If you miss the good old days of heavy metal, then this is the album for you.
When I was growing up, there was no band darker or more evil than Mercyful Fate, with the power riffs of Hank Shermann and the ear-piercing wail of King Diamond. Now Shermann, tired of waiting on bandmate King Diamond to come back into the fold, strikes out on his own. He's recruited Mercyful Fate alums Michael Denner and Bjarne Holm, former King Diamond bassist Hal Patino and vocalist Martin Steene, for a debut album that, not surprisingly, sounds an awful lot like Mercyful Fate.
In fact, listening to songs like "Eye of the Storm" and "Samhain," I could almost imagine myself back in those leather-and-spikes days. They're songs that can hang with the best of Mercyful Fate.
Though he tries on songs like "Under the Blade," Steene doesn't quite have the vocal chops of King Diamond, but he's more than adequate to carry the songs, and those who don't like King's shrieks and growls might even prefer him.
Musically, the album is solid. Guaranteed to get any old school metal fan banging his head.
Here's one history lesson that should sway even the most unstudious music fan. Iced Earth guitarist and founder Jon Schaffer outs himself as a history buff on this album, which also marks a historic moment for the band.
When long-time vocalist Matt Barlow departed to return to college, he left a huge void. Fortunately, a Judas Priest reunion with Rob Halford left singer Tim "Ripper" Owens looking for a job. Owens stepped in and laid down some incredible vocals on this album. No longer confined to sounding as much like Halford as possible, Owens stretches out on "The Glorious Burden," and the results are fantastic. It's obvious he believes in his new band because the vocals on this album are more passionate than any of his phoned-in performances as a hired gun with Judas Priest.
The songs on the album - the typical crisp, fast, precise Iced Earth fare - cover key points in American history, from the signing of the Declaration of Independence ("Declaration Day") through the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks ("When the Eagle Cries," "The Reckoning"). It also explores world history with Attila the Hun ("Attila") and famed World War I pilot Manfred von Richthofen ("Red Baron/Blue Max") providing the subjects for two of the strongest outings on the album.
But the heart and soul of this album is a song that almost didn't make the cut because of its length, an epic 32-minute piece based on the battle of Gettysburg. It's easily the most passionate piece of music Schaffer has ever put on an album.
He uses the music to great dramatic effect, perfectly punctuating the ebb and flow of the battle as it plays out in the lyrics. He also uses bits of Civil War-era songs like "Johnny Comes Marching Home" and "Dixie," at one point, blending them together in a nice symbolic gesture.
There are also some poignant moments lyrically in the three-part masterwork as a Confederate soldier contemplates having to cross swords with his best friend in "Hold at All Costs," and the band (with the help of Barlow) makes us privy to a haunting conversation between Generals Longstreet and Lee just prior to the ill-fated Pickett's Charge in "High Water Mark."
Though I'd like to think the best is yet to come, this could well be the crowning achievement of Schaffer's career.
I was one of the biggest critics of Kid Rock's last album, the appropriately-titled "Cocky," but I have to admit it grew on me. So I was a little more prepared for the emergence of Kid Country on his latest self-titled album.
This album is an even more dramatic departure from the rock-rapper's past than "Cocky." But it's also a much better album. "Kid Rock" gives him something he's never had, a distinct personality. It's a much more coherent record than "Cocky," which bounced from one end of the spectrum to the other.
The album has a long list of contributors from Hank Williams Jr. on the Aerosmith-laced "Cadillac" to a reunion with Sheryl Crow on "Run Off to L.A." These guest spots provide some of the hottest tracks on the album, including "Black Bob," where Shreveport native Kenny Wayne Shepherd lays down a wicked wah-wah lick, and "Hillbilly Stomp" which features the talents of ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons.
There are some clunkers on the album, like the Kenny Chesney-penned country ballad "Cold and Empty" - which despite being a little dull is an almost surefire crossover hit - and the sappy "Do It For You," which really doesn't fit the Kid's style. But he more than makes up for those with raucous rockers like "Jackson, Mississippi" and "Son of Detroit," an inspired take on David Allan Coe's "Son of the South."
Those looking for the Kid Rock who recorded "Bawitdaba" and "American Bad Ass," may not find him on this album. There's only one rap, "Intro" (which for some odd reason is the album's seventh song.) But those who come to this album prepared for Kid Rock's transition into a Southern rock crooner should enjoy it.
If you're a fan of Blind Guardian, this two-CD collection of some of the best songs from the band's seven studio albums is a must-have. If you're not a fan, this collection of tunes fueled by fantasy and legend is a fantastic introduction.
The album, recorded at venues all over Europe and Asia, show that the rest of the world knows what the American metal community is just starting to pick up on - that Blind Guardian is one of the most original and distinctive bands out there.
"Live" provides a quick overview of the band's progression from a fairly straightforward power metal outfit on songs like "Majesty" and "Valhalla" to the symphonic powerhouse they've become on numbers like "Nightfall" and "The Soulforged."
The focus on the album, is on the later, more complex works. They play six of the nine songs on "Imaginations From the Other Side" and five tunes from "Nightfall in Middle-Earth."
The album provides more than two hours of Blind Guardian in fine form, making the smooth transition from blistering power metal to minstrel songs. It's the latter that often get the bigger reaction from the crowd.
Numbers like "The Bard's Song (In the Forest)" get the crowd clapping along, and the audience is singing louder than vocalist Hansi Kursch on "Lord of the Rings." (I still think Peter Jackson missed a great opportunity by not getting this song somewhere in the film trilogy; it's a perfect fit.)
The performances are solid, the fan reaction is fantastic and it's two solid hours of Blind Guardian. What more could you ask for?
When the members of Staind came together to write their latest album, "14 Shades of Grey," they had some big shoes to fill. Their sophomore effort "Break the Cycle" topped the charts and went quadruple platinum. But guitarist Mike Mushok said the band didn't really feel any pressure in making the new album; they just went about business as usual.
"None of us expected `Break the Cycle' to sell as well as it did; that just doesn't happen very often," Mushok said. "We figured we were just going to write the best record that we could possibly write, then go out and do what we do. All you can ever do in anything is the best you feel you're capable of, and that's what we did."
It seems to have worked. Though sales of "14 Shades of Grey" haven't been quite as brisk as "Break the Cycle," the album did debut at No. 1. The latest single "So Far Away" currently holds the No. 1 position on both the Billboard Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts. A big reason for that success, Mushok thinks, is that fans identify with Staind's songs.
"I think (vocalist) Aaron (Lewis) writes lyrics that a lot of people can relate to," he said. "I've heard a lot of people say, `You said what I felt; you put it into these songs.' I think that's what touches people."
Staind's major label debut "Dysfunction" was more metal than melody. But with the release of the breakthrough hit, the acoustic "Outside," recorded live in Biloxi, Miss., the band found another outlet for its angst. Likewise, the biggest hit from "Break the Cycle," was the acoustic "It's Been a While," and Staind continues to explore a lighter direction on "14 Shades of Grey" that's earned them critical acclaim.
"In contrast with earlier albums, `Grey' is more light than dark," wrote USA Today's Edna Gunderson. "The new songs are sturdier and more melodic, and the band deserves credit for taking the sunny side of the street instead of the genre's low road to gloom wallows and celebrations of adolescent fixations."
Mushok says the change was a natural one. He said, looking at the bands that made a big impact on the rock world - the Beatles, the Police, Led Zeppelin - they all had one thing in common.
"I look at the music that I still listen to that's been around for a long time, and it all has great melodies," Mushok said. "That, to me, is what a good song is. It's something that has melody that, hopefully, someone can relate to and want to listen to again. I think that's one thing that has been around forever."
The guitarist is also quite pleased with the package the band has put together for this tour. They've recruited old friends Sevendust, who they opened for once upon a time, and newcomers Lo-Pro, the first signing to Lewis' record label.
"I'm a fan," he said. "I pretty much go out and watch every night and enjoy it every night. It's one of the benefits of being able to tour with bands you really like."
Mushok admits it is a little strange to follow a band that they once opened for, but he said Staind enjoys the challenge and the camaraderie with old friends.
"It's hard to go on after (Sevendust) because they put on such a great show," he said. "We've been wanting to go back out on tour together, but this is really the first occasion that we've been able to do it."
As for Staind's live performance, Mushok said fans shouldn't expect a lot of bells and whistles. They prefer to let the music speak for itself. He said Staind's performance is an emotional one that should give fans a hint about where the songs come from.
"We don't believe in a lot of production," he said. "It's really just us playing with lights, which to me is what a rock show is about. It's just about going out there and playing our songs for the people who came to hear them."
If Black Sabbath had come from Birmingham, Ala., instead of Birmingham, England, it might have sounded a little like Fireball Ministry.
With all the hype surrounding the band, I'm not sure what I expected, but it certainly wasn't this Sabbath-laced slab of stoner rock. That's not a bad thing, though. The album grows on me more with every listen.
The sound is hard to classify. The title track and intro reminds me a little of Judas Priest's "The Hellion," and the Sabbath influence is all over the record, but the album itself isn't entirely metal. There's a lot of classic 1970s rock influence here, particularly on the power harmonies.
The band provides a solid base that alternates between a brick wall of power chord sound and Southern-fried sludge grooves that are surprising since the group calls California home.
The key ingredient that sets the band apart is singer James Rota, whose voice falls somewhere between an early Ozzy Osbourne and Glenn Danzig. These days, it's refreshing to hear a metal vocalist that actually sings, and it takes the listener a bit by surprise.
Add to that Fireball Ministry's quirky melodies on songs like "Master of None" - the album's hottest track - "In the Mourning" and "He Who Kills," and you've got a recipe for success. Fireball Ministry are primed for an explosion. If this album doesn't make them one of the the biggest bands in rock, something is seriously wrong.
Those four words, spoken in a deep bass rumble, are instantly recognizable to almost everyone, regardless of age or background.
The death of "The Man in Black," country music legend Johnny Cash, saddened both fans and his fellow recording artists on Friday. It was not just a loss for country music, but the music world in general, said Tim McGraw, who is in town for his annual Swampstock concert.
"Bigger than any musical genre was Johnny Cash," McGraw said in a statement through his publicist. "He was an American music icon that set the standard for how to make music on your own terms. We will miss him."
Country singer Andy Griggs remembered growing up listening to Johnny Cash before making his own way to Nashville.
"Johnny Cash was bigger than life on Charlie Griggs' road," he said. "That road grew intrastate to interstate, and I found Cash was bigger than life everywhere. I don't think any of us will be the same without The Man in Black."
It was Cash's independent and rebellious nature that many fans remember. The famous middle finger ad in Billboard after he won the Best Country Album Grammy in 1998, despite little or no radio support; the way he introduced country audiences to acts like Bob Dylan, via his TV show; the way he redefined himself in the 1990s with rock-rap producer Rick Rubin and reintroduced himself to a whole new generation of fans.
"It was an independent spirit that he brought to the whole music industry, especially for the last 10 years or so with the American Recordings," said musician and radio host Monty Russell, whose band the Hardcore Troubadours closed their set with "Folsom Prison Blues" on Thursday night, just hours before Cash's death.
Russell said he admired Cash for what he did in 1993, by just sitting down with his voice and guitar to record the first "American Recordings" album.
"It was so powerful, just him and his guitar," he said.
Over the course of those four albums, Cash created a new audience for his music through both originals and versions of songs by rock bands such as Soundgarden, U2 and Danzig. Most recently, Cash had a hit with a cover of the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt." The video, which chronicled Cash's life, was powerful and moving for most fans. Russell said he was disappointed that it didn't win best video at this year's MTV Video Music Awards.
"I thought it was sad they didn't give him that award, because that video laid out his whole life," he said. "It makes you want to cry."
Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails told The Associated Press on Friday that he was honored when he heard Cash was interested in recording his song.
"To hear that Johnny was interested in doing my song was a defining moment in my life's work," he said. "To hear the result really reminded me how beautiful, touching and powerful music can be. The world has truly lost one of the greats."
Cash's turn on "Hurt" was not so surprising to long-time fans. It was the kind of thing he'd always done, said country singer Edd Greer. Cash shared both his triumphs and his pain through his music.
"What made him such a star was that he went through life sharing his hard times, along with his good times, with his fans," Greer said. "His music reflected his life, and he will be missed by millions."
Greer said Johnny Cash's legacy for musicians is in the way he showed them how to stay true to themselves. Like so many others who spoke about Cash on Friday, he used the word "original." Most people said there was no one else like Cash, and likely never would be again.
"I remember Johnny Cash as a great guy who was a total American original," said fellow country star Charlie Daniels. "He shall be missed."
Despite his checkered past and rebellious nature, most people believe that Cash has earned his place in the pantheon of music greats.
"All saints wear white, but I believe the good Lord will welcome The Man in Black," Griggs said.
Even us hardcore metalheads have to mellow out every now and then.
Somewhere between Arch Enemy's "Anthems of Rebellion" and Children of Bodom's "Hate Crew Deathroll," I popped in Allan Holdsworth's latest release last week. It was like a douse of cold water over the head - but in a good way.
Recorded in May 2002 at the Roppongi Pit Inn in Tokyo, the album is a collection of light and airy fusion. Though my usual tastes lean to the heavier, I appreciate great guitar in any form, and "All Night Wrong" has plenty of it.
Numbers like the bouncy "Lanyard Loop" and "Water on the Brain, Pt. II" are pretty much what you expect when you hear the word fusion, but other tunes show another side of Holdsworth.
You can hear shades of Holdsworth's progressive rock past on "Alphrazallan." And his ability to coax cool sounds out of a guitar shows on "The Things You See" and "Above and Below," which feature some volume swells that mimic a string section.
My personal favorite, "Zone," showcases the rhythm section of Jimmy Johnson and Chad Wackerman. It's a brilliant reminder of how thin the line between rock and jazz really can be.
Arch Enemy's second album with new vocalist Angela Gossow shows the band continuing to grow and broaden its horizons.
While Gossow spent much of her debut album with the band, last year's "Wages of Sin," proving that she could hang with the boys, she stretches out a little on this album. On some of the songs, you can actually tell the vocalist is female. That's not to say there's any angelic crooning here. It's just as aggressive as ever.
The music continues to drift more and more toward thrash and the band continues to add some nice melodic touches. The psychedelic influence of Michael Amott's side project Spiritual Beggars invades the dark corners of the album, and "Exist to Exit" is an unabashed homage to the band's forefathers Slayer.
Overall, "Anthems of Rebellion" is a pretty daring album for a band in a genre where fans love to toss around the word sellout. Arch Enemy breaks new melodic ground on tracks like "Instinct" and the outstanding track of the album "Leader of the Rats." Of course, there are still the burners like "Despicable Heroes" and "Saints and Sinners" for those longing for the band's older sound.
Arch Enemy has hit its stride with "Anthems of Rebellion." It's a perfect blend of guitar-fueled aggression and dark melodic sensibilities. It lives up to the promise made on "Wages of Sin" and promises even better things to come.
If you miss the good old days of heavy metal, then this is the album for you.
