Review: Alice Cooper, "The Strange Case of Alice Cooper"

Though certainly not the wildest of Alice Cooper’s live shows, the performance captured on The Strange Case of Alice Cooper is definitely one of his most interesting.

Originally released on VHS in 1979 and out of print for decades, the show has recently been re-issued on DVD by Shout Factory. It was recorded shortly after his famous stay in a mental hospital, and features a healthy dose of songs from his 1978 record From the Inside, which documented that experience.

It opens with a spoken bit from Vincent Price – in the guise here of a strange-looking Cyclops in a doctor’s outfit that I can’t explain, and listening to the commentary, apparently Alice can’t either. From there, he launches into a few energetic rockers in “From the Inside,” “Serious” and “Nurse Rozetta.”

New music from Testament

Click below to listen to "True American Hate," the new song from classic thrashers Testament.

Review: Firewind, "Few Against Many"

While Gus G’s debut with Ozzy Osbourne was a pretty disappointing mess, with Gus as primarily a hired gun playing other people’s riffs, his other outfit, Firewind, has yet to disappoint.

It’s not that they do anything out of the ordinary or innovative in the power metal world. It’s just that they do what they do so well. It’s a very guitar-driven, traditional-influenced power metal sound, and they’re one of the most consistent acts out there doing it.

Few Against Many gets started right where you expect it to with first single “Wall of Sound.” There’s a very awkward part in the first verse where vocalist Apollo Papathanasio delivers this strange “yeah, yeah, yeah” line. After that it recovers quickly and settles into the band’s niche with a big chorus. It might not be their best effort from a lyrical standpoint, but gets things started on a good foot.

Review: Accept, "Stalingrad"

Accept’s 2010 album Blood of the Nations, one of my favorite records of that year, served as sort of an introduction to the new incarnation of the band and featured some departures from what I expected going in. Stalingrad, on the other hand, takes a small step back toward the band’s history with a sound that’s more along the lines of their classic material.

Album opener “Hung, Drawn and Quartered” announces the intention quickly with aggressive riffing, a big gang vocal chorus and singer Mark Tornillo delivering some of the lines in a more Udo-esque snarl. It’s a great way to start the record, but the energy doesn’t hang around the way it did on Blood of the Nations. I’m not sure if the band felt fans wanted more of the old sound on this one or what, but the regression is, at times, a little disappointing, especially given how awesome the last record was.

Review: Prong, "Carved Into Stone"

I was less than impressed with Prong’s last outing, Power of the Damager. I preferred it to the more industrial stuff they’d been doing, but it hasn’t returned to my rotation in the nearly five years since it came out. I thought it was OK, but didn’t have a lot of passion or energy.

So I approached the new record, Carved into Stone, with only moderate interest. Tommy Victor and Co. fixed my lack of interest with the first track “Eternal Heat,” which blasts out of the gate with a squealing, energetic guitar riff and pummels the listener over the head for about four minutes. The message at the end of the song is clear – the energy and fire are most definitely back.

Review: Slash, "Apocalyptic Love"

After being less than impressed with Slash’s last solo album and its parade of guest stars, and being only a marginal fan of Velvet Revolver or Slash’s Snakepit, I didn’t go into Apocalyptic Love with my hopes too high.

Sure, I figured there would be a few good songs among a lot of uninspiring filler, but I was completely unprepared for what I got: This, friends and neighbors, may well be the best record that Slash has been involved with since Appetite for Destruction.

I’ll admit up front that I’m not sold on Myles Kennedy as a vocalist for this style. There’s no denying that the guy has a fantastic voice, but there are still times here when I’d much rather he use a little less range and a little more attitude. That said, I think he manages to provide a very good foil for Slash, and the record is much the better for it.

15 Years, 15 Records: 2007 -- Down does it again

Initially, I didn’t like Down’s third record, Over the Under, as much as the first two, but it didn’t take long for me to come around.

The things that give Down so much appeal for me are there – that organic sound that blends all the various influences of their New Orleans home into an amazing stoner/doom sound.

Like all of their records, Over the Under is driven by those big, grooving guitar riffs of Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein, but this album is helped by some very personal lyrics from Phil Anselmo. “Mourn,” in particular, stand out. The song was written after Anselmo was barred from the funeral of “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, and the emotion is raw and gritty.

Review: Bob Wayne, "Till the Wheels Fall Off"

There could be no better way to open Bob Wayne’s upcoming album than with the title track, “Till the Wheels Fall Off.”

If you don’t know anything about Wayne going into this song, you’ll know everything you need to know about him once it’s over. It pretty much sums up how the former guitar tech for Hank III approaches music and life.

The song starts with Wayne making loud train whistle noises. It’s a warning that the album is chugging down the rails at you like a runaway locomotive. The ride begins with this rocking, uptempo country anthem to Wayne’s love of life on the road and his dedication to keeping it going “till the wheels fall off this motherfucker.” It tells you up front what you’re getting with Till the Wheels Fall Off, and Wayne fans would expect no less.

15 Years, 15 Records: 2006 -- Gone country

If I went back for my whole life, 2006 would probably be the only year that a country album would lead my best-of list. For 2006, though, my top two records are country.

If I had to pick the best record for the first decade of this century, it would be tough to not pick Hank III’s Straight to Hell for its impact on me, personally, and on the underground country scene in general.

While Johnny Cash’s American Recordings in 1994 was the album that reintroduced me to country music and opened me up to listening to some of the classic artists of the genre, it was Straight to Hell that led directly to my discovery of artists who are playing a more traditional form of country today.