Top 5 of 1986!!

Once again, I have fallen way behind in my Top 5 lists.  This one was supposed to be out at the end of May!  I guess the mid-80s has turned into a rough spot for me (though I do wonder if the heat of summer hasn't been a problem as well).  In any case, at this point, metal had pretty much taken over in a lot of ways, as I mentioned in my Anniversary Article.  While there was some decent rock music as well, I just think the metal stood out more to me when I reviewed this year.

As always, these are just my opinions, and I can't listen to everything, but there are a few albums I should probably mention first.  Ratt and Cinderella had an outside chance of getting in, and some might be puzzled by the lack of thrash metal (except for one).  While I've never been a fan of Slayer (and they're too extreme for this blog), I'm actually not that big on either Master of Puppets or Peace Sells.  I know this is considered a massive year for thrash metal (and for good reason), I don't really get into those specific albums very much.  As for what did make my Top 5, well, keep reading!

5. Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus

Doom metal might have a murky start, with bands like Saint Vitus, Cirith Ungol, and Trouble dabbling in the style, but as far as I'm concerned, Candlemass came singing right out of the gate!  While I don't think it's their best album, it's still a very good one, taking the doomy Sabbath atmosphere and kicking it up to epic levels, they established the Epic Doom Metal template for many bands to follow.

4. Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time

Admittedly, this album is kinda stuck between two great albums, and the band was not as energized for this one due to extensive touring, but even a less-than-par Maiden album can still feature some great melodies and performances.  "Wasted Years" and "Heaven Can Wait" are certainly highlights, but they also brought out a number of epic songs, such as the historically driven "Alexander the Great."

3. Europe - The Final Countdown

Yes, the title track is great, but have you listened to the rest of this album?  I actually find some of the deeper cuts here to be quite strong as well, specifically, "Danger on the Track" and "Heart of Stone."  For slick, synth-driven glam metal, Europe rose above the rest with their theatricality and very catchy melodies that stay stuck in your head for a good while.

2. Sword - Metalized

Once again, this is not THE Sword, but a different Canadian band that plays some very gritty, straight-ahead heavy metal.  While I did review their second and third albums, I find their first one to be the strongest, full of fierce riffs and attitude.  It's just a shame they weren't able to find a big audience back in the day, because this album is great!  In fact, it nearly took the #1 spot.

1. Metal Church - The Dark

Like I mentioned, there was one thrash metal band that stood out to me during this year, and it's Metal Church.  Their debut is also a very good album, but they followed up with an excellent set of melodic thrash, maturing as songwriters and showing how to make some very fierce and powerful music without falling into weird digressions or overly complex structures.  I always feel like I should raising the horns whenever I listen to them!

Anniversary Series - 1988!

The middle of the month means it's time for another Anniversary Article!  1988 is an interesting year, as we start to see the rock and metal scene shift and expand, resulting in quite the mix of genres.  While I sure I'm missing some stuff (let me know what you think of down in the comments below), here's a rundown of the big albums and songs that rocked folks 35 years ago!

The year starts off with a rather controversial group, Kingdom Come.  While at first they tried to deny it a little, but it's pretty clear they were intent on doing a glamified approach to the classic sound of Led Zeppelin, and to be honest, they were pretty good at it.  And it's not like they were the first to do so, as both Rush's first album and and some of Whitesnake's material come to mind.  In any case, one could see Kingdom Come as the beginning of the retro-clone style of bands that we see so much today, so maybe they're influential at least in that aspect.

Of course, the pop metal scene in general had plenty of albums going around, continuing to dominate the airwaves.  Scorpions came back after a four year album break with Savage Amusement, Europe went Out of This World, Winger was "Headed for a Heartbreak," Cinderella told us that we "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)," and Poison really blew up with Open Up and Say... Ahh!, featuring several big hits like "Nothin' But a Good Time," "Fallen Angel," and "Every Rose Has Its Thorn."

Metal's various sub-genres also saw some decent representation this year.  Manowar and Candlemass brought the epicness with Kings of Metal and Ancient Dreams, respectively.  Helloween continued to establish the foundation of power metal with Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2.  Queensrÿche shifted into progressive metal with their concept album Operation: Mindcrime, and Iron Maiden pushed their proggy tendencies further with Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.  

However, the big winner of the year was thrash metal.  While all the big thrash bands put out albums this year (with Testament's probably being my personal favorite), it can't be denied that Metallica really put a spotlight on thrash with ...And Justice For All.  Despite the production problems, the album benefited from the music video for "One" getting plenty of airplay on MTV and the now-infamous snub at the Grammy's.  While some would argue that thrash's best year was 1986, the subgenre clearly started to break into the mainstream in 1988, and Metallica was leading the way.

So that's another year wrapped up.  Be sure to check out the playlist below for more great songs.  Until then, rock on! \m/

Last Played - May 2023!

Does anyone else get bad allergies this time of year?  I feel like they've been rocking my sinuses this spring, more so than usual.  Still, I've been able to power through and get some new albums listened and reviewed.  Between the rock and metal, both fast and slow, here's what I've been listening to lately!

Journey - Departure

Journey is another one of their bands where I've loved the radio singles but haven't done much with their albums.  I have listened to their early jazz-fusion stuff, and I reviewed Evolution a few years ago, but otherwise I haven't checked out any of their 80s albums, even for the anniversary articles.  However, after doing so much metal last month, I was in the mood for some classic melodic rock, and figured reviewing this would be a nice change of pace.  Right off, we have "Any Way You Want It" as the opener, and this is classic arena rock.  Starting from that iconic beginning with the vocal harmonies, the song goes straight into huge melodies and chords, and has ingrained itself in the minds of rock fans for decades since.

However, the album starts to go a bit sideways from there.  "Walks Like a Lady" is this strange, chilled blues song that never gets beyond setting a little groove for Neal Schon to solo over.  Then it goes into some very curious songs that get a little proggy.  I actually thought of 80s Rush when I heard them, but I wonder if that has more to do with the production than the songwriting.  Still, they're very curious pieces, with "Precious Time" being the strongest, as it has some interesting dynamics, ultimately ending on a decent little jam.  After that, the album becomes rather inconsistent.  "Where Were You" and "Line of Fire" are cute little rockers, but between them is a few ballads that don't feel very complete.  "Good Morning Girl" and "Stay Awhile" in particular feel like halves of songs missing more development.  Then the album ends with a very Led Zeppelin inspired rocker, with a decent riff and some solid grooves.

So, despite such a promising start, the album is a bit of a wash.  It's a shame, too, as there are some good performances.  While Steve Perry's lower register can be a bit of a mixed bag, when he needs to hit the high notes, he's great.  Neal Schon also puts in some solid soloing, and finds plenty of gaps to throw in a lick or two.  And while this would be the last studio album with keyboardist Gregg Rolie, his keys and hammonds do give the band a massive sound (along with some orchestrations). Unfortunately, it's the songwriting that really holds this album back from being as great as it could be, leaving most of the songs (outside the big hit) as a novelty at best.

Robin McAuley - Alive

Going from one rock legend to another, Robin McAuley and Frontiers Records have put together another solo album full of 80s-style rockers.  While I enjoyed the first album quite a bit, this one does make a shift into darker, grittier territory, but the shift makes Alive feel pretty tedious, overall.

Don't get me wrong; it's still a solid collection of anthemic rock songs.  As is the case with AOR these days, the production is spot on, the guitar leads and solos are melodic, and Robin sounds good.  However, I do think the guitars got some extra crunch to them, and the riffs get a little chuggier here.  While on its own, that's not really a bad thing, somehow, it makes this album feel a little monotonous.  It's nice while it's on, but most of this stuff just passes in one ear and out the other.  The only real standouts are the title track, which is a decent anthemic opener, and "The Endless Mile," which has some nice noodling on the chorus.  Maybe I'm just nit-picking, but the first album stood on its own better, and felt more majestic, while this one settles into some pretty average melodic rock that isn't as alive as its title would imply.

Candlemass - Ancient Dreams

It might seem weird going from anthemic rock to epic doom, but I really don't give doom metal enough time on this blog, as I really do like it, and Candlemass is one of the best at it.  This time, I've checked out their third album Ancient Dreams, which carries over most of the same lineup from Nightfall, which I reviewed three years ago.  Once again, they've provided a thick, heavy album full of grimness and despair.

The album starts of well with "Mirror Mirror," featuring some double-kicking bass drums, noodly doom riffing, and Messiah Marcolin soaring over everything.  The epicness is at max level, and it carries through the next few songs.  "A Cry from the Crypt" has a nice 6/8 gallop, "Darkness in Paradise" features a solid chorus and very interesting shift into a chuggy section in the second half, and "Incarnation of Evil" just has great atmosphere.  Unfortunately, the second half isn't as strong.  Sure, the doom carries on, but the songwriting gets a little underwhelming.  The lyrics on "Bearer of Pain" are a little clunky, the title track just drones on this melody and doesn't seem to go anywhere, and "The Bells of Acheron" is an interesting idea, but the groovy riff doesn't feel like Candlemass.  Their cover of Carl Michael Bellman's "Epistle 81" is also rather drab.  Maybe it's meaningful to these Swedes, but it doesn't do much for me.  At least the album ends with a decent medley of Black Sabbath classics.

Still, as I'm going through these early albums, I can hear them getting closer and closer to the amazing sound that's on Tales of Creation.  I don't know if I'll review that one for the blog, as I've heard it many times, but it's pretty much the pinnacle of classic epic doom metal.  As for Ancient Dreams, there's some solid stuff here, and I'm sure I'll come back to those first four songs, but your mileage may vary on the rest.

Kamelot - The Awakening

Finally!  After catching up on all the Karevik albums, we reach the latest opus that Kamelto has to provide.  Once again, the mainstays have returned, but with new drummer, Alex Landenburg, they seem to have brought back even more of the classic power metal sound that I've been missing.  If I thought The Shadow Theory was a comeback, this one is even more so!

Once again, they seem to be channeling sound that mixes The Black Halo and Ghost Opera.  After the symphonic intro track, the band just jumps right in with "The Great Divide"!  Full of epicness and double-kicking bass drum energy, it's a solid start to a solid album.  Much of this power metal energy comes back for "Opus of the Night" (a sequel to the track "Ghost Opera"), "Bloodmoon," "Nightsky," and "The Looking Glass."  Even the chunky, symphonic tracks keep the energy high, as "One More Flag in the Ground" and "My Pantheon" are pretty epic.  Of course, there's a few ballad's for Tommy to croon through, but the lush orchestrations give them a great theatrical feel.  It really does feel like they've successfully blended their classic power metal style with the newer symphonic metal style they've had for the past handful of albums.

However, it's not quite perfect.  "Eventide" is a little underwhelming, "Nightsky" and "Looking Glass" sound a little too similar, and "New Babylon" tries to go for this Rhapsody of Fire level of bombast, but the song structure is a little disorganized, despite the epic choir singing.  Also, while they are nice, the symphonic intro and outro do feel a little pointless.  Still, these are not major flaws for what is probably the best album of the Karevik era.  I was hoping this would be an excellent album of symphonic power metal, and I'm glad to say my anticipation has been rewarded here.  Between this, Twilight Force and Lovebites, figuring out my Top 5 for this year is going to be difficult!

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While I'm glad to have finally caught up with Kamelot (and discovered they still had some chops), looking ahead, I feel like things are going to get very busy for me!  There's already quite a stack of new releases I need to check out, and I'm also learning that my Anniversary Articles might be leaner than I was expecting!  Plus, there's another surprise that I've been slowly working on.  I had hoped that I'd get it out sooner, but it hasn't come together quite yet.  In any case, there's a lot to look forward to, if I can just get to it all!  Until then, rock on! \m/

Last Played - April 2020!

I'm not sure if I'll get a new videos article out this month, but I'm still spinning all kinds of stuff from the past.  I've been listening to all kinds of stuff, as the albums for this article is all over the place.  Let's get into it!

King Crimson - Starless and Bible Black

I'm never really quite sure what to make of King Crimson.  They do have moments of brilliance, but they're often separated by long passages of jazzy mellow ambiance or chaotic noise that never quite gel with me.  I've been slowly working my way through their material over the past few years, and decided to listen to this one at the beginning of the month.

Things start off alright with the "The Great Deceiver," but then gets pretty disorganized from there.  "The Night Watch" and "Trio" are of the mellow variety, with "Lament" "We'll Let You Know" on the more chaotic side.  "The Mincer" takes a more ambient post-rock approach, almost sounding like a 70s Tool!  The title track feels like a combination of all their styles, choatic, mellow, with psychedelic leads and organs carrying things along like early Pink Floyd.  "Fracture" features Fripp flexing his fret-work with some light, rapid-fire passages, making it the most dramatic and technical piece of the album, which eventually builds into classic Crimson's organized mayhem.

Much of this album was recorded live, as the band was very much into improvisation at the time, which resulted in the rather pretentious liner-note where Bill Bruford gets song-writing on the song "Trio" without actually playing anything (which strikes me as a very King Crimson idea!).  This band was the epitome of experimental song-writing and performance while still retaining elements of rock, making it a challenge to listen to.  However, this noise-rock approach would make them very influential and iconic!  Definitely not for the easy-listening crowd, that's for sure!

Metalium - State of Triumph

Metalium is one of those German power metal bands that was part of the explosion of the genre in the late 90s and early 2000s. As a band, they don't deviate much from the style of the times, full of high-charged choruses and fantasy lyrics.  The main thing that makes them stand out is an emphasis on bass in the production, making their power metal approach sound very gritty and grounded.

Their albums tell a story, much like Rhapsody of Fire or Dragonland, and State of Triumph is the second chapter, mostly focusing on a chosen one mastering the elements and leading an army called The Metalians to save the world.  Nothing remarkable, but it gives the lyrics a reason to be huge and triumphant, which I'm sure was the main point of them anyway.  For what it's worth, Henning Basse does give a great performance, hitting high notes and melodies with a vigor that one expects from such energetic music, and their rhythm section matches that vigor by sounding quite massive.

Their first album has a few stand out moments, but can come across as clunky and uneven.  State of Triumph has smoothed things out, making sure each of their double-kick speedy anthems are consistent across the board.  However, this also makes the album pretty samey, resulting in a album that's quite fun while it's on, but you probably won't be humming anything once it's over.  That being said, it's still solid stuff, if you're looking for something older in the vain of classic Primal Fear or Iron Savior.

Candlemass - Nightfall

Doom metal is a genre that doesn't come up here very often, but it's one I definitely like, especially the way that Candlemass plays it.  Most bands in the genre often feel like an early Black Sabbath clone (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), but I do feel like Candlemass builds on that sound to make it their own, something bigger and broader, more epic.

Nightfall is classic Candlemass, but also serves as their first album with the titanic vocalist Messiah Marcolin, whose operatic style just makes the band sound all the more melodramatic compared to their first album.  Given that all the lyrics this time deal with a lot of Christian iconography (angels and devils, sin and redemption, heaven and hell), it makes the album feel like Marcolin is giving an epic morality play, singing with authority and power.

The rest of the group aren't completely overshadowed, with the band's iconic slow and crunchy riffs plowing their way through it all.  While I don't think this as good as their later album Tales of Creation, it does have some decent variety, with "The Well of Souls," "At Gallows End," and "Dark Are The Veils of Death" experimenting with different tempos and moods, and "March Funebre" being a curious cover of Chopin's "Funeral March."  More solid doom metal from a band that doesn't disappoint.

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It's definitely been a quiet month for a number of reasons, so I apologize that I don't have more to share with you.  I'll see if I can do better for May, especially since I have plenty of ideas for articles.  Just gotta buckle down and get them done.

In any case, I hope you and yours are doing well in these unusual times.  Until then, rock on! \m/

New Videos - February 2020 Part Two!

It's that time again!  This one's definitely all over the place, genre-wise, but it's all great stuff, I promise!  Here's what I've come across this time.

Let's start off with another Beast in Black song to rock your face off!  They really have found that magic balance between power metal epicness and synth-pop energy, each side supporting the other.  Just plain huge!

Yup, another one from Archon Angel.  I'm really feeling the Trans-Siberian Orchestra vibes on this one, making for another epic entry in this week's list.  Zak Stevens really is an underrated singer!

Well, this was a surprise!  When the song started, I thought I know what the first riff was gonna sound like, so when they laid out that swing-step riff, I was totally caught off guard!  Sticking with the groove and keeping things heavy, Dynazty provides something that feels very fresh indeed!

Candlemass find themselves with a new EP and a new singer!  Actually, they've brought back the singer from their very first album, Johan Längqvist, and he sounds great!  Backed by the band's iconic riffs, they sound as huge as ever!  I should really listen to more of this band!

H.E.A.T. provides another great 80s rocker!  This one is definitely more metal than "Rise," giving me some really strong Dokken or Europe vibes.  Solid riffs and vocals, without sacrificing any of the melody, this one demands to be turned up to 11!

Let's end with another rocker from a bunch of 80s masters.  Black Swan really come out swinging with this one, making the classic metal riffs sound fresh and energetic.  I certainly wish this style of much could "shake the world!"

New Videos - January 2019

Happy New Year!  Here's to another year of great rock and metal music!  Let's start off with some more videos, because there's a lot coming up and we don't want to miss it!

I admit I'm not real savvy to Neal Morse's material, but this just shines with both technical chops and an uplifting tone!  Lot's of proggy keyboard runs and crunchy guitars, backed up by Mike Portnoy's solid drumming.

Candlemass can always lay out the lead.  They've been pounding out their brand of epic doom metal for decades, and it never gets old!  The touches of choir on the chorus really push this piece just that little bit higher.

So, apparently, this Japanese band has been rocking since the 80s alongside Loudness, and are finally getting some proper Western support and attention, and their experience shows!  Nice epic heavy/power metal with some decent crunchy melodic lines.

It looks like Rhapsody of Fire isn't the only Italian Power Metal band stepping up in in 2019.  Here is Ancient Bards continuing their saga, with all sorts of bombast, neo-classical riffing, and epicness to spare!

Oh, look!  More Italian Power Metal!  Vision Divine has been playing their style of prog/power metal for a while, and it sounds like they haven't lost a step!  New singer sounds good as well!