The Playlist of Life --- Trollheart's resurrected Journal

Trollheart · 10-21-2015, 06:26 AM

Our final band then, before we depart the shores of Syria, is categorised simply as “Heavy Metal”. They have two albums, but I can only find one on GPM. I guess I'm lucky to find any! So this will be our last taste of Syrian metal.

Resurrection of the Horrid Dream --- The Hourglass --- 2007 (Independent)

Opening with a nice screechy guitar and a tolling bell, “Resurrection” is a short song, shortest on the album at just over two minutes, almost completely instrumental bar some lines spoken sotto voce behind the music. This more or less acts as an introduction to the album, and it certainly gets my hopes up. Sounds very professional, well played and produced, and Rawed Abdel Massih (whom we shall perhaps undeservingly refer to as RAM in future) knows what he's about on those frets. Behind the skins sits Jerod, and not part of the band but guesting we have keyboards from Nareg. Vocals are handled by Bassem Deaibess, who has a strong and very clear voice, and thankfully sings in English. “Selective memory” trips along really nicely, but I can't help making the obvious Maiden comparison; you can be sure they number Harris and the lads in their influences.

Now I have to say that “Suicidal form” opens exactly, and I mean exactly, like a Maiden song. Can't remember which one, can't place it but that rippling guitar, the tone, the melody --- might be “Back in the Village”, not sure but it's definitely almost completely ripped off from one their songs, and it doesn't help that when Bassem begins singing you would swear you're listening to Dickinson. Even the screams are there. It's one thing to pay homage to your heroes or emulate them, but this is virtual copying. Hard to judge the music on its own merits with so much copycatting going on, but I'll give it a go. It's a good hard rocking song, trundles along nicely on the growling guitar riff from RAM; the only thing I will say is that he makes the twin guitar sound of Maiden all on his own, and while I'm sure much of this is mutiltracked it's still quite impressive for one guy. I think “The Book” is taking a critical look at Christianity (not surprising from an Arab country) but again it has way too much Maiden in it. Bassem handles the vocal well, and there are perhaps too many quotes from the Bible in the lyric (lazy songwriting, I feel) but overall it's got a nice kind of doomy vibe to it. Some of the actual lyric is terrible – ”We rule by the Book/ With a chain and a hook/ We stone and we maim/ All for His name.” Oh dear. RAM gets off a very fine solo near the end, and in fairness it doesn't feel like the six minutes it runs to.

“Distortion of thought “ does at least have a bit more originality and individuality about it, decent uptempo track though since the opener we haven't heard yer man on the keys and I think his contribution would lift this band a little more above the mediocre than they are at the moment. One of the epics then is “Ancient hope part two --- Kin traitor” (what happened to part one, I don't know), running for over eight minutes. Starts off very rocky then slows down with what may be dark synth keys from Nafel around the third minute, after which it slips into a dark, slow, doomy groove with a spoken vocal from Bassem. A really good solo followed by some Spanish guitar before it all ends on a dark spoken vocal with some atmopsheric guitar from RAM.

My copy of “East of the Mediterranean” seems to be corrupted, unless they're throwing in some freestlye scratching, which seems very unlikely. No, I reckon it's damaged, and for the first minute or so it pops and jumps and hops all over the place. It does settle down though and it's a decent thrash metal number with some fine drumming and great shredding, then it seems like “Divine judgement” may be a fast-paced instrumental, but more than halfway through the vocal comes in, spoken again against ringing guitar. But it is basically an instrumental, and not bad: has real teeth. Finally we get to hear those oh-so-missed keyboards as Narleg introduces “Alone again” on a melancholy, sweeping synth line with what sounds like violin but is I think synth. It kicks up for a moment then slows down again; whether I'd call this a ballad or not I don't know, but it's very “Strange world”...

This is the other epic, and at nine minutes plus change it does give you your money's worth, with some fine solos, good instrumental breaks, changes in tempo and time signatures and a pretty decent song overall. It also doesn't drag, which is good. The closer then is basically the title track, and “The horrid dream” opens with a big growling guitar and thick dark synth which takes us into the third minute of the seven the track runs for. Then there's more than a minute of blank silence before a thick bass either restarts the song or introduces a hidden track, but whichever, the production is suddenly awful. I can barely hear the singing at all, and the music is very fuzzy too. It's something of a letdown for a track that ends the album, and makes it seem as if this is to be continued in the next album (whcih so far has not materialised). Poor.

TRACKLISTING

1. Resurrection
2. Selective memory
3. Suicidal form
4. The Book
5. Distortion of thought
6. Ancient hope part 2: Kin traitor
7. East of the Mediterranean
8. Divine judgement
9. Alone again
10. The horrid dream

To be honest, if I hadn't already heard Iron Maiden, Metallica, Helloween and a hundred other bands I might think these guys were something special, and to be fair, I think they do have something. But there's too much of other bands in here. Talk about being derivative! They're trying too hard to sound, it would seem, like their western counterparts and while they do appear to have the talent to do that, if they want to rise above the crowd then they need to have their own sound, not coast along on someone else's.

Within the core sound of The Hourglass is an interesting mix of ideas and music, trying desperately to get out, but until they can create their own identity they're always going to be seen as a sub-Maiden/Priest ripoff band. Whether they ditch this label is something they are going to have to decide, assuming they're still together.

Trollheart · 10-21-2015, 06:40 AM

Turbo had originally been planned as part of a two-album deal called Twin Turbo, with the more melodic, radio-friendly songs on the first album (which became Turbo itself) and the harder, rockier ones on the never-released other album. This turned out to be their next project, and if the above is to be believed we can hope for a much heavier record than we have just listened to.

Ram it down (1988)
This album would also be the last to feature longtime drummer Dave Holland, who would leave after recording it due to health problems. In fact, he was so sick that the band decided to use a drum machine for most of his parts, and so essentially he's not really on the album very much. It opens on the title track, with a big scream from Halford and immediately you know this is a whole new proposition: machinegun guitars, galloping drums, a hard, powerful vocal and the boys just going heads-down, kicking the album off in fine style. There's nothing AOR about this one! Great fretburning solos from the guys and if there's more than a hint of melody that could nod back to the previous album, then it's quickly shoved aside by the duelling axemen.

What song title says “heavy metal” like, um, “Heavy Metal”? As if anxious to prove they have not sold out, Priest reaffirm their heavy credentials and ascend to the top of the metal pile, kicking all before them down, as even at this point Iron Maiden are beginning to falter as Bruce Dickinson becomes increasingly disillusioned with the direction the band is taking, and makes ready to jump ship. Standing proud again at the summit, Priest beat their chests and challenge all comers. This song is heavy with a capital “h”! Sort of like a cross between Manowar and Kiss, with some classic Maiden thrown in. And Saxon. Powerful and anthemic.

If “Love zone” sounds like a ballad, it ain't. The tempo keeps high hard and heavy as the band race along, Halford at his highest-pitched, reminding me once again of Brian Johnson, the twin guitars growlign and spitting as they go. Everything about this album screams “We are not AOR! We are Heavy FUCKING Metal!”, with titles like “Hard as Iron”, “I'm a rocker”, the title of course and the next one, “Come and get it”, which just keeps pouring out the metal riffs and the sweat, blood and tears (of joy), an unstoppable force, a charging wild animal that ain't gonna be fazed by any poxy tranquiliser dart! Thundering along with “Hard as iron”, which would give Manowar and some Power Metal bands a run for their money. Whatever they did with the drum machine, I certainly don't hear a huge difference and it's not in any way obvious that this is not Dave Holland hitting the skins.

Smoke rises into the air as another searing solo sets the roof on fire, things finally slowing down for the atmospheric opening of “Blood red skies”, expressive acoustic guitar and what sounds like synth backing painting the scene, Halford coming down a few octaves vocally but still injecting as much passion into his singing as we've become used to. Of course then it ramps up with stuttering, slicing guitar and pounding percussion, the drama upping a level. This could very well be my favourite on the album, though it's hard to say as it's all really good. I like the progressive overtones on this while it still manages to be heavy as all hell. “I'm a rocker” keeps everything fast heavy and almost at a breakneck pace.

Then we get “Johnny B. Goode.” Okay, it's a classic but at this stage of their career I don't see why Priest need to be covering an old rock standard like this. They do it well, but it just seems totally out of place. Maybe it's just me. Anyway, “Love you to death” stomps all over the place with menace and dark desire. I know the guys at this point had ditched the leather-and-studs image, but this song just oozes a bondage motif, the guitars whipcracking as the bass bumps and grinds, Halford's throaty snarl above it all holding court with the twin guitars climaxing at .... you know what? Let's, um, let's just leave it at that, okay? A big echoey punch on the drums pulls in “Monsters of rock” and ensures we end on a crushing high, and if you weren't already bruised, battered and broken by this powerhouse of an album, this will roll right over you and pop any bones you may have left into dust. And you'll be grinning like an idiot when it rumbles away.

TRACKLISTING

1. Ram it down
2. Heavy metal
3. Love zone
4. Come and get it
5. Hard as iron
6. Blood red skies
7. I'm a rocker
8. Johnny B. Goode
9. Love you to death
10. Monsters of rock

Again, after a brief blip we have another superb Priest album. Maybe it's just every second one I should be listening to? If this had been released as a double with Turbo I think it would have sold very well indeed. As it is, this album for me cements the heavy metal gods tag attributed to Judas Priest, and shows them at the very top of their game. At a time when metal's elite were beginning to falter and fade on this side of the big water, Rob Halford was leading his men in a triumphant blood-fuelled charge up the hill, and planting the flag of Judas Priest there, where it would remain for some time.

Trollheart · 10-21-2015, 08:27 AM

Let's do Violet's other album then.

An Overdose of Death --- Toxic Holocaust --- 2008 (Relapse Records)

A one-man outfit, Toxic Holocaust is Joel Grind (really!) and his music is described as “speed/thrash/black metal”, so this should be fun. Starts off with a face-melting guitar assault, vocals that are nearly as guttural as black metal ones but relatively intelligible, delivered in a much faster tempo than usually black ones are. Hmm. Don't think there are too many political allegories or social commentaries in these lyrics! Pretty straight forward, raw and unashamed. Interesting idea in “Nuke the cross”, of actually launching missiles against Heaven. Does the Patriot Mark V have that kind of range? You know, I was laughing at this initially but I'm sort of getting into the groove of it now. There's certainly melody in the music and it's good you can make out the vocals, which is not always the case with music of this kind. His lyrics aren't too bad either, you can see he put a lot of thought into them. “Endless Armageddon” is particularly good.

Lyrically, “Future shock” leaves a lot to be desired, but the music is pretty good; very heavy and aggressive with a really good guitar solo, while it's hard to judge “War game”, lasting as it does a mere fifty-nine seconds, but “In the name of science” has a good stab at things like (perhaps) the Nazi experiments in the concentration camps during World War II and has a good bouncing, grinding guitar line driving it. “March from Hell” really shows his struggling with the lyric: ”Legions of evil preparing to fight/ Kill the holy who come into sight/ Axes do battle, march from Hell/ Flames of evil attacking with spell” ... Um, yeah. And as for the last line --- ”As we kill and kill and kill and kill” --- what's wrong Joel? Could you not find anything to rhyme with “kill”?

It's his step over into black metal territory, and it has a kind of endearing charm to it. I think it's that it's so completely predictable, it's almost like watching a child trying to write the Declaration of Independence in crayon. Ah, bless!

There's a real boogie hook to “Gravelord”, kind of reminds me of mid-seventies Sabbath, “Children of the grave”, that kind of thing, but “War is Hell” is just really a mess. To say nothing of his contention in the lyric that everyone will die, and then going on to talk about living in ashes? Make your mind up, man! Seriously. Still, he makes a better and stronger case against war than Edwin Starr did. I really like “Lord of the wasteland” though, with a really catchy guitar riff running through it, and that kind of groove follows through into “Feedback, blood and distortion”. If I had a problem with the lyrics it's that they generally all seem to follow the same idea --- war, apocalypse, armageddon, the ruin of Earth and so on --- and he reuses ideas so often that sometimes it's hard to know which track is playing unless you look down at the running order. Some variety would be nice. Also, I'm pretty sure that album sleeve is a close copy of Tank's Filth Hounds of Hades, which precedes this by about twenty-five years. See?

“Death from above” is another breakneck track, but it's all becoming a bit too much like the rest now and I'm getting bored. Surely Grind has more in his lyrical arsenal than these same tired, repeated, rewritten and reused phrases? “City of a million graves” has a little more originality but not so much that you notice really.

TRACKLISTING AND RATINGS

1. Wild dogs
2. Nuke the cross
3. Endless Armageddon
4. Future shock
5. War game
6. In the name of science
7. March from Hell
8. Gravelord
9. War is Hell
10. The Lord of the wasteland
11. Feedback, blood and distortion
12. Death from above
13. City of a million graves

Decent album, some good riffs and you can hear the vocals clearly which is a help, but the songs are so similar it's hard to tell one from the other. Not so much an overdose of death as an overdose of repetition.

Trollheart · 10-21-2015, 08:32 AM

Staying with The Simpsons for now, and indeed with season three, we had another metal guest show their faces, this time in Moe's Tavern. Aw, you know who I'm talkin' about!

“Flaming Moe's” featured our favourite bartender discovering that Homer, against all odds, had come up with formula for an irresistible alcoholic drink, and stealing the recipe from him. On the basis of his being the only place you can now get a “Flaming Moe” (originally of course a “Flaming Homer”) the tavern becomes THE place to go, and stars and A-list celebrities begin to patronise it. Among them are Aerosmith, who have to be coaxed up on stage by Moe, enticed by the promise of “free pickled eggs”!

They of course launch into “Walk this way”, after Steven has mistaken Springfield for St. Louis, and then at the height of the chorus invite Moe up to duet. An interesting touch is that, at this moment (for reasons which escape me right now) Homer is making his way through the vents or something, and he pushes a vent cover away at approximately the same time Tyler, in the video, smashes through the wall of the studio with his mike and leans into the other studio where Run DMC are rehearsing the same song. Not sure if it was meant to refer back, but if so, it's clever.

The Batlord · 10-21-2015, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Damn it! I really wanted to review Virgin Steele's new one, but they've made it very hard to get access to without actually buying the thing: not on Spotify, not on Google Play Music and not even on YouTube!

Boom.

http://valhallametaldownloads.com/vi...-2015320-kbps/

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

This album would also be the last to feature longtime drummer Dave Holland, who would leave after recording it due to health problems. In fact, he was so sick that the band decided to use a drum machine for most of his parts, and so essentially he's not really on the album very much.

You know he's a convicted sex offender?

Quote:

In 2004, Holland was found guilty of attempted rape and several indecent assaults against a 17-year-old male with learning disabilities to whom he had been giving drum lessons.[3] In an interview during the criminal proceedings, Holland revealed that he is bisexual.[4] He was sentenced to eight years in prison. Due to this, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi chose to replace Holland's drum parts on The 1996 DEP Sessions because he did not want a convicted sex offender appearing on his album.[5] He was scheduled for release in 2012 and was reportedly out by June that year.[6]

In late 2006, Holland, who has steadfastly maintained his innocence, revealed that he is in the process of writing a tell-all autobiography. Writing to Judas Priest biographer Neil Daniels from prison, Holland stated "I was convicted of a crime that I didn't commit, and like so many others in similar situations to the one in which I find myself, an offence that never even existed in the first place...".[7]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Holland_(drummer)

Trollheart · 10-21-2015, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

Boom.

http://valhallametaldownloads.com/vi...-2015320-kbps/

Thanks man.

Quote:

You know he's a convicted sex offender?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Holland_(drummer)

I did not.

The Batlord · 10-21-2015, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Thanks man.

I did not.

#ruiningtrollheartsenjoymentofmusic

Trollheart · 10-21-2015, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

#ruiningtrollheartsenjoymentofmusic

That scores on two levels, using Dean from Supernatural to trumpet your triumph.

However

Spoiler for news for ya:

TechnicLePanther · 10-21-2015, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Also, he's a drummer. A drummer. Who cares about him?

#neverforgetneilpeart

Wpnfire · 10-21-2015, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

However it doesn't bother me in the least. I hardly knew Priest up to now, so it's not like you're destroying a childhood icon or anything. Also, he's a drummer. A drummer. Who cares about him?

Ironic coming from a massive Phil Collins fan.

10-21-2015, 06:26 AM	#2981 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Our final band then, before we depart the shores of Syria, is categorised simply as “Heavy Metal”. They have two albums, but I can only find one on GPM. I guess I'm lucky to find any! So this will be our last taste of Syrian metal. Resurrection of the Horrid Dream --- The Hourglass --- 2007 (Independent) Opening with a nice screechy guitar and a tolling bell, “Resurrection” is a short song, shortest on the album at just over two minutes, almost completely instrumental bar some lines spoken sotto voce behind the music. This more or less acts as an introduction to the album, and it certainly gets my hopes up. Sounds very professional, well played and produced, and Rawed Abdel Massih (whom we shall perhaps undeservingly refer to as RAM in future) knows what he's about on those frets. Behind the skins sits Jerod, and not part of the band but guesting we have keyboards from Nareg. Vocals are handled by Bassem Deaibess, who has a strong and very clear voice, and thankfully sings in English. “Selective memory” trips along really nicely, but I can't help making the obvious Maiden comparison; you can be sure they number Harris and the lads in their influences. Now I have to say that “Suicidal form” opens exactly, and I mean exactly, like a Maiden song. Can't remember which one, can't place it but that rippling guitar, the tone, the melody --- might be “Back in the Village”, not sure but it's definitely almost completely ripped off from one their songs, and it doesn't help that when Bassem begins singing you would swear you're listening to Dickinson. Even the screams are there. It's one thing to pay homage to your heroes or emulate them, but this is virtual copying. Hard to judge the music on its own merits with so much copycatting going on, but I'll give it a go. It's a good hard rocking song, trundles along nicely on the growling guitar riff from RAM; the only thing I will say is that he makes the twin guitar sound of Maiden all on his own, and while I'm sure much of this is mutiltracked it's still quite impressive for one guy. I think “The Book” is taking a critical look at Christianity (not surprising from an Arab country) but again it has way too much Maiden in it. Bassem handles the vocal well, and there are perhaps too many quotes from the Bible in the lyric (lazy songwriting, I feel) but overall it's got a nice kind of doomy vibe to it. Some of the actual lyric is terrible – ”We rule by the Book/ With a chain and a hook/ We stone and we maim/ All for His name.” Oh dear. RAM gets off a very fine solo near the end, and in fairness it doesn't feel like the six minutes it runs to. “Distortion of thought “ does at least have a bit more originality and individuality about it, decent uptempo track though since the opener we haven't heard yer man on the keys and I think his contribution would lift this band a little more above the mediocre than they are at the moment. One of the epics then is “Ancient hope part two --- Kin traitor” (what happened to part one, I don't know), running for over eight minutes. Starts off very rocky then slows down with what may be dark synth keys from Nafel around the third minute, after which it slips into a dark, slow, doomy groove with a spoken vocal from Bassem. A really good solo followed by some Spanish guitar before it all ends on a dark spoken vocal with some atmopsheric guitar from RAM. My copy of “East of the Mediterranean” seems to be corrupted, unless they're throwing in some freestlye scratching, which seems very unlikely. No, I reckon it's damaged, and for the first minute or so it pops and jumps and hops all over the place. It does settle down though and it's a decent thrash metal number with some fine drumming and great shredding, then it seems like “Divine judgement” may be a fast-paced instrumental, but more than halfway through the vocal comes in, spoken again against ringing guitar. But it is basically an instrumental, and not bad: has real teeth. Finally we get to hear those oh-so-missed keyboards as Narleg introduces “Alone again” on a melancholy, sweeping synth line with what sounds like violin but is I think synth. It kicks up for a moment then slows down again; whether I'd call this a ballad or not I don't know, but it's very “Strange world”... This is the other epic, and at nine minutes plus change it does give you your money's worth, with some fine solos, good instrumental breaks, changes in tempo and time signatures and a pretty decent song overall. It also doesn't drag, which is good. The closer then is basically the title track, and “The horrid dream” opens with a big growling guitar and thick dark synth which takes us into the third minute of the seven the track runs for. Then there's more than a minute of blank silence before a thick bass either restarts the song or introduces a hidden track, but whichever, the production is suddenly awful. I can barely hear the singing at all, and the music is very fuzzy too. It's something of a letdown for a track that ends the album, and makes it seem as if this is to be continued in the next album (whcih so far has not materialised). Poor. TRACKLISTING 1. Resurrection 2. Selective memory 3. Suicidal form 4. The Book 5. Distortion of thought 6. Ancient hope part 2: Kin traitor 7. East of the Mediterranean 8. Divine judgement 9. Alone again 10. The horrid dream To be honest, if I hadn't already heard Iron Maiden, Metallica, Helloween and a hundred other bands I might think these guys were something special, and to be fair, I think they do have something. But there's too much of other bands in here. Talk about being derivative! They're trying too hard to sound, it would seem, like their western counterparts and while they do appear to have the talent to do that, if they want to rise above the crowd then they need to have their own sound, not coast along on someone else's. Within the core sound of The Hourglass is an interesting mix of ideas and music, trying desperately to get out, but until they can create their own identity they're always going to be seen as a sub-Maiden/Priest ripoff band. Whether they ditch this label is something they are going to have to decide, assuming they're still together. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

10-21-2015, 06:40 AM	#2982 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Turbo had originally been planned as part of a two-album deal called Twin Turbo, with the more melodic, radio-friendly songs on the first album (which became Turbo itself) and the harder, rockier ones on the never-released other album. This turned out to be their next project, and if the above is to be believed we can hope for a much heavier record than we have just listened to. Ram it down (1988) This album would also be the last to feature longtime drummer Dave Holland, who would leave after recording it due to health problems. In fact, he was so sick that the band decided to use a drum machine for most of his parts, and so essentially he's not really on the album very much. It opens on the title track, with a big scream from Halford and immediately you know this is a whole new proposition: machinegun guitars, galloping drums, a hard, powerful vocal and the boys just going heads-down, kicking the album off in fine style. There's nothing AOR about this one! Great fretburning solos from the guys and if there's more than a hint of melody that could nod back to the previous album, then it's quickly shoved aside by the duelling axemen. What song title says “heavy metal” like, um, “Heavy Metal”? As if anxious to prove they have not sold out, Priest reaffirm their heavy credentials and ascend to the top of the metal pile, kicking all before them down, as even at this point Iron Maiden are beginning to falter as Bruce Dickinson becomes increasingly disillusioned with the direction the band is taking, and makes ready to jump ship. Standing proud again at the summit, Priest beat their chests and challenge all comers. This song is heavy with a capital “h”! Sort of like a cross between Manowar and Kiss, with some classic Maiden thrown in. And Saxon. Powerful and anthemic. If “Love zone” sounds like a ballad, it ain't. The tempo keeps high hard and heavy as the band race along, Halford at his highest-pitched, reminding me once again of Brian Johnson, the twin guitars growlign and spitting as they go. Everything about this album screams “We are not AOR! We are Heavy FUCKING Metal!”, with titles like “Hard as Iron”, “I'm a rocker”, the title of course and the next one, “Come and get it”, which just keeps pouring out the metal riffs and the sweat, blood and tears (of joy), an unstoppable force, a charging wild animal that ain't gonna be fazed by any poxy tranquiliser dart! Thundering along with “Hard as iron”, which would give Manowar and some Power Metal bands a run for their money. Whatever they did with the drum machine, I certainly don't hear a huge difference and it's not in any way obvious that this is not Dave Holland hitting the skins. Smoke rises into the air as another searing solo sets the roof on fire, things finally slowing down for the atmospheric opening of “Blood red skies”, expressive acoustic guitar and what sounds like synth backing painting the scene, Halford coming down a few octaves vocally but still injecting as much passion into his singing as we've become used to. Of course then it ramps up with stuttering, slicing guitar and pounding percussion, the drama upping a level. This could very well be my favourite on the album, though it's hard to say as it's all really good. I like the progressive overtones on this while it still manages to be heavy as all hell. “I'm a rocker” keeps everything fast heavy and almost at a breakneck pace. Then we get “Johnny B. Goode.” Okay, it's a classic but at this stage of their career I don't see why Priest need to be covering an old rock standard like this. They do it well, but it just seems totally out of place. Maybe it's just me. Anyway, “Love you to death” stomps all over the place with menace and dark desire. I know the guys at this point had ditched the leather-and-studs image, but this song just oozes a bondage motif, the guitars whipcracking as the bass bumps and grinds, Halford's throaty snarl above it all holding court with the twin guitars climaxing at .... you know what? Let's, um, let's just leave it at that, okay? A big echoey punch on the drums pulls in “Monsters of rock” and ensures we end on a crushing high, and if you weren't already bruised, battered and broken by this powerhouse of an album, this will roll right over you and pop any bones you may have left into dust. And you'll be grinning like an idiot when it rumbles away. TRACKLISTING 1. Ram it down 2. Heavy metal 3. Love zone 4. Come and get it 5. Hard as iron 6. Blood red skies 7. I'm a rocker 8. Johnny B. Goode 9. Love you to death 10. Monsters of rock Again, after a brief blip we have another superb Priest album. Maybe it's just every second one I should be listening to? If this had been released as a double with Turbo I think it would have sold very well indeed. As it is, this album for me cements the heavy metal gods tag attributed to Judas Priest, and shows them at the very top of their game. At a time when metal's elite were beginning to falter and fade on this side of the big water, Rob Halford was leading his men in a triumphant blood-fuelled charge up the hill, and planting the flag of Judas Priest there, where it would remain for some time. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

10-21-2015, 08:27 AM	#2983 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Let's do Violet's other album then. An Overdose of Death --- Toxic Holocaust --- 2008 (Relapse Records) A one-man outfit, Toxic Holocaust is Joel Grind (really!) and his music is described as “speed/thrash/black metal”, so this should be fun. Starts off with a face-melting guitar assault, vocals that are nearly as guttural as black metal ones but relatively intelligible, delivered in a much faster tempo than usually black ones are. Hmm. Don't think there are too many political allegories or social commentaries in these lyrics! Pretty straight forward, raw and unashamed. Interesting idea in “Nuke the cross”, of actually launching missiles against Heaven. Does the Patriot Mark V have that kind of range? You know, I was laughing at this initially but I'm sort of getting into the groove of it now. There's certainly melody in the music and it's good you can make out the vocals, which is not always the case with music of this kind. His lyrics aren't too bad either, you can see he put a lot of thought into them. “Endless Armageddon” is particularly good. Lyrically, “Future shock” leaves a lot to be desired, but the music is pretty good; very heavy and aggressive with a really good guitar solo, while it's hard to judge “War game”, lasting as it does a mere fifty-nine seconds, but “In the name of science” has a good stab at things like (perhaps) the Nazi experiments in the concentration camps during World War II and has a good bouncing, grinding guitar line driving it. “March from Hell” really shows his struggling with the lyric: ”Legions of evil preparing to fight/ Kill the holy who come into sight/ Axes do battle, march from Hell/ Flames of evil attacking with spell” ... Um, yeah. And as for the last line --- ”As we kill and kill and kill and kill” --- what's wrong Joel? Could you not find anything to rhyme with “kill”? It's his step over into black metal territory, and it has a kind of endearing charm to it. I think it's that it's so completely predictable, it's almost like watching a child trying to write the Declaration of Independence in crayon. Ah, bless! There's a real boogie hook to “Gravelord”, kind of reminds me of mid-seventies Sabbath, “Children of the grave”, that kind of thing, but “War is Hell” is just really a mess. To say nothing of his contention in the lyric that everyone will die, and then going on to talk about living in ashes? Make your mind up, man! Seriously. Still, he makes a better and stronger case against war than Edwin Starr did. I really like “Lord of the wasteland” though, with a really catchy guitar riff running through it, and that kind of groove follows through into “Feedback, blood and distortion”. If I had a problem with the lyrics it's that they generally all seem to follow the same idea --- war, apocalypse, armageddon, the ruin of Earth and so on --- and he reuses ideas so often that sometimes it's hard to know which track is playing unless you look down at the running order. Some variety would be nice. Also, I'm pretty sure that album sleeve is a close copy of Tank's Filth Hounds of Hades, which precedes this by about twenty-five years. See? “Death from above” is another breakneck track, but it's all becoming a bit too much like the rest now and I'm getting bored. Surely Grind has more in his lyrical arsenal than these same tired, repeated, rewritten and reused phrases? “City of a million graves” has a little more originality but not so much that you notice really. TRACKLISTING AND RATINGS 1. Wild dogs 2. Nuke the cross 3. Endless Armageddon 4. Future shock 5. War game 6. In the name of science 7. March from Hell 8. Gravelord 9. War is Hell 10. The Lord of the wasteland 11. Feedback, blood and distortion 12. Death from above 13. City of a million graves Decent album, some good riffs and you can hear the vocals clearly which is a help, but the songs are so similar it's hard to tell one from the other. Not so much an overdose of death as an overdose of repetition. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

10-21-2015, 08:32 AM	#2984 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Staying with The Simpsons for now, and indeed with season three, we had another metal guest show their faces, this time in Moe's Tavern. Aw, you know who I'm talkin' about! “Flaming Moe's” featured our favourite bartender discovering that Homer, against all odds, had come up with formula for an irresistible alcoholic drink, and stealing the recipe from him. On the basis of his being the only place you can now get a “Flaming Moe” (originally of course a “Flaming Homer”) the tavern becomes THE place to go, and stars and A-list celebrities begin to patronise it. Among them are Aerosmith, who have to be coaxed up on stage by Moe, enticed by the promise of “free pickled eggs”! They of course launch into “Walk this way”, after Steven has mistaken Springfield for St. Louis, and then at the height of the chorus invite Moe up to duet. An interesting touch is that, at this moment (for reasons which escape me right now) Homer is making his way through the vents or something, and he pushes a vent cover away at approximately the same time Tyler, in the video, smashes through the wall of the studio with his mike and leans into the other studio where Run DMC are rehearsing the same song. Not sure if it was meant to refer back, but if so, it's clever. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018