Time & Place

Unknown Soldier · 10-18-2014, 05:17 PM

This is a pretty honest review and I also once remember you stating how unimportant the quality of a vocalist was when the quality of the music is top notch. I'm also quite envious of your musical knowledge when you discuss the playing ability of the band members in some detail, but I'm guessing that you have a pretty sound musical knowledge when it comes to playing ability to do this. I can't play a single instrument and don't really have that great a knowledge when it comes to debating over the merits of certain musicians in any great depth. Which is why my own personal reviews tend to skirt around the technical side of an album, but if I did have any real knowledge then I'd certainly include it in my reviews.

I see this album as a flawed classic but for different reasons than your own, as my critique of this album is largely down to its track selection order more than anything else.

One thing of note that often bugs me, is that Iron Maiden are without doubt one of the biggest infleunces on power metal, but you'll constantly get people going on about how cheesy power metal is and then in the next breath how great Iron Maiden are. I think your review just proves that there is actually very little difference between Iron Maiden and the host of power metal bands out there in terms of style. As you've probably noticed I'm a pretty big power metal fan, so cheese and metal go down nicely with me.

**Janszoon** · 10-18-2014, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier

This is a pretty honest review and I also once remember you stating how unimportant the quality of a vocalist was when the quality of the music is top notch. I'm also quite envious of your musical knowledge when you discuss the playing ability of the band members in some detail, but I'm guessing that you have a pretty sound musical knowledge when it comes to playing ability to do this. I can't play a single instrument and don't really have that great a knowledge when it comes to debating over the merits of certain musicians in any great depth. Which is why my own personal reviews tend to skirt around the technical side of an album, but if I did have any real knowledge then I'd certainly include it in my reviews.

I see this album as a flawed classic but for different reasons than your own, as my critique of this album is largely down to its track selection order more than anything else.

One thing of note that often bugs me, is that Iron Maiden are without doubt one of the biggest infleunces on power metal, but you'll constantly get people going on about how cheesy power metal is and then in the next breath how great Iron Maiden are. I think your review just proves that there is actually very little difference between Iron Maiden and the host of power metal bands out there in terms of style. As you've probably noticed I'm a pretty big power metal fan, so cheese and metal go down nicely with me.

I can definitely see where they're a significant influence on power metal.

So, out of curiosity, what are your track order issues with NotB? I definitely think "Hallowed Be Thy Name" is the best choice of a song to close with, but I think "Invaders" is a pretty weak way to start the album.

Unknown Soldier · 10-18-2014, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

So, out of curiosity, what are your track order issues with NotB? I definitely think "Hallowed Be Thy Name" is the best choice of a song to close with, but I think "Invaders" is a pretty weak way to start the album.

"Invaders" is a poor choice as an album opener and should be buried away later on the album. "Gangland" was written with with Paul Di'Anno in mind and should've never been included on the album. The classic "Children of the Damned" comes a bit too early on the album for my liking and the spare track "Total Eclipse" should've been included on the album, as it's better than "Invaders" "Gangland" and "The Prisoner". Overall the album feels like a randomizer has been used to select the track order.

**Janszoon** · 10-18-2014, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier

"Invaders" is a poor choice as an album opener and should be buried away later on the album. "Gangland" was written with with Paul Di'Anno in mind and should've never been included on the album. The classic "Children of the Damned" comes a bit too early on the album for my liking and the spare track "Total Eclipse" should've been included on the album, as it's better than "Invaders" "Gangland" and "The Prisoner". Overall the album feels like a randomizer has been used to select the track order.

I'll have to check out "Total Eclipse". I like "The Prisoner", but definitely would be happy to sacrifice "Invaders" or "Gangland" for a better song.

~~James~~ · 10-19-2014, 08:35 PM

Can I just say this is one of the most beautifully written journals I've read on here recently. Loving it.

**Janszoon** · 10-19-2014, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James

Can I just say this is one of the most beautifully written journals I've read on here recently. Loving it.

Thanks! That means a lot to me. I'm glad you're enjoying it!

**Janszoon** · 10-19-2014, 09:55 PM

Exhibit #2:
Judas Priest—Screaming for Vengeance (1982)

This album cover is another poster I remember seeing on my cousins' bedroom wall. Not only that, but it was also a metallic flecked pin I bought—or more likely begged my mother to buy—in a record store as a child and it was something I wore proudly on my jacket for several years after. Not because I knew anything about the band, but because I loved that damn robot eagle. When I did finally hear the band, as with Iron Maiden, I was disappointed. They just seemed so… ordinary. I have to admit I pretty much wrote them off from a young age, and unlike Maiden, I never had any friends who were into them so I never gave them much of a listen until this week.

Now I'm listening, and what this album overwhelmingly makes me think of is a time when I associated clean, scalpel-like heavy metal guitar with the music of the future. It seems weird now, but that's often how it was presented back in the movies of the 80s, and listening to this album it's not hard to see why. There's a certain Devo-ish or Gary Numan-esque aesthetic at work on several of the tracks—most prominently on "Electric Eye"—and there truly is something mechanical and precise about those crystaline guitar leads that accompany it. There are even some surprises here, like "(Take These) Chains", which starts off sounding almost like it could be a Police song before going all metal. It, and the subsequent track "Pain and Pleasure", are also noteworthy for their fantastic, very non-heavy metal, clinical production style—something I think really sets this album apart from its NWOBHM brethren.

Like The Number of the Beast, the musicianship on display here is top-notch, but the approach is incredibly different. Where that album has more of a sprawling, proggy style, the songs on this album are compact and laser focused. The rhythm section of Dave Holland and Ian Hill don't do anything too amazing individually, but instead lock in with each other perfectly to create these galloping, frequently dancy, foundations for the songs. Likewise, Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing meld their guitars together seamlessly for some seriously enrapturing and precise sonic geometry. Rob Halford attacks each track with such glee that he makes it seem effortless, though he appears to have an endless supply of vocal variations in his arsenal. Yes, his singing is pretty bombastic, but unlike Bruce Dickinson, it tends to actually work with the music—there's a real symbiosis between his voice and those robotic guitars.

If there's one gripe I have with this album, it's that it feels like it kind of peters out as it goes along. It's not that it ever gets bad, but the later tracks don't quite stack up to the first few, especially "Electric Eye" which is by far the best song on the album. Overall, I like this album a lot—though I'm not entirely sure how much staying power it will have for me—and I'm very curious to check out other stuff from them. I know Unknown Soldier has mentioned that Stained Class is a much darker album. So I think that may be my next stop with JP, but before that, I have the rest of these reviews to write.

Pet_Sounds · 10-19-2014, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James

Can I just say this is one of the most beautifully written journals I've read on here recently. Loving it.

Seconded. Even though I'm not a metalhead by any means, I don't need to have heard the albums to appreciate your writing, which is the acid test for a review.

Unknown Soldier · 10-19-2014, 10:20 PM

Screaming for Vengeance sits in-between British Steel and Stained Class style wise. British Steel of course is their most poppy and commercial sounding release, but Stained Class shows what a dark metal beast they really could be and would be the album you'd most relate to, as it links directly with the 80s extreme metal you're more used to. The album was almost like a blueprint for any technical based extreme metal band of the 80s.

**Janszoon** · 10-21-2014, 09:46 PM

Exhibit #3:
Diamond Head—Lightning to the Nations (1980)

Unlike my previous two reviews, I'm pretty unfamiliar with this band. I know the name and I know Metallica's cover of "Am I Evil?", but that's really it. After reading up on Diamond Head a bit, it's hard not to want to root for these guys. This album, their debut, was self-released because they couldn't find a label who was interested. Their manager was the singer's mom. They really didn't receive much notoriety until the likes of Metallica started namedropping them. I mean, seriously, they're the quintessential underdogs.

One of the things that's immediately apparent about this album, even if I had known nothing about its background, is that it's a far more low budget affair than either of the last two albums I have reviewed. The production is certainly not horrible but it isn't exactly doing any of these songs any favors either. One thing that's not immediately apparent is that, also unlike the previous two albums I reviewed, there is only one guitarist at work here. I think it's quite a testament to skills of both guitarist Brian Tatler and bassist Colin Kimberley that the album never feels like it's lacking something that most of their NWOBHM peers had. The riffs come fast and furious and the bass seems to do double duty with tough low end burbling and quasi-rhythm guitar underscoring. Duncan Scott's drums fare less well. I'm not sure if it's mostly a case of poor production or if he's just a boring drummer, but I suspect it's a little bit of both. Likewise Sean Harris' vocals. They're a little flat and they have kind of generic 70s hard rock singer vibe, but at the same time I don't feel like they detract too much from the music either.

Overall, this isn't a bad album by any means, and it's interesting to hear the very noticeable influence it had on Metallica, but it's let down a lot by its circumstances. The weak production and what was probably a lack of studio time undermine songs which may very well have been great under different conditions, but here instead they add up to an album that's somewhat hit-or-miss, though a few diamonds in the rough ("Sucking My Love", "Am I Evil?", "Helpless") stand out. Because of this, it's not an album I see myself revisiting much in the future, but I am quite curious to hear what their subsequent albums sound like. I've heard that their second one has more of a progressive influence to it, and considering the fact that this album's most complex moments are also its highlights, I'd love to hear that.

10-19-2014, 09:55 PM	#57 (permalink)
Janszoon Mate, Spawn & Die Join Date: May 2007 Location: The Rapping Community Posts: 24,593	Exhibit #2: *Judas Priest—Screaming for Vengeance* (1982)** This album cover is another poster I remember seeing on my cousins' bedroom wall. Not only that, but it was also a metallic flecked pin I bought—or more likely begged my mother to buy—in a record store as a child and it was something I wore proudly on my jacket for several years after. Not because I knew anything about the band, but because I loved that damn robot eagle. When I did finally hear the band, as with Iron Maiden, I was disappointed. They just seemed so… ordinary. I have to admit I pretty much wrote them off from a young age, and unlike Maiden, I never had any friends who were into them so I never gave them much of a listen until this week. Now I'm listening, and what this album overwhelmingly makes me think of is a time when I associated clean, scalpel-like heavy metal guitar with the music of the future. It seems weird now, but that's often how it was presented back in the movies of the 80s, and listening to this album it's not hard to see why. There's a certain Devo-ish or Gary Numan-esque aesthetic at work on several of the tracks—most prominently on "Electric Eye"—and there truly is something mechanical and precise about those crystaline guitar leads that accompany it. There are even some surprises here, like "(Take These) Chains", which starts off sounding almost like it could be a Police song before going all metal. It, and the subsequent track "Pain and Pleasure", are also noteworthy for their fantastic, very non-heavy metal, clinical production style—something I think really sets this album apart from its NWOBHM brethren. Like The Number of the Beast, the musicianship on display here is top-notch, but the approach is incredibly different. Where that album has more of a sprawling, proggy style, the songs on this album are compact and laser focused. The rhythm section of Dave Holland and Ian Hill don't do anything too amazing individually, but instead lock in with each other perfectly to create these galloping, frequently dancy, foundations for the songs. Likewise, Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing meld their guitars together seamlessly for some seriously enrapturing and precise sonic geometry. Rob Halford attacks each track with such glee that he makes it seem effortless, though he appears to have an endless supply of vocal variations in his arsenal. Yes, his singing is pretty bombastic, but unlike Bruce Dickinson, it tends to actually work with the music—there's a real symbiosis between his voice and those robotic guitars. If there's one gripe I have with this album, it's that it feels like it kind of peters out as it goes along. It's not that it ever gets bad, but the later tracks don't quite stack up to the first few, especially "Electric Eye" which is by far the best song on the album. Overall, I like this album a lot—though I'm not entirely sure how much staying power it will have for me—and I'm very curious to check out other stuff from them. I know Unknown Soldier has mentioned that Stained Class is a much darker album. So I think that may be my next stop with JP, but before that, I have the rest of these reviews to write. __________________ A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man Time & Place 25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die last.fm

10-21-2014, 09:46 PM	#60 (permalink)
Janszoon Mate, Spawn & Die Join Date: May 2007 Location: The Rapping Community Posts: 24,593	Exhibit #3: *Diamond Head—Lightning to the Nations* (1980)** Unlike my previous two reviews, I'm pretty unfamiliar with this band. I know the name and I know Metallica's cover of "Am I Evil?", but that's really it. After reading up on Diamond Head a bit, it's hard not to want to root for these guys. This album, their debut, was self-released because they couldn't find a label who was interested. Their manager was the singer's mom. They really didn't receive much notoriety until the likes of Metallica started namedropping them. I mean, seriously, they're the quintessential underdogs. One of the things that's immediately apparent about this album, even if I had known nothing about its background, is that it's a far more low budget affair than either of the last two albums I have reviewed. The production is certainly not horrible but it isn't exactly doing any of these songs any favors either. One thing that's not immediately apparent is that, also unlike the previous two albums I reviewed, there is only one guitarist at work here. I think it's quite a testament to skills of both guitarist Brian Tatler and bassist Colin Kimberley that the album never feels like it's lacking something that most of their NWOBHM peers had. The riffs come fast and furious and the bass seems to do double duty with tough low end burbling and quasi-rhythm guitar underscoring. Duncan Scott's drums fare less well. I'm not sure if it's mostly a case of poor production or if he's just a boring drummer, but I suspect it's a little bit of both. Likewise Sean Harris' vocals. They're a little flat and they have kind of generic 70s hard rock singer vibe, but at the same time I don't feel like they detract too much from the music either. Overall, this isn't a bad album by any means, and it's interesting to hear the very noticeable influence it had on Metallica, but it's let down a lot by its circumstances. The weak production and what was probably a lack of studio time undermine songs which may very well have been great under different conditions, but here instead they add up to an album that's somewhat hit-or-miss, though a few diamonds in the rough ("Sucking My Love", "Am I Evil?", "Helpless") stand out. Because of this, it's not an album I see myself revisiting much in the future, but I am quite curious to hear what their subsequent albums sound like. I've heard that their second one has more of a progressive influence to it, and considering the fact that this album's most complex moments are also its highlights, I'd love to hear that. __________________ A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man Time & Place 25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die last.fm

10-19-2014, 08:35 PM	#55 (permalink)
~~James~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Scotland Posts: 4,483	Can I just say this is one of the most beautifully written journals I've read on here recently. Loving it.