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Hell – Human Remains (Review)
Hell – Human Remains (2011, Nuclear Blast Records)
1. Overture: Themes from “Deathsquad” … 1:14
2. On Earth as it is in Hell … 5:09
3. Plague and Fyre … 5:09
4. The Oppressors … 5:53
5. Blasphemy and the Master … 8:11
6. Let Battle Commence … 4:23
7. The Devil’s Deadly Weapon … 10:14
8. The Quest … 4:21
9. Macbeth … 7:21
10. Save Us from Those Who Would Save Us … 5:05
11. No Martyr’s Cage … 9:00
Band:
David Bower – Vocals
Kev Bower – Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Andy Sneap – Guitar
Tony Speakman – Bass
Tim Bowler – Drums
Producer: Andy Sneap
Human Remains is an album I had listened to late last year but I’m just now getting around to reviewing it. The story here is that Hell was part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene in the early 1980s but never was able to get around to recording an album. They released a handful of demo tapes and 1 EP before splitting up in 1987. According to Wikipedia, they had signed with the Belgium label Mausoleum but the record company went bankrupt shortly before Hell was to record their debut.
Fast forward to 2008, the surviving original members of Hell (vocalist/guitarist Dave Halliday committed suicide shortly after the group’s disbandment in the ’80s) got together with Sabbat’s vocalist Martin Walkyier & guitarist Andy Sneap (who took guitar lessons from Halliday) to re-record some old Hell tunes for a proper album. After laying down vocals, it was decided Walkyier was not the right man for the job so Kev Bower’s brother David Bower stepped in to re-record Walkyier’s vocals (who had been re-recording the vocals of Dave Halliday!).
I’m actually quite surprised by how little attention this album has received. Even though Metal Hammer magazine has listed it as #6 on their best albums of 2011 list, I haven’t really seen many people talk about this album. I’ve enjoyed it quite a bit. Though the band seemingly does not like the NWOBHM tag (their Facebook page states their genre as “HELL”), they definitely play in that style while adding other metal elements such as thrash, speed, goth, black, power and symphonic.
I wasn’t even aware of Hell until this release. There are so many NWOBHM bands that came and went without having released a debut album, it’s hard to keep track! When I looked at the album cover and heard that guitarist/producer Andy Sneap was involved, I figured this was going to be really heavy stuff. Something that would be too heavy for my ears. Luckily, it isn’t and don’t let the imagery, lyrics or the over the top vocal theatrical performance of David Bower fool you — it’s all done tongue in cheek.
A couple of the songs are way too long: “Blasphemy and The Master”, “The Devil’s Deadly Weapon” (10 minutes!) and “No Martyr’s Cage” but even those songs have moments worth exploring. The band is definitely are their best with a straight ahead NWOBHM headbangers like “The Quest”.
And of course, the production is absolutely fantastic. Lots of stuff going on here to give atmosphere. That’s expected when you have Andy Sneap on board who has earned a reputation as one of heavy metal’s best producers.
An obscure gem from just last year, Human Remains should be picked up and listened to by fans of Priest, Maiden, Venom and Mercyful Fate. Here’s hoping this isn’t a one-off and Hell will continue to reign over us for quite some time to come!
Highlights: “On Earth As It Is In Hell”, “The Oppressors”, “Let the Battle Commence”, “The Quest”, “Save Us From Those Who Would Save Us”
http://www.hell-metal.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HELLofficial
Book Review – RAT SALAD: Black Sabbath, The Classic Years 1969 – 1975
Rat Salad: Black Sabbath, The Classic Years, 1969 – 1975
(2006, St. Martin’s Press)
By Paul Wilkinson
Here is a short review for a book I had considered buying on and off for years. While I have read a number of Black Sabbath books, I held off on this for awhile because it focuses on the Ozzy era up through 1975 and it’s well-known that I prefer the likes of Ronnie James Dio & Tony Martin over Ozzy Osbourne’s tenure. Still, when I found out it was available from the local library, I checked it out and gave it a shot.
To be honest, I got about 80 pages into this 240 page book before I decided to walk away from it. I am a huge Sabbath fan but you not only need to be a major Ozzy-era fan but also a musician to really get the most out of this book. All the talk about C sharp, E minor or whatever is absolutely boring to me. I am not a musician, so that detailed information means nothing to my brain. I read a review that stated this book is like a text book, in some ways, I agree.
In addition to that, the author tries to interject his own personal history into the book. I found this to be quite odd and it really disrupts the flow of the book whenever he delves into his personal life. If he wants to talk about how Sabbath affected his teenage years, fine, but I don’t care to learn about his school days, his best friends or first kiss. It’s really out of place and the author comes off as a self-important snob but then I guess most of us music critics are exactly that.
Bottom line: if you love the early years of Black Sabbath AND are a musician, you’ll probably like the book a lot. For those of us that like to listen but can’t play a note, there are much better books on Black Sabbath out there.
Scorpions – Comeblack
Scorpions – Comeblack (2011, Sony Music Entertainment)
1. “Rhythm of Love” – 3:39
2. “No One Like You” – 4:06
3. “The Zoo” – 5:38
4. “Rock You Like a Hurricane” – 4:15
5. “Blackout” – 3:48
6. “Wind of Change” – 5:08
7. “Still Loving You” – 6:43
8. “Tainted Love” (Gloria Jones cover) – 3:28
9. “Children of the Revolution” (T. Rex cover) – 3:33
10. “Across the Universe” (The Beatles cover) – 3:17
11. “Tin Soldier” (Small Faces cover) – 3:15
12. “All Day and All of the Night” (The Kinks cover) – 3:16
13. “Ruby Tuesday” (The Rolling Stones cover) – 3:55
Band:
Klaus Meine – Lead vocals
Matthias Jabs – Lead Guitar, Backing vocals
Rudolf Schenker – Rhythm Guitar, Backing vocals
Paweł Mąciwoda – Bass, Backing vocals
James Kottak – Drums, Percussion, Backing vocals
Producer: Mikael “Nord” Andersson & Martin Hansen
So, even though this album wasn’t released until January 2012 in North America, it was released in Europe in November 2011. This is how it snuck its way onto the 2011 edition of the Metal Excess Awards because I heard the album last year. I’d been putting off doing a review of this album for awhile and now that it’s available worldwide, this is as good of a time as any to talk about it.
Like most people, whenever I hear that a band is re-recording their signature songs, I just roll my eyes. It’s not really intended for the fans. It’s something that’s done as way to cut old labels/band mates out of royalties by licensing the new versions for commercials purposes instead of the originals. I understand and accept that. Anything that puts the screws to the idiots at the major labels is cool by me. Financial reasons aside, those type of releases are plain filler when it comes to the serious fan.
But I have to give the Scorpions credit for this album. Yes, they re-recorded seven of their biggest hits, and that means virtually nothing to the die-hards but they also added six freshly-recorded cover songs that helped inspired the band during their formative years. That (and only that) is what makes this album interesting and worth looking into as far as I’m concerned.
I will say this, given the modern and slightly beefier production, the classics sound good in their updated form. I won’t even bother listing them in the Highlights section because it’s familiar territory. I could’ve gone without yet another cover of “Tainted Love” but all of the covers are well done with the Beatles, T. Rex and Small Faces tunes standing out.
This supposedly is the FINAL Scorpions release, but you know how that goes… For $9 or so, if you’re a big fan of the Scorps, this is worth picking up.
Highlights: ”Children of the Revolution”, “Across the Universe”, “Tin Soldier”
http://www.the-scorpions.com/
http://www.facebook.com/Scorpions
Metallica – Beyond Magnetic
Metallica – Beyond Magnetic (2011, Warner Bros. Records)
1. “Hate Train” … 6:59
2. “Just A Bullet Away” … 7:11
3. “Hell and Back” … 6:57
4. “Rebel of Babylon” … 8:01
Band:
James Hetfield – Vocals, Guitar
Kirk Hammett – Guitar
Robert Trujillo – Bass
Lars Ulrich – Drums
Producer: Rick Rubin
Beyond Magnetic is a collection of the 4 songs that didn’t make it onto 2008′s Death Magnetic album. 14 songs were written for that album but only 10 made the cut. So, after debuting these songs live during one of their 30th Anniversary shows, Metallica originally released them to the world through digital retailers (exclusive to iTunes in North America) on December 13, 2011. The E.P. is available in CD form as of January 31, 2012.
From what I understand, these are only rough mixes of the songs (I’m assuming final mixes do exist). I just hope they don’t try to pad out the next Metallica album by throwing completed versions of these songs on it and calling it a day.
As expected, reaction to this Beyond Magnetic has been mixed. I’ve read everything from “It’s worse than Death Magnetic!” to “Why the #&$% weren’t these songs on Death Magnetic?” to “It sucks!” to “They’re playing thrash again!” to “At least it isn’t Lulu!”
I’m not one of those “fans” that takes the stance that everything the band has done since …And Justice For All (or the Black Album) sucks. I’ve talked about making the ultimate Load & Reload compilation in the past. And I quite liked Death Magnetic. I listened to it again recently and it still holds up. With the songs from DM still fresh in my mind, I’m in the camp that’s wondering why these songs weren’t included on the album. In fact, that album only had 10 tracks, what’s wrong with bumping it up to 14? Still, “Suicide & Redemption” and “The Judas Kiss” could’ve easily been left off DM to make room for at least “Just A Bullet Away” and “Hate Train”.
“Just A Bullet Away” comes the closest to sound like old school Metallica. I don’t really think we’ll ever see a true return to that era but this is about as close as these guys can get these days. So, yeah, your mileage may vary but I think this is a good little E.P. with on “Rebel of Babylon” kinda just wandering around for a bit.
If you’re a Metallica hater, you’ll probably hate Beyond Magnetic but that’s expected of you. As for anyone who actually enjoyed Death Magnetic, this is worth checking out.
The album art looks like a butterfly.
Highlights: “Hate Train”, “Just A Bullet Away”, “Hell and Back”
http://www.metallica.com
http://www.facebook.com/Metallica
Buy Beyond Magnetic [CD Edition] at Amazon.com
Elm Street – Barbed Wire Metal
Elm Street – Barbed Wire Metal (2011, Massacre Records)
1. “Barbed Wire Metal” … 3:45
2. “The Devil’s Servants” … 4:00
3. “Elm St’s Children” … 5:41
4. “Heavy Metal Power” … 5:44
5. “King of Kings” … 4:50
6. “Leatherface” … 5:06
7. “Merciless Soldier” … 3:55
8. “Metal Is The Way” … 6:14
Band:
Ben Batres – Vocals and Rhythm Guitar
Aaron Adie – Lead Guitar
Brendan Farrugia – Bass Guitar
Tomislav Perkovic – Drums
Producer: Ermin Hamidovi
Melbourne, Australia’s Elm Street are a band that plays good old fashioned heavy metal and are proud to do so! At first glance of the cover art and logo (and knowing they are on the Massacre label), I thought maybe they were going to be a brutal-sounding thrash band but don’t let that artwork by the legendary Ed Repka fool you! Yes, this band does have some thrash moments (such as the relentless opening number) but they describe themselves as traditional heavy metal and also display a great sense of melody and New Wave of British Heavy Metal/traditional metal influence. The melody aspect is evidenced on the second track “The Devil’s Servants” and it also reminds me of Black Veil Brides. Don’t worry, it’s not metalcore.
Another thing that stands out about this band is that they are horror movie fans. I mean, the band’s name is Elm Street and they have songs called “Elm St’s Children” and “Leatherface”. These guys are all about delivering fun, powerful heavy metal — “Barbed Wire Metal”? “Heavy Metal Power”? “Metal Is The Way”? You betcha!
There’s lot of good solos and riffs throughout this album and singer Ben Batres has that necessary roughness that wells work with traditional metal. His voice reminds me of Mr. Lordi. I love the gang vocals, too, by the way!
The band knows their way around a melody but they are heavy and fast enough that you won’t think they are wimping out. So, if you want some fun and recent heavy metal to bang your head to Elm Street’s Barbed Wire Metal is just what you need!
File this under “Albums I Wish I Had Heard In 2011″!
Highlights: “Barbed Wire Metal”, “The Devil’s Servants”, “Elm St’s Children”, “King of Kings”, “Metal Is The Way”
M-pire of Evil – Creatures of the Black
M-pire of Evil – Creatures of the Black (2011, Scarlet Records)
1. “Exciter” … 5:12
2. “Motorhead” … 2:58
3. “Reptile” … 4:48
4. “God Of Thunder” … 5:10
5. “Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be” … 3:55
6. “Creatures Of The Black” … 5:15
Band:
Tony “Demolition Man” Dolan – Bass & Vocals
Jeff “Mantas” Dunn – Guitars
Anthony “Antton” Lant – Drums
*deep breath*
Black metal pioneers Venom have had quite a confusing shift in members over the years. The classic/best-selling/most influential version of the band consists of Conrad “Cronos” Lant (vocals/bass), Jeff “Mantas” Dunn (guitar) and Anthony “Abaddon” Bray (drums). Their run in Venom takes place from 1980-1986 and 1995-1999. All three members have come and gone over the years. At various times, one or two of the “classic” members would exit, leaving the remaining member(s) to carry on. After Mantas walked away in the late ’80s, Cronos & Abaddon tried Venom out as a four-piece before Cronos himself left the band (to start a solo career). Keeping the band a four-piece, Mantas rejoined along with new guitarist Al Barnes (What, no nickname?) and new vocalist/bassist Tony “Demolition Man” Dolan, formerly of Atomkraft. This signaled a slight change in sound for the band as they went for a more traditional, competent & better produced thrash/speed metal sound as opposed to the raw, sloppy Satanic metal that had helped create entire metal sub-genres in the early ’80s.
Eventually, in 1993, the Dolan-era came to an end and the band laid dormant. In 1995, the classic Venom line-up of Cronos/Mantas/Abaddon was back. More changes occurred. Abaddon left in 2000 and the drummer’s seat was filled by Cronos’ brother Anthony “Antton” Lant. Even more changes were in store. Mantas left in 2005, Antton left in 2009. According to Mantas, none of the classic members are ever going to work together again, but we’ll see.
Enter Tony “Demolition Man” Dolan once more. In 2010, Mantas & Antton teamed up with Dolan to give us a new group called Prime Evil. No, wait… That’s what they were called. They ended up changing their name once they became aware that another band was already using that name. Now they are known as M-pire of Evil. Though this trio has never played on a Venom album together, Dolan & Mantas have worked in Venom together and the same can be said of Mantas & Antton (they also played together a metal band called Dryll). I find it interesting that Cronos’ brother would leave Venom and then later hook-up his old guitar player and the singer who once replaced him in order to form a new group that obviously borrows a lot from Venom. It’s like we’re getting two Venom groups these days. Another former Venom member, guitarist Mike “Mykus” Hickey was going to be involved in the band but had prior commitments though the band is open to working with him whenever he has the time.
BTW – Does anybody know where Abaddon went?
*exhale*
To be honest, I’ve become interested in Venom only in the last year or two. The album I chose to start with was Prime Evil (the debut of the Dolan-era) because I had read it was not as over-the-top with all the Satanic imagery and lyrics as previous Venom releases had mostly been. I ended up liking the album a lot and I would have bought the other three Dolan releases (Tear Your Soul Apart, Temples of Ice and The Waste Lands) if not for the fact that they are out of print and thus very expensive. So to find out that M-pire of Evil existed was very exciting to me. This band’s formation had totally slipped by me in 2010 when it was announced.
This is the band’s debut: a six song E.P. with four covers and two originals. I gotta say, the cover songs are excellent. Not only did they choose four excellent bands to cover (Judas Priest, Motorhead, KISS, AC/DC) but they bring a level of raw power and aggression to these songs that has not been heard before (well, except maybe for “Motorhead”). I especially like their covers of “Exciter” and “God of Thunder”. When someone covers “Exciter”, the singer usually doesn’t have a gruff deep voice like Dolan does. It’s different but that’s why it works.
As for the two original tracks, those are really cool too. It’s really nothing different than what you’d hear on Prime Evil. Two raw thrashy numbers. “Reptile” features some Satanic gibberish chanting that kind of takes points away from the song for me, but musically, it’s a good thrashing number. Had I not just days ago posted my list of favorites E.P.s, Creatures of the Black would’ve been on there.
It seems like a full studio album could be coming very soon in early 2012 and I’m definitely looking forward to it. Fans of the Dolan years of Venom and fans of raw heavy metal in general should pick up Creatures of the Black.
Highlights: “Exciter”, “God of Thunder”, “Creatures of the Black”
http://www.facebook.com/mpireofevil
http://www.mpireofevil.com/
Who Cares (Ian Gillan, Tony Iommi & Friends) – Out Of My Mind / Holy Water
Who Cares (Ian Gillan, Tony Iommi & Friends) – Out Of My Mind / Holy Water (2011, earMUSIC/Eagle Rock Records)
1. “Out of My Mind” … 5:19
2. “Holy Water” … 7:00
Band:
Ian Gillan – Vocals
Tony Iommi – Guitar
Linde Lindstrom – Guitar
Jason Newsted – Bass
Nicko McBrain – Drums
Jon Lord – Keyboards
How’s THIS for a super group: Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, Iron Maiden’s Nick McBrain, ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, ex-Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord and HIM’s Linde Lindstrom! Well, um, nothing against Lindstrom but, wow, he feels a bit out of place doesn’t he? I think his connection is he’s either dating or married to Iommi’s daughter.
Who Cares was initially a project put together by Gillan & Iommi to help benefit the rebuilding of a music school in Armenia but there was always the vague promise that Gillan & Iommi would continue to work together on some new material. I imagine with a reunited Black Sabbath that won’t be happening… ever (Sabbath will probably take up the next few years and these guys are old enough already). Shame. I’d much rather hear a Iommi & Gillan record (Geezer can tag along too) than a new Sabbath album with Ozzy.
Initially released as a digital single, the album has been made available on 7″ vinyl (limited to only 1,000 copies) and as a deluxe CD single featuring a video clip and a 30 minute documentary.
Despite being a one-off super-group that implied Tony & Ian might continue to work together, Who Cares went a bit under the radar, I think. Yes, it was done for charity so it’s not like there was any huge label or promotion backing this but given the talent involved I would have expected more buzz from the rock/metal community. The songs are just phenomenal and while I haven’t heard any of Gillan’s recent work with Deep Purple, the guy can still sing and scream like a rock ‘n’ roll god (even if his voice is a tad bit weathered, but at 66 years old, I’ll give him a break).
“Out of My Mind” is just plain heavy. Not Born Again heavy, but still heavy nonetheless, stomping along and sounding Black Sabbath & Deep Purple put in a blender: Iommi pulling out a great riff and solo, Gillan singing with venom and Jon Lord doing what he does best. Musically, it’s really not too far off from what we might’ve heard from Heaven & Hell.
“Holy Water” is a bit more majestic in scope with a taste of the Middle East. I’m not all that well-versed on Deep Purple with Steve Morse but from what I have heard, this sounds like the type of song you might hear from them as Jon Lord’s keyboard factors heavily into this track and Gillan is a bit more subdued.
Who Cares was put together for a great cause and features great music so it’s definitely worth buying. It also shows us what a great pairing Gillan & Iommi can still be and hopefully we can get some more music of out this duo in the future.
Black Sabbath – Mob Rules [Deluxe Edition]
Black Sabbath – Mob Rules [Deluxe Edition] (2010, Universal Music/Sanctuary Records – UK Import)
Original Release: 1981, Warner Bros. Records
Disc One: Mob Rules
1. Turn Up the Night … 3:42
2. Voodoo … 4:32
3. The Sign of the Southern Cross … 7:44
4. E5150 … 2:54
5. The Mob Rules … 3:15
6. Country Girl … 4:02
7. Slipping Away … 3:42
8. Falling Off the Edge of the World … 5:03
9. Over and Over … 5:28
Bonus Tracks
10. Die Young (Live – 12″ Single B-Side) … 4:04
11. The Mob Rules (Heavy Metal Soundtrack Version) … 3:14
Disc Two: Live at Hammersmith
1. E5150 … 1:18
2. Neon Knights … 4:37
3. N.I.B. … 5:16
4. Children of the Sea … 6:07
5. Country Girl … 3:53
6. Black Sabbath … 8:24
7. War Pigs … 7:40
8. Slipping Away … 3:18
9 Iron Man … 7:04
10. The Mob Rules … 3:35
11. Heaven and Hell … 14:24
12. Paranoid … 3:21
13. Voodoo … 5:45
14. Children of the Grave … 5:05
Mob Rules is an album I’ve spoken about before. That review was very brief, but really, what can you say? Looking back, it’s not my favorite of the Dio era (that nod would go to Heaven and Hell) but it’s still a classic that’s almost as good as the first album they did together. In addition to the original album of Mob Rules, Disc 1 features two bonus tracks: the original version of “The Mob Rules” (which was recorded for the Heavy Metal movie) and a live version of Heaven and Hell‘s ”Die Young”.
The real pull for me getting this Deluxe Edition was to get the second disc which features performances taken from Dec 31, 1981 through January 2, 1982 at London’s Hammersmith Odeon. This entire disc was originally released as Live at Hammersmith Oden by Rhino Records with an extremely limited print run of 5,000 copies back in 2007. As you can imagine, copies of that album are expensive and hard to come by so it’s great to now have the entire album included as a bonus disc.
If you don’t already own Mob Rules, or even if you do, this is still worth the pick up just for Disc 2. The band is in top form but then again, the Dio line-up was never not in top form! There are four live albums to choose from this particular Sabbath line-up (two as Black Sabbath, two as Heaven & Hell) and all of them are classics but if you want to hear this group in their formative years with a recording that takes places even before Live Evil, here’s your chance! Great studio album, great live disc = great deluxe edition!
http://heavenandhelllive.com/
http://www.blacksabbath.com
http://www.facebook.com/BlackSabbath
