The Music Made Me Do It - Ted Nugent

Did you know that Crazy Ted Nugent released an album this year? Yeah, he took a break from ranting about politics and generally being a trashy person to make some music again. Now we're all here to see what I thought of it!

If there's one motto I try to stick to whenever reviewing or discussing outspoken individuals in the world of Rock/Metal, it's "Judge a person by their personality and a musician by their music". In other words, regardless of how big a tosser or saint someone is in real life, your opinion of that person shouldn't affect your enjoyment of their craft as an artist. It's OK to like an album by a dickhead or, vice verse, hate an album by a genuinely decent person. However, it's always nice when the stars align and you can talk about how terrible an album by a piece of shit is...sadly, this isn't necessarily one of those times.
The Music Made Me Do It (which is probably going to be Ted's defence when he's arrested for shooting black people in a few years) is as bland and lacking in originality as you'd expect a 2018 album by Ted Nugent to be but unfortunately, it doesn't reach the point where as a casual critic you feel like you can justifiably rip it to pieces. It's got some solid riffs and solos here and there, almost certainly enough to get the average Rock fan's foot tapping along to several songs. A good example of this is the album opener and title track, "The Music Made Me Do It". It kicks things off with a bang and proves that Ted can still play guitar to a decent degree.
Not only that but the improvements in modern recording technology make the music sound cleaner and the riffs stand out more, something Ted was presumably happy with instead of choosing to put in the effort to make the material sound raw and untamed like his earlier records. Funny how Ted's willing to change with the times in some areas, huh. Anyway, the positives don't stop there. There's a good amount of musical variety for those who like slower acoustic ballads that still Rock ("Fred Bear") and faster Blues Rock numbers that maybe should've lasted a little longer ("Bigfundirtygroovenoize"), not to mention standard Hard Rock songs we've come to know Ted Nugent for ("Where Ya Gonna Run To Get Away From Yourself").

However, as I mentioned earlier, the lack of imagination in some of the songs really is telling. Ted's choice to write shorter Blues Rock tracks that rely on repetitive lyrics and riffs ("I Love Ya Too Much Baby") feels more like he couldn't be bothered to come up with a full-length track so chose to whack out generic boogie-woogie rather than spend a couple of extra hours penning a proper song. This might sound like I'm being too judgemental but when you factor in the fact that Ted's straight up copied his previous material on multiple occasions, the argument suddenly becomes a lot stronger.
Oh yes, Ted has absolutely phoned it in after realising that being out of the game for so many years tends to dry up the well of creativity. "Cocked, Locked & Ready To Rock" might sound familiar to fans of his earlier work because it quite literally copies the riffs, structure and even vocal melodies for "Stormtroopin'", a much better song from his self-titled debut that doesn't contain lyrics like "It's time to make a stand, it's time to put a gun in your hand", and tweaks them just enough to justify calling it a new song. Then there's "Backstrap Fever", a rerecording of "Cat Scratch Fever" but with altered lyrics, a slightly faster tempo and more refined riffing. Admittedly, this does result in a better song than "Cat Scratch Fever" though.
Finally, the album closer "Sunrize Fender (Fender Bass VI Solo)" is an extended version of the previous track, "Sunrize", but with different instrumentation. "Sunrize" is a great Rock instrumental that would've been the perfect album closer whereas "Sunrize Fender (Fender Bass VI Solo)" should've been a bonus track on the regular or special edition. However, since it's track 10 on a 37 minute album, it implies that Ted wanted it to be a proper song on the album. If he extended some of the shorter tunes and maybe added one or two more songs, it wouldn't have been an issue but this feels cynical. Either Ted couldn't be bothered to write more music or he was simply unable to, resulting in a smaller package that lacks the same power as contemporary Hard Rock records.
Basically, what I'm saying is Ted Nugent can't do a lot with his little package.

The Music Made Me Do It answers all of the questions you could possibly want to ask about a new Ted Nugent album. Ted can still play guitar and he knows how to write a passable Hard Rock song, although he can't keep all of his idiotic politics out of his music ("I Just Wanna Go Huntin"). He also still can't write music with any real depth to it or lasting appeal aside from good riffs/technically proficient solos. Fans of his earlier material might like some of the tracks but all in all, the album doesn't do enough to convince me that Ted Nugent should keep writing music. His best work already exists and anything else he comes out with is either generic or a rehash of his better songs from the late 70s.
I wasn't expecting a magnum opus, since Ted's claimed that this album basically came about through jam sessions, but it could've done with more time in the oven before being served. I rate it 4/10 but if Ted put more effort into some of the material, maybe it could've been a 6...or maybe the music is subconsciously making me think that Ted Nugent's mediocre work is actually great and that his politics are spot on, although I doubt that.

COMING SOON: A blog post about ten anti-Mexican and pro-arming our nation's children songs!

Christmas Christmas - Cheap Trick

Yes, I know it's November and I'm reviewing a new Christmas album but if you want someone to blame, blame Cheap Trick for putting it out two months early...or for putting it out at all.

Christmas Christmas by Cheap Trick Cheap Trick isn't exactly a brand new studio album as 8/12 songs are covers, although it's not a collection of traditional Christmas carols/tunes awkwardly recorded as Rock songs either. Most of the covers included are of Rock songs with Christmas themes but there are a couple of new tracks written by the band, such as album opener "Merry Christmas Darlings". Naturally, it contains all the hallmarks of a Christmas Pop/Rock song from the rhythm you can dance to to the festive choice of percussion but it sounds more like the band's attempt to rerecord Slade's hit "Merry Xmas Everybody", an odd choice as they actually went ahead and rerecorded that song for this album anyway.
It doesn't try to be anything different than a celebration of Christmas music we all know and (mostly) love from the past, which makes it a perfect album opener. As much as Christmas music has begun to grate on me over the last year or so, I can't deny that there's something special about the Christmas singles from the 70s compared to the hollow or depressing shite that's put out now. Maybe it's just because it's had several decades to become part of established tradition or maybe they're just better Pop songs than ones whining about how it "doesn't really feel like Christmas at all". Either way, Cheap Trick made the right choice with the general theme of the song selection in order to create a proper Christmas Rock album.
Previous Rock bands/artists have tried turning carols and public domain tunes into Rock songs before (Bruce Springsteen and Twisted Sister come to mind) and it always sounds fucking naff. It sounds like the festive equivalent of rapping grannies and whilst Cheap Trick did stoop to that level with their version of "Silent Night", the lion's share of the album features covers of lesser known songs by The Kinks, Ramones and Chuck Berry that were meant to be blasted out out speakers, not sung by children door to door in the snow.

However, there are a few downsides to this commendable attempt at bringing the energy and fun back to Christmas songs. Some of the song choices are questionable, such as the combination of Bluesy "Please Come Home For Christmas" and operatic "Remember (Christmas)" from the 1974 soundtrack to the film Son Of Dracula that ironically sucks all the life force out of the record like cabin depressurisation during a flight gone disastrously wrong. They were likely included as a sort of tongue-in-cheek attempt to be completely different from previous Christmas compilations, although it's a shame they're dull as dishwater.
Then there's the quality of the Rock covers in general. As ambitious as Cheap Trick were in their vision, they really fucked up the delivery. "Father Christmas" is one of two Christmas songs I don't dislike at the moment and Cheap Trick absolutely ruined it with a slower tempo and complete lack of passion in their recording. The whole point of the song is that it's meant to be a punchy, anti-Christmas anthem about poverty that doesn't come across as mawkish as the Band Aid wank. It should be feisty and gritty like The Kinks pulled off but the cover fails on every level. I wouldn't mind as much if it was just my favourite Christmas song they screwed up but it's not the only dud on the album.
"Merry Xmas Everybody" is a limp recreation of the iconic anthem recorded by Slade, as proven by the band's choice to not feature Robin Zander screaming "IT'S CHRIIIIIIIIIIIISTMAAAAAAAS" at the end. If Cheap Trick know they've got nothing on Noddy, why bother in the first place? Covers have three reasons for existing: tribute to the original in a faithful rerecording, making a song your own through various changes or bland recreation in an attempt to capitalise on someone else's talent. Since the band did nothing to alter the song in any overly-discernible way (other than off-putting vocal delivery of lines throughout) and they didn't have the bottle to go full Slade, it starts to come across as more of the third option than the other two.

As for the two remaining original Christmas songs, "Our Father Of Life" and "Christmas Christmas", the former sounds more like a traditional hymn and the latter starts off like a great Rock song before ending at the 1:39 mark and filling the rest of the song with pointless white noise. It could've turned things around but I suppose it's fitting that the album's title track starts off promising before falling to shit and leaving you with a bad taste in your ears...yes, your ears. My ears taste like crap now thanks to this album.
Whether you're a fan of Cheap Trick's crowd-pleasing style of Rock or Christmas hits from yesteryear, Christmas Christmas is a let down. The biggest positives are gained from the idea of the album itself but once it's brought to life, the band fail to deliver on what they presumably thought sounded amazing on paper too. I rate it 4/10 for some serviceable filler tracks but mostly the ambition behind it, as I feel like I gained no festive cheer or merriment from any of the songs apart from the first minute and a half of the final track which was promptly dragged into a dimly lit car park and given a good kicking by the last 35 seconds anyway.
You might like some of the covers if you've never heard the originals but I honestly think you'd gain more from a Spotify playlist containing the three original Cheap Trick songs and the original versions of all their covers, minus "Silent Night" unless you have a soft spot for Christmas carols. I'm hesitant to say this album's just another lump of coal in the stocking because coal at least has some value and purpose that it fulfils adequately; this album's more like the excessive plastic wrapping inside the packaging for toys that takes ages to dismantle and only succeeds in pissing you off. Merry fucking November.

Showdown: Halestorm ReAniMate covers, part two

In part one of these posts, I looked at the collection of Halestorm EPs featuring a variety of Rock, Metal and Pop covers. Part one contained the entirety of ReAniMate: The Covers EP and the first half of ReAniMate 2.0: The Covers EP. Part two will contain the second half of ReAniMate 2.0: The Covers EP and, you guessed it, ReAniMate 3.0: The Covers EP.

EDIT: Forgot to add this Spotify playlist containing almost all of the songs (most originals, all covers). Feel free to listen to it as you read my write-ups, although you might have to skip down a few tracks!


ROUND TEN: Hell Is For Children
Pat Benatar - One of Pat Benatar's better songs, even though everyone always uses "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" as their go-to Benatar track..."Love Is A Battlefield" is pretty awesome too, although this is the superior Rock song in her collection. Decent intro but when the song kicks it up a notch and bursts into an awesome guitar solo, Pat rocks out with her cock out. A damn fine Hard Rock track.
Halestorm - If you read my previous post, you'll know that I've been impressed with Halestorm's covers (and Lizzy Hale's vocals) so far. However, ReAniMate 2.0 has suffered from a significant step down in quality and this song is no different. The opening guitar riffs sound terrible and the verses/choruses are worse than the original. As for the awesome outro solo, it doesn't sound organic. It feels more like it was taped on because the original song had one that worked. It's not bad but it's pretty artificial.
VERDICT - It's a firm win for Pat Benatar, but Halestorm always had a tough job nailing a song this good on their own terms.

ROUND ELEVEN: Gold Dust Woman
Fleetwood Mac - This song's grown on me significantly over time. It's a gritty Classic Rock number about sex and drugs and even though it isn't my favourite Fleetwood Mac song, it's top 10. Sure, it may go on a little bit too long but the slide guitar and vocals make this song amazing. Definitely gonna be tricky to top this version of the song.
Halestorm - Fuuuuuck, well played Halestorm! This cover is as fine as gold dust (sorry) and I'm so glad the band didn't decide to make it heavy. The mix of acoustic and electric is perfect and the song doesn't last too long, unlike the original. Lizzy Hale crushes the vocals and even if Halestorm still haven't demonstrated high ambitions yet, it's good to hear a cover being knocked out of the park on this EP.
VERDICT - Did you not read the last paragraph? Halestorm win, although Fleetwood Mac deserve a shout out too.

ROUND TWELVE: 1996
Marilyn Manson - This guy's music sucks. This song didn't suck as much as some of his other material but it still sucked pretty hard. If you like screaming vocals, Industrial guitar and noise, you'll probably like this and might be mentally inferior to a child.
Halestorm - Well goddamn, Halestorm have done it again! They've taken all the best aspects of the original, removed the terrible element and thus improved the song tenfold. It sounds like a proper Rock song instead of a weird guy jerking off to a bunch of weirder teenagers. The only thing it's lacking is a bit of a punch, as the mix is kinda flat, but it's still a great cover.
VERDICT - It would've taken a fuck of a strong effort for Marilyn Manson to win this. He would've had to sing better vocals, get a better guitar player, completely change his sound and not be a terrible musician aimed at school "outcasts and lone wolves". Since that didn't happen, Halestorm win this.

SCORES (ReAniMate 2.0: The CoVeRs eP)
Originals - 3
Halestorm - 3

ReAniMate 2.0: The CoVeRs eP rating: 5/10

ROUND THIRTEEN: Still Of The Night
Whitesnake - The third and final EP (in this blog post) starts off with a hell of a track. This song has everything a top quality Hard Rock song needs: epic riff, rapid solo, catchy vocals and a decent outro. It's a shame the outro fades out and the slower section in the middle goes on a bit too long but otherwise, it's a killer track.
Halestorm - Clearly after the previous two EPs, the band realised that Lizzy Hale was the star of the show and as a result, this cover starts off with her vocals instead of the power chord slide on guitar. The rest of the song follows suit with an epic riff, a soft section in the middle and powerful percussion. Thankfully, the softer section has been cut down so it sounds more like a Hard Rock song.
VERDICT - Both versions are awesome and whilst I'll always love the original, I think I've got to give the win to Halestorm.

ROUND FOURTEEN: Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover
Sophie B. Hawkins - Is Lesbian Rock a genre? If it is, I imagine this song firmly belongs in it. Anyway, it's a decent song. Solid drumbeat, great vocals, some 90s Hip Hop elements because why the fuck not. Not much else to it other than that. Just flat out Lesbian Rock.
Halestorm - After removing the synth and amping up the guitars a little, Halestorm have turned Lesbian Rock into boring Hard Rock. It's not the best transition but it's a valid effort. However, there are dozens of better songs from the decade to cover that don't sound boring as fuck. It's even boring writing about it and I bet it's boring reading about it.
VERDICT - Both songs are boring but if you want 90s Pop Rock and 10s Hard Rock, Sophie B. Hawkins wrote the better song for the genre so she deserves the win.

ROUND FIFTEEN: I Hate Myself For Loving You
Joan Jett And The Blackhearts - Halestorm clearly picked the best songs for the first EP, huh. It's not a bad tune but it's as bland as Hard Rock with Punk and Blues elements gets. However, it was good enough for U2 to rip off with "When Love Comes To Town" so it must have some merit. Unfortunately, it has no merit for me.
Halestorm - As far as covers go, this one's pretty faithful. The guitar and vocals are all there, just plodding along to get to the end of the song. It sounds more like a tribute than the band attempting to take a song and make it their own but fans of the song should be pleasantly surprised.
VERDICT - I guess the Halestorm version's pretty good. I don't have anything against the original but there's only so excited I can get about bland music, regardless of how well it's covered.

ROUND SIXTEEN: Heathens
Twenty One Pilots - I'm starting to think Halestorm have a semi-shitty taste in music. Modern Pop with heavy guitars now and then is still modern Pop and even if the vocals and mix are decent, this song still sounds like something designed to be enjoyed by primarily assholes. However, it's a well known Pop song so I can understand why Halestorm would want to cover it.
Halestorm - This sounds more like a song suited for the film Suicide Squad, although I guess the Twenty One Pilots version makes sense seeing as how it sucks. The Halestorm version firmly plants it in the Hard Rock genre, even if it is shitty Rock. That seems to be one of the trends from these EPs, along with Lizzy Hale's awesome vocals. I'm starting to think Halestorm aren't as awesome as I've heard.
VERDICT - Even though Halestorm wins this round hands down, it's been a disappointing selection of covers so far. No matter, they still kick ass now and then.

ROUND SEVENTEEN: Fell On Black Days
Soundgarden - The best part of this song is probably the opening guitar riff, followed shortly by Chris Cornell's vocals in the chorus before he gets all shouty. The structure and mix have been well crafted too but it's the guitar that steals the show. It might be a well known Soundgarden song although it isn't one of my favourites. However, I can imagine it being a good Halestorm cover.
Halestorm - Lizzy Hale's vocals work surprisingly well in this song. The guitar is decent too with some neat effects used in the solo and there are many moments throughout the song where, if you didn't know any better, you could assume it was an alternate Soundgarden take. It's one of the closest things to an ambitious cover Halestorm have recorded for these EPs and even then, it's still not a big deal.
VERDICT - There's no other version of this song that does the material justice in the same way as the Soundgarden original so I have to award them the win. Props to Halestorm for still writing a good cover though.

ROUND EIGHTEEN: Ride The Lightning
Metallica - OK, I can forgive some of the song choices now. Most people would call Master Of Puppets the superior album and title track combo but I'd choose Ride The Lightning over that any day. This song contains awesome riffs, a badass solo and some of James Hetfield's angriest vocals recorded on a good Metallica track. A top quality Metallica tune to end the covers EP.
Halestorm - Oh God, that opening guitar sounds terrible. At least the verse riffing sounds better and Lizzy Hale rocks the fuck out of the vocals, although still doesn't come close to Hetfield in the chorus; she pretty much just shouts them. However, unlike most of the previous covers, the solo is a very faithful recreation of the original. Well played both literally and figuratively.
VERDICT - Hmmmmm, tough decision. Halestorm did a smashing job of covering this song but I have to give the win to the one, the only Metallica.

SCORES (ReAniMate 3.0: The CoVeRs eP):
Originals - 3
Halestorm - 3

ReAniMate 3.0: The CoVeRs eP rating: 4/10


FINAL SCORES:
Originals - 7
Halestorm - 11


Looks like Halestorm crushed the competition, although that's mostly down to their first EP. The other two were meh. If they record a fourth covers EP in another couple of years, hopefully they'll choose more 80s Pop songs and less modern shite to recreate.

Rapid Fire: Whitesnake, Ozzy Osbourne, Anthrax

What's this? A NEW style of blog post?!
Yeah, don't get your hopes up too much. This is more of a blend of old and new partly down to an arguably lazy desire to get more album related content up on the blog in less time. Whilst I'll still do Shout Out posts about older albums or new collections of old albums, I thought it would be good to have blog posts where I discuss several all in one place, dedicated a couple of paragraphs or so to each of them.
One of the other reasons for this is that I feel like talking about albums in short, 140 character bursts on Twitter isn't really a great way to archive my thoughts about these works of art. I might still tweet about them if I'm bored/want to share my thoughts in a way that I know people will read but if you want a more in-depth view of my reaction to these albums, this is the place to be!

Speaking of Twitter, the first three albums are ones I've mentioned listening to already! You might know my summarised verdict of the albums but as I said before, I'll go into them with more detail than a tweet stream but less than a fully fledged review. Also, I don't know how I'll choose albums for future Rapid Fire posts but I'll try to keep it to a mix of old and new albums that I don't have much to say about.
Alright, let's see if this works!

1. 1987 - Whitesnake

I can't say I'm a Whitesnake fan but since I liked their Deep Purple covers album and a few random tracks off other albums, I thought I'd give their iconic album a listen all the way through. Along with containing their three biggest tracks ("Here I Go Again", "Still Of The Night", "Is This Love"), it's also a pretty decent Hard Rock album which is saying something, considering it came out in the late 80's. It's a guitar driven album, even down to the power ballads, and whilst few of the technical solos stand out, there are plenty of epic riffs to get stuck into.
The lyrical songwriting mostly boils down to your typical feast of romantic platitudes and four out of eleven songs all start with the same chord slide on guitar, making this a little bit uninspired when compared to other iconic Rock albums of the decade. However, this album does one thing incredibly well; it rocks. It's an album you can stick on in the car or at home and just enjoy all the way through, making it great in my books.

1. Still Of The Night

2. Give Me All Your Love

3. Bad Boys

4. Is This Love

5. Here I Go Again

6. Straight For The Heart

7. Looking For Love

8. Children Of The Night

9. You're Gonna Break My Heart Again

10. Crying In The Rain

11. Don't Turn Away

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

2. Bark At The Moon - Ozzy Osbourne

I knew two songs off this album before listening to the whole thing; the title track and "Centre Of Eternity", both of which I love. I was curious to see if the rest of the album could live up to that level or, at the very least, give me another reason to call Randy Rhoads overrated. Turns out this isn't the best album to support my argument as it's pretty mediocre overall. A lot of slow tracks and some very generic Heavy Metal plague this album, aside from the tunes mentioned above and "Slow Down", a song that may well have inspired some of the filler tracks on Iron Maiden's Powerslave.

Ultimately, it's not an album I'd recommend to any fans of the Golden Age Of Metal (1982-1985) as the title track/album opener sets the bar way too high for an artist of Ozzy Osbourne's quality to ever meet. It's a decent follow up to the Randy years but I'd argue that Diary Of A Madman is a stronger album as a whole. Shame, as I rate Jake E. Lee highly but it sounds like he was dragged down by the Prince Of Darkness.

1. Bark At The Moon

2. You're No Different

3. Now You See It (Now You Don't)

4. Rock 'n' Roll Rebel

5. Centre Of Eternity

6. So Tired

7. Slow Down

8. Waiting For Darkness

ALBUM RATING - 5/10

3. For All Kings - Anthrax

I was tempted to review this album on the blog but since it took me so long to actually finish the whole thing, I opted against it. The reason I chose to listen to this having only listened to two of their other albums was all because of one track; "Breathing Lightning". I love that song, even if it doesn't sound like classic Anthrax and has a pointless instrumental outro, and I was hoping the rest of the album would follow a similar suit. Sadly, the first half is mostly just aggression and unimpressive Thrash and the shining songs in the second half don't even begin to make up for the last 40 minutes or so of noise.

There are a couple of tracks that sound like a good blend of modern and classic Anthrax, which is probably good news for fans of the band. However, fans of the genre might be split down the middle. It's decent Thrash but nothing special, certainly not Spreading The Disease or even Among The Living. This might be controversial but I'd rate the former a lot higher than the latter, even if both albums are great. For All Kings doesn't even come close to either of them, but I doubt anyone expected it to.

1. You Gotta Believe

2. Monster At The End

3. For All Kings

4. Breathing Lightning

5. Suzerain

6. Evil Twin

7. Blood Eagle Wings

8. Defend Avenge

9. All Of Them Thieves

10. This Battle Chose Us

11. Zero Tolerance

ALBUM RATING - 4/10

What albums or bands would you like me to discuss next? I'm not sure what I'll talk about next week (possibly a Shout Out post) but let me know if there's anything you'd prefer.

Heavy Rock Radio - Jorn

I've been waiting for this album to come out ever since I discussed the lead single on this blog last month. Now that I've listened to it...well, let's let the review do the talking.

Depending on the artist and choice of songs, covers albums can be an absolute godsend. One of the reasons I was looking forward to this particular album is the eclectic mix of hits ranging from Classic Rock to 80's Pop rearranged and covered as Heavy Metal tracks, not just because of my fondness for those genres but because I like listening to a good tune in different variations...but yes, this more than other covers albums because I like Jorn's style of Metal. However, the end result of Jorn's labours is sadly nothing spectacular and possibly the biggest disappointment I've ever had to review on this blog.
I should start off with the positives, mainly being the album opener and closer ("I Know There's Something Going On" and "Die Young") for slightly different reasons. I loved the Frida cover because Jorn's rendition takes a Pop song and turns it into something that sounds like an Ozzy Osbourne track but with better vocals. The transition works incredibly well and I would call it a "necessary" cover, as far as cover versions go. "Die Young" earns its place here not just for being a solid cover of the Black Sabbath original but for doing something a little different with the source material.
If you've heard the original track, you'll know it fades out during a solo. Here, Jorn extends it and adds a proper outro that the song rightfully deserves. It can be very easy to tinker with a song's structure and cock everything up, just like all the artists who slow down "Summertime Blues" when they perform it for some fucking reason. However, the change here is small but significant enough to work. I'm guessing these two tracks were picked to bookend the album because Jorn or the studio executives knew they were awesome covers. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the rest of Heavy Rock Radio.

Whilst there are a few neat choices and interesting takes on lesser known tracks that you probably wouldn't expect to be on a Metal covers album ("You're The Voice" - John Farnham, "The Final Frontier" - Iron Maiden), none of them really hit home. They're all pretty damn faithful to the original tracks aside from a few little tweaks here, such as bizarre key changes and tarted up solos where appropriate (which puts him ahead of Zakk Wylde as a guitarist/songwriter, at the very least) and as a result it doesn't really feel like there's much point in listening to them.
The covers are OK, I suppose. I mean, there are a few duds here and there where some poor choices about the key the band played in and use of instruments in the wrong moments ruin everything ("Rainbow In The Dark" - Dio, "Hotel California" - The Eagles) but most of the covers are all pretty average, so there's that. However, I wanted something more ambitious. I wanted to hear tracks that aren't known for "rocking" being given the Metal treatment, like the excellent "Rasputin" cover by Turisas. If not that then heavier versions of softer tracks like the ubiquitous "The Sound Of Silence" cover by Disturbed that everyone's banging on about*.
I think the main problem with this is probably the thing that makes it most admirable; at the end of the day, it's a passion project. This wasn't meant to make Jorn a shitload of cash or give fans what they wanted, it's just a collection of songs Jorn likes that he wanted to cover...so he did. As I said, it's a commendable decision further proven by the lack of a Super-Deluxe-Bonus Disc edition that's becoming fucking commonplace in Rock and Metal now, so even if the music isn't to my quality standards I still have more respect for Jorn Lande than I do for, say, Dave Mustaine.

On the other hand, this passion project means the person to get the most out of this is Jorn himself. He would've chosen the tracks he wanted to cover but they're simply not the best songs he could've picked. Regrettably, this is an album that could've been fantastic if there was more emphasis on Pop than Hard Rock/Metal. Whilst I may not be a fan of the originals that were picked for this album, Jorn doesn't really do anything to improve or adapt them so the end result is just more of the same, albeit done a little better or worse depending on your personal opinions towards bands such as Queen or Journey. I can't believe I'm actually saying this but this album could've done with less Dio and more Kate Bush, or artists of those genres.
I'm giving it a 4/10 as the first and last tracks are good and the rest of the tracks are alright, but Jorn played it too safe for it to have any real impact. He should've taken a few more risks with the song choices and arrangements but instead, he refused to gamble and the result is still a loss. If you want to hear well known Rock songs faithfully recreated as mediocre Metal tracks, this album is perfect for you but I wouldn't recommend it unless you're a huge fan of any of these originals, salivating at the thought of MOAR "STORMBRINGER". Hopefully at the very least Jorn was happy with how this turned out, otherwise the whole endeavour would be completely pointless.


* I would've loved to hear Disturbed cover "Hello" - Adele in the same style. Disturbed or Chris Cornell.

Zipper Down - Eagles Of Death Metal

Kicking off the first non Iron Maiden review is one from kooky Alternative Rockers, Eagles Of Death Metal. After a long period of silence, the band have finally returned although their first song from the album didn't impress me when I discussed it on this blog a few months ago. Time to see if the rest of the album struck a fuzzy power chord.

After seven years of absence, it's understandable for a band to come back with the same formula as their best known work. Eagles Of Death Metal try to do just that with a selection of Garage Rock perfect for the heavily nostalgic fans who want more from the power duo of Jesse Hughes and Josh Hommes. Yes, this is another Eagles Of Death Metal album and whilst there are a couple of tracks that deviate from the typical sound of this group, it's more or less what you'd expect if you've listened to an entire album before Zipper Down. It's just a shame that those albums sound a lot better than anything on here.
My opinion on album opener "Complexity" hasn't changed in the slightest, it's still the band at their most average and sounds like the kind of song you'd hear in the background of a scene at a college bar in an American drama. However, I hesitate to call it a bad track as it sets up the rest of the album perfectly. If you love the track, you're in for a treat with the remaining ones but if you felt completely underwhelmed, get ready to feel this way for another half an hour.
If this album was played to the person who claimed they sounded like the "Eagles of Death Metal" before they stuck with that name, they'd probably be known as the "Strokes Of Classic Rock" as that's a far better description of the band's music that works on several different levels. It's an Indie Alt/70's Rock blend that occasionally works but doesn't quite hit home for me on Zipper Down. You've got faster songs that sound like lesser known Slade tracks on speed ("Got A Woman") and slower tunes akin to the softer melodies of bands like Wings ("I Love You All The Time"), along with a cover of a Duran Duran song that isn't catchy or upbeat ("Save A Prayer"), although it's worth mentioning that the vocals are spot on here even if the music is unimpressive.

The album could've done with a few more tracks like "Skin-Tight Boogie". It starts off with maximum fuzz on the bass and gets progressively weirder as more instruments and tones are introduced but it all works, even if it doesn't sound like the kind of song the band are known for writing. I've said before that I'm happy for bands to rely on the same sound for consecutive albums if the sound is good but when it starts to get a bit stale, it's time to mix it up a little.
Zipper Down will please fans of modern Alternative Rock that doesn't get carried away with itself. Most of these songs are pretty simple tunes with extra vocal and synth effects although the album seems less focused on heavy crunching riffs than Peace Love Death Metal, so that could be problematic for some of you. Mind you, it probably won't for those who enjoyed the mediocre Rolling Stonesesque sound of Heart On filler tracks. It's just a shame these guys couldn't write another belter like "Wannabe In L.A" or "Speaking In Tongues" along with all the average songs they rewrote for this album.
Anyway, tough call with this album. I always find myself divided by personal and unbiased opinions when it comes to scoring albums. Sometimes, I get really lucky and both opinions intertwine but I don't feel like this will be the case here. Music reviewing websites will likely praise the sound and style of this album whereas I feel like it doesn't deserve any higher than 4/10 for a collection of forgettable songs with the band's same formula that have been played really well. If you have an opinion on this album feel free to share it in the comments along with whether you believe I'm right to call it out on being unremarkable or wrong for not appreciating something that is clearly "art".

Shout Out: All Studio Albums - Iron Maiden, part 4

Time to conclude this mini-series with the three latest albums, excluding The Book Of Souls which I've reviewed already. After coming back with Brave New World in 2000, Iron Maiden decided to give fans more of the same rather than experiment or completely change everything about their sound.

Dance Of Death may have the appearance of an off-the-wall album that takes crazy risks with the style and sound but all in all, it's quite a straightforward record. This is apparent after listening to album opener, "Wildest Dreams". It's quite similar to previous album opener, "The Wicker Man", in structure and sound, suggesting the band's desire to keep things the way they are for now. After all, it's not compulsory for each album to be completely different to the last.
Many songs deal with the topic of war in one form or another, whether it's wars from many generations ago ("Paschendale") or more modern conflicts ("Face In The Sand") so naturally, the songs dealing with heavier topics have a more magnificent sound. The album is also the first to have an acoustic track ("Journeyman"), ending the record on a softer note instead of an epic one like previous albums. My main gripe with the album is that there's nothing particularly special about it if you're not into the longer tracks.
It definitely sounds like they focused more on writing impressive songs over the seven minute mark with lots of layers to the music than on creating shorter tracks with the same impact as "The Number Of The Beast" or "Aces High". This isn't a problem with Dance Of Death exactly, more a problem for people who prefer the band when they're playing short and sharp tracks...like me. However, this album & its critical reaction is possibly the one most responsible for Iron Maiden's recent obsession with epic tracks.

1. Wildest Dreams

2. Rainmaker

3. No More Lies

4. Montsegur

5. Dance Of Death

6. Gates Of Tomorrow

7. New Frontier

8. Paschendale

9. Face In The Sand

10. Age Of Innocence

11. Journeyman

ALBUM RATING - 4/10

If you thought the band would take a break from the darker songs about war for now, boy were you in for a disappointment. In 2006, another three years after the last album, Iron Maiden released A Matter Of Life And Death. Once again, it may not be a concept album but...well, I think the cover speaks for itself.

Having successfully found their groove and settled comfortably into their new sound, the band return for another confident display of roaring guitars and screeching vocals. "Different World" starts the album off with a bang and if Dance Of Death had more tracks like this, I probably would've given it a slightly higher rating. Considering this is the band's 14th studio album and each band member has been recording for nearly 30 years, there's no sign of battle fatigue in the guitar solos or any of the individual performances. Sure, Bruce's vocals have changed since 1982 but they haven't substantially dipped in quality and he can still scream out a good chorus!

This album is another one for fans of Somewhere In Time or Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, one for people to listen to at home where they can appreciate each note, as the album wasn't mastered so it contains no studio alteration; what you hear is what the band played. Aside from a few tracks which change tempo and speed up throughout, many of the songs on the album take it steady and sound more solemn than the last two records. I suppose you could label this as more Prog Metal than Heavy Metal, although there are a few of those tracks on the album ("The Pilgrim") and even a few that blend the two ("Lord Of Light").

A Matter Of Life And Death isn't a strong candidate for anyone's favourite album. Even Top 5 would be pushing it, unless you prefer Prog Metal, but it's still good. It's well written and better performed than some material by bands still in their youth. It'd be ignorant of me to say this is their strongest material since Piece Of Mind or an earlier album but it's definitely a testament to the band's lasting appeal and talent.

1. Different World

2. These Colours Don't Run

3. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns

4. The Pilgrim

5. The Longest Day

6. Out Of The Shadows

7. The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg

8. For The Greater Good Of God

9. Lord Of Light

10. The Legacy

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

Between 2006 and 2010 (when the next album was released), Iron Maiden released Flight 666, a documentary about their Somewhere Back In Time tour. In this film, the band talked about how the audience for their gigs tends to stay the same age as kids now are starting to get into the band. It was that reason they decided to revisit older songs, so the fans could see these tracks played live for the first time. With this in mind, you'd have thought they'd be more inclined to write new shorter tracks with the same energy to give new fans what they wanted. Instead we got this.

When this album first came out about five years ago, I actually reviewed it and basically said that it's one of my least favourite albums. There were a few songs on it that I enjoyed but the majority weren't to my taste, although I acknowledged the appeal other fans might have for it. For starters, the album opener probably should've been split into two different songs. "Satellite 15... The Final Frontier" starts off with about four minutes of apocalyptic drums and bass before kicking off what would've been a really solid album opener without the intro.
Whilst the critics couldn't praise this album enough (arguably in an attempt to validate themselves as intellectuals), I remember feeling an immense disappointment with this album. It felt like there were several ideas that I could've enjoyed if they were tweaked slightly such as the drumbeat for "Starblind" or just trimming the length of a couple of tracks. I could talk about each track individually like I did before but honestly, I still believe this album suffers from how long it is.
A lot of the power and energy some of these songs deserved is lost once they enter the ninth minute (or sooner, depending on how tolerant you are towards Prog Metal). I could endure the longer tracks on previous albums but it's a lot harder to do so on this album. I'm not entirely sure why, as there's nothing especially wrong or flawed with the material. It's just a bit tiring now, like listening to a child telling their fifth story that just goes on and on and on and on. Even the shorter songs feel uninspired, as if they were designed just to be to be filler between the epics.

1. Satellite 15...The Final Frontier

2. El Dorado

3. Mother Of Mercy

4. Coming Home

5. The Alchemist

6. Isle Of Avalon

7. Starblind

8. The Talisman

9. The Man Who Would Be King

10. When The Wild Wind Blows

ALBUM RATING - 5/10

I could (and probably will) change my mind about this as I get older/wiser but for now, here is my personal ranking order for all 16 Iron Maiden albums from highest to lowest:

1. Powerslave

2. Piece Of Mind

3. The Number Of The Beast

4. Somewhere In Time

5. Iron Maiden

6. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son

7. The Book Of Souls

8. Killers

9. Fear Of The Dark

10. Brave New World

11. No Prayer For The Dying

12. A Matter Of Life And Death

13. The Final Frontier

14. Virtual XI

15. Dance Of Death

16. The X Factor

I'm aware some of the ratings I've given the albums on this blog don't match up with the order I've listed them above. Chances are I'll change some of the ratings at a later date but for now, this is how I would rate the albums. Thanks for reading all/some of these posts! I'm not entirely certain about what to post next week but I do know it'll be Iron Maiden related, as we're not out of September yet!

Burning Bridges - Bon Jovi

I've decided to mix things up a little bit this week. Instead of reviewing this...yeah, let's still call it an "album", I'm going to let someone else take the reigns. The following review will be written by my loving girlfriend, Sarah Taylor. Aside from over a decade of personal experience in bands & listening to Rock music, she is a massive Bon Jovi fan & at my request, wanted to have a crack at reviewing his latest release.
Whilst I have my own thoughts on this collection of music (which I will tweet at a later date, if you're desperate to know my point of view), I felt that her perspective might be better as Burning Bridges is clearly meant for B.J fans instead of the casual listener. If you like her style of writing over mine, definitely let me know so I can beg her to write some more posts & get more regular visitors.
Anyway, take it away Sarah!

Hello Wembley! (Or James' blog...whatever). Upon James' request, I'm here to do a small review of the new album from Bon Jovi. Mainly because I've been a massive Bon Jovi fan since I was around 12 years old which, let me tell you, is a long time ago! I've seen Bon Jovi live three times so far and will continue to do so whenever he tours. Burning Bridges is supposedly a 'fan album', whatever that's supposed to mean! I will tell you now though, I'm not a writer, so this may seem a little amateurish (apologies!). So yeah, here's what I made of Burning Bridges.

First of all, I didn't know what to expect from Burning Bridges. I only heard that it was a selection of songs that Bon Jovi wrote that never got finished. So I suppose in a way I was expecting an eclectic mix of songs in different styles from previously released albums. For example, I was hoping for a song that sounded like it belonged on the Lost Highway album, or a song that had the feel of Slippery When Wet etc.

I will cut to the chase. I was bitterly disappointed.

Overall, the album is 80% depressing ballads, with two or three songs that are a bit more upbeat. Maybe it's illegal to release an album that's more than 80% dirge so Bon Jovi had to put some happier songs into the mix, who knows. The whole album felt thrown together, more of a private collection of dick stroking songs for Jon Bon Jovi to listen to whilst taking candlelit baths with a mirror to admire his very own face. The songs lacked passion and drive and were quite frankly dull. Usually on Bon Jovi albums you at expect at least one ballad, which I can cope with and sometimes enjoy, but this...this was just something else!

I feel, ultimately, like this album was a massive 'fuck you' to Richie Sambora. Why? Well, the lack of show stopping guitar solos with tons of feeling. The fact that Bon Jovi's vocals come first, and the musicians come second. Honestly, I cannot remember any riffs from the ballads on Burning Bridges. When I think about the album, all I can hear in my head is Bon Jovi's voice. That is not coco! (Talking of Sambora, I cannot wait until he releases a new album, because I know I will get quality music, amazing guitar solos, and passion... lots and lots of passion!).

There were three songs on Burning Bridges that I enjoyed:

1) "We Don't Run"- A punchy and typical Bon Jovi song. Nice drum beats, lots of 'whoah-ing' in the vocals, and a chorus that would sound amazing on a stadium tour. I can picture this song going down a storm at one of Bon Jovi's gigs. There's a small guitar solo which sounds like Phil X is trying to imitate Sambora's unique sound, but we all know Sambora would've done it better! Overall though, I do like this song. It's strong and will stand the test of time.

2) "Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning"- OK, first things first, this song sounds like it was supposed to be on the Lost Highway album. Not a problem for me, but it may be for other listeners. I have to say, Tico Torres is on fine form and remains one of my favourite drummers. His drumming is simple but effective without being too flashy (*cough* Lars Ulrich *cough*), and compliments the songs well. I have just one problem with this song. The lyrics on the chorus. What on Earth is 'Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning' supposed to mean?! Doesn't that happen to all of us, unless we meet our demise on a Saturday? What irritates me more is the fact that Bon Jovi already has a song that states 'I'm feeling like a Monday, but someday I'll be Saturday night'. Does Bon Jovi need some sort of mental intervention so he can figure out what day of the week he wants to be?!

3) "I'm Your Man"- So this song almost didn't make it onto my top songs from the album, but I did find the song to be listenable and didn't have many problems with it, so I thought I'd be fair and add it to the list (the very teeny-tiny list!). So the song itself isn't anything special but I did like the quirky and ever so slightly 'Oasis' sounding riff. It sounded uplifting and would make for good background music. The lyrics are typical of Bon Jovi, speaking of lovers, phonecalls and other obvious themes. They're not deep and meaningful but they aren't offensively shite either. I don't have much else to say about the song, it's just...acceptable!

As for the title track, well...give me strength. Is this the ultimate 'piss off' track for Sambora I wonder? The lyrics are bitter, set to an over joyous country style song with what I can only describe as oompa-band undertones! According to NME however, the song is about their split from Mercury Records. This is possibly true, I just can't help but think these lyrics, especially after Sambora's (rather unexplained) exit from the band, are a bit harsh. This however, is just my opinion!

So overall I would give the whole album a measly 4/10. I wish it could've been more, as I'm an avid Bon Jovi fan, but I refuse to sugar coat shit. The thirteenth album for these guys is an absolute flop. Thirteen is unlucky for some but definitely unlucky for Bon Jovi and a huge disappointment for their fans.
I just hope they have something amazing lined up in the near future, so we can all forget about this sorry incident!

Guitar Hero & Rock Band: A History Lesson part 1

Well this is a new one! I've had a request!
Fortunately, I'm a big fan of the Guitar Hero & Rock Band series and can talk about them for bloody hours. However, since they've been around for nearly ten years each, I'm splitting this retrospective look at the series into two parts.
Part One will look at the following games: Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero 2, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks The 80's, Guitar Hero 3: Legends Of Rock, Guitar Hero Mobile, Guitar Hero Carabiner, Rock Band.
For all the others, check out Part Two.

Guitar Hero started off as a simple PS2 title with an even simpler premise developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane. Inspired by Guitar Freaks, the game contained over 30 popular Rock songs ranging from iconic riffs of the 70's (e.g. "Smoke On The Water", "Iron Man", "Frankenstein") to popular songs for fans of contemporary Rock (e.g. "Fat Lip", "Take Me Out", "Cochise") that you would play with a five fretted plastic guitar. Notes would travel down a fretboard on screen and the aim is to hold the appropriate coloured fret down whilst hitting the strum bar as the note crosses the strike line in time to the music.

In the early days, this was considered challenging

At the time (2005), it was a fantastic game. A relatively diverse soundtrack for a debut title, easy to learn yet hard to master gameplay and clear sequel potential. Of course, now we've got dozens of games that have been refined and perfected, we can look back on this one and say "Christ, it was terrible".
Between the arguably dodgy covers of Rock and Metal hits like "Bark At The Moon" or "Godzilla" and the absolutely terrible game-engine that made it incredibly difficult to play in-game hammer-ons without strumming, Guitar Hero was a bad game with amazing potential.
It was a game that caught on pretty damn quickly though and introduced new generations to fantastic music. It just needed a bit of fine tuning. Enter Guitar Hero 2.

A new way to piss off your experienced gamer friend

Guitar Hero 2 hit the shelves the next year and landed with a power chord...sorry, let me have another go at that sentence...

Guitar Hero 2 arrived a year later with a confident bang, boasting more Rock anthems ("Sweet Child O' Mine", "Carry On Wayward Son", "Message In A Bottle") and fairly modern hits ("Beast And The Harlot", "Woman", "Monkey Wrench") for the same audience...but this time, plus one! One of many additions to the series was the ability to have someone rocking either rhythm or bass guitar along with you.
This allowed for the addition of competitive and co-op game modes, along with a slightly more diverse soundtrack that didn't require bass to be rewritten and recorded by WaveGroup Sound. More importantly, the game was a lot easier to play but Harmonix accounted for this by adding songs with even more furious solos and introduced future GH fans to insane staples of the series ("Hangar 18", "Free Bird", "Jordan").
The series was also expanding beyond PS2 and an XBox 360 port was released that allowed players to download not only new material but also the tracks from the original GH, albeit on the superior game engine. However, it was at this point that some would say the series began to descend into mediocrity as Activision took over as publisher and the lawsuits arrived in their plenty. Cut to 2007 and the series' first expansion disc, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks The 80's.

Hope you like Hair Metal!

Aside from a title with bizarrely incorrect grammar, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks The 80's features a soundtrack with a slightly reduced quantity and, depending on personal taste, quality. The setlist boils down to Hair Metal ("Metal Health (Bang Your Head)", "I Wanna Rock", "Round And Round"), Pop Rock ("We Got The Beat", "I Ran (So Far Away)", "Turning Japanese") and awesome Metal ("Wrathchild", "Caught In A Mosh", "Electric Eye") so if you're not into any of that, this game would be one to avoid as it doesn't add anything new to the series except music and snazzy outfits.
This was the last game in the Guitar Hero series that was developed by Harmonix and many fans jumped ship at this point. Personally, the next game to be released is one of my personal favourites although this might be because it was the first GH title I bought. Either way, Guitar Hero 3: Legends Of Rock shot the series into the mainstream.

Confession time: South Park got me into this

Released in the same year, GH3 returned some of the glory back to the series thanks to years of popularity and Neversoft taking over as developers. On top of an enhanced soundtrack aimed to gently introduce newbies and relentlessly challenge seasoned pros, this title also introduced online play, battle modes, monthly DLC (unless you owned a Wii), multi-console availability, improved graphics, more master recordings instead of WaveGroup covers and playable avatars of Slash and Tom Morello. If you ignore all of those features, the game is technically not as good although in doing that, you'd be a complete fucking idiot.
These are things that Activision could actually advertise but beneath the surface layer, the notes were also slightly easier to hit and the charts for songs were considered pretty damn fun, even if some of them were a bit power-chord heavy (looking at you, "Before I Forget"!). I would say that this game contained songs that were fucking amazing to play for the HOPO sequences alone ("My Name Is Jonas", "Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll", "The Metal") and after years of practising until I was good enough to easily five star the top tier tracks ("Cult Of Personality", "Cliffs Of Dover", "Knights Of Cydonia"), the title earned a top spot in my all-time favourite GH games list...yes, I have a list. I'm a fan.
Around the time of this game's release, two things were happening. The first was that Activision essentially started to whore out the series with releases like Guitar Hero Mobile, a portable expansion so players could experience GH away from homes and annoy the shit out of commuters simultaneously, and Guitar Hero Carabiner, a toy for the uber fan and casual plonker. The second was that Harmonix teamed up with the other evil games company, EA (also MTV Games), to create a contender in the rhythm music game genre. This new IP was given the simplistic yet easily memorable name Rock Band.

"I actually think the rectangular notes are easier to read" said the Fool

Whilst GH3 was enticing people who sort of knew who Slash was, Rock Band went in a different direction and focused on the music aspect of the gameplay. Harmonix achieved this by adding two new instruments, drums and vocals. As well as this, they adjusted several smaller aspects about the gameplay in order to clearly set it apart from Guitar Hero such as special solo sections that allowed for extra points, character customisation, a star gauge and a soundtrack that was aimed for a full band instead of just one instrument.
The setlist is focused less on action-packed music like the GH series and more on all-round great Rock ("Blitzkrieg Bop", "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Here It Goes Again"). For fans of guitar-based gameplay, you're more likely to enjoy GH3 as it offers more of a challenge with fun charts (unless you prefer the soundtrack for RB, as music taste pretty much always governs your opinion on the game). If you've been dying for drums or enjoy karaoke games, the new instruments will help you fall in love with the series. Luckily, the series also has fantastic DLC with plenty of variety for everyone.
Overall, Rock Band is definitely more of a mature game but that doesn't mean it's not as good, nor does it mean it takes itself completely seriously. I also hesitate to call it "realistic" as there's still so much about it which is completely different to actually playing music. However, despite all the differences I've highlighted, there are similarities between the games too. Both have a good difficulty progression, both feature of mix of master recordings and WaveGroup covers, both end on an epic Southern-based note ("The Devil Went Down To Georgia" and "Green Grass And High Tides") and both are well crafted titles that earned their place in living rooms across the world.

So in the tweet requesting this post, I was asked to review the games even though I review albums instead of games on this blog, so here are my basic verdicts on each of the titles that I actually played.
Guitar Hero: Good idea with a great soundtrack but needed a bit more work in order to make it actually playable. 4/10.
Guitar Hero 2: Excellent sequel that fixed the worst issues with the first game & improved things you didn't know needed improving. 8/10.
Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks The 80's: Decent expansion pack but not to everyone's taste. 6/10.
Guitar Hero 3: Legends Of Rock: Personal bias aside, this is both a perfect introduction and continuation of the series. 9/10.
Rock Band: Definitely more of a multiplayer experience but still fun for the single player and/or gamer who has money to throw about on plastic instruments. 7/10.

Next time, I'll be covering 2008-2010.

Shout Out: Deep Cuts Volumes 1-3 - Queen

Apologies for the lack of activity on here. I know I said I was going to do an album review in November (and I do still plan on doing that!) but since I wanted to do at least one more post before 2013 is over, here's something that will possibly become a regular thing along with reviews and opinion posts on certain soundtracks/setlists.
Rather than just review things that have come out and everyone likes, I figure it's a good idea to draw some attention to albums I enjoyed that perhaps aren't as popular as they should be. Kicking us off are three different compilations from arguably the strongest Classic Rock band in the world: Queen.

I don't think it's an over-exaggeration to say that everyone knows who Queen are. You could fly to the furthest corners of the planet, find the ancient crusader from the third Indiana Jones film, ask him about Queen and chances are he'd at least be able to stomp & clap the beat to 'We Will Rock You'. They're a band who are universally adored for their catchy radio friendly tunes whilst still retaining the badass image of a Rock band due to the fact that everyone in the band was great at what they did.
Granted Freddie Mercury (or rather, his pipes of platinum) was the key member who stood out, you can't deny that Roger Taylor (drums), John Deacon (bass) and of course Brian May (guitar) played their part in immortalising Queen in the records of Rock. However, their ability to write not just one but a string of iconic songs as easily as you or I would write a shopping list came at a price.
You see, if you asked the average person to name a Queen song, they'd probably have no hesitations before coming out with "Don't Stop Me Now" or "Bohemian Rhapsody". However, if you asked them to name the album it came from, they might have some problems. Chances are they'd have even bigger problems naming any other song that came from the same album, and that's the only trouble with Queen. They're so talented that any song of theirs that isn't on a Greatest Hits album is doomed to obscurity, despite many of them being superior to some of their popular hits.

Fortunately, in the modern age where just about any piece of information you require is no more than a few clicks away, it's easy to listen to entire Queen albums in all their underrated glory. Unfortunately, the modern age has a fatal flaw: laziness. Most people can't be arsed to watch a Youtube video longer than 60 seconds, let alone listen to a band's entire back catalogue, just to find songs they may or may not enjoy...and that's where the Deep Cuts collection gloriously swaggers in.

22 years of "filler tracks" split across three volumes, all handpicked by members of Queen and the Foo Fighters drummer (?). These compilations span Queen's career up until Freddie's departure, so there's none of that Paul Rodgers material from 2008 but I doubt anyone will lose any sleep over that. Anyway, the first volume contains tracks from albums released between 1973 and 1976.
Opening up the album, "Ogre Battle" gets to work in showing you that Queen aren't just a radio band and could write great songs that weren't destined to be played on mainstream stations. The heavy chugging of May's guitar and soulful power of Mercury's vocals drench the first two tracks ("Stone Cold Crazy") with the classic Queen sound, whilst Taylor's drumming and Mercury's ivory tinkling take over on track number three ("My Fairy King").
From start to finish, this volume deals with Queen's earlier fantasy-inspired material. Songs of mystical lands and tales of space exploration that still manage to sound more masculine than your average Metalcore band. If you like songs such as "Seven Seas Of Rhye" and "Killer Queen", I would recommend giving this one a listen. Below is the tracklist and underlined are the songs that are my personal favourites.

1. Ogre Battle

2. Stone Cold Crazy

3. My Fairy King

4. I'm In Love With My Car

5. Keep Yourself Alive

6. Long Away

7. The Millionaire Waltz

8. '39

9. Tenement Funster

10. Flick Of The Wrist

11. Lily Of The Valley

12. Good Company

13. The March Of The Black Queen

14. In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited

And so we find ourselves on the next volume (and my personal favourite), Deep Cuts 2, 1977-1982

Continuing the sound of the first volume, this one opens with "Mustapha", a funny little tune covering the section of Queen's material that show they didn't need to take themselves seriously to be an awesome band, followed by a song that showcases their ability to sing and play with aggression ("Sheer Heart Attack"). Whilst the first compilation featured the band in their early years, the music on this volume sounds more refined and perfected.

However, this album also contains music from Queen's 80s albums, so we get a few tracks like "Staying Power" which experiment with Funk and synth or "Battle Theme" from the Flash Gordon soundtrack. Overall, I would say this volume has the most musical variety whilst still sounding like a collection of excellent Queen songs.

This is the album to check out if you like "Under Pressure", "Fat Bottomed Girls", "Another One Bites The Dust" and songs like that. Same as before, here's the tracklist with my faves underlined.

1. Mustapha

2. Sheer Heart Attack

3. Spread Your Wings

4. Sleeping On The Sidewalk

5. It's Late

6. Rock It (Prime Jive)

7. Dead On Time

8. Sail Away Sweet Sister

9. Dragon Attack

10. Action This Day

11. Put Out The Fire

12. Staying Power

13. Jealousy

14. Battle Theme

Finally, the heaviest one of the three. Deep Cuts 3, 1984-1995

Since the music on this compilation comes from Queen's career after they'd rocked the planet and established themselves as Rock Gods, the songs have a more epic feel. The slow but strong opener "Made In Heaven" comes from Queen's last album so there's a solemn tone behind it, but that doesn't mean the album is all doom & gloom. "Machines (Or Back To Humans)" picks up the pace a little bit with some synth & vocoder action whilst other tracks on the album provide a good guitar & drum combo to dance to ("Khashoggi's Ship").

Despite the fact that most of the tracks on this album are rather slow, there's certainly a noticeable range in how heavy the songs are. Whilst a few are rather soft and feature mostly piano or strings ("A Winter's Tale"), there are a couple of songs that fully cross the line into Metal territory with dynamic riffs, plodding drums and hard-edged vocals ("The Hitman").

These songs are probably to your taste if you enjoy singles such as "I Want It All" and "The Show Must Go On". Here's the last tracklist with highlighted favourites for you.

1. Made In Heaven

2. Machines (Or Back To Humans)

3. Don't Try So Hard

4. Tear It Up

5. I Was Born To Love You

6. A Winter's Tale

7. Ride The Wild Wind

8. Bijou

9. Was It All Worth It

10. One Year Of Love

11. Khashoggi's Ship

12. Is This The World We Created...?

13. The Hitman

14. It's A Beautiful Day (Reprise)

15. Mother Love

Deep Cuts Volumes 1-3 are perfect for someone who likes Queen, Classic/Hard Rock and enjoys listening to music. However, I wouldn't say they're the perfect collection of Queen "deep cuts" (no "Brighton Rock" or "Fight From The Inside") but that's more than likely down to personal taste. Similarly, my recommendations could be completely wrong.

You may love the songs I mentioned but hate the tracks I enjoyed. The only way you'll know for certain is by listening to them yourself and to be honest, if you like the majority of Queen's popular songs, you may as well check these compilations out. All three of them are on Spotify and every individual song is bound to be on Youtube or Grooveshark or whatever. I guess if I had to rate each volume based on my own taste, I'd say:
Volume 1 = 6/10
Volume 2 = 8/10
Volume 3 = 4/10

I doubt I'll get a review or other blog post done before the end of the year but I hope you've enjoyed reading this one. I also hope you have a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and minimal stomach upsets from undercooked turkey. Be seeing you!

13 - Black Sabbath

For my first "review", I thought it'd be a good idea to revisit an album I really enjoyed so I can bring that same enthusiasm for the music to my critique. But then I had another idea and decided to do the opposite of that, going against something I'd previously told myself and write about an album I strongly disliked. And in keeping with the theme of going back on my word like a prick, what better album to kick us off than 13 - Black Sabbath.

First, a bit of context.
Black Sabbath are widely believed to be the inventors of Metal. They started off very heavy in the 70's (in comparison to what was on the radio at the time), gradually speeding up and developing their sound as more bands altered the genre with their own efforts. Ten years later, when Dio took over from Ozzy as the vocalist, they were a lot faster and more appropriate for the angrier Metal that the 80's gave birth to. However, this album is the first album to have the complete original lineup since the 70's...at least it would be if not for one person.
Bill Ward.
Bill fuckin' Ward. The drummer.
Apparently, something pissed him off and the sand in his vagina resulted in him throwing a paddy, deciding that he didn't want to go to the birthday party after all...so to speak. In reality, he didn't agree with the contract he was signing so stayed out of the affair. I've been quite harsh about him here but I guess his actions were understandable. Considering the band members used to fucking set him on fire (yeah, you read that right), I'd be one to hold a grudge as well and wouldn't want to see them again unless they already had their lips puckered for an hour of passionate ass-kissing. If he felt they were gonna dick him about again, maybe he was well in his right to tell them to jog on.
So why did the band announce that everyone was getting together?
Did Bill agree at first and then change his mind like a wanker?
Or did someone jump the gun and promise something that they couldn't deliver?
Either way, this album isn't the original line-up. It's the original line-up minus Bill Ward but plus the guy from Rage Against The Machine & Audioslave, Brad Wilk.

The album kicks off with an 8 minute song entitled End Of The Beginning. Immediately, it strikes you as a return to form. Sabbath have resurrected and they're still heavier than Shrek's ballsack. If you love songs that sound like they're being dragged through mud and tar, you'll enjoy this one. However, it's all a bit dull if you ask me. Album openers are supposed to grab you by the short & curlies, screaming "Listen to this until the end or else!", giving you a glimpse of what's gonna come through the next hour. Granted this track nails the latter of those two but it certainly doesn't fill me with hope for the rest of the album.
Luckily, close to the 3 minute mark, the song picks up a little. Tony Iommi gives us a funky riff and Wilk changes up the tempo to more of a foot-tapping beat. Unfortunately, it's still very bland and uninteresting. To be perfectly honest, the song could've been a lot shorter. An 8 minute album opener is very ambitious and unless you're bringing a hell of a good tune to the table, it's unlikely you're gonna leave a long lasting impression.
Meanwhile, Iommi is giving us some damn fine guitar work with his solos akin to Dio era shredding and Ozzy is reintroducing us to the sound of his voice paired with sludgy Metal. Since a good 40 years has passed since Ozzy was originally belting out lyrics about war and religion, he's lost some of the raw edge he originally had and now his voice sounds a bit more artificial, possibly enhanced by studio effects to give him more of a powerful sound.

Next up is their single, entitled God Is Dead? with a question mark, yeah? So it's, like, all deep and stuff. As soon as the song starts, you can be forgiven for assuming it's just a continuation of the last track, since the riff is equally as dark, evil, mysterious and dreary. Have to say though, this song has a good balance between softer sections and harder moments where Wilk puts the hammer down along with the rest of the band. And yes, there is another tempo change where the plodding music is replaced by a funkier section that is almost identical to the last song...again.
Not only in the style of drumming but also in that it feels very flat and soulless in comparison to some of their other songs with tempo changes. If you listen to this song again, try and keep an ear out for Geezer Butler's bass work during the faster part of the song. The album is mixed in a way that bass is well hidden but when you can make it out, it's pretty sweet. Track 3 is Loner and thankfully it's not a dull plodder. In fact, it sounds like an attempt at revisiting some of their more pleasant riff-making, reminiscent of songs like N.I.B.
By this point, it should be clear that the band are still fresh after being out of the packet for nearly half a century and can still deliver decent Metal. It might not be to everyone's tastes (particularly those who have grown accustomed to faster, more aggressive Thrash Metal) but you can't deny the solid quality of the finished product.

More creepy riffs, more chilling vocals and more mysterious melodies come with Zeitgeist, although the heavy drumming takes a rest on this one. Butler's bass is a bit more prominent and Iommi's acoustic playing sounds a hell of a lot more soothing than his hard riffing. So far, this album feels like it would make better background music than the sort of one you can go out of your way to listen to. It's not bad but it's not really accessible unless you like music that plods along like a lumbering giant such as the next track, Age Of Reason.
If you bought this album expecting more modern versions of Paranoid or Children Of The Grave, you're most likely going to be disappointed. This album definitely fits in with the heavier Metal they were creating for their first album than the songs that your average casual listener may know them for. But at least they're trying to pump a bit of life into a few of their songs, even if tempo changes sound as awkward and sloppy as the one in this track.
By track 6, listening to the album is starting to feel like work. Live Forever makes me wish for the exact opposite, even when yet another funky rhythm starts. I have to say, Wilk's drumming comes across as overused and dull through the majority of this album. He might mix up his style throughout a single song but as an entire album effort, it sounds like he's just putting different riffs and vocals to exactly the same beats. Ah well, at least this song isn't too boring although it should've been bumped up the track list to the 2nd or 3rd song.

Back to the near 8 minute songs with Damaged Soul and we're "treated" to yet another sludgy riff with a lot of weight and subdued bass. Nothing on this album is making me want to play any tracks again so far. I'm sure there are some wankers out there who'd argue "Oh but the good thing about this album is that it grows on you over time!" Why the fuck is that a good thing? If I like something and then it gets better, that's great. If I dislike something and I need to expose myself to it repeatedly until I learn to tolerate just how crap it is, that's not good at all. That's fucking Stockholm Syndrome!
I'd much rather hear a song I like, then start to get tired of it only to leave it a while before I hear it again when it sounds fresh after so long. Anyway, back to the review. The last track on the basic album is Dear Father. Are they gonna go out on a bang or are they gonna churn out the same song I've been trying to enjoy for the last 50 minutes? Oh, they're going with the same heavy riff and plodding rhythm again. Thankfully the funky tempo change has been altered into a gallop around the 4-minute mark.
Doesn't change the way over half the album sounds like a Black Sabbath tribute-band trying to create an originally inspired composition as good as their old material and failing miserably. Rather than leaving listeners with something halfway decent, the song ends on a long drawn out thunderstorm that fades out in a puff of self-indulgence. Now come the 3 bonus tracks that you might find on Spotify or iTunes! Oh goody, more sludge! How refreshing! Hold on...this isn't sludge. What the fuck is this? Something that I want to listen to again?!

The 3 bonus tracks are as confusing as they are catchy. Methademic may start off like your typical song on this album but soon kicks it up a few gears and is the first song on the entire album that has energy. Peace Of Mind pulls a similar trick and starts off slow only to improve towards the end in a way that isn't generic funk or overly heavy blues. Finally, Pariah closes the special addition with more of a modern Hard Rock/Metal sound, relying on a decent riff and more American sound...after another slow & solemn intro.
These tracks are all less than 6 minutes long and they would've been far better on the album than half the shit that made the final cut. So that's where the confusion comes from. What the fucking fuck happened? Instead of opting for a hint of diversity and variety on the album, the band and producer clearly decided that the same track over and over again would've been more appropriate for an album people have been waiting for for decades. But either way, that's the album. I won't talk about the live song, Dirty Woman, but now it's time to look at the album overall.

13 is definitely not disappointing if you expected Black Sabbath. It still has the same soul of their past efforts but sadly the body it's been transferred into lacks what made the band so awesome in the first place. It never really peaks and every song remains at exactly the same level with a series of interchangeable melodies and lyrics. Many songs go on longer than ads at the cinema and sell me the finished product half as effectively, dragging along at a frustratingly tedious rate. In short, these songs have a lot of power but no fucking energy.
Now for the band. Brad Wilk is mediocre at best. His drumming works for a couple of songs but when you start hearing exactly the same beat over and over again, you've got to wonder exactly what he brought to the table when they were writing these songs (although drummers aren't exactly known for their out-of-this-world songwriting ability). As I said earlier, Butler's bass is quite hard to isolate unless you really try but when you do hear it, it's decent stuff. That's all about him really.
Iommi's guitar is the highlight of the album for me. His riffs may not completely satisfy my taste but they certainly give the songs power needed to carry the whole album. Decent riffs from Ozzy's era but fantastic solos from Dio's era; the best of both worlds. Finally, Ozzy. The lyrics still ooze out of his mouth like they did 40 years ago and the actual sound of his voice still sounds preferable to the words he's singing. All in all, this album isn't their best. I imagine it's probably better to sample individual tracks rather than listen to it start to finish but nevertheless, it's a hell of a slog to suffer through the entire thing if you aren't struck by the sound of heavy sludge.

If I had to rate it....I dunno, I'd say 4/10, if only because I'm rounding up 3.5.
Normally, I'd recommend songs that you might enjoy if you liked this album but since I didn't like it, I can't give an accurate example of songs that are just as good. Maybe some 90's Grunge/Hard Rock like Alice In Chains? They're about as dreary as this album.
So, there it is. My first review. A right barrel o'laughs, huh. Next time I'll try to talk about something I liked more than 4/10 but I can't promise anything. If you have any thoughts about this album, go ahead and share them in the comments. Be seeing you!