Playlist 2016 Week 2: Jackson Taylor, Metallica, Delain, Amon Amarth, Wicked Realm

In the second week of my Playlist 2016, we'll go from country to Viking death metal with a detour through the 1980s.


"Which Way is Up?" Jackson Taylor & The Sinners. If any song perfectly encapsulates 2016, it's this title track from Jackson Taylor's latest release. It expressed my feelings exactly as most everyone around me seemed to lose their minds in a particularly nasty election year. It's a message that I believe everyone needs to hear before this year is over.

Review: Skid Row, "Rise of the Damnation Army: United World Rebellion, Chapter 2"

United World Rebellion, Chapter 2 marks the first Skid Row record that I’ve actually had some anticipation for since Subhuman Race.

That’s because Chapter 1, released last year, was such a great EP. It was the first to really recapture the feel of their classic material. Rise of the Damnation Army follows that well. I’ll admit that I don’t find the songs on this EP as immediately catchy as some of those on Chapter 1, but they’re solid rockers, and they’ve grown on me with each listen.

This one follows the same basic pattern as the first one. There are four hard-driving rock tunes and one ballad. This one adds a couple of cover tunes.

Saturday Shuffle: Alice in Chains, Queen, DAC, Rob Zombie, White Wizzard

A few bona fide classics and one big bust make up this week's edition of the Shuffle ...


Alice in Chains, “Grind.” From the album Alice in Chains (1995). Alice in Chains’ self-titled record seems to get overlooked a little, but it’s a great album. The grooving, grinding riff of “Grind” is a great example of what you can find. Layne Staley’s dark and angry vocal on the verse gives way to a rare, almost hopeful chorus from the band.

Something Borrowed: "Stone Cold Crazy," Metallica/Queen

Editor's note: Today, I launch a new feature here on Hall of the Mountain King called Something Borrowed. Each Wednesday, I'll take a look at a cover song that I like (or maybe one that I hate, I haven't decided if I'm going there yet) and say why I think it stacks up against the original. Enjoy.


No one can deny that Metallica is one hell of a cover band. Before this series reaches its end, I'm sure they'll have several entries in it. If I had to choose just one Metallica cover, though, this would be it.

Saturday Shuffle: Bon Jovi, Queen, Aerosmith, King's X, Shooter Jennings

A couple of classic favorites trapped in the middle of this shuffle ...

Bon Jovi, “Wild in the Streets.” From the album Slippery When Wet (1986). OK, I knew we had to get into some marginally embarrassing music at some point, and here we go. I actually do enjoy some Bon Jovi. This track, though, is about as cheesy as 1980s rock comes with lots of glitz, heavy keyboards and that radio rock sound that is most definitely of its era. Not the best song from this record.

Saturday Shuffle: Anthrax, Misfits, Alice Cooper, Queen, Testament

Another shuffle, in which we encounter one of the darker moments of Alice Cooper's career ...

Anthrax, “Caught in a Mosh.” From the album Among the Living (1987). The best album of the Joey Belladonna era and one of the band’s truly classic songs. I’ve always thought it funny that one of the chorus lyrics is “which one of these words, don’t you understand?” when at the time, there were a whole lot of people who wouldn’t have known what a mosh was. Great, great song.

Overkill: Songs that I could use a break from

Since my XM subscription expired, I’ve been listening to regular radio in my truck off and on, and after hearing many of the same songs over and over, I started thinking about songs by bands I like that I’d probably be perfectly happy if I never had to hear again. In many cases, these are songs that I really enjoyed at one time or another, but I’ve heard them so often they bring a groan every time I hear the opening notes. So, while I realize no one will listen to me, I nominate these songs for a long break. Feel free to argue the point.

The Formative 15

A couple of weeks ago, there was a thread going around Facebook asking people to name 15 albums that were important in their lives in 15 minutes or less. I wanted to add my own, but I couldn’t do it. Rather than list the first 15 records that I really liked off the top of my head, I wanted to take some time to really think about it and get it right. Yeah, I know the spontaneity was kind of the point, but it’s just how I’m built when it comes to talking about music.

Note that this list does not represent my 15 “favorite” records. While a few of these would certainly make that list, there are a few here that I haven’t listened to in their entirety for years. These are records that, in some way, shaped my musical tastes and led me to being the hack music writer that I am today.

Review: Dream Theater, "Black Clouds and Silver Linings"

I'm a little late in reviewing this, but I wanted to give it some time to sink in. I bashed Dream Theater's last record on a quick review, and I ended up quite liking it. I wanted to make sure that didn't happen this time.

On "Black Clouds and Silver Linings," Dream Theater is back in full prog mode. You can tell that by the tracklist. The CD is packed about as full as it can get with music, and there are only six songs, the longest, "The Count of Tuscany," checking in at nearly 20 minutes, the shortest, "Wither," clocking about five and a half.

I apologize in advance for the length of this review, but there's so much going on that it's practically impossible to write a complete review that's brief. There are just too many twists, turns and shifts. If they wrote songs like most bands, they could get six or seven out of each of theirs.

First the good:

Album opener "A Nightmare to Remember" gets things off to a rolling start with a heavy opening that borders on extreme metal with its crunching guitars and rolling drum line until the keyboards kick in. Vocalist James LaBrie takes on a dark, cutting delivery that reminds me of Jon Oliva in places. The tune slows down about the four-minute point, but remains dark for the next few minutes. We come out at about the 7:30 mark with a bluesy, rocking, jaw-dropping solo from John Petrucci that leads to an extended bit of madness on his part. Drummer Mike Portnoy makes a vocal appearance to give a deeper sound to a thrashy bit toward the end. The record's off and rolling to a good start.

"A Rite of Passage" is one of the less adventurous tracks on the record, but also one of my favorites. It's among the shorter tunes at around eight minutes, but features some more aggressive elements in the way of vocals and guitars. It's reminiscent of their one mainstream hit, "Pull Me Under," with a catchy chorus melody.

"The Shattered Fortress" is on the gnarly side for Dream Theater, which is a good thing. It opens with a heavy riff that moves into a melody with a feel reminiscent of some of the pirate metal bands popping up lately thanks in large part to the soaring keys of Jordan Rudess. It moves back to a thrash riff about two mintues in with Portnoy providing some snarled supporting vocals for Labrie. After a soft interlude where a deep spoken word bit (Portnoy again?) trades off with Labrie's vocals and finishes strong with a rolling heavy riff that leads to more histrionics from Petrucci.

The album is capped off with the epic "The Count of Tuscany," which while a bit too long, certainly shows off the band's skills. It opens with a heavy Rush influence before moving to an "Images and Words" feel. LaBrie's vocals here are in a very classic hard rock mode, and he uses the more aggressive vocals he's worked on recenlty here as well. The slow, atmospheric interlude that kicks in around the 10-minute mark probably could have been cut drastically from its four-minute run time and helped the song. A simple, Pink Floyd-ish acoustic piece follows that leads into a majestic close.

Now for the not-so-good. The ballad "Wither" is certainly the weakest link here. It's the most straightforward song and thankfully the shortest, and really doesn't have much excitement at all. "The Best of Times," despite some strong moments, is a bit too vanilla for my tastes as well, and goes on far too long at 13 minutes.

If you pick up the three-disc limited edition of the record, you'll also get a collection of cover songs that has some real fun in store. My favorite, unsurprisingly, is their fairly faithful cover of the underrated Iron Maiden tune "To Tame a Land." The Dixie Dregs' "Odyssey" gives the a chance to really put in a musical workout with its twists and turns. They pay tribute to a big influence with a cover of King Crimson's "Larks Tongues in Aspic Pt. 2," and rock out on Rainbow's funky "Stargazer." Perhaps one of the most interesting of the cover songs is a medley of Queen tunes, "Tenement Funster," "Flick of the Wrist" and "Lily of the Valley," and it doesn't disappoint. I like the fact that they chose three lesser known Queen numbers instead of a big hit. In fact, I like that about all of the covers, and I don't think there's a bad one in the bunch. It's well worth the few extra bucks for the limited.

It goes without saying that the musicianship here is impeccable and masterful. The band members continue to boggle the mind on all levels and frustrate wannabe musicians like myself who realize that, even if they spent the next 40 years locked in a room with their instrument, they'll never be that good.

In the end, I'm glad I gave the record some time to grow on me, as my initial impression was much the same as the last record. I still think there's a little too much "show off" on "Black Clouds and Silver Linings." Don't get me wrong, what Dream Theater can do is incredibly impressive, but I think that sometimes it comes at the expense of the song. It's not a record for casual listening on the drive to work (there are songs on here that would cover the morning drive, the afternoon drive and the next morning's drive), but like most of their efforts, something that needs to be experienced in full and digested.

Get "Black Clouds and Silver Linings" standard edition.

Get the 3-CD limited edition.

The 12 Pack: Mandatory Metallica

On the eve of the release of Metallica's latest effort, "Death Magnetic," (come back tomorrow for my review) I thought I'd take a look back at some of the highlights of the band's career. So here's the setup, I've got one CD, 12 songs, to cover the band's essentials. It may not sound that tough, but you're talking about a guy who doesn't think there's a bad note on the band's first four albums.

The 12 Pack

1: "The Four Horsemen" ("Kill 'Em All," 1983). This was Metallica's first attempt at the epic metal song, and the appropriately galloping riff is still one of their best.

2. "Whiplash" ("Kill 'Em All," 1983). Raw, fast and wildly energetic, this song encapsulates everything that Metallica was at this point in time.

3. "Seek and Destroy" ("Kill 'Em All," 1983). Arguably the band's first brush with "commercial" songwriting, this song has one of the most memorable opening riffs of Metallica's career.

4. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" ("Ride the Lightning," 1984). The main riff of this tune is simplistic and practically plodding for Metallica at the time, but that doesn't lessen its power.

5. "Creeping Death" ("Ride the Lightning," 1984). The biblical epic has, oddly, become one of the band's signature songs. Fast, precise riffing and that huge live sing-along bit just before the guitar solo.

6. "Battery" ("Master of Puppets," 1986). A great pummeling album opener for the record that many fans consider Metallica's best. Competing for a spot on my list with "Damage, Inc." from the same record. Today, "Battery" wins.

7. "Master of Puppets" ("Master of Puppets," 1986). Again, it's all about that classic opening riff and that barked "Master, Master" hook.

8. "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" ("Master of Puppets," 1986). You have to include one of the band's dark power ballads from the 1980s, and while "Fade to Black" and "One" are favorites, this twisted tune wins the spot.

9. "Orion" ("Master of Puppets," 1986). Again, any list of Metallica's best has to include at least one instrumental, and this is the band's best.

10. "Blackened" ("...And Justice for All," 1988). This is a showcase for those lightning fast, precise riffs that were Metallica's trademark in the 1980s. Not only the best song on this record, one of the best of Metallica's career.

11. "Sad, But True" ("Metallica," 1991). Again, a simplistic riff on a simplistic record that turned many fans off, but despite it's lack of technical prowess, it's a monster riff that can't be denied.

12. "Stone Cold Crazy" ("Garage Inc." 1998, originally a 1992 B-side). Metallica has always delivered some great covers, so you have to include one on the list. This take on the Queen classic narrowly beats out a solid stable of covers dating back to the band's earliest days.

The Limited Edition Bonus Disc:

Yes, I'm cheating. These are the songs that were close, but not quite.

"Motorbreath" ("Kill 'Em All," 1983). Galloping, punk-influenced, high octane blaster.

"Am I Evil?" ("Garage Days Revisited," 1984, later added to the re-release of "Kill 'Em All"). Metallica's first top-notch cover song, takes Diamondhead's original to a new level.

"Fade to Black" ("Ride the Lightning," 1984). Still a haunting piece of music.

"Damage, Inc." ("Master of Puppets," 1986). A theme song of sorts for Metallica, a great galloping thrasher that came the closes of any of the songs here to cracking that top 12.

"The Thing That Should Not Be" ("Master of Puppets," 1986). One of my absolute favorite Metallica tunes. Love that detuned riff and, hey, it's based on Lovecraft.

"Last Caress/Green Hell" ("Garage Days Re-Revisited," 1987). A great, catchy reworking of two Misfits tunes.

"Crash Course in Brain Surgery" ("Garage Days Re-Revisited," 1987). Metallica brings the groove on a Budgie cover. Surprising and solid.

"One" ("...And Justice For All," 1988). A huge epic power ballad scorned by some fans at the time for being Metallica's first breakthrough track, but still a great song.

"Dyer's Eve" ("...And Justice for All," 1988). Arguably Metallica's fastest, heaviest track ever.

"Of Wolf and Man" ("Metallica," 1991). James Hetfield's ode to hunting, great riff, great imagery.

"Nothing Else Matters" ("Metallica," 1991). It might surprise some people that this song makes my list, but I think it's the most honest of the commercial ballads that the band did. Heck, I played it at my wedding.

"Fuel" ("Re-Load," 1997). If I have to pick one song from the "Load" era that I can stomach, this would be it. It's catchy, and I actually kind of like it in retrospect.

"All Within My Hands" ("St. Anger," 2003). Perhaps the strongest track on this much-maligned record. Not many people like it. I do.

The Song that Should Not Be

Here's the one track that will never make any list of my favorite Metallica tunes.

"Enter Sandman" ("Metallica," 1991). Overplayed and overrated.

Review: Metalium - "Nothing to Undo"

Whatever it was that I once liked about Metalium has apparently left my system. I don’t dislike the band, it’s more like a pleasant wallpaper pattern to me these days. While it’s in the CD player, I might remark on how nice it sounds, but once I’m no longer listening to it, I quickly forget it.

For one thing, the shtick is getting a little old after six albums. It’s time to retire the Metalian theme (their metal hero who has been fighting injustice or whatever for the past six records). And it’s definitely time to get rid of the silly spoken word pieces. Rather than sounding cool and cryptic as the band hopes, they sound goofy and break the flow of the music. On “Mental Blindness,” for example, the eye roll over the spoken word opener takes away from the nice guitar riff that follows.

Riffs are something this record has in abundance. I’ll give credit where it’s due to guitarist Matthias Lange for bringing some solid traditional metal guitar to the project. All of the best tracks here – “Spirit,” “Heroes Failed,” “Follow the Sign” – are built on a solid riff. Unfortunately, the band can’t craft a memorable song around those riffs. There’s not really a weakness here. Henning Basse’s voice is solid and the rhythm section is not bad. It’s just that I’ve heard every song on this record hundreds of times.

Even the best song, the slightly Egyptian-flavored “Follow the Sign,” is forgettable. In fact, the song that really stands out here – for the wrong reasons – is actually one of the worst, the mandatory, overly melodramatic ballad “Way Home,” which finds the band in Queen worship mode. Oddly enough, as slow songs go, Metalium fares much better on their cover of Queen’s “The Show Must Go On,” which closes the record. It’s a faithful version that isn’t half bad.

In 1987, I might have sung the praises of this record. In 2007, it’s tired and overdone and doesn’t really offer the listener anything to latch on to.

Get "Nothing to Undo."

Review: "Unia" - Sonata Arctica

I'm big enough to admit that Sonata Arctica got a bit of a raw deal from me on their last record, 2004's Reckoning Night. It landed on my desk at a time when I was really burned out on power metal in general, and I just was not in the mood to hear it. So three years have passed, and I haven't been beaten over the head with quite as much bad power metal lately, so I figure I can approach this record with a clearer view. To my surprise, what I'm faced with is not really a power metal record.

Of course, there are still elements of Sonata Arctica's past, the occasional lightning riff or gang vocals, but this album is slower, more melodic and darker than what fans may expect of the band. The first thing I notice about Unia is that the guitar sound on this record seems to be a little more biting and dynamic. That's a good thing. The second thing I noticed is that the keyboard is much more pervasive. That's generally a bad thing. It works on songs like "Caleb," which opens with a nice little piano intro and then uses the keys for a symphonic effect, but there are several times on the record when it's way too much.

Sonata Arctica's results from the new approach are mixed. Generally, when they throw some of their old power metal influence in, as on "It Won't Fade," one of the better tunes here, they fare better. Another really good moment is the opening of "Fly With the Black Swan," which juxtaposes a bouncing metal riff with a bluesy slide guitar underneath. It's an interesting choice, but a definitely cool sound. Sometimes the slower songs, such as "For the Sake of Revenge," that go for the brooding effect, just end up boring.

I keep getting a really heavy early Queen vibe off of this record, maybe Queen II, which certainly could be considered a forerunner of power metal. After listening to "The Vice," hands down the best song on the record, my mind keeps drifting toward "March of the Black Queen." It's got that same cool, operatic and medieval feel to it. I'd love to see them do more stuff like this. The Queen influence is all over the record in both melodic choices the band makes and the vocal inflections of Tony Kakko.

For hardcore fans of Sonata Arctica, this could well be a disappointing record. It's very different from anything the band has done before. To me, though, it's one of the more interesting records of their career. Sure there are some moments that fall flat, but there's also a great deal of creativity and experimentation - things that I believe are way too scarce in power metal these days.

Get "Unia."