Motley Crue: Saints of Los Angeles

Post #51
There seem to be many 80's heavy metal bands that are making a comeback in the last few years. Sometimes these efforts aren't all they're anticipated to be, but with Saints of Los Angeles, Motley Crue prove that some reunions are worth the effort. This album is a pleasant surprise for a previously dormant Crue-fan like myself.

The biggest positive about this album is of course the fact that it features the original line-up of the band: Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, and Tommy Lee. What's more is the fact that they have recaptured their classic sound & style in their music. The songs on this album sound like they'd fit right in along with classics like "Girls, Girls, Girls", "Kickstart My Heart", or "Shout at the Devil". Enough time has passed for the Crue, that rather than being criticized for reclaiming their 'old-school' sound they're being praised for it- and deservedly so.


The themes and subject material for this album also return to familiar territory. The fast-paced & reckless life-style of rock'n'rollers indulging in their excess & their fame are depicted in a semi-biographical context. As Nikki Sixx said upon the album's release, the band tried to write an album "loosely based on The Dirt", the band's juicy, detailed biography. The album plays like an 80's Glam-band's roller-coaster career.


For my picks from this great, return-to-form album from Motley Crue, try listening to:
-Face Down in the Dirt
-Saints of Los Angeles
-Animal in Me (For not having as many ballads as some of the late 80's Crue albums, this is probably the closest to a ballad you'll find on this album.)
-Just Another Psycho (This one really got stuck in my head while I had this CD checked out from my library!)

Check out the band's website: http://www.motley.com/

Aerosmith-Toys in the Attic

Post #50 [Poll winner: Favorite Aerosmith album of the 70's]
For Aerosmith, the "Toys In The Attic" album, released in 1975, defined the band for the 70's. To this day it is often regarded as their best album. This album features 2 of the band's biggest hits of all time: "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way". However, anyone who's heard this album in its entirety knows there's a great deal more where those two came from.

There are quite a few good stories behind this album and its songs too. If you read Aerosmith's biography "Walk This Way" you'll see what I mean. Here are a couple of my favorite details: the title of the song "Walk This Way" was inspired from a classic scene in the comedic movie "Young Frankenstein" where Igor says "Walk this way..." and the other characters proceed to follow him... hunching their backs to walk like he does. Also, the original lyrics for "Walk This Way" were forgotten in a taxi cab by vocalist Steven Tyler on the day he went to the studio to record the song. The intriquing fact is that the version of the song we all know is composed of the lyrics he improvised in the studio that day.

"Toys in the Attic" truly represents Aerosmith at their best in the 70's. As a creative team, this album was their most balanced effort from that era, with Tom Hamilton (bass) making significant writing contributions on several songs- including "Sweet Emotion" & "Walk This Way". Now, I encourage you to go out & listen to this album anew, and rediscover Aerosmith's best effort from the 70's.

For a little direction, I recommend the following songs:
-Toys in the Attic
-Uncle Salty
-No More No More
-Sweet Emotion

Iced Earth-Alive In Athens

Post #49
It's a bit coincidental that I'm reviewing Iced Earth in the dead of winter again. Right now the wind-chill temperature in my neck of the woods is about -20 to -30 F. Maybe I'll make a tradition out of it? Here's how I came by my newest Iced Earth addition to my music collection.

On my last shopping trip for myself before I began the holiday shopping rush this year, I happened to find another great deal at Half-Price Books; Iced Earth's 2-disc live album Alive In Athens. What an excellent find this one was, indeed. I had heard a few of the songs from this album on Iced Earth's best-of collection: The Blessed and the Damned. The quality of sound on these live recordings had set my hopes high for the full effect of the double-live album (unfortunately I wasn't lucky enough to find the version with a 3rd bonus disc).

The album starts off with "Burning Times" the classic track from the Something Wicked This Way Comes album. This live album was recorded during the supporting tour. Throughout the entire 2-disc set, the band plays a very tight performance of Iced Earth's best songs. Many of the performances are so close to the versions recorded on the studio albums that if it weren't for the crowd noise and participation I might not have noticed it was a live recording. For me, this has always been an issue with live albums, where either the recording quality or lack-luster performance makes the listening experience less enjoyable. With Alive In Athens, this is not a problem. If you've ever wished live albums to sound closer to the original recordings, then this is a great album to listen to.

If you're a fan of Iced Earth, I hope you track this one down & add it to your collection. For the short-term here are some of my favorite tracks:
- Melancholy (Holy Martyr)
-The Hunter
-Travel In Stygian
-Dark Saga
-Last December
-Angels Holocaust
-Iced Earth

Metallica-Death Magnetic

Post #48

After nearly 5 years, Metallica finally return with a new studio recording. And this time, even more so than with St. Anger, it is more than worth the wait. If the resurrection of their original lightning-bolt logo isn't enough to convince you that this band has finally begun writing music that lives up to their potential and their legacy, you need only listen to any random song from this album.

So many elements of Metallica's classic style from the 80's are brought back into the fold with this album. Hammett's guitar solos are back, Ulrich's drums no longer ring like empty tin cans, Hetfield & Hammett display an endless tag-team of riffs and leads through almost every song. Clean guitar melodies give way to thrash riffs and vice versa over and over again. They even follow an old formula for the album's song sequence, with a long instrumental near the end, and one of the fastest songs to close the album (like they did in the days of "Ride the Lightning" & "Master of Puppets"). All-in-all, I just can't get enough of this album!

All of these old habits that are brought back into play are making it easy for any reviewer to say that Metallica have "returned to their roots", or "finally recorded an album that could have followed..." (insert album of choice: Master of Puppets, ...And Justice for All, or "Black" album). However, I feel like putting Death Magnetic into a present-tense context. To me it sounds more like they have still taken a step forward with their music, they just put on some old shoes to do it. Listening closely to the tone of the instruments, lyrics, and song structure, I can hear that it really is a follow-up to '03's St. Anger. Don't be discouraged though, every aspect of their music has improved drastically since St. Anger. There is no excuse for not listening to this album.

True to the album's name, the concept of death is the underlying theme in most of the songs. With Hetfield's masterful lyric writing at its peak, the messages in each song are well developed. This album reminds us that life is short and we truly should seize the day while we can.

Now comes the hard part: recommending songs from this masterpiece of an album. Here goes nothing...

Try these:

-That Was Just Your Life (This one kicks off the album with a heartbeat and clean guitar melody that instantly brings you back to the likes of the "Black" album, get ready for a great ride!)

-The End of The Line (Really, one of the best songs on this album -in my humble opinion)

-Broken, Beat & Scarred (this one may be my personal favorite, if its not "End of the Line")

-The Day That Never Comes

-Cyanide (parts of this song remind me of "Seek & Destroy", from their first album)

-The Unforgiven III (if you're skeptical of song-sequels, this one should lay to rest any doubts that sequels can live up to originals)

-My Apocalypse

A Twisted Christmas

Post #47
For this year, I'm reviewing Twisted Sister's "A Twisted Christmas" for the Holidays.

I first saw this CD while shopping the after-Christmas sales last year. It was 60% off in the holiday music section at Target. My first thought was, "Twisted Sister recorded a holiday album, this is nuts!" However, being a fan of Heavy Metal music as I am, I couldn't pass up this CD for such a great price.

This album, recorded in '06 (after their last "reunion" tour) is quite a curious effort from this band of 80's hair-metal pioneers. I must admit upon listening to it for the first time I laughed out loud practically through the whole thing. Truth be told, this is probably half the intent of this recording. However, for any heavy-metal fan looking for a Christmas CD beyond the catalogue of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, this might be worth checking out.

The CD starts off with a soft sounding, acoustic guitar and trumpet (poorly-played, but it turns out to be in jest) version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". The band breaks off in mid-melody for a 'dramatic' dispute of song-stlye. They proceed to re-start the song, but playing it TWISTED!!! (i.e. with full TS distorted guitar and power-chords), and just before the final verse they step it up even more with a double-time tempo. In spite of the rough edge to their sound, TS manage to pull off some catchy interpretations of some holiday classics on this CD. My favorite moment has to be "Oh Come All Ye Faithful", which is nothing more than "We're Not Gonna Take It" with the lyrics from "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" sung to the beat of the Hair-Metal anthem.... You have to hear it to believe it, but they fit the song's melody surprisingly well!

The rest of the album will continue to surprise you with its catchiness, while you laugh at the stylistic clash in the same breath. You have to give Twisted Sister credit for having a sense of humor about themslves enough to tackle a project like this, and never stray from their trademark sound throughout.

My recommended songs:
-Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
-Oh Come All Ye Faithful
-Silver Bells
-Deck The Halls (the melody of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" is thrown into this song during a "breakdown" segment)
-Heavy Metal Christmas (this is "The 12 Days of Christmas" with TS's unique, and somewhat cliche, alternate choice of lyrics)

Fight: K5-The War Of Words Demos

Post #46
When I first saw this CD while I was browsing, I thought, "Another collection of demos?!?"-it seems that many bands from the 80's-90's are dredging up their dusty demos and putting them on a CD just to have something new on the market. However after purchasing this CD of demos, I'm likely to raise my standards when it comes to demo recordings...

The first detail that caught my eye with this demo recording was the fact that it included several previously unreleased songs- always a plus in my book. Plus I'm a huge fan of Rob Halford- either with Judas Priest or his solo material. I think he has one of the greatest voices in heavy metal.

The liner notes are great, too. They tell the story of how Rob set out on his first solo project after leaving Judas Priest. In his own words, Halford tells you his vision of what he wanted from the first Fight album. He held the project so close to his heart that he insisted on keeping his own copy of the original demos, and that is more or less what K5 is.

As this CD began to play I was instantly impressed with the sound quality. The opening track, "Into the Pit", kicks off with an ascending drum beat that quickly explodes into the feast of metal riffage that Fight were known for. The next few tracks on the CD follow suit. At times it seems as though Rob is in the room right next to you wailing his lungs out. You can hear the echos and a bit of feedback from the amps in a couple places. The vocals are sometimes easier to make out compared to the refined studio album, but in other cases more difficult -it depends on the effects employed in the particular song. It is unrefined qualities like these that make a recording of demos worth listening to.


Experiencing these songs as Halford originally intended them is a truly unique experience. I also dug out the original "War of Words" album from '93 and listened to it again to get a good comparison. There are a few songs on the original recording that are absent from the demos. Perhaps these were composed later on, or maybe written primarily by a collaborator. Whatever the reason, it means you have to hear both versions of this album to get the full experience!

Looking back at this period of Halford's career, it seems he was creating a tougher sounding kind of metal, coinciding with the rise of Pantera's international success, whose influence may be apparent in Fight's material. If you're a fan of the "Painkiller" Judas Priest album, you should enjoy Fight's music (Halford brought Priest drummer Scott Travis along with him into the "Fight" club). However you look at it, K5 provides a new perspective on this segment of Rob Halford's recording career.

In recommending songs, I'll make notes after each song as to which version I prefer. In the end I must say that both versions should be considered "essential" for fans of "The Metal God"...

From K5-The War Of Words Demos ('08)
-Into The Pit*
-Nailed to the Gun*
-Now You Die (exclusively on this version)
-Beast Denies (this is an early version of the song that became "Reality: A New Beginning". The lyrics are completely different, but my favorite part is the clean-guitar breakdown segment that was cut from the final version of this song.)
-Psycho Suicide (this was originally found as a hidden track on "A Small Deadly Space"- Fight's 2nd full-length album.)
-War of Words
-Down (exclusively on this version)
-Laid to Rest
-For All Eternity*

From War Of Words (original '93)
-Into The Pit
-Nailed to the Gun
-Immortal Sin (exclusively on this version)
-Little Crazy (exclusively on this version)
-War of Words*
-Laid to Rest*
-For All Eternity
-Reality: A New Beginning* (of all the songs I'm recommending in this post, this one is my #1 suggestion. In fact, it is one of my favorite heavy metal songs of all-time!)

(*- denotes my preferred version of the song)

James Hetfield: Heavy Metal 107's 1st President.

Post #45 [Poll winner: Heavy Metal Election '08- Favorite lead-singer.]

James Hetfield's inauguration:

James would first like to thank all those who voted for him. Democracy is a wonderful privelage, and in the presence of so many deserving candidates, is humbled to be the choice of the people. Heavy metal will never die. Hetfield will try to represent this music with dignity & respect in the years ahead. Remeber that the empty can rattles the most, so he will lead by example and let the music do most of the talking.

His theme song for his 1st term as president shall be...

"...And Justice for All"

Cliff & Flea: A Tie for Favorite Bassist Poll!

Post #44
Since they tied for most votes in the "Favorite Bassist" poll, I'll review both Cliff Burton and Flea's contributions to the art of bass guitar.

Cliff Burton: Cliff is a true tragic hero for bass guitar in heavy metal. Having lost his life in a bus accident while on tour at such a young age, it is hard to speculate how much more he could have brought to the world of heavy metal with his bass guitar. Even in his short career with Metallica, he contributed significantly as a song-writer and made his unique bass-playing style prominent on many tracks. To hear some of the best work of this master of bass listen to:
-Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth) This instrumental from Metallica's first album, recorded in one take, showcases Burton at his best!
-For Whom the Bell Tolls
-Orion

Flea: Flea has made the tonality and technical playing of his bass guitar a signature trademark of the music of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. From funky, slapping bass techniques, to melodic strings of notes, Flea can play bass as good as the rest. For some Chili Peppers songs that highlight Flea's bass try:
-Higher Ground
-Soul to Squeeze
-Animal Bar

Heavy Metal 107: Quotes of the Month (Feb-Oct '08)

Post #43
Below is a summary up to this point of the monthly lyric quotes of the month that I started in February of this year. They are meant to be entertaining, thought provoking, funny, or just cool. No offense is meant to anyone who reads this blog. If you have a favorite lyric you'd like me to feature as a lyric-of-the-month, just post a comment on any post and suggest it.

October '08: "I walk the corner to the rubble that used to be a library. Line-up to the mind cemetery now. What we don't know keeps the contracts alive and movin'. They don't gotta burn the books, they just remove 'em." from"Bulls On Parade", by Rage Against the Machine

September '08: "Bury your anger and bury your dead or you'll be left with nothing and no one." from "The Ultimate Sin", by Ozzy Osbourne

August '08: "I've got to stop living at a pace that kills before I wake up dead." from "Life Loves a Tragedy", by Poison

July '08: "You and me we'll all go down in history with a sad Statue of Libery and a generation that didn't agree." from "Sad Statue", by System of a Down

June '08: "I'd rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave." from "The Harder They Come", by Joe Jackson

May '08: "I don't mind stealing bread from the mouths of decadence. But I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled." from "Hunger Strike", by Temple of the Dog

April '08: "It brings upon us more of famine, death and war. You know religion has a lot to answer for." from "For the Greater Good of God", by Iron Maiden

March '08: "Find a little evil perpetrator and feed him to the hungry alligator." from "Beethoven's C***", by Serj Tankian

February '08: "It's always funny until someone gets hurt, and then it's just hilarious!" from "Ricochet", by Faith No More

A Quick Look at Alice Cooper.

Post #42 [Poll winner: Vincent Furnier is the real name of which heavy metal icon?]
Alice Cooper: the original Shock-Rocker, was once a regular guy by the name of Vincent Furnier. After he started a rock band in the late 60's he wanted to give it a name that sounded nice, but contrasted with the band's "shock-the-people" approach to their stage show. "Alice Cooper" could be the lady who lives down the street, but this band made a new image for that name. Vincent actually took the name for himself (or at least his character in the band). When the band broke up in the early 80's, Alice continued seamlessly on with a solo career.

He's had his share of ups and downs, but over the years Alice Cooper has made a fair amount of memorable rock and metal music. Weather he was protesting war or domestic violence in the 70's, providing songs to 80's horror movie soundtracks, or in more recent years embracing the influence of nu-metal, there will always be a few good tunes by Alice Copper to bang your head to.

If you're new to Alice Cooper you might want to look for one of these hit collections (also my specific recommendations):
Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits
-I'm Eighteen
-School's Out
-Billion Dollar Babies
-No More Mr. Nice Guy


Alice Cooper-Classicks
-Poison
-Hey Stoopid
-Feed My Frankenstein
-Stolen Prayer


And a couple spooky songs just in time for Halloween from the Constrictor album...
-Teenage Frankenstein
-He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)

Heavy Metal Campaign '08!

Post #41
Feeling anxious about the '08 Presidential Election? Relieve some of that stress by casting your vote for your favorite Heavy Metal vocalist right here on this blog! This election is purely for the fun of it, and has no consequences. The winner of this "election" will serve a 2-year term (December '08-November '10) as a symbolic "President" of this blog. Now, here are your candidates and their reasons they want your vote:

Ozzy Osbourne (Birmingham, England) Often referred to as the Godfather of modern Heavy Metal, other times called "The Prince of F***ing Darkness", Ozzy has always been at the top of the list of true Heavy Metal Icons. From his days in Black Sabbath, to his solo career, to consistently holding his own with all of metal's new bands at Ozzfest, to entertaining reality-show viewers with "The Osbournes"; Ozzy has always made the entertainment of his fans a top priority. Though he may owe a great deal of his success to the top-notch management by his wife Sharon, perhaps not enough of us ask where Sharon might be if there were no Ozzy? Ozzy asks for your vote because without him, where would heavy metal be?

James Hetfield of Metallica (San Francisco, California) James has been the leader of Metallica since its inception in the early 80's. In their prime, Hetfield's voice & Metallica's sound became almost synonymous with Heavy Metal itself. When the 90's came around, Metallica were brave enough to experiment with new styles of metal. After perservering through line-up changes and rehab, Hetfield & Metallica have re-emerged with a new album that harkens to their thrash metal roots, and are once again on top in the world of metal music. James asks for your vote, because right now there is no heavy metal band as big as Metallica!


Rob Halford of Judas Priest (Birmingham, England) With his band, Judas Priest, Halford has endured much controversay in his Heavy Metal career. In their early years Priest followed in the footsteps of Black Sabbath and quietly forged a unique Heavy Metal sound for themselves that has proven to be among the most classic of Heavy Metal. In the mid 90's, Halford left Judas Priest after going public about his homosexuality. He launched many solo projects (Fight, Two, and Halford) before at last returning to Priest in '04. Halford is know as "The Metal God" to his die-hard fans. He asks for your vote to support the enduring metal style of both Judas Priest and his solo efforts. He also has perhaps the widest vocal range in Heavy Metal.


Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden (Nottinghamshire, England) Bruce joined the ranks of British metal titan Iron Maiden for their 3rd album, The Number of the Beast. He quickly won over the band's fans and helped Maiden achieve major international success. You can argue there was no Heavy Metal band as consistent throughout the 80's than Iron Maiden. In the early 90's Bruce left the band over creative differences and started a solo career. After some success in this vein, Bruce eventually reunited with Maiden in 2000 (and brought one of his guitarists with him). Bruce is asking for your vote because Iron Maiden still write some of the most significant Heavy Metal music after nearly 30 years.

James LaBrie of Dream Theater (Ontario, Canada) Dream Theater was started by a group of students at Berkley College of Music. They had an ambitious musical vision, and after their first album, began looking for a new lead singer. James LaBrie answered the call and has proven ever since that he has the pipes these guys were looking for. Often composing progressive-metal songs in excess of 10, 20, or even 40 minutes in length, Dream Theater endeavor to prove they are the best at what they do; blending thrash metal with progressive rock. James wants your vote to prove this band's ambition is worth your while.

Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour (Des Moines, Iowa) Whether he's fronting the shockingly horrific Slipknot, or the more down-to-earth but still hard & heavy Stone Sour, Corey Taylor takes being a Heavy Metal singer very seriously. By listening to the 2 extremes of his vocal style in each of his respective bands, you can easily hear the versatility of his voice. Corey has also proven to be open-minded and helpful to several other acts in metal music, having appeared as a guest vocalist on Apocalyptica's "I'm Not Jesus", as well as working closely with Anthrax on their up-coming album. Corey asks for your vote as he carries ever-onward in the world of Heavy Metal.

(British candidates in red, North American candidates in blue)

King Diamond- The Graveyard

Post #40
Every year around Halloween, I like to dig out the spookiest, creepiest heavy metal music in my vast collection and really get into the Halloween spirit. Being a long-time fan of bands like Kiss & Alice Cooper gives me much to choose from in this category. This year I'm going to review one of my favorite albums from King Diamond; Denmark's evil, dark lord of Heavy Metal.

King Diamond's work outside of his original band, Mercyful Fate, has become a creative outlet for the singer's concept-themed musical projects over the years. In many of the albums under the "King Diamond" moniker a very detailed plot of some sinister subject matter or other is developed in the style of a heavy metal rock-opera. King Diamond uses the many pitches of his unique voice to sing several different characters' parts throughout.

On "The Graveyard", King Diamond tells a dark tale of a madman who exercises revenge against a pedophile. Told from the madman's perspective, this eye-for-an-eye tale follows his plot of revenge as he kidnaps mayor MacKenzie's daughter and holds her hostage... in a graveyard. MacKenzie was the true abuser of his daughter; a crime he framed the narrator for. By the end of the album it's clear that nobody wins, and suffering abounds. If you're feeling like a metal album that tells a haunting tale along the lines of Kiss the Girls, then give The Graveyard a listen.

recommended:
-Black Hill Sanitarium
-Trick or Treat
-Up From The Grave

One Year and Counting...

Post #39
I can hardly believe it's already been a full year I've been writing this blog; there's so much great Heavy Metal music I haven't gotten to yet! I'll continue to write posts about both current favorites of mine, as well as many of my favorite bands from years past. As always, I'll use the monthly reader's polls to gauge the interest of my regular readers (thank you for reading this blog!) I'm always keeping my ear open for a thought provoking, funny, or otherwise interesting lyric for the monthly quote... however let me take a moment to remind you all that I'm open to suggestions on the Lyric-of-the-Month if you have one in mind.

Besides my "Coming Soon" topics, I'm plotting out the next month's poll to imitate an election format (it will involve your favorite lead singer). After that I was thinking to have a series of polls about Aerosmith albums (favorites from each decade...) After that I'm sure I'll come up with more ideas.

I will get to a summary of polls & quotes very soon. After one year of blogging seems a good time to summarize!
Read on everyone! Halloween-themed post coming very soon!

later for now...