Prequelle - Ghost

New(ish) album review time!

I've frequently discussed the fictional genre of Pop Metal and which songs/bands would qualify for such a categorisation. Whilst the album cover may scream "HEAVEH METAAAAAAL", the music on Prequelle is actually pretty damn accessible and would definitely cross into Pop Metal territories were it an actual genre. Album opener "Ashes" is a spooky synth-heavy introduction to the true album opener and lead single, "Rats". Clearly inspired by Ozzy Osbourne and sporting a winning combination of explosive riffs and catchy vocal melodies, this arena gig anthem kicks things off with confidence and style. It's a good introduction to an album that blends 80s Pop/Yacht Rock elements with Heavy Metal ones as effortlessly as Guns N' Roses blend great guitar-work with terrible vocals.
Unlike some albums that don't quite blend styles together all the way and instead write a bunch of tracks firmly belonging to one genre or the other, Prequelle's material can only be described as heavily mellow from start to finish. The lack of furious shredfest solos and pure aggression channelled into vocal performances may seem atypical for modern Metal, yet the thundering riffs and dynamic percussion go beyond your standard Hard Rock tracks.
However, if you told me years ago that I'd be listening to (and loving) an album that expertly mixed saxophone solos and Disney style twinkling glissandos with galloping guitar riffs and lyrics about the plague, I would've written you off and gone back to listening to...I dunno, Iron Maiden and Metallica and stuff, I can't remember what I was really into a couple of years ago. Point is that in a world so shitty with Rock/Metal music desperately trying to recapture the magic of the past by rewriting Led Zeppelin or AC/DC songs, it's great to hear a band that have captured a new, distinct sound (albeit one created through old influences).

So it's no secret that I really love this album and would recommend it to pretty much anyone who appreciates good music but there are a couple of minor issues here and there. For all the grandiose string/synth sections or lofty vocal performances from Tobias Forge or whatever the fuck title he's currently referring to himself as, the album sounds less like a Rock record and more like something from a broadway musical about the Phantom Of The Opera's neglected brother. This isn't a big problem for fans of that kind of music but it does create a few lulls for those who love the heavier tracks like "Miasma" and "Faith".
It's also quite possible that fans of Ghost's earlier work might not like the direction they're moving in, as their debut album contained more guitar-based Rock with lower production values. However, the lighter songs like "See The Light" and "Life Eternal" are still good, though. Plus the production and audio mix are exceptional, even if you're not stamping your foot or banging your head to the rhythm. It'd be hard to mark this album down based on that without sounding like a colossal tool; it'd be like criticising  TV shows because they've started using colour and stereo sound.
All in all, it's hard to criticise Prequelle for anything other than personal taste. I can't fault the album for its ambition, I can't fault it for its execution, I can't fault it for its technical quality, I can't fault it for its variety, I can't fault it for lacking a certain 'wow' factor and I certainly can't fault it for its lasting impression as I've been enjoying the singles from this album for over a month now. I rate it...you ready for this? 10/10! That's right, it's a brilliant album that you should all go and listen to. Apologies for the slightly shorter review but do you really want to read me banging on about how awesome this album is for another three paragraphs? Also, that time spent reading could've been time spent listening to Prequelle.

Well? What the fuck are you still doing here, GET ON SPOTIFY NOW!

Rapid Fire: Boston, Winger, Damn Yankees

Apologies for missing blog posts recently but here's the first of two I intend on posting this week. It's been a while since I've done a Rapid Fire post so for those of you who don't remember, I'm basically going to quickly discuss three different albums that have been out and about for a while now rather than go into one single album with the usual amount of depth that a review contains.
The three albums are often linked in some way, whether it's by genre or decade, but this link is simply self-titled debut albums from different decades. There are several albums to choose from so I may revisit this link one day but for now, I've chosen my three!
First up, we have a record which has been mentioned a few times on the blog and is easily one of the finest albums for the genre ever written.

1. Boston - Boston

Everything on this album is perfect.
From the amazing album cover to the production values, this is a classic and deserves a spot in the Rock & Roll Halls Of Fame (not the tacky one which every Rock star hates, I mean the ethereal one beyond this plain of reality). Album opener "More Than A Feeling" is probably the most iconic Classic Rock song of all time but anyone who's listened to the album will probably agree in saying it's not even one of the best tracks on it. However, it is a great song and a suitable introduction to the album. Each track stands out as being a well-crafted, beautifully written masterpiece and the whole album blends together without fault.
However, behind the upbeat Classic Rock music, the lyrics hint at something a bit more sombre. You could argue that one of the main themes for this album whether intentional or not is suicide as a means of reaching a better destination, as the album is littered with lines that could be interpreted in such a way ("I close my eyes and I slipped away", "you'll forget about me after I've been gone", "all I want is to have my peace of mind"). Hell, "Hitch A Ride" is full of them but that doesn't stop it from being an incredible track and my personal favourite off the album with an excellent guitar solo at the end*.
The main takeaway is that it's a versatile album. Want to listen to it whilst roaring down the highway? Stick "Smokin'" on and have a blast. Chilling in the house/doing some DIY? You want "Foreplay/Long Time" or "Something About You". Feeling relaxed? "Let Me Take You Home Tonight", provided you don't mind waking up a bit during the outro. It suits all moods and has more layers than your average Rock album, clearly the result of artists who took pride and care in their work. It's a shame the studio pressured them into pumping more music out, as the follow-up is OK but doesn't touch the greatness of the debut.

1. More Than A Feeling

2. Peace Of Mind

3. Foreplay/Long Time

4. Rock & Roll Band

5. Smokin'

6. Hitch A Ride

7. Something About You

8. Let Me Take You Home Tonight

ALBUM RATING - 10/10

Strong start, right there. Next up, we have a Hair Metal album from a band that probably deserves a bit more radio airtime than they're getting.


2. Winger - Winger

Whilst some tracks may give this record the illusion of another bland Hair Metal album, Winger is actually a bit more complex than that. Sure, all the hallmarks are there from sing-a-long choruses to lyrics about love and sex but there's something a bit more technical about the music than your average Poison or Motley Crue track. As well as boasting frenzied solos, the guitar and bass melodies in the verses pack more than a few basic chord sequences and the overall structure for each song is less formulaic than your standard Rock tracks.
Popular hits from the album include obligatory power ballad "Headed For A Heartbreak", thankfully shoved at the very end of the album to wind things down and "Seventeen", a catchy tune about a sexy teenager. However, one of the biggest problems with the album is the lack of variety. Kip Winger, whilst easily a talented vocalist and bassist, only had so much inspiration for songwriting as familiar riffs and sounds creep into the lesser known tracks, e.g. "Without The Night" using similar keyboard melodies to "Headed For A Heartbreak", "Hungry" and "Time To Surrender" containing the same chord transition during the chorus and "Poison Angel" treading dangerously close to opening with a sped up version of the "Seventeen" intro.
Fortunately, this means that if you like Winger's singles, you'll probably love the entire album. Sure, the tracks may share features that are easy to compare but they're all standalone tracks with more differences than similarities. It's a fine album for fans of Hair Metal who want something a bit more stimulating than "Talk Dirty To Me".

1. Madalaine

2. Hungry

3. Seventeen

4. Without The Night

5. Purple Haze

6. State Of Emergency

7. Time To Surrender

8. Poison Angel

9. Hangin On

10. Headed For A Heartbreak

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

Finally, our last eponymous debut is from the 90s so you know it's going to be more disappointing than the previous two.

3. Damn Yankees - Damn Yankees

Damn Yankees were a supergroup from the 90s featuring the guitarist/vocalist from Styx (Tommy Shaw), the bassist from Night Ranger (Jack Blades), a drummer named Michael Cartellone and Ted Nugent, probably the biggest name out of the bunch and not for good reasons. In all fairness, it's not a bad debut. It also does the job of a good supergroup and sounds like a healthy blend of styles rather than just another vehicle for one member to write the same kind of music but without someone they didn't get along with in a previous band.
It's actually quite impressive that all the positive aspects of each band the musicians came from has been amplified here; the music's more polished than Ted Nugent's, more raw than Night Ranger and heavier than Styx. Granted there are some tracks that you can tell were written by certain band members ("Rock City" and "Piledriver" belonging to Ted, "High Enough" belonging to Jack and "Come Again" belonging to Tommy) but every band member has made their mark on each song. However, unlike music from their previous endeavours, the songs on Damn Yankees are quite homogeneous. You can listen to the album start to finish, enjoy most of it but then struggle to remember which title pairs with which song about ten minutes later.
The only track that stands out to me in a good way is the title track, "Damn Yankees". It's got catchy riffs and a chorus that announces their presence on the Rock scene with pride. However, despite standing out, it doesn't have the same repeat value as some of the tracks I've mentioned on this post by the two other bands. I would recommend this album if you like uncompromising Hard Rock and want something to dip into every five months or so but not if you want an album to stick in the car for your drives in and out of work each morning.

1. Coming Of Age

2. Bad Reputation

3. Runaway

4. High Enough

5. Damn Yankees

6. Come Again

7. Mystified

8. Rock City

9. Tell Me How You Want It

10. Piledriver

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

Expect another post this week that may or may not involve video games.

* I know this sounds a bit forced but Brad Delp (lead vocalist) did actually kill himself over ten years ago and guess which song they played at his funeral?

Shout Out: All 16 Studio Albums - Iron Maiden, part 2

In part 1, I talked about Iron Maiden, Killers, The Number Of The Beast and Piece Of Mind as well as the line-up changes that occurred in between. Time to look at the next four albums!
If you asked me which year I personally believe is the best for Metal album releases, I'd give you three that are close to being equal; 1983, 1984 and 1990. If I had to narrow it down to one of those, I'd pick 1984 and Powerslave is the reason why.

I fucking love this album. It's not just my favourite Iron Maiden album but easily my number one favourite studio album too. I'm not sure if it's down to this being the first album that has exactly the same line-up as the previous one or the band entering the studio on a really fucking good day but everything about it from the epic cover to the order of songs is just perfect! "Aces High" has everything an exceptional album opener needs with a punchy rhythm and catchy riffs pouring out of every orifice. Even the name of the song feels appropriately placed at the top of the track list!
Unlike the last two albums, Powerslave contains more energy in each track and the only song that periodically takes a breather is "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner", although you can hardly fault it for that when it comes in at 13:34 long. Nicko McBrain has settled in as the new drummer and the band are, in my opinion, at the top of their game both musically and lyrically, thanks to Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson (with Adrian Smith occasionally stepping in).
The galloping rhythm the band have become known for has slowed down slightly, presumably to create different sounding music & avoid being labelled as another Motorhead or AC/DC, but I still defy anyone listening to "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" or "The Duellists" to do so without bopping their head or bouncing their knee to the beat. At the risk of sounding like a terrible writer, it's difficult to describe exactly what makes this album superior to others but I've never quite had the same joy or felt the same love towards another collection of music. If you're into long-winded progressive Metal, this album isn't going to be your favourite. However, if you like your Metal to pack a wallop and leave you wanting more, this is the one for you.

1. Aces High

2. 2 Minutes To Midnight

3. Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)

4. Flash Of The Blade

5. The Duellists

6. Back In The Village

7. Powerslave

8. Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

ALBUM RATING - 10/10

I suppose the only problem with a perfect album is the follow-up. How can you beat something that, by your own mental definition, can't be beaten? The simple answer is you can't and I think the band knew that, as Somewhere In Time isn't just another album of classic Heavy Metal. This is the album where the band begin to...experiment.

After a bit of a break following the World Slavery Tour the band had embarked on after Powerslave, Iron Maiden decided to try something new; guitar synthesisers. Whilst it adds a certain artificial & arguably dated quality to the music compared to the raw, aggressive tracks from their first five albums, the passion is still there. Album opener and semi-title track "Caught Somewhere In Time" may be over seven minutes long but once the tempo picks up around the 52 second mark, it doesn't falter or slow down until the outro. In fact, if it were a little bit shorter, it'd probably be one of the band's more popular tracks.

Despite several tracks having a fairly futuristic sound and lyrics dealing with time ("Stranger In A Strange Land" and "Deja Vu"), this isn't the band's way of saying they're going in a different direction in terms of songwriting. In fact, if you remove the guitar synthesisers, it's pretty much a standard Iron Maiden album with songs still following the formula of musical symmetry ("Heaven Can Wait") and a vocal-based chorus, despite having a killer guitar riff throughout the track ("Wasted Years"), before bringing it on home with an epic finale ("Alexander The Great").

Somewhere In Time is definitely up there with the stronger Iron Maiden albums although, much like Killers, it's unlikely that you'll find anyone who classifies this as their favourite record. It's one that fans will treasure, as it really does contain a lot of strong material, but it's not a great example of typical music from the Metal genre. It's kind of like the Thinking Man's Metal, something for you to listen to at home and privately rock out to as opposed to doing it in a crowd of several thousand gig attendees. Most importantly though, it shows that Iron Maiden are capable of "experimenting" a little and not completely fucking everything up like most Rock/Metal bands.

1. Caught Somewhere In Time

2. Wasted Years

3. Sea Of Madness

4. Heaven Can Wait

5. The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner

6. Stranger In A Strange Land

7. Deja Vu

8. Alexander The Great

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

I think the key to experimenting successfully and steering a band into new territories is doing it gradually, one small change at a time. If Iron Maiden veered from The Number Of The Beast to this next album in the space of one year, it's unlikely I'd be talking about them today.

Whereas the last album happened to feature several songs with similar themes, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son is definitely a concept album that tackles subjects such as paranormal abilities and good vs. evil. "Moonchild" is a decent album opener that introduces the concept of the record to a punchy rhythm and some neat keyboard riffing although not the best the band have ever written. Along with the use of keyboard across the album instead of guitar synthesisers, the more frequent use of changing time signatures mid-song signifies the band's desire to move into a more progressive genre, especially in the case of the album's (nearly) 10 minute title track.

The album generally has a more mystical feel and, similar to Somewhere In Time, is the kind of music to enjoy through headphones instead of amps at a festival. The songs feel slightly less powerful than ones on previous albums and whilst they're all well written and contain the by-now obligatory gallops or moody intro riffs ("The Evil That Men Do" and "Only The Good Die Young"), there's something about the use of keyboard that dulls the impact some of these songs possibly would've had were they recorded during the Piece Of Mind or even Somewhere In Time sessions.

Fortunately though, compared to other bands who were releasing mediocre material in 1988 (looking at you, Judas Priest and Megadeth!), Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son is still strong and contains a good balance of lengthy masterpieces and shorter Metal tunes. I would recommend listening to Iron Maiden's earlier material before these, as it's interesting to hear the subtle changes in musical style going forward instead of backward.

1. Moonchild

2. Infinite Dreams

3. Can I Play With Madness

4. The Evil That Men Do

5. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son

6. The Prophecy

7. The Clairvoyant

8. Only The Good Die Young

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

During pre-production for the next album, guitarist Adrian Smith felt that the band had musically regressed with this record and decided to call it quits. After leaving the band, he was replaced with White Spirit guitarist Janick Gers, who'd also worked with Bruce on his solo album released in the same year.

Whilst Iron Maiden have never sold out and gone fully commercial, No Prayer For The Dying is probably as close as they will get. The band chose to dial back the progressive elements they'd spent years developing and recorded this album with the intention of giving it a "street" sound, like their earlier work. I don't know if this decision was due to the poor sales Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son made in the US or possible nostalgia for recording in the early 80's but sadly, it never quite hit the mark.

Admittedly, "Tailgunner" is a great album opener that would've sounded a lot fresher if had come out before "The Clairvoyant" and yes, this is the only album to produce a number one single for the band ("Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter") but other than a handful of decent riffs, the album doesn't really bring anything worthwhile to the table. At a push, it maybe could've worked if it was recorded around 1981-82 but then we wouldn't have The Number Of The Beast, a far greater effort. It's not a bad album but with 10 years of fantastic music behind them, it's not unreasonable to expect more from the band that gave us Powerslave.

No Prayer For The Dying is an album that's perfect for fans who liked the musical sound of the last two albums but disliked the songs and their progressive elements. However, when a band inevitably abandons the need to "experiment" and returns to the sound of their earlier material, it only really works if a) the music they made when experimenting was terrible or b) they slightly adapt their new music so that it contains the best elements from original and experimental. This album falls into neither category.

1. Tailgunner

2. Holy Smoke

3. No Prayer For The Dying

4. Public Enema Number One

5. Fates Warning

6. The Assassin

7. Run Silent Run Deep

8. Hooks In You

9. Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter

10. Mother Russia

ALBUM RATING - 5/10

Next week, I'll post part 3 which will cover Fear Of The Dark, The X Factor, Virtual XI and Brave New World. Thanks for reading!