New Videos - February 2023!

Time to get into some new videos again!  Already, there's plenty of solid tracks that get me excited for the releases of this year, especially those from the big names.  Lots of metal this time around, but I promise I'm checking out plenty of rock as well.  In the meantime, check these ones out, as they're likely to get your head banging!

Once again, Metallica has come out screaming.  One thing I noticed with this (and the last song) was how much it felt like they were drawing from the Saxon and Motorhead side of their influences.  They got a bit more of high-energy rock vibe.  I'm scared to get my hopes up, but this could potentially be a solid Metallica album coming in April!

Gus G and his dynamic fretwork is back for more in this heavy/power stomper.  Herbie Langhans sounds as big and gritty as ever, and the rest of the song has solid, uptempo anthemic energy while still keeping things catchy with that melodic synth riff.  

Anthem is another of those bands where I like what I've heard, but I just haven't taken the plunge yet on one of their albums.  They still have their excellent mix of heavy and power metal, making for a very anthemic, uptempo track full of riffs that really get the blood pumping.

Well, I guess that hiatus wasn't very long at all!  Not that I'm complaining, of course.  Right off, their new bassist sounds great, fitting right in with the band's high speed pyrotechnics.  If the rest of the album is like this, I'm sure these Japanese power metal goddesses will find themselves in my Top 5 again!

I knew that when Kamelot announced they were doing a new album that it would be a priority for me.  The visual shift to sci-fi is a bit new (though welcome; it makes me think of the awesome Dune movie), but otherwise it's pretty typical symphonic metal for the group, featuring a pretty anthemic 6/8 groove.  However, I do want to try and catch up on the other two albums before getting to this one, so keep an eye out for those as well.

Last Played - February 2023!

Once again, anniversary articles are dictating my listening habits as I continue to expand my classic rock knowledge base.  While I was kind of planning on getting this out before the 1973 article, things didn't quite work out, but I suppose it's not that big of a deal to have these reviews come out afterwards, as I didn't really talk about the two 1973 albums I review here.  Ovreall, it's a bunch of classic stuff, as I've definitely been in the mood for it lately.  Here's what I've been spinning for the past while!

Blue Öyster Cult - Tyranny and Mutation

After doing this iconic band's debut album last year, I knew I needed to follow up with their sophomore effort this year.  Once again, the album is quite the mix of sounds, though I do think there is a stronger blues-rock core to it all, making me think of the Rolling Stones or Steppenwolf at times.

I think there's a little more energy on this album, overall.  The opener "The Red and the Black" definitely sets the tone for some solid rock-and-roll style jamming, which carries on with "Hot Rails to Hell," and "Teen Archer."  Even the more chilled tracks like "Wings Wetted Down" and "Mistress of the Salmon Salt" still retain some doomy power.  In the middle is "7 Screaming Diz-Busters" where they mix it together into a jazz-fusion-styled jam that has them going back and forth between a bluesy groove and and a more uptempo chorus.  And through it all, Buck Dharma is noodling his excellent guitar work from beginning to end.

While the songs are another hodge podge of ideas, and the lyrics are still very strange and esoteric, I do think this one is a bit better in the songwriting, even if they have a tendency to let the songs jam on a little too long at the end.  However, I can imagine them being quite entertaining it see played live, as they have all kinds of spaces for the musicians to add extra touches and licks.  Again, I don't know if I've really wrapped my head around this band yet, but I haven't given up.

Uriah Heep - Sweet Freedom

Yup, I'm carrying on this journey as well.  After binging their earlier albums last year, I'm starting to get a feel for how this band is.  Compared to the last one, I think the band was eager to get back to their comfort zone of big hammond organs and tight vocal harmonies will retaining their streamlined songwriting.

At this point, the band is sounding very 70s.  I don't know if it's a deliberate thing or just a consequence of the production, but this one really did feel like they were picking on some poppier ideas from the time.  While the staples of the band are still here, Sweet Freedom doesn't really have much that the band hasn't done before, really.  The vibes of Deep Purple, Vanilla Fudge, and early Styx come to mind again.  "Circus" goes for a more chilled acoustic vibe, but otherwise, the album maintains a kind of mid-tempo groove, letting Ken Hensley get a lot of work out of his organs and David Byron sail over everything with his vocals.  Some of the lyrics were rather weak, often repeating themselves, and the whole alphabet thing at the end of "Seven Stars" is very baffling.

It's not a bad album, per se, as the performances are good, but it's very standard for them.  I did like parts of "Dreamer" and "Sweet Freedom," as they had some good energy.  "Pilgrim" is a decent closer, with some epic moments and a nice jammy section in the middle, but the ending is a little tedious.  Overall, they have some pretty good dynamics, building things up as they go, but I don't know if the payoffs are particularly strong, resulting in a very average album compared to what they've done before.

AC/DC - Powerage

At this point, my listening of AC/DC is just filling in the gaps that I haven't gotten to yet.  Of course, this one is another solid slab of blues rock that the band put out like clockwork, but I do think it shows a bit of a transition in their sound from the bluesier side into the anthemic hard rockers they're known as the world over.

The album does start a little slow, as the first few songs have some decent grooves, but not much more.  However, once we get into "Riff Raff," "Sin City," and "What's Next to the Moon," the energy picks up and mostly carries through to the end of the album.  Another thing is that they seem to have a better sense of dynamics on these songs than with their earlier albums, often starting with a low, brooding vibe before building up to some big riffs and choruses, clearly foreshadowing the huge hits that would show up on Highway to Hell and Back in Black.  However, I don't know if think this album is quite up to that level of quality.  It's a sign that their clearly building towards something, though perhaps it's more noticeable through the benefit of hindsight.  Still, what we have is decent, as there is plenty of opportunities for Bon Scott to croon over some solid riffs, the new bassist Cliff Williams does a solid job keeping the rhythm down with Malcom and Phil, and Angus Young jams out his solos with his usual reckless abandon.  As ever, it's a hard rock album that goes down easy, just like the rest of their catalog.

Anvil - Forged in Fire

Yup, it's time for the next Anvil album.  Once again, this is quite the step up from the last one, as it feels like they're embracing the 80s metal sound more and more.  While they carry over their Judas Priest and Iron Maiden influences, I'm hearing a bit of Dio-era Black Sabbath in there as well, as well as maybe some of the early glam metal sound.

Right off, everyone is performing much better.  The guitars are fierce and full of energetic solos, the drumming is pounding while still taking time for some solid fills, and Lips is really turning up his voice, channeling Halford many times across the album.  The lyrics also pick up more of the classic metal tropes, including fantasy combat, freedom, and even some social commentary.  Sure, there's still a few raunchy songs, but even those are driven by some interesting riffs.  Two tracks definitely stood out the most: the title track, which has a nice doomy feel, and "Free as the Wind," which has a great metal gallop to boost its anthemic power.

However, I can tell that the band is maybe at a bit of a crossroads.  Part of the songs do have a touch of the early pop metal sound, while still trying to retain the aggression of the NWOBHM style.  1983 was a unique year, not only featuring the success of bands like Quiet Riot and Def Leppard, but also kickstarting the extreme metal with the debuts of Metallica and Slayer.  Anvil seems like it's kind of trying to stand on the cusp of the two styles, as if hedging their bets as to where things are going to in the future.  Still, this album is definitely the best I've heard from them so far.  They haven't quite reached the level of the likes of Judas Priest or Accept in terms of classic traditional metal, but they're getting quite close.

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So that's a nice chunk of classic rock and metal.  I know there are several new releases that have come out, but I haven't gotten to them yet, as this older stuff has been my focus lately.  Still, I don't intend to be completely left behind, as I know some big names have made some big announcements.  I don't know when I'll get around to them, but I assure you it's become quite the list already.  Here's hoping I don't get too far behind!  Until then, rock on! \m/

Anniversary Series - 1973!

Sorry that it's been a bit slow around here, but things will pick up soon.  In the meantime, I have another Anniversary Article for you.  1973 is an interesting year, as prog rock was reaching its pretentious heights, hard rock was shifting into more arena-friendly sounds, and bands were exploring all kinds of lyrical topics and ideas.  Certainly an exciting year, featuring great work from artists new and old.

Right at the beginning of the year, we have Aerosmith's debut album, featuring the massive single "Dream On," soon followed by "No More Mr. Nice Guy" by Alice Cooper.  Led Zeppelin would carry on with Houses of the Holy, dipping into some pretty diverse sounds.  However, the first quarter was soon dominated by the massive Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd.  I doubt I need to explain why this was a big deal, especially since I already gushed about it in my retrospective article for the band.

The year carries on with a bunch more massive singles.  The Eagles sang about their "Desperado" and Chicago was "Feelin' Stronger Every Day."  Paul McCartney and the Wings were willing to "Live and Let Die," while Queen were telling us to "Keep Yourself Alive."  The hard rock continued on, with "We're An American Band" by Grand Funk Railroad, "La Grange" by ZZ Top, and Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut album providing "Gimme Three Steps" and the iconic epic "Freebird."

At the end of the year, progressive rock picks up again, with releases from many big bands.  Genesis was checking out our wardrobes in Selling England by the Pound, Emerson Lake and Palmer were inviting us back to the show that never ends with Brain Salad Surgery, Jethro Tull performed A Passion Play, and Yes told us the Tales of Topographic Oceans.  However, at this point, prog rock was looking quite long in the tooth (in a number of ways), as the genre would struggle beyond this year.

I just want to point out a handful of others before I wrap up.  First of all is Styx's second and third albums.  While they didn't get much attention at the time, "Lady" would eventually become an AOR station staple in just a few years, and there are a handful of hidden gems like "Earl of Roseland," "Witch Wolf," and "Jonas Psalter."  Black Sabbath would salvage themselves with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, coming back with a bigger metallic sound.  And Mike Oldfield would suddenly find himself with more attention than he could have expected with Tubular Bells, a unique arrangement of instruments that would eventually become the soundtrack to horror films and space documentaries alike.

Well, I think that wraps up the year quite nicely.  It's definitely an eclectic year with all kinds of sounds and styles, but there's certainly plenty to recommend.  As always, check out the playlist below for more, and if I've missed anything, let me know in the comments.