Shout Out: The Mission - Styx

Continuing the trend of discussing albums from 2017 that I weren't aware of until after I'd written about the best/worst albums of 2017, here we have a new record from Styx!

OK, I'm quite late on this one but I still feel like it deserves some attention, seeing as how I only found it through the Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify and not any of the lists about 2017 album releases I read over the last couple of years. However, I'm not reviewing it simply because I don't have an awful lot to say about it, at least not in the usual depth I go into on album reviews; hence, Shout Out! Usually Shout Out posts are dedicated to albums I really love but occasionally, I write one when I just want to bring it to people's attention. This is one of those times.
The Mission is a concept album about mankind's journey to Mars with some narrative fluff in between; your typical Prog Arena Rock affair. Whilst this may not have the passion and youthful energy that earlier Styx songs contained (arguably due to the lack of Dennis DeYoung), the band have pulled an ELO and written music to accommodate their age. The majority of tracks are slower, more atmospheric ("Radio Silence", "Time May Bend") but there are a couple of faster paced rockers in there, such as true album opener "Gone Gone Gone" and "The Outpost". Whilst there are a couple of unnecessary filler tracks designed to bridge songs with musical narrative ("Ten Thousand Ways", "All Systems Stable"), it's still a strong album that feels like it was written with the intention of creating great music, not forcing the creators back into the mainstream or making undeserved money off idiotic music magazines and their fans touting the talents of has-beens.
If you like albums that you can chill out to and listen to in the background, The Mission is perfect for you. It starts off with excitement and peacefully mellows out for the rest of the journey, not unlike the launch of a rocket to space (an artistic decision that was hopefully intentional and not me reaching). If you want an album full of "Lorelei"s and "Blue Collar Man"s, you'll be disappointed. I suppose the album opener did a poor job of setting standards from that perspective but hey, that's what I'm here for! There are far more egotistical, unnecessary examples of Prog Rock concept albums out there, although for someone like myself who prefers Rock music that actually Rocks, it's not an album I'll be revisiting any time soon.

1. Overture

2. Gone Gone Gone

3. Hundred Million Miles From Home

4. Trouble At The Big Show

5. Locomotive

6. Radio Silence

7. The Greater Good

8. Time May Bend

9. Ten Thousand Ways

10. Red Storm

11. All Systems Stable

12. Khedive

13. The Outpost

14. Mission To Mars

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

Aaaaand that's me all caught up on blog posts for the month! Bring on April...and May...and June...just keep bringing on months until everything ends.

Taster Session #10

Several months have passed since the last Taster Session post and, sure enough, many more Rock/Metal singles have been released! Funny, that. Anyway, let's look at five new songs for upcoming albums and decide whether or not we want to enjoy the full records based on their singles:

"Devil" - Shinedown         (listen here)

From the album Attention Attention (04/05/18)

I'm slowly getting into Shinedown after listening to a bunch of their albums in one sitting. I definitely prefer their earlier stuff, though. It had more of an edge and pound for pound it felt more like Rock music compared to the stuff on Threat To Survival. "Devil" has the passion and energy but also sounds like something you'd hear at the end of a Transformers film or covered in a singing talent show; safe Rock. I'll probably listen to the album but considering it doesn't sound like Shinedown are reverting back to their earlier sound, I'm not going to get excited about it.

"Waiting For A Sign" - Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow         (listen here)

From the album ???? (??/??/??)

Wow, the first new Rainbow song in about 22 years!!!

Holy shit, remember Rainbow? "Stargazer", "Kill The King", "Lost In Hollywood". They were an awesome Hard Rock band, I wonder what their new single will sound like?

WAHP WAHP. It sucks!

Yeah, Blackmore's lost it. He had something special and he fucking lost it, the twat. Seriously, listen to this song and get your head around the fact that the guy who laid down all the riffs and solos for the best Deep Purple songs shat out this Bluesy wank that sounds too dull even for Whitesnake. Maybe there'll be a full album and maybe Blackmore will unleash the beast, forcing me to eat my words (I'm not counting the upcoming live collection, by the way), but if this song is any indication, his time is done. But hey, I guess he doesn't think so as he's determined to milk whatever acclaim he can get; remember folks, this isn't just Rainbow. It's Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow again, a name the band haven't carried since 1975 and have presumably only reclaimed due to the man's unwarranted ego.

"Trouble" - Five Finger Death Punch         (listen here)

From the album And Justice For None (18/05/18)

OK, a bit of explaining needed here. "Trouble" was first released as a track on the band's A Decade Of Destruction compilation album as a new song that will be included on the deluxe edition of their upcoming album, And Justice For None (YO, WE'RE RIFFIN ON METALLICA UP IN THIS BITCH! MAXIMUM FUCKING EDGE, BOOOIIIS). The compilation may have come out already but it's still technically a sample of what's to come in the new album, so it counts! The track's not bad, got some good riffs and guitar melodies throughout. I doubt I'll listen to the album as I couldn't give a fuck about Five Finger Death Punch and their fanbase of angry white teenagers (that was a joke, don't get pissy) but this track's not bad. At least they didn't do the typical American Metal thing of forcing a soft middle section in to show listeners how sensitive they are.

"Burnin'" - Black Stone Cherry         (listen here)

From the album Family Tree (20/04/18)

I don't really have much to say about Black Stone Cherry. Yeah, they're pretty good? Some great songs, some meh ones. Nothing on either extreme, they're just very competent. As for this song...yeah, it's good. Solo sounds a little off; there's a sort of pre-solo bit that's played too high and it sounds terrible but then it sorts itself out. All in all, this is what I've come to expect from Black Stone Cherry and even though it's unlikely that I'll listen to the album, I'm not ruling it out if someone recommends it with unequivocal passion.

"Thought Contagion" - Muse         (listen here)

From the album ???? (??/??/??)

Hey, Muse are back with another single from an unnamed album! This time, they're going for a Coldplay thing along with their brand of synthy Prog shite blended with some 80s guff because nostalgia sells. Between this and their last single, "Dig Down", I am completely drained of excitement for any Muse album release in the near future. I can't remember anything about the last song except I think it sucked and this one definitely doesn't sound like the band are heading in the right direction, considering how awful their last Pop/Electronic based albums were. At least Drones had Rock songs that made it great to listen to.


I might have to write a video game post if I can't think of a better topic before the end of the month. Be warned.

Used Future - The Sword

Unlike Firepower, this is an album I was actually looking forward to listening to. If you're playing the Riffs And Raffs drinking game at home, take a drink every time I use the term "Stoner Rock" to get absolutely tanked!

If you asked me what I made of The Sword half a decade ago, I would've given them glowing praise. They were the kings of riff based Heavy Metal, magnificent bastards of Doom Rock and generally pretty fucking awesome at their craft. Since then, they begun their transition from Heavy Metal to Stoner Rock with the High Country album but there were still a couple of heavier tracks to enjoy. Used Future marks the complete metamorphosis into Stoner Rock by removing the aggressive Metal elements and replacing them with synth and Prog touches. Sure, the music's still good but it's a shame we had to lose a stellar Heavy Metal band to gain a great Hard Rock one.
Album opener "Prelude" is a pointless introduction to "Deadly Nightshade", the true album opener. Not only is it a good song but it's a great way of reminding fans about their new sound that's clearly here to stay; it's The Sword's blend of riff based Hard Rock with a cosmic touch. It's also a great choice for the lead single, as it's an easily accessible track from the album and the start of an unofficial trilogy of three songs that could very well be part of one Prog Rock movement, similar to the seven sections of "2112" - Rush. Whilst this album contains fuzzy bass, epic riffs and dynamic percussion throughout, "Deadly Nightshade", "Twilight Sunrise" and "The Wild Sky" run along so perfectly that they could quite easily be repackaged as a 10 minute epic. This is good news if you like the complete album experience but not so much if you want powerful precision strikes of great music.
This whole album feels like it was supposed to be enjoyed in one sitting; again, not unlike Prog Rock albums of the past. When I revisited a couple of songs just to brush up on the material, they often started abruptly due to continuing on from the previous song, which can be a little annoying if you just want to listen to a couple of favourites off the album. There are some highlights here and there if you enjoyed the Classic Rock style tracks from High Country such as "Brown Mountain", instrumental album closer that likely borrowed the riff from "Wheel In The Sky" - Journey without realising, and "Used Future", title track that could easily be a repurposed cover of a 70s B-side from [AOR BAND NAME HERE], but the majority of tracks are written to blend into the next one in order to carry you through your drug-fuelled musical odyssey. I know I've referred to this album as Stoner Rock but I don't think I've come across such a blatant example of the genre as this in a while.

As a result of this, certain aspects feel a little bit irritating if you just want to enjoy the album without hitting the dank load. For example, in this 13 song album, there are THREE non-songs. "Prelude", "Intermezzo" and "Reprise", all of which are terrible. "Intermezzo" is a moody synth-based interlude that adds nothing but padding and "Reprise" borrows the outro from "Come And Gone" to round off the album that could've quite happily concluded with "Brown Mountain". It comes across as arty-farty when you look at the song titles and general feel of each track but I guess you won't mind if you're high off your tits when listening to the album.
However, this desire to "experiment" has produced some gems. "Sea Of Green" and "Come And Gone" are tracks I never would've expected to hear on a record by The Sword and yet they work incredible well, offering slower Blues and Psychedelic Rock tunes to the categorically Hard Rock ones. There are also subtle features that amplify the quality of the music like the slow-burn build up of the bass and percussion in "Nocturne" or the more delicate mix during verses in "Book Of Thoth" to differentiate the song from previous Stoner Rock material. It's small changes like this that make a big difference, especially when compared to albums that get stale due to their lack of creativity around the halfway point.
Maybe producer Tucker Martine is the one to thank for that but either way, the band knew what they were doing. There may have been a couple of pretentious missteps here and there but as long as the music you're putting out is good and well crafted, this is how you get away with a bit of musical pomposity without coming across as a bunch of wankers (Queens Of The Stone Age, take note!); small steps towards a desired destination, not applying all the changes at once or assuming fans want to hear you sonically jacking off. In this case, The Sword applied synth aspects to Apocryphon, started focusing more on Hard Rock with High Country before putting out Hard Prog with Used Future, all the while improving their weaker aspects like vocals and the overall mix of material.

Used Future isn't my favourite album by The Sword (as I'll always take Heavy Metal over Stoner Rock) but this could be their most creative and ambitious to date. It's a shame that they've chosen this direction to follow as I still think they're at their strongest when blasting out thunderous riffs or creating battle anthems for frost giants but at least the album wasn't a complete disaster like whatever Muse put out before Drones. It's a tough one to rate as I doubt I'm personally going to revisit tracks as often as I have done for High Country (a 7/10, according to my review) but I do think they should be praised for their efforts and successes in recording a well oiled machine of Stoner Rock.
I'm gonna give it a 7/10 again as I feel the criticisms about pretentious aspects from the band that gave us "Fire Lances Of The Ancient Hyperzephyrians" go beyond my opinion and into critique. Plus, I'm going to apply the general rule I have for concerts, sports and entertainment based events to this album; if you have to get wasted to enjoy it, it's probably not that great. In this case, you're better off getting high as fuck, just like High Country, but unlike High Country there aren't songs that stand out when you're not baked in the same way "The Dreamthieves", "High Country" or "Empty Temples" did. Out of interest, if any of my readers do partake in the occasional marijuana puff, feel free to listen to this album and let me know if it blew your mind or if I'm just talking out my arse with all this Stoner Rock stuff.
Also, get a damn job, hippie!

Firepower - Judas Priest

It's finally here! The latest Judas Priest album since Redeemer Of Souls! Let's see how it holds up against some of their other records! This is how my blog posts work!

Thank fuck for this album, we needed some good quality Metal again!
Firepower is Judas Priest's attempt at recapturing their old magic in an attempt to release another "classic" album; in fact, I'm pretty sure the cover art is a continuation of their Screaming For Vengeance album cover. However, much like their last record, this one starts off incredibly strong but loses steam around the halfway point. Album opener, title track and second single "Firepower" is no "Dragonaut" (even if it does sound vocally similar in the chorus) but it's still a great song. There's a fast Metal rhythm with some heavy riffs to get you headbanging from the start but it's arguably not the best representation of the rest of the album.
Much like "Hardwired" off the latest Metallica album, it builds a false sense of speed and power that you expect is going to be maintained throughout the entire record and yes, whilst the first few tracks are some of the strongest, it's a shame that the loss of energy is not only painfully apparent but seemingly permanent. We start off with tracks containing Maidenesque galloping rhythms ("Lightning Strike") and elements from previous songs like "One Shot At Glory" and "Night Crawler" off the Painkiller album ("Evil Never Dies") and, naturally, there are a couple of great character-based songs that Judas Priest are easily the Heavy Metal masters of ("Necromancer", "Flame Thrower").
Even the slower songs like "Never The Heroes" stand out with more of an 80s Hard Rock feel due to the synth intro and less emphasis on epic riffs, all working in favour of the album. However, we then get to "Guardians", a moody instrumental introduction to "Rising From Ruins" that probably shouldn't have been its own song. This is where the album starts to drag a little as Scott Travis, previously one of my all-time favourite drummers, starts to get a bit tired and rely a little too much on the slow and steady rhythms. The songs from here one are decent but sometimes go on a little too long and neglect to shake things up a bit with energy bursts or progressive sections, resulting in lesser quality material that could've been salvaged with a much needed burst of action ("Traitors Gate", "Spectre").

All in all, plodding Metal tracks aside, the album's still good to listen to. Even if Scott Travis may be waning slightly, he's still keeping the time and helping the great tracks become a little bit more awesome. I'm always going to prefer Judas Priest's fast tempo tracks over their slower ones (especially if they include Blues elements like "Lone Wolf", definitely not what I want to hear in this Heavy Metal album) but as long as those slower tracks have epic riffs and vocals, I can dig it. Thankfully, the rest of the band are still able to produce high quality riffs and falsetto screeches comparable to their earlier material although once again they've decided to end the album on slow epic "Sea Of Red" rather than a rousing explosion of Metal like, say, "No Surrender".
I complained about their choice to end Redeemer Of Souls on a power ballad and whilst this is nowhere near as bad, it's still a weak way to end an album. It feels more like an exhausted exhale than the BANG needed to leave fans with a great impression. If you're going to end on a slow and epic note, it needs to stand apart from the other epics on your album. It needs to feel like the band have pushed themselves to create something awesome, not just stuck one of their filler tracks at the end. Compare some of the album closers Iron Maiden have put out like "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner", "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and "Empire Of The Clouds" with "Sea Of Red". Iron Maiden know that the last song should leave a lasting impression, whether it's with sheer length or grand ambition, something Judas Priest have clearly forgotten about in the last decade.
It's quite tricky to talk about Firepower in as much length as other albums as there's not an awful lot to say that will give you necessary information or differentiate it from other records by older bands who are still going to this date, so let's list off the key points. The first half is great, the second half is weak but not bad. The songs sound like a healthy blend of classic songwriting and modern recording technology/instrumentation. Judas Priest aren't ready to throw in the towel yet but equally they're not booting down doors and announcing to the world that they're here to stay. This album feels like a well crafted effort but won't be remembered as one of the band's strongest entries, hence I rate it 6/10.
Maybe the better tracks will grow on me over time but I've had about a week to enjoy this album and I still can't really hum any of the riffs or clearly imagine the melodies in the same way I could after listening to Dystopia - Megadeth. On the plus side, at least Judas Priest didn't try to rip off fans with a deluxe edition containing nothing but a fancy cover and a lyric booklet...


Oh?


Oh.

Rapid Fire: Greta Van Fleet, Dream Troll, Wayward Sons

Usually with Rapid Fire posts, I look at three older albums by more established bands. This time, I'm mixing it up! I recently wrote a blog post about the best/worst music of 2017 and, in true Riffs And Raffs fashion, discovered two new bands/albums that were pretty decent from last year. So after seeking out a third album to write about, I decided to dedicate a Rapid Fire post to looking at three bands/albums I could've and probably should've written about in the RARRAMAMSPAs, starting with the band that deserves way more attention in the Classic Rock community.


1. From The Fires - Greta Van Fleet

There's a lot of talk now about deceased Rock stars being brought back to life on stage through the magic of holograms. I'm not sure if this is something Led Zeppelin will ever consider when one or more additional members of the band bite the dust and they're no longer capable of touring but after listening to this album, I came to the conclusion that we'd be far better off with Page & Plant signing over the rights to their back catalogue to Greta Van Fleet, the new Led Zeppelin. It's almost scary how close to Page and Plant guitarist Jacob Kiszka and vocalist Joshua Kiszka sound in the album opener "Safari Song", one of the finest Rock album openers I've heard in a while.
Luckily, whilst it's easily the highlight of the album, From The Fires maintains the quality of a Led Zepp record, from the use of Psychedelic organ in "Flower Power" to the Bluesy numbers like their cover of "Meet On The Ledge", without sounding like a hacky tribute album. The band are able to add their own flair to each track, giving us songs like "Highway Tune" dripping with sweet Southern Rock riffs or "Talk On The Street", a modern take on a song that sounds like it's straight out of the 60s. It's clear Greta Van Fleet know how to capture the best aspects of Classic Rock whilst enhancing them with modern recording technology.
Whilst "Safari Song" may have set the bar unreasonably high for the band to reach again, Greta Van Fleet have proven their ability to Rock with the best of 'em...literally, the best. If you can write a Led Zeppelin song better than some of the most popular Led Zeppelin songs out there, you've already passed the test. I recommend this album to fans of Classic Rock or just Rock music in general and I cannot wait to hear Greta Van Fleet's own "Immigrant Song" or "Stairway To Heaven", assuming they follow in Led Zepp's footsteps and become even heavier over the next few years.

1. Safari Song

2. Edge Of Darkness

3. Flower Power

4. A Change Is Gonna Come

5. Highway Tune

6. Meet On The Ledge

7. Talk On The Street

8. Black Smoke Rising

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

Next is a NWOTHM album from UK Indie Metal outfit Dream Troll, complete with an umloud in their name.

2. The Knight Of Rebellion - Dream Troll

It's fashionable for a lot of modern Metal bands to ape off Iron Maiden (usually just Iron Maiden) with some kind of shitty contemporary element but Dream Troll mix it up slightly. It's clear that they're fans of 80s Metal but rather than the traditional classics like Megadeth, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath, these guys seem to favour the mythical Prog-Metal variety such as Queensryche, Dio and Dream Theater. Atmospheric album opener "Time For Vengeance" starts off on a surprisingly grand scale for a band that self produced their record. There are synth/piano accompaniments, multi-layered guitars and vocal effects you wouldn't expect to find on a debut.

Most of the songs are over seven minutes long (or just below) but if you like your Metal short and energetic, Dream Troll have got you covered in the form of "Velvet Drawbridge" and "A Fairy's Tale", my two favourites from the album. However, whilst I'd normally say that an album with long and short songs is versatile enough for fans of both types of songwriting, The Knight Of Rebellion is definitely better suited for those who like their Metal long and grand. Songs such as "Mons Ominosus" and "Unwanted By The Gods" start off with heavier riffs and faster rhythms but suffer when it gets to the inevitable "slow bit" about 2/3s of the way through, which is fine if you want to take the music in and go on a Proggy journey but not if you want Heavy Metal at its most pure.

I can't fault the musicianship of the album and the production is surprisingly great for this Leeds based band (although having seen footage of them playing live, I'm not sure if the vocalist should be too reliant on studio magic). The question is where are the band going to go from here, as they've proven that they don't need a record label to enhance the production values of their music and the Prog-Metal nature of their music means they're already ahead of the need to experiment. Regressing to Speed or Thrash Metal at this point might be great for someone like me but I can't speak for their fans, meaning Dream Troll might be resigned to releasing the same album for a while. However, at least it's a decent album and I'll be there to check out the second one...so long as it's not all eight minute epics.

1. Time For Vengeance

2. Velvet Drawbridge

3. Mons Ominosus

4. Lost In The Pages

5. A Fairy's Tale

6. Unwanted By The Gods

7. (The) Earthbound Betrayal

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

Finally, we're back to Rock with a band who may have listened to Kansas at some point.

3. Ghosts Of Yet To Come - Wayward Sons

I'm still not sure if this is the best album I could've picked for this list, as it's taken me days to get through it and I'm still hugely indifferent to it. Ghosts Of Yet To Come is a pretty standard Rock album in a similar vein to Foo Fighters or a less heavy Black Star Riders. Unfortunately, compared to bands like The Treatment or Inglorious, Wayward Sons lack that one great high octane Rock song needed to elevate the rest of the album. Album opener "Alive" should've come after lead single "Until The End" as it's a pretty dull intro to an album that promises something with more excitement in the cover art alone. It's slow and easily forgettable, completely the wrong way to kick the album off if you're an up and coming band.
Luckily, "Until The End" has a bit more to it. It's got some good little riffs and great vocal melodies but the whole album suffers from being a little too plain and musically safe. It's not that it lacks energy or talent, as the band clearly have both. This isn't some cynical going-through-the-motions attempt at staying relevant or topping up the bank account like most of the bigger albums from last year so at least it has that going for it. Unfortunately, that's all it really has. Effort. Mediocre background music by a band that would probably put on a solid warm-up show for a much better act but couldn't lead their own gig with this material alone.
As much as I've essentially shit on Ghosts Of Yet To Come, it certainly wasn't the worst thing released in 2017. The worst thing about the album is there's a lot of dull filler but there are a couple of decent songs if your experience with Rock music is fairly slim. Whilst there are hints of AC/DC and other classic bands throughout the album, the record seems to be mostly inspired by modern Rock bands so if that's your jam, you'll probably get more out of this than I did. However, if you prefer Rock from the 70s and/or 80s, you're better off listening to the Greta Van Fleet one.

1. Alive

2. Until The End

3. Ghost

4. Don't Wanna Go

5. Give It Away

6. Killing Time

7. Crush

8. Be Still

9. Small Talk

10. Something Wrong

ALBUM RATING - 5/10

There are many other albums from 2017 that are probably worth discussing but I hope you enjoyed reading about these three! If there are any 2017 albums you recommend, let me know via Twitter or the comment section.