Monthly Archives: May 2010
NONPOINT – Miracle
Nonpoint – Miracle (2010, Rocket Science Ventures/954 Records)
1. “Shadow” … 3:29
2. “Miracle” … 3:44
3. “Crazy” … 3:34
4. “Frontlines” … 3:29
5. “Looking Away” … 3:00
6. “Electricity” … 2:40
7. “What You’ve Got For Me” … 3:31
8. “Throwing Stones” … 3:56
9. “5 Minutes Alone” … 5:48
10. “What I’ve Become” … 3:23
11. “Dangerous Waters” … 3:28
12. “Lucky #13″ … 3:25
13. “Dead Soul” … 4:19
Band:
Elias Soriano – Lead Vocals
Ken Charman – Bass, Backing Vocals
Robb Rivera – Drums, Percussion
Zach Broderick – Guitar
Additional Musicians:
Chad Gray – Vocals on “Miracle”
Producer: Chad Gray & Greg Tribbett
This is the type of album I might have picked up 10 years ago when I had a more open mind when it came to what type of rock I was willing to listen to. Honestly, had this album not been passed along to me, I would not have picked it up. I’m just not much of a fan of alternative rock/metal these days.
Speaking of ten years ago, that’s exactly when this album sounds like it was made. I have never followed Nonpoint’s career so I cannot compare Miracle to their previous albums but this sounds exactly like an album that could have come out in the late ’90s or early ’00s. That’s not necessarily a knock on the music, really depends on your musical tastes. I know I love it when a band like Scorpions or Ratt release an album that sounds similar to their earlier days so I’m sure longtime Nonpoint fans will not be disappointed by familiar chugging alt-metal riffs of Miracle.
For my own tastes, Miracle actually turned out to be a decent album but it is the song “Miracle” that is the album’s superstar track. The only part of the song that I don’t care for is when Mudvayne/Hellyeah vocalist Chad Gray cameos and goes all nu-metal on us with some harsh vocals but other than that the song is good and was a fine choice as the lead single (the song got up to #22 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock charts). “5 Minutes Away” is another top track. It’s a really catchy anthem full of the anger that the alternative metal scene is known for.
Another song that deserves being singled out is “Dead Soul”. It is a hidden song that starts up about 9 minutes and 54 seconds into Track 12. It’s a piano-based ballad with a bluesy feel that I found myself really digging. I’m not sure why the band would choose to “hide” something so good, especially when it’s very unique compared to the rest of the album.
Miracle is chock full of the heavy riffs and alt-metal anthems that it takes to get played on modern rock radio. Anyone that really enjoys alternative metal will probably enjoy this disc a lot and even as someone who isn’t the biggest fan of that genre, I can say there’s a couple of worthwhile moments on this album.
Highlights: “Shadow”, “Miracle”, “Looking Away”, “5 Minutes Alone”, “Dead Soul”
McAULEY SCHENKER GROUP – Save Yourself
McAuley Schenker Group – Save Yourself (1989, Capitol Records)
1. “Save Yourself” … 6:16
2. “Bad Boys” … 4:05
3. “Anytime” … 5:46
4. “Get Down To Bizness” … 4:23
5. “Shadow Of The Night” … 5:22
6. “What We Need” … 4:15
7. “I Am Your Radio” … 4:49
8. “There Has To Be Another Way” … 1:40
9. “This Is My Heart” … 5:01
10. “Destiny” … 4:35
BONUS TRACK
11. “Take Me Back” … 4:51
Band:
Robin McAuley – Vocals
Michael Schenker – Guitar
Steve Mann – Guitar, Keyboards
Rocky Newton – Bass
Bodo Schopf – Drums
Producer: Frank Filipetti
I’m working back through the McAuley era of Michael Schenker’s career (I started with 1991′s M.S.G.) and Save Yourself is another solid slice of melodic hard rock. I prefer the M.S.G. album but there’s a still a few choice cuts here like the minor hit “Anytime”. It’s easily the album’s best song and is a fine example of what good things could come out of the pop metal genre in the late ’80s. I also like the other two singles this album spawned: “This Is My Heart” is another great commercial rocker and “Save Yourself” is a high energy number. ”Take Me Back” was a bonus track exclusive to the CD version of the album and it’s pretty darn good.
The trend with McAuley Schenker seems to be an effort to fit in with the glossy hard rock scene of the day, thus Michael Schenker seems content to lay low for the most part but the instrumental “There Has To Be Another Way” shows particular fire and reminds me of Schenker’s earlier works. Robin McAuley again delivers a good performance with his gravelly voice.
As I mentioned earlier, this album isn’t as good as M.S.G., there are a few songs here I consider filler like “Bad Boys” and “Get Down To Bizness”. Looking at the song titles, you would not be incorrect to assume they are fairly generic pop metal numbers.
Still, all told, this is a good album. It’s a shame this group only managed to squeak out a few minor hits, three studio albums and one live release. Robin and Michael made for a good pair.
Highlights: “Save Yourself”, “Anytime”, “Shadow Of The Night”, “There Has To Be Another Way”, “This Is My Heart”, “Take Me Back”
http://www.michaelschenkerhimself.com
http://www.myspace.com/michaelschenkerhimself
http://www.robinmcauley.com/
http://www.myspace.com/robin_mcauley
ALEXX CALISE – In Avanti
Alexx Calise – In Avanti (2010, self-released)
1. “Anything Goes” … 3:37
2. “Break Me” … 3:37
3. “Cry” … 3:12
4. “Get Used To It” … 3:36
5. “Good Enough (The Dirty South Mix)” … 3:09
6. “My Song (Version 2.0)” … 3:09
7. “Out of Sight” … 3:34
8. “Saying Goodbye” … 3:37
9. “See You Again” … 4:30
Last year I reviewed Alexx Calise’s 2007 release Morning Pill. It was a good collection of radio-ready rock and pop and In Avanti is more of the same. Actually, I’m enjoying In Avanti a lot more Morning Pill, it’s just a stronger record that speaks volumes of Ms. Calise’s growth as a singer, musician and songwriter and is full of hooks and melodies that keep me coming back for more. I said in the past that Alexx was at her best when rocking out and luckily that’s what she does throughout most of this release. The album only slows down a bit for the ballads “Cry”, “Out of Sight” and “See You Again” but they are all well done, so it’s not a problem.
There’s really no reason this album shouldn’t gain Alexx even more attention. The album is made up of songs that are what I like to call “hard rock pop”. The songs are heavy enough to be considered rock songs and get on modern rock radio but they also have slick electronica dance beats that would make them sound right at home on the pop stations. It’s quite a balancing act that Alexx has mastered. My favorite tracks would have to be “Anything Goes” which was a great choice to open the album and go full throttle right from the start and “Out of Sight”, which reminds me of Evanescence.
Oh and if you’ve listened to Morning Pill and think ”My Song (Version 2.0)” seems familiar, you’re right. It is an updated version of “My Song”. Often times when an artist revisits and updates past songs, it doesn’t work but his version is an improvement, it’s a powerful club rocker.
At nine songs, Alexx Calise does not wear out her welcome and leaves you wanting more. I wish more albums would be this lean! She is becoming quite the accomplished singer just as capable to sound pretty over dance & pop beats as she is to let her voice soar over crunching guitars. Anyone who doesn’t mind a modern sound and enjoys melodic hard rock should find this an enjoyable listen.
Highlights: “Anything Goes”, “Cry”, “Get Used To It”, “Good Enough (The Dirty South Mix)”, “My Song (Version 2.0)”, “Out of Sight”
My thoughts on the 2010 Revolver Golden Gods Awards
This was the second annual Revolver Golden Gods Awards and the first to be broadcast on VH1 Classic (was the first on Fuse TV?). The awards took place in April and aired last night on VH1 Classic at 10PM as a one-hour special. Revolver is a hard rock & heavy metal magazine based in the U.S. I’ve never bought an issue but just by flipping through it a few times in the last couple of years, they seem to focus more on the current metal scene than anything else but don’t come across as a genre band-riding fanzine like other U.S. metal mags Metal Edge, Circus or Hit Parader have.
I knew “Golden Gods” sounded familiar. Apparently this awards show is going to co-exist with the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards (both magazines are owned by Future Publishing, which also publishes the amazing Classic Rock magazine). Both shows have similar categories but their nominees aren’t always the same. Basically, the Revolver show caters more to America and Metal Hammer more to England. I can understand that as there’s often a big difference between both countries in terms of rock and metal preferences but I think having them both billed as “Golden Gods Awards” is a bit confusing and unnecessary. I guess they’re betting on fans in both countries to not care enough about the other to realize there are two of these shows.
The show itself was okay but the editing was HORRIBLE. I’m sure this event easily was about three hours in length so why they decided to chop it down to one hour of “highlights” is beyond me. There was so much jumping around it was annoying, no segment had time to breathe. As soon as a band was done playing, the show clipped to the next batch of presenters rambling off the list nominees.
In my opinion, an event that brings together Chris Jericho (host), Andrew W.K. (host), Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Slash, Ozzy, Ronnie James Dio, Vinnie Paul, Lemmy, Dave Grohl, Dave Mustaine, Jerry Cantrell, Zakk Wylde, Joey Vera, Rob Halford, Kerry King, et cetera, et cetera is a HUGE event and should be treated like such. The whole set up was cheap looking and was not helped by the intimate little venue it was booked to be held in. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the idea of the Golden Gods, I LOVE that VH1 Classic aired it, I just wish better care was given to the editing and the production of the show in general. Hopefully, the show did decent numbers and Future will pump a little more money into the show next year.
I guess I shouldn’t be too harsh on an awards show that is only in it’s second year but it would really help if they took the time to explain what the categories were all about and what they meant. Obviously “best guitarist” is self-explantory but one example is the actual Golden God Award. There was no build up given to this award. Ozzy announced what the award was the handed it over to Rob Halford. TELL US WHAT IT MEANS! In addition to that, another cool feature would have been maybe some clips of Halford footage and a narration telling us why Rob deserved to be “honored” with this award. Things like that go a long way in making the show and the individual awards feel special. This goes for all the awards. Show some clips of the best guitarist shredding, show a graphic of each nominated album of the year as you’re reading the list of nominees, etc. It’s pretty easy.
Again, the idea is great but the execution was lacking. Hopefully as the years go on, this will become a bigger and better hard rock & heavy metal awards show. They’ll know what worked, what didn’t work, hopefully get a bigger budget, hopefully get some more airtime on whatever station it ends up airing on.
Of note, the late, great Ronnie James Dio won Best Vocalist for his work in Heaven & Hell. How cool is that? This was Ronnie’s last public appearance and you couldn’t even tell he was sick. It’s so sad that just a few weeks after this was filmed the cancer took a turn for the worse and took Ronnie away from us.
Check out Ronnie accepting the award:
Complete list of winners:
Revolver Golden God Award: Rob Halford
Revolver Golden Gods Lifetime Achievement Award: Lemmy Kilmister
Album Of The Year: Alice In Chains – Black Gives Way To Blue
Best Vocalist: Ronnie James Dio
Best Guitarist: Zakk Wylde
Best Drummer: Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan
Best Live Band: Metallica
Comeback Of The Year: Alice In Chains
Best Underground Band: The Dillinger Escape Plan
Hottest Chick In Metal: Maria Brink
KING KOBRA – Thrill of a Lifetime
King Kobra – Thrill Of A Lifetime [Limited Mini LP Edition] (2008, Caroline Records)
Original Release: 1986, Capitol Records
1. “Second Time Around” … 4:09
2. “Dream On” … 4:29
3. “Feel The Heat” … 3:58
4. “Thrill Of A Lifetime” … 4:12
5. “Only The Strong Will Survive” … 4:00
6. “Iron Eagle (Never Say Die)” … 3:33
7. “Home Street Home” … 4:20
8. “Overnight Sensation” … 4:19
9. “Raise Your Hands To Rock” … 3:47
10. “Party Animal” … 3:58
Band:
Mark Free – Lead Vocals
David Micheal Philips – Guitar, Synthesizers, Backing Vocals
Mick Sweda – Guitar, Synthesizers, Backing Vocals
Johnny Rod – Bass, Backing Vocals
Carmine Appice – Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Producer: Carmine Appice, Duane Hitchings and Spencer Proffer
Whoa, whoa, whoa! What happened to the band that gave us hard rockin’ guilty pleasures like “Ready to Strike” and “Hunger”? For the most part, they seem to have disappeared. Not that Ready to Strike is a heavy metal classic. It’s pure ’80s pop metal cheese but still a very good debut, in my opinion. Thrill Of A Lifetime lacks the bite and venom of the debut. It’s synth-heavy AOR/melodic rock pop that signals where Mark “Marcie” Free’s heart really was. This was Mark’s last album with the band, he would go on to form AOR outfits Signal in 19891 and Unruly Child in 1992.
“Dream On” (no, not the Aerosmith song) is by far the album’s best song and would have been better served if it was given a harder edge. The rest, I’m sad to say is fairly generic ’80s AOR music. There’s more keyboards than guitars on this album it seems! UGH!
But wait! That’s not at all! There’s rapping. Yes, rapping. “Home Street Home” is rap rock. I’m assuming this was done to cash in on the success of the Run DMC/Aerosmith collaboration on “Walk This Way” (which was released the same year this album was). So yeah, if you’ve ever wanted to hear Mark Free rapping about living on the streets, this is an essential album for you.
For the rest of us? Hardcore AOR fans may find a few worthy tunes but anyone who really liked the hard rock direction of Ready to Strike will probably be disappointed by this venom-less effort. How can a song called “Party Animal” come off sounding so limp? At least the band was able to gain some credibility back with King Kobra III.
Familiar with this album for years, I finally bought a copy just to fill a hole in my collection. Pretty interesting edition as my version is a mini-LP. It was listed as such when I ordered it but I thought maybe that meant the insert was an exact replica of how the vinyl looked or whatever. Not so. The album comes in a cardboard sleeve that is bigger than your standard jewel case and inside that sleeve is another sleeve featuring a photo of the band standing on roller coaster tracks on the front and all the lyrics and credits on the back. An exact replica of the original LP release, I imagine.
Pretty cool issue but I’m surprised to see this done for such a cult band. You’d think it’d be a much cooler and popular idea for more successful acts. Sadly, they didn’t go all out and make the CD look like the actual vinyl record. How could they miss that step? I’ve seen that done before and it always looks cool.
Highlights: “Second Time Around”, “Dream On”, “Raise Your Hands To Rock”
PRETTY MAIDS – Pandemonium
Pretty Maids – Pandemonium (2010, Frontiers Records)
1. “Pandemonium” … 5:21
2. “I.N.V.U.” … 4:57
3. “Little Drops Of Heaven” … 4:37
4. “One World One Truth” … 4:19
5. “Final Day Of Innocence” … 4:16
6. “Cielo Drive” … 3:53
7. “It Comes At Night” … 4:16
8. “Old Enough To Know” … 4:16
9. “Beautiful Madness” … 4:03
10. “Breathless” … 4:00
11. “It Comes At Night (Remix)” … 5:46
Band:
Ronnie Atkins – Vocals
Ken Hammer – Guitars
Kenn Jackson – Bass
Allan Tschicaja – Drums
Morten Sandager – Keyboards
Producer: Jacob Hansen
Pretty Maids is yet another act I’ve been vaguely familiar with for years, having come across their name time and again, yet I’ve never checked them out. For some reason, my assumption was that they were an European power metal outfit which may play into why I never bothered with them. From what I’ve read on the band, they have employed that style on past albums but like Riot, they seem to hop around within the sub genres of rock and metal depending on the album. For Pandemonium, Pretty Maids have culled a sound that reminds me of bands like Mass and Picture — a combination of hard rock & traditional heavy metal with some AOR tunes thrown in and always a sense of melody.
It should come as no surprise that my two favorite tracks are amongst the heaviest and most metallic on this album. “Pandemonium” and “It Comes At Night” are simply outstanding heavy metal numbers that don’t skimp on the melody. “Old Enough to Know” is a good pop rock ballad number. ”Final Day Of Innocence” and “Breathless” are two equally good slices of pop meets rock. They almost sounds like latter day Def Leppard but, ya know, actually good.
Listening to this album, you wouldn’t know it was from a group that’s been around since the early ’80s. Pandemonium is full of energetic songs and expertly blends modern production with an ’80s influence for songwriting while also finding balance between heavy metal numbers and lighter melodic moments. I imagine this is well worth a listen for longtime Pretty Maids fans and for a newbie like myself it is equally worthwhile.
Highlights: “Pandemonium”, “I.N.V.U.”, “Final Day Of Innocence”, “It Comes At Night”, “Old Enough to Know”, “Breathless”
Ronnie James Dio – 1942-2010
When I woke up this morning and got online, I logged into my Google account and scrolled through the news that had piled up since last night in my Google Reader’s “Music” folder. Late last night news “broke” that Ronnie had passed away. Ronnie’s wife Wendy quickly laid those rumors to rest but added they were at a hospital and that Ronnie was not doing well at the moment. Fast forward to this afternoon and I am saddened and heartbroken to say that this early morning Ronnie passed away and unfortunately that is the truth.
The statement Wendy Dio issued to Blabbermouth.net:
Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45 a.m. [on Sunday] 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private goodbyes before he peacefully passed away.
Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all.
We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us.
Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss.
Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.
I know in the coming days and weeks there will be many touching tributes and words directed towards Ronnie James from family, friends and fans alike. In fact, many are already be posted online.
For myself, I must admit that up until just a few years ago, I wasn’t a huge fan of Dio’s music. I had no ill feelings towards his work but it never clicked with me despite owning a few Black Sabbath and solo albums: Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules, The Last In Line, Stand Up and Shout: The Dio Anthology. It wasn’t really until he reunited with Black Sabbath under the name of Heaven and Hell that I gave him (and Sabbath) a second chance. I started to immerse myself in the works of Sabbath, revisited those first two albums with Dio and fell in love with them. Then I began to pick up the rest of Dio’s solo work (only Intermission and Strange Highways elude me now) and just recently I picked up Rainbow’s Rising and Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll.
I won’t turn this into some retrospective, as I’m sure many of those are to come, but the guy had an amazing career dating as far back as 1958. It wasn’t until the early ’70s and the band Elf that the Ronnie James Dio the world knows and loves began to take shape. From there, he went on to front Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven and Hell. In short, if you’re not familiar with Ronnie’s discography then you’re missing out on some of the most essential and landmark rock and metal albums of all time.
I never got the chance to see Ronnie perform in person. Heaven and Hell came to nearby Detroit last summer but I didn’t go see them. It’s been a regret of mine ever since and obviously an even bigger regret now.
Dio has played a large part in my music obsession these last few years. His songs have dominated my playlist in the last year and because of this I’ve grown to feel a great connection and fondness for this man, who by all accounts, legitimately comes across as one of the nicest and most intelligent and articulated men in rock. No matter what band he was in at the very least you knew the album would be solid and it’s not hyperbole to say he’s one of the greatest rock vocalists of all time. No longer do I have a merely passing interest in all things Dio. He is one of my favorite singers and personalities in rock ‘n’ roll and Black Sabbath and Dio are two of my favorite bands of all time.
Literally just yesterday I was watching Dio’s Evil or Devine concert DVD courtesy of Netflix and now here I am writing about his passing. It’s all a bit hard to take. Ronnie had been battling stomach cancer since last year so I think everyone knew this outcome was a real possibility but it doesn’t lessen the impact or shock.
I don’t really know what else to say other than rest in peace, Ronnie James Dio. You will be missed greatly.
UPDATE:
A number of my metal blog brothers have posted their own thoughts & feelings on this tragic situation. Here are the links. I will post more as they come to my attention:
- http://heavymetaladdiction.com/2010/05/16/r-i-p-ronnie-james-dio/
- http://demolishmag.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/dio-r-i-p-reflections-on-a-metal-legend/
- http://hardrockhideout.com/2010/05/16/rest-in-peace-ronnie-james-dio-july-10-1942-may-16-2010/
- http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2010/05/remembering-ronnie-james-dio.html
- http://metalodyssey.wordpress.com/2010/05/16/ronnie-james-dio-rest-peacefully-and-rock-with-the-angels/
- http://themetalfiles.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/thanks-senor-dio/
- http://tokyo5.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/dio-rip/
Here is one of my most favorite songs that Dio ever sang on– Black Sabbath’s “I”. Amazing vocal performance.
WINGER – In The Heart Of The Young
Winger – In The Heart Of The Young (1990, Atlantic Records)
1. “Can’t Get Enuff” … 4:19
2. “Loosen Up” … 3:29
3. “Miles Away” … 4:12
4. “Easy Come Easy Go” … 4:04
5. “Rainbow in the Rose” … 5:33
6. “In the Day We’ll Never See” … 4:51
7. “Under One Condition” … 4:27
8. “Little Dirty Blonde” … 3:32
9. “Baptized by Fire” … 4:11
10. “You Are the Saint, I Am the Sinner” … 3:35
11. “In the Heart of the Young” … 4:38
Band:
Kip Winger – Lead Vocals, Bass, Keyboards
Reb Beach – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Paul Taylor – Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Rod Morgenstein – Drums, Percussion
Additional Musicians:
Paul Winger – Backing Vocals
Nate Winger – Backing Vocals
Chris Botti – Trumpet
Micheal Davis – Trombone
Producer: Beau Hill
For YEARS I’ve wanted this album and for two very big reasons: “Can’t Get Enuff” and “Easy Come Easy Go”. With my satisfaction with the recent Winger and Blackwood Creek albums I’ve gotten my hands on, I finally got around to picking up a used copy on Amazon.com for only a few dollars.
I knew going into this album that it was the least favored of all of Winger’s releases but I didn’t care because I wanted to own the album that had “Can’t Get Enuff” and “Easy Come Easy Go”! “Can’t Get Enuff” is probably my favorite Winger track and both of those songs are shining examples of pop-metal done right. What’s funny is that neither song was originally meant to be on the album. They were written and recorded at the last moment because it was decided (and rightfully so) that this album didn’t feature enough rockers. Actually, it’s not so much that there weren’t already rockers on this album, it’s that there weren’t enough quality rockers. These two last minute additions really do wonders for the album, in my opinion.
The first half of the album is extremely good. “Loosen Up” features the typical hair metal lyrics about sex but is a good rocker. “Miles Away” is a great ballad that was the band’s biggest hit, solely making this Winger’s best selling album. “Rainbow in the Rose” is a neat mid-tempo number that sees the band flexing their progressive muscles. While doing press for Karma, I recall Kip saying this song was meant to be their “Stairway to Heaven”. Not even close, buddy, but I still like it. “In the Day We’ll Never See” is another song with a progressive influence. It didn’t immediately stick out but I’ve grown to like it a lot.
The second half of the album is basically filler. “Under One Condition” is an awful ballad and is pure Top 40/Adult Contemporary drivel. “Little Dirty Blonde” gets back to typical hair metal fare but falls flat with me for some reason I can’t quite pinpoint. “Baptized By Fire” is an okay rocker but suffers from too much production and polish, same goes for “You Are the Saint, I Am the Sinner”. “In the Heart of the Young” tries to be an anthem for the youth of the world but going at such a slick mid-tempo pace, it doesn’t work. Just doesn’t have enough energy.
In the end, I have to agree with criticisms that this album suffers from overproduction. It’s not as if the first half of the album is raw but that the songs are strong and the production doesn’t affect them. It’s when you get to the second half of the album that Beau Hill’s work becomes way too obvious and hinders what is already weak material. Oh well, 6 out of 11 ain’t bad!
BTW – I LOVE the cover of this album. It looks like the poster for some ’80s scifi/fantasy movie.
Highlights: “Can’t Get Enuff”, “Loosen Up”, “Miles Away”, “Easy Come Easy Go”, “Rainbow in the Rose”, “In the Day We’ll Never See”
