New Releases 2026 Part One!

Well this certainly took much longer than I wanted it to.  There are plenty of albums coming out this year that have me intrigued, but I'm just not getting to them (so far; still plenty of year left).  I mean, my first one here was the talk of the internet at the beginning of the year, and I'm just now publishing my thoughts on it.  (I've never been particularly great at being timely!).  Eventually I pulled together enough reviews to fill out an article, but I have to warn you, none of these are impressing me much.  Here's what I've been checking out lately.

Megadeth - Megadeth

Of all the most anticipated albums to kick off the year, this was pretty much unavoidable.  Not only was it going to be the band's last album, but it featured a Metallica cover (one of the few Mustaine helped write).  However, I'm not really a big Megadeth fan.  I've listened to their first five, as well as Dystopia and The Sick, The Dying... and The Dead!, but overall, they're kind of hit-and-miss for me.  I also know I'm way behind on reviewing this, as it's been out for months now, but I figured I'd give their swan song a listen, as I was pretty curious.

My first thought is that the songwriting is even more stripped down than Dystopia was, perhaps as much as Countdown to Extinction.  Most Megadeth fans will find very little that's new or surprising, and perhaps might get frustrated with how familiar it is.   While there are a few fun thrashy blast-fests, much of the album plods along as Mustaine sings about his observations and frustrations.  The opener "Tipping Point" and "Let There Be Shred" are highlights for being some energetic thrash tracks, and "Made to Kill" feels like it could have been on Rust in Peace, with its meter changes and dynamics.  "The Last Note" also has some decent energy as he reflects upon his career before ending the album.  And then there's the Metallica cover.  It's alright.  It's a bit of a weird choice, too, as I understand the song changed after Dave was kicked out of the band, so playing this final version is strange.  While the performance is fine (and has Megadeth's typical tightness), the main problem is Dave's voice.

And this is where I address the elephant in the room.  I get that getting older isn't for wimps, and throat cancer is no joke, surely affecting his voice, but it feels really weak and rough on this album.  Much of his snarling charisma is gone, and while it's not bad on every song, it is something that gets a little hard to ignore.  And with "Ride the Lighting," compared to James Hetfield's roaring bark, Mustaine's voice feels so weak and kinda drags the song down.  If he had covered it just 10 or even 5 years earlier, it would have sounded better.  I don't mean to be a jerk about this, as I've heard that his voice has been failing for a while, and I hope he's able to keep it working through the farewell tours he wants to do.  But when Mustaine's singing was such an iconic part of this band's sound, it's a little depressing to hear it struggle so much.

There is something to be said about going out on your own terms, though, and for Megadeth, this farewell is about as Megadeth as it gets, for better or worse.  I'm sure the guitar nerds will enjoy picking these solos and riffs apart as they always do, but otherwise, it's honestly more of the same.  I don't think it's a bad album, overall, but it does feel like a simplified version of the band's sound, which makes for perhaps a bit of an underwhelming last album.

Lovebites - Outstanding Power

Well, I asked for another full album and here it is!  Their last one was quite a blast, and it made it into my Top 5 for that year, and since then, they released an EP that was also pretty solid.  Keeping the same lineup as before, the band seems to be trying to expand their sound beyond power metal, but I don't know if it's really working for them.

Things start off well enough with "The Castaway," but then they go right into thrash metal mode with "Silence the Void" and later on again with "Reaper's Lullaby."  They proved they could do this well on Lovebites II with "Where's Identity," so I'm pleased to hear them do this again.  However, they also try some symphonic metal ideas with "Forbidden Thirst" and "Dream of King," but feel like they might be stretching a little too far from their base with these, especially the syncopated riffing in the latter song.  Other experiments include the AOR-like "Wheels of Fire," a classic metal approach for "Out of Control," and some uptempo rock for "Blazing Halo."  Then they go all-in on the extremely sentimental power ballad "Eternally," which really didn't need to be seven minutes long.  These tracks had some good moments, but it does make the album feel uneven and inconsistent (and your mileage may vary with these genre shifts).  Fortunately, they do bring back the power metal on "Phoenix Rises Again," and the closer "One Will Remain."

I kinda hate to say it, but this is a bit of a disappointment.  After the incredible Electric Pentagram and the worthy follow-up Judgement Day, I was ready to sail with them into the power metal seas.  However, after listening to all this variation, I'm wondering if the band is having a bit of an identity crisis.  While I do like some of the ideas, especially the faster, thrashier songs (I think "Silence the Void" is the best track here), this album doesn't feel as strong as what they've done before and leaves me worried about what they might try next.  

Yes - Aurora

Once again my favorite band has put out another album.  I admit it has been tough to get into their recent material.  The Quest had a decent start but eventually settled into a soft rock pace that I found lack luster.  This was followed up with Mirror to the Sky, which I thought was an improvement, but still struggled in the rock department.  After that one, I had a bit of hope that it was at least an upward trend as they explored this new era of their sound.  When this album was teased at the end of last year, I tried to keep my expectations low, but as the singles were released, I felt underwhelmed.  Now, after listening to it a few times these past few weeks, I think it's about time I gave up on this version of the band recovering the legacy of their rock prowess.

To be clear, this is by no means a bad album, just kind of inoffensive.  It meanders a long from song to song, providing some decent atmosphere, and the increase in symphonic sections shows their theatrical pretensions.  They do have a few interesting shake-ups, with "Outside the Box" messing around with synths and vocal harmonies, "Countermovement" was a decent epic song with some curious twists and references, "Jambustin" is a playful, quirky song that almost works, and "All Hands on Deck" sounds like they're channeling Deep Purple, of all things.  The opening title track is probably the best at embracing the band's current positive mood, which resonates throughout the album.  Overall, it's nice to listen to.

Unfortunately, it's just not very memorable.  Even with their experimentation, there is this intention of a slower, easier pace without really having any impact on me as a listener.  At least The Quest and Mirror to the Sky had tracks that felt like complete ideas or had some energy, but here, they are content to stick to this laidback version of their style, perfect for their Cruise to the Edge events.  It was after I listened to this album the second time I finally had to come to terms that this current lineup just has no desire to bring back the rock music side of their sound, something that Jon Anderson did very well with the Band Geeks.  I understand this album has its fans, but I am not one of them.  It's such a shame, too, because I know these musicians are very talented, but they don't seem to interested in putting their mastery into what I'm interested in.  Maybe in the future, they'll remember to be a rock band, but for now, this is just another disappointment.

Retro Reviews - June 2026 Part One!

Yes, I'm still working my way through 1986, this time with some more obscure metal bands.  While I've reviewed many of them before, it is interesting to see them change and evolve through the decade.  It's very clear that metal was definitely expanding as the decade went on, as different bands had unique ideas of where to take the genre.  In any case, here's a handful of interesting albums from the middle of the 80s!

Cirith Ungol - One Foot in Hell

After the relatively successful King of the Dead (which I thought was decent, and an improvement over their debut), the band marched on with another slab of heavy/doom epicness and more Michael Whelan artwork on the cover.  While the lineup was the same, this third album definitely shows some interesting changes.

Right off, this is a much shorter album.  While King of the Dead surpassed 50 minutes, this one barely gets past the 35-minute mark.  The production is also a little cleaner on this one, and the songs do have a bit more energy, leaning more into epic metal with the occasional doomy moment.  Tim Baker's iconic voice wails as usual, which I've come to really enjoy, as it fits the story-telling of their lyrics.  The guitar solos have some interesting variety, not just doing typical 80s shreddy, but often mixing things up with melodic sections, or even having two guitars wailing over each other, which works weirdly well.  However, this shift into traditional metal territory does mean their songs aren't quite as impactful.  They're not bad at it, but when most of the choruses are just repeating the title over and over, it leaves me to wonder if some of these songs weren't given enough time to really develop, especially since many of them are shorter than what they've done before.

Overall, it's another decent album, but there have been some trade-offs.  While I do like the uptick in energy and the cleaner production, they do take a hit to their doomy atmosphere, which King of the Dead had in spades.  I liked the opener "Blood Iron" and the very Sabbathy "Doomed Planet," but "The Fire" and "100 MPH" don't feel as inspired.  The closer "One Foot in Hell" is classic Cirith Ungol, though.  It's a solid listen, as the band expands their sound, but those looking for classic doom metal might be a little disappointed.

Helstar - Remnants of War

Despite feeling their debut album was pretty lackluster (but not terrible), I decided to give their follow-up a shot as well.  Losing nearly everyone but singer James Rivera and guitarist Larry Barragan, this is quite the shake-up.  Nevertheless, they charge on ahead, this time picking up some thrash and US power metal elements.

The biggest change is in the song-writing, as conventional structures are mostly abandoned and many of these songs don't even have choruses.  Instead, they've chosen to focus a lot on tempo changes and shifting moods, even messing with the time signature from time to time.  The riffing is also more complex and the guitar solos shred all over the place.  Barragan and newcomer Robert Trevino play some pretty solid stuff all across this album.  The rest of the band play with energy, and the wails of Rivera work here, as they push into more dramatic territory, singing about wars and betrayal, nightmares and evil (and even have moments that sound like Cirith Ungol).

While this is certainly an improvement over the debut, as this is more interesting, it also tends to occupy the same space across the album.  There are more thrashy elements, and the change ups do help, but at the same time, the songs do feel interchangeable after a while.  The title track adds a nice touch of doom metal, and I liked the more melodic chorus of "Dark Queen," but otherwise, these tracks are a little too jumbled to really get into it right away.  Maybe if I give this a few more listens, it will click, but for now, it's some pretty typical US power metal, with plenty of noodles for guitar fans to enjoy.

Saint Vitus - Born Too Late

After trying to expand their sound with their sophomore effort, only to result in a mixed bag, their singer Scott Reagers decided to leave the band, so they picked up Scott "Wino" Weinrich.  As for the music, they go back the fuzz-heavy doom they had for their debut, but with a slight psychedelic haze over everything.

Yes, we're back into the plodding riffs and atmospheric tones of doom metal, and I think the band is better for it.  However, they keep the decent production around, as the band sound pretty good this time around.  Wino brings a great sense of drama and angst to the songs, especially since the lyrics have more grounded subject matter, like social isolation, mental illness, and drug addiction.  Dave Chandler's guitar riffs bring back a lot of classic Sabbath vibes, but with a lot more effects to warp the sound quite a bit, giving the songs a bit more of a jammy feel, especially when his solos sound as much like noise as they do music, which is not a bad thing here.

I admit it took me a minute to get back into the right headspace for this, but once I did, I was grooving along quite well.  The title track that opens the album definitely captures the feel of the whole thing, as all the songs have a strong 70s style to it.  "Dying Inside" and "The War Starter" both express their Sabbath-inspirations very well.  While I don't think it's as good as Epicus Doomicus Metalicus by Candlemass (as I do love their epic sensibilities), but Born to Late shows a band really maturing as songwriters, creating a pretty solid stoner doom album.

Fates Warning - Awaken the Guardian

After stepping up their proggy chops with The Spectre Within, the band carried on, replacing guitarist Victor Arduini with Frank Aresti.  While they maintain their blend of prog and US power metal, they really push the technical chops of their playing on this one.

The first two tracks make it quite clear that this band has a concrete vision of what they want to be.  Noodly riffs, weird rhythms, mixed meter sections, atonal harmonies, and an atmospheric sense of being at the mercy of some mythological power.  The lyrics for the album definitely drift into myth and fantasy of a few different kinds, supporting this atmosphere.  Despite this, I think there is something wrong with the production.  While it's not muddy, it doesn't seem to gel together as well as I'd like.  The guitars are thick, providing a decent wall of sound, but the drums are rather dry in comparison, like they're playing in a different room.  And poor John Arch sounds like he's shouting from the end of a tunnel, often buried by the other instruments.  It's a shame because these are some decent (if highly complex) performances, and Arch's wails are quite solid this time around.  I just kinda wish the band wasn't so focused on trying to sound so technical at the expense of songwriting.

Still, there are parts that I liked.  "Fata Morgana" is probably the most conventional song, and I liked how it switched from verse to chorus with a different tone.  "Giant's Lore" had some interesting riffs, and the closer "Exodus," despite being a slower song, built up a decent amount of epicness.  I also get the idea that I will need to listen to this one a few more times to really wrap my head around what they're doing.  I don't know if I like this one more than The Spectre Within, but this album certainly shows a band willing to expand and explore their progressive elements.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Doomsday for the Deceiver

Despite being best known for where Metallica found Jason Newstead to replace Cliff Burton, this band had its own quiet run through the 80s as a thrash metal band kicking around the west coast.  While the band had a bit of a rocky start, they were able to stabilize in the mid 80s to record some demos, which led to being picked up by Metal Blade for their debut album (the only one Newstead played on for them) that's been considered an underground thrash classic.

Sonically, this is very much a fusion of what was going on in thrash metal in the 80s: the speed of Slayer, the sing-song vocals of Anthrax, the dark epicness of Metal Church and Metallica, the technical chops of Megadeth, and some Maiden-inspired guitar work for good measure.  Pretty much US power/thrash metal stone soup.  Unfortunately, there is a bit of sloppiness in the songwriting, as there are times where the lyrics are mushed together, and many of the riffs and transitions feel like the band is trying too hard to sound edgy and weird.  The performances are pretty tightly played, but almost too tight, like every note is played with tension as they want to get it right, making for a bit of an anxious listen.  The lyrical topics are all over the place as well, drifting from raunchy lyrics to drug abuse, and from infamous historical figures to Satan starting the nuclear apocalypse only to be beaten by a monster named "Flotzilla" (which explains what the cover art is about).  However, they also like their long intros, often blending acoustic and electric guitars in interesting ways.

For what it's worth, there is some good energy here, as the band is clearly playing with their heart on their sleeves.  I ended up liking their two long songs in the middle, being the title track and "Metalshock," as I felt they showed their proggy Maiden influences the most on those.  The rest of the songs play at a furious, near-unrelenting speed, to the point that it's almost too much.  Still, it wasn't a boring listen, and I'm certainly interested in where the band develops from here, as I'm loosely aware that they shift into more of a US power metal sound later on.

Retro Reviews - May 2026 Part Two!!

So I'm still chugging along with these Retro Reviews, and this handful is a bit weird, but I'm sure fans of mid-80s rock music will recognize most (if not all) of these.  This era was huge for rock and metal, as they dominated the airwaves and MTV alike.  While not all of them are winners, let's kick things off with a pair from one of the titans of the decade!

Journey - Frontiers

After the incredible success of Escape, the band kept rolling along, finding time to record their next album in breaks during their touring.  While Jonathan Cain adds a lot more synths this time around, Frontiers is chock full of great melodic rock from start to finish.

Once again, the big hits stand out. "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" is incredibly cinematic and starts the album with impact.  This might be my favorite Journey song.  "Send Her My Love" is more somber, but has a nice vibe, really leaning into the feeling of longing for a past love.  And then there's "Faithfully," which has been named as possibly the best power ballad of all time (and it's hard to disagree!).  As for the rest, they're also pretty good, though there are times where the synths do overpower the song, most noticeably on "Edge of the Blade" and "Rubicon."  However, these are small issues as the songwriting is consistent throughout.  "Chain Reaction" and "Edge of the Blade" have good energy, while "After the Fall" is another solid AOR track.  "Back Talk" features Steve Perry rap-singing over a Bo-Diddly beat (which I liked more than I was expecting), and the title track brings back some of their proggy elements, making me think of 80s Rush between all the synth layers and rhythmic syncopation.  Honestly, there isn't a bad song on here.

This just might be the perfect AOR album.  It isn't any wonder at all a record label dedicated to the genre would be named after this release.  As good as Escape was, with its big hits, I think Frontiers is the better album overall.  It just feels more complete and consistent in quality.  Steve Perry's voice sails over the band wonderfully, Neal Schon goes back and forth between melodic soloing and shredding, Cain adds the right amount of drama with his synths (maybe a little too much sometimes), and the rhythm section of Steve Smith and Ross Valory keep things moving to ensure no song feels stuck in a rut.  A dynamic performance from all involved and (probably) the peak for this band's output.  Basically, I liked it a lot!

Journey - Raised on Radio

At the end of another successful tour, Journey decided to take a small break, during which time both Steve Perry and Neal Schon worked on side projects.  While there was some concern that the band was breaking up, but Schon made it clear that was not the case.  However, as the band got back together for their ninth album, there was some tension, resulting in the firing of bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith, largely replacing them with Randy Jackson and Larrie Londin, respectively for this album.  They would end up taking drummer Mike Baird on the subsequent tour.

Right off, the production is pristine.  The band was eager to make use of the latest technology for this one, as well as a few new effects here and there.  There is also a stronger lean into pop territory, with elements of funk and soul as well.  While it isn't a massive shift, I understand Steve Perry had a lot more control over things this time, and so it ends up sounding a lot like his solo album Street Talk.  This isn't a bad thing, as these songs are still pretty good, but with only a handful of full-on rock songs, Neal Schon doesn't seem to have as much to do, other than play some solid melodic solos, with a few shreddy bits thrown in.  I wonder if the idea was that, since by 1986, metal had taken over, the band leaned more into their cinematic, soft rock side, which was still somewhat popular, especially in movie soundtracks.  These are not bad songs, by any means, but they certainly have much less impact than the ones on previous albums.

Naturally, the big singles stand out, especially "Girl Can't Help It" and "Be Good to Yourself."  The title track is a fun little song, referencing all the 60s rock songs that influenced them.  "Positive Touch" has some bouncy energy, and "Suzanne" features a good, AOR-style chorus that I liked.  However, the rest of the album just kinda cruises along, with most of it pleasantly passing through my ears, but very little sticks.  It's not a bad album while it's on, but it's definitely a step down from the past handful they've recorded.  

GTR - GTR

So this is a curious project.  After Steve Howe left Asia, his manager suggested a new project with former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. Despite their prog rock background, they aimed for a mainstream rock audience, much like what Yes, Asia, and Genesis had been doing at this time.  They pulled together a few other talented folks to fill out the band, but in the end, only ever recorded this one album.

With Geoff Downes as the production, the album naturally sounds a lot like Asia, with layers of synths (mostly played by guitars this time) and a strong sense of drama in the dynamics.  They got Max Bacon to be the singer, and he has a solid voice for this kind of music.  I admit I don't know Hackett's work well enough to identify his contributions, but Howe certainly continues his melodic style from Asia.  The only real shake-ups are a pair of solo instrumental pieces from Howe and Hackett respectively, which are not bad.  I do think the production is a little thick at times, and there really aren't many surprises, but for the most part, these are some standard but well-executed 80s rock songs.  I also liked some of the more mellow spacey segments that showed up at the end of some tracks, and the album did get a little proggy towards the end, which was refreshing.

The album ended up being a modest success, so a second album was started, but in the end, the two guitarists struggled to continue working together and the group fell apart.  A live album was eventually released and a bootleg exists for some of the second album's songs, but otherwise, this project did not last long.  In retrospect, it ends up being mostly a novelty for 80s rock collectors, and a footnote in the history of these guitarists' longer careers.  I mostly enjoyed it myself, but at the same time, I wasn't really expecting much, largely due to its reputation.  Still, I can see this one growing on me with time.

Black Sabbath - Seventh Star

After the somewhat successful but critically mixed Born Again, Black Sabbath technically broke up.  Tony Iommi starting working on a solo album, working with a whole new band.  However, at the last minute, the label insisted on calling it a new Black Sabbath album, despite having a different sound, and so the twelfth album came to be.

I've seen other reviews refer to this as Sabbath's attempt at the popular glam metal style, and I can see some of that.  The production has a lot of mid-80s polish and synths, and both "Danger Zone" and the power ballad "No Stranger to Love" seem fit for MTV.  Former Deep Purple singer Glenn Hughes does have a very soulful style that fits the more dramatic and sentimental tone for these tracks.  However, other songs actually make me think of the Dio-Sabbath albums.  "Turn to Stone" feels very similar to "Neon Knights" and the title track feels like one of his slow, epic songs.  Honestly, if Dio sang on this, it would fit perfectly between Sacred Heart and Dream Evil.  For Iommi's part, he does play some pretty good solos on here.

The biggest sin is the fact that it says Black Sabbath on the cover.  I'm sure it was hard to know all the industry nonsense going on in the 80s, so fans probably just saw a new Sabbath album and got excited, only to be massively disappointed by what they heard.  Had they gone with a different name (or just kept it an Iommi solo project), I wonder if it wouldn't have better received.  As for me, I think it's a decent album of 80s rockers with a few good tracks (namely those two Dio-esque songs I mentioned).  Certainly not the best from the era, but not the disaster I was told to expect, either.  

Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin

Once again, Ozzy releases an album the same year as Sabbath does.  While there had been some behind the scenes drama regarding song-writing credits, once that all got worked out, Jake E. Lee was ready with another batch of songs.  While Bark at the Moon was an incredible album, The Ultimate Sin ends up being a bit of a weak follow-up.

We're still very much in classic Ozzy territory, as he straddles the line between heavy metal and glam metal, and Jake is shredding his fingers off again.  He has some solid riffs and great solos, and the rest of the band plays well.  Unfortunately, the production makes the drums a little too loud in the mix at times, and the lyrics don't feel as inspired as before.  I think part of the issue is that they seem to focus on more grounded topics (personal feelings, political tension, rock 'n' roll), and these are things he's covered before, but there really isn't any horror or fantastical themes as the cover would imply, and so the songs don't really strive to be more than just straight-ahead, mid-tempo rockers, leaving the theatrical elements to the side.  I get the feeling that Ozzy is getting a lot of things off his chest with this one, with "Secret Loser" maybe pushing a little too close to the mirror.  While none of these things are necessarily bad, as the 80s was really start to wear people down in general, but the album does suffer from feeling a little generic, compared to what he's done before.  Having passed earlier this year, it may be a bit rude to be so down on his work, but looking around, it seems that Ozzy didn't care much for this one himself.

This is not a bad album, as you can easily bang your head through most of it.  The title track and the big hit single "Shot in the Dark" stand out the most, with "Killer of Giants" having some decent dynamics as a somber power ballad.  I'm sure most Ozzy fans were content with this one, but in retrospect, I feel this one doesn't rank high in his discography, as it tends to pass in one ear and out the other.