Trivium- Shogun

Post #58
You may recall my post about Trivium's previous album, "The Crusade", and how impressed I was with it. Needless to say the quality of metal on that CD had my expectations set pretty high for their follow-up, "Shogun". Should I have worried about a potential letdown? Would they have set an example too tough to follow for themselves?

As high as my expectations were, "Shogun" really impressed me. Trivium have managed to take their music to a higher level yet again. On "Shogun", the songs seem to have even more focus than most of "The Crusade" did. This is most apparent on the epic, closing title-track. This album will assail your ears with the brutal, sonic cacophony of thrash/metalcore fusion that has become Trivium's trademark sound.

What may be the most significant point of this album (on a personal level) is the fact that it has changed my opinion of the metalcore sub-genre. I feel like "The Crusade" hooked me with how much it resembled classic/thrash metal, with Matt Heafy primarily using his mid range and melodic vocal style while his screaming was used sparingly. Now, as a new fan hearing "Shogun", Heafy embraces the metalcore-screams with a fresh vigor and crams it down listeners' throats, while still retaining enough melodic vocal elements to keep listeners like me (more fond of classic metal, and not really into metalcore) captivated by the songs on this album. I am tempted to say that Matt Heafy is like James Hetfield and Phil Anselmo rolled into one. It is an interesting mix of vocal styles, switching back and forth several times within songs, making the overall listening experience quite satisfying for most headbangers. There are some places throughout the album where Heafy layers several vocal tracks on top of each other, sometimes blending as many as 3 different vocal styles at once!

Finally I must mention that the technical skill of Matt Heafy's and Corey Beaulieu's guitar soloing has remained consistent as well, if not improved. I believe I mentioned my love for Trivium's guitar solos on my previous review, but it deserves reiterating here. Again Trivium's influence from the golden era of thrash metal is blatantly apparent in their soloing techniques. Beaulieu & Heafy trade off solos back and forth in artful tandem like many thrash metal guitarists before them. They make their guitars shred like the original thrashers used to... I'm reminded of albums like "Peace Sells", "Ride the Lightning", "Rust In Peace" just to give you a little hint of what to expect...

Now for my recommended tracks for Shogun:
-Kirisute Gomen
-Down From The Sky
-Into The Mouth Of Hell We March
-Insurrection
-Of Prometheus And The Crucifix
-Shogun (this epic track showcases a little bit of every side of Trivium's music; from dark, clean melodies to furious shred-fests, this song has it all...)

The Voice of Van Halen...

Post #57 Poll Winner: Favorite singer from Van Halen.

Multi-platinum selling albums are a great achievement for any rock band, but few get to such a consistent level as Van Halen. Even when they had to find a new lead singer in the mid-80's they never missed a beat. Although they were able to maintain a similar level of success with Sammy Hagar on lead vocals, there's always something special about the songs recorder with David Lee Roth as the band's singer.

David Lee Roth was the prototype for the energetic 80's rock-band front-man. His flamboyant showmanship, and vocal style helped bring Van Halen's style of pop-metal to the forefront of rock music in the early 80's. The band was an instant success, and broke open the door for the Hair Metal era of the 1980's. Van Halen's hits from the David Lee Roth era have become essential classic rock songs from that time period.

For some of my favorites from this portion of Van Halen's career check out the following...
From Van Halen:
-Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
-Jamie's Crying
-Atomic Punk
-You Really Got Me



From Van Halen II:
-Dance the Night Away
-Somebody Get Me a Doctor




From Women And Children First:
-And the Cradle Will Rock
-In a Simple Rhyme




From Fair Warning:
-Mean Street
-Unchained
-Hear About it Later



From Diver Down:
-Cathedral
-Little Guitars





From 1984:
-Panama
-Top Jimmy
-Jump
-Hot For Teacher
-House of Pain

Aerosmith-Get A Grip

Post #56 Poll Winner: Favorite Aerosmith album since 1990.
In the midst of the wave of alternative-rock and grunge, Aerosmith came out with another great rock album, Get A Grip. This album featured several hit singles, most accompanied by successful MTV videos (some of which featured vocalist Steven Tyler's daughter Liv). The band seemed to carry the momentum of their last two albums, Permanent Vacation & Pump, with much consistency throughout this album.

In comparing Get A Grip with anything the band has recorded since, you (faithful readers of this blog) have decided that this one is the best. Still, I hope you all continue to follow Aerosmith and keep up with their new material as it comes out. I find them to be a very consistent band, and full of energy and the will to rock. Their longevity should serve as a testament to the world of hard-rock music that some things can still get better with age.

My recommended tracks from Get A Grip:
-Eat the Rich
-Fever
-Livin' On The Edge
-Cryin'
-Amazing (this song has alot of biographic lyrics, inspired by the band's history...)

Reader's Polls to come...

Post #55
Hello readers, one and all!
Just checking in to let you know I have the next 3-4 months of reader's polls plotted out in my head. This should get me through late-summer before I need to think up some new poll topics.

For next month's poll I'm going to choose a couple of my "coming soon" topics that have been sitting on that list for too long, see which one you all are most interested in, get off my lazy butt, and actually write it! Following that I have a series of polls in mind pertaining to Iconic heavy metal bands during the 80's, so get ready to ponder some old-school metal!

After that, I'm not sure where I'll go, but I'm always getting ideas! As always, I'm open to suggestions, so feel free to post your thoughts in a comment on any post, or if you see me in person somewhere, just let me know...

Catch ya later!
JAB

Alice Cooper-Along Came A Spider

Post #54
The original Shock-Rocker returns with a creepy concept-album!

Along Came a Spider is Alice Cooper's 25th studio album (I think), and this time Cooper fleshes out a concise story of a spider-themed serial killer. You get to hear much of the story from the psychopath's perspective, and it creeps you out like old-school Alice used to do.

Stylistically, the music follows Cooper's recent trend of retro-rock as he continues to stick to a more stripped-down, classic rock feel like he utilized on The Eyes of Alice Cooper & Dirty Diamonds. This fits Alice well, although part of me misses his heavier sound he employed on the Brutal Planet & Dragontown albums. For the most part, much of this album sounds right at home with some of his mid-70's material.


As for Along Came A Spider, this is a pretty cool concept album. There's a clear plot, and the songs develop it well. There's also a prologue and epilogue that sort of set the context of the story, so there are no loose threads, or strands of silk if you'd rather... Long time fans of Alice may also recognize the main character of Steven from some of Alice Cooper's previous material. Basically, if you enjoyed either of Alice Cooper's last 2 albums, you should like this one too. Just be prepared for a twisted and haunting tale!

Here are my recommended tracks:
-Vengeance Is Mine
-Catch Me If You Can (this track contains a lot of the story's plot development)
-Killed By Love (this is the token ballad on this album, but again it fits in with the album's theme- although it may sound pretty, if you catch the lyrics you'll find it just as dark & twisted as the rest of the album)
-I Am The Spider/Epilogue

Aerosmith-Pump

Post #53 Poll Winner: Favorite Aerosmith album of the 80's.
The 1980's were a rough ride for Aerosmith. This decade saw the band break up, fall to new lows as they gave in to substance abuse, former members tried to launch solo projects, the band eventually reunited, committed themselves to rehab, got clean & sober, and resurrected their career in stellar fashion. Their '89 release, PUMP, was the cherry-on-top.

From my personal perspective, Pump was the first album the band released since I became a fan. Myself, like so many others of my generation, I thought I'd discovered a great new rock band, and would later discover that these guys had actually been rockin' since '73! Nonetheless, it was the songs from Pump that truly made me a fan for life. Aerosmith had found a way to thrive in the late 80's without selling out completely to the hair-metal fad, but more importantly, had gotten through rehab with their "band-of-brothers" mentality intact.

After their reunion, they recorded Done With Mirrors; a mediocre album where they pretty much went through the motions but had not yet gotten sober. Permanent Vacation was their first clear-headed effort in years, and reeled in a ton of new fans. Pump was the perfection of their new-found creativity, their crowning achievement of the decade.

My recommended songs from this hits-packed album:
-Love In An Elevator
-Young Lust
-F.I.N.E.
-What It Takes
-The Other Side
-Monkey On My Back
-Janie's Got A Gun

Slipknot/Stone Sour - I stand corrected....

Post #52
I need to point out a recent correction I've made to a previous post. I've made an amendment to my first post about Stone Sour when I reviewed "Come What(ever) May". I've left the original post as-is, but added a dated note explaining a mistake I made while reviewing the album the first time. I firmly believe nobody's perfect, and I'm no exception. I'm humble enough to point out my mistakes when I make them. Please forgive the inaccuracies I may have made, or might make in the future. I have no problem correcting myself. Let me know if you notice an error on my part. As much as I write this blog just for the fun of it, it'd be nice that it was also accurate!
;-)
later,
JAB

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)