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Machine 12-27-2014 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pet_Sounds (Post 1528609)
If two more people second (and third, I suppose) this, I'll do it. ;)

Rather shocked that you'd be interested, BTW.

I'll be paying attention if you choose to do it.

Machine 12-27-2014 01:35 AM

I might do a review of the Flaming Lips discography (that mean absolutely EVERYTHING) starting early next year so that'd be fun for me to do.

Key 12-27-2014 02:14 PM

I'd love to see someone do the entire discography of The Grateful Dead.

Frownland 12-27-2014 02:39 PM

I might do the entire discography of United States of America.

Machine 12-27-2014 02:41 PM

WlScratch what I said before I am definitely doing the Flaming Lips thing I was talking about, it'll take a while, but totes up for if people will read it.

And Frownland that sounds cool, if you do I'll make sure to follow along, as well as Pet_Sounds with Billy Joel.

Overcast 12-27-2014 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland (Post 1528920)
I might do the entire discography of United States of America.

I'm very interested in this.

Pet_Sounds 12-27-2014 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland (Post 1528920)
I might do the entire discography of United States of America.

All one albums?

Frownland 12-27-2014 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pet_Sounds (Post 1528943)
All one albums?

I'm glad someone got it.

Pet_Sounds 12-27-2014 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland (Post 1528961)
I'm glad someone got it.

I'd be hard-pressed to think of a better one-album band. It's among my favourite '60s psych records.

Unknown Soldier 12-28-2014 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pet_Sounds (Post 1528609)
Rather shocked that you'd be interested, BTW.

Why? I like Supertramp.

Pet_Sounds 12-28-2014 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier (Post 1529472)
Why? I like Supertramp.

Yeah, but you didn't strike me as a Billy Joel fan.

Unknown Soldier 12-28-2014 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pet_Sounds (Post 1529517)
Yeah, but you didn't strike me as a Billy Joel fan.

I'm not, but your reviews would at least get me to listen to him

Trollheart 12-28-2014 03:06 PM

The Music Banter Members Journals Update Thread --- Week Ending December 28 2014
 
Not that surprisingly, with cases of pudding overdose and many sore heads, not too many of us --- myself included --- have managed to do much work here in Journaltown over the last week. However, a few of you have levered yourselves out of your comfy chairs and dragged yourselves to your PCs or laptops or tablets or pills or whatever-the-hell-you're-using, to throw down a few words, and as this is the last update before the New Year it behooves us to see what it is you've written.

Batty doesn't like Rob Liefeld, but to find out why you'll have to http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-oblivion.html, where you'll also see his Christmas Joker episode, and his first look at Liefled with X-Force. Hey, it's all new to me...

Down at http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...seur-cave.html Santa, sorry Briks, is wrapping his Christmas pressies and listening to rock radio, somehow mistaking Geddy Lee for female! Now who has ever done that before?? :laughing:

More of http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...rly-years.html to check out before year's end. This week he's looking at a classic from BTO.

We don't often (indeed, to this point, ever) hear from the other half of Freebase's musical partnership, but being as it's Christmas an' all (one can only assume) Piotr is here writing some http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...stronauts.html, so definitely worth checking out. Not to be outdone, Freebase is in there today with details of another new song.

http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...63-2013-a.html hits 1998 with John Zorn, Black Star, Neutral Milk Hotel and The Tiger Lilies among others.

Justin is still sorting out details for next year's twelve-month-long extravaganza of metal, and in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-endeavor.html he's asking for your top twenties, so, you know, give him some ideas.

http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-song-day.html has gone all Christmassy (and it's the best time to do that!) with already as mentioned last week Jesu and this week Machine is keeping the Xmas theme with music from Sufjan Stevens, Run DMC, The Beach Boys and Sir Paul.
Meanwhile, in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...otistical.html he's talking about his new album. Not “Empty House”, for those of us that have been following his journal... and finally
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...l-madness.html is where he's introducing the discography of The Flaming Lips, due to begin in the New Year.

Getting his journal going properly, http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...a-yas-out.html and reviews a benefit concert for Bill Graham, a concert promoter in the Bay Area who died.

There's a commemoration of World War One on http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...crap-heap.html, as Pet_Sounds remembers those who fought and died for world freedom. With music, of course.

http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ar-1965-a.html also moves on to 1998 with albums from Boards of Canada, Beck, Silver Jews and Refused among his picks.

Last few updates over at http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...d-journal.html with some more Weird Christmas songs, the last batch of presents from Under Trollheart's Tree and a review of “Music inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge”. Er, McDuck, that is. Also squeezing in some memories from my childhood. Finishing up on http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-emporium.html we have two more Christmas TV specials, from American Dad and The Simpsons, and the latest round of the Scroogedown.

In a deservedly high place (though not number one,scanadlously!) we find Dio's seminal classic “Holy Diver” occupying the numer 2 spot in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...y-history.html --- it's also Unknown Soldier's AOTY. Well, DUH! ;) As for number one? Well that's Eddie and the boys, with “Piece of Mind” --- what else?

Always interesting the ideas people get for journals. In this age of the download, I think we can all confess to downloading albums we think are cool at the time and “always mean to check out” but never do. Zero certainly is guilty of this, he says, and has used it as the theme to begin a new journal which he has called http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ollection.html. The first examples come from A Whisper in the Noise, Daniel Land and the Modern Painters, The Azuza Plane and Suun.
He's also writing in his original journal, http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...nal-sound.html where we find him making a mix of some of his favourite songs of 2014. Some good stuff there!

http://www.trollheart.com/retrojournal2.png

Another journal I missed quite a bit of while away was one which has been up to now one of the hardest-worked-upon in the section, and which situation has pushed its author in the direction of, as I said last week, “Taking a Trollheart”, ie stepping back from everything for a little while, taking a break so that he can return refreshed and ready to go in 2015.
http://www.musicbanter.com/avatars/4...ine=1417090271
Trying to maintain two journals while still holding down a job may have been partially responsible for this, I have no idea, but as I said to Ki, it is always a good idea to bend before you break. I felt, just prior to my own enforced holiday from here, that I was enjoying my journal less and less, and it felt more like a job than a hobby or something I took pleasure in, and when that happens it's time to slam on the brakes and take a good long look in the mirror. I did it, and now Ki's doing it, very sensibly.

But before he went he left us a lot of really good articles in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...nal-music.html and in August he was looking at ReinXeed's “1912”, an album he later suggested to me for “Metal Month II”, and which I thoroughly enjoyed. Then there was some Robbie Williams and Opeth, taking us into September with a feature on Lamb of God and Rammstein, then November saw him into more post-rock instrumental music with Swarm of the Sun, also looking at Casualties of Cool and Bring me the Horizon, followed by a review of the game “Borderlands 2” and “Fable”, until he decided to do a whole in-depth review on the man Devin. This began with “Ziltoid the Omniscient”, continued with “Ghost” and then the album that gave the author his name, followed by “Unplugged”, “Addicted” and “Deconstruction”, and ending the month with “Synchestra”.

November opened with my favourite (well, the only DT album I've heard, to be fair) “Epicloud” and then I caught up with him in the Update Thread so you're now, like me, up to date. Wish you all the best on your break Ki and we'll be waiting for your return! Have fun and see you next year!

http://www.trollheart.com/classicj2.png

Two very important years in the genesis of hard rock were chronicled in "Pounding Decibels", as we continue sifting through the wealth of information laid down by Unknown Soldier, a man who must surely be akin to a walking encyclopaedia of rock?

1975 started off with another double-header, from Deep Purple at number ten with “Come taste the band” and “Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow” by ... Rainbow? Yeah, stretching the criterion a little (though it's his to stretch after all) Unknown Soldier planted two albums linked by the famous guitarist together. Fair enough I suppose. Montrose were at number 9 with “Warner Bros presents...” and Sabbath came in at eight with “Sabotage”, leaving the number 7 slot free for Thin Lizzy's “Fighting” and then Nazareth at six with “Hair of the dog”. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this looks to have been the first time US featured Lizzy; every other year they seemed to just miss the cut. Budgie were back at 5 with “Bandolier” and UFO were “Forcing it” into the number four slot, while the top three went to “Welcome to my nightmare” by Alice, (this being his AOTY), Aerosmith's “Toys in the attic” and at the very top in the number one slot, yeah, them again! Zep with “Physical graffiti”.

Angel's self-titled debut was an album you should “Also check this out”, while those that fell by the wayside on US's chopping board for 1975 included Bad Company, Kiss, Rush and Scorpions. The Live Album section had BOC's “On your feet or on your knees”, Kiss “Alive” and Grand Funk's “Caught in the act” while “Hard Heavy and a Classic” came from Armageddon, with their self-titled debut and then US decided to try “Hard, Heavy and Worth a Mention", in which section he placed Uriah Heep's “Return to fantasy” as we rolled, smokin' and screechin' into 1976.

This began with Ian Gillan Band's “Child in time” (a title surely stolen from the classic Deep Purple song) at 10, while Piper had their self-titled debut at 9, with another s/t at eight, from Moxy. Judas Priest's “Sad wings of destiny” was at 7, while BOC's “Agents of fortune” took the number 6 spot. A Double-Header at 5 from Kiss, with “Destroyer” and “Rock and roll over”, while Lizzy finally got some decent recognition with another Double-Header at 4, “Jailbreak” and “Johnny the Fox” sharing the spot. An album called “No rest for the wicked” from an outfit called Truth and Janey took the number three slot, while the seminal “Rainbow Rising” did not quite make it to the top, being pipped at the post by Aerosmith again, with “Rocks”.

The Babys' debut s/t was something you should “Also check this out” and albums to miss the cut included Lucifer's Friend, Stray, Scorpions again and Trapeze, while Heart's “Dreamboat Annie” was one he considered “Hard, Heavy and Worth a Mention”. As were Ocean, with “God's clown”. We then had Motorhead and The Runaways sharing a new slot called “Hard, Heavy and a Tad Aggressive”, and Zep returned in the Live Album section with their classic “The song remains the same”.

Just time then for my
http://www.trollheart.com/quill.jpg
which comes from this guy
http://www.musicbanter.com/avatars/1...ine=1408747080
whom we don't see enough of around this place. As I mentioned, Zero began a new journal this week, and the idea behind it was so original and yet so obvious (everything's obvious after you've been shown how to do it of course) that I thought it definitely deserved to be shared here. Here's how he introduces the journal and the concept.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zer0 (Post 1527260)
One thing that I'm guilty of in the past, not so much now since I started using Spotify, is downloading albums, listening to them and then forgetting about them. Quite a lot of albums fail to impress me on first listen and are banished to the depths of my external hard-drive rather than just deleting them. Other albums I enjoy briefly for a period, then just fall out of favour and are forgotten about while I move onto newer discoveries.

So now I've decided to root through my entire music collection and give some albums another chance and also to revisit some albums I used to enjoy but neglected in recent years. I will be posting my thoughts here.

And so that's it for another year. 2014 becomes 2015 on Wednesday at midnight, so the next update will be the first of the new year. Hope you're all enjoying your Christmas and for those who I don't see around over the next few days, Happy New Year and we'll see ya back here next Sunday.

Toodles!

Isbjørn 12-29-2014 08:06 AM

Hey, just wondering, will the Journey Awards be awarded this year too? :o:

Trollheart 12-29-2014 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Briks (Post 1530190)
Hey, just wondering, will the Journey Awards be awarded this year too? :o:

This is a good question, to which I have not as yet an answer. Given that I was away from here for three months and am still catching up on people's entries, I'm not sure if I'm qualified to be handing out awards. However, if I do it the ceremony will certainly not take place before maybe March, as I still have a lot of reading to do. I may forego it this year, but I think probably not. I've still to do the year in review, which will be coming up soon-ish...

Unknown Soldier 12-29-2014 02:20 PM

Trollheart thanks for the continued coverage of my journal, you're doing a great job there.

Thelonious Monkey 12-31-2014 07:28 PM

The Devil's Dancefloor

Trollheart 01-04-2015 01:50 PM

The Music Banter Members Journals Update Thread --- Week Ending January 4 2015
 
First of all, of course, Happy New Year to everyone, whether you're a reader or an author, or even have just clicked here accidentally and found yourself in unfamiliar territory. Everyone's welcome here. Except that guy. Can't stand him. ;) But as 2014 gives way to 2015 it seems everyone has either resolved to write more updates for their journals this year than last, or else they'd just intended to do that anyway. I know I have major things planned for mine, and others do too. So, if everyone's ready and you've all signed the release forms, let's head on in to what is the first update of the new year.

Before I begin, a small note to bear in mind. You all know that I have not the time to read all of your journal entries, and am skimming through them most of the time (though when I see something that catches my attention I may stop and read it through). I do my best to give a good flavour of what is happening in everyone's journal each week, but I'm sure you all understand that it's hard to catch everything, and given all the other work I have to do it's sometimes a little rushed. So while I will try to mention everything you cover in a specific week I may from time to time miss something out. I would therefore appreciate it if you would accept that, and not for instance post things like “Hey, you forgot I also covered band X and you only mentioned band Y!” or “You forgot my feature on the evolution of punk rock!” or most particularly any smaller entries, especially when they're mostly a video with a few lines. I may occasionally miss something, but this is not meant to be a detailed synopsis of your journal. If it was, there would be little need for anyone to actually check it out.

So quickly then, for those who have joined recently and those who are new to this update thread, some basic rules:

1. If you don't update during the week you will not be featured, unless in some other capacity I decide, such as “Classic journals” or “Great journals we miss” etc.
2. Only updates by YOU, as the author, will be noted. Other people commenting in your journal are not reported.
3. Although not a hard and fast rule, generally an entry needs to be at least a few lines of text. If you just say “Here's a video for a song I heard” and post the YouTube, there's a good chance that I will not consider that for the update.
4. As mentioned above, some omissions may occur. Please accept this. If, however, you do update and your entire journal is missed out, let me know: I'm only human, as are all my clones.
5. If you misspell or use bad grammar in an extract I post, this will appear as is. I am not going to spellcheck your entries, that's up to you.
6. Any posts featured will be stripped of YouTubes if they exist, however pictures and other text effects will be left in. Occasionally, an extract might be too long and so I will truncate it if necessary.
7. The update covers all entries posted before 6pm on Sunday, Irish time. If you post after that, your entry will appear in the next update. If, for some reason, it is important to you that you be featured in the current update but have missed the deadline, PM me before 10pm Sunday, as once the post is done I cannot change it even if I want to.

And now, on with the show!

http://cdn.marketplaceimages.windows...=ws_icon_large
This is a new section I'm trying out, where any major news about journals will first be broken, whether the author has already done so in their journal or it's been announced or hinted at previously. The details will of course then be discussed in the entry on that person's journal/those persons' journals, but here is where you will read it first, in this thread anyway. Unlike the other entries, these will not be alphabetically organised.

The first big news this month is of course the opening of the doors of "The Devil's Dancefloor" (title @ copyright Trollheart Enterprises, MMXIV), Justin's year-long exploration of the wonderful world of Heavy Metal. He's devoting each month to a specific sub-genre, so there should be something there for everyone who's even slightly into metal. This month he kicks off with Traditional Metal, including a complete discography of the band I consider to be one of, if not the best metal bands, Iron Maiden. Briks will also be getting involved apparently, and so will I. At the moment my involvement is writing reviews of the live Maiden albums.

The next news story concerns Ki, who as we all know is one of the workhorses here. Those who didn't catch previous updates, or read his journal, may not know that he is taking a break from both his journals and the forum, but hopes to be back, rested and raring to go, in a while, when hopefully he'll continue his discography of Devin Townsend. We wish him all the best and are counting the days.

Finally, not content with already eight journals, I've pushed it into double figures by opening two new ones, details of which you'll find below. If anyone ever finds my brain, please return it to me. There is no reward I repeat, no reward. Thank you. Oh yeah, there are also three new journals (other than mine) starting this week.

Kicking the year off alphabetically we welcome back Anteater, who launches the 2015 leg of http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ravaganza.html with a look at Fleetwood Mac sans Nicks and Buckingham!

The first of those new journals comes from Blackdragon123, whom dedicated and regular readers will recall did a sterling job last year with his “26 best Black Sabbath songs” journal, but then sadly realised that was completely limited, and had nowhere to go. Well, he's back now with http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ackdragon.html, which is far more broad and allows for a wider scope. He's kicking off with his thoughts on two Black Sabbath album covers, one of which was featured in the main Metal subforum but has been moved to its new home, and is really worth reading.

B then is also for Briks (no Batty: putting a comic panel in without any wording does not qualify as an entry, at least not in my book! Try harder...) as he joins Justin's metal quest in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...seur-cave.html, looking at Iron Maiden's debut and giving us his thoughts on it.
Spoiler for spoiler:
Spoiler: they're all good. :pssst:
Also looking at another debut by an even more influential and important band, Sabbath's first outing.

A second new entry comes from Deadchannel, who looks very much like failing to live up to his name (!) and may in fact end up challenging Oriphiel for that Workhorse award! In his new journal http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...sentation.html he's looking at movies, and already we've had a spaghetti western, a Hitchcock classic, and more! Looks like this one could be very interesting indeed.

And the third newbie in Journaltown is http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ten-music.html where he intends to sift through his music collection and listen to albums he has not heard before, or does not know what they are. Gems or crap? Only he can tell you! There's music from Fosa Común and Shut up. No, I'm not being rude: that's the name of the band!

http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...year-year.html is getting going in earnest now as he looks into Bob Dylan's “Bringing it all back home”.

We were speaking of the J-man earlier, well he's opening the doors, as mentioned above, to http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ancefloor.html, with a whole month devoted to “Traditional Metal”, much of which will encompass the discography of Iron Maiden, and he starts this off, as anyone should, with a look at the debut album and then on to “Killers”. Also my own small contribution with a review of “Death on the road”, other live albums to follow. And then he looks at Sabbath's seminal debut album. Looks like it could be a good month!

Machine promised to begin a review of the discography of The Flaming Lips (looks like 2015 will be the year of the discography review!) and here he is, in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...l-madness.html beginning with “Hear it is”. Also back in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-song-day.html with more from Tyler, you know, the Creator guy. Swans and Primus, too.

Neapolitan returns for another perfectly-timed blast across the bows in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...i-journal.html, as he examines The Moody Blues' “Days of future passed”

Oriphiel is already working hard to retain his award, and http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ck-garage.html as he is, he's writing more of his western, looking into rockabilly, post-punk and even trying out some random albums he picked up second hand. Sweet. Oh, and the Singles Mixer, whatever that may be. I can't keep up! Youre gonna have to go down there, man! Just check it out, you'll see I'm right. He's even venturing into the land of Metal now, with a feature on Stray! Followed by Nikki and the Corvettes and then Boys vs Girls with Thee Headcoats vs Thee Headcoatees (?)

Mind you, Pet_Sounds has been doing some work of his own, in between feeling sick and taking over from Ki on tabulating the votes for the Music Banter Nominations this year. He's going to be checking out Billy Joel's discography as well as telling us about his favourite fifty Beatles songs. It's all happening down at http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...crap-heap.html! “Money” is the first one up by the way.

http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...listening.html tells us that our favourite guitar god is checking out some classical guitar music by Giuseppe Torrisi.

Not content with eight journals already, and trying to book my place at Happyvale Rest Home for the Terminally Bewildered, I've started two more, of which news anon. Down at http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...d-journal.html though, there's another glimpse into my fascinating (yes it is) childhood, a review of Nothing More's latest album called, um, “Nothing more”, a look at a John Denver song which makes me gasp “Say What?” and the return, in the first entry of 2015, of “Nice song --- shame about the album!” with a look at Alan Parsons's “The time machine.” Lots happening on http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-emporium.html with the final Scroogedown of 2014 (though it'll continue into this month at least), opening 2015 with Babylon 5 and a review of “Unforgiven”. Strontium Dog is back in his second adventure in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...d-2000-ad.html as he and Wulf take on the space pirate Papa Por-ka, with the aid of an unexpected new ally.

Those new journals of which I spoke? Well one was pre-announced in December, and now as January gets going you'll find http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...e-you-die.html, with the first three albums already done, while one I had kept quiet about (mostly because I only thought of it a few days ago) is http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ive-metal.html, which is due to get underway properly next week. How do I manage to keep all these plates spinning? Well, it helps to have an army of clones... ;)

Unknown Soldier begins yet another new section in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...y-history.html as he looks at albums “Down on the slab”. No, I'm not going to tell you what it's about: you know the way there by now! The first to feature though is Sabbath's abortion-worthy “Born again”... then he's looking into some NWOBHM compilations ... that one always reminds me of bondage! Two albums that don't make the list for 1983 then are featured, um, before he gets to 1983, and the first comes from Satan, with “Court in the act”. I doubt the second will be posted before the deadline.... no, it wasn't.

Exciter are the theme in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...s-journal.html

and Zero is talking about The Drums, Hypomanie, Surfer Blood and, er, Amusement Parks on Fire in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ollection.html

http://www.trollheart.com/retrojournal2.png
I'm bringing this to a close now, as I'm working on The Year in Review, where everyone's journal will get a good dusting off, and I think I've caught up with those of most people anyway.

Trollheart 01-04-2015 02:21 PM

http://www.trollheart.com/quill.jpg
I think I said when I saw this (or if not, I thought it) that were this post in a journal I would have no hesitation in awarding it post of the week. Now that it is, I don't. Have any hesitation, that is. This comes from one of our not quite new members, but one who has only had the one journal here before and hasn't been around for a little while. Well
http://www.musicbanter.com/avatars/6...ine=1406800020
is certainly making a serious comeback with his new journal, and this is the first post in it, transcribed from the Metal subforum.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackdragon123 (Post 1532525)
ESSAY I - ALBUM ARTWORKS
BLACK SABBATH [1970] -
'Unseen Violence'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_S...ebut_album.jpg

The cover art for Black Sabbath is the most timelessly powerful and harrowingly iconic album cover in the history of rock and metal. Even on first glance, without proper inspection, the beholder is shown a completely saturated image of darkness, mystery and the promise of an other-worldly experience. What we see is purely Gothic horror story; captured and framed to forever terrify and intrigue those who stumble across the band’s debut album.

Black Sabbath's cover gives us the image of an androgynous figure in a black cloak, standing upon the dead autumn ground surrounding an old watermill. Many have erroneously claimed that the figure is a drawing of Ozzy Osbourne, but that claim is illogical, as Osbourne did not don clothes of that fashion until late into his solo career (a point to which I will return soon), and so the identity of the figure within the context of the picture remains an absolute mystery. An idea that the figure is an unwelcome omen is reinforced by its juxtaposition with the image behind it. The watermill, a symbol of old, rural and agricultural virtue should permeate a hard-working, clean-living Protestant ambience, but that is not the case in this picture. The figure, with its features teasingly kept just out of focus, and its full form hidden by its tightly wrapped cloak could be seen to be smiling as it stands among the ruins of nature and man. Everything about the artwork appears dead, from the bare, scarred trees, to the still mill and its unkempt surroundings. You may be justified in thinking that the mill is abandoned. Where are its workers and inhabitants? Is that black rectangle doorway a signal that the door has been broken down and the figure’s dark will has been forced upon whoever lay behind it? Every one of these questions remains unanswered, there is no context to the piece when it is viewed on its own, but therein lies only a fragment of its power. We may consider that the figure is the bringer of the barren world you see before you. It sits completely central within the picture, and its black hole eyes are an intimidating betrayal of its hidden intent.

But what is this power? If you were inclined to read the poem included in the album sleeve, penned by an anonymous writer, you may have read the following words;

‘Still falls the rain,
The veils of darkness shroud the blackened trees,
Which, contorted by some unseen violence,
Shed their tired leaves’

The poem itself may be a sub-Alastair Crowley veined imitation, but it offers the line ‘unseen violence’, which captures exactly what makes the Black Sabbath cover art so frightening. Unlike the majority of heavy metal album covers, Black Sabbath visual companion is completely understated and offers only the aftermath of an event that the beholder can only guess at. This ambiguity is furthered by the elimination of time. When is this piece set? The witch-like spectre in the pre-industrial countryside suggest a medieval setting, and all of the demonic connotations that accompany that suggestion seem apt, but in reality the picture could be set in any time. One may read into this image a far more modern and frightening meaning, as you may observe the unnatural coloration of the surroundings. Odd purples, blues and greens stick onto the bark and leaves of the tree, and the walls of the mill. The trees in the background are an impossible red, and the obscurity of the water behind the reeds gives it a sickly, rancid texture. Is this figure the bringer or prophet of the nuclear apocalypse, a fear that would have been alive and well in seventies Britain? The lack of animal and vegetable life and the angry, scarred landscape may suggest so, but even so, the picture remains tortuously ambiguous, until it is paired with the album’s music.

Never before has an album’s sound complimented its artwork so effectively as on Black Sabbath, and the distant, tolling bells and thunderous rain bring the images in the picture to life, echoing that understated feeling of terror and unease. Upon placing the album down and concentrating on the music, the listener may be forgiven for assuming that the image will hold no further bearing on proceedings, and that it was only made to mildly frighten you. That assumption is smashed with such bold simplicity by the opening lines of ‘Black Sabbath’ that you may even feel chills running down your spine. Ozzy Osbourne asks desperately with his signature howling voice;

‘What is this that stands before me?
Figure in black which points at me,’

What is that if not a direct reference to what you are seeing before you, right there on the album cover? You may have even asked a similar question yourself, and now that artwork gains a new dimension. It’s almost as if Osbourne and the band are breaking the fourth wall and talking for you. This innovative feature is often overlooked, and only when one takes the time to consider it can its amazing effect truly be recognised. I’ve yet to see (or hear) this technique used in music in the same fantastic way. It amplifies the fear to a primal level, and although as the album continues, its effect is less prominent, its initial shocking declaration remains as a reverberation throughout. It becomes associated in some way with each of the album’s tracks, and all of their various Gothic themes; ranging from political corruption, magic, treachery and devilry seem to emanate from the mysterious figure.

How many times have you read or heard a statement professing that Black Sabbath were the pioneers and creators of the heavy metal genre? How many interviews have you seen with modern metal stars, who claim that the innumerable styles, trends, sounds and vibes of heavy metal were born from that tolling bell, from that opening line and from that disturbing artwork? Black Sabbath is generally considered (although not by all) to be the first heavy metal album, and its legacy remains constantly evolving to this day. What this piece proposes (as disturbing as it may seem) is that the figure in the artwork; the ‘big black shape with eyes of fire, telling people their desire’ was actually the founder of the genre, and that Black Sabbath were merely the prophets of its message. Geezer Butler has revealed in the past that the inspiration for the song ‘Black Sabbath’ came from his own paranormal experience, where a black shape entered his bedroom and stole a book of black magic from the foot of his bed. That experience no doubt led to the creation of the shadowy figure, and coupled with the lyrics, gave birth to the metal genre. Interestingly, throughout most of the seventies, Black Sabbath and bands like it were treated with disdain by the establishment and music critics, despite their popularity with music fans. Sabbath and the bands inspired by them sang about the darker side of life, and did not shy away from bluntly discussing the perils of war, religious evils, politics and mass conformity. Even today, long after the Cold War era and into the post 9/11 decades, they still warn of a forthcoming disaster and untold injustices against man and his descendants. All of this ruin, Armageddon and fear stems directly from that image that appeared in record stores back in 1970 and it seems that the legacy of the shadowy invader remains as strong as ever. Its message is vague in detail but undeniably clear. It foretells the downfall of man and the ushering in of a demonic reign. Religious fanatics and concerned parents should not have blamed Sabbath for their diabolic songs; they should’ve turned their attention to the figure, which (nameless as it may be) has taken on an almost deified personality in heavy music.

The band have revealed (if bashfully) in past interviews, a flirtation with occultist activities, usually at the request of their contingent, or as a way to seduce impressionable girls. Superstition has never fully removed itself from their psyche, as that first encounter between Geezer and his alleged spirit thief pervades everything he wrote about since it confronted him. Osbourne and Tony Iommi are rarely seen without their large steel crosses around their necks, despite their constant association with Satanism and the occult. Clips can be seen of Osbourne praying before gigs and talking openly about his Christian faith (albeit a vague and non-offensive confession). Perhaps most interestingly of all, the most common image of Osbourne in the 21st Century is of his long, black hair, dark sunglasses and billowing, black cloak. This attire is one that many incorrectly assume has been his style since the early days of Black Sabbath. In fact, his adoption of such clothing is a relatively new trend and is one that bizarrely imitates the look of the figure from the Black Sabbath artwork. On a superficial glance, this may not seem so strange, but when one considers Osbourne’s past taste for bright, white clothing and brighter coloured hair, paying consistent homage to an artwork character from over thirty years ago seems incredibly strange. When coupled with his stooped posture, this donning of the figure’s clothes that so frightened the singer in the band’s debut song appears to be inspired by intimidation or fear of that old ghost among the reeds. One may even read into this connection that the Prince of Darkness (one of the four godfathers of heavy metal) has a continuing relationship with the figure, and that the reprise of the rain and bells featured at the end of the 13 album serve as a ritualistic tribute to that frightening witch that still haunts the minds of music lovers the world over.

This short essay may have passed from the realms of mere speculation into fantasy, and the origins of the spectre in the real world probably have more logical (and hallucinogenic-related explanations) but the connections remain eerie, and deepen the dark wonder surrounding a rock band that seem to work hard at masking their depth of feeling outside of their music. Whether or not you believe that Black Sabbath brought forth heavy metal or not, you cannot deny that a certain frightening figure standing upon the bank in the Oxfordshire countryside has had a monumental impact on the world of rock and metal, and will continue to do so as long as the genre exists and the youth of generations continue to listen to Black Sabbath. Its appearance in any bedroom or in any clearing, or on the shelves of any record store is an omen of heavy sounds; angry, weird and wonderful. Let us not forget, as Osbourne observed:

‘Is it the end, my friend?
Satan’s come around the bend,’

http://www.trollheart.com/classicj2.png

1977 arrived, bringing a fresh breeze across the world of rock as the dominance of progressive rock began to fail (boo!) and hard rock and heavy metal began to gain more ground. You can read all about it here:
Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier (Post 1347930)
1977

1977 was such a pivotal and exciting year in rock music as a whole, in fact despite the brilliance of the early 1970s, no year since 1967 had thrown up a batch of albums that challenged the traditional hierarchy of rock in such a way. Despite the similarities of the two years, 1977 was quite different to 1967 in that 1967 had established artists adopting a psychedelic stance over more traditional rock, whereas 1977 had new bands doing new things to challenge the existing hierarchy. The explosion of punk, new-wave and off-the wall rock bands was simply quite staggering at this time, as was the quality of the debut albums on show from the Clash, the Damned, the Stranglers, Dead Boys, Television, Talking Heads and the meanest sounding of them all from Cheap Trick! Not to be outdone the established order of Fleetwood Mac, Styx, Steely Dan, Rush, Pink Floyd and a revitalised David Bowie had put out cornerstone albums, in an age which also saw the rise especially in the USA of the disco era, just think the Bee Gees and you’re away. So where did this leave the bulk of hard rock and heavy metal bands? Well if you were an already established act such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Kiss, Aerosmith and Blue Oyster Cult you were still selling by the bucketload and filling out concert arenas, regardless of whether you were putting out quality stuff or not and in the case of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath most definitely not! Other bands such as Budgie, Uriah Heep and Nazareth just to name a few where feeling the pinch creatively and looking a shadow of their former selves, despite the last two who were looking to fight back! Thus leaving bands like UFO and Thin Lizzy to keep the flag flying quality wise, along with recent breakthroughs in acts like Judas Priest and AC/DC. What this meant though at the bottom end of the spectrum in terms of new bands coming through, was that these bands were going to struggle in trying to take-off. So between 1977 and 1979 new music at the heavier end of the spectrum, just wasn’t getting the same amount of exposure as a lot of newer and older established genres. Despite this negative, 1977 would still throw up a strong selection of albums to keep the flag flying and in the shape of an unlikely rock opera Bat Out of Hell by Meatloaf, the genre would have one of the biggest selling albums of all time.

Meanwhile, Unknown Soldier had the self-titled debut from The Hunt at number 10 for this year, with Riot's “Rock City” at 9 and a Double-Header from Legs Diamond taking the number 8 slot, with “A diamond is a hard rock” sharing the spot with their self-titled. The madman himself was at 7 as Ted Nugent's “Cat scratch fever” was just edged out by BOC's “Spectres” at 6, Aerosmith coming in then at 5 with “Draw the line” and Judas Priest's “Sin after sin” at number four. That took us to the top three, where we found AC/DC's “Let there be rock” at 3, Lizzy's “Bad reputation” at number two (also featuring as his AOTY) and at the very top, the number one spot went to UFO, with “Lights out”.

The countdown complete, we moved into “Also check this out” which featured Quartz's s/t debut, then some albums that missed the cut came from Motorhead, Kiss, Krokus and Lone Star among others, while the Live Album section had Rainbow and Kiss, with "Live on stage” and “Alive II” respectively. “Hard, heavy and a Classic” is the only way you could really describe “Bat out of Hell” from Meat Loaf, and also there was “High class in borrowed shoes” by Max Webster. Then we had some cheese courtesy of Thor, before Unknown Soldier finished off both his Queen article and the one looking into Hawkwind.

This took us into 1978, where Ian Gillan's solo self-titled debut was at number 10, Nazareth's “No mean city” at nine and the return of The Scorpions at 8 with “Taken by force”. AC/DC were back at 7 with “Powerage” while solo Kiss member Ace Frehley's self-titled debut took the number 6 slot, and was also his AOTY. UFO were down this year to 5 with “Obsession” while Judas Priest took the number four place with “Killing machine/Hell bent for leather”, leaving the top three for this year the first shot from Van Halen, Rainbow's “Long live rock'n'roll” and at the top Priest again, this time with “Stained class.”

In the “Also check this out” category was a band called Sorcery, with “Stunt rock”, while albums to fall outside Unknown Soldier's strict criteria for this year included efforts from Whitesnake, Gary Moore and Uriah Heep. The Live album section featured AC/DC with “If you want blood you've got it” and Ted Nugent was back with “Double live gonzo”, to say nothing of Lizzy's “Live and dangerous” and Scorpions' “The Tokyo Tapes”. Also namechecked but not reviewed were live albums from BOC, Frank Marino, Sammy Hagar and Aerosmith. Finally, there was a shot of southern boogie with Molly Hatchet's self-titled debut in “Hard, heavy and worth a mention”. And so on to 1979.

Next week.

Who's this week's
http://www.trollheart.com/workhorse.png
Why it's me! :D No, it isn't. How vain do you think I am, how narcissistic that I would award the thing to myself? Really? You think I should? Well if you say so... no really, the person whom I see as working the hardest on their journal this week is one of our newest authors, who has gone out of his way to really throw himself into his journal and make it a must-read. Yeah, the award goes to
http://www.musicbanter.com/avatars/9...ine=1419912485
Deadchannel, for http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...sentation.html

Trollheart 01-04-2015 02:24 PM

And finally...
http://www.trollheart.com/crypt2.png
Sometimes it's not how much is written (take note, Trollheart!) but what is written. To quote the Urban One again, quality over quantity. Which is why I miss
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...c-journal.html
She didn't write a huge amount but what she did write she put her heart and soul into, and you could see it meant a lot to her. Here's a sample:
Quote:

Originally Posted by Astronomer (Post 1438325)
Sparked by a short conversation I had with a fellow MBer today, I'd thought I'd create this post.

During the 1960s both of my parents lived in Swinging London and as such, adopted quite an attitude of optimism, hedonism, and cultural revolution that they pretty much traipsed through the rest of my childhood. (Don't get me wrong, it was not always the best, especially when they insisted you wear hand-made clothes to school and sent you to camp with a crocheted nana square blanket). I was only but a twinkle in my parents' eyes in the sixties but boy do I love daydreaming of what it would be like to be alive during this time. The counterculture, the revolution in social norms regarding clothing, music, drugs, dress, formalities and schooling. A decade of irresponsible excess, flamboyance, and decay of social order. How marvelous.

A recent almost "revival" of this culture seems to be cropping up around me in various forms lately, and so I've been inspired to share with you some of my favourite snippets of music from this time (and hopefully not just the typical response that you'd expect from some kinda of try-hard imposter such as myself). This may take a few journal entries, and for this first entry, I might focus a little more on the soul-esque tunes that I dig and then move onto other niblets of music that I enjoy. So let's jump right in - sha na boom boom yeah!

1. Diana Ross & The Supremes
I love that the Supremes brought to the Motown scene a delicacy that beforehand had only ever began to sneak out occasionally in female soul artists at the time. Here's what is said about them in 'The Supremes on Show':



2. Joe Tex, 'Show Me'

I love this song, even more so, I love Emma Birdsall's cover of it that I posted earlier.

3. The Staple Singers, 'Heavy Makes You Happy'

How can you not love this one?! It makes me just want to put on a mini skirt and knee-high boots and boogie it out in a local.

4. Bobbie Gentry
Ah, Bobbie Gentry. What a beautiful woman! Her voice I adore, and can easily see how modern artists (such as the lovely Emma Birdsall, featured earlier) draw inspiration from artists such as Gentry. One of the first country artists to record and compose her own material, her songs have classically autobiographic influences. I love this one:

And now moving away from the soul work a little...

5. Russell Morris
And finally, how could I not include an Australian artist on this first installation of my list? And how could it not be Russell Morris? Obviously, 'The Real Thing' is the most notable song to discuss here. Personally, I consider it to be one of the best psychedelic rock singles produced in the 1960s. It came about thanks to a plethora of well-known Australian musical artists and producers such as Molly Meldrum, Johnny Young and John Sayers.


Well, it's time for dinner now, but my sixties journey has only just begun so stay tuned for the next edition!

Come on Astronomically Lovely One! It's time to get up off that perfectly-formed behind of yours and get writing again. Please? Or, you know, not. But we'd all like to see you back among the ranks of the living...

That brings to a close the first update of the new year. I'm currently working, as I say, on 2014's The Year in Review in Journals, so hopefully I'll have that in a few weeks for you. Menwhile, keep writing and having ideas, and remember, if you want to be creative here, this is the place to do it.

Till next week,
Toodles!

Oriphiel 01-05-2015 08:31 AM

Thanks for another update, Trollheart! Everyone here really appreciates you taking the time to get us all caught up. Love the question mark after Thee Headcoatees, by the way!

Unknown Soldier 01-07-2015 03:54 PM

I don't even remember writing reviews for Thor, Sorcery and Molly Hatchet, seems like an age ago now.

Machine 01-11-2015 12:44 PM

Um since this is sort of an update for journals as well as Trollheart's amazing weekly update I just thought I'd share that in the coming weeks with all the midterms I have coming and the cooldown from that, I'm going to be taking breaks on all of my journals temporally.

Trollheart 01-11-2015 02:41 PM

The Music Banter Members Journals Update Thread --- Week Ending January 11 2015
 
It's getting bloody chilly here: snow forecast for tomorrow and I have to take my cat to the vet. Ah, Mondays! How I love you!

What's been happening down Journaltown way, you ask? Well, I did just originally pop in here to tell you about my cat, but as you ask...
http://cdn.marketplaceimages.windows...=ws_icon_large

And the big story in Journaltown this week is that some serious health and safety issues have forced the closure of "The Devil's Dancefloor", most of those issues related I think to Justin's sanity! I've taken on some big projects in my time but this one sounded like something even I wouldn't undertake, and he's decided, probably rightly, to pull out now before it gets too heavy. Read all about it below. And don't give him a hard time: he really tried.

There are new journals starting this week from Deadchannel and Oriphiel --- think they'd be busy enough with their first journals but no. I'd never do that. Um.
:shycouch:
More details below.

We also have the return of Wpnfire and WhateverDude, both missed, and Moss comes back to us also, so there are some tearful (yeah) reunions this week. I'm getting all choked up here. Let's get on with the update. Go to commercial! Go to commercial!


http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-oblivion.html and see him speak of the evolution of Deadpool, with his Issue of the Week starting up too. Yeah, it's Deadpool ... :rolleyes: Isn't he just a ripoff of Spiderman?

Showing us that his new journal isn't going to just be devoted to explanations and essays on album sleeves, blackdragon123 shows us that http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ackdragon.html you can also find a list of his favourite tracks by Supertramp. Nice one! Then he returns to album covers, this time comparing Ozzy to Lennon?

Down at http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...seur-cave.html there are unnerving sounds as the Hellion sweeps overhead! Yes, Briks is reviewing “Screaming for vengeance” by Judas Priest, also some more haiku reviews coming your way. He's not too impressed with “London calling” though. Neither was I.

Chula's back! And he's brought Yes with him. “Close to the edge” is the latest album to feature in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...rly-years.html

In http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...sentation.html, Deadchannel presents a review of “True romance”, while in his other journal, started only this week, http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ear-music.html, there's music from Sleep and Zach Hill.

http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...63-2013-a.html reaches 1999, with albums from SPAZZ, Polaris and Blur among his list.

Following on from our big news story this week, as you've all read by now http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ancefloor.html has closed, or rather, been streamlined and changed. Like Bewley's here (Irish interest only) it's changing its focus and many people will lose their job --- no, wait: nobody will, not even Justin, who's going to use it to continue to post metal reviews, just not on a daily basis as he had intended. I did warn him he needed to be certain he was able to take on such a massive undertaking,. He's pressing ahead with the Iron Maiden reviews though, with what might seem a bt of a rush as he ploughs through “Piece of mind”, “Seventh son of a seventh son”, “No prayer for the dying” and “Fear of the dark”, bringing the First Age of Dickinson to a close. Oh, and there's another live review from me.

A welcome return for LadyisLingering, in the absence of her husband woops boyfriend (!) and she's plundering her http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ic-memory.html for The Alan Parsons Project, The Cars and Lynsey de Paul.

Machine tells us that Mac DeMarco, Tantifaxath, The Microphones and Sleep (now where did I hear that before?) ;) are some of http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-song-day.html, while there's another Flaming Lips review in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...l-madness.html, this time it's “Oh my gawd! It's The Flaming Lips!”

http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...a-yas-out.html and talks about Guided By Voices in Boulder, Colorado.

Back to being http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ck-garage.html, Oriphiel is kicking 2015 off the way he ended 2014, with a host of entries including the Rezillos, Les Hell on Heels and Sir Psycho. Also a compilation called “Back from the grave”. And as if all that work wasn't enough, he's starting, as I mentioned, a new journal, http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...rgy-story.html, devoted to ... disco! He's also writing a story about it, first three chapters up now.

Another of Pet_Sounds' favourite Beatles tracks is “Hey bulldog”, and you'll find it on http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...crap-heap.html this week.

Do Sidewinder and Goofle swap notes, I wonder? They seem to post very soon after each other. Anyway, it's 1999 in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ar-1965-a.html too, and he's looking at offerings from Pinback, Mr. Bungle and Beck, among others.

My new journals are doing quite well, thank you, with http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...e-you-die.html taking a look at MIA and Kings of Leon, The Killers, The Zutons, Rufus Wainwright and The Streets, while http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ive-metal.html begins properly, with a look at the barest beginnings of prog rock and a review of The Beach Boys' “Pet Sounds” and then The Mothers of Invention's “Freak out!” My main journals are not slacking either though and in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...d-journal.html you'll find a review of Supertamp's debut album, while a little out of season now, the Scrooge Showdown continues in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-emporium.html. I've even kicked http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...i-reviews.html back into life this week, with reviews of albums by The Donkeys and Lights and Motion. More to come next week as I try to get this long-neglected journal back on track.

More NWOBHM compilations in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...y-history.html as Unknown Soldier looks into “Metal Massacre”. All four volumes. Also Batlord's favourite musical wanking material, Warlord's “Deliver us”.

http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...e-radness.html is back to turn us on to Angel Olsen, while

http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...s-journal.html has a review of the video computer game “Dead Space”.

This week's pick for
http://www.trollheart.com/quill.jpg
comes from my good friend Briks, who has about the same reaction to this classic album as I did...
Quote:

Originally Posted by Briks (Post 1536574)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...albumcover.jpg

Why do people hail this as the "greatest punk rock album of all time"? Jeez, I was pretty unimpressed. Sure, some of the tracks are good, great even, like "London Calling", "Brand New Cadillac", and "Lost in the Supermarket", but one of those is a cover, and the rest? Well, mostly okay, but nothing special, and even boring at times. Overrated.

3/5


Trollheart 01-11-2015 02:47 PM

And now it's time for
http://www.trollheart.com/classicj2.png


As Unknown Soldier reviewed the final decade in the seventies, it seems appropriate to reproduce his synopsis of it. And here it is.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier (Post 1380404)
1979

The end of the decade as far as the heavy rock scene went, was quite simply best put as ‘The Eve of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal’ which would burst onto the scene the following year and change the parameters of the heavy metal genre in sound, image, power and overall aggression. The end of an era had already come for the likes of Led Zeppelin who finally folded with the death of John Bonham after a couple of below-par albums, Deep Purple had already been no more for a couple of years and Black Sabbath who after losing Ozzy in 1978, and then replacing him with Dave Walker, then reclaimed Ozzy and produced their dullest album to date! Other bands weren’t faring much better either, such as early pioneers like Budgie and the Blue Oyster Cult two bands that would never quite find the same fire again as their earlier output. Also bands like UFO who were primed to take over from the big three, had failed to take the huge popularity mantle that they should’ve done. Luckily though a crop of bands carried the torch forward to the bitter end and these were not only good bands, but they were all selling by the bucketload as well and these included AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, Scorpions and the mighty metal flagbearing Judas Priest. Stateside things didn’t get much bigger than Aerosmith or Kiss and newbies Van Halen were making this a trilogy of US giants by the end of the decade, with lesser lights such as bands like Riot busily furrowing away. 1979 as a whole was probably on a par with the previous 1978 in terms of overall quality in regards to the top end of my list and again like 1978 it suffers from some quality holes at its bottom end, thus making it neither a great year or bad year overall. There are no huge surprises at the top of the list with the likes of AC/DC, Scorpions and Thin Lizzy all placing highly, with other albums of note being the Van Halen sophomore, Rainbow going more commercially AOR and Motorhead finally bursting onto the UK scene. 1979 was a year where I have a lot of memories which range from the huge amount of quality new-wave, post-punk and Ska albums that were around in the UK at this time and these albums were very much balanced by some of the zanier acts and AOR standards that were fully established in the USA, and these contrasts certainly made the year a rich and diverse listen overall for the music listener. With this being the final year of the decade, it is the final year review that I plan to do in the current format, as from 1980 onwards I plan to revamp things a bit due to the greater expansion of the scene overall.

Number ten for 1979 turned out to be Aerosmith's “Night in the ruts” while Rainbow took the number 9 position with “Down to Earth". Then at number 8 we had ... a Japanese rock band? Um. “The New Wave of Japanese Metal” as US described it, gave birth to a band called Nokemono, and their effort “From the black world” was just pipped by Gillan's “Mister Universe” at 7, with “Van Halen II” at 6. Lizzy's “Black rose” was at 5 with Motorhead coming in at 4 with “Overkill” (think this may be the first time they made it onto his list?) leaving the top three to, in order, another Motorhead album, this time “Bomber” (which was also his pick for AOTY), AC/DC's “Highway to Hell” and at number one, The Scorpions with “Love drive”.

Kiss were in the section you should “Also check this out” with “Dynasty”, while albums not to make the cut this year came from Riot, Trust and Helix among others. The Live Album section then had Judas Priest's “Unleashed in the East” and UFO's “Strangers in the night” while “Hard, Heavy and a Classic” came from Triumph, with “Just a game”. On the other hand, Blackfoot took the “Hard, heavy and Worth a Mention” slot with “Strikes”. As we reached the end of the seventies then US decided to change the format, and rather than trying to explain it, sure I'll let him do it:
Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier (Post 1400335)
Format Change


In order to make the journal more focused and also to incorporate the ever increasing amount of quality albums that arrived from 1980 onwards. I’ve now decided to streamline the existing ‘Top 10’ reviews by doing away with the middle ‘album’ section and in its place creating a larger 'verdict' section (as I talk about most of the songs in this verdict section anyway) Also I’ll be doing away with the “Also check this out….” “Albums that missed the cut…..” and the “Live Album” sections as well and now incorporating them in a new list from 11-20. So from now on there will be a ‘Top 20’ list for each year, of which all the albums 20-11 will be in a mini-review format and albums 10-1 will be larger expanded reviews similar to before. There will also be one final new section based on my contentious album pick of the year (still working on a name) which as the name suggests, I’ll be picking an album that I don’t see eye to eye with when it comes to reviewers or even with just plain public opinion (so it could either be good or bad) or even an album that is just plain terrible and should never have been released! Finally I may end each year with some additional footnotes or comments as well. All in all the yearly reviews should be tighter and with a greater overall focus as well.

And so, on to 1980, where he had a big writeup, which is only right, given all the changes 1980 saw in heavy metal. Here it is:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier (Post 1401090)
1980


1980 was one mother of a year and without doubt possibly the most important in the history of heavy metal. It was quite simply a watershed of a year and the quality of overall releases was simply astounding especially by newish artists. Hard rock and heavy metal had constantly given us quality bands over the previous decade, but far too many of these bands had fallen by the wayside, largely due to the fact that their record labels had had no idea on how to market them. American labels had been without doubt the worst culprits here and had killed a number of talented acts stateside, a situation which would knock the American scene back several years behind its UK rival. So to fully understand the impact that heavy metal had back in 1980, an overview of the music scene in general is worth looking at. The UK scene was dominated by punk bands that had evolved into post-punk and new-wave acts. Schoolkids were into the growing Ska movement and the in-crowd were listening to the bands that would make up the New Romantic grouping of bands, as bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and even newer acts like UFO and Budgie etc were now old hat. Stateside the word ‘safe’ was the watchword, as established artists or new artists that had an established sound were still the dominant forces, as long as they played a cultured mid-tempo rock sound and even giants such as Aerosmith, Kiss and the Blue Oyster Cult were now playing ball, despite all being past their best at this stage. In fact a number of offbeat American acts had to score first in the UK, before making a breakthrough back in the US, so where did this leave hard rock and heavy metal? Firstly all credit to Judas Priest, AC/DC and the Scorpions three artists that all kept the flag flying and were at the height of their powers and without them I’m not sure we would have had this explosion in 1980. Secondly certain other bands especially in the UK such as Motorhead and Thin Lizzy, were deemed as being cool and provided a strong link to the punk fanbase. In the case of Motorhead the punk link was fairly obvious, but in Thin Lizzy’s case the poetic and iconic Phil Lynott was the key, which meant that hard rock and heavy metal had a viable link to what was fashionable circa 1979-1980. Thirdly 1980 would also further the box-labelling of bands even more, as from now on most bands that would’ve been classified as hard rock would now get a heavy metal label! So with all this in mind, the UK was a hotbed for some kind of heavy metal explosion but I’m sure nobody quite expected it to be as big and have the impact that it would over the ensuing years. Also apart from the new heavy metal explosion in the UK, major established artists such as Judas Priest, AC/DC and Black Sabbath had no trouble making this year’s elite top 10 list, a fact that was amazing considering that AC/DC had just lost the iconic Bon Scott and Black Sabbath had pulled themselves from the bowels of despair with the arrival of Dio. Finally all was not lost stateside, as Van Halen were selling by the million and showed us that glamour metal was the way forward there, which in turn would see the USA undergoing their own metal revolution in just a few years. But the revolution of 1980 was really just about one country and one movement and that is explained below......

The New Wave of British Heavy Metal
http://www.wallforever.info/thumbs/g...n_horse-t2.jpg

The New Wave of British Heavy Metal (from now on referred to by its official abbreviation NWOBHM which of course saves me writing it out everytime) was the first movement to fully encompass all the existing hard rock and heavy metal genres and in many ways it was the second wave of influential Bristish bands, to follow on from the pioneering giants of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, along with all the other numerous and influential bands that popped up throughout the 1970s. In fact as said above, without the likes of Judas Priest, Motorhead and AC/DC (who were British based of course) it probably wouldn’t have been possible. The NWOBHM is often compared to the earlier punk movement of 1976-1977 and apart from certain similaries such as Paul D’Anno’s singing style and some metal bands adopting a punk–infected garage style. The two styles actually shared very little musically, but what they both did have hugely in common was the ability to attract outsiders, put out an an aggressive sound and most importantly the “do-it-yourself ethos” that both movements adopted, as opposed to the established order of the day. Both movements also had an emphasis on singles and EP’s largely due to budget restrictions that both movements initially faced. The NWOBHM itself would largely be about new bands re-establishing the roots of the bands, music and styles that they loved and had inspired them in the first place to form a band. Black Sabbath often get huge amounts of credit for being a big influence on the NWOBHM largely due to being satan-derived traditionalists and of course laying down every riff and tempo essential to metal, but in my opinion they were probably no more influential on the NWOBHM than the other ten or so other bands that often get mentioned as big influences as well. In fact I’d say Led Zeppelin were probably the single biggest influence on the NWOBHM and Black Sabbath’s turn would actually come later with the birth of the darker extreme metal genres just around the corner. So apart from these two monoliths, bands like Deep Purple, Nazareth, Budgie, Uriah Heep, UFO (where I remember some time ago Joe Elliot of Def Leppard on video saying just how influential they were on him and Def Leppard) AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, Rainbow, Scorpions and Motohead, but probably the most relevant of them all circa 1979-1980 was the flashy and visual metal style of Judas Priest the purest metal link between Black Sabbath and the NWOBHM. Apart from these expected bands just mentioned, a large number of progressive rock artists were also influential on the scene, as were those from the glam rock scene of the early to mid 1970s as well and every band seemed to have their more favoured angles as well, while others were just grouped as NWOBHM. In fact an avid listener could listen to say around 20 or so NWOBHM albums from 1980 and 1981 and hear most of the above influences across these albums, on some its hughly noticeable whilst on others not really at all and needs to be detected. It should also be noted that depite the expected aggression, loudness and speed of some of the bands in the NWOBHM the movement itself was often extremely melodic as well. Certain bands would show us despite their heaviness that they could be melodic as well hence harking back to the likes of UFO and Thin Lizzy for example, so sure the bands were heavy for their time, but melody certainly prevailed for those that were able to master it. Most bands though adopted a tougher overall sound and uptempo songs, along with soaring vocals and of course the maintanence of guitar solos kept their level of reverence as a metal band. Equally important to all of this, were the subject matter of the songs, which often revolved around fantasy and mythology themes along with darker horror and satanical themes for some bands. The fantasy aspect etc though, wasn’t exactly new as Rainbow had already fully established fantasy themes in metal a few years earlier to an amazing level, but now these themes would be more prominent than ever before. Album covers would also form the dominant image of the movement and could well make or break a band commercially and this was one of the areas where a band like Iron Maiden went to the top of the class from day one. Like punk before it, most bands adopted a universal image that of course had already been ushered in by the likes of Motorhead, Thin Lizzy and to its extreme level with Judas Priest, and from this moment on denim and leather would forever be linked with a tough metal sound and image. Finally the NWOBHM didn’t just appear in 1980 (well it almost did) and as I’ve already noted earlier in this journal, a number of bands as far afield as both France and Japan had already adopted a grassroots approach to metal that actually sounded akin to the British bands. These bands along with a number of other new British artists of the NWOBHM persuasion in 1979 such as Samson and Saxon, had released patchy debuts but were still albums that came strictly under the NWOBHM banner. So through either design or chance nearly all new band debuts would come out in 1980 (others missed out largely because they never had the finances for a debut that year) So from 1980 onwards, metal would now attain a new level of excellence that had been previously unsurpassed and now gave us a hotbed of creative fertility probably unrivalled in the annals of metal.

So the top ten was now a top 20, and he kicked off 1980 with Manilla Road's “Invasion” followed by “Metal rendezvous” by Krokus and then Scorpions were back at 18 with “Animal magnetism”. Witchfynde were at 17 with “Give 'em hell” while Samson's “Head on” took the number 16 spot, with White Spirit's self-titled debut at 15 and Van Halen's “Women and children first” at 14. 13 saw Triumph with “Progressions of power” while the number 12 slot went to Quartz with “Stand up and fight”. The bottom half of his top twenty was completed with Def Leppard's “On through the night”, then we moved into the top ten with Michael Schenker Group's self-titled at ten, two Saxon albums in quick succession, “Wheels of steel” at 9 and “Strong arm of the law” at 8, Angel Witch's s/t at 7 with Motorhead's classic “Ace of spades” at number 6. And so on to the top five.

Judas Priest were back with a stone-cold classic at 5 with “British Steel”, and another classic at 4 came from Black Sabbath with “Heaven and Hell”, and from then in it was pretty much classics all the way, with Maiden's debut at 3, AC/DC's “Back in black” at 2 and the top slot taken by ... Diamond Head? Um, yeah. “Lightning to the nations” took precedence over both AC/DC and Iron Maiden, it would seem. Hmm.

So after all that it was time to dissect another dubious album as we went “Down on the slab” with Ozzy's “Blizzard of Ozz”, perhaps a downbeat way to end 1980, but 1981 was up next!

Which brings to a close another update. Remember to wear your winter woollies, and if you're somewhere where the sun is shining, I officially hate you and hope that something slightly unpleasant happens to you, like an onion falling on your head.

Till next week,
Toodles!

The Batlord 01-11-2015 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart (Post 1536709)
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-oblivion.html and see him speak of the evolution of Deadpool, with his Issue of the Week starting up too. Yeah, it's Deadpool ... :rolleyes: Isn't he just a ripoff of Spiderman?

First of all, suck it, dingleturd. Secondly, he was created by Rob Liefeld, who doesn't have an original bone in his body. Deadpool is a ripoff of not just Spider-Man (costume and quips), but Deathstroke as well (sword-wielding mercenary, Wade Wilson vs. Slade Wilson, you do the Deathstroke in the Deadpool). But that's beside the point, since he's been taken far outside of his original, unoriginal confines as a character by far better writers since Liefeld's thankful departure. Now quit being such a bitch and read his current series. It's fantastic.

Goofle 01-11-2015 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart (Post 1536709)
comes from my good friend Briks, who has about the same reaction to this classic album as I did...

I didn't see that review till now. And whilst I kind of agree that it's "overrated" (in some circles at least) I think it has more than three good tracks. Train in Vain is wonderful.

Isbjørn 01-11-2015 11:12 PM

Thanks for Post of the Week, man. :)

Urban Hat€monger ? 01-12-2015 07:23 AM

What's with the posting huge amounts of US's journal every week?

Unknown Soldier 01-12-2015 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Hat€monger ? (Post 1537016)
What's with the posting huge amounts of US's journal every week?

He's doing it with a lot of journals and just started with mine first.

Urban Hat€monger ? 01-12-2015 07:30 AM

better not do it with mine, I want people reading it there, not here

Trollheart 01-12-2015 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Hat€monger ? (Post 1537016)
What's with the posting huge amounts of US's journal every week?

If you mean actual excerpts, I don't usually. You'll note last week I didn't post any. This week, as he was doing 1979 into 1980 (in my recap anyway) I thought it was important that both his introductions were reposted and that stuff about how he was changing formats was necessary too. I know it extends the update thread but hey, it's a great journal and I'd like to point the way towards it more.

If you mean at all, then you must not have read my intro to the "Classic Journals I have read" section...

Trollheart 01-12-2015 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Hat€monger ? (Post 1537022)
better not do it with mine, I want people reading it there, not here

Noted.

Isbjørn 01-12-2015 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart (Post 1537152)
Noted.

Feel free to do it with mine, though.

The Batlord 01-15-2015 12:18 AM

So does this mean that this thread is Napster, and Urban is Lars Ulrich?

Trollheart 01-18-2015 03:05 PM

The Music Banter Members Journals Update Thread --- Week Ending January 18 2015
 
Hard to believe we're three weeks into January already! Time to start dusting off those verses for the Valentine cards, and getting ready for more LoveDumping!
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...vF_QcHAah_hbQe
Meanwhile, what's been happening back on Planet Journal?
http://cdn.marketplaceimages.windows...=ws_icon_large
The big news this week is the return of the Ki(ng) to our shores, as he comes back from his break and is full of ideas for his journal. Read more below.

The only other real news is about the launch of “Star Trek Month” in the Couch Potato, of which there is a small teaser below. Wow. Slow week huh? ;)

Oh yeah: Machine tells us he has big news on the way too...

And so on to the update.

Kicking off with http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ravaganza.html as the insectivore brings us music from Greeen Linez and Adeian Gurvitz (classic!) ;)

while http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ackdragon.html blackdragon123 pens his thoughts on what Deep Purple's “Fireball” album cover means.

Chula is diggin' it with Santana in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...rly-years.html

and http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...63-2013-a.html hits the twenty-first century, where some of his album picks for 2000 are from Outkast, KMD, Ghostface Killah and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ancefloor.html continues as Justin reviews Maiden's last Bayley-helmed album, “Virtual XI”. There, there! It's all over now!

As you'll have read from the “Breaking News”, Ki is back after his sojourn away, and ready to tell us all what he plans to do in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...nal-music.html. Welcome back man!

In http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...otistical.html there's news about his demo releases, with supposedly big news to follow...

as Oriphiel continues to tell the story of http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...rgy-story.html with chapters two and three

and Overcast manages to --- presumably unintentionally --- have his two last posts reverse, in other words, second-to-last post was 1/12 and this week's is 12/1! Cool! Musically, in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ff-thangs.html you'll find a review of the Antlers album “Burst apart”.

If you ask http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...listening.html he'll tell you hair metal, and in particular this week, Vandal.

Seems this is to be the year of the discography review, so check out http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...d-journal.html for reviews of the first two albums as I go through the whole catalogue of material from Tom Waits, while “The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy” returns in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-emporium.html, and I announce the launch of "Star Trek Month", to kick off in March. Meanwhile, as http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...e-you-die.html we have efforts from Liars, TV On The Radio, Cee-Lo Green and Kanye West, while there's a look at the grandparents of progressive rock in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ive-metal.html, as well as a review of The Byrds' “Fifth dimension.” http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...i-reviews.html is doing well too, with albums from Platform One, Bob Seger, Opeth and Kerrs Pink among others.

http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...y-history.html begins to explore the subgenres of thrash and glam metal --- with a fine write-up on the former --- with a look at Black and Blue's self-titled debut from 1984

and there's music from High on Fire and Dark Angel in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...s-journal.html.

Which brings us to my
http://www.trollheart.com/quill.jpg
And I have no hesitation whatever in awarding this to The Batlord, for this comment, posted in Pet_Sounds' journal:

(This is in response to Pet_Sounds' contention that he doesn't get why we wet ourselves over the riff in “Smoke on the water”)
Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord (Post 1539144)
Cause it's heavy and catchy as ****, duh. This coming from a guy who thinks the Beatles can actually do old R&B songs justice. You ain't rock 'n' roll, dude.

What I love about this is that, while it's as classic a Batlord line as you could get, and he stands up for metal as he always does and distills the whole essence of the song into a few well-chosen words, it's also someone telling someone nearly half their age that they don't get this metal classic. It's like Batty has finally become one of us, those guys who shake their heads and say “Kids these days!” One of us! One of us! One of us! :D

And so on to
http://www.trollheart.com/classicj2.png

With the usual introduction that perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the time (bloody zeitgiests! Always escaping and having to be tracked down! Wears me out!) Unknown Soldier launched into 1981 with his next top twenty. Here's what he had to say about the year first:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier (Post 1425220)
1981

1981 as a year could hardly eclipse the brilliance of 1980, but what it did do was consolidate all the in-roads that had already been established by the NWOBHM bands the previous year. Big NWOBHM guns such as Iron Maiden, Saxon and Def Leppard all released great albums in 1981, while the likes of Diamond Head and Angel Witch didn’t release follow-up albums to their classic debuts, a factor which almost immediately doomed both bands as future commercial metal giants in a fast moving metal world. It was also an odd year in many ways for metal as well, quite simply because it was the most ordered year of an ever changing decade. A revolution had taken place the previous year with the NWOBHM and now the storm of that movement had died down and the seas were settling on a new hierarchy. But like any gentle sea there was no guaranteee on which way the wind would blow when it actually came. Indicators of course suggested that the future lay with the NWOBHM and any related acts both new and established, as these bands had created the biggest ‘metal identity’ to date. The UK market proved vital for their development and growth, but the US market was where the true future lay and where these bands would ultimately flourish as commercial giants in the metal world, and from the new bands it was Iron Maiden and Def Leppard who would be the two to lead the way. Despite the establishment of the NWOBHM, other NWOBHM artists were still struggling though to get an album deal and would still have to wait a number of years before achieveing that deal, while other bargain basement dwellers like Venom actually did get that all important deal. As for the established artists they turned out to be a very mixed bag in 1981 and the likes of the new look Black Sabbath and Motorhead (albeit with a live release) were both on top form that year and also UFO briefly got their act back together as well. But it was disappointment for both AC/DC and Judas Priest, two bands that fired duds that year. AC/DC on For Those About to Rock, We Salute You quite simply failed to press the ignition switch on that album and on Judas Priest’s Point of Entry the songs just weren’t there. Elder statesmen like Thin Lizzy had lost their edge if not their popularity, but both Phil Lynott and Scott Gorham were in the depths of heroin addiction and their creativity had nosedived, but their 1981 album featuring Snowy White Renegade, was still nowhere near as poor as it’s made out to be and I actually think it’s a decent album (but still not good enough for the top 20 though) Stateside Van Halen were very much the order the day with their grittiest release to date and there was a return to form for New York metal act Riot, who released one of the best metal albums of the year. But the most interesting US release would come in the shape of the hedonistic Motley Crue and much like the Venom debut which would be at the other end of the metal spectrum, it would shape much of the metal scene for the rest of the decade!

Number twenty then came from Cirith Ungol with “Frost and fire”, followed by UFO with “The wild, the willing and the innocent” at 19 and Praying Mantis at 18 with “Time tells no lies.” Then it was “Heroes, saints and fools” by Saracen at 17 with Gillan back at 16 with “Future shock” while the number 15 slot went to Van Halen's “Fair warning”, just pipped by, er, Venom with “Welcome to Hell” at 14. Should have been 13, no? ;) That spot was taken by Raven with “Rock until you drop” and then number 12 saw Samson's “Shock tactics” with Y&T at 11 with “Earthshaker", taking us into the top ten.

Def Leppard kicked the top half off with “High and dry” at number 10, with Riot at number 9 as “Fire down under” just missed taking the number eight spot from The Tygers of Pan-Tang with “Spellbound”, then Triumph were at 7 with “Allied forces” and Michael Schenker Group took the number 6 slot with “MSG”, opening the way for Motorhead to blast into the top five with “No sleep till Hammersmith”. They were followed by Motley Crue at four with “Too fast for love”, and then the top three consisted of three classics in Iron Maiden's “Killers”, Saxon with “Denim and leather”, and, perhaps questionably, at the top of the pile, Black Sabbath with “Mob rules”.

Ozyy returned for another session “Down on the slab”, this time with “Diary of a madman”, taking us into 1982 with Manowar exploding onto the scene at 20 with their debut “Battle hymns”, Twisted Sister's “Under the blade” at 19, Samson were back at 18 with “Before the storm” and Vandenberg's self-titled took the 17th place. Motorhead were back at 16 with “Iron fist” and so were Y&T with the phenomenal “Black tiger” taking 15th slot. MSG's “Assault attack” led the way into the top half of the bottom half, if you get me, at number 14 while number 13 was not unlucky for Kiss, who took their “Creatures of the night” to the edge of the top ten, this completed by Witchfinder General at 12 and then Venom's “Black metal” at 11.

Top ten began with Diamond Head's underrated classic “Borrowed time”, then Saxon returned to announce that “The eagle has landed”, and it had, at number 9 while Hanoi Rocks made their first showing with “Self destruction blues” at 8. Some of my own personal favourites made up the rest of the lower half of the top ten, with Uriah Heep's “Abominog” at 7 and Tank at 6 with “Filth hounds of Hades”, while number 5 went to “Blackout” by The Scorpions, with “Wild dogs” at 4 as the Rods kicked in. The top three then were Anvil with “Metal on metal”, Maiden's timeless “The number of the Beast” and the top slot went to Judas Priest with “Screaming for vengeance.”

And with no further ado, not even a trip to the “slab”, we blasted on into 1983.

And so we come to the end of another update. Thanks to everyone who wrote, posted and read, and remember if you want to try your hand at this, it's as easy to get started as posting a thread and getting it approved. Join us, won't ya?

Till next week,
Toodles!

Unknown Soldier 01-25-2015 05:53 AM

Now you're upto 1981, my time in the sun looks like being over soon :laughing:

Trollheart 01-25-2015 01:45 PM

The Music Banter Members Journals Update Thread --- Week Ending January 25 2015
 
As we crash headlong out of January and towards waiting February, it seems odd that a month has already passed since we all sat down to Christmas turkey and ham, and grumbled about the crap presents we had been bought. Now it's a nightmare on credit card street and we're all trying to forget it and move into the new year, already a month old almost, with gruff attempts at good humour and hope. Down in Journaltown things are certainly moving, so let's head on down there for the final time this month.

We're back with blackdragon123's favourite band http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ackdragon.html, as he looks at the sleeve for Headless cross

but I have to be honest, I don't know what Deadchannel is up to. In http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ear-music.html he says he listened to the Velvet Underground debut (as did I, more further on), but there's no review. Then there's something about “Feeding the five thousand”??

Frownland is looking for, and getting, suggestions for albums as he remains http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...wnapilago.html

And if it's recs you want, Goofle is your man! It's 2001 in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...63-2013-a.html and that means albums from Nas, Unwound and Aesop Rock among others.

Ki, however, is really getting back into it with a will and in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...nal-music.html you'll find music from Iron and Wine, Approaching Nirvana, Jacobs Dream and Judas Priest.

http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-song-day.html has Death Grips and Ought

and is anyone in the mood for an Egg? You'll find one in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...i-journal.html, says Neapolitan

on http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...crap-heap.html Pet_Sounds is talking about another of his favourite Beatles tracks, “Let it be”

and it's acoustic guitar day, apparently, over at http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...listening.html

I've been doing a lot of writing for, and not so much posting to, my journals this week, but I've still managed to throw in a few updates. The Tom Waits discography continues in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...d-journal.html with Foreign affairs and Blue Valentine, while completely out of season but needing to be finished, the Scrooge Showdown picks its last finalist in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-emporium.html, with the knockout stages beginning next week. But that's not all: we also have more from The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy as well as the penultimate episode of To play the King. Dredd and Johnny Alpha both feature in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...d-2000-ad.html, with the former continuing his battle against Call-Me-Kenneth and his rogue droids and the latter wrapping up his second adventure as he and Wulf take on the space pirates.

After a short break we're back with the list as http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...e-you-die.html and I listen to The Libertines and Ozomatli, while in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ive-metal.html, as mentioned I'm starting off the albums from 1967 that I've chosen to represent the fringes of progressive rock's birthpangs and looking first at the debut from The Velvet Underground. And Nico.

“Red, hot and heavy” from Pretty Maids is at number 25 in Unknown Soldier's countdown for 1984 and there's a double helping of Queensryche in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...y-history.html (which will surely make Anteater happy) with two of their albums sharing the number 24 spot. Then if you're afraid of RATTs, watch out! No. 23 is “Out of the cellar”. Quick! Jump up on this table! ;)

For this week's
http://www.trollheart.com/quill.jpg
I'm gonna have to give it to Deadchannel, because this is so weird and I do not understand it, but it certainly drew my attention...

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeadChannel (Post 1543123)

And so to
http://www.trollheart.com/classicj2.png

Rather surprised to realise I've caught up with his current entries so quickly, so this will therefore be the final look at “Pounding Decibels”, as we run through 1983 and into 1984. The former began with the usual intro:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier (Post 1493131)
1983

1983 was a natural continuation of 1982 as far as half the scene were concerned, which is fairly logical considering metal’s prominent position as a music genre by this time. Bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Van Halen ruled the metal roost, but they would now be joined by Def Leppard largely thanks to the release of their Pyromania album, which went off in the USA like a nuclear bomb! For those who don’t know it, it not only became one of the biggest selling metal albums of its time, but one of the biggest of the year for any genre! Metal’s success at this time could be attained to several factors 1) Its now lengthy history had a huge amount of quality bands behind it of which many were innovators. 2) Metal usually had quality musicans and vocalists, unlike the dubious minions that roamed punk. 3) Along with AOR bands they were fully capable of functioning as arena rock bands and this would fill out arenas. 4) Bands like Iron Maiden brought quality album artwork to the highest level, as this was an age where artwork sold albums. 5) The NWOBHM demonstrated that the genre could give birth to explosive revolutions from within the genre and still strengthen it even further. 6) They were able to embrace MTV when the opportunity came along. 7) Despite the huge commercialism of the genre in certain areas, it always kept its hardcore fanbase. Now all this largely explains the first half of the metal spectrum as mentioned above. The other half for many would actually be more interesting, because metal had finally branched out from its grass roots which had been laid down by bands such as Venom and Manilla Road to name just two, to start embracing what would become known as the extreme metal genres which would splinter into multiple sub-sections with their own identities. Most grass roots bands would certainly owe a debt to the Metallica debut which came out in 1983 and besides being a classic debut, is probably more important for what it would signify as a statement, to a lesser degree the Slayer debut holds a certain amount of importance as well. Also the slowly growing glam metal movement fronted by band’s like Motley Crue and Twisted Sister would finally hit the big time thanks to another band and that was Quiet Riot, who would turn glam metal into an overnight sensation in 1983 largely due to a Slade cover song. Both Motley Crue and Twisted Sister were better bands than Quiet Riot, but it was very much ‘right place at the right time’ for them. Kiss finally demasked on their Lick it Up album, even though they should’ve done it a year earlier on their Creatures of the Night album, which was a stronger album. Finally Dio relased Holy Diver…………… what more can I say, does it get any better than that?

And the countdown kicked off with a double-header from Savatage, with both “Sirens” and “The dungeons are calling” at number 20, then Steeler hit the 19 spot with their s/t debut and Kiss removed the makeup and came clean to “Lick it up” at number 18. There was a “Power infusion” from Trance at 17 while Exciter were “Heavy metal maniac” at 16, Raven roared “All for one” at 15 to which Tank responded “This means war!” at 14. The final three in the lower half of the top twenty were then completed by Saxon with “Power and the glory”, Hanoi Rocks with “Back to Mystery City” and at the very top, Dee Snider and Twisted Sister growled “You can't stop rock and roll!” And you can't.

The top ten opened with “Metal health” from Quiet Riot followed by Manila Road's “Crystal logic”, then the number 8 spot went to Manowar with “Into glory ride” and Slayer's “Show no mercy” was at number 7. Sixth place went to Accept with “Restless and wild” and the top five then kicked off with Motley Crue's “Shout at the devil”, followed by Def Leppard with “Pyromania.” The top three then featured three stone-cold classics, with “Kill 'em all” from Metallica at three, Dio's “Holy diver” at two and Maiden's “Piece of mind” taking the top slot.

“Down on the slab” then featured Sabbath's cringeworthy “Born again”, and to fill in the time between now and his 1984 coverage Unknown Soldier started looking at NWOBHM compilations such as “'79 revisited” and all four “Metal massacre” compilations. Also “Court in the act” by Satan and “Deliver us” from Warlord. That took us into 1984, but as he's currently working on that as I write, I'm going to finish my coverage here and just add that this journal deservedly won the award for best journal two years running, and is probably likely to make that a triple in 2015. If you have not yet read it, and have even a passing interest in hard rock, heavy metal and the history of same, then start your journey now. You'll be glad you did.

Next week I'll be starting on a totally new classic journal, and it comes from this guy
http://www.musicbanter.com/avatars/2...ine=1388515520
It's been superceded by his current journals, but I want to take a look back to 2009 when, two years before I exploded onto the journals scene (!) this man was beginning a journal he called
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...s-obscure.html
It looks like it only lasted about seven months, but he covered some pretty interesting stuff in it, and then began another, and another, and another .... now where have we heard that before? ;)

So stay tuned! Anteater's first journal comes under the microscope from next week.

And that's it for this week. Don't forget to keep voting for your favourite Star Trek episodes and stay tuned for lots of more exciting news coming up.

Till next week
Toodles!

Unknown Soldier 01-27-2015 12:37 PM

Trollheart thanks fro the coverage of my journal here. :pimp:

Trollheart 01-27-2015 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier (Post 1544316)
Trollheart thanks fro the coverage of my journal here. :pimp:

You're welcome. It was a pleasure.


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