Trollheart

A new year, time to fire up another of our new sections. It's not often recognised, at least outside of their fanbase, that heavy metal and heavy rock bands often write some of the best and most moving ballads. In this section we're going to feature some I consider to be up there among the best. They may not all be famous --- either the bands or the songs --- but we'll do our best here to introduce you to, as it were, the softer side of metal and rock (wouldn't that be magma? Ah well...) in this recurring feature.

Starting off with German metallers Accept, this is from their debut album, released all the way back in 1979, and a surprisingly nice little track called “Seawinds”.


Moving on with “Letter to Dana”, from Sonata Arctica's album “Ecliptica”, also, incidentally, their debut, though released twenty years after Accept's, in 1999.



One of my own favourite metal bands, Kamelot include this on their album, “The fourth legacy”. Although released in the same year as Sonata Arctica's debut, Kamelot had by then been going for four years, with three more albums under their belt. This is “Glory”.



1999 seems to have been a good year for metal and rock ballads! Royal Hunt went one better than Kamelot, this being their fifth album, “Fear”, and a gorgeous little ballad called “Follow me”.



And to wrap up this first edition of “Velvet Fist”, let's take a real classic from Metallica, all the way back to 1991 for a great track from the “Black Album”, it's “Nothing else matters.”

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Innocent eyes --- Delta Goodrem --- 2003 (Mercury)
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Oh-oh! Red alert! Alert one: Delta Goodrem is one of those soap-star-turned-singer, and more than that, she's an Australian soap star! Haven't we had enough of those? Alert two: she was almost married to Westlife's Bryan McFadden. Oh no! Should I just forget this and abandon my attempt to listen to this album? Oh hell, give the girl a chance: can't paint everyone who comes down this well-trodden path with the same brush!

This is Delta's first album, released way back in 2003, and to be fair to her she has a few things on her side that many of her soap-born ilk do not. First off, she's not the puppet or cash cow of some megarich record producer --- no Simon Cowell involvement here! Secondly, she writes the songs on her albums (well, co-writes them) AND plays piano and keyboards. So like Debbie Gibson in the eighties, let's not just write her off as another wannabe yet.

I must say, it starts nicely, with a nice piano sound from Delta and a very clear and beautiful voice, reminds me a little of Faith Hill, if I'm honest, though she certainly has a sound of her own. Her voice is very gentle, but she can certainly belt out the high notes when needed, though without any hint of screaming or that annoying female growl that so many of her contemporaries use. No, she's no Leona Lewis, thank the Great Pixie! Kind of a country sound to the song, lots of passion and some really nice arrangements on “Born to try”, then the title track is another uptempo song which seems to recall her own childhood, bopping along at a nice lick and with a sort of sense of drama to it, nice vocal hook, though the melody tends to change key a little unsettlingly and then slip back to the original. Hmm. The off-key, slightly out-of-tune piano, while quite obviously deliberate to underline the idea of learning to play piano at an early age, is also a little off-putting. Can't say I like this...

Surprising how suddenly your view can change! I loved the opener, but I think I quite hate this. So let's see how track three fares. “Not me, not I” becomes the first ballad, and quickly brings things back onto an even keel, with some lovely classical or Spanish guitar and Delta back singing softly, which I think suits her better. There are several people involved in the writing of this song, including her producer, Take That's Gary Barlow, and Kara DioGuardi, as well as Delta herself, who has input to almost every song on this album. Nice piano on this and some lovely string arrangements really flesh the song out, then “Throw it away” is the first of only three of the fourteen tracks here where she does not participate in the songwriting.

A sort of acoustic bluesy type of song, with a striding beat, it kind of reminds me of Kelly Clarkson. Whether that's a good thing or not I don't know, but it has elements of “Breakway” in it, which is not to say that it's a rip-off of that song in any way, but it does bring it to my mind. Next one up is another song written for her, and which became one of her biggest hit singles. “Lost without you” I would have assumed to have been a slow, sentimental piano ballad, but though the tempo is slow enough, it's not a ballad, with chuggy drums and nice guitar. Sprinklings of her piano pepper the song, but I think she does better when that instrument is to the fore. Still, it was a big hit so I guess people liked it. Not one of my favourites, though certainly better than the title track.

Well, so far it's not quite “meh” but it's not “woo-hoo!” either. Definitely something there, but is it enough to pique my often demanding interest? Hell, I'm the guy who didn't like Peter Gabriel's “New blood”! Let's continue on and see. Is the next track predictable? Well, yes it is, but that's the title. As for the music, that's not really predictable at all. The piano melody reminds me of nothing more than Nick Cave's “As I sat sadly by her side”, and the song is a sort of mid-paced rocker almost, with some pretty hard guitar fading then back into the piano line. “Butterfly”, then, is the last of the songs not to be written or co-written by her, a nice little semi-bopper with some busy drum machine action and eighties style keyboards, and that distinctive piano melody running through the song.

Other than the opener, I don't see anything (well, hear I should say) that completely grabs my attention, and although the bulk of what I've heard so far is good, it's not great overall. But then, we're only halfway through the album, so there's time for a dramatic improvement. I have to say though, I'm less than hopeful at this point. “In my own time” is the first of two songs written solo by Delta, and does it show? Well, it's certainly more piano-led, a sort of mid-paced ballad, though rather oddly I would think so far there hasn't been an actual slow ballad. Perhaps she's holding it back for the big finale?

“My big mistake” comes in on a solid, Bruce Hornsby-esque piano line with some nice strings, but then sort of devolves into a standard pop song when it looked like it was going to be so much more. “This is not me” is a harder rocker, but again I don't see it standing out particularly, though there is a lot of energy in the song, and it comes across as quite honest and open. There's a real sense of dance and even soul to “Running away”, but it's on “A year ago today” that we find at last a true diamond among all the costume jewellery, and yes, it's the first ballad, and it turns out to be well worth having waited for.

Opening on the acoustic piano it's soft and lush, tender and fragile, then the drums kick in, but gently, and the song slips along on a nice piano and keyboard melody. Delta's voice here is pure country songstress, soulful, heartfelt and passionate, but without any harshness. Beautiful strings arrangement make this song close to perfect, but is it too little too late? Well, if those crystal clear piano notes are anything to go by, perhaps not. “Longer”, though it opens like a ballad, is not one, but does keep the sudden surge in quality going, with a soft rock mid-pacer, with again great strings and some really nice and well-placed piano along with some effective backing vocals.

The closer is another ballad, and indeed the second track on the album completely written by Delta. “Will you fall for me” is again close to perfect, tiny tinkling piano taking the song in before it gets more solid and slows down, getting almost classical in its feel, and I expect strings to make an entrance anytime soon... yeah, there's the cello, courtesy of Ameena Maria Khawaja, just filling in at the right spot and then fading back out to allow the lone piano take the melody as Delta's gentle, soft voice rises in pitch as the song reaches its climax, holding the last note acapella and then finishing off with a flourish on the piano. Nice ending.

Yes, nice ending, but unfortunately it's a case of a few stars visible in an otherwise cloudy night sky. The other tracks are not bad, per se (other than the title, which I really hate), but they're not up to the calibre of the last three, and adding in the opener “Born to try”, they're still in the minority, so I would have to file this under “interested, tried, not terrible but no return visit likely”. A good first effort, and maybe her subsequent releases were a lot better --- this is a debut, after all --- but there's little here to make me want to hear more.

TRACKLISTING

1. Born to try
2. Innocent eyes
3. Not me, not I
4. Throw it away
5. Lost without you
6. Predictable
7. Butterfly
8. In my own time
9. My big mistake
10. This is not me
11. Running away
12. A year ago today
13. Longer
14. Will you fall for me

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Trollheart

So what has the worm got for you today, eh? You hungry? How about some Jam?

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Trollheart

I guess with this being a new year we should make a


Like to kick off this time around with the opening track from “Sing when you're winning”, by Robbie Williams. Powerful opener to a really solid album, this is “Let love be your energy”.


This is a great introduction to a really special album by Tony Banks. From “A curious feeling”, it's “From the undertow”.


Strong opener, and indeed the title track, to Magnum's “comeback” album, “Brand new morning”.


A great track to start a really phenomenal album, and very appropriate to the time too. This is from Deacon Blue's second album, “When the world knows your name”, and it's called “Queen of the new year”.


Now THIS is how to start an album! Opener from Bad English's self-titled debut, this is “Best of what I got”!

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John Cougar Mellencamp's not to everyone's tastes, but he has had a few pretty good songs. This is one of 'em.

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The thing I like about this section is that it's always interesting to look back at the beginnings of a band or artiste, see how they started out and how they developed, how their music changed (or didn't) over the years. Often gives you a greater appreciation of how they got to where they are now, or in some cases shows you the almost indiscernible shadow of the possible future --- or lack of it --- they could have had, had not one particular thing changed in their story.

It's very much the case of the latter when we come to speak of Iron Maiden. Although now rightfully enthroned and recognised as the leading heavy metal band, even over thirty years after they formed, the big “break” Iron Maiden got in life, I believe, was a change of vocalist. Although their first two albums were moderately successful, they did not serve to break them commercially and lift them to the heights of stardom: it took their third album, “The number of the Beast” to do that, and it all pretty much hinged on the arrival of one Bruce Dickinson, following the departure of the man who had fronted the band for their first two albums.

Iron Maiden --- Iron Maiden --- 1980 (EMI)


In fairness, it's easy to see why. While both the debut, to be discussed here, and its followup, “Killers”, a year later, were fine albums, there was a rawness about them and a certain something lacking, that seemed to prophesy that should things not change, Iron Maiden were going to go down as one of the bands of the NWOBHM who, though successful, would soon fade into the mists of its history, along with other bands like Raven, Xero, White Spirit and Trespass. Of course, that didn't happen, and they rose to, and retain, the position of megastars. But you can see from their debut that, though impressive enough for a young band, and showing the signs of being on the cusp of something truly remarkable, the weak link was holding them back, if that's not too mixed a metaphor.

The album starts off with that by-now-famous twin guitar attack but then vocalist Paul Di'Anno cuts in, and his voice is rough and gutteral, and though it kind of suits this album's rawness and menace, you couldn't really see him singing “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, could you? “Prowler” is a good opener, but not that special really, though it certainly demonstrates the versatility of the two guitarists, Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton, the latter soon to be replaced by Adrian Smith. Clive Burr on drums bashes out the rhythm with gusto, and as it ever would be, Steve Harris' bass is there to quietly keep command of the song.

A much more ambitious song, “Remember tomorrow”, penned, it has to be allowed, by Di'Anno and Harris, opens with moody bass and picked guitar, quite similar, it must be said, to the midsection of the much later “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” from “Powerslave”. After a low-key intro, Di'Anno goes into overdrive on the vocal, the twin guitars building the tension and power before the song slides back down into what could fool those who don't know it as a ballad. Great use of the guitars on the verses, where many bands would have opted for piano or keyboards, which Maiden seldom used all through their long career. Towards the end the guitar work gets as frantic as Di'Anno's vocal histrionics, and the song ends powerfully and well.

Their very first chart single is next, but I personally consider “Running free” as more filler material, and there are much better tracks on the album. It does have plenty of energy, great rolling drumbeats from Burr, and a nice little guitar solo, but it doesn't put too much of a strain on the attention, and I feel passes by without any real impression. Still, it was their first hit. It also marks the end of Di'Anno's contibution to the songwriting. Far, far better is the now-classic “Phantom of the opera”, their longest song for some time, coming in at almost seven and a half minutes. It starts with that iconic guitar riff, then trundles away like a runaway train, and it must be admitted that Di'Anno does a sterling job on the vocal here.

The song goes through a few changes along the way, making it Maiden's first step into progressive metal: it's almost composed of movements, like a classical concerto. A great guitar solo from Dave Murray helps move the song along, then Harris' bass takes the second movement, as it were, joined by the guitars and drums, creating the instrumental section and taking it into what I would term the third movement, where both guitarists rock out with some more fine solos, one across the other in some excellent interplay. The fourth movement then comes when the song goes more or less back to its opening chord structure and Di'Anno comes back in on the vocals to finish proceedings.

It's without question the standout of the album, and would remain for many years one of Maiden's favourite tracks, both by the fans and the band. It's followed by one of their only instrumentals, “Transylvania”, a rollicking, rocking guitarfest with powerful drumming from Clive Burr driving the melody on like a steamhammer. Even more rare in future years, up next is an Iron Maiden ballad! With restrained guitar and even soft vocals from Paul Di'Anno, “Strange world” runs almost seamlessly from the spooky, atmospheric ending of “Transylvania” and indeed seems like it might be another instrumental, as there's no singing for almost a minute and a half. Considering how good this track is, it's a pity Maiden opted to not have another ballad for another twelve years, but that was their choice. “Strange world”, however, shows Harris could write a slow song as well as, if not better than, any other heavy metal songwriter.

The only song written by Dave Murray on the album is next, and though it's a little raw, “Charlotte the harlot” would be revisited on 1982's “The number of the Beast”, the continuing story of the prostitute running through some of Maiden's best albums. It's a fast rocker, with Di'Anno back at his supercharged best, Murray's own guitar growling through the song as if he wanted to stamp his total identity on his creation. Nice little slowdown about halfway through distinguishes it from tracks like “Prowler”, “Running free” and the title track, which closes the album.

I know it's become a staple of the band, and indeed their signature song, but I find “Iron Maiden” a little too raw, somewhat bereft of musical ideas. A lot of the music on this album comes close to punk rock (punk metal?), mostly due to I think Di'Anno's vocal but also the hard, edgy guitar playing of Murray and Stratton, as well as the subject matter for the songs, mostly chosen by Harris. Also contributing to the punk feel of the album was the raw, muggy and as far as Maiden were concerned, totally unsatisfactory production of Will Malone, who after the debut never worked with the band again.

Iron Maiden would release one more album with Paul Di'Anno before firing him and replacing him with Samson's Bruce Dickinson, beginning a whole new era for the band and opening their music up to a much wider audience. From there on, Maiden would not look back, but had they stayed with Di'Anno, or indeed hired someone similar after he had been let go, would we in fact even recognise the name Iron Maiden today, or would they just be a small footnote in the book of Heavy Metal history?

Going on the strength of this debut, you'd have to say that the seeds of greatness were there, it just took a really great singer and a small change of direction to make them flower and bear fruit, but then you should never forget where you came from, and had this album not been recorded there would never have been an Iron Maiden, so we must be thankful and take the album on its merits.

I do think, though, it could have been a very close-run thing.

TRACKLISTING

1. Prowler
2. Remember tomorrow
3. Running free
4. Phantom of the opera
5. Transylvania
6. Strange world
7. Charlotte the harlot
8. Iron Maiden

Recommended further listening: “Killers”, “The number of the Beast”, “Piece of mind”, “Powerslave”, “Somewhere in time”, “Seventh son of a seventh son”, “No prayer for the dying”, “Fear of the dark”, “Brave new world”, “Dance of death”, “The final frontier”, “A matter of life and death”

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Let's have the first instrumentals of the new year then, shall we?

Opening with a track from an album reviewed by me recently, the closing track in fact from Journey's new album “Eclipse”, this is “Venus”.


Something different now. This is VSOP, the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra Project, with their version of a classic by Led Zep.


And a lovely little piano instrumental to finish up on, this is Saga, from the album “House of cards”, track is entitled “Watching the clock”.

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jackhammer

Where else would you find Delta Goodrem, Robbie Williams AND Tankard on the same page eh?

I cannot stand Robbie Williams (apart from the track No Regrets for some reason) but love this journal for it's honesty and 'I don't give a ****' attitude.

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