoning would be a great choice. If you’re looking for an album to crank up and bang your head while you’re driving down the highway, well, it’s great for that, too. Bloody Hammers strike the perfect mix of riffs, mood, melody and camp to drive a stake right through my metal heart.<br />
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Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-11851672930607856762019-07-20T13:09:00.000-07:002020-01-24T13:26:34.540-08:00Review: Gloryhammer at Gas Monkey Bar & Grill (June 17, 2019, Dallas, Texas)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Having just seen Gloryhammer opening for Alestorm back in September, I had decided I wasn’t going to make the trek to Dallas for this show. Then, they released <em>Legends from Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex</em> at the end of May, and given my previous experience, I absolutely had to hear some of those songs live.<br />
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I’m glad I decided to go. I’ve seen a ton of concerts in my lifetime, but I’ve rarely had more fun than I did on this night. <br />
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In all honesty, I’m starting to feel a little stalkerish in the way that I gush over all things Gloryhammer and Alestorm, but they just make me happy, so prepare for more of the same.<br />
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The weather cooperated much more than it did at the September show. While it was hot and humid, it wasn’t raining. Kudos to the merch booth, too, which opened before the doors this time and allowed me to grab a shirt before entering. (They didn’t have the one I wanted, but those are the breaks when you’re one of the last shows on the tour). I’d reserved a table for the family to try a different experience and lucked out on the best one in the place, front of the deck toward the center of the stage. After a rocky start to our last visit to the Gas Monkey, this experience began exceptionally. And that didn’t change when the music started.<br />
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First up were a couple of local Dallas bands, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DreamkeeperDFW/">melodic/power metallers Dreamkeeper</a> and the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/infidelrisingmusic/">more proggy Infidel Rising</a>. I was really impressed with Dreamkeeper’s set. I’d been listening to their album for a couple of weeks, particularly the song “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ6cEZeAc_Q">Forever Fire</a>,” but their live performance blew away the studio tracks. <br />
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Vocalist Taylor Dennis has a much stronger presence in person, reminding me, at times, of both singers from Savatage. He has the smoothness of Zak Stevens in his lower registers, but the ability to shriek like Jon Oliva. If you know anything about me, you know that’s about the highest praise I can give a vocalist.<br />
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Despite a few technical glitches, Dreamkeeper sounded great, and I definitely wouldn’t have minded if they’d had time to do a few more songs.<br />
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As the sun began to sink, the main event started with North Carolina-based <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AetherRealm/">folk/melodic death outfit Aether Realm</a>. They were also new to me, though I had been giving their most recent record, Tarot, a few listens in the weeks leading up to the show. In all honesty, they’re a mixed bag for me. <br />
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I really like the more melodic songs like “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATedj1ItciE">Death</a>” and “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bVBh0_KPvk">King of Cups</a>” (featuring Gloryhammer/Alestorm mastermind Christopher Bowes on the album version), both of which they played, but the more death-influenced tunes aren’t always my mug of ale. That said, Aether Realm delivered their set with great energy, and it was a lot of fun. Like the headliners, they didn’t take themselves too seriously, and it seemed that everyone enjoyed it, whether they were familiar with the band or not.<br />
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We made our journey to the Kingdom of Fife around 9:30 p.m., with a full moon shining over the stage to set the perfect tone. The setlist was heavy on songs from Gloryhammer’s new album in the early going. Unlike many bands, though, that didn’t matter. The few hundred fans that packed the Gas Monkey already knew all the words and were more than ready to sing along.<br />
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Gloryhammer opened the set with “The Siege of Dunkeld (In Hoots We Trust)” with the notable absence of a dark wizard on stage. On cue, as the chorus on the track sang his name, Zargothrax made his entrance to introduce himself and challenge our hero Angus McFife (vocalist Thomas Winkler) to battle. As I’d expected, it was not Christopher Bowes, but his touring stand-in Michael Barber, who still plays the role to the hilt.<br />
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Once the battle was joined, the band introduced its namesake with the eponymous “Gloryhammer,” one of the songs that I’d been looking forward to hearing. The “Glory … Hammer” chant of the fans on the chorus was all that I’d hoped it would be and really got the show moving.<br />
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The U.S. fan base for Gloryhammer may not be the biggest in the world, but they mean it. They proved it over and over throughout the night, shouting lyrics to songs old and new back to the stage. It was particularly prominent later in the night on one of the band’s signature tunes, “The Hollywood Hootsman,” as they serenaded bassist James Cartwright with shouts of “Hail to Hoots!” on the chorus.<br />
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Before that, though, Gloryhammer had to deliver some fresh sounds. Four of the first five songs came from the latest album, broken only by “Questlords of Inverness, Ride to the Galactic Fortress!” from their second record <em>Rise of the Chaos Wizards</em>. Fans eagerly traveled to “The Land of Unicorns” and sang along with the catchy chorus hook of “Masters of the Galaxy,” songs that were only a couple of weeks old, but felt like old friends.<br />
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The band finally settled into some songs from their first two records with “Legend of the Astral Hammer.” One disappointment from the fall show was that Gloryhammer played a shortened set which didn’t include a couple of songs they’d performed elsewhere. Among those was a personal favorite, “Goblin King of the Darkstorm Galaxy.” They corrected that oversight here, which pretty much ensured my enjoyment of the evening. The other tune they skipped the first time around, “Magic Dragon,” also made it into the set, much to the crowd’s glee.<br />
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The main set closed with, in my opinion, the best song from the new album, “Hootsforce,” and “Heroes (of Dundee)” from <em>Chaos Wizards</em>. I wasn’t sure about that second choice, since it’s a bit of a slow-down moment, but when I saw it live, I understood. <br />
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In the crowd in front of us, fans swayed back and forth, arm-in-arm singing along with the chorus. They were folks of different races, different genders, probably different politics. Most of them had likely never met before that night, but here they were, completely united in their love of Gloryhammer. It was the culmination of a scene that had been repeated over and over through the night as people banged each other in the pit hard enough to make the security guards nervous at times, but then hugged it out once the song was over. It was exactly what a metal crowd should be, and it was a beautiful thing.<br />
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When Gloryhammer left the stage, the chants of “Hoots” went up as people stomped on the deck, sending tremors throughout the venue until they returned for the final three songs of the night. The encore opened with a rousing performance of “Angus McFife.” Just as when I’d seen them in September, Thomas Winkler probably could have gotten by without singing the chorus at all and letting the crowd handle it.<br />
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They followed up with “Universe on Fire,” which featured one of the most fun visuals of the show as Ser Proletius (guitarist Paul Templing) and Zargothrax kicked up their heels comically at the back of the stage during the tune.<br />
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Finally, they launched into their regular closer, “The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee,” telling the tale that started the Gloryhammer saga, that of Zargothrax sacking Dundee with an army of undead unicorns as fireballs and lightning rained from the sky. During the performance of the song, Angus finally smites Zargothrax on stage with the Hammer of Glory. There’s probably not a more over-the-top cheesy performance in metal right now, nor a more perfect one.<br />
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Then again, maybe there is one slightly more cheesy moment. In the band’s curtain call, the Hootsman is crowned as “The National Anthem of Unst” plays in the background and the rest of the band bends the knee to him. It’s the only possible fitting end to this performance.<br />
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I have to hand it to Gloryhammer. Only a few days after this show, they would be performing in front of a sea of thousands of fans at Hellfest in France and Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium, but they played to the few hundred who packed the Gas Monkey with every bit as much energy and left a smile on everyone’s face. I can, without a doubt, say it was one of the favorite concert experiences of my life.<br />
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When the fireballs finally finished falling and the smoke cleared, my family and I vowed that whenever the heroes of Dundee return to the U.S., we will always quest to help them defend the Kingdom of Fife, no matter how far we have to travel.</div>
Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-58218712622230757172019-07-18T11:53:00.000-07:002019-07-18T11:53:00.515-07:00Dream Sets: Iron Maiden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As I prepare to check the biggest band off my bucket list in a couple of months, I thought I’d give them the Dream Set treatment. The cut here was brutal. <br />
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As Nicko McBrain announced in a <a href="https://youtu.be/Bv1kBbaUPt8">series of hilarious videos</a>, they’ll be playing 16 songs, nearly two hours, and still not hitting everything I want. My rules limit it to 13, which is even tougher. There aren’t a lot of surprises in this setlist, and as much as I tried to skip a few of the “big” numbers, I just couldn’t do it.</div>
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THE MAIN SET</h3>
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<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">“Wrathchild” (Iron Maiden, 1980). I love this song as an opener. It’s high-energy, aggressive and gets things kicked off the right way. <a name='more'></a></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">“Powerslave” (Powerslave, 1984). I could have filled at least half the set with songs from this album. The title track is one of my wife’s favorite Maiden tracks, and I’d never hear the end of it if I were picking the setlist and didn’t include it. Oh, and I like it, too. </li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">“Flight of Icarus” (Piece of Mind, 1983). I was actually really excited to hear they were playing this one on the Legacy of the Beast tour. It’s always been a favorite, and it’s been quite a while since they played it live. </li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">“Prodigal Son” (Killers, 1981). The first of only a couple of “off the wall” choices here. I love this song, even though it’s kind of strange for the band, and I’m calling the shots here. </li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">“2 Minutes to Midnight” (Powerslave, 1984). The second track from Powerslave came down to a tough call between this one and “Aces High.” One of them probably wasn’t going to make it, and this one won by a hair. </li>
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<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">“Dream of Mirrors” (Brave New World, 2000). I have to give at least a little space to the “modern” era of Maiden. Brave New World is my favorite post-Fear of the Dark album, and this song would be a fantastic and powerful piece in any era of the band. </li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">“Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (Powerslave, 1984). I only get 13 songs, so I’m getting my money’s worth by including this monster. The last in the set from Powerslave and the longest tune of the night. </li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">“Iron Maiden” (Iron Maiden, 1980). You can’t rightly have an Iron Maiden concert if you don’t include “Iron Maiden,” can you? </li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">“Fear of the Dark” (Fear of the Dark, 1992). This song can never go missing from the set list. It’s one of the most powerful live performances in their catalog, particularly when you have a good crowd that gets involved in the sing-along. </li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">“The Trooper” (Piece of Mind, 1983). Again, I can’t imagine a Maiden show without hearing this song. It’s a strong way to close out the main set.</li>
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ENCORE</h3>
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<li>“The Number of the Beast” (The Number of the Beast, 1982). I love the idea of kicking off the show with the “Woe to you, oh Earth and sea,” but I think it fits better as the start of the encore.</li>
<li>“Hallowed Be Thy Name” (The Number of the Beast, 1982). If you don’t think this is Maiden’s best song ever, you’re wrong. No way this doesn’t make it into my encore. </li>
<li>“Run to the Hills” (The Number of the Beast, 1982). So the encore all comes from the same album, but what an album. Honestly, I tried to talk myself into leaving “Run to the Hills” off because it’s a bit overplayed, but I don’t want to start a riot in the crowd, and I can’t think of a better way to close out the night.</li>
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Notable absences</h3>
“Aces High” – If I’d had one more song it would have made the list.<br />
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Tough Cuts</h3>
Running Free<br />
Murders in the Rue Morgue<br />
Children of the Damned<br />
Wasted Years<br />
Can I Play With Madness<br />
The Evil That Men Do<br />
Bring Your Daughter … To the Slaughter (yes, really)<br />
From Here to Eternity</div>
Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-42400144483886177812019-07-15T08:01:00.001-07:002019-07-15T08:01:45.425-07:00Review: Sweet Oblivion (feat. Geoff Tate), "Sweet Oblivion"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When it comes to Geoff Tate, I admit that I’ve been a hater for a while, but Sweet Oblivion’s new self-titled release is not bad at all.<br />
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It’s an interesting project in that it seems the band had the music written, and Frontiers Records put them in touch with Tate. Apparently there was very little collaboration, which doesn’t seem to be the setup for a good record, but <em>Sweet Oblivion</em> defies the odds.<br />
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There’s definitely a classic Queensryche vibe to the music on this album, though if guitarist Simone Mularoni is to be believed, that may not be due to Tate. In an interview with <a href="https://allthatshreds.com/simone-mularoni-says-geoff-tate-nearly-sabbotaged-sweet-oblivion/">Aardschok Magazine</a>, he says that when he submitted the material to Tate, it came back with a closer resemblance to hip-hop than Queensryche. After a few rounds of disagreements between guitarist, singer and label, Mularoni says Tate recorded the vocals on his tour bus and sent them back. I’m guessing from this interview, we won’t see a tour for this project.<a name='more'></a><br />
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Regardless of what difficulties there were in recording <em>Sweet Oblivion</em>, the results speak for themselves. This may be the closest thing we’ve gotten to the Queensryche sound that old fans love since 1990. Is it a perfect record? No. In places, you can hear the cracks in Geoff Tate’s once near-perfect vocals – and on the band side, there are a couple of clunker songs. That said, it’s still damned good.<br />
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The first half of <em>Sweet Oblivion</em> is stacked with solid songs, beginning with opener and first single “True Colors,” a driving rocker that announces the band’s intention to recall the glory days of Tate’s former band. That’s followed up with one of the strongest tracks on the album, “Sweet Oblivion.” The song falls somewhere between <em>Operation: Mindcrime</em> and <em>Empire</em>, and the vocal work on the chorus sends me back in time 30 years with more than a slight nod to Queensryche’s “Breaking the Silence.”<br />
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Tate does manage to throw in some of his more recent stylings here and there, like the hip-hop flavor to some of the vocals on “Behind Your Eyes.” But it’s very muted compared to his solo work, and a really nice guitar riff from Mularoni cuts through it and leads to the big chorus.<br />
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The dark opening of “Hide Away” provides another of my favorite moments on <em>Sweet Oblivion</em>, and sets the mood for what may be the strongest song here. It’s heavy, loaded with attitude and also incorporates a little more of a progressive sound. I really like Geoff Tate’s performance here, you can almost picture the sneer on his face as he delivers the verse, and then he ramps up into the soaring chorus. It’s pretty much exactly what I would have loved to hear on pretty much any Queensryche album featuring the singer after <em>Empire</em>.<br />
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“My Last Story” slows things down a bit, but really gives Tate a chance to shine, then they crank it right back up with the energetic “A Recess from My Fate.” It’s at this point in the record, though, that things begin to slip a little. <br />
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“Transition” has a really nice guitar riff and verse, but the song just doesn’t hold up to the ones that came before. While they sound genuine, this one seems, at least to me, to sound like someone trying to write a song from <em>Operation: Mindcrime</em>. The lull continues with the ballad, “Disconnect.” It’s not an awful song, nothing on the record is, but it’s not particularly compelling. The same with “The Deceiver” and “Seek the Light,” both of which have strong points, but they don’t stick with me the way “Sweet Oblivion” or “Hide Away” do. <br />
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It’s sort of like the album runs out of gas after about six songs. The tracks toward the end just seem to lose that spark that the early tunes had. The soaring choruses seem to wander and flatten out a little instead of being focused as they were in the early going. Even with that, though, the record is still a contender on the strength of its first half.<br />
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For a while, I was keeping score between Geoff Tate and the new version of Queensryche. I’ve long since let that go, but given the strength of <em>Sweet Oblivion</em> and Queensryche’s lackluster <em>The Verdict</em> from earlier this year, Tate is the clear winner of this round.<br />
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At the end of the day, I don’t think Sweet Oblivion would have worked with another vocalist, and I don’t think that Geoff Tate could have recorded an album that I enjoy this much without this band. It’s a shame that there seems to be some animosity between the parties. I definitely wouldn’t mind hearing more from Sweet Oblivion.<br />
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Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-4105496715910474992019-07-01T08:47:00.001-07:002019-07-01T08:47:37.864-07:00Review: Gloryhammer, "Legends from Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I wish it were possible for Christopher Bowes to release new music every week. No matter how lousy the day or how bad the mood, it’s nothing that a new Gloryhammer or Alestorm song can’t fix.<br />
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The latest release from his heroic power metal outfit Gloryhammer bears a mouthful of a title – <em>Legends from Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex</em> – and a story that’s just as big. It concludes a trilogy of albums that started in a fictional version of medieval Scotland on <em>Tales from the Kingdom of Fife</em>, took us to outer space with <em>Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards</em>, and now takes us to another dimension.<br />
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At the end of <em>Space 1992</em>, as Earth was destroyed to save the galaxy, it opened a wormhole. The evil wizard Zargothrax (Bowes) escaped through it, and our hero, Angus McFife XIII (vocalist Thomas Winkler), pursued him. Now we find ourselves in an alternate dimension where Zargothrax is the dark lord of Dundee and Angus’ not-so-secret weapon, the Astral Hammer (an upgraded version of the Hammer of Glory from the first album), has lost its power.<br />
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If it all sounds a little silly, well, it is, and intentionally so. Gloryhammer has made its mark on the metal world by satirizing other power metal bands who take themselves and their subject matter way too seriously. They have fun with the clichés, tropes and traditions of the genre, while also producing music that far outshines most of their peers.<br />
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On this record, Bowes does a masterful job of tying up his trilogy, weaving in musical and content themes from the first two albums throughout. After ranging pretty far afield, he brings everything back to ground zero by the end, but more on that later.<br />
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After an intro track, we dive right into the storyline on “The Siege of Dunkeld (In Hoots We Trust).” It sets the stage for the story that unfolds throughout the course of the record, and also gives us the first of many earworm hooks on the chorus.<br />
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That’s one of the most beautiful things about Bowes’ work both with Gloryhammer and Alestorm. While most power metal bands have one or two tunes per album with those big, memorable choruses, Bowes manages to put one of those into every single song. Legends from <em>Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex</em> bounces from one hummable hook to the next until nearly the whole record is stuck in your head at the end.<br />
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That brings us to the band’s eponymous anthem “Gloryhammer.” It has a chest-pounding chant of the band’s name that leads into a galloping riff by the Dread Lord Proletius (guitarist Paul Templing) that is, in the beginning, somewhat reminiscent of Amon Amarth’s “Pursuit of Vikings,” but quickly goes full Gloryhammer. It’s a song guaranteed to get a rousing chant going in the live shows.<br />
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For those who haven’t been following the story, Proletius is formerly Ser Proletius, Grand Master of the Templar Knights of Crail, but he’s been corrupted after being stabbed with the Knife of Evil (this will be important later). He takes the spotlight on the third song, “Masters of the Galaxy,” in which Zargothrax commands him to slaughter peasants (slaughtering peasants is a theme on this record). In my review of Beast in Black’s most recent record, I pointed out that one of their songs had some similarities to Gloryhammer. Well, the favor is returned on this one with a big ’80s-influenced, synth-driven chorus that would have been right at home on <em>From Hell with Love</em>.<br />
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The next couple of songs recall big numbers from the first record as we travel to “The Land of Unicorns” (presumably not turned into an evil undead army by Zargothrax in this dimension) and battle with the “Power of the Laser Dragon Fire.” “Unicorns” offers up another epic chorus, while “Laser Dragon Fire” is a more aggressive power metal number.<br />
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Once we’re done there, we take a ride through the skies of Space Dundee on the “Legendary Enchanted Jetpack,” punctuated by fittingly soaring “woah-ohs.” How can you not like a song titled “Legendary Enchanted Jetpack?”<br />
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At this point in the album, I was definitely pleased with what I’d heard, but I was missing that ONE song – a favorite that would compete with “Angus McFife” from the first album or “Goblin King of the Darkstorm Galaxy” from the follow-up. Fear not, it’s here in the inescapably addictive “Hootsforce.” The song blends the absolute best of both of Bowes’ metal bands – a happy head-bobbing video-game-type melody a la Alestorm and the over-the-top dramatics of Gloryhammer – into an absolutely unstoppable force. Combine that with a bit of a tongue-twisting chorus, and this is the father-son sing-along I was looking for. It may outshine those two aforementioned songs. I’m sure I’ve hit at least 500 plays on this one in the last week.<br />
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The crowning achievement of this record, though is album closer “The Fires of Ancient Cosmic Destiny.” Under normal circumstances, I’m not a huge fan of the 12-minute power metal epic in five parts, but this is Gloryhammer.<br />
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Just like with a good book or movie, the culminating battle of this trilogy is a huge production, and surprisingly emotional given the light-hearted nature of the band’s music.<br />
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<strong>WARNING:</strong> There are spoilers in the two paragraphs that follow. Yes, I said spoilers … for an album. That’s an accomplishment in itself. Seriously, if you’re a fan who hasn’t listened to the album, skip down. You don’t want to know this yet.<br />
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The final battle is a grand one that sees the Death Knights of Crail unleashed and then destroyed by Ralathor, Mysterious Submarine Commander of Cowdenbeath (drummer Ben Turk – yeah, I’m also not sure how space “submarines” work). Then, as the final battle with Zargothrax looms, the Holy King of Unst and one true god of this dimension, The Hootsman (bassist James Cartwright) appears to help Angus defeat the wizard, turning him to “liquid dust.” In the process, though, our hero is stabbed with the Knife of Evil, and recognizing that it will corrupt him, throws himself into a volcano to save the universe.<br />
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So, yeah, that seems pretty final, and I was really stunned by how much the ending affected me. On first listen, I ended up staring into space for a few seconds, going “what the ….?” But then the album closes with a nice Easter egg, a mysterious transmission to the year 1022, apparently on a dial-up connection (I wonder where they found one of those to record in 2019, and who will have one in 1022 to receive the message) in Morse code. It’s been widely translated as “Activate Zargothrax Clone Alpha 1.” So, despite the ending of this story, it looks like Gloryhammer will return, and most likely go back to the beginning, to its fantasy roots.<br />
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<strong>*** End spoilers***</strong><br />
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As usual, Bowes and Co. manage to avoid all of the pitfalls of the power metal genre in general, and specifically, concept albums. By necessity, concept albums are driven by story, often to the detriment of the music. I don’t know how many of them I’ve heard where the band seemed to just be trying to get from one plot point to the next, and the music becomes something of an afterthought. Even when Gloryhammer gets deeply involved in the story, though, as on “The Fires of Ancient Cosmic Destiny,” the music remains the driving force.<br />
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In my mind, the crown of Gloryhammer’s first three albums still belongs to <em>Space 1992</em>, but <em>Legends from Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex</em> is a very close second that could overtake the top spot in time.<br />
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Don’t let the head-bobbing hooks and tongue-in-cheek subject matter fool you, this is a masterful composition by an artist who is very underrated, probably because of the fact that he likes to have fun with his music. No one can deny that he’s accomplished that. If this record doesn’t put a smile on your face, you may want to check for a wound from the Knife of Evil.<br />
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Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-71033935713286924772019-06-12T08:57:00.000-07:002019-06-12T08:57:20.396-07:00Review: Judas Priest at First Security Ampitheater (June 1, 2019, Little Rock, Ark.)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I consider it a major parenting win that one of my teenage son’s favorite bands is Judas Priest. Oddly, despite my lifelong love of heavy metal, they were also one of the bucket-list bands I hadn’t seen until last fall, when we got a chance to see them in Biloxi, Miss.<br />
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I left that concert a little disappointed, not in Priest’s performance, which was great, but in other aspects of the show. The seating chart at the venue wasn’t accurate, and our seats turned out to not be so great. But the big turn-off was the fact that the crowd was just dead that night.<br />
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I wanted a better Judas Priest experience, and when they announced a return to the U.S. this year, I couldn’t resist trying a different city. I’ve had mostly good concert experiences in Little Rock, and this one was no exception.<a name='more'></a><br />
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Before we get into Priest, though, I have to give a nod to opening band Uriah Heep. In all honesty, I’ve never been a fan and only recognized two songs that they played all night, but I was highly entertained. They brought it hard for nearly an hour, with energy and attitude. If not for the gray hair and grizzled looks, it would have been tough to believe that several of those guys on stage had been at it for 50 years.<br />
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It was a good warmup for the main event. With flood waters from the Arkansas River literally licking at the back of the First Security Ampitheater stage, Judas Priest stormed the front of it and took away everyone’s cares for the next hour and a half.<br />
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Having just done a U.S. run last fall that was mostly a greatest hits-style set, the band decided to mix it up a little bit this time out, plugging in some rarities and deep cuts and leaving out some of their bigger hits. I’m guessing that a few people might have left disappointed to not hear “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming,” for example, but I was not among them. It’s one of those songs I’ve heard so many times over the years, I don’t need to hear it again.<br />
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Of course, that meant that I had to prepare my son for the fact that he wasn’t going to get his favorite Judas Priest tune, “Electric Eye.” In Biloxi, the disappointment had started to set in until the opening notes of lead-in “The Hellion” hit to start the encore, then all was right with the world for him. <br />
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I talked about what they were playing and provided him with some of the deeper cuts on the setlist that I didn’t think he was familiar with, but I held one tidbit of information back. They were playing his second-favorite song, “The Sentinel,” which we hadn’t heard in Biloxi. I wanted to see his reaction when he heard that opening riff, and it was so worth it. The look of joy and recognition in his eyes when he recognized it was the highlight of the night for me.<br />
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But let’s rewind to the opening song of the set, “Necromancer,” from the 2018 release Firepower. This song featured perhaps the most Rob Halford moment of the night as he strutted on stage wearing a sparkling purple coat and top hat with antlers and sporting a skull-topped staff. Part horror-movie voodoo priest, part Disney cartoon character, the outfit was over-the-top ridiculous and somehow absolutely awesome at the same time, as was the performance.<br />
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After an opener from the new record, the band immediately dipped back into the catalog for fans of their classic material with a rousing performance of “Heading out to the Highway,” followed up by the highlight of my family’s night, “The Sentinel.” Then they went back to the new material with “Spectre,” my personal favorite track from Firepower. You couldn’t find many fans in the crowd still seated after that opening volley of songs.<br />
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At that point, the exploration of the back catalog began. They hit all the big albums, but not necessarily the songs you’d expect. The run started by slowing things down a bit with “(Take These) Chains” from Screaming for Vengeance, the oldest of several songs being played live for the first time on this tour, then launched right back into the pummeling with “Judas Rising” from Angel of Retribution. The latter started out a little rough, but found its groove around the first chorus – and no cell phones were harmed by Halford in the performance of the song as in a <a href="https://ultimateclassicrock.com/rob-halford-cell-phone-kick/">much-publicized incident</a> during the song a few nights earlier.<br />
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A disco ball set the mood for another slow down with “Out in the Cold” from Turbo, which was followed by a string of other lesser-played tunes, including “Traitor’s Gate” (Firepower), “Starbreaker” (Sin After Sin), “Steeler” (British Steel) and “Tyrant” (Sad Wings of Destiny). <br />
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If there was a lull during this rarities section, the band picked it up for the closing numbers of the main set, beginning with “No Surrender” from Firepower. Judas Priest has dedicated the song to guitarist Glenn Tipton, who is still a writing and recording member, but has been forced to give up touring for the most part due to a <a href="https://ultimateclassicrock.com/glenn-tipton-parkinsons-disease/">battle with Parkinson’s Disease</a>. That paired with images of Tipton performing with the band projected on the screen made it an emotional number.<br />
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The crowd exploded when guitarists Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap met at the center of the stage to play the opening lick of “Victim of Changes.” Everyone came back to their feet, singing along, banging heads and throwing horns to the grooving main riff of one of the band’s classic songs. The screeching fury of “All Guns Blazing,” from Painkiller, closed the main set with Halford again giving his vocal cords a high-pitched workout.<br />
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That had the crowd primed and ready for the encore. There were no rarities to be found in the final three songs, but rather a lineup designed to send everyone home exhausted but happy.<br />
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The final 15 minutes didn’t give fans a chance to catch their breaths. It opened with one of the most iconic moments in any Judas Priest concert – Rob Halford riding his Harley Davidson (for this tour painted in the theme of their latest album Firepower) on to the stage to perform “Hell Bent for Leather.” <br />
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If there was anyone in the crowd still in their seat at the end of that song, which I doubt, when the band launched straight into the main riff of “Breaking the Law,” they came to their feet. Halford stormed the stage belting out the classic, while fans forcefully shouted the chorus back at him as he urged them on. <br />
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But that was just the beginning of the audience participation, as they closed with “Living After Midnight.” That finale had been one of the most disappointing moments of last fall’s show, when Judas Priest leaned on the audience to sing the chorus, and Halford might as well have been holding the mic out to an empty room. That wasn’t the case in Little Rock, as the crowd was only too eager to shout it out and probably would have kept it going for as long as the band played.<br />
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When it was done, I turned to my wife and said something about the previous audience that I won’t repeat here, but suffice it to say that this was the experience that I wanted in a Judas Priest concert. It was a show designed for dedicated fans of the band – the kind who would come to see them a second time just a few months removed from their last run through the States – and those were the people who showed up in force. <br />
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I walked away from the amphitheater with great memories of the music, and a lasting moment with my son. If for some reason I don’t get to see Judas Priest live again, I’m more than happy with what I got on this night.</div>
Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-10332965190499756122019-04-29T14:22:00.000-07:002019-04-29T14:22:10.710-07:00Dream Sets: Savatage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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If ever there were a setlist that I’m prepared to cheat on, it’s this one. I didn’t, though (mostly). <span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
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THE MAIN SET </h3>
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“Prelude to Madness/Hall of the Mountain King” (<em>Hall of the Mountain King</em>, 1987). Right off the top, I’m torn. “Hall of the Mountain King” should, by all rights, be the final song. But by now you guys know my love of a good intro leading into a blistering tune to start the show. I’ve always had this vision of the band playing “Prelude” with the thunder crashing, some flashing lights to represent the lightning maybe a few lasers or fast-moving lights, then after that first riff of “Mountain King” when the full band kicks in, everything comes on and the stage and band is fully revealed. It’s my dream show, so that’s what I’m going with. <br />
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<li>“Sirens” (<em>Sirens</em>, 1983). Let’s take it all the way back to the beginning for a couple of numbers for the old school fans, starting with "Sirens," a must-play. </li>
<li>“By the Grace of the Witch (<em>The Dungeons are Calling</em>, 1984). Sticking with the old school for a minute, I’ll throw this one in for the family. I probably would have taken the title track, but the wife and son both love this song, and I’m good with it. </li>
<li>“Edge of Thorns” (<em>Edge of Thorns</em>, 1993). Zachary Stephens makes his first appearance of the show with the title track of his debut with the band. </li>
<li>“Handful of Rain” (<em>Handful of Rain</em>, 1994). Lots of title tracks in this set, I’m noticing. Let’s keep the Stephens love going with this one. </li>
<li>“When the Crowds are Gone” (<em>Gutter Ballet</em>, 1989). Let’s slow it down for a minute with one of my favorite Savatage ballads. They will likely be the only band I break my one ballad per set rule with. This one, to my mind, is a classic. So much emotion and feeling.<br /> </li>
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<li>“Tonight He Grins Again” (<em>Streets</em>, 1991). One of my favorite lyrics on this record and in their overall catalog, so it gets the nod over "Jesus Saves." </li>
<li>“The Price You Pay” (<em>Hall of the Mountain King</em>, 1987). Perhaps one of Criss Oliva’s simplest riffs, but no doubt effective, especially with his brother Jon’s wicked vocals over the top. </li>
<li>“Believe” (<em>Streets</em>, 1991). The second ballad to make the list, this is one of my absolute favorite songs of all time by any band. There’s so much power in it – filled with regret and sadness, but also hope. If I could only pick one song, this would be it. I probably would have gone for the ballad trilogy with “Alone You Breathe” if I had one more slot. </li>
<li>“Awaken” (<em>Poets and Madmen</em>, 2001). This album is often overlooked and very underrated. I felt the need to include one song here, even though it meant that there’s nothing from <em>Wake of Magellan</em>, which I also love.</li>
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ENCORE</h3>
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<li>“Power of the Night” (<em>Power of the Night</em>, 1985). This also would have been a good opener, but it serves as well to get the crowd riled up for the encore. “Raise the fist of the metal child.” </li>
<li>“Chance” (<em>Handful of Rain</em>, 1994). I can’t have a Savatage show without at least one tune that features counterpoint vocals. It’s one of my favorite aspects of their music. My decision came down to this one and “The Wake of Magellan,” but “Chance” won out by a hair. </li>
<li>“Gutter Ballet” (<em>Gutter Ballet</em>, 1989). If you don’t close with “Hall of the Mountain King,” this is the obvious second choice. A fantastic song that gave us the first inkling of the symphonic sound that was to come.</li>
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<strong>Notable absences<o:p></o:p></strong><br />
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“Jesus Saves.” I really wanted this song in the setlist, but it just didn’t quite make it.<br />
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“Christmas Eve Sarajevo (12/24).” I always like to remind people this was a Savatage song first, but it’s more associated with TSO and probably more appropriate to their show.
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<strong>Tough cuts</strong><br />
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“The Dungeons are Calling”<br />
“Beyond the Doors of the Dark”<br />
“Mentally Yours”<br />
“Jesus Saves”<br />
“Ghost in the Ruins”<br />
“Damien”<br />
“Alone You Breathe”<br />
“Dead Winter Dead”<br />
“Blackjack Guillotine”<br />
“Paragons of Innocence”<br />
“The Wake of Magellan”
"I Seek Power"</div>
Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-18499729225895400742019-04-18T08:51:00.001-07:002019-04-18T08:51:11.006-07:00Review: "The Dirt"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCCBGER1lbbViafVmqLS1dsqqxs5J1h_rsXk47AVzlu8P1aBaYvTUBU-TAxDdT1iF2xPzXQJQSifH8IQnUQ0m7m5o_VtubwLVVeTWnZ5Y34jweRYsAu6zzoKsgd4DY5DvkIEJtrTBnR4M/s1600/thedirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="741" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCCBGER1lbbViafVmqLS1dsqqxs5J1h_rsXk47AVzlu8P1aBaYvTUBU-TAxDdT1iF2xPzXQJQSifH8IQnUQ0m7m5o_VtubwLVVeTWnZ5Y34jweRYsAu6zzoKsgd4DY5DvkIEJtrTBnR4M/s320/thedirt.jpg" width="215" /></a><em>The Dirt</em> delivers exactly what you’d expect in a biopic of Motley Crue – a trashy, but fun tale of debauchery that turns dark but never quite faces its demons. Much like the band’s lyrics, the movie often skips over substance and tough topics in favor of more sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.<br />
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I didn’t go into <em>The Dirt</em> expecting a factual, documentary-style account of Motley Crue’s rise and fall. It’s a movie. Some things will be dramatized, some facts will change and some things will be completely made up. The film even acknowledges this in an early aside to the camera from guitarist Mick Mars: He lets the audience know that the telling of how they met legendary manager Doc McGhee is complete BS because, “Doc would never come to a dump like this.”<br />
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In some ways, <em>The Dirt</em> is refreshingly honest. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, and the band acknowledges that, for the most part, they were a bunch of idiots. At other times, though, it glosses over things that could make it a stronger, more meaningful film.<a name='more'></a><br />
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For example, the movie pretty much gives Vince Neil a pass on the fatal accident that resulted in the death of Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle. In reality, Vince was trashed, driving recklessly and way too fast. <em>The Dirt</em> treats it as though the singer was mildly buzzed and the accident came from a moment of distraction. It does acknowledge, indirectly from a scene of a news report, that he got a slap on the wrist for it, but the incident doesn’t really seem to have the impact on Vince or the story that it should.<br />
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Likewise, bassist Nikki Sixx’s near-fatal heroin overdose, which could have been a harrowing and pivotal scene in the movie, is treated fairly lightly, even turning the EMTs reviving him in the ambulance into a dark joke. The following scene, when he returns home from the hospital only to shoot up again is a little more effective, but it all just seems to move too quickly and easily.<br />
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The one place they do seem to get the drama right, though, is in the death of Neil’s daughter Skylar. It’s a gut-wrenching scene for any parent and puts a very human face on the singer who has, to that point, not been much more than a narcissistic ass. It also provides a rare somber moment during Motley Crue’s reunion, which is probably mostly creative license, but it works.<br />
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Then there’s the “they all lived happily ever after” ending, which is a complete fantasy. It ignores the fact that after the band reunited with Vince, drummer Tommy Lee left for a time. They even recorded an album, <em>New Tattoo</em>, with the late Randy Castillo (Ozzy Osbourne). Samantha Maloney (Hole) then filled in on tour when Castillo was too ill to play with Motley Crue. And, as we all know, they’re all still pretty much a mess.<br />
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On a personal note, I disliked the treatment of the John Corabi years. It’s very brief and paints the self-titled album as a disaster, which isn’t the case at all. Yes, the fans didn’t embrace it, but that doesn’t mean it should be dismissed the way it is here.<br />
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So, now I’ll take my grouchy old man hat off and look at the movie through the eyes of a 1980s rock fanatic – and through that lens, the movie is great. It really took me back in time, and I laughed long and hard reliving my early years and, honestly, one of my favorite eras in rock.<br />
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The actors that play Neil (Daniel Webber), Sixx (Douglas Booth), Lee (rapper Machine Gun Kelly) and Mars (Iwan Rheon) all do fantastic jobs. They clearly did their homework in watching old videos of the band and capturing their mannerisms perfectly. As someone who lived through the era of Motley Crue, even I could sometimes forget that these were actors playing the band I grew up on and not the guys themselves.<br />
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Rheon, known for portraying the sadistic Ramsay Bolton in <em>Game of Thrones</em>, turns in the performance of the film as Mars. He portrays the guitarist, the oldest and most reclusive member of Motley Crue, as a lovable grouch and the lone voice of what passes for sanity. Yes, the character of the movie is probably a more virtuous version than the real Mars, but you can’t help but like him and his quips are the highlights of the dialogue.<br />
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<em>The Dirt</em> is certainly a flawed movie with its missed opportunities for drama and any sort of introspection. That said, it’s still a fantastically fun romp through one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most decadent decades – and in the end, I suppose that’s appropriate for a film about Motley Crue.<br />
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Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-3197983348260274512019-04-11T14:03:00.000-07:002019-04-11T14:03:18.399-07:00Dream Sets: Metallica<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This one was brutal. Easily the toughest I’ve done so far because so many songs are on the same level in my mind. I basically want to hear the first four albums in their entirety, plus a few from later records. I could cheat and do a few medleys, but I didn’t.<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
THE MAIN SET</h3>
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<li>“Battery” (<em>Master of Puppets</em>, 1986). I always love a good intro that blasts into a heavy song to start a show. This one fits the bill. <a name='more'></a></li>
<li>“Master of Puppets” (<em>Master of Puppets</em>, 1986). When “Battery” ends, my mind is already going to automatically go DUM …. DUM, DUM, DUM. Let’s make it happen. </li>
<li>“Broken, Beat and Scarred” (<em>Death Magnetic</em>, 2008). This setlist will likely be a bit light on the newer material, but my kid and wife would kill me if I didn’t have them play this song, and I like it, too. </li>
<li>“Blackened” (…<em>And Justice for All</em>, 1988). Black out after the last tune, fade in with that back-tracked intro, then explode into a furious riff. It’s almost like you started the show over three songs in. </li>
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<li>“Spit Out the Bone” (<em>Hardwired … to Self Destruct</em>, 2016). I can’t believe they don’t play this one every night. It’s easily the best pure thrash tune they’ve done in years. </li>
<li>“Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” (<em>Master of Puppets</em>, 1986). Time for a ballady break. Lots of options here, but I’m probably only going to fit one on this list, and this one is always my choice. </li>
<li>“Dyer’s Eve” (…<em>And Justice for All</em>, 1988). I’ve always loved this song for some reason, the heaviness, the riding on the edge of chaos. I’ve got to hear it live. </li>
<li>“Escape” (<em>Ride the Lightning</em>, 1984). I know the band doesn’t like this one much. I believe they’ve only ever played it live once. They’re wrong. </li>
<li>“Of Wolf and Man” (<em>Metallica</em>, 1991). There has to be one song from this record, and if I’m making the call, this is the one. </li>
<li>“Seek and Destroy” (<em>Kill ‘Em All</em>, 1983). There were a lot of songs I wanted to drop in this final slot in the main set, but “Seek and Destroy” won out by a narrow margin. You can’t beat that riff. </li>
</ol>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
ENCORE</h3>
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>“Last Caress/Green Hell” (<em>Garage Days Re-Revisited</em>, 1987). Metallica likes to do a cover in the encore, and there’s no one that I’d rather hear than this Misfits number. </li>
<li>“The Four Horsemen” (<em>Kill ‘Em All</em>, 1983). Probably my favorite Metallica song, and you save the best for last, which leads me to … </li>
<li>“Creeping Death” (<em>Ride the Lightning</em>, 1984). This one has it all – heavy riffing, speed, grooves and a crowd sing-along. How can you not close with it. </li>
</ol>
<div>
<strong>Notable absences</strong></div>
<div>
“Enter Sandman.” Perhaps the most overrated song in the history of overrated songs. I don’t want to hear it on my dime.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
“One.” The absence of this one would probably anger a lot of fans. They never fail to play it, which also means that I’ve heard them play it every time I’ve seen them. I love “One,” but with room for one power ballad, I went with my favorite.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>Tough calls</strong></div>
<div>
“Motorbreath”</div>
<div>
“Whiplash”</div>
<div>
“For Whom the Bell Tolls”</div>
<div>
“Fade to Black”</div>
<div>
“The Thing that Should Not Be”</div>
<div>
“Damage, Inc.”</div>
<div>
“One”</div>
<div>
“Sad But True”</div>
<div>
“Nothing Else Matters” (Yes, really)</div>
<div>
“The Memory Remains” (Yes, really)</div>
<div>
“Cyanide”</div>
<div>
“My Apocalypse”</div>
<div>
“Moth into Flame”</div>
<div>
“Dream No More”</div>
</div>
Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-26956312198088904382019-03-28T13:41:00.000-07:002019-03-28T13:41:01.096-07:00Dream Sets: Aerosmith<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
This second installment will be quite the challenge for me as one of my absolute favorite bands. I could fill a 13-song playlist based mostly around their debut album and 1976’s <em>Rocks</em>.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
THE MAIN SET</h3>
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>“No Surprize” (<em>Night in the Ruts</em>, 1979). While this is definitely not my favorite Aerosmith album, I do love this song, and I think it would be a great opener. It’s high energy and introduces the band. <a name='more'></a></li>
<li>“S.O.S. (Too Bad)” (<em>Get Your Wings</em>, 1974). This is one of those that I’m not likely to hear live any other way, but I really dig it, so they’re going to play it for me. </li>
<li>“Love in an Elevator” (<em>Pump</em>, 1989). We opened with two lesser-known songs, so let’s give up one of the big songs for the people that are not me who may be at the show. </li>
<li>“Hangman Jury” (<em>Permanent Vacation</em>, 1987). Let’s keep the 1980s rebirth vibe going with the best song from this record. </li>
<li>“F.I.N.E.” (<em>Pump</em>, 1989). One last ‘80s number to complete that section of the show and pick the energy back up. </li>
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<li>“Movin’ Out” (<em>Aerosmith</em>, 1973). Let’s go from the ‘80s all the way back to the beginning for one of my favorite Aerosmith songs from one of my favorite albums. </li>
<li>“Taste of India” (<em>Nine Lives</em>, 1997). I think this is a very underrated record, so I have to get one song in from it. This is my pick over a couple of bigger hits. </li>
<li>“Sweet Emotion” (<em>Toys in the Attic</em>, 1975). This was the last slot that I filled in the set, and I had a lot of trouble deciding. In the end, I went with a crowd pleaser. </li>
<li>“Dream On” (<em>Aerosmith</em>, 1973). The difference between this one and the band’s other ballads is that I never get tired of hearing this one. It’s far and away a better song, and you can’t have a show without it. </li>
<li>“Mama Kin” (<em>Aerosmith</em>, 1973). Another favorite track of mine, and a solid way to end the main set and get the energy back up. </li>
</ol>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
ENCORE</h3>
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</div>
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li> “Nobody’s Fault” (<em>Rocks</em>, 1976). This is my favorite Aerosmith song, and one of my favorite songs period. Of course it’s going to be in my encore. </li>
<li>“Big 10-Inch Record” (<em>Toys in the Attic</em>, 1975). No Aerosmith show should ever end without this Bull Moose Jackson cover. It’s one of their most fun songs. </li>
<li>“Walk This Way” (<em>Toys in the Attic</em>, 1975). In my personal opinion, this should always be the closer. When I think Aerosmith, I think “Walk This Way.” </li>
</ol>
<div>
<strong>Notable Absences</strong></div>
<div>
“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” I know it was their only No. 1 hit, but this song should die with fire.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
“Train Kept A-Rollin’.” This is a staple, and I wanted to make it happen, but there were too many other songs I wanted to hear.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
“Dude (Looks Like a Lady).” I don’t dislike this song, but think it’s overplayed.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
“Janie’s Got a Gun.” I don’t care if I ever hear this song again in life.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>Tough cuts</strong></div>
<div>
“Same Old Song and Dance”</div>
<div>
“Back in the Saddle”</div>
<div>
“Last Child”</div>
<div>
“Kings and Queens”</div>
<div>
“Monkey on My Back”</div>
<div>
“Full Circle” </div>
</div>
Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-23582425713010324152019-03-18T11:41:00.000-07:002019-03-18T11:41:00.464-07:00Review: In Flames, "I, The Mask"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Overview</h3>
After three of the first four songs released from In Flames’ latest showed a lot of promise, I was hoping to party like it was 2002 with great albums from both Soilwork and In Flames again. In the end, though, it’s a mixed bag with some really strong songs, but quite a few skips.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
What’s Hot?</h3>
Fans of the band’s earlier work should be pleased that there are heavier songs on this record than they’ve done in a while. It starts with album opener “Voices,” which definitely has some <em>Clayman </em>feel in the verses. That’s followed with the title track, which is an absolute banger. After that, things get spottier. There’s heaviness to be found in “I Am Above,” “Burn” and the addictive riffing of “Deep Inside,” which does a really good job of blending their styles. Yes, the heavy songs here do have more melodic, mainstream choruses, but in most cases, they’re very catchy.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
I also find myself drawn to one of the strangest songs on the record, “Not Alone,” which is this strange alternative, Sisters of Mercy type of verse blended with a soaring Scorpions-influenced chorus. It shouldn’t work, but does.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
What’s Not?</h3>
<em>I, The Mask</em> features perhaps the band’s worst song ever in “(This is Our) House.” It’s just an awful song and doesn’t really fit with anything else on the record. The mix of songs is a bit uneven as the melancholy, ballad-type tracks, even the better ones, like “Stay With Me,” bring down the energy that the heavier songs get going.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
The Verdict</h3>
My expectations were probably too high given the quality of the first few songs released, which led to some serious initial disappointment in the rest of the album. After a few weeks of listens, I still think it’s uneven, but there’s more good than bad. It’s their best effort, I believe, at least since <em>Come Clarity</em>.<br />
<br />
<strong>Check Out:</strong> “Voices,” “I, the Mask,” “I Am Above,” “Burn,” “Deep Inside”<br />
<strong>Consider:</strong> “Call My Name,” “We Will Remember,” “Stay With Me,” “Not Alone”<br />
<strong>Skip:</strong> “Follow Me,” “In This Life,” “All the Pain”<br />
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Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-43883546370339835112019-03-13T13:13:00.000-07:002019-03-14T08:38:21.500-07:00Dream Sets: Judas Priest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
Let's say you've won a massive lottery. You'd use that money responsibly, right? Like building your own music venues and paying your favorite bands to play your favorite songs there?<br />
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</div>
<div>
So here's the deal. You're booking your favorite bands, and you're paying them so much that they let you pick the set list. You've got 10 songs (it's got to be a challenge, right?) plus a three-song encore. What's your Dream Set? </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
I’m hoping to do a couple of these a month. Since I’ve seen Judas Priest recently, and it’s fresh in my mind, that’s where I’m going to start.</div>
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</div>
Feel free to disagree with me or share your own.<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<strong>THE MAIN SET</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
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<br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“The
Hellion/Electric Eye” (<em>Screaming for Vengeance</em>, 1982). This should always
be Priest’s opener. It’s just perfect for that purpose. The intro to crank
the place up and the energy to make it explode.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“The
Sentinel” (<em>Defenders of the Faith</em>, 1984). We’ve got the energy up, let’s
keep it there with one of Priest’s heavier pre-<em>Painkiller </em>tracks.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Sword
of Damocles” (<em>Redeemer of Souls</em>, 2014). This is likely the only way that
I’d ever get to hear this live, but it’s one of my favorite recent Priest
songs. How can you not like a Priest song that sounds like Iron Maiden?</span><div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span> </div>
</li>
<div>
</div>
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<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Hell
is Home” (<em>Demolition</em>, 2001). Probably a controversial pick among Priest
fans, but I’ve always loved this song. We need one slower tune, and maybe
I could pay them enough to let Tim Owens sit in for this one. If not, I’d
be happy with Halford singing it.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Spectre”
(<em>Firepower</em>, 2018). Let’s conclude the middle section of newer songs with
my favorite from their latest album. I really love this whole record, but
I can only spare one slot.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Turbo
Lover” (<em>Turbo</em>, 1986). Yes, this album gets a lot of hate. Yes, the synth
guitars were a bad idea. Yes, this song still kicks ass.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“The
Ripper” (<em>Sad Wings of Destiny</em>, 1976). The <em>Sad Wings</em> track was a tough call
between this one and “Victim of Changes,” but as much as I love singing
along with the opening line of “Victim,” “The Ripper” is just a little
cooler in my mind.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Leather
Rebel” (<em>Painkiller</em>, 1990). Since <em>Painkiller</em> is my favorite Priest record
all-around, I have to get more than the title track in. I’m going with
this one just because it’s a crusher.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Some
Heads are Gonna Roll” (<em>Defenders of the Faith</em>, 1984). I’ve always loved
this song, and I think it’s very underrated. I’d love to hear it in the
live set. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Hell
Bent for Leather” (<em>Killing Machine/Hell Bent for Leather</em>, 1978). It’s not
a Priest show without Halford riding the Harley out for this tune. It’s
one of the iconic parts of their show, and I think it’s a perfect way to
finish the main set.</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>ENCORE</strong></span><br />
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<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Painkiller”
(<em>Painkiller</em>, 1990). As I mentioned earlier, this is my favorite Priest
record all-around, and one of my favorite Priest tracks. A great way to
blast into the encore.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Breaking
the Law” (<em>British Steel</em>, 1980). You can’t have a Priest concert without
“Breaking the Law,” and it has to come at the end.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Living
After Midnight” (<em>British Steel</em>, 1980). See above. So, yeah, I think their
normal closing two songs are perfect and wouldn’t have it any other way.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<strong>Notable Absences:</strong><br />
<div>
“You’ve Got Another Thing Coming.” It’s not that I don’t like the song, it’s that I’ve heard it so many times that I don’t need to hear it again. For some reason it doesn’t hold up for me like “Breaking the Law” or “Living After Midnight,” which the same could be said for.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
“The Sinner.” I know this is a staple, but it’s just never been a favorite of mine, and I’d rather use that seven minutes on something else.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
“Metal God.” Good song, but I’ve always felt it was a little overrated.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>Tough Cuts</strong> </div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>“Victim of Changes” </li>
<li>“Delivering the Goods” </li>
<li>“Rapid Fire” </li>
<li>“Blood Red Skies” </li>
<li>“Judas Rising” </li>
<li>“Dragonaut” </li>
<li>“Never the Heroes”
</li>
</ul>
</div>
Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-29098899543453188172019-03-06T12:31:00.001-08:002019-03-06T12:31:23.766-08:00Review: Beast in Black, "From Hell With Love"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Imagine, if you will, a world where 1980s electronic pop incorporated blazing metal guitar riffs and soaring solos. I’m talking about the cheesiest songs from the <em>Flashdance</em>, <em>Footloose</em> or <em>Rocky </em>movie soundtracks of the early ‘80s blended with the metal bands that rose to prominence in the latter part of the decade. That’s the world inhabited by Finland’s Beast in Black.<br />
<br />
<em>From Hell With Love</em> is a beautifully cheesy world of guilty pleasure. As a metal guy, I’m a bit embarrassed about enjoying this so much, but at the same time I’m bobbing my head and belting out the lyrics at the top of my lungs. <br />
<br />
Do you fit in this world? To answer that question, just hit play on the title track, “From Hell With Love.” You’ll soon know. My progression went something like this:<br />
<br />
• First verse – “Man, how cheesy can you get?”<br />
• Second verse/chorus – “But it’s really catchy.”<br />
• Chorus after the solo – *head banging* <em>“Another voiceless cry / another hopeless try / I wish you’d open your wings and take me inside …”</em><br />
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About 10 repeats later, I finally gave in to my inner ‘80s child and bought the record. I have no regrets.<a name='more'></a><br />
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Though I doubt that any member of the band is old enough to remember that decade of my youth, they are definitely students of its music. The combination is often strange, but always a lot of fun. That’s perhaps best illustrated by “Die by the Blade.” The song blends fantasy-themed power metal lyrics with over-the-top synths that I immediately associate with the motivational workout scene from most any early- to mid-1980s movie. It’s funny to imagine the down-and-out character pulling him/herself up and pushing to be better while the lyrics are telling them to “fight until you die by the blade of the one you hate.” Yet, in a way, it’s oddly appropriate. <br />
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“True Believer” follows a similar track, but actually falls lyrically more in line with those 1980s songs with a tale about overcoming people trying to hold you down. Although, it is a bit more literal here and ends with the subject of the song overcoming evil perhaps a bit more violently. <br />
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“Sweet True Lies” with its big harmonized vocal hook plays like a mix between a boy band and <em>7800 Fahrenheit</em> or <em>Slippery When Wet</em>-era Bon Jovi. Among the pop/metal mixes, “Heart of Steel” is a favorite of mine, perhaps surpassed only by the title track. It’s like one of my favorite current power metal bands, Gloryhammer, decided to cover a Survivor song from a <em>Rocky</em> soundtrack, and it’s glorious. <br />
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Speaking of <em>Rocky</em> soundtracks, there’s a reason I’ve mentioned them three times now, and that is album closer “No Easy Way Out,” a cover of Robert Tepper’s song from the <em>Rocky IV</em> soundtrack. This rendition features all of the song’s 1980s glory, and it’s a perfect way to wrap up <em>From Hell With Love.</em><br />
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It’s not all about that blend, though. There are a few songs sprinkled throughout the album that lean a little more toward straightforward power metal. Beast in Black’s very-1980s titled “Cry Out for a Hero,” which opens From <em>Hell With Love</em>, owes much more to Judas Priest than anything else, though the chorus does have an admittedly pop touch. That Priest influence also shows up on “Repentless,” particularly from vocalist Yannis Papadopoulos, who shows great range on this album, moving from smooth poppy harmonies to piercing screams with ease. <br />
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“This is War” is just a fantastic metal song, influenced by Manowar with a lyrical nod to them as well. The galloping riffs of Beast in Black’s Anton Kabanen and Kasperi Heikkinen set the stage, and the dramatic gang vocal chorus chant of “This is war” should induce chest pounding in any true metal fan.<br />
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The only place that <em>From Hell With Love</em> doesn’t fare so well is on the second cover, Motorhead’s “Killed by Death.” It’s not bad, but it’s just hard to cover Lemmy, and it doesn’t seem to sit well with the rest of the tunes on the album. Still, I can’t knock Beast in Black for paying tribute to a legend.<br />
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<em>From Hell With Love</em> presents a perfect storm for me. It’s my entire musical childhood – both the sounds I loved and those I didn’t – all wrapped up in a fantastically fun collection of 13 songs that I enjoy more with every listen. It’s early in the year with a lot of records left to come, including my most-anticipated third album from Gloryhammer, but the bar that I will judge all 2019 power metal albums by has been set by Beast in Black.<br />
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Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6025423419640162161.post-3172525901953657712019-01-22T12:30:00.000-08:002019-03-04T12:30:25.054-08:00Review: Soilwork, "Verkligheten"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Unfortunately, evolution can be a difficult and dangerous thing for a metal band. Any change in sound in the genre is often met with a swift and ugly response from a large portion of the fan base.<br />
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If there’s a template for the way to evolve gracefully, it might belong to Soilwork. That’s not to say that they haven’t seen the backlash as they’ve moved from the Gothenburg death-metal sound to something more melodic and accessible, but they’ve weathered it better than others and continue to pump out great albums. Their latest, <em>Verkligheten</em> (which translates to <em>Reality </em>in English), is no exception.<a name='more'></a><br />
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One of the reasons that Soilwork has been able to successfully evolve their sound is that they’ve never forgotten where they come from. Yes, they’re going to give you some big hooks and hummable melodies, but you’re also going to get a blast of heavy on most songs and, on most albums, at least one brutal melodeath track.<br />
Where they shine is when they put it all together in one song. That would be “Full Moon Shoals” on <em>Verkligheten</em>. It opens with a catchy guitar riff, and the verses and chorus are in a very mainstream rock style that puts the spotlight on vocalist Bjorn “Speed” Strid’s versatility. The chorus hook is fantastic and gets punctuated by Strid ramping up to a roar. Just before the three-minute mark, the song explodes into melodic death goodness with breakneck riffs, blast beats and screams. Then it drops back into that big chorus for the close. It’s a neat capsule of everything the band has to offer.<br />
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There are strong entries here from both the heavy and melodic sides. <br />
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Album opener “Arrival” blasts out of the gate with something more akin to Soilwork’s early death metal sound, but the bash-you-over-the-head moment comes on “When the Universe Spoke.” It delivers a relentless pounding to the listener from drummer Bastian Thusgaard, who replaced long-time drummer Dirk Verbeuren when he left to join Megadeth. In the beginning of the heavier section, it seems that the blast beats might overpower things, but the band, as usual, finds a nice a balance and turns this into a fantastic tune. <br />
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On the mellower side, “Stalfagel” (“Steel Eagle”), may tweak certain fans a little. It’s a very mainstream-sounding rock track with little if any of their death-metal heritage. That said, it’s far better than pretty much anything you’ll find on rock radio, and after a couple of listens, it sticks in your head. “The Ageless Whisper” features a clean opening that has almost a little bit of a bluesy feel creeping in around the edges, that also comes back during the interlude and solo. The heavier influences are certainly there, but they take a back seat to the melodic aspects.<br />
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Somewhere in between fall tracks like “Bleeder Despoiler,” which features a heavy, thrashy rhythm riff from Sylvain Coudret, but with some classic hard-rock overtones which are accentuated by David Andersson’s leads. That feel really shows up on “The Nurturing Glance,” which leans on the classic-rock sounds of Strid’s other project, Night Flight Orchestra. The song has a great intro and sounds like it’s headed into heavier territory before they shift to an ‘80s-influenced rock riff that brings yet another different vibe to the record.<br />
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“The Wolves are Back in Town” and “Witan” are what I would consider prototypical Soilwork songs – heavy riffs and verses with catchy, melodic choruses. It’s the sound they’ve made their name on since 2002’s <em>Natural Born Chaos</em>.<br />
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The only real disappointment on <em>Verkligheten</em> for me was “Needles and Kin,” and that only because it featured Amorphis vocalist Tomi Joutsen. I love Soilwork and I love Amorphis, and I was expecting so much more from that collaboration. It’s not a bad song, it just didn’t live up to my probably unrealistic expectations.<br />
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No doubt there are fans out there that would like to hear Soilwork keep remaking <em>Chainheart Machine</em> (2000) or <em>A Predator’s Portrait</em> (2001) or to have 12 versions of “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqRNUQD5Nik">When the Universe Spoke</a>” on this record. I get that, but I don’t truly understand it. Unlike another Gothenburg band I could mention (though the songs coming off their new album sound promising, too), Soilwork has never strayed from their roots, just expanded their horizons.<br />
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<em>Verkligheten</em> is one of the most varied records that the band has done. Nearly every track has a different feel, but it’s all undeniably Soilwork, and I absolutely love it.<br />
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Fred Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905015280938311335noreply@blogger.com0