Review: Alestorm, "Curse of the Crystal Coconut"

To say that I anticipated this album more than any other in 2020 would be an understatement. Through five albums with Alestorm and three with Gloryhammer, Christopher Bowes has never disappointed me – and the band’s last outing, 2017’s No Grave but the Sea, was its best to date. I’ve sung the praises of Bowes at the top of my lungs, and his music has been a source of great joy for me for more than a decade. So it pains me to write this, but the magic just isn’t here on this one. It’s not a bad album by any means, but it’s just not on par with what they’ve done in the past.

Curse of the Crystal Coconut was always going to have a hard time following No Grave but the Sea. That release was near perfect. Bowes and crew were performing at the height of their piratical prowess on that one, and three years later, there’s not a song on it that gets the skip button. But the strong melodies and catchy hooks of No Grave are traded in here for a collection of middle-of-the-road songs that lack much of the charm I’ve come to expect.

Review: Amaranthe, "Manifest"

I always imagine what the conversation with friends might have been like when Amaranthe decided to get together.

Friend: So are you guys going to be a pop act, a prog metal outfit or a melodic death metal band?

Amaranthe: Yes.

The band has made a decade-long career out of mixing things that shouldn’t go together, and their sixth album, Manifest, continues the tradition. The vocal trio of Elize Ryd, Nils Molin and Henrik Englund Wilhelmsson all give the music a different perspective. Ryd brings the pop hooks and looks, Molin delivers the power and mystery, and Wilhelmsson hammers it home with his death-style growls. Guitarist and primary composer Olof Morck plays them all masterfully in an irresistible genre-blending brand of metal.

Review: Archon Angel, "Fallen"

When I first heard the title track to Archon Angel’s Fallen back in December, this immediately became one of my most anticipated albums of the year.

“Fallen” could have fit perfectly on Savatage’s Edge of Thorns album, giving me hope for something that I’ve been wanting for years: New music from one of my favorite bands, or about as close as we’re going to get anyway. I’ve long since given up hope that we’ll ever get a reunion or another record from Savatage. Founder/vocalist Jon Oliva has had health issues in recent years and hasn’t released any new music since his 2013 solo project, Raise the Curtain. I also think producer Paul O’Neill’s death a few years ago probably put those possibilities to rest.

Still, Fallen proves that at least one former member wants to keep the sound alive: Zak Stevens, who took over vocal duties for the band when Oliva moved into the background in the early 1990s, has put together a group of talented musicians here and delivered something that, while not quite a Savatage record, is certainly an homage to his former band.

Review: Demons & Wizards, "III"

Overview

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.

What's hot?

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.

Review: Ozzy Osbourne, "Ordinary Man"

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.

Now we have it, and, man, this is tough.

The problem I have with Ordinary Man 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.

Review: Marko Hietala, "Pyre of the Black Heart"

Overview

Nightwish bassist/vocalist Marko Hietala gives us the English version of his 2019 Finnish release, Mustan Sydamen Rovio, and it's an interesting mix of classic hard rock sounds and the more folky and symphonic side of his main band.

What's Hot?

We already know that Hietala is an incredible songwriter, and that's on full display on Pyre of the Black Heart, 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.

Review: Dirty Shirley, "Dirty Shirley"

Overview

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.

What's hot?

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."

Review: Annihilator, "Ballistic, Sadistic"

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. Ballistic, Sadistic does exactly that.

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.

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.

Best of the 2010s, Part 3: Sturgill Simpson through Rob Zombie

And finally, we come to the final installment of my favorite records of the 2010s...


STURGILL SIMPSON – HIGH TOP MOUNTAIN (2013): I’m not sure there was a better traditional country album released in the past decade than High Top Mountain. 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 Metamodern Sounds in Country Music and Sound & Fury, this remains his shining moment to my ears.