Rapid Fire: Uriah Heep, Joe Satriani, Powerwolf

Haven't done one of these for a while but the last Rapid Fire post of the year will be looking at three albums from 2018 that I didn't get a chance to review or shine a spotlight on...until now, that is!
First up, we have an album that I've been putting off ever since discovering that Slash released an album with exactly the same name.

1. Living The Dream - Uriah Heep

One of the main reasons I didn't want to review this album after listening to it is because I felt like it wouldn't make for a very entertaining read. After all, there was nothing wrong with the album when I listened to it but at the same time, there was very little exciting about it either; it was a competent Hard Prog record by a band that still have life in them yet. Revisiting it many months later and I have to say, my opinion is more or less the exact same. It's still a decent album with some good tunes and easily forgettable filler tracks.
Album opener and lead single "Grazed By Heaven" is one of the album highlights along with guitar-driven "Take Away My Soul" but many songs go on a little bit too long and feel closer to Prog than Hard Rock, which will probably delight Uriah Heep's original fans. However, there are still plenty of great riffs on guitar and organ (occasionally simultaneously, giving it a great 70s Rock sound) and the percussion contains enough variety to prevent this from sounding like a Thunder album with the same rhythm on every song.
All in all, I'd recommend Living The Dream to fans of 70s and contemporary Hard Prog. It's a good album rooted in Rock with great Hard Prog variety although this is probably a better record for fans of longer, less energetic music that they can enjoy mid-activity or drive. That being said, there are shorter, punchier tunes for those enthusiasts so there should be something for plenty of Rock fans here.

1. Grazed By Heaven

2. Living The Dream

3. Take Away My Soul

4. Knocking At My Door

5. Rocks In The Road

6. Waters Flowin'

7. It's All Been Said

8. Goodbye To Innocence

9. Falling Under Your Spell

10. Dreams Of Yesteryear

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

Next up, we have an album by guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani!


2. What Happens Next - Joe Satriani

When it comes to awesome instrumental Rock songs, Joe Satriani generally knows what he's doing. Surfing With The Alien is a top notch record and I was excited to listen to another Joe Satriani album again, especially one with modern recording technology and no need to worry about declining vocal or technical guitar playing skill (since it's clear Joe still has it!). Album opener "Energy" kicks things off with a fast tempo and fun riffs before slowing things down with funky, bass-driven "Catbot", all with unique guitar solos and tones.
That's probably the main selling point of Joe Satriani's music; it's not just the technically proficient playing, it's the strange sounds he's able to make the guitar come out with. The use of different tones and styles separates it from sounding like a load of plain guitar soloing over 12 songs. Granted he's not the only virtuoso player to realise this is the key to being a successful artist but he's arguably one of the more distinct ones (along with Buckethead). Whilst guitarists like Eric Johnson cultivate and develop their playing into a signature sound synonymous with their name, Joe Satriani typically brings you a plentiful feast of action-packed Rock muzak to get stuck into.
This album is largely the same; there's soft Funk ("Cherry Blossoms", "Righteous"), there's fast Blues Rock ("Headrush") and music in between ("Invisible") although there's a little more emphasis on the slower, more atmospheric tunes such as the album's title track "What Happens Next". Fans of those kind of songs will probably love this album but those who preferred material like "Crushing Day", "Summer Song" and "Crystal Planet" may find themselves a little bored. Sadly, I'm one of those people although I can still appreciate the talent that went into each song.

1. Energy

2. Catbot

3. Thunder High On The Mountain

4. Cherry Blossoms

5. Righteous

6. Smooth Soul

7. Headrush

8. Looper

9. What Happens Next

10. Super Funky Badass

11. Invisible

12. Forever And Ever

ALBUM RATING - 5/10

Finally, we have an album by a Metal band that I've only just discovered due to playing their music in Clone Hero!

3. The Sacrament Of Sin - Powerwolf

Having listened to a couple of Powerwolf songs before checking this album out, I had high hopes for The Sacrament Of Sin. The songs I'd heard were decent Heavy Metal tunes, albeit a bit lacking in technical skill, and I'd heard positive things about the album too. Turns out those positive things were to be trusted as I liked this album quite a lot, although not enough to rave about it. I mean, it's great but it's no Prequelle (although there are similarities in the gothic Metal with a touch of 80s Pop tone). Album opener "Fire & Forgive" is a good heavy song to get things started although after the first few songs, the album takes a pretty lengthy rest break with multiple slower tracks ("Where The Wild Wolves Have Gone", "Stossgebet").
However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. This is definitely an album to listen to in one sitting rather than picking and choosing random tracks out of order. Sure, you can listen to your favourites out of order and still get joy out of them but the transition between each track sounds carefully planned and the consecutive slower songs don't bring the overall pace of the album down as awkwardly as other albums that shoehorn slow tunes in between fast ones because they didn't know where else to put them. It also means that unlike other contemporary albums that go through the second half slump due to putting all the better tracks at the start, we still get some bangers towards the end of the record ("Venom Of Venus", "Fist By Fist (Sacralize Or Strike)").
I would recommend this album to Heavy Metal fans who like their music grand and awesome. The album's a well crafted product and provides a damn fine if not slightly repetitive listening experience if you let it, although fans of classic Heavy Metal (or even newer Metal bands) may find the music a little underwhelming when it comes to furious solos and complex riffs...in that there aren't really any. There are heavy rapid strumming riffs but no face-melters, just melodic ones with some mild sweeping ("Nighttime Rebel"). Luckily, songs don't need insane solos to be good so if you can listen past that, you'll be in for a treat.

1. Fire & Forgive

2. Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend

3. Killers With The Cross

4. Incense & Iron

5. Where The Wild Wolves Have Gone

6. Stossgebet

7. Nightside Of Siberia

8. The Sacrament Of Sin

9. Venom Of Venus

10. Nighttime Rebel

11. Fist By Fist (Sacralize Or Strike)

ALBUM RATING - 9/10

COMING SOON: More news and a look at my ten favourite songs from 2018!

Shout Out: Sweet Fanny Adams and Desolation Boulevard - Sweet

I know I said I'd be writing a Rapid Fire post but after a bit of thought, I decided to adapt it into a Shout Out post. But not just any Shout Out post, oh no. This time, it's a...
DOUBLE SHOUT OUT POST!
Yes, I couldn't decide which of these two brilliant albums to dedicate a post to so decided to write about both of them! First up, we have Sweet Fanny Adams, an album that's an essential listen for fans of 70s Hard Rock!

Most bands that choose to adapt their sound to appeal to a different audience tend to do so after about six albums. Not Sweet; they did it after just one. Not only that but they also changed their name from The Sweet to just Sweet. Granted there were three years in between the release of Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be and this record but the band also released some of their most popular singles in that time such as "Block Buster", "Little Willy" and of course "The Ballroom Blitz". These singles teased the band's transition from Bubblegum Pop to a heavier Glam Rock style of music but it wasn't until this album that the band begun to fully embrace Hard Rock...with a bit of Glam here and there.
Album opener "Set Me Free" was an explosive entrance onto the Rock scene, clearly taking influence from contemporaries at the time such as Deep Purple and The Who. The band only continued to keep things heavy with tracks such as "Rebel Rouser", a spiritual successor to "Hell Raiser", and title track "Sweet F.A.", a song with a heavy gallop and percussion throughout. Even the Glam infused tracks are heavier than your typical Top Of The Pops numbers with songs like "AC-DC" and "Into The Night" focusing more on raw vocals and rhythms than sing-a-longs and catchy riffs.
An important thing to remember whilst listening to this album is that it came out in 1974, around the time that Queen were just starting out (Queen II, which contained the complete version of "Seven Seas Of Rhye", was released just one month before Sweet Fanny Adams). Both bands pioneered vocal and guitar harmonies in Hard Rock although only Queen got the worldwide acclaim for their music. Whilst I think that Queen made better decisions over the course of their career and earned their fame through genuine talent, it's a shame that Sweet didn't even earn a fraction of their popularity despite being documented influences for Brian May's guitar work. What I'm trying to say is that Sweet Fanny Adams is a great album; highly underrated and one that I recommend to fans of 70s Rock.

1. Set Me Free

2. Heartbreak Tonight

3. No You Don't

4. Rebel Rouser

5. Peppermint Twist

6. Sweet F.A.

7. Restless

8. Into The Night

9. AC-DC

ALBUM RATING - 9/10

Of course I couldn't talk about Sweet Fanny Adams without also mentioning the follow-up album, Desolation Boulevard.

There are two versions of this album available, one released in 1974 in the UK and one released in 1975 in the US. The US version had a different tracklist, containing tracks off Sweet Fanny Adams and more radio-friendly versions of hit singles, whereas the UK version was 100% new and all Rock. I'm gonna be talking about the UK version. To say it was released literally in the same year as Sweet Fanny Adams, the fact that the album is clearly a different beast is impressive. Album opener "The Six Teens" showcases this with acoustic melodies paired with the electric guitar harmonies, not to mention the tempo changes later on. Sweet were back and in that short space of time between album releases, they'd learnt a thing or two!

The general songwriting quality is still great and contains a decent amount of variety, alternating between heavier Glam Rockers ("Turn It Down") and softer melodic numbers ("Lady Starlight"). However, there are three tracks that need singling out. First up is "Man With The Golden Arm", a cover of the theme by Elmer Bernstein that would be a great track if not for the five minute drum solo. It's ambitious but a little too masturbatory for me. Then there's a cover of "My Generation", the album closer that does a damn good job of recreating the energy and passion of The Who's original. Whilst the bass solos may not have the same appeal, the band still do a grand job of the song...up until it all goes to shit 50 seconds before the end.
Finally, there's the single-most important reason to listen to the album. "Fox On The Run". If you've heard this song before, chances are it was the rerecorded version for the 1975 version of this album; the one with synth and added backing vocal harmonies. This original version is more of a Hard Rock song with a much better guitar riff, TWO guitar solos, some fantastic percussion, raw vocals and great bass licks throughout. It's a shame that this version isn't more widely known as I would argue that it can go toe-to-toe with any of AC/DC's top songs. Whilst the 1975 album may have had a stronger tracklist due to the inclusion of multiple Sweet Fanny Adams songs, this album deserves a shoutout for the Hard Rock version of "Fox On The Run" alone. Now we just need an album with the full version of "Show Me The Way" too.

1. The Six Teens

2. Solid Gold Brass

3. Turn It Down

4. Medussa

5. Lady Starlight

6. Man With The Golden Arm

7. Fox On The Run

8. Breakdown

9. My Generation

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

Both albums are available as extended versions on Spotify and iTunes so you now have no excuse not to enjoy these cracking records!

Shout Out: A Hat In Time (Original Game Soundtrack) - Pascal Michael Stiefel

Apologies for another video game post so soon after the Guitar Hero 2 one but I miscalculated the timing of future album reviews, meaning I have to wait a couple of weeks to review the new Judas Priest album...so time for some filler!

A Hat In Time is easily my favourite game of 2017 and definitely one of my all-time favourite platformers too...but you probably could've guessed that I love the game, what with it being here in a Shout Out post. I could've picked many top tier game soundtracks to write about ranging from classics like Ocarina Of Time to underrated gems like Tearaway Unfolded but for this short little post, I chose A Hat In Time mostly because it's a soundtrack that continued to consistently amaze me all the way through my playthrough of the game. In my experience, many game soundtracks have at least one period of downtime where the music isn't to my liking; one hub world or significant portion of the game where the music is a weaker than the rest of the soundtrack. Not A Hat In Time!
I can't think of a single beat in the game's natural progression that suffers from that misstep; every chapter, every environment has at least one brilliant tune from the classic overworld music of Mafia Town to the incredible boss battle tune in the Dead Bird Studios world. There might be weaker tunes or variations that pop up now and then but you don't have to wait long to hear another belter. Also, if you don't like one of the songs during certain key levels, there are unlockable remixes that you can swap main tunes out for. Granted most of the remixes aren't as good as the originals but it's still quite fun to hear a Disney-fied version of the Snatcher boss theme or the electro-swing remix of "Train Rush".
The game's composer, Pascal Michael Stiefel, is mostly known for creating remixes of game music so there are a few familiar melodies tweaked just enough to make them into new songs. There are elements of the Song Of Storms in "The Windmill Peak" level and I literally had to check to make sure the music from "Picture Perfect" wasn't lifted from Super Mario Galaxy or one of the many Mario Kart games. However, the main takeaway here is that the soundtrack does a perfect job of capturing the tone of each level, whether it's chilling edge-of-your-soiled-seat horror levels set in Queen Vanessa's Manor or joyful platforming and exploration of each village in the Alpine Skyline world. It's a delightful soundtrack that I strongly advise checking out or just full-on purchasing, as it's only $9.99 for 78 tracks.

1. Main Theme

2. Title Screen

3. File Select

4. New Adventure

5. The Mystery Track

6. Welcome To Mafia Town

7. Welcome To Mafia Town (Remix) [Feat. Qumu]

8. Time Piece Released

9. Barrel Battle

10. A New Friend In Mafia Town

11. Mafia Town Is Asleep

12. She Came From Outer Space

13. So, What's The Plan

14. Mafia HQ

15. The Badge Seller

16. Mafia Boss' Big Showdown

17. Mafia Boss' Big Showdown (Remix) [Fear. AdulescensF]

18. Heating Up Mafia Town

19. No More Mafia Boss

20. Scootin' Through Mafia Town

21. Deadbird Studio Reception

22. Dead Bird Studio

23. You Are Now Legally A Bird

24. The Ratings Are In

25. Picture Perfect

26. Picture Perfect (Remix) [Feat. Carlos Eiene]

27. Murder On The Owl Express

28. Who Dun It

29. Tick Tock

30. The Phone's Ringing

31. Metal Bork

32. The Conductor's Train

33. Train Rush

34. Trainwreck Of Electro Swing (Remix)

35. The Big Parade

36. Turn On The Pyrotechnics

37. The Annual Bird Movie Award

38. Dead Bird Studio Basement

39. Dead Bird Studio Is Closed

40. The Battle Of Award 42

41. Heart To Heart

42. Subcon Forest

43. Scootin' Through Subcon Forest

44. Snatcher's  Contractual Obligations

45. Oh It's You

46. Subcon Village

47. Subcon Village (Remix) [Feat. Echorobot]

48. The Fire Spirits

49. The Subcon Caves

50. Toilet Of Doom

51. A Forsaken Place

52. Entering Vanessa Manor

53. Vanessa Wants To Play

54. You're Safe Now

55. Your Contract Has Expired

56. Your Contract Has Expired (Remix) [Feat. Cameron Munoz]

57. The Tower Of The Goats

58. Alpine Skyline

59. The Birdhouse Peak

60. The Lava Cake Peak

61. The Windmill Peak

62. The Twilight Bell Peak

63. Alpine Skyline At Night

64. The Weather Has Cleared

65. Clocktowers Beneath The Sea

66. Scootin' Through Clocktowers Beneath The Sea

67. Clocktowers Beneath The Sea (Remix) [Feat. AdolescensF]

68. Mafia Of Cooks Time Rift

69. Battle Of The Birds Time Rift

70. Subcon Forest Time Rift

71. Alpine Skyline Time Rift

72. Roll The Slots

73. Judge, Jury And Executioner

74. You Are All Bad Guys

75. Get Lost

76. Little Help From My Friends

77. Goodbye Everyone

78. The End

ALBUM RATING - 9/10

I haven't checked out the album of B-sides and additional remixes from this game yet but since it contains music from the upcoming DLC pack (including New Game +, local Co-Op mode and a brand new chapter, ALL FOR FREE!), I'll have to seek it out soon.

Shout Out: Doctor Who Series 3 (Original Television Soundtrack) - Murray Gold & The BBC National Orchestra Of Wales

I've written about orchestrated music twice before on this blog; once when looking at an album of orchestrated Rush songs and again when discussing various covers by the Vitamin String Quartet. This time, I'm dedicating a short blog post to one of my favourite (if not my number one favourite) television score in recent memory.
The orchestrated soundtrack to the third series of Doctor Who.

Whilst the music in Doctor Who has mostly felt incidental at best (with the exception of several character themes between the first and fifth series), I remember actively recalling the musical stings and melodies from the third series almost as clearly as the plot twists and striking visual imagery the show provided. However, the shining diamond on the crown jewel that is the soundtrack has to be album opener and recurring tune "All The Strange, Strange Creatures". I can remember hearing it for the first time in a special effects reel (along with subsequent trailers for the series) and feeling exhilarated. To this day, I still think it's the best piece of music Doctor Who has ever given us...except maybe "I Am The Doctor". I just wish the main melody went on longer than 1:23, kind of like it does in this version.
The soundtrack also introduces us to new character themes in the form of "Martha's Theme", "The Master Vainglorious" and "The Doctor Forever", a magnificent piece that perfectly encapsulates Tennant's Doctor with a sombre, magnificent introduction shortly before a whimsical section full of life and joy. Variations on these pieces appear throughout the series to emphasise certain character moments but the multitude of episodes each contain their own unique score to give each chapter of the series its own feel or to punctuate iconic scenes with music unlike anything else in the show so far, e.g. "The Carrionites Swarm" or "Smith's Choice".
Some of these tracks were used in later episodes whilst (I believe) none of the pieces from the first two series' were used in full throughout this one. However, there are some upgraded tracks with added depth and additional melodies such as "Boe" (wondrously used twice in the series, exactly the right amount to deliver maximum impact) and two specially written songs; one for the lacklustre Daleks In Manhattan/Evolution Of The Daleks two-parter entitled "My Angel Put The Devil In Me" and the other for the lacklustre Christmas special Voyage Of The Damned entitled "The Stowaway", somewhat of a sneak peek as the soundtrack was released before December 2007.

Overall, series three may not be everyone's personal favourite (although it does contain Blink, an episode that Whovians and casual fans unanimously believe to be the single greatest episode the show's ever given us) but I'd be surprised to learn that it doesn't contain at least one piece of music that you don't get some kind of pleasure from, whether it's the racing thrill from "The Runaway Bride", the light-hearted cheese of "Gridlocked Cassinis" (that's often used as background music in the UK version of The Apprentice, if you're interested) or the beautiful "This Is Gallifrey: Our Childhood, Our Home".
The only downside to the soundtrack that stops it from being absolutely perfect is the lack of a few tunes used throughout the series and occasionally in the next one (musical sections similar to "The Doctor Forever" used at the end of The Lazarus Experiment and The Family Of Blood). However, I would still strongly recommend this soundtrack to anyone who likes Doctor Who and wants a single collection of some of the best music the show's ever used.

1. All The Strange, Strange Creatures

2. Martha's Theme

3. Drowning Dry

4. The Carrionites Swarm

5. Gridlocked Cassinis

6. Boe

7. Evolution Of The Daleks

8. My Angel Put The Devil In Me

9. Mr Smith And Joan

10. Only Martha Knows

11. Smith's Choice

12. Just Scarecrows To War

13. Miss Joan Redfern

14. The Dream Of A Normal Death

15. The Doctor Forever

16. Blink (Suite)

17. The Runaway Bride

18. After The Chase

19. The Futurekind

20. YANA (Excerpt)

21. The Master Vainglorious

22. Martha's Quest

23. This Is Gallifrey: Our Childhood, Our Home

24. Martha Triumphant

25. Donna's Theme

26. The Stowaway

27. The Master Tape

28. Abide With Me

ALBUM RATING - 9/10

Yes, it's not really Rock or Metal (although "The Futurekind" and "The Master Tape" feature some heavy riffing). Normal service on the blog will be resumed relatively soon.

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.

Shout Out: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Soundtrack

I hope you liked my write-up of the Uncharted 4 soundtrack as I've only gone and written a less in-depth version of that about a different game!

First of all, I should apologise for the lack of detail in this post surrounding each track. I admit that I haven't finished this game yet but I have listened to the free soundtrack that came with it and I feel like I've heard most of these songs in-game anyway. Sadly, some tunes I've enjoyed hearing in the game aren't available on this soundtrack but I'm sure there's a deluxe edition I can look for somewhere. Anyway, if you haven't played it yet, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an RPG set in Medieval times in a world of monsters and monster slayers, known as Witchers. The game is mostly travelling, completing quests, fighting groups of bandits/monsters and playing an addictive card game known as Gwent.
Unlike Uncharted 4, which had just the one composer, this soundtrack has three: Marcin Przybylowicz, Mikolai Stroinski and Percival Schuttenbach. Also unlike Uncharted 4, a game hat blended two disctinct sounds of pirate themed music with a typical action/adventure score, the soundtrack for this game is well and truly Medieval. No electric instruments, no contemporary orchestras, just an epic and occasionally whimsical score that fits the gameplay perfectly. There's a healthy mix of dramatic and dynamic battle anthems ("Silver For Monsters...", "The Eyes Of The Wolf") and upbeat jovial tunes or soft atmospheric ones ("Cloak And Dagger", "King Bran's Final Voyage"), both standing out as highlights of The Witcher 3 as you enjoy the gaming experience.
Even some of the lighter tracks that aren't meant to be heard as you decapitate waves of Drowners and Ghouls have a sinister undertone to them ("The Nightingale", "The Vagabond"), perfectly matching the dark tone of the game. There isn't a single dull or repetitive note in this collection of music and all in all, it's an excellent soundtrack that belongs in this excellent game. Even if you haven't played The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, I'd recommend giving some of the highlighted tracks below a listen as it's a cracking selection of music if you're into your "olde" soundtrack. Maybe tracks 1, 16, 26 and 30 for a short and healthy variety?

1. The Trail

2. Geralt Of Rivia

3. Eredin, King Of The Hunt

4. Wake Up, Ciri

5. Aen Seidhe

6. Commanding The Fury

7. Emhyr Var Emreis

8. Spikeroog

9. King Bran's Final Voyage

10. Silver For Monsters...

11. Whispers Of Novigrad

12. The Nightingale

13. City Of Intrigues

14. Hunter's Path

15. Widow-Maker

16. Kaer Morhen

17. The Eyes Of The Wolf

18. Witch Hunters

19. ...Steel For Humans

20. Fate Calls

21. The Vagabond

22. Cloak And Dagger

23. Forged In Fire

24. Yes, I Do...

25. Welcome, Imlerith

26. Drink Up, There's More!

27. After The Storm

28. Blood On The Cobblestones

29. Farewell, Old Friend

30. The Song Of The Sword-Dancer

31. The Hunt Is Coming

ALBUM RATING - 9/10

Next week, I'll be in Whitby for six of the seven days so I apologise if I don't get a chance to post the next review. However, I have it planned so it's just a matter of finding time to write and publish it.

Shout Out: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays The Music Of Rush - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

It's been a while since I did a Shout Out post so here's a quick one until I can either review a new album or write a fun opinion post.
I haven't really talked about the relationship between Rock/Metal and orchestral music on this blog in detail before, which I guess is understandable. Sometimes it works incredibly well and you get a score so epic that even your goosebumps get goosebumps when listening to it and sometimes, to paraphrase Slayer's Kerry King, it's just masturbation on the band's part. However, for the most part, I'm in favour of not only mixing orchestrated music with Rock but also full-on orchestrated covers of Rock music, hence this blog post.

If you dedicate a little bit of time to searching for the right albums on Spotify, you can find many Rock-based orchestra cover albums (not the Vitamin String Quartet, I mean full orchestra although they're great as well) that are worth a listen. Most of them are compilations and contain a variety of different iconic Rock tracks but this post was written to recommend one in particular.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays The Music Of Rush.
This album contains nine of Rush's biggest hits between their 1974 debut and 1982 album Signals translated into a grand orchestral score. Even if you're not a huge fan of the original Rush songs, the covers are perfectly arranged as if they were written specifically for a feature film and do each track perfect justice. There's also good use of vocals in a few tracks, whether it's the single line tail ending "2112 Overture" or the choir used throughout the chorus of "Subdivisions", giving the tracks a little more of a live feel to them.
As the cover art would suggest, there's an air of mysticism about the covers as well and the choice of instruments reflects this. Not only that but as the album progresses, the tracks become more whimsical and fantastical too. The choice of tracklist order means that you'll probably get the most out of this collection by listening to the whole thing from start to finish rather than just picking out your favourite Rush tunes first and giving the others a listen afterwards, although there's easily repeat value to be had in revisiting your preferred covers afterwards.

Whilst there are dozens of bands that deserve the honour of having their music covered by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, there's something about Rush's music that seems to fit the bill more than, say, Metallica or R.E.M. If you could argue that Rush's original music could accompany travelling through space, these dynamic covers would easily accompany travelling into the unknown anywhere in (or outside) the universe due to the mix of traditional orchestra instruments and contemporary Rock-based ones. After all, you can't have a Rock/Orchestra album without some guitars and kit percussion!
One of the best tracks that showcases the blend of these styles is probably "Red Barchetta", breaking into a back-and-forth between acoustic strings and electric riffing shortly before an extended solo that I would rate higher than Alex Lifeson's on the actual record. If I had to find a fault in this collection, I'd have to say that it could've done with a couple of extra tracks, as this album follows the tradition of Rush compilations by choosing a significant portion of songs from Moving Pictures. This wouldn't be a problem if there were more than nine songs, as it would've been good to hear "Time Stand Still" or a faster track like "Bastille Day" too.
Overall though, this is a fantastic collection of orchestrated Rock. A must-listen for fans of both genres and hopefully there'll be a Royal Philharmonix Orchestra Plays The Music Of Rush, Part 2 out in the future, even if all their best known tunes are on this album. That being said, they could always cover the rest of "2112" or more modern tracks like "Headlong Flight", maybe even "YYZ" (I know it's from Moving Pictures but that doesn't mean it can't be split onto a second covers album)?

1. 2112 Overture

2. The Spirit Of Radio

3. Tom Sawyer

4. Subdivisions

5. Closer To The Heart

6. Red Barchetta

7. Limelight

8. Working Man

9. Fly By Night

ALBUM RATING - 9/10

What Rush songs would you like covered by a full orchestra? In fact, which Rock/Metal songs by any band would you love to hear given the same treatment? Let me know on Twitter or the comment section and feel free to request any blog posts you'd like me to write or think about writing too.

Shout Out: One More From The Road - Lynyrd Skynyrd

Time for another shout out post & this time, I'm going to talk about one of my all-time favourite albums. However, what makes this special is that it's also a live album. Usually, I stay away from live albums unless somebody recommends a song or two. However, after hearing some of the tracks, I decided to check the rest of the 2001 deluxe edition out & instantly fell in love.
Unlike previous shout outs where I'm reviewing several albums in one batch, One More From The Road is a two disc collection of 24 songs recorded during several performances at Atlanta's Fox Theatre in 1976. Since eight of those are alternate versions of tracks already on the album, I'll only be talking about the first 16 songs.

So why is this one of my favourite albums instead of the individual LPs the songs came from or a bog-standard compilation that contains most of these tracks anyway? Firstly, the obvious context. If memory serves correctly, I received this album on my 17th birthday & hadn't heard the original versions of over half the songs on it. I've listened to most of them now but I know there's a part of me that prefers the live versions just because it was my first experience with the music. Despite this, my love for the album isn't just blind nostalgia and when I say "obvious context", I'm not just referring to my discovery.
As I mentioned earlier, this was recorded in 1976, the year before the tragic plane crash that killed several crew/band members & ended what's now considered to be the classic Skynyrd era. This album captures the band in their prime and there isn't a single dull note in any of the songs. Ronnie Van Zant's vocals are pitch perfect from start to finish. Steve Gaines, Allen Collins & Gary Rossington are all on excellent form during their respective performances of main riffs and solos. Even Billy Powell's piano solo in "Call Me The Breeze" is fantastic, as are the efforts from the rest of the band.
I would assume one of the biggest differences in quality between the original live album and 2001 deluxe edition lies in the audio mix between the music and the audience. In the latter, you can hear the well deserved cheering and applause at the start of a track and right at the end. They've also slightly muted the crowd so that they don't distract you from the band, just as live albums should be arranged. You could listen to these songs halfway through & if you hadn't heard the tracks before, you could easily assume they were studio recordings.

As for the tracks chosen, all the hits are here as well as several songs you can't find on pre-Street Survivors albums. Whether you're a Skynyrd fan or not, there'll be something for any fan of classic Southern Rock on here but there's also something that puts it above the studio albums. Most Lynyrd Skynyrd tracks have the same irritating flaw; they fade out at the end, often during a guitar solo. Fortunately, it's a lot easier for a band to just end the song naturally rather than fade out during a live performance so all of the songs that fade out in studio recordings have proper endings.
The biggest downside to this is that it probably means you won't be able to listen to "Sweet Home Alabama" or "Free Bird" again without wishing they recorded a studio version of the ending solos. That really is the only downside, though. The song choices are great, the recording quality is fantastic, the band's performance is exceptional and it's CDs like this that stop me from completely writing off live albums. In other words, it's a 9/10 from me.

1. Workin' For MCA

2. I Ain't The One

3. Saturday Night Special

4. Searchin'

5. Travelin' Man

6. Simple Man

7. Whiskey Rock-A-Roller

8. The Needle & The Spoon

9. Gimme Back My Bullets

10. Tuesday's Gone

11. Gimme Three Steps

12. Call Me The Breeze

13. T For Texas (Blue Yodel #1)

14. Sweet Home Alabama

15. Crossroads

16. Free Bird

Unlike other bands who have the occasional great live track in a collection of crap ("Young Man Blues" - The Who springs to mind), this whole album flows so perfectly that it's definitely something you need to buy as a collection instead of a few random singles.

If you have any other live albums you recommend, list them in the comments. I doubt I'll ever enjoy a live album as much as I enjoyed One More From The Road but even if it was half as good as this album, it'll still be better than pretty much all the other live collections I've listened to.

Guitar Hero & Rock Band: A History Lesson part 3

I hadn't intended to make these posts so long but it turns out there were more GH/RB games than I originally thought. Part 1 covered 2005-2007, part 2 covered 2008-2009. This final part will cover 2009-2010 which will include the following games:
Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero, Guitar Hero: Arcade, Lego Rock Band, Guitar Hero: On Tour Modern Hits, Guitar Hero: Van Halen, Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock, Rock Band 3 and Green Day: Rock Band.
As for other small games released between 2005-2010, they won't be mentioned in this history lesson but I'm sure you'll get over it.

Around the same time as The Beatles: Rock Band was released, Activision had another entry in the main console series to release.

Right bands, wrong songs

Guitar Hero 5 has the feel of a series trying to reinvent itself. In the past, GH has been all about being able to play iconic Rock songs in general video game style. GH5 features more Indie bands with simplistic guitar melodies and songs from classic artists that are generally quite easy to play, almost as if the game was designed for newcomers to the series. It would also explain the addition of modern bands like My Morning Jacket and Brand New, artists who have no place in the series but will likely bring in hip, young kids who were turned off by the idea of "dinosaur Rock" in these games.
Fortunately, the series adds some great ideas which make you wonder how you ever played the games before. For example, the addition of Party Play mode means you can drop in & out of songs whenever you want whilst other bandmates keep on playing. There's also the ability for players to rock the same instruments, so you can have a band consisting entirely of drummers if you really wanted. There are also song specific goals for tracks which make playing them in Career a bit more entertaining, although this could've done with some expansion.
There are also more cameos from artists such as Kurt Cobain so if you want to watch an in-game avatar of him singing "You Give Love A Bad Name" (probably the best thing about GH5), you're in luck. If this game had Guitar Hero: World Tour's soundtrack, I would hate it a little less. Unfortunately, this feels like the hipster of the series and nobody likes hipsters except other bloody hipsters. Still, it could be worse. It could be full of annoying Pop songs...

It genuinely took me a good couple of minutes to pick this game up in stores before I took the plunge and bought it

Band Hero isn't strictly part of the GH series but I'm talking about it as it did have a fairly notable impact on the franchise. For starters, the soundtrack being mostly Pop music meant that Guitar Hero 5, a game designed to have a soundtrack that included something for everyone, would have less shite like Hilary Duff and more from actual Rock bands. However, it also meant that GH5 included Pop music as DLC occasionally, just in case any of the teenage girls who bought the game knew you could buy extra music for a game they were sort of into.
However, when you look at this game from a non-biased standpoint, it's actually quite good. As the "GH of Pop Music", the soundtrack is alright and the engine is based around GH5 with a few extra tweaks like Karaoke mode for vocalists. All in all, it's as faithful to Pop as the original GH games were to Rock. Some may call this series expansion as yet another case of Activision selling out but I can think of a much better example...like Guitar Hero: Arcade.

I feel ashamed at the amount of cash I've put into these machines

Using on-disc and downloadable music from GH3 as the soundtrack, Guitar Hero: Arcade allows you to experience the same fun as GH3 but this time in a public place with teens judging you whilst you try to play a grotty guitar with a chewed up strap and sticky buttons. The songs picked range from the astoundingly easy ("Juke Box Hero") to the immensely difficult ("Surfin' With The Alien"), giving you plenty of choices in between.
Since this is literally designed only to make money, some songs are labelled "Premium" so you have to pay a bit extra for having a slightly less malleable music taste. However, provided you get a machine that works properly, you can still have a lot of fun on these machines although don't expect any features that were added after GH3. Yes, one of you still needs to be bass and no, you can't play Beginner mode. Oh yeah, GH:WT added Beginner mode. Forgot to talk about that in the last part. It's basically just open strums.
I can't call this too much of a sell-out as the GH franchise was inspired by GuitarFreaks arcade machines. What I CAN call a sell-out is charging people extra for songs that aren't particularly long or special, it's almost a random selection of tracks the publishers decided were worth the extra £1. Anyway, during the period that these three Activision titles were put out, Harmonix had a colourful game doing the rounds as well.

"How can we make hammer-ons even harder to read?"

If Band Hero was specifically aimed at younger audiences, Lego Rock Band was aimed at the whole family. I don't want to spend too long talking about Lego games in general so I'll leave it at one sentence: they're awesome. This game is no exception and RB2's career mode partnered with adorable yet silly Lego avatars jumping around on-stage to "Ghosbusters" or "The Final Countdown" and the extra additions like the cinematic song challenges make this one special.
There's also the ability to shorten songs so that younger players don't find it too challenging, which is a neat touch. Perhaps one of the most subtle yet ingenious facts about Lego Rock Band is how it feels more like you're developing a sort of Rock empire. You unlock fans and pets that casually walk around your pad whilst you get ready to play a set and in true Lego fashion, it feels more like you're building something awesome than other games in the series.
For seasoned experts, you're unlikely to find too much challenging although some of the solos may take a few tries to nail, especially on the RB engine. Any enough talking about the more creative competitor, TIME FOR ANOTHER GUITAR HERO!

The "Return Of The Jedi" of the handheld trilogy

Guitar Hero: On Tour Modern Hits was the handheld game that nobody asked for. Despite critics praising the soundtrack from the previous game, claiming it got better as you unlocked the older tracks, this game is all about songs released in the early 21st century. But hey, modern songs are cheaper to license and Activision had a lot of games to push out!
It adds very little that's new or fun to the series aside from a slightly revamped career mode similar to RB2's and once again introduces songs that you'll never play on a console title, since Activision didn't learn anything the first two times (they were too busy extrapolating the wrong message from all their market research). This game has its moments but they dwindle in comparison to the ones in previous handheld or rival games.
It was around this time that the consensus was "Ugh, not another one" whenever a new game was announced. What Activision needed to release was an instantly popular title that would sell like hot cakes and justify the growing number of SKUs being produced. Instead, what they made was Guitar Hero: Van Halen.

The "Back To The Future Part 3" of the trilogy

I hesitate to say "when this game was first released" as the first iteration of this expansion wasn't actually sold in shops. It was given away with copies of Guitar Hero 5 in America. Many critics brought up the likelihood of Activision knowing they had a mediocre game on their hands, but what exactly made this game lacklustre? The soundtrack is alright, even if the guest acts were picked by Eddie Van Halen's son. Plus, the Van Halen songs are all picked from the David Lee Roth era so there are plenty of great "filler" tracks from the original albums that introduce people to songs they probably wouldn't be aware of.
However, there's a small issue with some of the charts, namely the one for "Painkiller". Apparently, there was some sort of licensing issue so the guitar chart has been butchered to the point where it's no longer challenging. The game reeks of these kind of corner cuts, factors such as the recycled GH:WT engine as opposed to the current GH5 one and the mixed tone of the soundtrack that was assembled by a kid who probably enjoys playing Rock Band more.
The game could've been amazing and I guess it's not really bad, although it was enough to help hammer in a nail on the franchise's coffin at the end of 2009/start of 2010, as was the next game to be released (even though again, it's one of my all-time favourites).

Not too little but definitely too late

Similar to how bands would seek their older material for inspiration after their experimental phase, Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock is full of songs chosen due to how fun they are on guitar, although there are still several picks that are fun for vocalists ("Bohemian Rhapsody"), drummers ("Aqualung") and newcomers that joined at GH5 ("I Know What I Am"). There's also a brand new career mode that involves powers influencing gameplay, although for expert players who can FC the majority of tracks, these add practically nothing to the game.
There are also more song challenges for each instrument, meaning that there are many challenges in Quickplay mode (retitled Quickplay+ because rebranding equals something else to advertise) and the entire feel of the game is more rough-edged, though sadly a bit too serious for its own good. Despite the temptation of a Hard Rock/Metal soundtrack, there are many tracks that feel odd in this title. Fall Out Boy and Tom Petty may be popular artists but you'd have to be short in the skull to call them Warriors Of Rock.
Whilst the game contains some amazing guitar charts and a great selection of tracks, most of the fans this game was aimed at had jumped ship long ago. As a result, GH:WoR wasn't enough to resurrect the dying franchise and a few months into 2011, Activision announced the series would go on hiatus for the indefinite future. GH fans were unhappy but fans of Rock Band had not one but two games to enjoy.

I hear they actually hired a "Trippyness" consultant to make the game extra trippy

Keeping in mind that there wasn't a main series release from the Rock Band franchise during 2009, this game was developed whilst Activision were selling GH5. In other words, Rock Band 3 is the experimental phase of the game's career. It's hard to talk about the "big innovation" Harmonix added to this game as there's honestly quite a few. They've added Keyboard so a fifth player can join in. They also added "Pro Mode" so you can now play six-stringed guitar controllers for a more realistic experience. They included Vocal Harmonies, a feature added in The Beatles: Rock Band that I also forgot to mention. Want me to continue? Alright then!
The soundtrack is more diverse although, much like GH5, pretty rubbish. There's also the ability to rate songs so the ones you prefer show up in random selection more often. Little things like this make the game that bit better and career mode is also more unique with more unlockables for the achievement addict too. The game was made with love, care and the player's entertainment in mind, even if it did feel like it was being pulled in too many different directions for it to truly be the best of its kind. The soundtrack had to have keys and iconic riffs so it meant several odd choices nobody would've requested made the cut.
Overall, it's a great game if you have a large amount of DLC and admire features over general substance. This wasn't the last Rock Band game to come out in 2010, as they had one more slightly questionable band-centric expansion up their sleeve. Nobody knew how they could possibly hope to top The Beatles: Rock Band and between you and me, I don't think Harmonix knew either. That's why we got Green Day: Rock Band.

I personally blame whoever woke them up in October

I won't spend too much time talking about this as I didn't actually buy or play it. What I can tell you is that it contains a fairly handsome collection of Green Day songs, all of which became available via DLC. After these two games were released, Harmonix kept putting out DLC for a few years to come. They also created another expansion called Rock Band Blitz but that came out in 2012.
Whilst Activision may have been responsible for the series blasting in and out of the mainstream, Harmonix did their part to keep the series alive and whether you're into Green Day or not, I'm sure the title had the same care put into it as all their other products. So here are my ratings for each title I actually bought/spent money on:

Guitar Hero 5 - Excellent additions to gameplay ruined by a pretty pathetic soundtrack. 5/10.
Band Hero - A solid expansion pack aimed at a new audience with a few diamonds in the rough. 6/10.
Guitar Hero: Arcade - Obvious cash in, presumably to make back money on failed GH games. 5/10.
Lego Rock Band - Another hit to add to the growing collection of awesome Lego games. 8/10.
Guitar Hero: On Tour Modern Hits - Completely unnecessary and almost entirely lacking in fun. 3/10.
Guitar Hero: Van Halen - Needed a lot more work on it to truly be considered great but luckily, it's still good. 6/10.
Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock - This game got a bit of an unfair grilling by rubbish critics, definitely a series highlight if you're a fan of the series/Rock music. 9/10.
Rock Band 3 - With GH:WoR's soundtrack and engine, this probably would've been the perfect game. Sadly, it's got the same problems as GH5. 7/10.

As for the future of these games? Well, Rock Band 4 and Guitar Hero: Live are coming out later this year. I have my opinions on both games already but chances are you've read them on Twitter already. Maybe I'll do a special blog post about them when they actually come out in October but I will say this about both games now.
Rock Band 4 looks like it'll only be worth getting if you have a shitload of DLC, which is not something I can back as a gamer.
Guitar Hero: Live looks like it was inspired by Freemium games and will probably ruin every other music game after you play it for too long.
That's this three-part series of posts over! No idea what I'll review next week but hopefully it can be contained to one entry. If you have any suggestions, definitely let me know! I still enjoy a challenge and still enjoy reviewing or talking about albums/setlists/things involving music.

Guitar Hero & Rock Band: A History Lesson part 2

In part 1, I talked about all the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games that came out between 2005 and 2007. I had originally intended to cover everything from 2008 to 2010 in this part but since there were a whopping 18 games in that time period, I'm going to have to split it into ANOTHER part that deals with the last 9.
So for part 2, we'll be looking at a selection of games released from 2008 to the first half of 2009, which are as follows:
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero: On Tour, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades, Guitar Hero: Metallica, Rock Band Unplugged, Guitar Hero: Smash Hits and The Beatles: Rock Band.
That means part 3 will cover Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero, Guitar Hero: Arcade, Lego Rock Band, Guitar Hero: On Tour Modern Hits, Guitar Hero: Van Halen, Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock, Rock Band 3 and Green Day: Rock Band.

Quite a fucking mouthful right there and that's not even every game from GH/RB that was released! I'm not counting ones like the iOS games or DJ Hero as a) I didn't play them and b) they're not part of the GH/RB series.
Buckle up!

To this day, I still ask myself "why Aerosmith?"

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith was the first in a trilogy of band-centric games to be released over consecutive years (depending on which region you're from). Modelled around the GH3 design, the game contained a setlist roughly the size of GH1 and contained not only a decent selection of Aerosmith tunes but also "warm-up" acts consisting of songs and bands hand-picked by Aerosmith, such as The Cult, Joan Jett and Lenny Kravitz.
It goes without saying that this game isn't going to be for everyone, hence its smaller size. On top of an overall easier difficulty and a weird cameo from Run D.M.C, the game has plenty of downsides. Despite this, it's still quite fun and offers some decent guitar charts ("Toys In The Attic", "Walk This Way") as well as some great covers ("All The Young Dudes", "All Day And All Of The Night"). I would recommend it to people who perhaps don't know many Aerosmith songs but have heard one or two and enjoyed them.
There's always the possibility of games like these introducing you to your new favourite band so it's worth picking up if you can find a cheap enough copy. Around the time of this game's release, there was also another GH title available in shops except this one had a twist; it was for handheld consoles.

The best way to fuck your touchscreen up!

Guitar Hero: On Tour utilised the Nintendo DS's touchscreen and additional cartridge slot to bring GH gameplay to fans of portable gaming. It contained a setlist featuring old ("Hit Me With Your Best Shot") and new ("Youth Gone Wild") songs to the series. Sadly, whilst it was a great idea, the execution contained many problems. For starters, if the fret pad became dislodged from the cartridge slot ever so slightly, you'd have to restart the entire game.
Also, whilst the soundtrack was generally great, many of these songs never made it to a full console GH title so you could never truly appreciate a significant portion of the setlist through tinny DS speaker quality. Much like the first Guitar Hero game, it was a winning formula that needed some work before it could truly be called great. Whilst that work was being done, the next entry in the main series was released.
Guitar Hero: World Tour.

The game's tagline should've been "Great Artists Steal"

Taking a page out of the Rock Band book, Guitar Hero: World Tour introduced drums and vocals to the mix, as well as adding open notes to bass guitar and tap/slide notes to guitar in order to differentiate playing styles. The game marks the first title that used 100% master recordings as opposed to covers so there are quite a few Live songs or alternate recordings in the game. Fortunately, many of these contain even better charts than the originals would ever have ("Sweet Home Alabama").
On top of this, the new GH drumkit came with three pads and two cymbals, making it more "realistic" drum-based gameplay than Rock Band's four pad kit. Continuing Activision's decision to rely on "star power" to push the game, there are many cameos from popular musicians such as Ozzy Osbourne, Jimi Hendrix, Sting and Ted Nugent. The main downside to this game from a soundtrack perspective is the same as Rock Band's.
With the new focus on band gameplay, there are many songs that are just plain boring to play on guitar. Consequently, fans who joined the series early on began to abandon the franchise for being "too easy". So whilst the fans were unsure about whether they still loved Guitar Hero, what was happening with Rock Band?

Rock Band 2: Rock Bander

If you look at Rock Band 2 videos online, you'll probably find very little in the way of innovation. Still the same instruments, still the same soundtrack focus, still the same gameplay. The main differences between this title and the first come in small tweaks. For example, the career mode is less linear than previous games in either franchise and allows the player slightly more freedom in which songs they choose to play in order to progress further and unlock more tracks/get more stars.
There's also the addition of chord hammer-ons on guitar, new online features and a soundtrack full of master recordings too. However, unlike GH:WT, the majority of the game is the same as the predecessor but with slight improvements and there's absolutely nothing wrong with this when there are only two games in the series. For that reason, I easily preferred Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades to GH: OT.

Still reading this blog post? Cool, then I'll continue!

Whilst the main console games dealt with a full band, the DS titles still kept it to the stringed instruments. In Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades, you can progress through a strict chronologically ordered career mode on either Guitar or Bass with an extra option to play Guitar Duels against a CPU, a feature that would've been great in GH3 with the Battle Mode on songs other than the three boss battle tracks.
Starting off easy, the first tier consists of modern tracks ("The Pretender", "Crushcrushcrush") and as you advance through the game, you unlock more difficult and more enjoyable songs from previous decades ("No Rain", "Any Way You Want It") until finishing at the 70's. As far as career progression, soundtrack and gameplay additions go, this game is fantastic for fans of portable gaming and easily a series highlight in the same league as GH3.
Some problems still remained such as the game restarting easily and the songs that never made it outside of this game. Fortunately, these were easily forgivable when the rest of the game was so good. The Guitar Hero series and, hell, music games in general were in a good place by the end of 2008. Looking back with hindsight, it's easy to say that Activision drained the cash cow dry although I imagine it'd take a pretty shitty farmer to stop squeezing the udders when milk is still gushing from the teets.
Anyway, before I get too carried away milking this bovine metaphor, let's move onto the first & arguably best music game of 2009; Guitar Hero: Metallica.

METALLICUUHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Say what you like about these games, they know how to land strongly on the 2nd attempt. GH:M improves the best aspects from Guitar Hero: Aerosmith whilst shedding the worst ones too. The soundtrack is more appropriate for fans of Metallica, mixing well known hits from the band ("Master Of Puppets", "Nothing Else Matters") with bands and songs they've covered ("Tuesday's Gone", "Am I Evil?"). It also keeps the drums and vocals so you can argue with three of your friends about who has to be Lars.
There are also modes that show you song lyrics and allow you to just listen to the songs whilst trivia about the band/track appears on screen, a great feature that sadly only appears in two games. Everything about this game has had time and effort put into it, including the band's motion capture which doesn't come across as stiff and robotic like the Aerosmith ones. There's a lot to love about this game if you like the soundtrack, a statement that can also be applied to Harmonix's first portable title from the Rock Band series.

I still haven't fully mastered Expert on this!

Available exclusively on the PSP, Rock Band Unplugged gives solo players the full band experience as you're tasked with essentially juggling riffs and rhythms for each of the four band members throughout the entire song. During a track, certain phrases of notes will appear for an instrument. They'll only appear on one instrument at a time UNLESS you mess up and fluff some of the notes.
If this happens, more phrases will appear and you'll be at risk of failing the song due to missing oncoming notes on a different instrument. Gradually, you'll get back on track by hitting lots of notes in a single streak whilst your avatars play along to Boston or Tenacious D. Unlike the GH:OT series, you don't need a clunky fretboard to play this. Thanks to the easy button configuration, all you need is a PSP and game.
Perhaps the best thing about this game is not just that the new songs added to the series via RBU were later added as DLC to the console games but also other songs playable in RB1 or 2 were added to this expansion via DLC too. However, the major drawback with this game is that it's entirely single player. Even the GH:OT series had multiplayer modes over WiFi so it seems odd that RBU lacked them entirely. It's likely that Harmonix wanted a small expansion to tide people over until the next big RB release. Meanwhile, Activision had another GH title to pump out!

Are these pictures starting to look a little 'samey' to you yet?

Guitar Hero: Smash/Greatest Hits is an expansion disc that contains songs from the five GH games lacking drums and vocals, all in original master recording form and playable for the entire band. There's also a loose storyline involving visiting the seven wonders of the world but let's face it, nobody gave a fuck about the plot of these games by that point.
There was a good balance of songs from each of the original games (although there could've been a few more from GH3) and despite not being charted by Neversoft, most of them were incredibly fun to play with the improved engine and graphics. However, with Harmonix releasing large track packs full of new content as DLC each week, perhaps this title would've been more suitable as a month's worth of DLC.
I'm not sure if Activision would've made more money that way but it definitely would've softened the over-saturation this genre was going through. At this time, gamers and gaming journalists began to call for less rhythm music games but what they probably should've asked for was less from Activision, as Harmonix were ready to release one of the other top music games from 2009.

Still angers me that they never released 'Help!' album DLC

If you know anything about music licensing, you'll know that creating a game consisting ENTIRELY of Beatles songs would cost a metric fuckton of cash and require a busted nut's worth of hard work to pull off without feeling tacky. Luckily, this game was made by a team who care about the band, the music and the art of creating a game. The amount of detail put into this game, whether it's through the dreamy background sequences of certain songs or the unreleased studio chatter played before each song, is astounding.
The only major downside is a setlist which probably isn't the best selection of tracks they could've chosen. There are some glaring omissions and only a few of those were added via DLC. Yes, about 90% of the songs on-disc belonged there but a couple had no place in the game over some of their classics ("I Want You (She's So Heavy)" was a fucking arseache to play). However, it's a hugely enjoyable game that's suitable for anyone who can play these games on Easy or above and likes The Beatles.
So here's another rundown of my personal scores for all of the above:

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith - Definitely not the strongest band choice for a game that lacks band gameplay but plenty of fun charts to keep guitarists entertained. 6/10.
Guitar Hero: On Tour - Solid soundtrack, decent gameplay and strong potential. 6/10.
Guitar Hero: World Tour - A much needed innovation might turn off some of the purists but if you give it a chance, you'll get hours of fun and maybe even find some more songs to pop on your iPod. 7/10.
Rock Band 2 - More of the same but polished and (more or less) perfected. 8/10.
Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades - Again, not a huge amount of change here but enough to make it more fun and a necessary game to play for fans. 8/10.
Guitar Hero: Metallica - Excellent soundtrack and a surprising amount of care for the team that published Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. 9/10.
Rock Band Unplugged - A refreshing mix-up on how you play these games but maybe not as fun as the standard instrument based gameplay. 7/10.
Guitar Hero: Smash Hits - A game that should've been several weeks of awesome DLC but definitely not a bad expansion disc. 7/10.
The Beatles: Rock Band - Personal taste regarding the soundtrack aside, this is the best possible game casual or hardcore Beatles/music game fans could've asked for. 9/10.

I apologise if these posts are boring to those who aren't into video games but don't worry, only one more left!

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.