Easter Is Cancelled - The Darkness

Taking a break from charting Clone Hero customs to review my second favourite album of 2019 so far!
Oh shit, sorry. Spoilers.

A song about calling for the execution of a musical genre.
A song about falling in love with a girl who's hardcore into Death Metal.
A song about the state of the planet and mankind sung from the perspective of Jesus.
A song about the tragic loss of one's deck chair on a particularly windy day.
These and many more can be found on Easter Is Cancelled, the latest album by UK based semi-Comedy Rock band, The Darkness. As you can tell by the artwork above (a huge improvement on the horrible cover from Pinewood Smile), this is an album by a band that aren't ready to take themselves or the musical genre they're so adept at producing seriously any time soon. Much like their last two albums, there's a healthy blend of songs with silly lyrics about mundane British life and absolute bangers with heavy riffs and furious solos.
Album opener and lead single "Rock And Roll Deserves To Die" is definitely the latter, as the song's built around multiple acoustic guitar melodies before charging into a thundering post-chorus riff paired with Justin Hawkins' trademark screeching falsetto. Lyrically, it's grandiose and the subject matter of the song is hardly one to treat with sincerity (especially since the band full-on backpedal on their decree by the album's final track, "We Are The Guitar Men") but it's not designed to have you tittering to yourself like a fool. Hell, nothing on this album is, really.

Compared to the last album that had songs about the terrible UK train service and wanting to have sex with the mums of the younger fans, the humour on this album is a little more subtle. Sure, there are straight up hilarious lines such as "None more Metal, elegance and grace, we make sweet love to Hammer Smashed Face" ("Heavy Metal Lover") but the majority of the humour comes from lines like "You've bitten off more than you can chew, I hope my heart was a tasty hors d'oeuvre, You don't wanna hug, You need the Heimlich manoeuvre" ("Choke On It"); a bizarre but perfect blend of clever rhyming and lyrical structure to make an absolutely ridiculous point.
Ordinarily, I'd compare Rock music with a comical tone to the bigger bands that have dominated the Comedy Rock scene such as Spinal Tap and Tenacious D but I honestly feel like a far more fitting comparison for this album would be mid 70s Queen. No, the vocals aren't as strong as Freddie's and the guitar riffs aren't as classic as Brian May's but the tone of the album feels almost exactly on par with records such as A Night At The Opera. Songs with great melodies and poetic lyrics sandwiched between Arena Rock anthems designed to make the crowds go fucking crazy.
The riff-based piledrivers such as title track "Easter Is Cancelled" leave a great lasting impression and the melodic rockers such as "We Are The Guitar Men" have great repeat value. The sillier songs such as "Deck Chair" are probably the weaker entries due to being focused primarily on the humorous lyrics over the music but at least they make for a great listen once or twice before the joke wears thin. However, the biggest flaw of the album is that they saved some of the best songs for the Deluxe Edition such as Folk number "Sutton Hoo", a punchy little number telling a story about aliens visiting an Anglo-Saxon ship in the past (totally something Brian May could've written).

Easter Is Cancelled is an absolute joy to listen to. Hard Rock belters full of explosive action, catchy acoustic melodies for the music enthusiast in you to enjoy and plenty of mild chuckles along the way; it's basically the musical equivalent to a well-made superhero film. There are a couple of mediocre Rock numbers that are easily forgettable ("Heart Explodes", "In Another Life") but nothing that's bad or poorly made. However, these songs could've and should've been replaced by at least one song that was a bit meatier; maybe a Hard Rock chugger about vampires of Rock or something.
Whilst it doesn't exactly push any boundaries or showcase the band's willingness to experiment like I expected them to, any band that can write and produce a Queen album deserves credit. I rate the album 8/10 (same as Pinewood Smile) and would've given it a 9 if the band decided to include all 14 songs on one album instead of trying to milk fans for more cash. Yes, I still think criticising bands and penalising albums for releasing Deluxe Editions with new music is justifiable, deal with it.

Spyro Reignited Trilogy

Hurrah, it's finally here! The Spyro the Dragon remake/remaster + that did a much better job of recapturing the pure joy of the original trilogy whilst improving on it for a 21st century audience than the N. Sane Trilogy did for Crash Bandicoot. I could talk about small but significant gameplay tweaks and how the handling feels spot on (for the most part) but that's not why you're here. You're here to hear my verdict on the game's soundtrack!

Originally composed by Stewart Copeland, the music for the first three Spyro The Dragon games was magical and, at times, a little abstract. Rather than focusing on catchy melodies and hooks in the same way that platforming video games of the time were adept at, Copeland instead built the music around a few distinct tunes reworked across several different areas and focused on a more ambient feel to suit the level's environment...although that's not to say he didn't also compose some bloody catchy melodies now and then.
Unlike my three-part look at the music from the N. Sane Trilogy, I intend to write a much longer blog post looking at the overall highs and lows of all three games. In other words, a review. I'm reviewing all three rerecorded soundtracks in one post whilst also making comparisons to the original where appropriate. My main reasoning for this is that unlike the N. Sane Trilogy where the game's soundtrack needed a more in-depth look to accommodate for the various changes made to certain tunes, Toys For Bob (the trilogy's developer) have tried to remain faithful to the original sound, even going as far as to re-enlist Stewart Copeland to help with the arrangements.
So with that in mind, let's take off!

Before this game came out, I went back to the original soundtracks for all three Spyro games and had a good listen to some of my favourite tracks to remind me about what I loved so much about Copeland's score. What impressed me most was how Copeland gave each game a distinct sound whilst still retaining the feel of a game series about a spunky purple dragon travelling across magical realms on heroic adventures, starting with 1998's Spyro The Dragon. The music sounded magical yet was recorded with primarily Rock instruments; heavy bass, various guitars, pounding percussion, organs galore. Sure, there were touches of brass and strings here & there, but the highlights were often tracks with a wide-eyed sense of wonder about them (Dark Passage, Magic Crafters Home) or a bit of a punch to them (Terrace Village, Haunted Towers).
One year later and Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage (or Gateway To Glimmer depending on your region) was released. More Spyro action with even more ambitious music, containing all the same tropes from the original game whilst taking on various styles from all over the world. Starting with Glimmer, you can tell that Stewart Copeland still had plenty of creative steam left but right after that, you get levels like Colossus and Hurricos; the former utilising some neat Gregorian chanting on top of the guitar melodies whilst the latter perfectly balances heavier, mechanical sound effects on top of a simplistic background score. Each piece of music perfectly suits the level, whether it's the Arabian flair in Scorch or the bustling, futuristic sound of Metropolis.
Finally, we have Spyro: Year Of The Dragon (my personal favourite game AND soundtrack). I don't know if it was the need to make Spyro seem edgier to the 00s generation of gamers but the music definitely took on more of an Industrial tone in this game. Some of the first levels you play contain music fit for Matrix-inspired parkour videos like Cloud Spires and Molten Crater, not to mention the sharply more aggressive boss battle themes. Even the more familiar tunes like Sunny Villa and Frozen Altars have an unmistakable edge to them but as mentioned earlier, the soundtrack is still that of a Spyro game. The organs and heavy bass are still there, although they had to share the spotlight with computer-generated sound effects.

I may not have adored the music from the original Spyro trilogy but I definitely enjoyed the majority of tracks from each level (although I strongly dislike Sgt. Byrd's theme) and there were certainly some pieces of music that I would listen to on repeat where possible (Harbour Speedway, Scorch and of course, the incredible Credits theme to name a few). Listening to those pieces of music in the Reignited Trilogy was a mostly enjoyable experience although there were a couple of times where I had to flip the sound settings to "Original" instead of "Reignited" simply because I felt like Toys For Bob had completely fucked up the rerecordings. This is where my doubt about whether I liked the new music came in.
Fans of the original source material are always going to have the nostalgia factor weighing down their judgement so even though I prefer 100% of the original versions of songs I loved from the Spyro trilogy, most of the music that I was happily comfortable with but never religiously fanatic about sounds just as good (if not a bit better) in the Reignited Trilogy. Instrumentation is largely identical to the point that I was genuinely unsure if I'd left the settings on "Original" or "Reignited" a lot of the time and listening to each track in HD on YouTube whilst writing this review really does the enhanced soundtrack a lot of favours, although they still made the same mistake Vicarious Visions made with the N. Sane Trilogy in not whacking the bass up to 11 or beyond.
Every other observation about the game's soundtrack could be considered a positive or negative depending on your personal music tastes, e.g. the fact that Toys For Bob developed the trilogy as one game so the graphics, gameplay engine and soundtrack all feel the same across all three remade titles. The subtle changes in the original trilogy's soundtrack seem obvious in comparison to the differences between the rerecordings but again, this is probably only going to affect the purists who avidly listened to the original music and would gladly fork over half their paycheck to have the original collection on vinyl if that were possible.

Overall, the Reignited Trilogy's soundtrack reflects the game; newcomers will love it for its incredible charm and creativity whilst those who grew up with the originals and played them all to 337% completion repeatedly will always choose the classics over the remakes, even though they'll still enjoy the remasters a hell of a lot. If I had to rate the entire trilogy's soundtrack, I'd probably give it a 8/10 for doing the originals justice although still making a few fumbles along the way...like the Fracture Hills rerecording. I mean, it's just...the fuck were they thinking?!

Rapid Fire: King Crimson, Rob Zombie, Horisont

I know I said I was gonna do Living The Dream - Uriah Heep in a Rapid Fire post but that can wait; we've got three albums with spooky looking album covers to discuss, starting with this Proggy waste of time!

1. In The Court Of The Crimson King - King Crimson

I've always found this album cover to be kinda off-putting so it definitely belongs in this Rapid Fire post, especially if you imagine the contorted face of horror is reacting to a spooky ghost or something. I'll tell you something else as well; this album is NOT an easy find online. However, after searching for each song, I listened to the entire thing and can confirm that I absolutely wasted my time. This album is shit. It's worse than shit; it's long, drawn-out, pretentious, tedious, over-inflated, noisy shit. However, if there's one type of shit it isn't, it's pointless shit.
Whilst I despise every song on this godawful record, from wacky album opener "21st Century Schizoid Man" to horrific masturbation "The Court Of The Crimson King", it's a necessary evil in the world of music because this turd masquerading as "art" inspired a myriad of much greater albums and bands. Hell, it arguably created the Prog Rock genre; we have Yes, Genesis, The Moody Blues, Jethro Tull, Dream Theater, Rush, all manner of great bands who had the sense to realise you could make something long-winded and grand without sounding like something made when university students program laptop AI to make a 50 minute album.
This isn't one of those albums that you must listen to before you die; you get nothing out of it, presumably the reason why so many critics who should know better claim it's such a great album. If you don't feel anything, you're probably not getting it which means you're a stoopidhead so you better praise it to give yourself credibility. I wouldn't recommend In The Court Of The Emperor's New Clothes to anyone as it's nothing more than a misfire that happened to give us a great musical genre. If you do like this album, good for you. I don't think worse of you for liking this but nobody should think better of you either.

1. 21st Century Schizoid Man

2. I Talk To The Wind

3. Epitaph

4. Moonchild

5. The Court Of The Crimson King

ALBUM RATING - 1/10

2. Hellbilly Deluxe - Rob Zombie

This is probably more appropriate for a Halloween themed blog post, due to the deliberately scary album cover and music based off classic Horror films. This was Rob Zombie's first solo album after White Zombie and whilst the music still contains his typical sound of growling vocals, heavy riffs and thunderous percussion, Hellbilly Deluxe is definitely more of an Industrial record than Astro-Creep: 2000 or La Sexorcisto with more emphasis on synth-effects and repetitive structures than guitar solos and other traditional Rock aspects.

The album starts off with its three singles: "Superbeast", "Dragula" and "Living Dead Girl", immediately setting the tone and putting its best foot forwards with three completely different yet consistently heavy tracks. Once these have finished, the album continues to knock down doors with its fine-tuned, well-crafted Dance Metal but by the second half of the record, you'll notice some of the tracks start to drag a little (despite being under five minutes long). It's always the risk when writing an album containing variations on the same song over and over again but at least the song this album is based off is a good one.
Hellbilly Deluxe has some great songs all contained within the first half but the entire album is perfect for background noise, particularly at Halloween parties or similar environments. This is essentially Rob Zombie's shtick; heavy Industrial Metal without complexity featuring old Horror film audio snippets and growling vocals, each track carrying a name that sounds like a Goosebumps title or alcoholic beverage served exclusively at a bar where you have to cover your lid if you want to make it home that night. If you like that kind of music, you definitely won't hate this album although I think anyone would be hard-pressed to love it unless this music truly is their jam.

1. Call Of The Zombie

2. Superbeast

3. Dragula

4. Living Dead Girl

5. Perversion 99

6. Demonoid Phenomenon

7. Spookshow Baby

8. How To Make A Monster

9. Meet The Creeper

10. The Ballad Of Resurrection Joe And Rosa Whore

11. What Lurks On Channel X?

12. Return Of The Phantom Stranger

13. The Beginning Of The End

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

3. About Time - Horisont

You might see this album cover and think this is a NWOTHM album containing music similar to Iron Maiden and Anthrax but you'd be dead wrong! Despite having a somewhat creepy looking cover, it's actually a modern album by a Swedish group inspired by 70s bands such as Thin Lizzy, UFO, Rory Gallagher and Blue Oyster Cult. The album's relatively easy going despite containing such a striking cover but even though they arguably stumbled at the very first hurdle, the rest of the record is a fantastic listen.

Album opener "The Hive" starts off a bit slow and gentle for a Rock album but when it gets going, my God does it get going. Great riffs, awesome vocals and perfect use of electric piano accompaniment to give us a top quality tune (even if it does rip-off "MacArthur Park" at one point in the solo). From there, the album pumps out great music that resembles an army of Frankenstein's monsters from 70s Rock bands, ready to get your foot stomping and head nodding. We get softer songs with an acoustic flair that break into something faster paced ("Letare"), fun tracks that blend the grand riffing of Queen with the galloping rhythm of Eddie Money ("Boston Gold") and a longer, more progressive title track that brings the album to a quiet close.
Recently, I criticised the Greta Van Fleet debut for sounding like a poor attempt at copying the Led Zeppelin sound. The difference between an album like Anthem Of The Peaceful Army and About Time can be summarised by this quote from Wilson Mizner: "If you steal from one author, it's plagiarism. If you steal from many, it's research". Greta Van Fleet's music was entirely driven by skin-deep comparisons to one band whereas Horisont have taken the best aspects of a whole variety of artists to craft something that sounds distinctly theirs. I definitely recommend this album to fans of Classic Rock, although don't expect anything as heavy as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin or the like. It still rocks but not enough to bring the house down; just a couple of loose pictures here & there.

1. The Hive

2. Electrical

3. Without Warning

4. Letare

5. Night Line

6. Point Of Return

7. Boston Gold

8. Hungry Love

9. Dark Sides

10. About Time

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

COMING SOON: Posts about the music from Spyro The Dragon...and maybe The Police.

Rapid Fire: Scorpions, Testament, White Wizzard

Our final post of the month is a quick look at three albums released across different decades that all share at least one common factor. In this case, it's striking album artwork and what better genre to represent high quality album art than Heavy Metal.
The first album comes from a band known for controversial album artwork that often had to be replaced by a less offensive images. That's right, it's NOT Cannibal Corpse because fuck them. It's Scorpions.


1. Blackout - Scorpions

Of all the classic Scorpions albums I've listened to, this is probably my favourite. It also has the best album artwork with Lovedrive coming in at a close second. Anyway, when it comes to Heavy Metal from the 70s, Scorpions are arguably the gold standard. The perfect blend of Klaus Meine's vocals, guitar from one of the Schenkers and percussion from [INSERT DRUMMER HERE] (although Herman Rarebell's work on this album is a highlight) result in a sound that sounds a little more aggressive than typical Hard Rock but not quite as furious as 80s Metal; this is apparent from album opener and title track "Blackout", a fan favourite containing great riffs, a catchy chorus and an outro that maybe could've done without the scream.
From here, the album gives us a healthy variety of commercially oriented Pop Metal ("No One Like You"), slower power ballads that still rock ("When The Smoke Is Going Down"), chugging Heavy Metal ("China White") and fast paced bangers ("Dynamite"). This album has a good hit-shit ratio but the variety does mean fans of faster Heavy Metal might get a little bored during the more casual tracks like "Arizona". Likewise, listeners who want something to chill out to should probably find a different album (or genre) due to songs like "Now!" appearing and shaking you awake.
This album is an all-rounder and definitely a classic that I'd recommend to fans of the genre  although it takes its strongest step in the first half. The latter half is made up of deep cuts and afterthoughts that likely won't win anyone over if they hadn't heard any of the album's main singles that all happen to come from the first half. Blackout isn't the best Heavy Metal album in existence but it's certainly a strong contender for one of Scorpions' finest records; definitely one of the best out of their golden years (Virgin Killer to Savage Amusement).

1. Blackout

2. Can't Live Without You

3. No One Like You

4. You Give Me All I Need

5. Now!

6. Dynamite

7. Arizona

8. China White

9. When The Smoke Is Going Down

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

Next up is an album from 1990, the last year of the truly great Heavy Metal album.

2. Souls Of Black - Testament

When choosing music for this post, it was between this album and Spreading The Disease - Anthrax but in the end, I went with Testament because I've already talked about Anthrax in a Rapid Fire post. Besides, this album needs addressing. First off, we have a fucking great album cover. Along with Spreading The Disease and Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?, it's artwork that I could get lost in and catches your eye when browsing the Metal section of your record store. Then we have the album opener "Face In The Sky" after acoustic intro "Beginning Of The End". Both tracks do a great job of creating atmosphere before giving you some damn fine Thrash Metal to get stuck into.

The album contains some exceptional material that could easily go toe to toe with some of Thrash Metal's finest moments but unfortunately, there's one glaring fault that prevents Souls Of Black from being a shining star: the godawful, horrifically flat mix. When all's said and done, you can compare Souls Of Black to other Metal albums released in the same year like Rust In Peace and Painkiller and the difference in audio quality is night and day. Producer Michael Rosen should be fucking ashamed for ruining what could've been a damn near perfect record, although the producer credits also list Testament as producing so the fault could lie with them too.

Either way, there are a lot of great songs here that are sullied by the terrible mix (as proven by the far superior rerecording of "Souls Of Black" used in Rock Band 2) but if you can get past that, there are plenty of jewels to be found in this trash can. Even when the tracks slow down to take a breather, they still maintain the raw aggression and awesome riffs needed for top notch Thrash. Maybe one day the entire album will get the rerecording treatment instead of just the title track but until then, I guess we'll have to make do with this swing and a miss.

1. Beginning Of The End

2. Face In The Sky

3. Falling Fast

4. Souls Of Black

5. Absence Of Light

6. Love To Hate

7. Malpractice

8. One Man's Fate

9. The Legacy

10. Seven Days Of May

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

The last album is a fairly modern one (2010) but was clearly inspired by Metal greats from the 80s.

3. Over The Top - White Wizzard

White Wizzard are an American NWOTHM band that MAY have listened to a lot of Iron Maiden and Anthrax whilst growing up, but I'm not completely certain about that. Regardless of their personal taste in music, the band's amplified bass, falsetto vocals and galloping rhythm definitely conjure memories of 80s Metal as demonstrated in album opener and title track "Over The Top". It's a great introduction to the band if you've never heard of them before (which is highly likely) but the real heavy hitters come later on, especially if you're a fan of riff-based Metal and backing vocals perfect for singing along during gigs.

Even though there are more than a few comparisons to their sources of inspiration, the band are easily able to stand up on their own feet. In fact, I'd argue that there's a case to be made that White Wizzard have taken those factors and improved them. Whilst there's the occasional proggy deep cut ("Iron Goddess Of Vengeance"), there are also tracks with mildly progressive elements ("High Roller") that don't go on anywhere near as long as those in modern Iron Maiden or Dream Theater songs, meaning that fans of Heavy Metal that remains tight and energetic will have a lot to enjoy in this album. There's also the fact that vocalist Wyatt Anderson can hit those high notes without sounding too rusty, something Bruce Dickinson is starting to lose if live gigs are anything to go by.

The only main downside to Over The Top is that a great Heavy Metal album has plenty of variety between fast tracks, moderately paced sluggers and slower, more emotional material. This album lacks the slower songs that allow the band to show off their musical talent, instead opting to rewrite the same song ("Live Free Or Die" and "Strike Of The Viper"). As a result, you might feel like the band are a bit one-note if you're not a fan of the song they clearly love. Fortunately, I love that song so this is a great album for me. I definitely recommend it if you want some good old fashioned Heavy Metal.

1. Over The Top

2. 40 Deuces

3. High Roller

4. Live Free Or Die

5. Iron Goddess Of Vengeance

6. Out Of Control

7. Strike Of The Viper

8. Death Race

9. White Wizzard

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

Next month: Hopefully posts that don't all come within the last week, although it does depend largely on personal issues resolving themselves.

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

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


1. From The Fires - Greta Van Fleet

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

1. Safari Song

2. Edge Of Darkness

3. Flower Power

4. A Change Is Gonna Come

5. Highway Tune

6. Meet On The Ledge

7. Talk On The Street

8. Black Smoke Rising

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

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

2. The Knight Of Rebellion - Dream Troll

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

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

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

1. Time For Vengeance

2. Velvet Drawbridge

3. Mons Ominosus

4. Lost In The Pages

5. A Fairy's Tale

6. Unwanted By The Gods

7. (The) Earthbound Betrayal

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

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

3. Ghosts Of Yet To Come - Wayward Sons

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

1. Alive

2. Until The End

3. Ghost

4. Don't Wanna Go

5. Give It Away

6. Killing Time

7. Crush

8. Be Still

9. Small Talk

10. Something Wrong

ALBUM RATING - 5/10

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

Rapid Fire: Motorhead, David Bowie, Tom Petty

We're back! We might be back a week late BUT WE'RE BACK and we're celebrating with a Rapid Fire post all about DEEAAAATTHH!!! Yes, the first post of 2018 is looking at three albums by famous Rock/Metal musicians who sadly passed away in 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively. I should probably open up with a less sombre blog post but fuck it, everything's going to shit anyway.
The first album I'll be briefly discussing is the most recent, coming out four months before the death of legendary Metal bassist and vocalist Lemmy Kilmister. However, before I start that, I should mention that whilst writing this blog post, original guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke passed away too. He may not have been involved with this album but he did record the classic riffs and solos for Motorhead's classic albums such as Overkill, Iron Fist and Ace Of Spades.
R.I.P. Fast Eddie Clarke.


1. Bad Magic - Motorhead

I'd been meaning to check out Motorhead's final album ever since the news of Lemmy's passing broke but, without meaning to sound disrespectful, part of the reason I'd been avoiding it was I'd already listened to a Motorhead album. In fact, before listening to Bad Magic, I'd listened to three separate records and a covers album. If there's one thing I can tell you from each of these albums all released in different decades, it's that Motorhead never changed what wasn't broken and the few times they did tinker with things slightly always reset back to its original condition like a JD and tobacco stained memory foam mattress. Bad Magic does absolutely nothing to mix up the formula, making it as much a Motorhead album as anything else in their back catalogue.
Album opener "Victory Or Die" pulls no punches and does a good job of pointing out what's on the tin so you can expect to get exactly what the rest of the album says, if you'll pardon the muddled metaphor. However, there's something missing from Bad Magic that prevents it from being a top notch Motorhead album; a truly great guitarist. Don't get me wrong, Phil Campbell is top notch at playing the thing, I'm just not convinced he's got the musical talent to keep creating excellent riffs for an extended period of time. When you're literally recycling the exact same riff from "Smiling Like A Killer" for "Electricity"or recording generic, interchangeable solos for each track, it's going to let the album down.
Fortunately, Lemmy's bass still rolls out hard and heavy and even though his vocals were beginning to sound noticeably more like those of later years Johnny Cash than early years Lemmy Motherfucking Kilmister due to his health problems at the time, they hadn't completely gone to shit like many Hard Rock outfits that have gone on just a bit too long (looking at you, Deep Purple). Plus, it means we get songs like "Till The End" where we have the pleasure of actually listening to Lemmy sing as well as a banging cover of "Sympathy For The Devil", a highlight of this and their recent covers album. As far as swan songs go, Bad Magic is arguably not the guns blazing celebration of pure Rock & Roll that you may have expected from Motorhead but it's far from a tepid whimper too.

1. Victory Or Die

2. Thunder & Lightning

3. Fire Storm Hotel

4. Shoot Out All Of Your Lights

5. The Devil

6. Electricity

7. Evil Eye

8. Teach Them How To Bleed

9. Till The End

10. Tell Me Who To Kill

11. Choking On Your Screams

12. When The Sky Comes Looking For You

13. Sympathy For The Devil

ALBUM RATING - 5/10

Next up is the oldest album of the three and almost certainly the most influential too from Glam Rock fashion icon David Bowie.


2. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars - David Bowie

Much like the previous album, this is a record I'd been convincing myself to listen to for years before this blog post...and that's pretty much where the similarities end. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Overly Pretentious Album Title is the story of a bisexual Jesus-like Rock star who learns of the Earth's impending doom from aliens but becomes one with them on stage because of the spiritual journey he's undertaken throughout the album. Oh, and this Rock star is represented by David Bowie because he was humble like that. Everybody loves this album but to me, it's a competent collection of things I personally hate about Rock that prevent me from getting the most out of it.

For starters, album opener "Five Years" is more of a symphonic grandiose overture than a Glam Rock track to set the tone for what is ultimately a Glam Rock album. It reeks of self-importance without keeping me engaged enough to ignore that facet of Bowie's musical persona. Allmusic called it one of the greatest album openers ever recorded, meaning they've clearly never listened to any Megadeth or they'd realise how fucking wrong they are. Secondly, Bowie's writing style is painfully present in many of these songs and it just doesn't fly with me. For those unaware, Bowie used the cut-up technique where he'd take sentences (or just words), jumble them up and rearrange them into poetic sounding lyrics. When you listen to tracks like "Moonage Daydream" and "Ziggy Stardust", they'll either sound like genius ahead of its time or sporadically assembled nonsense and, unfortunately, it's the latter category for me.

Finally, there's the knowledge that some of these songs probably could've been amazing if written for other bands. Most of us probably know that David Bowie wrote the hit song "All The Young Dudes" for Mott The Hoople around the time of this album (the lyrics actually refer to events in this album because a bit of cross promotion never hurt anyone) but many of those may be unaware that he actually recorded versions of the song himself. They all fucking suck. I can imagine songs like "Star" being incredible by similar 70s Glam or Classic Rock artists that weren't trying to intentionally be art but at least some tracks work with the Bowie touch like "Suffragette City".

Ultimately, my opinion of this album may change over time but my initial reaction to The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Fawning Music Critics (besides one of childish mockery) is that it's not bad. It's a tidy collection of meticulously assembled material that you can blast through in a relatively short amount of time and get some joy out of. It hasn't given me any insight on any of the touched upon themes, nor will it be a record that I feel I must own or even revisit in a year's time. I like a few songs on it and would recommend listening to the second half as if it's a plain old 70s Rock album...unless you're the kind of wanker that says "bravo" without sarcasm, then you'll probably adore it and will want to see copies of it in museums and on space probes and carved into cliff edges so the wind will play melodies from it for all eternity. That's probably what you think, you ponce.

1. Five Years

2. Soul Love

3. Moonage Daydream

4. Starman

5. It Ain't Easy

6. Lady Stardust

7. Star

8. Hang On To Yourself

9. Ziggy Stardust

10. Suffragette City

11. Rock 'N' Roll Suicide

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

Finally, we have the middle child released in 1989. Even though this musician had already released plenty of studio albums with The Heartbreakers, this was Tom Petty's first solo record and it's pretty damn great!

3. Full Moon Fever - Tom Petty

Tom Petty might have been guilty of frequently committing one of Rock's worst sins (fading out on a guitar solo) but damn, did he know how to make a great solo record. It's a well built collection of Heartland Rock; nothing aggressive, just a feel-good collection of gentle Rock with a couple of standout rockers. Album opener "Free Fallin'" sets the easy tone perfectly with a slow tempo, pleasant melody and cracking yet simplistic chorus; in other words, the thing iconic Soft Rock songs are made from.
One of the main differences between his solo material and a standard Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers record probably comes down to the production. Even though we had Tom Petty and Mike Campbell involved as usual, Jeff Lynne (ELO, Traveling Wilburys) also did his fair share of producing and songwriting so many tracks contain elements of those bands as well as Tom Petty's signature style ("Love Is A Long Road", "Depending On You", "Zombie Zoo"). However, there are also tracks where Tom lets loose and busts out the proper Rock riffs ("Runnin' Down A Dream", "A Mind With A Heart Of Its Own").
There's something for fans of all types of Classic American Rock here and whilst it's unlikely that every track will land with you on the same level, Full Moon Fever knows what its doing and is easily one of the most cohesive, well crafted Rock albums in existence. Whilst it might not be on my personal favourites list due to the softer nature of most tracks and the lack of complex or technical music work to enjoy, I can appreciate the talent that went into making it and would recommend it to pretty much anyone, even those who aren't really into Rock but don't dislike it.

1. Free Fallin'

2. I Won't Back Down

3. Love Is A Long Road

4. A Face In The Crowd

5. Runnin' Down A Dream

6. Feel A Whole Lot Better

7. Yer So Bad

8. Depending On You

9. The Apartment Song

10. Alright For Now

11. A Mind With A Heart Of It's Own

12. Zombie Zoo

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

There you have it. Three decent albums by three great artists/bands who are no longer with us. What a way to start the year!

Pinewood Smile - The Darkness

The main reason this review has taken so long to write is because I didn't know whether I wanted to dedicate an entire blog post to it or cover it in a Rapid Fire post with a couple of other new albums I've heard over the last couple of weeks. In the end, I went with a review because I'd rather write about this album in length than the new Paramore or Pink ones.

Last time I reviewed an album by The Darkness on this blog, I claimed that Last Of Our Kind was a great album to listen to if you were previously on the fence about the band and wanted to get into them with a blend of awesome Rock music and toned down silliness. Pinewood Smile successfully amplifies both factors, resulting in a collection of great Hard Rock songs that you can't take seriously if you listen to the lyrics. However, worst album cover in the world aside, this could well be my favourite Darkness album to date.
Things are off to a good start with album opener/lead single, "All The Pretty Girls". It's a punchy Rock track with catchy vocal hooks/guitar riffs and a uniquely amusing take on the popularity Rock stars gain as they progress through their career rather than your standard "I wanna bang all the chicks and they wanna bang me back" approach synonymous with most over-the-top artists. From there, the album only gets better with a tightly packed wealth of pure Rock and humorous lines, both equally well crafted and blended together.
Other singles "Solid Gold" and "Southern Trains" bring the thunder with their heavy riffs but also contain lyrics laced with profanity in a charmingly British manner whilst other Hard Rock filler tracks throughout the album such as "Japanese Prisoner Of Love" and "Lay Down With Me, Barbara" are a bit more subtle with their humour, relying more on subverting or parodying Rock tropes in Spinal Tapesque fashion rather than dropping F-bombs like Tenacious D. The album utilises both types of funny songwriting well and thankfully they don't try to awkwardly blend them in single songs.

Despite blending humour and quality Hard Rock better than any previous Darkness album, this is still an issue for those of you (like myself) who will always prefer good music over funny lyrics in your Rock albums. Full disclosure: "English Country Garden" is my all-time favourite song by the band and that track contains comically obscene lyrics, although since they're mostly indistinguishable, the awesome music is at the forefront of my mind when I listen to the song. Compare this to tracks that I mentioned earlier where you can very clearly hear the chorus to "Southern Trains" and you might find yourself removed from the experience of listening to a great song due to the funny lyrics.
My favourite song on the album is "Buccaneers Of Hispaniola", a track that screams epic from its name to its riffs throughout; the kind of song that would sound amazing being played whilst charging into battle. Thankfully, that song is entirely reliant on being a great Rock tune and will probably be the next single if the band choose to release one. Other decent songs on the album like "Stampede Of Love" have some great musical moments but I feel like I can't let myself enjoy it as much because it's clearly meant to be a joke song at the end of the album, hence the pointless "frenzy" during the last 20 seconds.
Aside from subjective criticisms about jokes not landing, there's nothing really wrong with the album in the same way that previous reviews have looked at weak songwriting or Pop tendencies. At this point in the band's career, they're still allowed to churn out albums that work without needing to experiment (that's their NEXT album) and this album is still very much The Darkness at the top of their game. Falsetto vocals are still being used effectively in comparison to Permission To Land and the rest of the band are still kicking ass despite going through more drummers than a runaway car ploughing through a queue outside the carpel tunnel syndrome clinic.

Pinewood Smile might sound a bit sillier than their previous album but I feel like the music is tighter too. If there were more tracks like "Buccaneers Of Hispaniola" that were more about rocking hard and less about mildly tickling your funny bone, I probably would've preferred it more on a personal level. However, as objectively as I can see it, this album's still damn good and deserves an 8/10. I recommend this album to people who like Hard Rock but aren't looking for their new favourite record, as it's the kind of music best enjoyed now and then rather than as one complete package.
It's refreshing to hear a new Rock album by an actual Rock band made with a proper Rock producer after multiple albums by stadium fillers like Foo Fighters and Paramore designed to sound more like Pop. Hopefully there'll be more of these coming out around the time of my next review and less of Villains or Beautiful Trauma...that's the new Pink album with that song that's being played fucking everywhere at the moment.

Rapid Fire: Metallica, Judas Priest, Black Tide

Hastily typed up Rapid Fire post time!
This time, it's all about the Metal. Three Metal albums by three Metal bands, plain and simple. I've gone for a mix of iconic "masterpiece", fan favourite and hidden gem in my selection but overall, I'd recommend all of these albums to different people for varying reasons. Objectively speaking, there isn't really a dud in the bunch although this first album is easily the worst. You'll know that's a controversial statement if you've already taken a peek at the album in question but I stand by my reasons, which you can read about below.


1. Master Of Puppets - Metallica

A lot of metalheads claim this is Metallica's best album (or their last great album, depending on how much of a dick they are). Whilst it does have several top notch tracks, I was pretty disappointed the first time I listened to this. I'd just come off Ride The Lightning (their ACTUAL best album) and had high hopes for the album that was supposedly a superior follow-up but there were several irritating little niggles I had. For starters, the tracks were needlessly long.
I accept that this is kind of Metallica's thing, longer Metal songs with a sensitive intro and a shitload of riffs, but this album goes overboard. The shortest song on Master Of Puppets is album opener, "Battery" and even that song could've trimmed some of the fat from the outro. The riffs and solos come hard and heavy but the song's so busy being angry that it forgets to be enjoyable, in my eyes. Then there's the title track, "Master Of Puppets", a song with much better riffs and a sensitive section in the middle, slowing the entire song down before a solo that blows its load too early yet simultaneously goes on too long before bringing it back around to the intro riff.
The rest of the album can be divided into three sections: short yet forgettable Thrash Metal ("Leper Messiah" "Damage, Inc."), well crafted but dull Heavy Metal ("The Thing That Should Not Be", "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)") and great but long standouts ("Disposable Heroes", "Orion"). The album is full of emotional contradictions and lacks a single solid punch compared to the previous two albums; I'm not saying Kill Em All and Ride The Lightning are perfect but they do have perfect tracks, unlike Master Of Puppets which is full of nice tries.

1. Battery

2. Master Of Puppets

3. The Thing That Should Not Be

4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

5. Disposable Heroes

6. Leper Messiah

7.Orion

8. Damage, Inc.

ALBUM RATING - 5/10

If you're still reading after I just pissed on a critically acclaimed album, time for a record from the band who are responsible for the name of these specific blog posts.

2. Screaming For Vengeance - Judas Priest

I was torn between discussing this, British Steel or Painkiller but in the end, I chose my personal favourite. From the epic cover to the final track, there isn't a single bad song or misstep on Screaming For Vengeance. Album overture "The Hellion" works as an introduction for the true album opener, "Electric Eye". Great driving rhythm, awesome lyrics, a sweet solo and excellent riffs throughout. The bar is set high by this track but unlike other releases by the band (looking at you, Redeemer Of Souls), it's a record that's constantly broken over the course of the album.

The album's big hit was "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" and as good as the song is if you're after radio friendly material, it's dwarfed by proper Heavy Metal B-sides. Whether you like your Metal fast and furious ("Screaming For Vengeance") or slow and melodic ("Devil's Child"), the variety presented across the album is enough for any fan of the genre. There are a few tracks that almost stray into Hard Rock material ("Fever", "Pain And Pleasure") but fortunately the band are able to claw it back.

Whilst British Steel might be preferable to those who like their Metal to contain a certain raw quality and Painkiller is easily the superior album if you're after pure aggression in music form, Screaming For Vengeance is a perfect example of how to spruce up and polish a product without ruining it by making it sound bloated and unnecessarily extravagant. The Metal is still pure and even though Judas Priest made some questionable decisions throughout the course of their career, at least they gave us this.

1. The Hellion

2. Electric Eye

3. Riding On The Wind

4. Bloodstone

5. (Take These) Chains

6. Pain And Pleasure

7. Screaming For Vengeance

8. You've Got Another Thing Comin'

9. Fever

10. Devil's Child

ALBUM RATING - 9/10

Finally, rounding off our Metal trilogy is a band who gave us an incredible debut followed by utter, utter shite.

3. Light From Above - Black Tide

Black Tide started off in their teens before being picked up by a major record label, usually a sign that the band are shit but malleable to the point that their music means nothing. However, unlike similar artists who absolutely fucking suck (like The Warning), Black Tide were at least able to give us one excellent album before changing their material to a more edgy teen-friendly sound. Light From Above can probably be considered part of the NWOTHM subgenre as it has all the hallmarks of an album from the 80s, only with better audio quality.

Album opener "Shockwave" starts things off with a bang (hurr hurr), giving us blistering riffs and solos with catchy vocals from start to finish and they don't stop there. The album contains high quality Heavy Metal without resorting to sensitive ballads or Metal operas like most American or modern Metal outfits, making it a rare treat for fans of heavy music and purists who have become disillusioned by the decline in the genre alike.

Of course, since it is just pure Metal, you're less likely to get as much out of it as you are with more progressive music containing various sections and a wider variety of riffs but that doesn't mean there aren't tracks where the band push themselves to come up with something more than your average Metal anthem ("Warriors Of Time", "Light From Above"). Plus, they do a damn good cover of Metallica's "Hit The Lights" so the band deserve some credit. It's a shame they turned into a bunch of whiny Metalcore pussies after this album but at least Light From Above still exists as a testament to why you shouldn't let record labels shit on you just because they're the ones with the money. Be more like Iron Maiden, less like Black Tide.

1. Shockwave

2. Shout

3. Warriors Of Time

4. Give Me A Chance

5. Let Me

6. Show Me The Way

7. Enterprise

8. Live Fast Die Young

9. Hit The Lights

10. Black Abyss

11. Light From Above

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

That's it for July! Hopefully August will have a few more album reviews/discussions and less video game music, as I kind of went too far with that this month.

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, part two

Last week, I wrote about the music in Crash Bandicoot and the remaster in the N. Sane Trilogy with the promise of writing about the music in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Crash Bandicoot: Warped and both remasters so if you're reading this, I hope you like the music in Crash 2...or at least like the idea of reading about it!

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back is one of the main reasons I'm into video game music. It was one of the first games I played as a child (although not THE first) and its soundtrack made playing the game all the more enjoyable. It was catchy, engaging and appropriate for each level with some excellent mixes for a game released in the 20th century, even if there are some tunes now and then that sound a little dated compared to modern orchestral soundtracks. The point I'm moving towards is that with a soundtrack as amazing as this, recreating it in a way that both captures the essence of the original whilst attempting to make technical improvements without pissing on people's nostalgia was a pretty hard task to undertake. Vicarious Visions did a damn good job but ultimately made a few significant errors.
For starters, there's what I call the Wumpa Bass. One of the main reasons the soundtrack sticks with you is the use of bass/bass effects on guitar; it's thick and awesome throughout the majority of the tracks, giving the game an iconic sound that the first Crash was unable to master; a sound that heavily inspired the tunes in the GameBoy Advance Crash titles (also developed by Vicarious Visions). Music from Hang Eight, Road To Ruin, Diggin' It, the N. Gin and N. Cortex boss battles and a bunch of other levels are built around heavy basslines (or at least have notable bass sections) and even if the main melodies from those levels are the tunes that you whistle when you think about the music, the bass is what makes it that little bit better.
Whilst bass is still used in the N. Sane Trilogy rerecords, it just isn't as thick or memorable. Don't get me wrong, the level music is still great and the melodies sound as good but this is very much a decision to appease new players rather than returning ones. If you listen to the bass in the tracks I mentioned earlier, there are subtle differences between each tone that removes part of the original charm. Some tracks outright replace the bass tone on the guitar with a crunchy overdrive one, making it sound more aggressive and less cartoonish.

Another issue is the overuse of synth where inappropriate. Some levels have excellent synth usage, such as Piston It Away and its death route but other tracks go overboard or simply replace much better instruments with tacky sounding synth. I've said before on the blog that the music for the Tiny boss battle is what got me into boss battles and game music and there's a specific part of the theme that gives me shivers when I listen to it. Unfortunately, even if the intro is still great, several key moments in this track just sound naff and less imposing when they sound like they were played through computer software.
Bear It is another good example where the original hit every note perfectly. It had the jolly, bouncing rhythm and uses instruments from previous snow levels to fit in with the arctic theme, not to mention good use of synth that sounds like the bear's barks. The rerecord is heavily reliant on a variety of synths ranging from a theramin-like noise to replace the polar synth to comical squawking noises now and then. One positive is the use of dynamics in the mix of this track but it's tragically for nothing when the whole tune sounds weak, and that's not even taking the worse gameplay on the bear levels into account.
Considering how developers said they wanted to give the game the same Looney Tunes feel that Naughty Dog went for when creating the games, the overabundant use of synth seems like an odd choice but fortunately, those two flaws are the only biggies and the positives are aplenty. As with the first Crash Bandicoot, the better sound and instrument quality improves music that hasn't been majorly messed with such as Rock It, the Ripper Roo boss music and the Diggin' It death route. However, as was the case with the first Crash Bandicoot, fans of the originals will almost certainly prefer them.

There are also subtle points such as the continued use of Australian sounds/instruments. It's easy to forget that the Crash franchise is based in the Australian region so you'd expect more didgeridoos and clean guitar (similar to the Ty The Tasmanian Tiger music) but thankfully, you're not bombarded with those sounds. Instead, they just crop up here and there, notably in the Turtle Woods music, so clearly Vicarious Visions did some research. Then there are tracks that have major changes but sound a lot better.
Obviously this comes down to personal taste but there are some tunes that work brilliantly with new instruments such as the Komodo Brothers boss music, the N. Cortex boss music and (my personal favourite) the Snow Go secret route. It's a shame some of my favourite tunes from the original Crash 2 didn't get the same improvements but at least there are some levels with improved music and, as I did say at the start, Vicarious Visions deserves some credit for not completely fucking up the soundtrack.
Overall, the Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back soundtrack gives me a lot of pleasure for (mostly) nostalgic reasons but I'm glad Vicarious Visions gave me a good reason to get into it again with a collection of mostly hits in a hit and miss attempt at reinventing one of my personal favourite game soundtracks. I rate the original soundtrack 8/10 and the N. Sane Trilogy version 7/10. If they didn't fuck about with too much synth, it may just have surpassed the original.

Showdown: Halestorm ReAniMate covers, part one

Most of my Showdown posts have been focusing on a variety of artists but let's not forget that my very first Showdown post was looking at covers by one band and one band only. In this two part blog post, I'll be looking at three EPs by the band Halestorm covering a selection of Rock, Metal and occasionally Pop tunes in their awesome style before weighing up pros and cons of the originals against the covers and ultimately deciding which version of each track is superior.

Since there are 18 songs across all three EPs, I'm splitting this blog post into two parts containing nine songs each. That means part one (the post you're reading now) contains all of the songs on the first EP and three of the songs off the second one. I'll deliver an overall verdict for each EP and a final verdict for all 18 songs in part two.
Right, all clear? Thank fuck, let's get listening!

EDIT: Forgot to add this Spotify playlist of each song (original and cover, minus one original song). Feel free to listen to it as you read my write-ups!


ROUND ONE: Slave To The Grind
Skid Row - Not my favourite Skid Row track but a good Metal tune with heavy riffing and a catchy chorus. The solo's a little dull but I guess that's one of the drawbacks of moving from Hair Metal to Heavy Metal. Either way, it's got a punch to it and it's a good opening song to cover if the intention is to announce "Hey, we're fuckin' here!".
Halestorm - The difference in key hits you straight away but if I'm honest, I kinda like it. It makes the chorus sound a hell of a lot better and the main thing is the energy is still there. I expect I'm probably going to say this a lot but Lizzy Hale's vocals fucking rock and definitely keep up with the original. The guitar solo sounds a little beefed up as well so all in all, a great cover!
VERDICT - A very strong entry from Halestorm right out of the gate earns them a win here. They picked the right song to kick things off and whilst the Skid Row original is good, the Halestorm cover is fucking great!

ROUND TWO: Bad Romance
Lady Gaga - I don't mind Lady Gaga as a person; she seems pretty cool and the fact that she's a fan of Heavy Metal means that her music isn't your typical Pop shite. However, at the end of the day, it is still modern Pop and even though I like some of her tunes ("Applause" being the only one at the time of typing this), "Bad Romance" isn't a song I like listening to. The vocal melody she sings throughout reminds me too much of the intro to "Self Esteem" - The Offspring (a much better song!) and the music is just generic beats and synth. It's a vocally driven song, so I have high hopes for the cover!
Halestorm - See, this is what Lady Gaga could've released if she didn't sell out her musical taste for the easier opportunity for fame. Not only does this song sound fucking sweet now but Lizzy Hale pisses all over Lady Gaga's vocals. In fact, the entire band deserve a shout out here. They've taken generic Pop music and done the best they possibly could've done with the source material. It might not sound like an amazing Metal song but it's a hell of a good cover that treats the original with respect whilst also injecting new life into it.
VERDICT - Halestorm all the way. No doubt in my mind. Hopefully Lady Gaga has listened/will listen to their version and think "maybe I should write more tunes like this" before ultimately deciding she'd rather make a fuckton of cash selling more Pop singles.

ROUND THREE: Hunger Strike
Temple Of The Dog - I didn't want to write about this song/band/album in my recent Chris Cornell post because honestly, I fucking hate it. It's slow, it's depressing and the vocal duet does nothing for me. It might have some fine Grunge riffs but the soft guitar melodies mixed with the pained screeches of Chris Cornell are off putting. It's also a song in which nothing happens. It ends as it starts and by the time it's finished, you'll want your time back...or at least I did.
Halestorm - This song sounds like something you'd hear during the credits of a Michael Bay film. By that, I mean it sucks. It's a good effort and if you like the original, you'll probably enjoy aspects of it but Grunge fans likely won't. It's a bit too upbeat and whilst each band member is on top form (yes, including Lizzy Hale), it's nothing to write home about.
VERDICT - Tough call. I'm not a fan of either track but if I have to choose based on a mix of which track I'd rather listen to again and which track I personally believe is the stronger recording, I feel like awarding the win to both bands. However, since I'm trying to avoid this, I'm going with Halestorm due to personal taste. The Temple Of The Dog original is a better Alternative/Grunge track but at least the Halestorm cover doesn't fill me with the urgent need to switch the song off.

ROUND FOUR: Out Ta Get Me
Guns N' Roses - I didn't even remember this song off Appetite For Destruction and chances are I still won't remember it a week from now but if you want typical GNR, you get it here. Solid Slash work, Axl doing his thang, Steven Adler keeping the song together on drums and the rest of the band enjoying the ride. Personal opinions on Axl Rose aside, this is an OK Hard Rock filler track. Not "You Could Be Mine" or "Anything Goes" level but it's passable.
Halestorm - Musically, this sounds about as close as you can get to classic GNR. Vocally, it shits all over Axl; then again, the automated voice narration on laptops would give that washed up tosser a run for his money BUT AXL OPINIONS ASIDE, this is a great cover. Unfortunately, it's also a relatively easy cover. I'm not sure why the band picked this track as it's possibly one of the safest GNR songs to cover if you were worried about not doing the band justice; it would've been neat to hear them cover a bigger song, especially with the band's track record so far.
VERDICT - Definitely Halestorm. Guns N' Roses did a decent job of writing a middle-of-the-road Rock song but Halestorm kicked it up a notch.

ROUND FIVE: All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You
Heart - We've had mediocre modern Pop, now it's time for mediocre 90s Pop! The weird thing is, this Heart song isn't even an original Heart track. It's based off a song from the 70s called "All I Want To Do Is Make Love To You" but with different lyrics. It's as radio friendly as an advert for PPI and it's as lame as Christian Hip Hop so why Halestorm would want to cover it is beyond me.
Halestorm - Yup, it's still rubbish. Of all the awesome Heart songs they could've picked, Halestorm went for one from their dull Pop phase. It might have heavier music and vocals but it still sounds like mid 2000s dirge from the likes of Paramore and other crap tween bands masquerading as Rock.
VERDICT - There wasn't a single aspect of either song I liked so I'm giving the win to Heart. Both songs are dull but at least Heart's version is closer to a good Pop song than Halestorm's cover is to a good Rock song, if that makes sense.

ROUND SIX: I Want You (She's So Heavy)
The Beatles - I've talked about this track before on my post on The Beatles: Rock Band but the summary is I hate it. It goes on for FUUUUCKING AGES at the end and the rest of the song, regardless of how good the bass is, fails to redeem it. Once again, I find myself asking why Halestorm chose this song to cover out of all the great Beatles tracks that would've transitioned into incredible Metal versions but I reckon the answer may have something to do with the fact that it costs an arm, a leg and a gallon of leprechaun blood to license The Beatles so this could've been one of the cheaper tunes.
Halestorm - Hats off to Halestorm, this cover actually has its moments during the shittier slow bits. It sounds like good Ozzy Osbourne and unlike the original, there's actually more happening. Lizzy's belting out vocals and the instrumental mix changes. However, the verses are weak. They don't sound right on a Metal song.
VERDICT - Halestorm took a terrible song and made it a bit weak. Even if it's still ultimately a loss, they did the best they could and therefore Halestorm have earned a win. They can pin it to their fridge, seeing as how much better wins are occupying their metaphorical mantle.

SCORES (ReAniMate: The CoVeRs eP):
Originals - 1
Halestorm - 5

ReAniMate: The CoVeRs eP rating: 8/10

ROUND SEVEN: Dissident Aggressor
Judas Priest - We're onto the second covers EP now and once again, Halestorm have picked a solid song to start things off. It's not as powerful as some of their later songs but it's got a good driving rhythm and some classic 70s Metal riffing. Halford's vocals in the chorus are good, though. A nice little back and forth with himself, which is also a good way to figuratively describe his attitude to performing "Breaking The Law" live nowadays...he jerks off, basically.
Halestorm - The music sounds heavy and the guitarwork is impressive although for once, Lizzy Hale's vocals don't quite do it for me. Her back and forth in the chorus sounds poorly mixed but otherwise, she kicks ass. However, compared to previous covers, it's a bit of a step down and I think Slayer's cover of this song is better overall.
VERDICT - I've got to give it to Judas Priest here. They wrote and performed a good song and whilst the Halestorm cover isn't bad, it doesn't bring anything new and exciting to the table like they did with other covers.

ROUND EIGHT: Get Lucky
Daft Punk - This song is catchy, I'm not denying that. However, it's also a bit...bland. It sounds like the kind of song written to be used in the background of a thirty second advert for Bet365, not something for millions of fans to purchase and listen to for four-six minutes (depending on which version you buy). However, if you like Funk, you'll probably get a kick out of this.
Halestorm - Not a bad cover! I love what the band have done with the guitar, giving it a "Dr. Feelgood" vibe with some little melodies in the verse and chorus (not to mention the small but tidy solo). As a joke cover (think some of the Children Of Bodom covers), this song rocks. As an attempt at a Metal version of a Pop song, it's meh with some strong elements.
VERDICT - It's obvious, isn't it? Halestorm gave us a fun Metal cover and a passable Metal song if you don't know much Metal.

ROUND NINE: Shoot To Thrill
AC/DC - The Iron Man 2 song in all its glory. Some good riffs and a catchy chorus, although the song does go on a little bit too long. However, the best parts of the song are probably the intro riffs and the outro solo...in other words, the bits used in Iron Man 2. Considering this song was on the first album released after Bon Scott's death, it's a pretty good tune to give fans confidence that the band could still Rock.
Halestorm - Of all the AC/DC songs to cover, this one's a good choice. Well known and easy to faithfully recreate. The main difference lies in the vocals (what a shocker!) and whilst I'm not the biggest fan of Brian Johnson, Lizzy Hale's voice sounds a bit tame here. I was expecting something a bit heftier from her but she must've recorded this cover on an off day. Shame.
VERDICT - The problem with covering AC/DC is that no matter how heavy your instruments or different your vocals, it will always sound like an AC/DC song due to Angus' ability to create iconic and signature riffs. Your only option is to try and match AC/DC's quality without changing too much, which is sadly what Lizzy Hale tried to do on vocals, hence AC/DC winning this round.


That's part one! Part two will be with you soon!

Rapid Fire: The Cult

I need to review more albums, as we're over a month into the year and so far I've only listened to Heavy Fire - Black Star Riders (review here). I could also do with writing more Rapid Fire posts covering three different albums with less analysis per record so let's start with three albums from the same band; The Cult.
I was tempted to pick a band like Deep Purple or Queen for this post due to their relatively diverse range of styles across the entire career but in the end, I opted to write about three consecutive albums by The Cult which arguably contain their best material. This was due to me not really dedicating a post to the band (whereas I have done with other big name Rock bands) and wanting to give these three albums some love on the blog.
Kicking the list off is their second album, Love.

1. Love - The Cult

Released in 1985, Love marks the beginning of The Cult's transition from Goth Rock to Hard Rock to a sort of amalgamation of the two that took four years and three albums. Most people would probably recognise this album's (and this band's) signature hit, "She Sells Sanctuary" as it's a fairly catchy tune that contains your typical hallmarks of The Cult. Standard 4/4 beat? Check. Clean guitar riffs? Check. Rolling bassline? Check. Ian Astbury's hauntingly raw vocals? Check CHECK!
It's probably the most "Cult" song in existence but don't think that this album doesn't try to create a couple more in the form of album opener "Nirvana", underrated filler track "Hollow Man" and additional single "Rain". There are also a few more gothic sounding tracks with some eerie guitarwork such as "Black Angel", "Phoenix" (a slightly heavier song possessed with the ghost of The Stooges) and title track "Love", a tune that owes a fair bit to "Lunatic Fringe" - Red Rider which came out about four years before.
As far as Goth to Hard Rock transition albums go, Love is pretty great. It's got a solid variety between both subgenres and it's a decent follow up to the band's debut, Dreamtime, that still echoes some of the spiritual vibes they were big fans of when they started out. I recommend it if you've ever heard a song by The Cult and enjoyed it, which is a phrase I imagine I'll be rewriting and regurgitating throughout this post.

1. Nirvana

2. Big Neon Glitter

3. Love

4. Brother Wolf; Sister Moon

5. Rain

6. Phoenix

7. Hollow Man

8. Revolution

9. She Sells Sanctuary

10. Black Angel

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

2. Electric - The Cult

Two years later, The Cult returned with this categorically Hard Rock album. You can tell from the album opener, "Wild Flower", that the band weren't pissing about and were ready to cash in on the genre (even if they were about a decade too late). Billy Duffy's guitar is less mysterious and more crunchy, Jamie Stewart's bass is still present but has been buried under the mix, Les Warner's drumming is giving the cymbals a bit more voice and Ian Astbury's vocals...well, they're still amazing but then you don't fix what isn't broken, otherwise you end up with [INSERT "EXPERIMENTATION" ALBUM HERE].

This album also gave birth to two Cult classics, so to speak: "Love Removal Machine" and "Lil' Devil", both carrying the aforementioned qualities of a typical Cult song but with a few alterations to the guitar. Firstly, it's no longer as clean and secondly, the use of soloing is permitted. In fact, "Love Removal Machine" has two beastly solos and a double time section that the end that makes you wonder why this band didn't start out rocking the fucking house years earlier.

The album is full of guitar-heavy tunes but slightly less variety than Love. Sure, there are a few standout tracks that deviate from the band's cookie cutter material ("Bad Fun", "Memphis Hip Shake") and there is a cover of Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild" which is easily one of the shittiest covers ever to ruin a classic hit in all of Rock music but aside from those niggles, Electric is brilliant. Definitely an album for Hard Rock lovers, even if it feels a little more corporate than the early AC/DC records.

1. Wild Flower

2. Peace Dog

3. Lil' Devil

4. Aphrodisiac Jacket

5. Electric Ocean

6. Bad Fun

7. King Contrary Man

8. Love Removal Machine

9. Born To Be Wild

10. Outlaw

11. Memphis Hip Shake

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

3. Sonic Temple - The Cult

The last of the unofficial trilogy, released in 1989 and containing the band's best album cover even if the guitarist is annoyingly off-centre. To paraphrase the opening line of album opener "Sun King", this is where The Cult's rise to power all ends. It might be because the band regressed slightly and went back to their mystical themes in both music and lyrics, it might be because the band decided to break into the Hard Rock genre about five years after the golden age of the genre had ended; all I know is this album still contains some killer tracks.

You've got epic stringed ballads ("Edie (Ciao Baby)"), remnants of Rock from a better album ("New York City") and of course, Cult classics ("Fire Woman"). It's an album perfect for fans of the last two but potentially a bit off-putting for purists belonging to either Goth or Hard Rock, not both. Fortunately, I love both genres so I can confirm that it's a damn good listen!

Sonic Temple could've been even better if the band decided to continue down the path they were headed with Electric but something tells me it wouldn't have been as unique. It would've been more of the same and could've spelled the end for the band so even if I didn't quite enjoy this album as much as the previous one, it's still an important part of the band's career, hence its inclusion in this Rapid Fire post. Much like Love and Electric, I recommend this album for lovers of Rock and The Cult as that's exactly what you get from start to finish.

1. Sun King

2. Fire Woman

3. American Horse

4. Edie (Ciao Baby)

5. Sweet Soul Sister

6. Soul Asylum

7. New York City

8. Automatic Blues

9. Soldier Blue

10. Wake Up Time For Freedom

11. Medicine Train

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

If you haven't heard them already, do yourself a favour and give each of these albums a listen. As for me, I'm going to go and do something Ian Astbury has never done; celebrate the fact that I made it the entire way through without referring to "shooting from the hip".