Alright, now that the Top 5 of 2023 is behind me, I can focus on looking ahead, which means more classic rock and metal? Like I said before, I'm going to be splitting my reviews between classic and new albums, and this will be first of the former. Of course, I have more Anniversary Articles ahead of me, the first being for 1974, so I've got a handful from that year as well. Here's what I've been listening to lately!
Trouble - The SkullTrouble is often considered one of the pioneers of the doom metal subgenre. When I heard their first album, it felt like a standard small label traditional metal release. However, the doom really comes out on The Skull. Many of these songs were being worked for quite a while before they recorded them here, but they come together quite well to make a solid, if clunky, album.
The production is actually pretty clean, not really having the thickness often associated with doom, so it feels a bit stripped down. But the riffs are certainly there, and Eric Wagner's haunted singing helps to bring the atmosphere along with the slower tempos. However, I don't know if this really made me think of the likes of Candlemass so much as it did early Savatage, but that might be because Wagner's voice has a charismatic grit that feels similar to Jon Oliva. As for the songs, they shake things up quite a bit around their chunky sound. While they bring out some great, slow riffs and melodies, they are often broken up with some mixed-meter riffing and tempo changes. Some of it works, but at times, it does feel like they just decided to throw in the odd section for its own sake.
Still, I enjoyed listening to it, as it does create it's own vibe quite well, and the solos are diverse, going back and forth between melodic and shreddy. While it may be a bit long, "The Wish" was certainly interesting, especially when the chorus finally comes, it makes me think of Metal Church's first album. "Wickedness of Man" has some interesting change-ups in their formula, and "Gideon" is weirdly uplifting, which isn't typical for doom. Some of the biblical themes might be off-putting (though I wasn't bothered), but they mostly fit their sound and don't come across as preachy so much as yearning to make sense of life. In any case, it's certainly a doom metal classic, and while I think later bands would make improvements to the style, this was definitely a significant step forward in helping to define the genre.
Boston - Third StageBoston is one of those bands that feels like they blew up and then just fell off the face of the earth (though there are good reasons for that). Their first album is a classic rock masterpiece and their second was a decent follow up (though maybe a little lackluster), but then they got embroiled in legal drama and other setbacks, pushing their third album to 1986. While I had heard "Amanda" on the radio before, I figured I should finally check out the rest of the album, only to discover that they've really drifted into AOR, with a lot of power ballads.
That's not to say this is a bad album. There are plenty of solid moments, featuring their iconic vocal harmonies and dual guitar melodies. However, I can tell that they've lost a step. I know that the lineup changed, with only singer Delp and guitarist/writer Scholz the main ones still around, but it seems the bright, energetic spirit of the first album is a distant memory in favor for stadium filling soft rock anthems. I know it's the 80s, but I think I would have liked to hear the band get back to their proggy, 70s flourishes that made them such a big deal when they debuted. Sure, they do some instrumental sections with transitions, and the album does flow well, but it's hard not to feel like this is "diet Boston."
Uriah Heep - WonderworldCan you believe I'm already on their seventh album? (You can check out the Uriah Heep tag to see my reviews of the other sixth.) Anyways, they really are just doing more of the same, though I suppose there is less of a fantastical feel to what they're doing. Still, they maintain their Vanilla Fudge/Deep Purple inspired sound for another set of songs, though I admit these albums are starting to blend together a little.
Still, there are a few stand out moments. "Something or Nothing" feels like a callback to "Easy Livin'," and "Dreams" even references "Sweet Freedom" from the last album. However, what caught my attention the most was "Suicidal Man," with its aggressive, proto-metal riffing! I'm not sure what the band was going through to write that one, but it's definitely one of the darkest songs I've heard them do so far. Otherwise, the rest of the album is some solid rocking, though I did think "The Easy Road" was kinda cheesy, and the bluesy stop of "I Won't Mind" got repetitive. I know this band is one of the unsung heroes of the 70s, but it's hard not to feel like most of this album is more of the same.
Blue Oyster Cult - Secret TreatiesOnce again, I'm giving the Cult another shot by checking out their third album. Interestingly, the lyrics were all written by guests, but they're just as weird as anything else they've done. I don't know if I would have noticed if I hadn't looked it up. Musically, compared to their first two, this one definitely sticks to a stronger blues-rock core, without as much deviation.
Most of this definitely feels like leftover 60s psychedelia with some 70s rock techniques and noodles. I admit most of the album didn't really click. Most of the middle tracks felt like weirdness for its own sake, which is not always easy for to get into. I will say that "Career of Evil" was kinda fun, like if a Bond villain was in a musical. However, at the end of the album, things really picked up. "Harvest of Eyes" had an interesting 6/8 blues groove, "Flaming Telepaths" had a decent chorus and some good synth work, and "Astronomy" was a solid closer, starting off moody then building and dropping a few times before getting to the big ending. (Of course, I was familiar with the last song due to Metallica's cover, but I can definitely see why they covered it, as it matches their sense of moodiness.) So, after some middling rock songs, the album ends pretty well! I don't know if I've quite gotten on board with this band, yet, but some of the potential they showed earlier is starting to show up.
As I mentioned in my review of their first album, the Scorpions broke up only to reform around Uli Jon Roth's Dawn Road. With only Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker carrying over, this album definitely has a different sound, one that is much more stripped down to some pretty straight-ahead 70s rock. While Roth's guitar work is pretty incredible, both getting in some shredding as well as some melodic solos, the album really just plods along, keeping things relatively basic.
There is still a bit of a hippie flair to things, especially with the hammond organs in the background, but the psychedelic spacey elements are replaced with a lot of guitar solos, which are good, but does make the songs stand out less. Part of the problem is that they tend to be kinda repetitive, repeating a lot of ideas. I did pick up on a bit of a prog rock influence, as a few sections made me think of early Yes or classic Pink Floyd. The nine-minute closer "Fly to the Rainbow" has a lot of these elements pulled together into one song, and is probably the best song on the album. If there is one thing that's consistent with the first album, it's Klaus Meine's vocals, as he sounds great here again (though he curiously shares lead vocals with the guitarists on some of the songs). While it's a step closer to the sound they would be best known for, I do think this one is pretty drab compared to the debut album as I felt Lonesome Crow had a lot more going on with its songwriting.
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