Bitesize: Trollheart's Daily Album Mini-Reviews

Trollheart · 06-01-2013, 05:51 PM

Yeah, you wouldn't really expect that from a band who started off punk and remained one of the louder, dirtier metal bands of the era would you? Just shows the danger of prejudging; always worth digging a little deeper, as you never know what you might find. I loved the "Filth hounds of Hades" album but was surprised to see the direction Tank evolved towards. If you're impressed with them don't forget to check out my feature on them in the NWOBHM series in my main journal.

Thanks for the comment!

Trollheart · 06-12-2013, 06:17 AM

Now these guys do fly the flag for Canada!

Artiste: Rush
Nationality: Canadian
Album: Permanent waves
Year: 1980
Label: Mercury
Genre: Progressive rock (yeah...)
Tracks:
The spirit of radio
Free will
Jacob's ladder
Entre nous
Different strings
Natural science
Chronological position:Seventh album
Familiarity: "2112", "A farewell to kings", "Caress of steel", "Hemispheres"
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Hey! I know this one!
Best track(s): Spirit of radio, Free will, Jacob's ladder
Worst track(s): I don't really hate anything here, despite expecting to.
Comments: Me, I've always been a seventies Rush guy. Love "2112" and all that, the heavier, progressive material, never cared too much for their later, more commercial output. Then again, in total fairness, I never listened to any of it other than what I heard on radio, and when I heard New world man I lost interest. Rush doing a reggae tune? Thank you, and goodnight. But like much of the music in my life at the time, I probably dismissed it too quickly and with a rather large slice of naivete with a generous helping of arrogance to go. Why should a band remain the same year after year, decade after decade?

So this is my attempt, at least partially, to give post-seventies Rush a go. I'm pleasantly surprised to find that I know the first track, as it is also on the excellent double live album "Exit: stage left", which I listened the hell out of when younger, and it's a good solid rock track, even if they do throw in some unwelcome reggae as well as a line from Simon and Garfunkel's classic The sound of silence! But it's familiar, and that helps. There are only six tracks on this album, and the longest just over nine minutes, so that's interesting, given Rush's prior reputation for long, rambling epics.

And the next two I know also, again from that live album. A little more proggy but snappy and upbeat, Free will is a good song while Jacob's ladder is more rooted in their progressive seventies past, and indeed it's the second-longest at seven and a half minutes, recalling the likes of By-Tor and the snow-dog and The Necromancer. Lots of wibbly keyboard, time signature changes, marching guitars. Lovely!

Different strings is good too, and I don't see a hugely marked departure from albums such as "Fly by night" or "Caress of steel" here, while the closer, the nine-minute Natural science has some great guitar work by Alex Lifeson, though I do find it a little disjointed and I'm not quite sure why it needs to be so long.
Overall impression: Not the totally different animal I was expecting, but then taking into account that this is only a few years after albums like "2112" and "Hemispheres" that's not so surprising.
Intention: I think I'll move up along the Rush timeline and see what I find, maybe one of their albums from the nineties?

Unknown Soldier · 06-13-2013, 08:15 AM

This is one of the few 'golden era' Rush albums I could never get into or see the fuss over.

Of course you knew the opening track, it's probably the band's most successful single.

Plankton · 06-13-2013, 12:26 PM

Permanent Waves is one of my favorite Rush albums. It just holds a permanent place in my heart since it was my companion for a few years while I was in High School. Natural Science is probably my favorite track on it but I've also loved playing Jacobs Ladder too:

JacobsLadder001 - YouTube

Yes, thats me singing, and playing the guitars over a BT. I was trying not to laugh as I sang into my phone.

Unknown Soldier · 06-13-2013, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plankton

Permanent Waves is one of my favorite Rush albums. It just holds a permanent place in my heart since it was my companion for a few years while I was in High School. Natural Science is probably my favorite track on it but I've also loved playing Jacobs Ladder too:

JacobsLadder001 - YouTube

Yes, thats me singing, and playing the guitars over a BT. I was trying not to laugh as I sang into my phone.

I gotta say that's a good cover and I'm not just saying that because you're a member on this site

Plankton · 06-13-2013, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unknown soldier

i gotta say that's a good cover and i'm not just saying that because you're a member on this site

tyvm us.

Trollheart · 06-18-2013, 06:34 AM

Father's footsteps are not being followed in

(I can't even stretch it to two and a half for the sake of nepotism; just not that good)

Artiste: Justin Townes Earle
Nationality: American
Album: Midnight at the movies
Year: 2009
Label: Bloodshot Records
Genre: Country
Tracks:
Midnight at the movies
What I mean to you
They killed John Henry
Mama's eyes
Dirty rag
Can't hardly wait
Black eyed Suzy
Poor fool
Halfway to Jackson
Someday I'll be forgiven for this
Walk out
Here we go again
Chronological position: Third album
Familiarity: "Nothing's gonna change the way you feel about me now"
Interesting factoid: As if you needed to be told, Justin is the son of country rocker Steve Earle
Initial impression: A lot more laidback and countryfied than I had expected.
Best track(s): Mama's eyes, Can't hardly wait, Halfway to Jackson, Someday I'll be forgiven for this
Worst track(s): Pretty much everything else really

Comments: I've already reviewed Justin's latest album in my main journal and was reasonably impressed by it. Mind you, my view of it was certainly coloured by the pedigree of the guy, as I'm a big Steve Earle fan. County itself, not so much, and this is definitely starting off more Country than rock, quite laidback and sort of a mixture of early seventies Eagles with a whiff of Waits' debut off it. Nice though, but hardly anything to get the blood pumping. Even less so is the next one, which mixes classic country sound with a kind of twenties vibe that does nothing for me. Not quite "Copperhead Road" now, is it?

There's a nice little bit of folky guitar pickin' on They killed John Henry with some fun fiddle too, but it's pretty "square dance" material so far. Grab yer partner by the hand... Mama's eyes tackles for the first time his troubled relationship with his famous father, where he croons "We don't see eye to eye/ He hurt my mother", and in ways it must surprise Justin that he's essentially following in his daddy's footsteps, having caught the music bug. He's certainly took another direction though, and were it not for the name I would not know he was Steve's son. Thirty seconds of rather cool guitar pickin' and we're into the first track that reminds me of his father. Can't hardly wait is much more uptempo and while perhaps not quite rock, it comes the closest of the tracks so far to breaking out of the often stifling Country strictures.

Black eyed Suzy is pure bluegrass, tripping along at a fine lick with great fiddle work and that uptempo drumming Country does so well, upright bass ticking away, while Poor fool sounds like something out of the fifties --- I hate fifties music! Nice uptempo bopper in Halfway to Jackson, with some very cool harmonica, then a slick little ballad in Someday I'll be forgiven for this --- Country does ballads well, I have to admit --- and this is probably the first time I can really hear Steve's voice in Justin's. The closer is another ballad, and very close to his father's My old friend the blues, so not a bad way to finish off what I have to say is a pretty third-rate album really. Some small highlights, but not enough.
Overall impression: He's certainly not crossing over into the bad side of town like his daddy. This is okay but pretty generic Country. Not really my thing.
Intention: It may be a while, if ever, before I pick up another of Justin's albums.

Trollheart · 06-22-2013, 02:40 PM

About time I got around to listening to this classic

Artiste: Megadeth
Nationality: American
Album: Rust in peace
Year: 1990
Label:
Genre: Thrash Metal
Tracks:
Holy wars ... the punishment due
Hangar 18
Take no prisoners
Five magics
Poison was the cure
Lucretia
Tornado of souls
Dawn patrol
Rust in peace ... Polaris
Chronological position: Fourth album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Nowhere near as fast or overwhelming as I thought it might be.
Best track(s): Hangar 18, Tornado of souls, Dawn patrol, Rust in peace ... Polaris
Worst track(s): Five magics, Poison was the cure
Comments: Thrash metal is not something I generally have much truck with --- I'm not crazy about Metallica --- and this will probably end up being a bad idea, but you know, I want to see what all the fuss is about. This is, after all, essentially the bastard half-brother of the giants of thrash, with Dave Mustaine having formed Megadeth after being asked politely to leave Metallica, and there's a lot of history there. But what about the music? Is there any? Let's check it out.

Well it rocks out fast enough, as you would expect, but hey, I'm not hearing anything I haven't heard on an Iron Maiden or Scorpions album to be honest, not yet anyway. Good screaming guitar intro, great steamhammer drumming: nothing to complain about, even when Mustaine comes in on the vocal. I can understand him, in fact he's a decent enough vocalist, which I hadn't really expected. It also helps that the opener references "The Troubles" in my native land. Nice bit of acoustic thrown in there, along with a lot of fine shredding. But it's Hangar 18 that really gets my attention, with a real melodic line and some very ominous sounds. This is apparently one of Megadeth's standards, and I can understand why. Smokin' guitar work on this!

There's a certain sense of humour at work too (at least, I hope it's a sense of humour!) as they paraphrase JFK's famous speech in Take no prisoners, and then Five magics is one of two tracks composed along the theme of fantasy, a genre usually reserved for progressive rock or metal and normally sneered at by thrash metal I believe. It sounds something akin to their arch-rivals' huge hit Enter Sandman if I'm honest, but it soon shakes off those comparisons as it gets going and becomes entirely its own animal.

Much of this album though sounds pretty much the same, and I'm aware it's seen as one of their best, which would make me concerned about how the rest of their material fares. It's not that it's bad, or poor, because I am enjoying it: I'm just not seeing a massive distinction between the various tracks, to the effect I could identify one from the other. That said, Tornado of souls is a pretty damn fine track, with a great guitar solo, and Dawn patrol grinds along so slowly and moodily it's almost a shock: nearly sludge metal here. The vocal is as deep and dark as the music, and it's another good one.

But it's very short, less than two minutes, and the album ends on the rollin' rollickin' title track, getting back to basics. Great rockin' boogie rhythm brings the album to a fine close, and despite the uniformity of some of the tracks I still reckon I liked this.
Overall impression: A little faster than the metal I'm used to, but not bad. Not bad at all.
Intention: Not sure. I'm not suffficiently impressed to go seeking another of their albums, but if I happened across one I wouldn't ignore it.

Unknown Soldier · 06-24-2013, 03:52 AM

It's always amusing to read your reviews on famous and much loved extreme metal albums. Again I'm surprised that you're not already familiar with Megadeth due to their fame. This album of course is a revered album in many ways and one of the best from that movement. In fact this album was probably my entry point into extreme metal and prepared me for what lay ahead. Megadeth were not really that heavy in comparison to the other extreme metal acts but they were damn fast and technical and great at what they did and you either loved or hated Dave's voice. You'd probably had been better off reviewing the album after this Countdown to Extinction, an album better suited to your ears as its more commercial in most aspects.

Trollheart · 06-24-2013, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier

It's always amusing to read your reviews on famous and much loved extreme metal albums. Again I'm surprised that you're not already familiar with Megadeth due to their fame. This album of course is a revered album in many ways and one of the best from that movement. In fact this album was probably my entry point into extreme metal and prepared me for what lay ahead. Megadeth were not really that heavy in comparison to the other extreme metal acts but they were damn fast and technical and great at what they did and you either loved or hated Dave's voice. You'd probably had been better off reviewing the album after this Countdown to Extinction, an album better suited to your ears as its more commercial in most aspects.

You know, I don't find this too heavy at all. No moreso than Maiden or Saxon or Motorhead anyway. I also would not have considered this Extreme Metal: I thought that was more Slayer, Children of Bodom, Cradle of Filth etc ?I did think that perhaps I should have saved this for my Classic Albums journal, but sure, by then it was already posted. Decent album. I don't know Megadeth or Metallica, other than reputation, simply because they've never appealed to me that much. But compared to the Black Album for instance I would certainly cite Mega over Met, or Dave over James definitely. Could be an interesting comparison .... hey, now there's an idea! Wheels turning, wheels turning....

06-01-2013, 05:51 PM	#161 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Yeah, you wouldn't really expect that from a band who started off punk and remained one of the louder, dirtier metal bands of the era would you? Just shows the danger of prejudging; always worth digging a little deeper, as you never know what you might find. I loved the "Filth hounds of Hades" album but was surprised to see the direction Tank evolved towards. If you're impressed with them don't forget to check out my feature on them in the NWOBHM series in my main journal. Thanks for the comment! __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

06-12-2013, 06:17 AM	#162 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Now these guys do fly the flag for Canada! Artiste: Rush Nationality: Canadian Album: Permanent waves Year: 1980 Label: Mercury Genre: Progressive rock (yeah...) Tracks: The spirit of radio Free will Jacob's ladder Entre nous Different strings Natural science Chronological position:Seventh album Familiarity: "2112", "A farewell to kings", "Caress of steel", "Hemispheres" Interesting factoid: Initial impression: Hey! I know this one! Best track(s): Spirit of radio, Free will, Jacob's ladder Worst track(s): I don't really hate anything here, despite expecting to. Comments: Me, I've always been a seventies Rush guy. Love "2112" and all that, the heavier, progressive material, never cared too much for their later, more commercial output. Then again, in total fairness, I never listened to any of it other than what I heard on radio, and when I heard New world man I lost interest. Rush doing a reggae tune? Thank you, and goodnight. But like much of the music in my life at the time, I probably dismissed it too quickly and with a rather large slice of naivete with a generous helping of arrogance to go. Why should a band remain the same year after year, decade after decade? So this is my attempt, at least partially, to give post-seventies Rush a go. I'm pleasantly surprised to find that I know the first track, as it is also on the excellent double live album "Exit: stage left", which I listened the hell out of when younger, and it's a good solid rock track, even if they do throw in some unwelcome reggae as well as a line from Simon and Garfunkel's classic The sound of silence! But it's familiar, and that helps. There are only six tracks on this album, and the longest just over nine minutes, so that's interesting, given Rush's prior reputation for long, rambling epics. And the next two I know also, again from that live album. A little more proggy but snappy and upbeat, Free will is a good song while Jacob's ladder is more rooted in their progressive seventies past, and indeed it's the second-longest at seven and a half minutes, recalling the likes of By-Tor and the snow-dog and The Necromancer. Lots of wibbly keyboard, time signature changes, marching guitars. Lovely! Different strings is good too, and I don't see a hugely marked departure from albums such as "Fly by night" or "Caress of steel" here, while the closer, the nine-minute Natural science has some great guitar work by Alex Lifeson, though I do find it a little disjointed and I'm not quite sure why it needs to be so long. Overall impression: Not the totally different animal I was expecting, but then taking into account that this is only a few years after albums like "2112" and "Hemispheres" that's not so surprising. Intention: I think I'll move up along the Rush timeline and see what I find, maybe one of their albums from the nineties? __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 01-13-2015 at 02:38 PM.

06-13-2013, 12:26 PM	#164 (permalink)
Plankton Just Keep Swimming... Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: See signature... Posts: 7,765	Permanent Waves is one of my favorite Rush albums. It just holds a permanent place in my heart since it was my companion for a few years while I was in High School. Natural Science is probably my favorite track on it but I've also loved playing Jacobs Ladder too: JacobsLadder001 - YouTube Yes, thats me singing, and playing the guitars over a BT. I was trying not to laugh as I sang into my phone. __________________ See location...

06-18-2013, 06:34 AM	#167 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Father's footsteps are not being followed in (I can't even stretch it to two and a half for the sake of nepotism; just not that good) Artiste: Justin Townes Earle Nationality: American Album: Midnight at the movies Year: 2009 Label: Bloodshot Records Genre: Country Tracks: Midnight at the movies What I mean to you They killed John Henry Mama's eyes Dirty rag Can't hardly wait Black eyed Suzy Poor fool Halfway to Jackson Someday I'll be forgiven for this Walk out Here we go again Chronological position: Third album Familiarity: "Nothing's gonna change the way you feel about me now" Interesting factoid: As if you needed to be told, Justin is the son of country rocker Steve Earle Initial impression: A lot more laidback and countryfied than I had expected. Best track(s): Mama's eyes, Can't hardly wait, Halfway to Jackson, Someday I'll be forgiven for this Worst track(s): Pretty much everything else really Comments: I've already reviewed Justin's latest album in my main journal and was reasonably impressed by it. Mind you, my view of it was certainly coloured by the pedigree of the guy, as I'm a big Steve Earle fan. County itself, not so much, and this is definitely starting off more Country than rock, quite laidback and sort of a mixture of early seventies Eagles with a whiff of Waits' debut off it. Nice though, but hardly anything to get the blood pumping. Even less so is the next one, which mixes classic country sound with a kind of twenties vibe that does nothing for me. Not quite "Copperhead Road" now, is it? There's a nice little bit of folky guitar pickin' on They killed John Henry with some fun fiddle too, but it's pretty "square dance" material so far. Grab yer partner by the hand... Mama's eyes tackles for the first time his troubled relationship with his famous father, where he croons "We don't see eye to eye/ He hurt my mother", and in ways it must surprise Justin that he's essentially following in his daddy's footsteps, having caught the music bug. He's certainly took another direction though, and were it not for the name I would not know he was Steve's son. Thirty seconds of rather cool guitar pickin' and we're into the first track that reminds me of his father. Can't hardly wait is much more uptempo and while perhaps not quite rock, it comes the closest of the tracks so far to breaking out of the often stifling Country strictures. Black eyed Suzy is pure bluegrass, tripping along at a fine lick with great fiddle work and that uptempo drumming Country does so well, upright bass ticking away, while Poor fool sounds like something out of the fifties --- I hate fifties music! Nice uptempo bopper in Halfway to Jackson, with some very cool harmonica, then a slick little ballad in Someday I'll be forgiven for this --- Country does ballads well, I have to admit --- and this is probably the first time I can really hear Steve's voice in Justin's. The closer is another ballad, and very close to his father's My old friend the blues, so not a bad way to finish off what I have to say is a pretty third-rate album really. Some small highlights, but not enough. Overall impression: He's certainly not crossing over into the bad side of town like his daddy. This is okay but pretty generic Country. Not really my thing. Intention: It may be a while, if ever, before I pick up another of Justin's albums. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 01-13-2015 at 02:39 PM.

06-22-2013, 02:40 PM	#168 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	About time I got around to listening to this classic Artiste: Megadeth Nationality: American Album: Rust in peace Year: 1990 Label: Genre: Thrash Metal Tracks: Holy wars ... the punishment due Hangar 18 Take no prisoners Five magics Poison was the cure Lucretia Tornado of souls Dawn patrol Rust in peace ... Polaris Chronological position: Fourth album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Initial impression: Nowhere near as fast or overwhelming as I thought it might be. Best track(s): Hangar 18, Tornado of souls, Dawn patrol, Rust in peace ... Polaris Worst track(s): Five magics, Poison was the cure Comments: Thrash metal is not something I generally have much truck with --- I'm not crazy about Metallica --- and this will probably end up being a bad idea, but you know, I want to see what all the fuss is about. This is, after all, essentially the bastard half-brother of the giants of thrash, with Dave Mustaine having formed Megadeth after being asked politely to leave Metallica, and there's a lot of history there. But what about the music? Is there any? Let's check it out. Well it rocks out fast enough, as you would expect, but hey, I'm not hearing anything I haven't heard on an Iron Maiden or Scorpions album to be honest, not yet anyway. Good screaming guitar intro, great steamhammer drumming: nothing to complain about, even when Mustaine comes in on the vocal. I can understand him, in fact he's a decent enough vocalist, which I hadn't really expected. It also helps that the opener references "The Troubles" in my native land. Nice bit of acoustic thrown in there, along with a lot of fine shredding. But it's Hangar 18 that really gets my attention, with a real melodic line and some very ominous sounds. This is apparently one of Megadeth's standards, and I can understand why. Smokin' guitar work on this! There's a certain sense of humour at work too (at least, I hope it's a sense of humour!) as they paraphrase JFK's famous speech in Take no prisoners, and then Five magics is one of two tracks composed along the theme of fantasy, a genre usually reserved for progressive rock or metal and normally sneered at by thrash metal I believe. It sounds something akin to their arch-rivals' huge hit Enter Sandman if I'm honest, but it soon shakes off those comparisons as it gets going and becomes entirely its own animal. Much of this album though sounds pretty much the same, and I'm aware it's seen as one of their best, which would make me concerned about how the rest of their material fares. It's not that it's bad, or poor, because I am enjoying it: I'm just not seeing a massive distinction between the various tracks, to the effect I could identify one from the other. That said, Tornado of souls is a pretty damn fine track, with a great guitar solo, and Dawn patrol grinds along so slowly and moodily it's almost a shock: nearly sludge metal here. The vocal is as deep and dark as the music, and it's another good one. But it's very short, less than two minutes, and the album ends on the rollin' rollickin' title track, getting back to basics. Great rockin' boogie rhythm brings the album to a fine close, and despite the uniformity of some of the tracks I still reckon I liked this. Overall impression: A little faster than the metal I'm used to, but not bad. Not bad at all. Intention: Not sure. I'm not suffficiently impressed to go seeking another of their albums, but if I happened across one I wouldn't ignore it. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 01-13-2015 at 02:39 PM.