Hey, it's been a while since I've had one of these! The start of the year has been a bit rough, as I've been dealing with some congestion in one of my ears. However, that hasn't stopped me from listening to stuff, and this time we've got a theme of classic rock and metal sounds!
These guys definitely love their classic metal, as they sound like every metal album released from 1981 to 1985. The high speed drumming of thrash meets the noodly solos of NWOBHM, making for an album that takes itself the right amount of seriously. Cheesy, but not too melodramatic. Anthemic, but with plenty of uptempo riffing and dual guitar solos.
It's also a very short album, at only 7 tracks for 35 minutes, but they still find ways to work in a decent amount of variety. "Breaking the World" is more on the epic side with its 6/8 time signature, while "Never Forever" throws in some arpeggiating synths from the 80s pop band recording in the next studio over. Meanwhile, "Deadly Eyes" is classic speed metal, and "Hard Road to Home" is a great anthemic track, probably the best on the album.
However, there really isn't much outside of 80s metal worship, and the vocals are almost too gritty for what they're going for. These songs often go for a classic type of epicness, and they need someone like Eric Adams or Ronnie Atkins, but all they seem to have is someone who's smoked nearly as much as Lemmy. They're not bad vocals, but not really great either. Decent stuff, with a lot of great guitar work, but not really blowing me away.
Uriah Heep is another one of those bands that I've seen around, but never really listened to. Supposedly having a foot in both the heavy metal and prog rock camps, I decided to give their first record a spin. I understand they don't come into their own until a few albums later, but I like to start at the beginning as it makes following the band's narrative easier for me.
What stands out at first is of course the use of the rock organ. They mentioned that Vanilla Fudge is one of their inspirations, and it's very clear on a lot of these songs. Lots of midtempo rocking with plenty of gaps for licks and fills, and nice vocal harmonies. David Byron is a very solid vocalist, with a slight operatic style, but still good for some of the album's more bluesy stuff.
"Dreammare" stands out to me the most, sounding more like an early Rainbow song, with the fantasy lyrics, and harder riffs. The rest of the tracks are an odd mix of blues rock and jazz fusion, sitting somewhere between Vanilla Fudge, Caravan, and Grand Funk Railroad. I don't know if I've heard anything amazing quite yet, but it's a decent start, and I'll be looking forward to the rest of this band's discography.
I can't believe it's been nearly two years since I first listened to Heaven and Hell. You'd think after hearing how good that one is I would have jumped right on this one, but evidentially not. Anyways, the follow up definitely has more of the same sound and style as the first, but I will say that it's probably more consistent in quality, and probably a little shinier, but maybe not quite reaching the same heights as the previous one.
Dio is still Dio, to be sure, and the music does a great job setting up a stage for him to tell his dramatic stories. Vinny Appice is the new drummer, and he plays well; his fills are especially good. Iommi brings his trademark style as well, though I don't know if his riffs are quite as strong on this one. They do some classic doomy stuff though, particularly on "The Sign of the Southern Cross" and "Over and Over." I also liked the transitions from "The Sign of the Southern Cross," through "E5150," to "The Mob Rules."
However, I don't hear anything as strong or as epic as the first side of Heaven and Hell. While "Turn Up the Night" is a solid opener, it's not as strong as "Neon Nights," and while "The Sign of the Southern Cross" does get close, it doesn't quite match the majesty of "Children of the Sea." Still, a solid effort that mostly holds up in the second half as well. I can see why some folks wished for this lineup to continue on from here, instead of breaking apart like they did.
Let's round this article out with another old-school classic from a lesser known band. Cirith Ungol is one I've heard talked about as being classic and inspirational US Power Metal, and given their album covers featuring classic fantasy art based on Elric of Melnibone, I figured I was in for some epic stuff. However, I'm guessing that's on their later albums, as this album is a bizarre collection of songs.
The first few tracks are very much in the vein of 70s metal with strong elements of prog rock, making me think of the likes of Blue Oyster Cult or Rush circa Caress of Steel. "I'm Alive" is the one that stands out the best for me, with a solid bass groove and some great dueling guitar leads. However, as the album goes on, it takes some weird turns. The second half of the album adds some rather cheesy synths, making me think of Billy Idol or The Knack. New Wave stuff, but with darker, metal lyrics. There's also a track that I guess was supposed to have lyrics, but they never got recorded, resulting in six minutes of decent, if generic, hard rock.
Overall, I have very mixed feelings after listening to this, especially since the beginning was so promising. Tim Baker clearly has a great voice for this stuff, coming across as a more metal Arthur Brown, and the guitar work is solid and riffy. It's like they have the components for a good metal band, but they were given the wrong songs somehow. Hopefully, their later albums will bring the epicness I expect.
I think I was pretty sluggish on listening to stuff at the beginning of last year. Hopefully that isn't a trend! I know that 2021 already has a bunch of promising bands and albums and we're not even a fourth of the way through! Hopefully, I can catch up and get more of these out in the near future. Until then, rock on! \m/
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