Retro Reviews - September 2025 Part Two!

Once again, my retro reviews are dominated by my next Top 5 article, and with 2000 coming up, I had plenty of albums to consider.  However, in the end, I decided to review these five, as they are mostly continuations of bands I've been reviewing over the years, which means more power metal!  Instead of breaking these up, I've decided to throw them together, so settle in for a long article!

Helloween - The Dark Ride

After enjoying their latest releases, I figured it was time to try and fill in some of the gaps I had with this band's discography.  I've mentioned before that I've listened up through Better than Raw, and most of it is great power metal.  With this one, the band had retroactively mentioned there was more executive meddling this time, and they went with a bit of a darker, gritter tone.

Things start off with some pretty typical power metal, as tracks like "Mr. Torture," and "All Over the Nations" would have fit in well with any other Helloween album.  Then we get "Escalation 666" and "Mirror Mirror" with both have a much darker tone and mid-tempo chugging, and their lead single "If I Could Fly" feels almost like an alternative rock song.  The rest of the album bounces bounces around these two styles.  While the power metal tracks are classic in style, they do feel a bit less inspired than usual, while the slower, grittier tracks are a mixed bag, but feature some neat ideas.  However, to the band's credit, the album never feels uneven or jarring, the different sounds making the album feel kind of diverse.

Personally, I find the later material on the album to be stronger.  "Mirror Mirror" is an interesting take on the classic fairy tale, then "The Departed (Sun Is Going Down)" and "I Live For Your Pain" are the best of the slower, grittier songs.  Meanwhile, "We Damn the Night" is the best of the power metal side, the epic closing title track features all of this and more.  While this isn't the band at their best, they've certainly had worse, and I think there's plenty to like here, making this more like a dark horse than a black sheep.

AC/DC - Stiff Upper Lip

After Ballbreaker, these Aussies seemed to settle into a pattern of putting out an album every 5-8 years, as I'm sure their live show was the more profitable side of their band.  As for this album, they definitely drawn upon the blues rock that dominated their sound in the 70s, making this feel like something of a throw back.

Of course, this is a minor shift, as the band's sound is one of the most unchanging things in the history of rock music, and that's just fine.  Things start of well with the rockin' title track, "Meltdown" and "House of Jazz" have the strongest blues elements on the album, and "Hold Me Back" has this near minimal approach before it builds to its anthemic end.  "Safe in New York City" has some interesting energy, and the blues come back for "Satellite Blues" and "Come and Get It."  I do think the album does lose some steam towards the end, but "Give It Up" is a solid closer.  Overall, it's another AC/DC album, designed to get your headbanging from beginning to end.  I will say, though, that I think this one was better than Ballbreaker, and probably on the upper end of their discography.

For what it's worth, this was the last album I needed to hear to complete my listening of their entire studio discography.  It took many years (long before I started the blog), but I can say with confidence that they've been largely consistent over their entire history. I might at some point create a Retrospective Article, filling in the reviews I need to, but that will probably have to wait until next year sometime.  In the meantime, they remain the band we've always enjoyed, and this album is a good example why.

Rhapsody of Fire - Dawn of Victory

This year was definitely one for power metal, with this one being the third in their Emerald Sword Saga.  In the last album, our hero made it to the tower to find the titular weapon and is now on his way back to face the evil that threatens the land.  Naturally, this means another set of bombastic, high speed power metal!

Musically, nothing has changed at all from the last album.  We get more neo-classical orchestrations to go with all of Luca Turilli's shredding guitars, and Fabio Lione does his best to share the story in his soaring voice.  As for that story, the hero brings the armies together into an alliance against the evil Akron, but when his friend's lover (a princess) gets kidnapped, the vile lord wants the Emerald Sword for himself.  The heroes try to anticipate a trap only to get captured, and the sword falls into the hands of evil, and our main hero is the only one to escape with his life.  I bring up the story here, as the album starts rather triumphant, but the songs get darker and more desperate as it goes (at least for power metal, anyway).  Of course, there are still some strange breaks, like "The Village of the Dwarves" with its folky respite, but most of the time, it's pretty melodramatic theatrics, which the music holds together well enough.

This is one of those albums where the great songs are great, but the rest is pretty forgettable.  I liked the title track and "Holy Thunderforce," as they feature some pretty epic melodies and symphonics, and the massive closer "The Mighty Ride of the Firelord" has a little of everything.  However, the rest of the songs, while not necessarily bad (though "The Bloody Rage of the Titans" was another strange one), they aren't as memorable as those three.  In any case, the band is once again spot on with their orchestrations and arrangements, and certainly sell their operatic pretentions pretty well. 

Iron Maiden - Brave New World

After enduring the two Blaze Bayley albums, it was high time I got back into this band and their reunion with Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith.  However, they decide to hang on to Janick Gers, making the first album with three guitarists.  In fact, this lineup has remained ever since!  In any case, this album is pretty much a return to form for the band, calling upon their 80s majesty.

I know I haven't reviewed any Dickinson album before now, so let's get the obvious out of the way: this man is a great vocalist and frontman.  He's one of the greats for good reason, and he sounds great here.  The rest of the band is definitely back to normal after stumbling through the 90s.  The rhythms and hooks are tight again, and the guitar work is exemplary as always.  Essentially, it's Maiden doing what they do best, which is writing solid, melodic heavy metal, and after the last two albums, it's nearly a relief to hear the crew still have it where it matters.  The long songs have return as well, as the band leans more into their proggy side like "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" or "Alexander the Great."

Listening to this album is like putting on an old pair of comfortable shoes.  While long-time Maiden fans will already know how good songs like "The Wicker Man" and "Blood Brothers" are, but I also rather liked "Ghost of the Navigator" and "The Fallen Angel."  There are no surprises and you know what to expect, but at the same time, you can't help but feel good about it anyway, simply because it's executed well.  As a consequence, the album might not stand up well against their classics, but it makes for a solid return to form, and a new baseline for what follows.

Gamma Ray - Blast from the Past

Just to round things out, I decided to throw this collection on and give it a listen.  Technically, it's a compilation for the band, but a majority of it was recorded, letting the fans pick the songs on their website.  While the songs themselves weren't changed much, there are a few major differences that make this more than just a typical Greatest Hits album.

First is the production, making the re-recorded versions feel more rich and layered, so they feel more in-line with what the band had been doing at the time.  It also gives them a welcome extra punch of power metal.  The other major difference is that the vocals of Ralf Scheepers (now happily working in Primal Fear at this point) were now provided by Kai Hansen.  While some of the re-recorded songs were clearly written with Ralf's hefty vocals in mind, but Kai does well enough, especially on the faster songs that call for his soaring style.  Overall, I don't know if this is a particularly vital release, but definitely shows how Gamma Ray has finally established their style.  Enjoyable, but probably not vital outside of diehard fans.

Anniversary Series - 1984!

I have to tell you that this is probably one of my favorite years.  So many good albums came out this year that it will be tough to condense it down into one article, but I've tried.  Metal is really growing, not only with the popularity with the pop stuff, but thrash also slowly building in the background.  Meanwhile, rock music was taking a bit of a backseat, but there were still some very good releases this year.

Things start off massive with Van Halen's 1984, dominating the charts with songs like "Panama," "Jump," and "I'll Wait."  It may have startled some fans with the synth riffs, but the songs won pretty much everyone over.  And right after that, Judas Priest shows up with Defenders of the Faith, a solid follow up to the massive Screaming For Vengeance.  Other big albums at the start of the year include Whitesnake's Slide It In, Saxon's Crusader, Europe's Wings of Tomorrow, and Scorpions' Love at First Sting, with the titanic hits "Rock You Like a Hurricane," and "Big City Nights."

This year would also feature a lot of debut albums, with some albums being better than others.  Bon Jovi's self-titled debut only shows hints of their future successes, Grave Digger's Heavy Metal Breakdown barely holds together, and even celebrated thrashers Anthrax started with the uneven Fistful of Metal.  However, the good debuts include Lee Aaron's Metal Queen, Savatage's The Dungeons Are Calling, Queensrÿche's The Warning, Autograph's Sign in Please, and Ratt's Out of the Cellar, blowing up radios with their big hit "Round and Round."  The rest of that album is quite good, too.

Metal continues to evolve as the year goes on.  We have some early efforts in doom metal with Trouble's Pslam 9, and Saint Vitus' debut, ensuring that Sabbath-y slow, ominous riffs wouldn't go out of style.  Cirith Ungol would have their own take on epicness with King of the Dead.  Yngwie J. Malmsteen, after trying to make it with Steeler and Alcatrazz, introduces the world to neo-classical metal with Rising Force.  Of course, the big winner is thrash metal, featuring two massive albums: Metal Church's self-titled debut, and Metallica's Ride the Lightning.  Both are excellent examples of blending melody with aggression, making them some of my favorites.

Metal would continue to dominate the year as it goes on.  Twisted Sister told us "We're Not Gonna Take It" on Stay Hungry, Dio would sing about the Last in Line, and Iron Maiden would cement their metal supremacy with Powerslave, going on a massive world tour.  Manowar would end up releasing two albums this year: Hail to England and Sign of the Hammer.  Towards the end of the year, Dokken put out Tooth and Nail, expanding their sound into their own brand of pop metal.

With all this metal going on, what about rock?  Well, like I said, it was in the background, occasionally popping out with some good songs.  .38 Special started the year with Tour de Force, Queen got experimental with The Works, Rush continued their synth-based sound on Grace Under Pressure, Steve Perry went solo with Street Talk, and Bill Squier showed Signs of Life.  The big story, however, was Deep Purple's Mark II reunion, recording Perfect Strangers, which is an interesting blend of 70s and 80s styles.  

As the year came to a close, there were more big albums.  The Alan Parsons Project would release two this year, Ammonia Avenue and Vulture Culture, which would be their last two efforts to follow the mainstream popularity of Eye in the Sky.  Then, at the very end, Foreigner would come back with Agent Provocateur and the big ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is." While rock may have been fading at the time, it certainly wasn't going out without a fight!

As you can see, this was a massive year.  Be sure to check out the playlist below for more awesome music, and if you think there's still something I may have missed, let me know in the comments below.  I know 1984 is a year I keep coming back to, and maybe when I come around on these Anniversary Articles again, I'll have even more to talk about!  Until then, rock on!  \m/

Last Played - July 2023!

After having a very busy June, I've finally got some time to catch up on some newer releases from earlier in the year and an older album that I admit is mostly just marking off an item on a checklist.  Still, it wasn't all bad, and the newer albums had some decent moments as well.  Here's what I've been listening to lately.

Big City - Sunwind Sails

This band blew me away a few years back with their curious blend of pop and prog metal, and when they announced their fourth album, I knew I had to give it a listen.  The first single showed that they have retained their particular style, and the rest of them album provides more of the same, but it struggles to really grab me.

The album has a lot of things going for it.  The production is big and anthemic, everyone's performances are solid, and they certainly don't rely on clichés for their ideas or lyrics, often dipping into science fiction elements.  The guitars provide a lot of noodly solos and crunchy riffs (Daniel Olaisen and Frank Ørland back again), and Jørgen Bergersen voice is huge and natural, their 80s rocking style ringing out with confidence.  The songwriting isn't afraid to mix it up at times either, throwing in a darker riff or a softer section, letting some songs drift in the five or six minute territory.  However, I can't deny that there seems to be something missing.  Maybe the melodic hooks aren't really working, making the songs less memorable, as they tend to pass delightfully in one ear and out the other.

I'm wondering if this is an album I'm gonna have to spend some time with in order to get a better idea of what these guys were going.  There certainly seems to be a push to make things more cinematic, taking their pop metal sound and boosting to a bigger scale, but I don't know if it's really making the music better.  I did like "I'm Somebody" as a solid opener, and "After the Raid" felt like it was inspired by Gamma Ray, but overall, initial impressions leave me lukewarm.  

Iron Maiden - Virtual XI

Yup, it's finally time to talk about the other Blaze Bayley album.  I was pretty underwhelmed by the first one, but from what I had heard, this one is just as bad, if not worse.  As it turns out, I think Virtual XI is actually an improvement, if only a minor one, as many of the problems from The X Factor return.

Primarily, the muddy production comes back, as well as the extended song lengths.  Honestly, many of these tracks feel long just for the sake of long, often repeating choruses over and over, as if they felt the need to pad them out for some reason.  "The Angel and the Gambler" is the biggest offender, as that song had maybe enough ideas for 4 minutes, but it goes on for 10!  The songwriting does have a few shake-ups, but most of the songs follow the same "Fear of the Dark" formula that the last album did.  

While I do think the band feel a little more energized, they still sound like they lack a lot of inspiration.  There are some solid guitar melodies and solos, the dynamics shift in ways that are pretty typical (though they are boosted by some synthesizers adding a few layers), and Blaze sounds decent, but it's hard to shake this sense that they're still in cruise control.  "Futureal" and "The Clansman" are probably the only songs that stand out, as the first has good energy, and the second does build to a decent level of epicness.  Overall, it's not awful, and not as sluggish as The X Factor was, but it's easy to see why most Maiden fans consider both of the Bayley albums to be so skippable.

Silver Bullet - Shadowfall

After stumbling into the band with a neat little power metal song about the Soul Reaver games, I decided to check out what else this band had to offer for 2023.  What I got was a set of songs that shift back and forth between AOR and heavy/power, like a mix of modern HammerFall and Eclipse, but with more symphonic keyboards.  

Maybe it was just the mood I was in, but the more metal songs stood out to me more.  "Shadow of the Curse" is a solid opener, really using the keyboards to add lush layers.  "Soul Reaver" was fun to hear again, and "Nighthunter" had a bit of a traditional metal vibe (at least until the choirs came in).  "The Ones to Fall" and "Creatures of the Night" were more on the AOR side, and "Falling Dawn" was a mix of both styles.  "Dusk of Dawn" gets doomy and dramatic with a slower riff and the massive orchestrations, only to get broken up with an uptempo section for the second half of the song, and "The Thirteen Nails" goes full-on symphonic metal.

Overall, it's a decent album, with a solid sense for dynamics and orchestrations, but otherwise it's pretty standard power metal.  It's also a little on the short side, at 45 minutes, but I think they were able to cover a good range of ideas in that time.  It's not particularly original (as most power metal fans will feel pretty comfortable with what Silver Bullet provides), but it's executed well.  While I had never heard of the band before, I'm curious to check out their older albums to see what they're like, if I can find the time.

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I don't know if I have much to say at the moment, other than that I'm trucking along.  My next article, which will be for 1998, is going to be a doozy, so I need to get started on that sooner rather than later (you'll see!).  I've been seeing some pretty high temperatures around, so I hope everyone is staying cool this summer.  Until then, rock on! \m/

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/

Anniversary Series - 1983!

After doing that massive collection of reviews for albums from 1983, I'm more than prepared for this Anniversary Article.  As I mentioned in that other article, 1983 was a pretty exciting year for rock and metal, and going over this year, it's hard to decide to what to keep and what to leave out!  Let's get into it.

Right off, we have some pretty massive releases from some great melodic rock bands.  Journey push their Frontiers with massive hits like "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" and "Faithfully."  Styx released Kilroy Was Here with the ever-catchy "Mr. Roboto" and the great ballad "Don't Let It End."  Blues-rock masters ZZ Top put out Eliminator, featuring a lot of classic rock staples like "Give Me All Your Lovin'," "Got Me Under Pressure," "Sharped Dressed Man," and of course, "TV Dinners."  (Well, okay, that last one is just a personal favorite.)

Heavy metal was just starting to break into the mainstream, starting with Def Leppard's Pyromania, with tracks like "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages" getting tons of airplay on MTV.  We also saw Mötley Crüe Shout at the Devil while displaying "Looks that Kill," but it would Quiet Riot's Metal Health that would be the first metal album to reach #1 on the Billboard 200, soaring with their cover of Slade's "Cum On Feel the Noize," beating out Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Great metal albums would continue to come out as the year went on.  Iron Maiden followed up their titanic Number of the Beast with Piece of Mind and "The Trooper."  Dio would start his own band with Holy Diver and sing about being a "Rainbow in the Dark."  Anvil and Manowar would carry on the US side of traditional metal with Forged in Fire and Into Glory Ride, respectively.  However, Metallica would provide the shot in the arm for the underground scene with their debut Kill'em All, and kickstarting thrash metal the world over.

Progressive bands would find themselves in a strange position.  Many of the old guard were suddenly finding pop success.  Genesis's self-titled album provided "That's All" and "Mama" as big radio hits, prog supergroup Asia would struggle with Alpha, despite being a very solid album, and Yes would reform around new guitarist Trevor Rabin for the massive hit "Owner of a Lonely Heart" on 90125.  However, with the review I gave last month, newcomers like Marillion and IQ were putting a new spin on what prog could sound like.

Getting to the end of the year, we have some more excellent metal to round us out.  Night Ranger's debut album Midnight Madness was big, with "(You Can Still) Rock in America," "When You Close Your Eyes," and the massive power balled "Sister Christian."  Ozzy regrouped after the disastrous death of Randy Rhoads by finding Jake E. Lee and releasing Bark at the Moon, and Accept would find international success with Balls to the Wall.  

Whew!  That was quite a lot, and there's plenty more in the playlist below, so be sure to check out what's down there.  I know that every year generally has some solid stuff, but 1983 was clearly a great year for rock and metal.  If there was anything I missed, let me know in the comments.  

Anniversary Series - 1992!

While I am dedicated to getting these anniversary articles done, I have to admit I don't really have a lot to say about 1992.  Of course, there were certainly big things happening this year, but most of it is outside of the scope of this blog, with the expansion of genres such as groove metal, extreme metal, and punk rock.  Still, there are a few things I can bring up as being important releases for the year.

Naturally, the year also saw a continuation of the grunge explosion, but most of that first wave happened last year, as Nevermind, Ten, and Badmotorfinger continued to sell copies.  This didn't leave much new for the genre, but we did get two big releases.  Alice in Chain's Dirt had success with tracks like "Would?", "Them Bones," and "Rooster."  Meanwhile, Stone Temple Pilots exploded with their debut Core.

Of course, heavy metal hadn't quite been completely erased by the alt rock movement.  Iron Maiden told us of their Fear of the Dark, being the last album with iconic singer Bruce Dickensen for 8 years.  Black Sabbath would suddenly reunite with Heaven and Hell lineup (albeit temporarily) for Dehumanizer.  Manowar gave us The Triumph of Steel, featuring a 28 minute epic about the story of Achilles.  Blind Guardian would push further into their fantasy themes with Somewhere Far Beyond.  Megadeth would follow their rivals Metallica with the mainstream success of Countdown to Extinction, featuring the massive "Symphony of Destruction" and the quirky "Sweating Bullets."

In terms of classic, melodic rock, there are a few gems.  Asia would reform around John Payne and release Aqua, Neal Schon worked with the Gioeli brothers for the first Hardline album Double Eclipse, and Def Leppard would find some left over pop metal appeal with Adrenalize.  AC/DC would also release a widely celebrated live release, simply titled AC/DC Live.

However, in terms of melodic rock and metal, what most likely might be the most important release is Images and Words from the prog metal giant Dream Theater.  While the fusion of prog rock and metal had been kicking around in the 80s, it wasn't until this second album of theirs that the genre really took off, as many bands have since tried to emulate what Dream Theater established here.  Not only featuring their only hit, "Pull Me Under," but also other favorites like "Learning to Live" and the renowned "Metropolis Part 1."  Melodic metal would never be the same after that album.

I'm sure there are plenty I missed from this year, so if you think of any, let me know in the comments below.  Still, a pretty big year for a few reasons.  As always, check out the playlist below for more.  Until then, rock on! \m/

Anniversary Series - 1982!

While I do apologize for the lack of posts lately, but I am certainly not going to miss out on doing another Anniversary Series article.  This time: 1982, which is a pretty solid year.  Following up on 1977 would be hard, but this year has plenty of rock and metal to celebrate.

Right off, the year starts with three pretty big albums.  First is Asia's debut, a solid pack of AOR melodic rock, and one of my favorites of all time.  And given that it was the best selling album of the year, I don't think I'm alone in that.  The next big one was Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast, kickstarting Bruce Dickinson's rise to the top of heavy metal vocalists, and catapulting the band to the heights of metal history.  This was followed by Scorpions' Blackout, with the big hit "No One Like You," helping to grow their international appeal.

As spring turns to summer, we see a landslide of melodic rock.  Toto released their massive IV album, with "Rosanna" and "Africa" become radio staples for many years to come.  Meanwhile, Magnum found themselves with Chase the Dragon, Rainbow continued their push into FM radio with Straight Between the Eyes, .38 Special gave us "Caught Up In You," Survivor told us about the "Eye of the Tiger," and the Steve Miller Band cast their spell with "Abracadabra." On top of all that, the Alan Parsons Project shift into melodic rock as well with Eye in the Sky, not only getting a big hit with the title track, but ensuring that the Chicago Bulls would have great intro music for their games for years to come.

Heavy metal was also heating up, with Anvil establishing their Metal on Metal sound, Manowar releasing their debut Battle Hymns, Twisted Sister put out their debut Under the Blade, and Judas Priest coming back from their lukewarm last album with the acclaimed Screaming with Vengeance, with the big hit "You've Got Another Thing," and the fan favorite "Electric Eye."  Accept would soon follow afterward with Restless and Wild, helping to push metal into going "Fast as a Shark," while telling us about the "Princess of the Dawn."

The rest of the year would give us a few solid rock albums.  Rush would push further into synthesizer territory with Signals, Dire Straits would warn us of the dangers of "Industrial Disease" on Love Over Gold, and Led Zeppelin would release their last, posthumous album Coda, putting a definitive capstone on their illustrious music productivity.  Closing out the year, Night Ranger would debut with Dawn Patrol, providing the big hit "Don't Tell Me You Love Me," and showing the future of rock in the 80s with their pop metal sound.

1982 sees more transitions, as AOR reaches its peak with metal coming up behind them, making it a fascinating year with a lot of variety.  As always, I've got the playlist below, and if you think I've missed something, let me know!  Until then, rock on! \m/

Anniversary Series - 1981!

Honestly, it can be difficult to adequately provide a recap for these anniversary articles, as sometimes there is just so much good stuff that comes out in a year.  Suffice it to say that 1981 is another stellar year with great music.  

Things kick off with April Wine's "Sign of the Gypsy Queen," a great rock song that's really grown on me, recently.  At the same time, we have Styx releasing Paradise Theater, featuring massive songs like "Rockin' the Paradise," "The Best of Times," and "Too Much Time On My Hands."  .38 Special would have their big hit "Hold On Loosely" come out this year, and Billy Squier had "The Stroke."

Heavy metal would also have some big releases this year.  Iron Maiden would pick up of their popular debut record with Killers, expanding on their noodly style of metal.  Judas Priest had at tougher time, following up British Steel with Point of Entry, often regarded as a weaker entry, but I still enjoy "Heading Out to the Highway" as solid Priest song.  Ozzy Accept would come into their own with Breaker, which I reviewed earlier this month.

Prog rock may not have been much of a force by this point, but there still some significant albums, though Rush's Moving Pictures certainly stands out, with big hits like "Tom Sawyer" and "Limelight," as well as the fan favorite "YYZ."  Genesis would continue their pop-transition with Abacab, and King Crimson would suddenly reform for Discipline, ensuring that at least someone was exploring the boundaries of rock music.  

As the year goes on, we get even more great rockers.  Blue Öyster Cult recorded Fire of Unknown Origin, with the big hit "Burnin' For You," Journey provided "Don't Stop Believin'" and the epic ballad "Open Arms" from Escape, The Rolling Stones asked to "Start Me Up," and Def Leppard's High 'n' Dry gave us "Let It Go" and "Bringin' On the Heartbreak."  However, the big record for the summer was Foreigner's 4.  With massive tracks like "Waiting For a Girl Like You," "Jukebox Hero," and "Urgent," they showed they were the rock band to beat that year.

Even at the end of the year, it doesn't stop. The Police released Ghosts in the Machine, Loverboy sang out "Working For the Weekend," J.Geils Band had "Freeze-Frame," and The Cars used combined '50s kitsch with new wave sensibilities to Shake It Up.  Metal titans Black Sabbath would follow up their comeback record of Heaven and Hell with the equally solid Mob Rules, Ozzy also had a sequel record in Diary of a Madman with "Over the Mountain," and Saxon provided the NWOBHM anthem with "Denim and Leather."  The year would conclude with AC/DC's follow up to Back in Black with For Those About to Rock We Salute You.  Perhaps not as strong overall as their first with Brian Johnson, but that title track still gives me chills.

So there it is: 1981 in a nutshell.  I know I skipped over a ton of good stuff, and I tried to include them in the Spotify playlist below, but be sure to let me know if I've missed anything.  

Last Played - January 2021!

Sorry for the lack of posts this month.  January has been pretty hard on me, health wise, so I've slowed down quite a bit.  Still, I have a few albums here that I've heard lately, with the theme of 90s metal!  Let's go!

Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond

I've started reading The Silmarillion this year, and that kinda got me into a Blind Guardian mood again, so I listened to this album, probably best known for having the ballad "The Bard's Song," which would in turn give the band the nickname "The Bards."  Even from the start, I can tell this is better than their last album, as the songwriting is tighter and stronger.

At this point, the band certainly have their sound, and it definitely feels like power metal now, though there is still plenty of the older speed/thrash style, making for some pretty gritty, dark-sounding stuff.  However, there's plenty of great riffs and melodies, often at quite high speeds.  And as usual, Hansi is just killing it, whether he's singing alone or with some great vocal harmonies.

As always, the songs are inspired by all kinds of fantasy literature, as well as sci-fi film and television, and even one based on a video game.  This really is the band of nerds and for nerds, as as a nerd, I can certainly appreciate it!  I quite liked "Time What is Time," "Journey Through the Dark," and the title track.  It's easy to see why these guys became such an inspiration to so many other power metal bands that followed!

Vanden Plas - Far Off Grace

Vanden Plas is a band I keep telling myself I should listen to more, as I've only listened to their first two albums and only a handful of other tracks.  They always sound great, like a Dream Theater lite that isn't as obsessed with extended songwriting or overly long solos.  So I threw in their third album to expand my knowledge of them.

The first thing I noticed was that the production is the little thin, with the percussion sounded like they weren't recorded in the same room, the bass drums feeling especially clicky.  Still, it's a minor gripe for what is a pretty solid album of melodic prog metal.

The band definitely show their skills, with plenty of curious time-signature changes and lots of moody shifts.  Andy Kuntz in particular really stands out.  He's always been a great singer, and that's still true here.  His voice is so iconic to me, giving a lot of depth to the songs, but still focused on singing well instead of any kind of over-the-top emotional performance.  The rest of the band performs well, with some pretty neat solos here and there, especially the one in "Far Off Grace."

However, the album didn't blow me away like some of their others.  Decent songs, but the only one that really stood out was "Inside of Your Head," with some interesting segments that flow well and a really catchy chorus.  The covers at the end are a nice touch, but don't really add to the album, either.  Overall, it's solid work, and I'm glad I have more Vanden Plas to consider, but I don't think it's quite as strong as Colour Temple or The God Thing.

Iron Maiden - The X Factor

I'm still working my way through this legendary band's discography, and I've finally reached the first of two controversial albums.  After Bruce Dickinson decided to leave, they found Blaze Bayley to be their replacement, a move that frustrated a lot of their fans.  As they began to put material together, they felt like they were wrangling with number of variables, coming up with the title for the album (as well as having a bit of a clever pun on it being their tenth studio release).

Right off, this is definitely much darker material than usual for the band.  Part of it has to do with Bayley's voice being more of a baritone, but the production overall has a bit of a muddy, meaty tone, and the lyrics certainly deal with different kinds of bleak material, ranging from madness and frustration, to the human heart at its darkest.

The result, however, is quite a mixed bag of meh.  The big problem I had was it felt like they were trying to redo "Fear of the Dark" 8 times over, making the album feel very monotonous.  The songs are also overly long, often having mellow intros, into mid-tempo chugging for the verses, into up-tempo sections for the solos, then back down again.  As such, the songwriting does feel a bit predictable and more filler than substance.  As for Bayley's voice, I don't think it's bad, but it is a rough match for the material.  There were a few times I wished we had Dickinson singing this stuff at an octave higher.  The solos were good as well, though I suppose saying that an Iron Maiden album has good guitar work is like saying water is wet!

Overall, what was once a tight and dramatic band seems to have gotten flabby and safe with this one.  I do think "Sign of the Cross" is decent, and "Judgement of Heaven" stood out to me just for being a different kind of song from everything else, in a good way.  However, I can see why fans would be so down on this album as it really does feel like a 90s band imitating Iron Maiden than anything particularly authentic.

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I'm still slowly working on my Top 5 for 2020, and like I thought, it's been tough deciding what should go in.  Hopefully, my health will improve and I'll be able to work that out soon!  Until then, rock on! \m/