I'm finally getting around to listening to some new stuff! Well, new to me anyway. Lots of catching up on classic bands this time, but there's a lot of good stuff to go over. Here's what I've been listening to lately!!
Last year, I decided to check out Anvil's debut album, only to find it pretty underwhelming and immature. There were a few decent parts, but otherwise, I was not impressed. So I was glad to hear how much of an improvement their next album was, as they push further into heavy metal territory.
Right off the bat, with the opening title track, you can tell they've picked up a lot of heft. While they did have a bit of the NWOBHM rockin' before, on this album there's much stronger Judas Priest and Accept vibes. The riffs are chunkier, and the leads are quite noodly, as they find little gaps to fill in here and there. "Mothra" and "Scenary" continue the heavy metal assault, with Lips sounding a lot like Rob Halford. "March of the Crabs" stands out as well, as it's a noodly instrumental reminiscent of early Iron Maiden, and there are some more Maiden-y riffs on "Tease Me, Please Me." Things even get a bit thrashy on the tracks "Jackhammer" and "666." Everyone just sounds like they really stepped up their game for this album.
Unfortunately, the sleazy lyrics make return on a handful of songs. However, they aren't quite as amateur as they were on the last album, as they wouldn't be out of place on some glam metal albums that would dominate the decade, so maybe they were ahead of their time. Still, this album is a major improvement after Hard 'n' Heavy, with the metal riffing and bigger attitude across the board.
As I said in my review of Power Windows over two years ago, Rush is a band that I think I like, but I haven't really spent a lot of time with them, especially their later material. Picking this up where I left off, Hold Your Fire shows Rush at their most 80s, for better and worse.
This is definitely an album that dates itself. The production definitely sounds like 1987 (making me think of Yes's Big Generator from the same year, actually). However, once you get past this, the music remains some pretty solid, synth-heavy melodic rock. Geddy Lee gets a lot of layers of lushness out of his keyboards, givng the songs an expansive feel to match their big ideas. He doesn't overuse any particular sound, often shifting from big symphonic synth pads to small, noddly little pieces.
Of course, we also get Lee's melodic basslines, Lifeson's unique (if jangly) guitar work, and Peart's iconic drum fills. I don't know if any of the tracks really stand out, as they are all generally pretty solid, though I do feel like the band has definitely taken a deeper step into AOR territory. However, the occasional proggy bit and Peart's lyrics really help to elevate this album from getting too fluffy and shallow.
I like this album more than Power Windows, as this one feels more optimistic and uplifting, over all. Once again, I think this album could grow on me if I listened to it more. It really is impressive how these guys seem to sound so iconic even deep within the 80s rock scene. While it certainly is a product of its time, Rush remain consistent as ever.
So after doing Heaven and Hell and The Mob Rules, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do the rest of the 80s for Sabbath. I had heard that it gets pretty messy and mediocre. So I thought I'd just jump right ahead to 1992 and the return of the Dio lineup. While it was a short-lived reunion, the result is some pretty decent heavy metal.
It's interesting comparing this one to the two previous ones, as I feel like the decade difference in time has allowed for some subtle changes. Not only is the production even shinier, I could start to hear the influences of the last decade seeping in a little as well. Of course, Dio brings his stamp onto things, with songs sounding like much of the output from his solo career, especially "TV Crims" and "Master of Insanity." But when they do the darker songs like "Computer God, "After All (The Dead)," and "Buried Alive," it sounds like one of those slower thrash metal songs, like the opening of "South of Heaven" by Slayer. However, there are a few poppy songs as well, with "Sins of the Father" and "I" making me think of Ozzy's solo stuff, of all things.
Despite all these interesting influences, I can't shake the feeling that it's a bit of a safe album. While it's certainly not bad, as I did quite like "After All (The Dead), "TV Crimes", and "I," I don't know if it really has any surprises, or any thing that the other two Dio Sabbath albums didn't do better. It's a solid album, as everyone performs well and Iommi does some decent solos, though, Certainly a big comeback for the band and their fans, but I do wonder if it was a little too focused on trying to recapture some old magic.
After enjoying their self-titled album last year, I thought I would dig into their back catalog and check out Hammer King's debut album. While I expected more of their heavy/power metal sound, this album definitely shows a band that hasn't quite matured, but still establishes a decent foundation for them to build on.
The main thing that stands out is just how generic it all is. This is about as meat-and-potatoes as a heavy/power metal album can be! The lyrics in particular are quite short and simple, leaning heavily into their inspirations of Manowar and HammerFall. However, they end up turning the simplicity into a strength, helping the songs feel more catchy and fun to sing along with. The songwriting is also pretty straight-forward and formulaic, but there is something to be said for focusing on execution, resulting plenty of mid-tempo chugging, and some very nice melodic solos.
However, it really is the same tone and vibe all the way through. While "Blood Angels" does get a little darker and heavier, this is some pretty cookie-cutter heavy/power metal. There isn't much to criticize, though, as it's all done pretty well. I particularly enjoyed the call-and-response elements on "Aderlass," "We Are the Hammer" kicks it up a notch, and "Figure in the Black" is a curious ode to James Bond, of all things. While it's not as good as their self-titled album, I can see this album as a good starting point for what they will become.
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