Trollheart

Stepping back just one year from Saxon's rather disappointing effort, and I would love to tell you that album cover was drawn by Asia/Yes mainstay artist Roger Dean --- it certainly looks like it --- but I can find little enough information on the band to be able to make such a claim. Still, as Batty would no doubt remark, it does look bitchin', doesn't it? And that, once again, is why I bought the album back in my misspent youth. What was it like? You know, rather like Split Beaver, I honestly don't know if I ever played the damn thing. It certainly looked cool, and they had a cool, if somewhat cliched name, but how did it sound?

Predator --- Bitches Sin --- 1982 (Heavy Metal Records)

Is there an omen in the fact that these guys were signed by the same label that signed, and then dropped, the Beavers? I wonder: were Heavy Metal Records (seriously: who ever thought of naming their company that?) the MCA of the lower leagues, a place where bands who either could have made it had they received proper backing, or the ones who were never good enough, went to die? Well, a quick check reveals that, surprisingly, they had German powerbrokers Accept on their books, though only till 1987. Still, that means that some of the German band's best albums were ... ah. No. No, I see now. They had Accept for one album, 1982's Restless and Wild, which they reissued in 1987, and that was it. Other than themselves then, it's as expected. A boneyard littered with the crushed skulls of bands like Quartz, Witchfinder General and Marshall Law, as well as --- hah! --- a band actually called Broken Bones! I hadn't seen that before I wrote that line, honestly. Oh, and the ill-fated Split Beaver of course. So not exactly a hub of activity or a springboard to the stars, then.

But to be totally fair, a label can only do so much (if they want to: during the heyday of the NWOBHM many of them just sat on their arses and collected their money while the bands sweated and toiled and got no support, but that's a story for another day) if the band has not got the talent, or the ambition to go further. How was it with Bitches Sin? Well, rather like some of the bands of that time they tended to switch their lineups a little too regularly, which never helps when you're trying to get yourself known and recording albums, to say nothing of gigging.

Interestingly, “April fool” kicks us off on a sweet blues run, grinding and powerful, and vocalist Tony Tomkinson has the kind of voice suited to this sort of music, almost dipping down into death metal hiss at times. Of course, I'm sure any guitarist will tell you that the blues is not essentially too hard to play if you have a modicum of talent, as it's pretty basic chord structure, so I can't really say if the two guitarists here are any good until I hear something a bit more intricate. But it's a good start, and they certainly know how to solo, do brothers and founders Ian and Pete Toomey. Could probably do without the stupid screams from Tomkinson as they solo though. They get to cut loose as “Haneka” opens with a more straightahead rock motif, though I must say Tomkinson struggles with the vocals here. It's like he's suited to the slower, crunchier stuff, but not too much at home with faster, cleaner material.

“Runaway” has that by-now-and-even-then-cliched sound of a motorbike revving, and Mark Biddiscombe acquits himself well on the drums here, but the song is nothing to shout about. Kind of reminds me of Mamas Boys, though nowhere near as good. “Lady lies” has a nice beat somewhat reminiscent of The Sweet's “Blockbuster”, chugging along happily, and to be fair Tomkinson handles this vocal very well. Maybe he's settling in by the fourth track and we can expect better from him. There's a suitably dirty guitar riff driving “Dirty women” with a pretty fine solo from one or the other of the Toomey brothers, no way to know which. A powerful guitar too to start off “Fallen star”, with a hint of Thin Lizzy in the opening riff which comes a little dangerously close to “Waitin' for an alibi”, if I'm honest. Supposedly one of their better songs, “Strangers on the shore” certainly starts off with a promising riff, very neoclassical, then takes off at some speed, easily their fastest track so far.

Oh, I'm wrong. It pretty quickly slows down to a sort of mid-paced march, with again that Lizzy riff showing its face and as quickly ducking down again in case someone recognises it. Well, if there is a standout on this album then this is clearly it. It strides high, standing head and shoulders above the rest of the basically mediocre fare that's gone before it. Nice bit of shredding to end it and we're into “Loser”, which hopefully is not a prophetic song. Good, grinding, growling, galloping guitars (yeah, you know I love my alliteration, dont'cha?) and the rhythm section really make this. I'm still not terribly impressed with Tony Tomkinson on the vox but he has improved somewhat since the second track, I'll give him that. He's no star in the making though.

Oh dear lord. It's like a bad flashback to a really poor seventies hard rock song. “Riding high” is exactly not that; they certainly have not saved the best for last if this is the best they can do. The singing is lacklustre, the guitars are muddy at best, the solos are pretty pedestrian (and also, again, sound familiar), and the song is about a minute too long. Well, if I'm completely honest, it's four minutes too long! We finally end this ordeal of banality with the oddly-named “Aardschok” --- no idea what it means, but I suppose it doesn't really matter. I thought it might be an instrumental, but the unwelcome growl of “Let's rock!” (really?) disabused me of that notion sadly. So the chorus is just the title repeated; maybe it's a place, or a rock festival? No, I see after a quick search it's the name of a metal magazine. Well. You learn something new every day. Like not to listen to third-rate NWOBHM bands like this again.

TRACKLISTING AND RATINGS

1. April fool
2. Haneka
3. Runaway
4. Lady lies
5. Dirty women
6. Fallen star
7. Strangers on the shore
8. Loser
9. Riding high
10. Aardschok

Rather interestingly, the Spotify playlist then runs on to another of their songs, called, wait for it, “No more chances”. Indeed. Says all you need to know really.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Of course, if there's one animated show that holds court over all others in terms of guest stars, it is The Simpsons. They've had more music guests over their almost thirty years now than any other. Mind you, they have been running the longest too. One of the bands they featured has gone down in Simpsons history, and it is all thanks to these guys.

Yeah, the irony of a parody band being parodied does not escape me, but in (again) season three of the show Spinal Tap appeared, relatively briefly but very memorably. “The Otto Show” features Bart and Milhouse at a Spinal Tap concert, and Bart is so impressed --- particularly when he sees how crazy bands like this can make people, as a riot breaks out when the band, unhappy with the facilities, retire after only fifteen minutes --- that he decides he wants to be a rock star. He of course imagines that he will then gain an English accent, as to him, Spinal Tap being the first band he has gone to see live are English, so therefore in the mind of a small boy, all bands must be English!

This is the concert he went to see. Apologies for it being in Spanish mostly, but you know Fox! Anyway, to some degree I feel it makes it even funnier ... no? Fine then: YOU find me an English clip I can use!

What's even funnier is that when Otto, rushing to get the kids to school after he has delayed them by showing Bart how to play his new electric guitar, and turning this into kind of an impromptu concert, floors the bus he ends up smashing aside the Spinal Tap tour bus, which means we get to see them both crash AND burn! As Bart would say, cool!

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Well, by and large it's been a poor crop at best so far. Let's hope Batty can change the trend with his first recommendation, a classic from a Doom Metal staple.

Epicus Doomicus Metallus --- Candlemass --- 1986 (Black Drgaon Records)
Suggested by The Batlord

Anyone who was here for the original Metal Month back in 2013 will know that I kicked the whole thing off with one of Candlemass's albums, but was advised derisively that I should have chosen this instead, the album which is seen as their finest hour and also one of the very first doom metal albums, being their debut. Drawing on the obvious influence of the likes of Black Sabbath, Candlemass were one of the first ever metal bands to eschew fast, powerful riffs and shrieked vocals for a more sedate pace and operatic vocals. I remembered not being exactly impressed with Ancient Dreams but this is a whole lot better. I love the fact that I can clearly hear and make out the vocals, the music is pretty great and the whole atmosphere evoked is dark but not black. I like the Greek mythology imagery used in “Demon's gate”, and things get a little heavier and punchier with “Crystal ball”, though the original impression I got from Ancient Dreams remains, which is to say, there is not too much in the way of variety here. Still, having explored the subgenre a little more in the intervening years, I can now accept that this is a general tenet of doom metal, and it's not that Candlemass are being unadventurous, but that they are moving within the stricture of the music form they have chosen to play in. Then again, they did virtually invent doom metal, so maybe I shouldn't really be giving them a pass.

There's more of an excitement coming into this song now, as the guitar and drums quicken and things get a little more intense, with some fine solos from Mats Björkman and Klas Bergwall. Sweet guitar intro to “Black stone wielder” and the song has a great boogie rhythm, really livening things up. It slows down soon enough, and there's a sort of cinematic feel to the music, then it picks up speed again as it heads towards the end of the song, and into “Under the oak”, whose main guitar riff reminds me of a slowed-down version of Diamond Head's “Am I evil?”. It slows even more then, grinding evrything before it with a crushing, crawling riff and a dark, slow vocal from Johan Längquist. A soft acoustic guitar then introduces the closer, “A Sorcerer's pledge”, broken into three parts, the first of whch trudges along for about two minutes before breaking on a fast guitar riff as part two begins, galloping on with something of the sense of Rainbow's “Stargazer” in it, at least lyrically.

The sixth minute then is driven on a marching beat on a synthesiser line that carries into part three, as the piece begins to slide towards its conclusion, ending on what sounds like a high female vocal.

TRACKLISTING AND RATINGS

1. Solitude
2. Demon's gate
3. Crystal ball
4. Black stone wielder
5. Under the oak
6. A sorcerer's pledge



Having been singularly unimpressed by Ancient Dreams, I can see now why the guys said I should have started off with this album. It's so much better, and it went on to define a genre on its own. I like the way there's room for faster, uptempo riffs amid the slower, sludgier ones, and that the vocals are at all times clear and easy to understand. No surprise that this album holds such a revered place in the hearts of metalheads, and that it spawned so many imitators over the years.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

20 “Heaven can wait” (from Somewhere in Time)

The first track from this album and it's almost in the top twenty? Well, Somewhere in Time is really not that great an album, and for me was something of a disappointment after Powerslave. It suffers, in my opinion, from too many long tracks, with virtually nothing under five minutes and three of the eight over seven. Add to that the fact that some of the track are just pompous and boring and uninspiring, such as “The loneliness of the long distance runner” and “Alexander the Great”, and you have the elements for a serious comedown after one of Maiden's best ever albums. But it does have its moments and this is one of them. I like the guitar riff that runs through it, I like the melody and the big buildup at the start. It's also on the side of the album (yeah I bought the vinyl at the time) which has neither of the two bloated epics mentioned above. The midsection with the “Whoa-oh-oh”s is great too..

19 “Still life” (from Piece of Mind)

A controversial choice perhaps, as most will not rate this track but I really like it. I have great memories of, for some reason, envisioning myself on a powerful motorbike with this blasting in my headphones as Bruce sings “Nightmares coming all the time! Nightmares will give me piece of mind!” I don't know why, as I never rode a bike in my life, motor or otherwise. Not without falling off anyway. But it really appealed. I love the lyric and the way it mentions the title of the album, the arabic style to the opening guitar line, which gives you the mistaken impression this might be a ballad (especially given the title) the stupid backwards masking at the start, which was a real “Fuck you morons” to the Religious Right from Maiden. Good on yaz sons!


18 “Two minutes to midnight” (from Powerslave)

Coming as it does hard on the heels of the tremendous opener to the album, this keeps the tempo high and the blood pumping, and in the vein of “Die with your boots on” it's something of a warning about the way the world is going. Nothing new about that, but I just love the way they talk about abortion and oil in the same song, and the beat is powerful and headbang-worthy. The only thing I don't like about it is the ending, which I feel cheapens the song slightly. Ah well, cant have everything I guess.

17 “Judas be my guide” (from Fear of the Dark)

Particualrly because prior to this I had suffered through “The Fugitive”, “The apparition” and “Chains of misery” (appropriately titled hah!) it was a joy to hear a song that didn't make me shake my head and despair. The familiar opening riff allied to the soaraway guitar gives you the feeling that maybe, just maybe, here is a pearl among the swine, and indeed it turns out to be just the case. This track almost belongs on another, better album, but because it's here it shines like a diamond, and though it's followed by the piss-poor “Weekend warrior”, it's good preparation for the final closing track.


16 “Brave new world” (from Brave New World)

What can I say? The title track from the album that brought Bruce back to us, it's a powerful, triumphant, marching anthem that kicks off something like the opening to Seventh Son to my mind, again gives you the idea it could be a ballad for about ninety seconds until it powers up. But once it gets going, it doesn't stay at that tempo, changing as I say for the chorus into a swaggering, marching anthem. Great stuff, and great to hear Bruce in such fine form on his return.


15 “Tailgunner” (from No Prayer for the Dying)

Okay, let's be honest: this is just “Aces high” rewritten. But for all that, it's a good track and has a lot of excitement and passion, and it is one of the few good tracks on this album. Great hammering guitar in it, but it lacks something I feel.

14 “Sea of madness” (from Somewhere in Time)

The other good track on this album, I love the hook in this and the way it pounds along, great melody in it. One of only two songs written solo by Adrian Smith, and he does a great job on it. Both his efforts are on this album by the way.

13 “Strange world” (from Iron Maiden)

Well I'd have to include the first of very few ballads written by the boys, wouldn't I? When I first heard this album I was amazed that there were any slow songs on it, the more so that Di'Anno could sing in anything other than a snarly growl. Shows what I knew! Lovely ringing, kind of phased (?) guitar tone to this, gives it a real otherworldly feel, and if I didn't know better I would have sworn there were keyboards in here somewhere. Great song.


12 “The evil that men do” (from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son)

I don't know; after “Infinite dreams” and even “Can I play with madness” I was losing hope that this album could hold much for me, and then came this. It's a bouncy, unapologetic tirade against ourselves and how we screw things up and how, as Shakespeare noted, the good men do is forgotten but the evil lives on. As a closer to side one of the album it's perfect.

11 “Sun and steel” (from Piece of Mind)

Yeah, some will say that it's a simple song and I would agree with that. There's no great structure to it, the lyric isn't particularly clever, and there's no happy ending. But I really love this song. Maybe because I mistakenly believed it was about Conan the Barbarian, and I think I had seen the movie recently at the time, or maybe it's just that it blasts away the cobwebs and misery that the awful “Quest for fire” had brought down. Either way, I love this song.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

The Batlord

That doesn't make any sense. It's an album, not a concert. The tracks were likely recorded out of sequence, and almost certainly not consecutively. There's simply no reason why he would be able to "settle in".

__________________

Trollheart

And now it's time for the first of our very special Guest Reviewers to take the stage! Ladies and gentlemen (and I hope you all are gentlemen!) will you please put your hands together and --- no, don't pray and DO NOT throw the horns! Welcome the one and only


Well hidley-ho there, neighborinos! I call you neighborinos because although we're not lucky enough to live next door to each other, we are after all all neighbours in Christ, are we not? Even those “misguided” people who follow (ahem) Mohammed, Vishnu, Miscellaneous --- jews even! --- are all just really waiting to be shown the true way, for God to walk into their lives and shine His everlasting light onto their dull heathen lives, and they will truly be saved by the one Lord, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, Amen.

So what am I doing here, you may ask, in this den of loud music and nasty lyrics? What place, you ask, has Ned Flanders in Metal Month? Well, to be perfectly honest with you, friends, I begin to grow tired of my music --- Jim Reeves, Perry Como, even the extreme gospel I have started getting into (and let me tell you, they don't call it extreme for nothing! FIVE male lead altos? No I'm not kidding! Take a moment to get your breath back, I know!) --- and thought maybe it's time for old Ned Flanders to branch out a little. I've been hearing about this new “heavy metal” music, but to be honest, bands like that nasty Status Quo and that Italian chap, Jon Bonjourno I think it is, are all new to me, though I believe the Bonjourno chap has songs called “Living on a prayer” and “Born to be my baby” (surely about the birth of Jesus?) so I contacted Trollheart and offered my services as a guest reviewer.

I'm keen to see what he has sent me, and realise I need to toughen up for this as some of the bands featured here don't even --- get ready for this --- praise God in their lyrics at all! Some even --- I've been told this but am not sure whether or not to believe it --- poke gentle fun at him! Well now, I'm all for the odd blue joke, provided there are no women, children, old people, young people, people of middle age, pastors, priests, teachers, parents, teenagers or doctors present, but I don't know about that. Still, I've taken precautions. I've double waxed my pushbroom, sent Rod and Tod away to Bible Camp, in case they should come under any bad influence during my time here, and I've drawn the curtains and lit the candles (white ones, of course: don't want anyone thinking old Ned has slipped over to the other side, haha!) so I think I'm ready.

And that sounds like the postman now. What has he brought me to review I wonder? Well, would you just look at that!


Sacrament by Lamb of God. Why now, they sound like a fine bunch of fellows. My favourite sacrament? Well now, you're putting me on the spot here, friend, but let me just say without hesitation that confession is my top one. Nothing like getting those sins off your chest. Not that I ever really have any sins to confess, but I like to go into the box and leave with a feeling of complete satisfaction, knowing I have, you know, no sins to confess. Mind you, Reverend Lovejoy can get a bit iffy about it. I remember the last time I went (went went went went......)

Ned: “Bless me Father, for I have not sinned.”
Lovejoy: “Ned? Is that you again?”
Ned: “You bet your dog collar it is, Reverend!”
Lovejoy: “Ned, why do you bother coming here if you have nothing to confess?”
Ned: “Never hurts to be on the safe side, Reverend. God sees us all, you know.”
Lovejoy: (mutters) “Yeah? Think he can see this?” (flips Ned the bird in the darkness)
Ned: “Didn't quite catch that, Reverend?”
Lovejoy: “Oh, nothing Ned, nothing at all. So you have no sins to confess?”
Ned: “No siree bob!”
Lovejoy: “Not a one?”
Ned: “I don't think so, Reverend.”
Lovejoy (sighs; he's been through this so many times): “Greed?”
Ned: “No Sir! I am happy with what I have and need no more. Absolutely not.”
Lovejoy: “Hate?”
Ned: “No way Ho-say! I love each and every man, woman and creature on this planet.”
Lovejoy (seeing a chance): “Even .... Homer Simpson?”
Ned: “Well, goshdarn it, I won't pretend he doesn't get on my niggly-niggly-noggin from time to time, but like the Good Book says, a kind word turneth away wrath. (Mutter) Though it doesn't always seem to work with Homer...”
Lovejoy: "Pride? How about pride, Ned?"
Ned: "Not a hope, Reverend. I'm the humblest man you could ever meet. Why, I even lived in Humbleton for a time..."
Lovejoy: "Yeah I remember (mutter) Pity you didn't stay there..."
Ned: "Sorry, Reverend? You'll have to speak up, I'm wearing new earplugs."
Lovejoy: "Ear ... plugs?"
Ned: "Oh yes indeed, Reverend. Can't take a chance on hearing anyone taking the Lord's name in vain. Best to be on the safe side: I don't like dicing with death."
Lovejoy (Sighing deeply): “Stolen anything?”
Ned: “Oh my stars no! Although ... oh Good Lord! That library book! Oh no, wait: I returned it two days ago. Phew! Dodged a bullet there, Reverend!”
Lovejoy: “Didn't we just? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you never killed anyone, Ned?”
Ned: “Well, Sir, I did once kill a plant, may the good lord forgive me.”
Lovejoy: “Plants don't count Ned.”
Ned: “Don't they?”
Lovejoy: “No. They don't have souls so it's not a sin to kill them. You might as well say you killed a buuterfly or a flea...”
Ned: “Well, now that you mention it...”
Lovejoy: “Moving swiftly on. Never coveted your neighbour's wife?”
Ned: “No indeed. I mean, Marge is a lovely woman, but I wouldn't even think of looking at another woman now that my poor Maud is in Heaven, looking down on me, watching every move .... you watching, Maud? I'm being good, see?”
Lovejoy: “Indeed. Well, that seems to cover it Ned. I absolve you from your ... lack of sins ... and may you go in peace.”
Ned: “I think you've forgotten something, Reverend.”
Lovejoy: “Now what?”
Ned: “My penance.”
Lovejoy: “But you haven't committed any sin. You don't need to do penance!”
Ned: “I'd prefer one, even so, Reverend.”
Lovejoy (sighing): “Oh very well! Ten decades of the rosary for three nights.”
Ned: “Ooh! Lettin' me off easy there, Reverend! Well, I guess I can throw in a few chapters of the Bible to fill it out. May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and keep you...”
Lovejoy: “Goodbye Ned.”

(Outside, Jasper waits in the pews with a scowl. “About time!” he grumbles, pushing Ned roughly to one side. “Some of us've got REAL sins ter confess, ye know!” As Ned walks happily away to the altar to light two dozen candles (paying for each one, of course; not like these people who throw a few coins in and then grab a handful) the words float back from the now-closed confessional. “Bless me father, for I have sinned. I have ... adultered ... my neighbour's ... confession ... sinned against my ... huh? Are you the doctor? Where are my pills?”

Back in the present:

Okily dokily then! Got a little sidetracked there with the old memories. Time to have a listen to this album and see what kind of thing the kids are grooving to these days. I hope there's none of that annoying loud guitar music! Oh, almost forgot! Cup of cocoa and my favourite armchair, just get my pen and my ecclesiastical themed notepad and we are ready. Turn the volume to ... oh, what the hey! Let's be daring and push it all the way to three! You didn't know I had a wild side, did you? Oh yes! Sometime I even connect the speakers!

Oh look! I see the album cover is marked with an “E”, no doubt E for Eucharist. Well, makes sense, with a name like Sacrament. OH MY STARS WHAT IS THAT NOISE? Has there been a traffic accident outside? No, no, nothing like that. Hmm. That goshdarned neighbour of mine up to one of his traditional wacky schemes? No, Homer's car is not in his drive and he should be at work at this time, and if Bart were skipping school (as he probably is, the little scamp) he's hardly likely to hide out in his own house now is he? Ah, could be some dogs fighting down the street. Let's go back to the record. Well now, it seems the noise is coming from this compact disc! How odd. Maybe there's a fault on it. I'll stop it --- there! --- and try again. Ouch! Nope, no luck there, same thing. Perhaps it will settle down in a moment. Well Jiminy Christmas! That man should not be singing! He's clearly unwell from the sound of his voice. Why did he come into work? He should be at home in bed. Oh dear. Still, look at the title: “Walk with me in Hell”. Must be referring to when Jesus went down into Satan's domain and freed all those souls. Yes indeed.

Very loud I must say. Perhaps if I look at this lyric sheet --- oh my! Well that's going to have to be reported. And that. And that. And definitely that. I don't even want to read that! I don't understand this: where are all the songs about Holy Communion? Confirmation? Nothing about transubstansiation? Not even a mention of confession? Then why call it Sacrament? I must admit, it's a darn-doodily-diddly-doozey of a pickle, this one! I'm blessed if I can understand any of this. Oh my sainted aunt! They used the “F” word! And again! And again! This surely is not allowed to be on sale, where impressionable young children could hear it? What if Rod or Tod happened to hear this? How would I explain?

Oh now really! They're demeaning the Constitution here? “We hold these lies to be self-evident”? Why does the government allow this to be published? I suppose that's what happens when you have a nig --- er, jigga --- er, coon, eh black man in the White House! I mean, it's not called the White House for nothing, you know! Last time I'm voting Democrat, I can tell you! I mean,look at these so-called lyrics: “Sickening cesspool”? “Burn it down”? “Deaf, blind and fu --- fu --- fudging dumb”? Who would write such things? What's this? “ "A virgin whor" --- hohhh – ohhhhhhhhh!

(Ned faints. Some time later, Rod and Todd come in and find their father sprawled on the floor. After paramedics have been, and Ned is resting on the couch after his faint, Rod looks at the CD drawer.)

“Oh look Rod: daddy's been listening to Lamb of God.”
Rod: “Meh, I prefer Slaughtered Virgin Corpse's Uteral Excretion's latest one. Have you heard that one Toddy?”
Tod: “Nah, I've been on a Slayer kick recently.”

(Ned awakes to see the CD being put into the player and picks up the cover)

“Slayer eh? Well, I'm sure that's nice and Christian, slaying all the demons. What's this? God Rates Us All? Well, I'm sure he diddly-does, and the Flanders clan are rated Triple-A Plus!”

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Traveling_Alone

Epicus Doomicus Metallicus was one of the albums that really turned me on to doom metal in general. And while I moved away from listening to bands like Candlemass and almost strictly into stoner and sludge bands, Candlemass is always one of those bands I can go back to and really enjoy. Maybe in part due to the nostalgia they bring, but beyond that.. that's just a badass album. Glad you enjoyed it.

__________________

“And when at last you find someone to whom you feel you can pour out your soul, you stop in shock at the words you utter— they are so rusty, so ugly, so meaningless and feeble from being kept in the small cramped dark inside you so long.”

― Sylvia Plath

The Batlord

I see that as being kind of like Sabbath's self-titled debut. They both have a phantasmagorical atmosphere that would never be replicated with subsequent albums, due in part to a heavier, but less evocative guitar tone.

Perfect name for a band with that sound, too.

__________________

Trollheart

In the world of heavy metal bands tend to often change lineups quite often, and as a metal musician you can end up being in many bands, projects, even solo ventures. So here I'm going to chart the career (so far) of one of my favourite metal musicians, and hopefully next year we can do this again.

Jens Johansson

Brother of Hammerfall drummer Anders, and son of jazz pianist Jan, Jens is probably best known for being the keyboard player in Finnish power metal giants Stratovarius, but he has been in a plethora of bands before ending up there. His love affair with metal began in 1982, when he left the jazz fusion band he was playing in to join Silver Mountain, in which at the time his brother was also playing. Here's a track from their debut album Shakin' Brains.

They're still around, and have in fact released their fifth album this year, but both the Johansson brothers had left by the time the second album, Universe was released in 1985. He had then moved to California where he hooked up with Yngwie Malmsteen, who was just beginning to strike out on his own. He stayed with Yngwie for four albums, these being the debut Rising Force followed in 1985 by Marching out then the only one I own, 1986's Trilogy and finishing up with Odyssey in 1988. He also played on the live 1989 offering, Trial by Fire. Somehow, in between these albums he also fit a slot on jazzman Erik Borelius's 1988 album Fantasy.


His next partner in crime was Ronnie James Dio, where he joined the band for Dio's fifth album Lock up the wolves in 1990


The following year he dipped back into his jazz roots with Jonas Hellborg, with whom in 1989 he had struck up a friendship and partnership. The result was a project called Deadline, and an album called Dissident. I won't post samples as it's nowhere near metal. That year was not devoid of metal though, as he played on Stephen Ross's Midnight Drive but the following year was quite diverse, with collaborations with Hellborg on a project called RAF (featuring Frownland's hero, Peter Brotzmann) and an album called mysteriously Ode to a Tractor (!) which appears to have been some sort of jazz/rock effort, then an experimental thing with his brother, called Shu-tka before he and Hellborg teamed up again to record an album with rock legend Ginger Baker, Unseen Rain, as the year came to a close. Oh, and he also managed to fit in an appearance of Shining Path's No Other World and even an EP on his own, of instrumental music, which he called Fjäderlösa tvåfotingar.

1993, by comparison, was quiet for Jens, as he only (!) contibuted to two albums, these being another teamup with Anders to record the weird album E and a slot on Snake Charmer's Smoke and Mirrors. 1994 was busier for him, with The Return of Mister Nasty by Dave Nerge's Bulldog, Robert Blennerhed's Seven. He also played a couple of tracks on Tony McAlpine's Premonition and even found time to contribute to the tribute album Smoke on the Water. Oh, and he and Anders released the first of the Johansson Brothers albums, self-titled. He released his second solo instrumental album, Ten Seasons in 1995 (a very quiet year, by his standards!) but was hard at in again the following year, as we will see in part two, later in the month.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

May seems to be a little thin on the ground for albums, though one of my favourite bands did release one this month, which I'll be looking at later on. For now, I'm going to choose a band many of you love but who have never chimed with me, not even their supposed masterpiece. Will this one change my mind? I kind of doubt it, but sure we'll give it a go.

Sol Invictus --- Faith No More --- 2015 (Reclamation)

Introduction: One thing I really do not like is when metal and rap meet. I've yet to see it done properly, the only possible link being Evanescence, and they're neither metal nor really use rap in their music. I just feel the two are polar opposites, though it can be argued that both use or exhibit a lot of underlying anger and repressed feelings, so maybe. But to me it just never really works. Obviously, that's just my opinion and FNM are a world-renowned band, this being their seventh album and their first in eighteen years, so has it been worth waiting for?

Track-by-track

1. Sol Invictus: Interesting. A piano opening then military drums. Dark vocal, Cohen or Cavelike. Not heavy at all.
2. Superhero: This is much more uptempo, driving along nicely, good piano again, sort of an eastern style to it in parts. Pretty good to be fair.
3. Sunny side up: Another hard rocker but it kind of slows down in the middle and gets a little indie-rock maybe? Haven't hated anything yet though. Short track.
4. Separation anxiety: Kind of a rolling, rumbling feel to this, the vocal is almost whispered at times. Good grinding guitar. Gets a bit frenetic later on.
5. Cone of shame: Ringing, chimy guitar to start off, then it goes into a kind of boogie metal riff. Quite powerful, dark, growling vocals though very discernible. Good guitar riffs.
6. Rise of the fall: Feel this has a semi-reggae feel to it, nice organ work. Kind of reminds me of The Specials too in parts. Also a vague French feeling?
7. Black Friday: Not too sure about this one; sounds a bit like early U2 in parts, REM and some others too. Not crazy about it at all. Bassline is nice.
8. Motherfucker: Dark ambient piano, and here comes the rap. Oh no! Percussion helps and it's very downtempo, kind of trip-hop I guess (reminds me of Massive Attack which is why I say this). Actually I quite like it. Yeah. Oddly enough, probably my favourite on the album. It's kind of more spoken word than rap, or at least slow, punching rap.
9. Matador: More piano, sounds like it could be a slower one. It is, but there's a really good buildup and you know, this could be my second-favourite. The bass rules once again. Chanelling Bowie here. Great guitar work on the ending.
10. From the dead: With an acoustic guitar opening akin to “Leader of the pack” (!) it has an echoey, distant vocal which merges with some very psychedelic style melody. Probably would have been better signing off with “Matador”. This is something of a disappointment.


Conclusion: Well it's a whole lot better than I had expected it to be, with hardly any hip-hop influences and some really good songs. In fact it only lets itself down, in my eyes, on two tracks out of ten, so that's not bad. Worth waiting nearly two decades for? On balance, I would have to say yes. Changed my mind about FNM? Possibly, though don't expect me to review their discography just yet...

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018