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Oh I'd agree with you there. "The wild places" was the last album I truly enjoyed by him, but really up to then, with the exception of the abysmal "Captured angel" he never put a foot wrong. It would probably be surprising to people who don't know him that they know at least one of his songs.
Also, what did you think of Alan Parsons' "The time machine"? I was hugely disappointed in it, and haven't yet listened to "A valid path", sort of dreading it might be as bad really... |
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Parsons-wise, 'A Valid Path' is pretty good for what it is. There's a heavy trip-hop/electronic rock aesthetic as opposed to the soft-progressive pop stuff he's known for, but it's not awful by any stretch of the imagination. I'd probably recommend it to someone who is a huge fan of The Crystal Method or something. That being said, if you want to hear some music that's on par with some of the best APP stuff, check out those Chris Rainbow solo records and some of the music of Mandalaband (especially 1978's The Eye Of Wendor and 2009's B.C. Ancestors). :p: |
So now that I've gotten the artsy prog and pop stuff out of the way, how about we get into some songs and artists that set me on the path of br00tality? Scorpions Alien Nation (1993) A killer riff anchors this top-notch opening cut from one of this classic band's most underrated albums. My dad's "Best Of" Scorpions collection was my introduction to the fist-pumping world of melodic heavy metal & hard rock awesomeness, and I owe this particular tune quite a lot in that regard. It all started here! Ra Do You Call My Name (2002) A song and band I think were pretty top notch for what they were in the whole post-grunge/alternative rock spectrum even today, this early single by Ra came out right around the time I was getting my first taste of progressive rock as well as more contemporary music, and it did a pretty thorough job at whetting my palette for more material like it. It's aggressive yet smarter and more melodic than some of the nu-metal that was getting big in the early 00's, so I could have done worse than start with this baby. Deep Purple Black Night (1970) I don't even remember the exact circumstances that I ended up getting my first exposure to Deep Purple and their hard rock ilk, but 'Black Night' was the first song from that era outside of the prog I had just started dabbling in that left such a strong impression on me. Jon Lord's Hammonding and Blackmore's guitar work are strong with this one, yes. Joe Satriani Echo (1987) The idea of guitar virtuosos going out and recording purely instrumental albums seemed pretty strange to me as a kid: why would I care about rock stuff if there wasn't a singer involved? Then I got to see a certain Satriani live with a freshman band friend and began to understand that a great song is a great song: a guitar can sing just fine on its own. 'Echo' stands out some from the rest of the songs on Surfing With The Alien due to its heavy and distinctive bassline, and its still my favorite song of his as well as an influence on me today. Edge Of Sanity Crimson (1996) Probably the biggest game changer of these five songs for me as I was transitioning from middle to high school all those years ago. At that point, I was vaguely aware of what death and black metal and such were, but it was the sort of stuff my peers liked to make fun of or laugh at rather than listen to. During some random search online I ran across this album on accident while looking for King Crimson and found myself hooked within just a few minutes into this one-song record despite being such an initially alienating "out of my comfort zone" experience. What I figured out as a result was that I not only really liked the melodic aspects that sometimes emerge in more "extreme" music, but that those same abrasive elements that turned everybody else off were actually really interesting. I don't know if I could even appreciate any of the black, death, grind or thrash stuff I enjoy today if I hadn't heard Crimson as a 13 year old fuckscrub with no prior experience. I guess there's a "right place right time" album for everyone in any style, but I'm glad it happened to be this one for me. :p: |
I'm one of those guys who would scare away people at an actual discotheque because I am your lord and savior when it comes to bad dancing, but I still found plenty of stuff to jam to as a younger feller that not only resonate with me today, but hooked me on beats, textures and bass drops alike. To be extra ultra specific: I DO listen to stuff from a huge variety of electronic subgenres today, but these are the albums that served as the starting line. Thievery Corporation The Richest Man In Babylon (2002) Not necessarily the best album from the Corporation, but when your on a road trip with a friend in middle school and his weird hippie-rave dad decides to play this album from start to finish for the ensuing couple of hours...yeah, one helluva impression gets left. The title track is particularly dope, but you can't really go wrong with anything here. It's not too bad as a downtempo late-night selection for clubs or parties either: at least your neighbors wouldn't call the cops over it. Daisuke Kashiwa Program Music I (2007) Something I picked up on recommendation as I was getting into high school from an electronic savvy friend, which technically makes it my introduction into "serious" post-rock as well. While only two tracks long, its a whole hour's worth of beautiful, fractured chord progressions, motifs and sheer mindfuckery. That moment of transition around 4-ish minutes into 'Stella' is one of the best things I've heard in any instrumental release ever, and that holds true seven years later for me. Enigma The Cross Of Changes (1994) World music/New Age/Electronic crossover stuff was all the rage back in the 90's, and most of that can be attributed to guitarist/producer Michael Cretu and his Enigma project. Say what you want about the major cheese of 'Return To Innocence', but he sampled friggin' Led Zeppelin (the drums from 'When The Levee Breaks'), Genesis and Lord knows what else to make that song. That takes some serious creativity and balls to pull off, and this album was a real ear opener as a kid at how versatile electronic-oriented stuff could be. BT ESCM (1997) My door to trance and techno, and boy does this sucker pop even now. Brian Transeau at one point was an absolute genius at blending club-like anthems with more organic instrumentation and Berlin School ambiances. Easy to do on paper, harder in practice. Whilst I learned quickly that beautiful European and South American women (yumm!) go crazy for Armin van Buuren for some reason, I'll take this dude over most trance any day of the week, so I'm glad I found it as a youngin'. And speaking of Tangerine Dream... Tangerine Dream Phaedra (1974) My first "go to sleep to" electronic ambient album. Once upon a time, even mainstream establishments like Barnes & Noble used to have Tangerine Dream albums in stock. I had seen their stamp on all kinds of soundtracks plus their name sounded cool, so I bought Phaedra on a whim and quickly realized why they've persisted for DECADES and remain one of the most influential groups of all time. If sound were able to exist in the great ethereal ether...well, it would probably be quite Phaedric indeed. There's no rhyme or reason to the album, but neither Pink Floyd nor Hawkwind got quite as close to the heart of the chaotic cosmos as these fellas did, and I'm all the better for it. |
The thing about jazz that's always interested me since I was a kid is it's capacity for endless permutation: it could literally fit itself into any context and compel you to listen no matter what you normally dig. Are you into punk or hard rock or metal? There are plenty of bands and artists who bring jazz into the mix. Like electronic, folk, even dance pop? Jazz has inserted itself into all of those worlds as well. It's not just the instrumentation that's distinctive: anything remotely improvisational or constructed outside of the typical "pop" formula has a touch of the jazz spirit somewhere in its DNA. And yes, this includes a lot of the contemporary smoother stuff I was reviewing over in my other journal for awhile. :D So for this last look at my coming of age genre introductions, here's a couple of key songs and how they shaped me. Herbie Hancock Maiden Voyage (1965) The best musical equivalent to a morning cup of coffee in our multiverse by a country mile, and the song that got me into jazz. Funny how stumbling on the "wrong" radio station as a 15 year old test driving your dad's old car can open your soul up to a brand new musical course you'd never have appreciated otherwise, but this song really is perfect for getting anyone into jazz: it's not too crazy, its laidback like a bawss and has a beautiful melody underpinning it to boot. The album this came from became the soundtrack to my morning drives to high school for a long time after this. Sun Ra Space Is The Place [the album] (1973) Back in the early 2000's, ITunes would recommend you all kinds of crazy stuff based on whatever albums or songs you had bought in the past before they and other services ended up perfecting whatever algorithms they use. Sun Ra popped up one day while looking through a few Hancock and Bill Evans albums, and you can imagine how much of an ear opener Space Is The Place was for me if you have any idea how bizarre Sun Ra is. Kind of like getting tossed into a cold lake after a hot shower actually, but any album that can convert a complete ignoramus into a free jazz lover is something special. Pat Metheny Group Proof (2002) Funnily enough, my first exposure to Pat Metheny was through a random episode of Two And A Half Men, where show creator Chuck Lorre mentioned that seeing Metheny perform on guitar back when he was younger convinced him to quit being a guitarist and go into television because he'd never measure up. 'Proof' turned up during a random search, and it led me to re-evaluate (at the time) my attitude that "smooth jazz" couldn't be challenging or stimulating. Guy's a friggin' genius, and this song is a perfect example of why. Jun Senoue Fly In The Freedom [from the Sonic Adventure 2 OST] (2001) When your a kid, video game soundtracks can be excellent entry points to music you'd never normally find on your own. Some people get into jazzier soul/pop and its ilk through exposure to Motown, Stax..or, I dunno, Sinatra maybe. Me? It was the port of Sonic Adventure 2 to the then brand-new Gamecube system from Nintendo. The game was pretty decent, but it was the eclectic soundtrack that really opened my ears and whet my palette. This song also arguably made me aware of bossa nova as well. Hell, I actually owe more to Sonic the Hedgehog than I thought. Screw you SEGA! |
While not directly related to my childhood musings, I thought I'd hand the spotlight over to a long forgotten PC gaming masterpiece I used to obsess over in a more primordial era...an obscure yet amazing outing from Shiny Entertainment known as Sacrifice. It's a completely unique title even fourteen years after its release, and in all honesty I keep hoping one of these days some studio will revisit this game's universe and expand upon it, but I think I'd have a better chance at winning the lottery at this point. :( Everything about this game is unusual: the development team behind it was only a couple of guys and it featured some absolutely stellar voice work from giants like Tim Curry and Tony Jay...but perhaps most importantly, although the game is Real Time Strategy, the whole thing is played from a tight 3rd person perspective at ground level. For a better idea at how this works gameplay wise, here's a blurry teaser: Despite being as old as it is, there's a deftly told and excellently paced story to aid the immersion experience that holds up well today. You play as Eldred, a dimension hopping wizard who ends up in a strange world ruled by five gods of various element and alignment. Each god implores you to do work for them rather than the others, and which god you decide to serve (or if you decide to jump between different gods) determines the course of the main single player campaign. This gives the game a lot of re-playability since there's at least eight different endings depending on your choices. Each "mission" a god sends you on is different (and the objectives for each level will vary as well), but you are always initially transported down into a battlefield. You are given an Altar which is like your base, and you can cast spells and summon various creatures to build an army. Your enemies are often wizards like yourself who also summon creatures, cast spells and serve other gods. Your two main "resources" (because what RTS game would be complete without 'em, lol!) are mana and souls respectively. You can't summon creatures without souls, and you can't cast spells without mana. It should be noted that the game does a helluva job at making it a real challenge to win and complete your various missions while still defending your Altar from desecration by enemy wizards. Resources, as you might guess, are going to be scarce at times, especially the further into the game you go. But hey, that's just part of why Sacrifice is such a blast. I'm not going to spoil anything else here, but for anyone looking for a real gem from the past to throw yourself into on today's hardware, pick up this Hieronymus Bosch-inspired nightmare of a PC delight and enjoy an experience unlike anything else before or since. Toodles! ;) |
http://www.metal-archives.com/images...34335.jpg?5812 How is it that one of the best glam metal albums of all time (if not the best ever?) has yet to get a review 'round these parts? A crying shame I say, but all the more reason to give it a proper spotlight here. :cool: The story of sleazemeisters Heavy Bones is an interesting one, if not all that surprising: Warner Bros wanted to form a "supergroup" around guitar prodigy Gary Hoey (a studio favorite of some random guy named Ozzy Osbourne. Maybe you've heard of him, lol) and ended up surrounding him with a surprising cast of faces, including W.A.S.P and Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali and an obscure but extremely talented singer named Joel Ellis, who kind of sounds like Axl Rose but with a lot more range and versatility. Dude had one helluva snarl to go with his unconventionally diverse range, but that's just more to the listener's benefit. Still, 1992 was far too late in the game for a major play at the radio. No matter how great the songs might be, something this consummately 80's was bound to hit a wall in light of all the "hair" metal backlash. After lead single (and what an awesome single it was I might add) '4:AM T.M.' flopped commercially despite a brief rotation on the Headbanger's Ball, Warner dropped Heavy Bones like a sack of manure and everyone involved went their separate ways. The hard truth that stellar music doesn't always lead to success is a difficult pill to swallow, but take these guys as a prime real world example even before the advent of the digital age in the grunge era. These facts aside, this is splendid music by any measure, a cool 40+ minutes of explosive fun with a tantalizing hint of "something more" that distinguishes this production's methodology from others in the same territory. Listen to the opening Crue-esqe 'Hand That Feeds', that breakdown in the second half of the previously mentioned 4:AM T.M. or the off-the-wall slammin' on 'Where The Livin' Is Easy'....this is an album that knows exactly what it wants to do and manages to outclass most of its more commercially successful brethren with frightening ease. The real kicker is just how much diversity is packed in here amidst the obvious headbangers though, with the obvious elephant-in-the-room being the epic Led Zeppelin/Aerosmith throwback 'Where Eagles Fly'. For those of you familiar with the big epic sound of John Sykes' Blue Murder album from 1990 or his work with Whitesnake, this song is throttling around in that arena. Songs starts off in an acoustic frame of mind before erupting like a volcano about midway through into something compellingly fierce and awe inspiring. Probably Ellis's best performance on the whole recording too, and that's quite a feat considering how on dead-on he is on all the other songs too. Dude's a freak in the best way a frontman can be. From my perspective, heavy metal is general is more interesting when the songs display a spark of dynamism that doesn't get them all caught in the same time signature or a uniform pacing that dominates the entire running time. We can pick and choose our favorite numbers for our streaming playlists, personal collections, IPod playlists, etc...but the album experience when it comes to metal almost always benefits when there's the perfect blend of consistency, energy and variety, with all the peaks and valleys that come with it. Heavy Bones not only has a lot of great songs, but as an album it flows better and hits harder than most could hope to, and even when they slow down they're still top notch. If you enjoy heavy metal with some sleaze, some polish and a whole lot of personality...well, that's between you and the Gods Of Metal. I say just get it and enjoy. :p: |
http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/50...Apocalypse.jpg Anyone even vaguely familiar with 70's jazz-fusion is probably familiar with guitarist John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Along with Miles Davis and groups like Return To Forever, these were the guys who first fused hard rock and jazz together into something extraordinary to behear. As far as that level of regard goes though, people tend to overlook 1974's Apocalypse, the album I'm reviewing here. Its not their fault really: most who jump into this group regardless of how much or little they know tend to go straight for the obvious milestones like 1971's The Inner Mounting Flame or 1973's equally lauded Birds Of Fire. And there's nothing wrong with that. Both of them are very important albums, and they did come before this one. Still, neither of those records quite measure up to Apocalypse in all its majestic classical music-meets-hard fusion glory. Firstly, its easily the most progressive Third Stream album of all time, with Michael Tilson Thomas of the London Symphony Orchestra conducting. Furthermore, Jean-Luc Ponty has joined on violin, Narada Michael Walden has edged out Billy Cobham at the kit and you have George Martin (yes, the 5th Beatle) producing. That's a lot of crazy talent all in one place...and the results were, of course, momentous as fuck. Ephemeral doesn't even begin to describe the music here. The expected instrumental dueling, where John and his cosmic axe of jazz-rawk reckoning collides with Ponty's manic violins and the rest is juxtaposed against these titanic, romantic orchestral sweeps that take your breath away. It's one of the best uses of contrast I've had the pleasure of hearing in recorded form, a thing particularly evident on the 18-minute 'Hymn To Him', the highlight of the set and the tune that edges this entire record over anything Mahavishnu Mach I put out. If this doesn't give you a spiritual experience, then you have no soul I'm afraid. :hphones: There's plenty of other cool things beyond that tour-de-force though. Check out 'Wings Of Karma', which starts of like some sort of Stravinsky piece before it pulls a bait-and-switch on your ears and turns into a full on jazz-rock extravaganza. Or that nebulous minute and a half or so where the serene opener 'Power Of Love' shifts sinisterly into the eruptive 'Vision Is A Naked Sword'. It's like that first time you watched Disney's 'Night On Bald Mountain' segment on Fantasia, only without the demonic imagery and with lots more guitar jammage. :beer: No words can do justice to an album like this one. Even ol' George here considers it one of the best albums he ever worked on outside of tenure with the Fab Four, and there hasn't been another album, jazz-fusion or otherwise, that quite sounds like it either. Jazz-fusion and classical music was not that common a hybrid even at the 70's most creative junctures, which is partly why its taken decades for this album to sink in to the lucky minority that managed to get exposed to it while it was relatively available. Weirdly enough, the truth is that its only now in the digital age that people can genuinely look back on Apocalypse for the incredible album that it was, because it is only within the last few years that we're lucky enough to have an opportunity to experience these songs on their own merits without availability limitations or being clouded by unnecessary bias of what jazz can or cannot be. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go reblow my mind by sitting through this again. Cheers! :laughing: |
So lets start off by stating the obvious: yes, 1990's No Prayer For The Dying wasn't within spitting distance of Seventh Son.. quality-wise, and the relatively lukewarm reception this album received from the hardcore Maiden fans upon release wasn't completely undeserved either. Whilst the musical landscape was beginning to change as the rumblings of "alternative" and "grunge" music echoed in the distance, the synth-laden approach Maiden had adopted on their two previous outings was still in vogue for most of the fans. Nobody went up to Dickinson, Harris or Smith and asked them to "strip down" their sound, but strip it down they did after their massive world tour wrapped up in '89. It didn't help that Adrian Smith decided to vacate about halfway into pre-production either, forcing Dickinson to recruit his buddy Janick Gers on axework to pick up the slack. No wonder people were pissed: the album hadn't even been recorded and many people had already convinced themselves it wasn't going to be any good! And as the saying goes...most prophecies are self-fulfilling ones for those that have already made up their minds beforehand. In retrospect though, the truth is that No Prayer For The Dying is far from a bad album. It is definitely weaker than anything they band had done from '81 onwards up until that point...but this is Iron Maiden we are talking about. Even a 'by the numbers' release from them is going to be better than what others of their ilk might have cooked up as long as their classic lineup was mostly intact...and intact it was in 1990. So instead of writing up a long review of why you should give this underrated record another shot if you had dismissed it previously based on a collective rep, I'll sum it up in five quick points- 1. It's an interesting album sonically. Bruce Dickinson not only snarls and curses a fair amount throughout (which is unusual for a Maiden album), but it seems like he and the band actually developed a sense of humor as well. ('Public Enema Number One', 'Bring Your Daughter...To The Slaughter', etc. etc.) 2. 'The Assassin', 'Run Silent Run Deep', 'Fates Warning' and 'Hooks In You' are all here, and those songs are prime goodies that would have fit well on any of the past classics. 3. It's one of the shortest albums in the IM's discography, with no cuts running longer than 5 minutes, which actually makes the experience fairly breezy regardless of how much you enjoy (or despise) the music contained therein. 4. Great album cover, and the last one where we'd see "classic" Eddie for awhile. 5. It's better than 'Fear Of The Dark' or anything recorded with Blaze Bayley...a LOT better! *shudder* :yikes: So that's my take folks. Anyone got a second opinion? :love: |
First of all may I just say "MAI-DEN! MAI-DEN!" :D
Good summing up of the album and yet I find it hard to see it as inferior to FotD. That has some great tracks on it but then its being the last Dickinson album of the 90s and the awful duo that followed give it a somewhat shiver of revulsion whenever it's mentioned. If you were to take half the songs off both albums I think you'd have a very strong Maiden release. My tracklisting for "No prayer for the fear of the dark" would be: 1. Tailgunner 2. Hooks in you 3. Afraid to shoot strangers 4. Holy smoke 5. Bring your daughter 6. Judas my guide 7. Fear of the dark and maybe one or two others. Each album on its own has flaws but I think you could jettison the naff tracks and come up with a truly killer (hah!) album. Something that would get you through the dark wilderness of the Blaze Bayley years. Shiver... |
^ Putting the best parts of No Prayer For The Dying and Fear Of The Dark together would have been awesome, but seven tracks probably isn't enough, lol!
Anyway, I've been pretty busy lately, but I think I'll just do a quick run down of the albums I listened to this week and "rate" them. Consider this an act of mercy from me considering how fat my typical reviews are. :p: http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/image...00_80_s_c1.jpg Chromeo - White Women (2014) One of the better dance/funk/pop albums I've heard in awhile, but I find myself pining for their vocoder antics of yesteryear. The synths are sugarwall and pretty rad though, so that's worth a few headbobs on my part. 3/5 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...WhiteNoise.jpg Anthrax - Sound Of White Noise (1993) Better than you'd expect, but it ultimately doesn't work as a thrash/hip-hop hybrid or whatever category bus the masses threw this under when it came out. Hell, even Pantera were heavier than this circa '93, not to mention other 80's holdovers like Warrior Soul and Megadeth. Pass! 2/5 http://i.imgur.com/6j3vHNd.jpg Casualties Of Cool - Casualties Of Cool (2014) Twenty four hours later with this and I'm already convinced it's better than Ghost and Ki, two albums which were already in top tier territory for Devin Townsend. How he manages to cut albums this exquisite in territory so far removed from his metal roots is beyond my meager understanding...but hell, I'm not complaining. 5/5 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._And_Fish.jpeg I Mother Earth - Scenery And Fish (1996) Not as good as 1993's Dig, but as far as the funk metal/alternative rock progeny of the decade went, its hard not to feel at least a bit charmed by these Canadians spacefaring, bass-heavy odysseys into musical and lyrical obscurity: weird and fun in equal measure. 4/5 |
No Prayer for the Dying is probably my least listened to Maiden album from their 'classic run' era which finishes with that album. Need to listen to it again I guess to see what I really think.
As for the Anthrax album, I might be the only person on the forum that actually really likes it, as you know it was reviewed in the HM club. |
^ You should definitely revisit it. And I didn't hate that Anthrax record, but it doesn't measure up to what I thought it should have been either.
Coincidentally, today marks the 24th anniversary of Iron Maiden hitting #1 on the charts with 'Fear Of The Dark' back in 1992. :) And speaking of today (May 23rd), today also marks the anniversary of one of my favorite band debut's #1 chartage back in 1987... http://i58.tinypic.com/2i725mo.png http://theseconddisc.files.wordpress...to-travel.jpeg Swing Out Sister - It's Better To Travel (1987) Quote:
Commercially, I think these guys were always a bit too good for the mainstream in some respects. Despite briefly charting in the late 80's thanks to the song 'Breakout', they remain criminally underrated worldwide beyond the U.K. (except in Japan, where they have a huge following even now), and yet have been prolific all the way here to the present day with excellent album after album. On top of that they've successfully evolved and incorporated other genres (trip-hop, neo-soul, etc.) into their sound over a twenty-some year period without ever compromising their core strengths. That's not a feat any band or artist can boast after decades of time, and yet SOS made it look easy. Anyway, today marks the 27th anniversary of Swing Out Sister hitting #1 on the charts with this 1987 opus It's Better To Travel, hence why I'm reviewing it. Within their big canon of music, this debut is without a doubt the one that sounds most like its "era", but the music is so remarkably assured and well crafted that you wouldn't really peg SOS for a bunch of newbies who got done with their first album. I think this confidence and ease is rooted in the synergy between singer Corinne Drewery, whose suave pipes would have made her a perfect fit as an opener for any classic James Bond film, and keyboardist Andy Connell. He's got a great tonal palette and his skills are such that the deeper cuts like 'Twilight World' sound positively huge, and he's the force behind a lot of these tunes as the main composer. Bouncy lead single 'Breakout' is probably the only song anyone might be familiar with here: it's been featured in the Grand Theft Auto series and has probably graced a few TV serials out there from time to time too. Not hard to hear why it caught on really: the chorus has a really cool choral lead in, plus it's very affirming and positive in the lyrical sense as well. This leads into the early acid jazz tour-de-force of 'Twilight World', complete with a rock solid bongo backing rhythm and a waltz-like chord progression. Connell's synthboarding here is very orchestral and elegiac, giving the tune a strange but snazzy atmosphere. It's the sound of 1987 somehow transported back into the Overlook Hotel circa 1926, and its one of the album's biggest highlights for me. This is followed up by a series of excellent albeit more typical-of-the-era synth pop numbers like 'Blue Mood' and 'Surrender'. However, a few standouts like the moody, downtempo 'After Hours', its Gothic counterpart 'Communion', and the punchy, electric guitar shred-led 'It's Not Enough' are very interesting songs. What you'll probably notice at this point is that Corrine (our 60's hairstyled lead songstress) is pretty good with certain lyrical themes, mediating upon people lost in life, lost in love, or people who are distraught in general. None of it is completely removed from usual pop fare by any means, but she brings so much personality to the wandering emotions that populate these songs that you'll probably dig 'em anyway. For me, pop music from any decade is best when its trying to dig around or be something more than an endless succession of 3 minute singles. The amount of effort SOS put into establishing their soundscapes and overall atmosphere from album to album is both astounding and a thing of beauty. After all, its the nuances and details that decides if an album will survive into the distant future, and '87 was as tough a year as any other to accomplish that sort of feat. In light of that, It's Better To Travel succeeds brilliantly. And at the very least, its a lot more than just a 'Breakout'. :wave: |
Anteater's Top 10 Post-80's AOR & Glam Metal Records Quote:
In all seriousness, I wouldn't bother even doing series like this unless I didn't think these were all excellent additions to any musical collection, so take the expert's word for it and enjoy the albums, cheese and all. :) |
10. Ten – The Name Of The Rose (1996) Quote:
We'll kick off my top ten AOR and glam of the 90's and beyond list with a U.K. based band, appropriately enough, named Ten. And of the various bands that have existed since the 80's who fall under the whole AOR umbrella, they're definitely one of the most ambitious. This is partly due to the fact that all the music these guys do is the singular vision of Gary Hughes, a DIY prodigy of sorts who sings, produces and writes everything. Simply put, he's verrrry good at what he does. Blessed with huge pipes and a storyteller's sense of epic drama, he's an absolutely colossal frontman who came out of nowhere at the beginning of the 90's and has pushed the band into it's third decade now without slowing down regardless of what's in or out in the mainstream or underground. Anyway, The Name Of The Rose was a set of songs put together from the same sessions as the group's self-titled debut, which had come out earlier in '96 and sold like hotcakes. And in all honesty, that album could have just as easily been here instead. The same sessions produced both albums, so they're neck and neck on the quality front. However, The Name Of The Rose takes its time a little more and flows better as a comprehensive experience. It's not a concept album per se, but an underlying dialogue about the motivations of human beings as they progress through life does pop up periodically from the muscular opening title cut and beyond. Album time: the title cut is amazing and undoubtedly the band's signature song. It's a multilayered epic with a killer chorus and has enough grit in places to qualify it as a progressive metal exercise despite sounding like something you'd headline an arena with, and as the sound of a ticking clock winds down it segues into a neat slice of Def Leppard-lite with 'Wildest Dreams'. Nice one Gary. Now if only you had a one-armed drummer to complete the picture. All in all, the whole record is pretty unusual for 1996, and as far as "progressing" AOR past the 80's went, this album did a lot of good at the time. There's just so much instrumental nuance and texture throughout these tunes that the evidence of just how much effort went into crafting songs that were just a little bit more than your expected Journey retreads is obvious to the ear. Even their ballads sound like miniature symphonies, such as the 8-minute 'Through The Fire'. You could say that's a sign of a bloated album, but sometimes a little excess is what it takes to really explore your ideas. If it helps the overall atmosphere, then more power to it ya know? So if you ever wondered what Foreigner or Whitesnake might have sounded like with a progressive rock mindset, this should go a fair ways to satisfying that curiosity. For some people its going to be a lot of fun, and for the rest of you its a nightmare beyond reason. Either way, interesting stuff and a good place to begin my list. :finger: |
9. Blue Murder – Blue Murder (1990) Blue Murder's self titled was one helluva way to kick off the 90's. Produced by none other than the mighty Bob Rock and fronted by legendary guitarist John Sykes (Tygers Of Pan Tang, Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, and a variety of others), this was easily the best record that emerged from the last "wave" of glam bands that formed on the cusp of grunge and alternative rock's rise to power across the U.S. and beyond. Huge sound, huge songs and plenty of atmosphere and cool ideas strewn around to boot: Blue Murder weren't your typical "hair metal" outfit, and neither was the music. In fact, there's a lot of stuff here that's downright strange, from the psychedelic 'Sex Child' to the seven minute prog-tastic piledriver 'Valley Of The Kings', which actually managed to chart AND get play on MTV before they shut out anything with a G&R-ish sound permanently. To put it mildly, this album positively SLAYS. Besides the virtuosic Sykes and his refreshingly out-of-the-box approach to the stadium glam sound, you have Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice pounding those skins so hard its like he managed to channel Bonham up out of the underworld and the quiet but efficient Tony Franklin on bass who, ironically enough, played with Jimmy Page before jumping on board with this debut. There have been stranger power trios all throughout rock and metal history since its genesis in the early 70's, but Blue Murder have a chemistry that only the best of those managed to attain. It's hard to say what drove these guys to put out something with this much vitality and power when nobody was expecting it: Sykes being pissed off about David Coverdale firing everyone from Whitesnake a few years prior might have been part of it, but considering that this particular lineup would break up within two years of this debut makes this a questionable line of reasoning. It wasn't like Tony or Carmine had anything to prove. Perhaps we'll never know... Of the various records on this list, most of the glam ones never really tried to be anything other than straightforward, uncomplicated adherers to an established aesthetic of some kind. Blue Murder, however, is far heavier and more diverse than your typical "hair" album, and for that reason you should all be checking it out if you have even the tiniest rockin' bone in your body. |
8. The Magnificent – The Magnificent (2011) As far as new bands and artists come in the AOR and glam metal spectrum, a lot of the credit for revitalizing all that good stuff for the last decade or so goes to Frontiers Records, an Italy-based label who have made it their mission to never let the 80's die. Formed in the late 90's, they've been busy bees since their inception. They're always signing new talent all over the world, bringing classic artists under their wing for new projects (including Whitesnake, Toto, Styx and even ELO's Jeff Lynne), and generally doing a bang-up job keeping quality melodic rock coming every year. That being said, it's only once in a blue moon that Frontiers ends up releasing something from a completely new act that qualifies as purely phenomenal. Instant classics are hard to come by, but if a label is prolific enough, they'll eventually knock one out of the park. That's what happened in 2011 with this debut album from Scandinavian "supergroup" The Magnificent, and its a tasty cut of evidence for those lobbying in favor of 80's sounding rock being relevant as we make our way through the second decade of the 21st century. Led by the huge tenor of Michael Eriksen (singer of progressive metal band Circus Maximus), this is an interesting album that draws primarily from the mid 80's AOR camp of bands like Magnum or maybe Europe. It's got some pomp elements, big hooks that wouldn't be out of place on a power metal album, and a fairly lush production canvas that brings out the best in each song, especially big single-ready radio monsters like 'Memories', 'Bullets' or the absolutely huge 'Love's On The Line'. You can't completely escape the cheese even on a production this classy (like on the ballad 'If It Takes All Night'), but the great stuff is so good that you probably won't care even if the slightest hint of a ballad forces you to relive those days where your flat mate wouldn't stop spinning Great White and Poison on his car's cassette player. Over and over and over again. But I digress... Anyway, listen below and see what you think. There are only a few "new" bands on the AOR scene these days that really blow me away, and these guys are one of 'em. :wave: |
7. Toto – Mindfields (1999) ...well, now you guys know where my avatar comes from. But hey, cool covers are cool covers. And when the music happens to achieve excellence too...just icing on the cake, baby. Specifically, this particular late-era release from the smoothest rock band out of late 70's L.A. marked the closest thing to a full-blown reunion of their classic lineup after nearly two decades of new people coming in and out like a revolving door (especially in light of the death of drum god Jeff Porcaro in 1992). But best of all, the first album featuring Bobby Kimball since 1982 also ended up being a killer AOR record, albeit a very eclectic and at times head-scratching journey into Toto's experimental side. Contrary to what some of you might have picked up in trivia pursuit, Toto's name have nothing to do with the dog from The Wizard Of Oz. It's Latin for "all-encompassing", referring to the band's ability to juggle a variety of genres and styles within the realms of hard rock, funk and R&B without losing sight of the songs. But even knowing that, I'm sure nothing could have really prepared your typical listener for the sheer enthusiastic level of ecleticism that defines Mindfields. From epic sitar-led excursions The Beatles would have been proud of ('After You're Gone'), spazzed out blues rock ('High Price Of Hate') 70's-styled progressive rock ('Better World') some surprisingly good 90's sounding pop-rock ('Melanie', 'Mad About You'), and even a punchy funk number here and there ('Cruel') this was a reinvigorated Toto that was willing to swing for the fences to show people that great bands (and great music) doesn't die or become irrelevant just because you aren't a zeitgeist to the masses. Trends come and go, but those fanbases that eventually become long-term always converge and support the real talent wherever it may be. While it is true the 90's aren't well know for having a whole lot of post-80's style classics from the former heavyweight champions, you can always count on Toto to be interesting and even vital even as others fade into pure nostalgia machines for the housewives of yesteryear. They aren't just an AOR band: they're THE band, and the evidence can be found at your local record store, an Amazon vendor, Spotify stream or Pandora station near you. :p: |
Bobby Kimball probably one of the best vocalists of all time:dj: and I can even after all these years listen to him at anytime. But as far as I'm concerned his crème de la crème are his first four albums with Toto and as you explained the band name was perfectly chosen.
Anyway let's not beat around the bush here, Toto in their prime were the very best AOR band and few could touch them.:) |
^ Agreed. There's actually a band around today that rivals their early AOR period, but you'll have to wait a few entries for that one. :tramp:
Anyhoo... 6. Ratt – Infestation (2010) You know when those first licks come storming in on 'Eat Me Up Alive' that you're likely in for a real treat of some kind, but who would have expected Ratt of all groups to actually come together long enough to put together an album that rivals their mid 80's peak? Especially since, you know, Robbin Crosby bit the bullet back in 2002? I know I sure as hell didn't, but that's what the world got four years ago in the form of Infestation. It was their first studio outing in 11 freakin' years and it sounded like a million bucks. It's a coked-up shot of adrenaline to a dying breed of metal, devoid of the self-parody that Steel Panther revel in or the excessive theatricality of The Darkness and their ilk. In other words, Ratt are really fun and heavy in equal measure here, and they haven't done an album this consistent since..well, ever. You've got the snarling 'Lost Weekend', the face-stomping yet bluesy 'Look Out Below' and even a few Sunset Strip hook-laden throwbacks like the AOR-tinged 'Best Of Me' and the spacey ecstatic closing fireworks of 'Don't Let Go', but the highlights are numerous. The choruses are so well put together that you wonder if Stephen Pearcy has been *gasp* going through something resembling vocal rehabilitation since the late 90's. Who woulda thunk it? That being said, as of 2014 it doesn't look like we'll be seeing any new Ratt for quite some time due to Pearcy's choice to leave forever. But hey, if that's how the curtain falls on one of the Sunset Strip's biggest bands ever, then they couldn't have ended on a better note with these songs. Great revivals like this are rare in any genre, but for sleaze enthusiasts like myself it was a godsend. |
5. Blessed By A Broken Heart – Feel The Power (2012) At first analysis, the idea of modern metalcore colliding head on with the sleazy fun of W.A.S.P., Ratt and Kix is something that would give even the most open-minded metalheads a moment's pause. They'll scratch their heads and think "...how the hell would that even work Ant-man? Do they have breakdowns with a few gang choruses or something? Do they do meth and coke at the same time? Could my GF jam to dis sheet?" I can give a tentative yes to the first of those things (and maybe that last one too), but that's only one of many interesting blends between these highly variable classes of headbang that you'll hear on Feel The Power. Tru-metal it ain't, but this album brings glam into the 21st century better than anything else I've had the pleasure of stuffing down my earholes, and that deserves a healthy stack o' kudos, because party metal this good is NOT something you'll find just lying around. The two best examples of what I'm talking about here are illustrated oh-so-succintly in slam-dunk opener 'Deathwish' and the anthemic stampede of a closer 'Sleepless Nights'. The former's led by a deliciously layered call-and-reponse refrain and a helluva double kick and the latter is a near-Iron Maiden level melodic gallop that erupts into two utterly sublime guitar solos at the midpoint bridge. Anyway, what separates this gem from the rest of the rockpile is the curious yet engrossing contrast between two very different paradigms of metal (contemporary metalcore and 80's styled hard rock/glam) and how these elements manage to play off one another in unexpected ways from song to song. Sometimes you'll get a chorus straight out the Killswitch Engage book of hooks set up against a Def Leppard wall-of-sound musical green screen, and sometimes you'll get something that sounds like Slave To The Grind meets Darkest Hour. Love it or hate it, you gotta give credit to these pioneers for taking ingredients that would normally sit rather awkwardly together on your musical shelf yet managing to make a pretty scrumptious sandwich out of them anyway. As I said before, there's only a handful of really great modern AOR and glam groups around today to keep the flame alive, but this band is a wonderfully inventive example of the sort of fun you can have with some good songs and a great musical premise to play with. Now get to 'em! ;) |
4. Dangerous Toys – Pissed (1994) For all intents and purposes, "hair" metal (and AOR as far as the mainstream were concerned) was completely dead in the water by 1994. Those longstanding L.A. Sunset Strip acts that had been snorting coke off strippers while swimming in giant jello pools only four years earlier were trying to change with the times and it wasn't working out so well (see Ultraphobic from Warrant or Dawn from Danger Danger). And the super players like Ratt and Guns N' Roses? Either on hiatus or scrambling to find somewhere to fit themselves in the wake of the new grunge/alt. rock/boy band paradigm. However, if one kept an ear to the ground long enough...signs of life could still be heard. Glam only had the barest hint of a pulse at this point in the decade, but almost all of it was because of great outfits from other parts of the U.S. that simply didn't give a fuck about what was charting or what wasn't. Bands like Texas's resident sleaze pranksters Dangerous Toys for instance! Having a heavier, blues-rock n' roll edge to their sound than their Californian neighbors, these boys had one of the best debuts in the glam metalverse back in 1989. Led by the spastic, high energy vocals of Jason McMaster (founding singer of progressive thrash metal band Watchtower back in 1985) and one hell of a backing rhythm section, they would continue to kick ass all the way up to this album in 1994...albeit with some very bitter feelings toward the music industry and the "ADD riddled" population by the time they arrived to Pissed. Less polished and noticeably "heavier" than their debut and sophomore albums (which is ironic considering Pissed was produced by frequent Yes collaborator Billy Sherwood) this was an excellent bronze age set of headbangers that was let loose unto the world...and then promptly ignored by radio stations and the media. But hey, that's cool. Great music gets forgotten all the time. Half a century from now when glam comes back in style, people will look back on facesmashing classics like the title track, 'Paintrain', 'Illustrated Man' and the smooth pickin' 'Hard Luck Champion' as the masterpieces they are, and everyone and their robot clones/overlords will be covering them at an H.R. Giger bar near you. I'll even bet you that space freighters truckin' between here and Jupiter will be blasting their Trans-Ams to the flow of 'Oh Well, So What!" and its flesh eating punk-blues riff as they charge their hyperdrives. And I, in my cybernetic wheelchair-car as an elder statesman for all that is heavy metal, smooth jazz, progressive rock and chocolate covered ants, will probably still be jamming this as a harem of beautiful women descend their pleasures upon me....and make me forget, at least for 40+ minutes, that I'm living in a future full of robot clones. :thumb: |
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3. T-Ride – T-Ride (1992) A brilliant beginning to a story that ended far too soon, this funk metal/glam metal hybrid slice of awesomeness is a true blue example of what happens when you bring a beer keg three hours late to the party. It may be the best friggin' brew on the planet, but by the time you arrive there everyone has already had their fill. And in the world of contemporary heavy metal, 1992 was very late indeed to be trying to combine the majesty of Queen, the production of Def Leppard and the funky fire of Primus into a singular, muscular sound that radio audiences could still eat up. Still, you can't help but be a little bit amazed once you take a bite out of T-Ride's one and only LP. For starters, you have Geoff Tyson on lead guitar...the ONLY person on the planet besides Steve Vai to graduate from the tutelage of Joe Satriani with flying colors. You also had Eric Valentine on the drums and producing, a really talented guy who would later go on to work with Queens Of The Stone Age, Slash and even Third Eye Blind on their '97 debut. Couple these two powerhouses with the snarling machine gun vocals and bass skillz of Dan Arlie...and that's some sweet mofo magic you just can't top easily. Furthermore, this is a bona fide glam metal album you can dance too without any problem whatsoever...and yet it's still heavy as ****, as the propulsive pair of 'I Hunger' and utterly delirious 'Hit Squad' demonstrate in spades. Despite the vestiges of a reverby 80's production job threatening to smother the proceedings, the sheer manic glee that these three virtuosos brought to the studio is infectious, and nothing overstays its welcome. Even the power-pop tinged opening number 'Zombies From Hell' is only 4 and a half minutes long...and that's the longest thing you'll find here. Brevity may not always be desired in an album, but with the whole album only clocking 35 minutes from start to stop, you can appreciate how they can maintain a high level of energy and throw in some cool details for variety's sake simultaneously. Even if early 90's funk/alternative metal doing the tango with super slick L.A. hair metal seems like something you'd care to do without, I assure you all that this sucker has so much going for it that you'd be doing yourselves a disservice if you don't give it a fair shake. Do you really think it would make it to #3 on this list otherwise? Party on! :beer: |
2. Harem Scarem – Mood Swings (1993) Some people tell me I don't give enough of my ant-eating love to Canada. And...they are probably right. But I'll let you folks in on a little secret: my favorite glam metal album from the 90's onwards, which is also one of the best hard rock albums that nobody seems to know about...is, in fact, the sophomore release of one of the better non-Rush Canadian bands to come out of that era. That 1993 release, Mood Swings, is a truly strange outing that managed the difficult task of bridging the excess of the 80's with the then in-vogue grungy "alternative" rock that was dominating radio at the time, and as far as I know its one of maybe two or three albums from the first half of the 90's that really nails that elusive middle ground. It only charted high in Canada and (interestingly enough) Japan, but the ingredients for the album's appeal are obvious from the first time you spin opening number 'Saviors Never Cry' or the "big" single 'No Justice' that immediately follows: huge guitar dynamics, propulsive and immediate hooks and a surprising amount of variation going on throughout the low-end. Lead vocalist Harry Hess (formally of heavy metal band Blind Vengeance) and his virtuoso guitarist counterpart Pete Lesperance have a killer songwriting and performance chemistry. Out of the 11 songs here, only one isn't an immediate winner...and that's pretty rare considering there are "classic albums" out there that fall into average territory once you take out the key singles that got them attention in the first place. Perhaps the funniest thing about Mood Swings though is that even twenty years later, Harem Scarem themselves haven't been able to recreate it nor top it. Hell, just this past year they re-recorded the album for no reason and released it as "Mood Swings II". And, as you can guess, it's pretty meh. Despite having state of the art production values, you can't bottle lightning twice. Hell, most bands can't even bottle it once... Just take my word for it, check out a few songs, and pick this album up amigos. Heavy yet poptastic perfection like this shouldn't be forgotten! |
1. Work Of Art – Artwork (2008) Whether you realize it or not, you subconsciously have a pecking order in your mind for the genres and music scenes you care about. Perhaps you are someone who loves modern thrash but doesn't care for blackened grindcore. Maybe you follow the comings and goings of various European DJs in progressive house. Maybe you are someone who only loves outlaw country and noise pop but can't stand progressive rock...or albums like the one I'm about to review here. Whatever your poison, we are all aware of the bands and artists in their little stylistic corners of the world that stand heads and shoulders above others in the arena. Maybe they have an energy that eludes their peers, or perhaps there's something special to the songs themselves or even the way they put on a live performance. You rank them & prioritize them in your head without even realizing it. But all you had to do was hear them once and you knew they were magic. It didn't take 20 listens. It just took one. For AOR and 80's-centric rock enthusiasts like myself, Work Of Art were that magic bullet in 2008. They formed in 1992 in Sweden, but didn't release their debut album Artwork until founding guitar virtuoso Robert Sall managed to convince an unknown but insanely talented singer named Lars Sasfund to quit his day job and front the music he was writing. It took fifteen years of fanagling, but eventually stars aligned and Lars decided to throw in his lot with the band. Things got moving quickly after that: The suits at Frontiers Records only had to hear a single demo before immediately signing them in 2007. It only takes a few seconds into opening number 'Why Do I?" to make you think that fifteen years of Sall painstakingly sharpening his songwriting as he fruitlessly tried to recruit Lars into the fold was actually to our (the audience's) benefit. These guys have a terrific, absolutely cracking sense of melody, and its only made better once Lars and his charismatic voice take the spotlight. By the time 'Maria' and the fantastic 'Camelia' arrive, the band's source of musical inspiration suddenly becomes very clear: its late 70's/early 80's Toto! It really is an uncanny resemblance to the nth degree, and you kinda want to applaud them: Toto are a MUCH harder group to emulate than, say, Journey or Survivor. If the songwriting was weak in any way, such a comparison would be fairly eerie, but Work Of Art managed to beat the masters at their own game here in two specific ways. Firstly, some of the stuff here is heavier than their primary influence: listen to that spacy, surprisingly modern axework on 'Cover Me' or the swaggering 'Lost Without Your Love'. Secondly, Toto never put out an album from start to finish besides their self-titled where the killer hooks just kept comin' from beginning to end. Hell, Artwork has so many stellar choruses and bridges from song-to-song that its almost overwhelming the first time you spin it, but that's such a great problem for an album to have ya know? Normally people complain about the opposite (too many songs, not enough memorability). Hell, they even save the best for last: with it's ominous chords and huge riff, 'One Hour' is one of the coolest closing songs I've ever heard on a non-concept record in any genre. In closing: this album (and more specifically this band) is the pinnacle of AOR in the modern era, and while they manage to keep topping themselves (2011's In Progress is also a melodic monster, and this year's Framework is going to kick ass too), nobody else comes close. |
I was mightily impressed with Work of Art (as I didn't know them before) and they definitely capture that Toto essence and I need to check out this album and more of their stuff.
Looking forward to your next journal topic as I see this one has now finished. |
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I've got a few ideas for my next "series", but I think I'll spotlight some movies, video games, etc. before that. |
Of all the feelings I could feel when watching a movie for the first time, nostalgia is definitely among the rarest. I've seen director Jim Mickle at work before, but this is the first time he's pulled off something near-magical behind the lens. Watching this Michael C. Hall led thriller vehicle (which also features the magnificent Don Johnson and a surprisingly taciturn Sam Shepard), the feeling that I'm watching some lost collaboration between early 80's John Carpenter and the Coen Brothers is striking indeed. The fever dream cinematography, unsettled pacing and synth-heavy score are such obvious calling cards to the former that I had to pinch myself a few times to realize it wasn't one of my favorite directors at work, and yet there's a strange quirky balance between the unfolding drama, violence and understated dialogue between the cast to make me think just as much of the Coens. And let me tell ya, it's not a bad blend at all. Without spoiling too much, Hall plays a Texan family man in 1989 who wakes up one night to find a masked intruder in his house. After shooting and killing the intruder, he becomes the talk of the town and eventually runs into the man's father...who has just gotten out of prison and isn't happy that his son is dead. You think you know the rest of the story from this point on...and yet you really don't. Things get quite interesting from here on out. :D One thing I really love about this film is how it really nails the late 80's in mideast Texas to a T. The look, the way people dress, the music on the radio...they really turned the clock back to '89. The script, while not perfect, is also played out without your typical plot contrivances to drive the story. Very organic without making too much of a fuss about transition. When the violence does arrive, it is rather striking in it's bloodthirstiness, and you like it because it wasn't announced with a thousand trumpeting harbingers beforehand. You don't need to be sold some imitation of tension to believe there's lives on the line: you get it without having to be told. Special kudos really need to be given to Johnson here: he really steals the show once he comes into the overall picture. I've seen him in a lot of things, but his charisma is just bleeding out like crazy here. I'm not really cut out to be a film critic truth be told, but a movie with this much inner vitality and composure is a treat when the moon is right. I lament that Carpenter himself hasn't done a film like this in what feels like eternity, but I suppose the vengeful ghost of one of my favorites eras is better than nothing at all in 2014. |
4 Pieces Of Cool Music Trivia You Probably Didn't Know Quote:
To this as a solo artist- -is definitely the sign of someone who has a ridiculous level of uncanny talent. Now THAT, amigos, is true blue eclecticism. Quote:
-to a career resulting in millions of album sales in the "New Age' oriented ambient world from the late 80's all the way to the present day. Brilliant stuff in its own right, but you wouldn't think this is the same guy would ya? Quote:
But again, listen to this and tell me that a Daryl Hall-fronted King Crimson might not have been pretty cool eh? Quote:
Derek Shulman was the frontman and eldest of the three Shulman brothers who formed underdog progressive rock band Gentle Giant back in 1969-70. Most of you are probably vaguely familiar with albums like Octopus, The Power And The Glory, etc. even if you don't like progressive rock much, as the music was, indeed, genuinely progressive, interesting and even catchy in some ways. Twelve albums over 10 years is nothing to sneeze at, but GG never had the same level of exposure or success as Yes, Genesis or ELP did during the decade. By 1980 the band was completely out of juice, and broke up quietly after Civilian tanked commercially. In a bizarre stroke of irony however, Derek ended up becoming rich in the music industry after all...just not as the frontman for a groundbreaking band. He ended up becoming the main A&R rep for PolyGram Records...and eventually CEO of both Atco Records AND Roadrunner Records down the line. The list of bands he has ended up signing and turning into multi-platinum successes, including everyone from Pantera to Dream Theater to Slipknot and even friggin' Nickelback (blergh), is absolutely mindboggling. It just goes to show you kids: even if you get booed off the stage at a 1972 Black Sabbath concert as the opening act, you can be rest assured that someday you'll sign Bon Jovi and laugh your ass all the way to the bank. :tramp: |
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http://colectivofuturo.com/wp-conten...lbum-cover.jpg BADBADNOTGOOD - III (2014) Someone could just as easily refer this to "the hipster's introduction to fusion" and I'd be like "Well...yeah, but everyone's gotta start somewhere". That said, love the variety here and how meticulously it flows from one cut to the next. Big step up from the first two albums. 3.5/5 http://www.blackwirerecords.com/wp-c...ke-Jehu-LP.jpg Drive Like Jehu - Drive Like Jehu (1991) One of the big original influencers of a lot of today's catchier math rock that I dig, and it definitely rips. Love the axework especially! Sorry I was so late to the party guyz111 4/5 http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xSi4YeH0hj..._Metalhead.jpg Saxon - Metalhead (1999) I've been revisiting various eras of heavy metal pioneers Saxon for the last few weeks, but Metalhead was their only 90's album I'd never spent any quality time with previously. Glad I rectified that: its a grand, very punchy yet "proggy" production coupled with some of the best traditional metal songwriting in their entire career. Diamond in the rough for sure. 5/5 http://www.prog-sphere.com/wp-conten...of-Silence.jpg Anubis - A Tower Of Silence (2011) Not all prog is created equal unfortunately. Has some fine Pink Floydian moments (the sax in 'The Holy Innocent' and the beautifully arranged title track) but if there's one thing I'm not big on in rock-related music, its plodding around without any dynamics or cool ideas. The best prog can capture your imagination for a half hour in one shot and still manage to throw in some sugary hooks or a baddass motif that the song revolves about like planets around the sun: not so here. 2.5/5 |
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Edge Of Sanity - Crimson II (2003) Funny thing about Dan Swanö: as great as everything he's done with Edge Of Sanity is, I've heard his solo stuff, collaborations with others and all that jazz...and a lot of it is surprisingly boring, tedious or a combination of the two. It just goes to show you: some of us are meant to deliver pizza, some of us are meant to be leaders of industry, and some of us are meant to only create masterpieces under a single, inseparable moniker in our basements. And make no mistake: I love death metal and progressive rock whether they are together or separate, but Dan was the first guy to try bringing them together in the early 90's in a coherent dazzling fashion...atleast a year or so in fact before a certain other group that starts with and O and ending with a Peth would try to do the same thing (I love them too, but that's a story for another day). What I'm trying to get at here is that Dan Swanö is one of the few people in metal since the 80's who can make a legitimate claim to actually doing something completely new and pushing the ball forward in some way, and all you have to do is listen to something like 1992's Unorthodox, 1996's Crimson or its sequel record here to experience the difference firsthand. Huge pummeling production combined with early Dream Theater-esque keyboard runs? An uncommonly organic mix of clean and death vocals that doesn't come off as pandering to one type of audience or the other? Crimson II is a potent, compelling mixture of all these seemingly incompatible elements and yet manages to make it work. Perhaps the thing I love most about this album is Dan's obsessive attention to detail: even the best classic death metal bands sometimes sacrificed range and dynamics in favor of a relentless energy, but this record homes in on your ears like a carefully guided missile and doesn't overstay its welcome. The keyboard work in particular serves a melodic role that you rarely hear in death metal, and like good classical pieces features a variety of recurring musical motifs (like the circular riff that shows up in 'Incantation' and 'Face To Face'). As a big fan of Dissection, Emperor and their more obscure ilk, I love extreme metal that engages you via multiple sonic avenues. A strong juxtaposition of violence and melodicism is my ideal poison, and for anyone who wants a taste of the same this minor classic gets my highest recommendation. This final release from EoS was pretty much a one-man job too: give credit where credit's due! Oh, and there's a great complicated comic bookish degenerate sci-fi backstory behind this and the first album from '96, so that's some icing on the cake for anyone who likes a good narrative flow. :hphones: |
Some specific spotlighting in 2014 metal (so far). AKA, my impressions on a bunch of great albums all in one shot! :wavey: Quote:
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Yay! Metal Month II has extended beyond the boundaries of The Playlist of Life! Great job Ant and cool reviews: maybe I'll grab one of those albums for the show. Which would you suggest? I'm thinking Sanctuary, for some reason...
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Ah, work, work, work! ;)
http://imageenvision.com/450/19389-s...t-by-djart.jpg |
^ Have I ever led you astray? You should have faith in my recommendations at this point amigo. :beer:
Anyway, time for some moar metulz- Quote:
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Well, after taking a relatively short hiatus due to being a busy bee in real life (running your own business ain't no cakewalk), I'm back to announce my journal's next theme for awhile, a "style" of music I am intricately well versed in. I will be covering interesting songs, stories from the "scene" as well as laying down my top 30 albums or so in the fantastic, wonderful genre known as...
...AKA, Westcoast-AOR. Stay tuned. ;) |
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