Monthly Archives: October 2010
Bad City – Welcome to the Wasteland
Bad City – Welcome to the Wasteland (2010, Atlantic Records)
1. “Showdown in Central Park” … 4:40
2. “Take Me For A Ride” … 3:43
3. “Do You Believe In Rock N Roll” … 3:44
4. “Wildlife” … 4:17
5. “Fire In The Pouring Rain” … 3:56
6. “Call Paul Stanley” … 4:38
7. “Heatwave” … 3:34
8. “Look Out!” … 4:55
9. “Touch” … 3:36
10. “Straight To The Grave” … 4:01
Band:
Josh Caddy – Vocals
Max Perenchio – Guitar
Tom Schleiter – Guitar
Jake Serek – Bass
Kevin Kane – Drums
Producer: Johnny K
This band was completely under my radar until just a few weeks ago. You know the major labels are in trouble when they’re actually signing bands that sound like old school arena rock. I can’t believe Atlantic Records released this album in 2010! Let me state that this album is not a complete throwback to the ’80s though. The sleaze rock, pop-metal, power pop and stadium rock influence is felt throughout this album (check out those gang vocals and huge choruses!) but there is also a modern and alternative rock/pop sound to the group as well.
Put it this way, both Paul Stanley AND Billy Corrigan are championing this band and album as the best things to come along in rock music for quite some time, so that should tell you their sound doesn’t swing one way or another completely but what is complete about this album is the addictive hooks and infectious melodies. This album should appeal to a variety of rock fans. Songs like “Showdown in Central Park”, “Wildlife” (sleazy pop metal at its finest) and “Do You Believe in Rock and Roll” are for the ’80s rock/metal fan, “Call Paul Stanley” is a great rock ‘n’ roll anthem that would go down well in front a huge arena/stadium crowd, “Fire In The Pouring Rain”, “Touch” and “Heatwave” will appeal to fans of modern rock/pop.
Bad City is definitely a new band I intend to keep an eye. It’s a shame this album almost passed me by! I only discovered the band because someone posted a link to their “Wildlife” song on a message board. Typically for this kind of music these days, the album isn’t exactly burning up the charts but hopefully they’ll be around for years to come. Chock full o’ hooks and anthems, Welcome to the Wasteland is one of 2010′s best releases and sadly it will be ignored for the most part. Someone like KISS or Bon Jovi or Motley Crue need to have these guys open for them so they can get exposed to the right market and build a solid following.
Highlights: “Showdown in Central Park”, “Wildlife”, “Fire In The Pouring Rain”, “Call Paul Stanley”, “Heatwave”
http://www.myspace.com/badcitymusic
http://www.facebook.com/badcity
Obsession – Methods of Madness
Obsession – Methods of Madness (2000, Metal Mayhem Music)
Original Release: 1987, Capitol Records/Enigma Records
1. “Four Play/Hard to the Core” … 4:55
2. “High Treason” … 2:57
3. “For the Love of Money” … 5:11
4. “Killer Elite” … 4:04
5. “Desperate to Survive” … 5:56
6. “Methods of Madness” … 3:28
7. “Too Wild to Tame” … 4:45
8. “Always on the Run” … 3:30
9. “Panic in the Streets” … 5:14
Bonus Tracks
10. “Missing You” … 4:20
11. “Waiting For Your Call” … 4:52
Band:
Michael Vescera – Vocals
Art Maco – Guitar
Bruce Vitale – Guitar
Matt Karagus – Bass
Jay Mezias – Drums
Producer: Obsession and Brian Keane
Though I’m sure I probably ran across their name now and again (their name makes them sound like they’d be much heavier than what they are), it wasn’t until October 2006 that I got my real introduction to this band. Believe it or not — it’s all thanks to that super cheesy 1987 slasher flick Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers in which “Desperate to Survive” is featured. “Methods of Madness” and “Killer Elite” are included in Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland. Anyway, “Desperate to Survive” is a great heavy metal ballad and is easily my favorite song on the album but the rest of the tracks are no slouches either! “For the Love of Money” and “Killer Elite” are top notch songs as well.
The album is just great ’80s metal all around with great guitars and great vocals by Vescera (who would sing for Ynwgie Malmsteen and Loudness not too long after this). Even the bonus tracks for the Metal Mayhem reissue are very good. The only complain I have about the reissue is the lame cropped cover and border. To all of you who plan on reissuing albums — STOP DOING THIS. It’s so lame and makes these covers look so ugly. I’m not even sure what the point of it is. Just leave the original cover as is or if you feel you absolutely have to signify it’s a reissue, follow what the Judas Priest reissues and put a thin color border around the album art.
Though I can’t speak for the rest of the band’s catalog yet, Methods of Madness is certainly a lost ’80s metal classic. This band should’ve made it big, it’s sad they didn’t make another album after this one until 2006! Well worth seeking out.
Highlights: “For the Love of Money”, “Killer Elite”, “Desperate to Survive”, “Too Wild to Tame”, “Panic in the Streets”, “Missing You”, “Waiting For Your Call”
http://www.theobsession.net/
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=132897576067
Like this:
Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath [Remastered] (1987, Warner Bros. Records)
Original Release: 1970, Warner Bros. Records
1. “Black Sabbath” … 6:20
2. “The Wizard” … 4:24
3. “Wasp”/”Behind the Wall of Sleep”/”Bassically”/”N.I.B.” … 9:45
4. “Wicked World” … 4:47
5. “A Bit of Finger”/”Sleeping Village”/”Warning” … 14:15
Band:
Ozzy Osbourne – Vocals, Harmonica
Tony Iommi – Guitar
Geezer Butler – Bass
Bill Ward – Drums
Producer: Rodger Bain
I hate when songs are combined onto one track. This seems to be a common practice with albums from the early ’70s. What is the point? This is a 5-track CD that could’ve easily been made into 10 (even though a few are instrumentals). The UK Vertigo Records release of this album didn’t combine songs onto one track so why did Warner?
Anyway, this is yet another album that is so classic and influential it’s been talked to death already so what can I really add? “Black Sabbath” is a purely evil sounding song and you can here the complete heavy metal genre stemming from it. “The Wizard” features the band’s blues roots, coming off like a Led Zeppelin rocker. Of course, “N.I.B.” is another classic as well in which you can here the song’s influence in many other metal bands. The rest of the album furthermore displays the blueprint for a number of different metal genres like doom metal and stoner metal.
I can’t say this album is a favorite of mine (the Ozzy years have never been my preference), but this album’s power and impact and legacy cannot be denied. One of the most important rock albums of all time.
Highlights: “Black Sabbath”, “The Wizard”, “N.I.B.”
Ozzy Osbourne – The Ultimate Sin
Ozzy Osbourne – The Ultimate Sin [Remastered] (1995, Epic Records)
Original Release: 1986, Epic Records
1. “The Ultimate Sin” … 3:45
2. “Secret Loser” … 4:08
3. “Never Know Why” … 4:27
4. “Thank God for the Bomb” … 3:53
5. “Never” … 4:17
6. “Lightning Strikes” … 5:16
7. “Killer of Giants” … 5:41
8. “Fool Like You” … 5:18
9. “Shot in the Dark” … 4:16
Band:
Ozzy Osbourne – Vocals
Jake E. Lee – Guitar
Phil Soussan – Bass
Randy Castillo – Drums
Additional Musicians:
Mike Moran – Keyboards
An okay album that, despite the very metal looking original cover, is firmly dwelling in the realm of commercial (pop) metal. It’s a slice of cheese pizza loaded with Parmesan. If you don’t believe me, all you need to do is look at photos of Ozzy and his band from this time. I’ve always thought Ozzy looked ridiculous with that blonde hair and sequined, sparkly robes and pants.
The album starts off pretty good and promising with the catchy “The Ultimate Sin” and “Secret Loser” but falls apart over the course of the next three tracks. The action picks up again with “Lightning Strikes” and “Killer of Giants” (which was the original title of the album) and ends with “Shot in the Dark”, the real reason I bought this album. I’ve always loved that song and it’s probably my favorite Ozzy song, period. On this remastered edition (yes, again with the awful border on the cover), “Shot in the Dark” has been edited down for some reason.
Basically, despite a few cool songs, this is just another Ozzy album to me and I only bought it because I own pretty much everything else Sabbath-related and I was able to get this for just a few bucks.
Highlights: “The Ultimate Sin”, “Secret Loser”, “Lightning Strikes”, “Killer of Giants”, “Shot in the Dark”
http://www.ozzy.com
http://www.facebook.com/ozzyosbourne
http://www.myspace.com/ozzyosbourne
Metal Church – Metal Church
Metal Church – Metal Church (1985, Elektra Records)
1. “Beyond the Black” … 6:23
2. “Metal Church” … 5:03
3. “Merciless Onslaught” … 2:54
4. “Gods of Wrath” … 6:41
5. “Hitman” … 4:39
6. “In the Blood” … 3:31
7. “(My Favorite) Nightmare” … 3:12
8. “Battalions” … 4:53
9. “Highway Star” … 4:39
Band:
David Wayne – Vocals
Kurdt Vanderhoof – Guitar
Craig Wells – Guitar
Duke Erickson – Bass
Kirk Arrington – Drums
Producer: Metal Church and Terry Date
I have owned Metal Church’s second album, The Dark, for YEARS. For whatever reason, I was never a fan of it but constant praise for this group has convinced me to start from the very beginning. And what an album this debut is! Classic metal through and through as the band uses a more melodic brand of thrash and speed metal while also employing power metal as well.
Songs like “Beyond the Black”, “Metal Church” and “Battalions” are out and out metal classics that I have lived far too long without. They even do a great amped up version of “Highway Star”. It’s amazing that even with just this one album, the band wasn’t able to become metal superstars. They were even on the same label as Metallica… why didn’t this work out ?!? And that cover? Man, that cover is one of the most metal and evil looking album covers of all time!
Again, this is one of those great classic metal albums where I’m really at a loss for words other than to say that I think it’s great. I’ve even ordered a few more Church CDs and plan on revisiting The Dark in the near future.
Highlights: “Beyond the Black”, “Metal Church”, “Gods of Wrath”, “Battalions”, “Highway Star”
http://metalchurchmusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/metalchurch
W.A.S.P. – Still Not Black Enough
W.A.S.P. – Still Not Black Enough [Remastered] (2001, Metal-Is Records)
Original Release: 1995, Raw Power
1. “Still Not Black Enough” … 4:02
2. “Somebody to Love” … 2:50
3. “Black Forever” … 3:17
4. “Scared To Death” … 5:02
5. “Goodbye America” … 4:46
6. “Keep Holding On” … 4:04
7. “Rock And Roll To Death” … 3:44
8. “Breathe” … 3:44
9. “I Can’t” … 3:07
10. “No Way Out Of Here” … 3:39
Band:
Blackie Lawless – Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Sitar
Bob Kulick – Guitar
Frankie Banali – Drums
Additional Musicians:
Mark Joesphson – Violin
Stet Howland – Percussion
Tracey Whitney – Backing Vocals
K.C. Calloway – Backing Vocals
Producer: Blackie Lawless
Being a mid-90s W.A.S.P. album, I wasn’t expecting much from Still Not Black Enough, which really isn’t fair because Blackie came come up with at least a few decent tunes every album. The album was originally intended to be a solo album for Blackie but he later decided to put the W.A.S.P. name on it (for purely financial reasons, I’m sure).
Regardless of the name on the cover, it’s always going to have a hard time NOT sounding like W.A.S.P. because Blackie IS W.A.S.P. It really doesn’t matter who is backing him up, it’s Blackie’s band and he’s the sole creative driving force so solo or not, there’s a certain sound any of his albums are gonna have. I’ve always found this especially true when it comes to the drumming.
There’s a couple of songs that are most definitely W.A.S.P.y — “Still Not Black Enough”, “Black Forever” and “No Way Out of Here”, and the cover of Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody to Love” are obvious W.A.S.P. rockers but there’s some nice variety to this album as well. “Keep Holding On” and “Breath” are tender ballads you definitely wouldn’t expect from any album labeled as W.A.S.P., but they are cool tunes and show Blackie trying a different style of vocals and I love the lyrics on “Keep Holding On”. “Rock And Roll To Death” has a ’50s rock ‘n’ roll much in the same vein as “Johnny B. Good”. “I Can’t” is a good mid-tempo bluesy number that turns into typical W.A.S.P. when Blackie starts dropping f-bombs.
Overall, this is a very good disc that features Blackie spreading his leathery wings once again while still throwing in enough typical enough sounding W.A.S.P. tunes to keep the faithful interested. After hearing this album, I’m convinced more than ever that Blackie is one of the more underrated artists in the metal realm.
What ticks me off about this album is I ordered it online and discovered it was the 2001 reissue, I saw that the original U.S. release features covers of Queen’s “Tie Your Mother Down” and AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie” as well two other Blackie originals! That sucks they didn’t make the reissue. Oh well, that’s why they invented YouTube…
Highlights: “Still Not Black Enough”, “Scared To Death”, “Keep Holding On”, “Rock And Roll To Death”, “I Can’t”, “No Way Out of Here”
www.waspnation.com/
www.facebook.com/pages/WASP/163026404087
www.myspace.com/wasp
Avenged Sevenfold – Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough
Avenged Sevenfold – Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough (2008, Warner Bros. Records)
Live in the LBC DVD:
1. “Critical Acclaim”
2. “Second Heartbeat”
3. “Afterlife”
4. “Beast and the Harlot”
5. “Scream”
6. “Seize the Day”
7. “Walk” (abridged) (Pantera cover)
8. “Bat Country”
9. “Almost Easy”
10. “Gunslinger”
11. “Unholy Confessions”
12. “A Little Piece of Heaven”
Diamonds in the Rough CD:
1. “Demons” … 6:17
2. “Girl I Know” … 4:26
3. “Crossroads” … 4:33
4. “Flash of the Blade” … 4:05
5. “Until the End” … 4:46
6. “Tension” … 4:51
7. “Walk” … 5:24
8. “The Fight” … 4:09
9. “Dancing Dead” … 5:54
10. “Almost Easy” (CLA Mix) … 3:57
11. “Afterlife” (Alternate version) … 5:55
Band:
M. Shadows – Lead Vocals
Synyster Gates – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Zacky Vengeance – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Johnny Christ – Bass, Backing Vocals
The Rev – Drums, Backing Vocals
Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough is a DVD/CD release. The DVD is from a Long Beach, California concert at the Long Beach Arena that took place in April 2008 and the CD is comprised of B-sides, covers and unreleased songs. Honestly, I have not watched the DVD. I’m much more into listening to the music rather than sitting down and watching a concert. If I’m gonna watch a concert, I want to be there in person! Having seen the band live in 2009, I’m sure the performance here is just as good as the show I was at but that’s not why I bought this album. I’m sure I’ll sit down and watch it some day.
I bought the album (used and online) strictly for the CD since I’ve become a huge fan of the since since 2009. I wanted to hear these rarities and I wasn’t disappointed. From what I’ve read, many of these songs were leftovers from the group’s 2007 self-titled album though I’m not sure which ones but a few are easy to pick out like “Demons”, “Until The End” and “Dancing Dead”. Either of these could’ve easily made the album and I’m assuming the only reason they didn’t make the cut is because they didn’t want the album to seem bloated. “Dancing Dead” has actually become one of my favorite A7X songs. It’s crazy to think this one didn’t make it to an album. I’m pretty sure the covers of Iron Maiden’s “Flash of the Blade” and Pantera’s “Walk” had previously appeared on tribute albums.
Sometimes it seems like I’m one of the few classic-mind rock/metal fans that actually gets A7X. I’m not sure why that is. The classic metal influence on these guys is obvious, they just put a new and modern twist on it. I think it’s really cool these guys have been able to become one of the biggest metal bands while their music holds some of that old school metal sound.
Odds ‘n’ sods compilations like these are sometimes hit-or-miss. It’s the nature of the beast when you’re dealing with B-sides and unreleased songs but had the band thrown this out and said “hey, here’s our new studio album”, I still would’ve thought it to be great. This is how good these songs are. I’m certainly not saying a collection of B-sides and covers is equal to or better than Avenged Sevenfold or Nightmare but this is still a very good album that should please anyone who likes the band.
Highlights: “Demons”, “Girl I Know”, “Flash Of The Blade”, “Until The End”, “Tension”, “Dancing Dead”
www.avengedsevenfold.com
www.facebook.com/AvengedSevenfold
www.myspace.com/avengedsevenfold
Grave Digger – Ballads Of A Hangman
Grave Digger – Ballads Of A Hangman [Limited Edition Digipack] (2009, Napalm Records)
1. “The Gallows Pole” … 0:48
2. “Ballad of a Hangman” … 4:45
3. “Hell of Disillusion” … 3:56
4. “Sorrow of the Dead” … 3:25
5. “Grave Of The Addicted” … 3:34
6. “Lonely the Innocence Dies” … 5:46
7. “Into the War” … 3:32
8. “The Shadow of Your Soul” … 4:15
9. “Funeral for a Fallen Angel” … 4:31
10. “Stormrider” … 3:17
11. “Pray” … 3:36
Bonus Track
12. “Jailbreak” … 4:04
Band:
Chris Boltendahl – Lead Vocals, Backing vocals
Manni Schmidt – Guitar, Backing vocals
Thilo Hermann – Guitars, Backing vocals
Jens Becker – Bass
Stefan Arnold – Drums
H.P. Katzenburg – Keyboards
Additional Musicians:
Victoria Freeman – Lead Vocals (“Lonely The Innocence Dies”)
Producer: Grave Digger & the Resetti Brothers
Wanting to expand my horizons metallic horizons, I picked up this album in early 2010 after reading so many positive reviews for it. I’ve been familiar with the band in name only for many, many years but I guess whatever samples I would listen to online never grabbed me enough to pick up any previous albums.
To be honest, I’ve spun this disc every now and again throughout the year and I’ve never been able to get into it. Not sure why because when I listened to it again recently I really enjoyed it. It’s not a great album or anything but when I’ve got 7 of the 12 songs pegged as “highlights”, I guess I would have to say it is very good.
“Lonely The Innocence Dies” is a great moody ballad. “Stormrider” sounds like Judas Priest worship… Not that I’m complaining! I can easily hear Halford singing a song like that. “Pray” is a very commercial effort and more melodic affair, which caught me off guard. It almost sounds like something Ratt would do, it’s got that ’80s sleaze pop-metal kinda vibe to it. “Jailbreak” is a bonus track that comes only with the digipack version is, of course, a cover of the Thin Lizzy song. The band does a good job giving it a power metal makeover.
So FINALLY after owning this album for nearly a year, I sit down, give it a few listens and I like it. Makes me want to go back and check out the band’s ’80s material.
Highlights: “Grave Of The Addicted”, “Lonely The Innocence Dies”, “The Shadow of Your Soul”, “Funeral For A Fallen Angel”, “Stormrider”, “Pray”, “Jailbreak”
http://www.grave-digger-clan.com//
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Official-GRAVE-DIGGER-Fan-Site/256056408537
http://www.myspace.com/gravediggerclan
Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears
Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears (1991, Epic Records)
1. “Mr. Tinkertrain” … 5:55
2. “I Don’t Want to Change the World” … 4:04
3. “Mama, I’m Coming Home” … 4:11
4. “Desire” … 5:45
5. “No More Tears” … 7:23
6. “S.I.N.” … 4:46
7. “Hellraiser” … 4:51
8. “Time After Time” … 4:20
9. “Zombie Stomp” … 6:13
10. “A.V.H.” … 4:12
11. “Road to Nowhere” … 5:09
Band:
Ozzy Osbourne – Vocals
Zakk Wylde – Guitar
Bob Daisley – Bass
Mike Inez – Bass
Randy Castillo – Drums
John Sinclair – Keyboards
Producer: Duane Baron & John Purdell
Here’s the thing about Ozzy: I know he has this tag as being the “godfather of heavy metal” but other than the Sabbath years he’s never really been all that heavy to my ears. Though metal and at the very least hard rock, his solo stuff has always had a more commercial melodic sound so I’ve never really gotten the hype surrounding him being the “Prince of Darkness” (let’s be honest, a lot of his stuff has a pop-metal vibe). I’ve found that throughout most of his career, he’s a mediocre singer who has been lucky enough to almost always be surrounded by talent musicians and songwriters.
Onto the album itself, No More Tears is one of Ozzy’s best selling albums and featured a number of hit singles. For this reason, despite having just recently purchased the album, I’m kind of already sick of it because I know these songs well. “Mama, I’m Coming Home”, “Time After Time” and “No More Tears” are still radio staples in my area after all these years so it’s hard to judge them with a clear mind and say whether they are true album highlights because I’m so sick of both. It’s really the lesser known songs that I find myself enjoying. I think “Desire” and “Hellraiser” are especially strong (Lemmy wrote lyrics for both).
A classic to many, filler to me.
Highlights: “Mr. Tinkertrain”, “Desire”, “Hellraiser”, “Road to Nowhere”
http://www.ozzy.com
http://www.facebook.com/ozzyosbourne
http://www.myspace.com/ozzyosbourne
Accept – Blood Of The Nations
Accept – Blood of the Nations (2010, Nuclear Blast Records)
1. “Beat the Bastards” … 5:24
2. “Teutonic Terror” … 5:13
3. “The Abyss” … 6:53
4. “Blood of the Nations” … 5:37
5. “Shades of Death” … 7:32
6. “Locked and Loaded” … 4:28
7. “Time Machine” … 5:25
8. “Kill the Pain” … 5:47
9. “Rolling Thunder” … 4:54
10. “Pandemic” … 5:36
11. “New World Comin” … 4:50
12. “No Shelter” … 6:04
13. “Bucket Full of Hate” … 5:12
Band:
Mark Tornillo – Vocals
Wolf Hoffmann – Guitar
Herman Frank – Guitar
Peter Baltes – Bass
Stefan Schwarzmann – Drums
Producer: Andy Sneap
From out of nowhere (well, Germany) comes one of the year’s best albums! Man, my indifference towards Accept is well-documented but this is one KILLER heavy metal album! When I heard T.T. Quick frontman Mark Tornillo was filling in for Udo Dirkschneider (who respectfully declined to reunite with his old band mates), I was mildly curious. T.T. Quick’s Metal of Honor is one of my favorite albums and Tornillo has a great voice so that really put this album on my want list. Had it been some unknown singer, I may have never given this album a shot. Surprisingly, nearly 25 years later, Mark is singing with as much power and fury as ever.
This album is a triumphant return for the band. Even without their lead singer, they managed to break into the Billboard 200 with this album (#187) when their three ’90s albums with Udo did not. In addition to the minor chart victory, rave reviews are coming in from all over the world. It’s amazing to think this band has been chugging along (on and off) since the late ’70s because they are as fast and as heavy as they have ever been. This is such a powerful old school heavy metal album and I would like to add my name to the list of people that say Andy Sneap should produce the next Metallica album!
I really don’t have much more to add. I’m obviously enjoy the heck out of this album. It’s 100% balls to the wall (if you’ll pardon the phrase) HEAVY METAL. Any serious metal fan should own this one and although old school Accept fans will probably want to hang me for this — this is the best Accept I’ve heard yet! \m/
I’m not sure how true this is, but I’ve seen some sites list “Time Machine” as a bonus track for the digipak version of the album, which is the version I own. On the packaging, I don’t see any reference to it being a bonus track.
Highlights: “Beat the Bastards”, “Teutonic Terror”, “The Abyss”, “Blood Of The Nations”, “Time Machine”, “Kill The Pain”, “Pandemic”, “New World Comin’”
http://www.acceptworldwide.com/
http://www.facebook.com/accepttheband
http://www.myspace.com/accepttheband
