Sorry this has taken so long but as I often do after seeing a gig, I thought I'd write up my experience after attending a Ghost concert. I saw Ghost at the First Direct Arena in Leeds on November 23rd so more than enough time has passed for me to mull over the night and dwell on opinions I may have held right after seeing them perform.
First of all, let's discuss the warm up bands.
The first band to hit the stage were Tribulation, a Swedish Heavy Metal band with Gothic elements and a very similar aesthetic to the headliners in regards to stage design. Admittedly, I was pretty excited after hearing them for the first time. They kicked things off with a song called "Nightbound" which has some strong riffs and a good rhythm. Not only that but the band seemed pretty damn entertaining; the green floodlights cast haunting shadows of the band against the venue's walls and the lead guitarist was dancing around the stage without missing a single beat. These guys seemed like a worthy warm up band!
Then the vocalist opened his fucking mouth.
Oh.
...oh no.
He's a growler.
Every single track was delivered with a Death Metal growl, ruining many songs that could've been salvaged with a vocalist who could actually sing. Don't get me wrong, guttural growling is a talent if done properly (which it was). However, it's also good to showcase more than one pitch when singing. It also got a little ridiculous when the vocalist started talking to the audience in exactly the same growling voice. However, terrible vocals aside, the band had personality and their music seemed perfect for a Ghost gig.
Once again, the guitarist was the life of the party and I'd recommend watching some videos of this band performing live just so you can seem them prancing about as they play. I don't recommend the band until they shitcan the growling vocal style in favour of one more melodic but at least the evening started off OK.
Then the second warm-up band came on.
Oh.
...oh fuck no.
The second warm-up band were All Them Witches, an American Stoner Metal band that were pretty damn minimalist in comparison to Tribulation. They started playing "Funeral For A Great Drunken Bird" and I'm pretty sure they were still playing it about 35 minutes later on account of all their songs sounding exactly the fucking same. The same droning guitar, the same dull percussion, the same nonsensical lyrics and boring vocals. They also had absolutely no stage presence, often remaining rooted to the same spot where they stood for the entire gig.
Fortunately, there were some positives. The guitarist broke into some semi-decent shreddy solos towards the end of their set so they're somewhat technically proficient. However, it was all at the service of a completely forgettable, tiresome jam that apparently contained eight different songs. I would not recommend this band at all. Maybe their studio work is decent and maybe they're all genuinely cool guys but the impression I got from their show was that they're pretentious and tedious without being talented enough as a team to justify it. Ghost should've had this band come on first followed by Tribulation, as that would've been the more appropriate progression of talent.
As you can imagine, my experience so far had been pretty weak. Both bands had added to my belief that modern bands pick shit warm-up acts and I was already feeling pretty tired. It's also a bit of a red flag when bands pick more than one warm-up act, as it suggests they're either totally full of themselves or shit. I'd heard Ghost put on utterly incredible shows live so my expectations were already starting to seem poorly judged.
Then Ghost came on.
Oh.
...oh?
They were fucking amazing.
Ghost played a set of twenty songs over two hours and I can honestly say I wish they'd played more. From "Rats" at the start to "Square Hammer" at the end, they were electrifying. I actually recorded footage from their opening song and listening to it again several days after seeing them, I was still shocked at how similar it sounded to the studio recording. After the anonymous band of ghouls got the crowd on their feet with roaring riffs, the frontman Tobias Forge sauntered to the front to address his congregation. A while ago, someone asked me if there's ever been a frontman as charismatic as Freddie Mercury and whilst I didn't have an answer at the time, I fucking do now!
Tobias really knows how to work a crowd. He can flawlessly perform each track he single-handedly wrote and recorded but his movement across the stage and interactions with each band member are what really makes him stand out. There were many moments where he'd engage in some back & forth with one of the guitarists without altering the performance of the song or making it feel rehearsed in any way; each movement felt organic and mystifying to watch. As for banter in between songs, Tobias didn't disappoint there either. His on-stage persona has the perfect blend of humour and flamboyance without getting too sucked into himself like some Heavy Metal frontmen can often do.
As for the music? What do you want me to say, it was perfect. Absolutely perfect. The band nailed the material off Prequelle (what I was there to hear) and managed to enhance their older material to the point where studio recordings don't quite cut it for me anymore. Ghost put on quite possibly the greatest live show I've ever seen (either that or an incredibly close second) and if you can get tickets to see them, I strongly recommend it. Tobias is working on a new album and if that's as good as Prequelle, you'd be a fool to miss out on the chance to see them live. It would seem my "astronomically high" expectations I held were worth it in the end, although it is a shame they didn't pick better warm-up acts. Maybe Tobias intentionally chose shitty ones to make his band sound better by comparison, although that would be kinda dickish. Besides, I would strongly doubt that Tobias is the kind of musician to screw over the little guy.
Then I found out about the lawsuits.
Oh.
...ah well, they still kicked ass.
Showing posts with label Hard Rock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hard Rock. Show all posts
Tuesday, 3 December 2019
Sunday, 27 October 2019
Boneshaker - Airbourne
Looks like it's time for another album review! Continuing with the Hard Rock genre, we have the next album from Australian riff-recyclers, Airbourne!
Before I start this review, I should begin by explaining my main problem with their last album (Breakin' Outta Hell). It was an OK Hard Rock album but only if you listened to random tracks now and then as opposed to the whole collection as an album. I liked some of the songs off it but would only recommend buying those tracks instead of the album. Fortunately, it's a much better situation with Boneshaker. It's a collection of great songs that function as individual tracks or a complete album. Sadly one of the worst tracks is the album opener, title track and lead single, "Boneshaker".
It has a dull riff, a plodding rhythm and whilst there are some solid vocal sections to get the crowds pumped up at gigs, it all feels a bit stale. Luckily, with the bar set so low on the first track, the rest of the album successfully delivers a healthy amount of musical aggression and energy instead of slumping back into the safe foot-tapping Hard Rock that usually plagues Airbourne albums. Granted there are a few songs that slow things down or seek comfort in the familiar, such as tongue-in-cheek rocker "Backseat Boogie" and bog-standard filler track "She Gives Me Hell" (the latter seemingly inspired by the band's earlier material, which is always welcome in Rock if done right), but they're few and far between.
The other album letdown is the album closer, "Rock 'N' Roll For Life". It's a fast, frenzied love letter to Rock music although even that drops the ball by containing a weak mix and coming after a much better song to end the album. However, it's still as memorable than any of the bland, basic 4/4 120-130 BPM songs that the band used to love to write. The faster, more energetic songs on the album make decent background music if you're driving or doing housework but since the band have already given us four albums of plodding riffs and rhythms, it's good to finally get one that stands out. The album cover, name and title track all suggested they were ready to do exactly the same thing again and release yet another dull album with a few exciting tracks, especially since frontman Joel O'Keeffe has acknowledged that this album didn't take as long to write as previous ones. Thankfully, it's not just Airbourne being Airbourne.
If I had to single out the biggest change, it wouldn't be the increase in faster tracks; it'd be the decision to try something new. Airbourne have never really taken themselves seriously with their music but there's something about some of these songs that just seem a bit more thought out than others. When I first read the tracklist, I thought it read less like a Spinal Tap record despite some exceptions ("Sex To Go"). I'm not saying the band have to abandon their sillier side to be more respectable but when you're listening to a song with multiple musical sections and lyrics such as "One nation under a nuclear sun now lays rotting above caves of steel, rivers of fire, we await the creatures who walk beneath us", it proves the band still have some desire to try new things. I would expect that kind of willingness to adapt whilst still retaining what makes you great from The Darkness, not Airbourne.
Thankfully, it's not the only highlight. The band have been influenced by the right sources, as some of the many belters have echoes of Heavy Metal bands such as Megadeth and classics such as AC/DC about them ("This Is Our City" and "Blood In The Water", respectively). I'll admit that AC/DC is an easy comparison to make but in the same way Rush and Triumph are often compared for being Hard/Prog Rock power trios from Canada, you won't find a better band to compare AC/DC to than an Australian Hard Rock group who are making a career out of releasing similar albums over and over again.
However, the main difference between AC/DC and Airbourne is that AC/DC usually screwed up when trying to play something that wasn't in their stronger skillset, meaning they'd often revert back to what they could do properly. Airbourne sound like they're ready to take things further one step at a time, which is just as well as their first album came out 12 years ago. This album has plenty of fun songs like "Switchblade Angel", a track with a unique solo (compared to other Airbourne songs) and a short length so as not to outstay its welcome. It's still Airbourne but it's not a carbon copy of 60% of their previous material. It's not as anthemic as the title track but it doesn't have to be; it's a great song and it sounds like it belongs on this album, if only to give listeners something short and sweet to enjoy before the meatier tracks.
Overall, Boneshaker will probably please fans of Hard Rock who want to stick this album on whilst occupying themselves with odd jobs around the house. They toned down the songs about sex and amplified ones inspired by aggression or power like literally everything about the album suggested before you listened to it. If it was advertised as a vastly different Airbourne album, I would've been a bit more sceptical and probably criticised it for not delivering on something the band are only starting to get better at.
Instead, it feels like they (or the record label/producer, probably) wanted to make people think it was something the band have already given us so the changes come as a pleasant surprise, so I give it a 7/10. It's pretty good, I didn't strongly love any of the songs but I liked listening to quite a few of them. Buy this album if you haven't listened to any of Airbourne's previous albums and just want more great Rock. Listen to the album if you like the band/genre and purchase the songs you really like individually. I imagine a tour promoting this album would be worth getting tickets for, as Airbourne strike me as a band who really bring the thunder live and have only just forged a bottle capable of holding it in the studio.
Maybe album number six will be the one where they take a more confident step forward with the asskicking...but I'll probably be fine if it's the same as this one.
Before I start this review, I should begin by explaining my main problem with their last album (Breakin' Outta Hell). It was an OK Hard Rock album but only if you listened to random tracks now and then as opposed to the whole collection as an album. I liked some of the songs off it but would only recommend buying those tracks instead of the album. Fortunately, it's a much better situation with Boneshaker. It's a collection of great songs that function as individual tracks or a complete album. Sadly one of the worst tracks is the album opener, title track and lead single, "Boneshaker".
It has a dull riff, a plodding rhythm and whilst there are some solid vocal sections to get the crowds pumped up at gigs, it all feels a bit stale. Luckily, with the bar set so low on the first track, the rest of the album successfully delivers a healthy amount of musical aggression and energy instead of slumping back into the safe foot-tapping Hard Rock that usually plagues Airbourne albums. Granted there are a few songs that slow things down or seek comfort in the familiar, such as tongue-in-cheek rocker "Backseat Boogie" and bog-standard filler track "She Gives Me Hell" (the latter seemingly inspired by the band's earlier material, which is always welcome in Rock if done right), but they're few and far between.
The other album letdown is the album closer, "Rock 'N' Roll For Life". It's a fast, frenzied love letter to Rock music although even that drops the ball by containing a weak mix and coming after a much better song to end the album. However, it's still as memorable than any of the bland, basic 4/4 120-130 BPM songs that the band used to love to write. The faster, more energetic songs on the album make decent background music if you're driving or doing housework but since the band have already given us four albums of plodding riffs and rhythms, it's good to finally get one that stands out. The album cover, name and title track all suggested they were ready to do exactly the same thing again and release yet another dull album with a few exciting tracks, especially since frontman Joel O'Keeffe has acknowledged that this album didn't take as long to write as previous ones. Thankfully, it's not just Airbourne being Airbourne.
If I had to single out the biggest change, it wouldn't be the increase in faster tracks; it'd be the decision to try something new. Airbourne have never really taken themselves seriously with their music but there's something about some of these songs that just seem a bit more thought out than others. When I first read the tracklist, I thought it read less like a Spinal Tap record despite some exceptions ("Sex To Go"). I'm not saying the band have to abandon their sillier side to be more respectable but when you're listening to a song with multiple musical sections and lyrics such as "One nation under a nuclear sun now lays rotting above caves of steel, rivers of fire, we await the creatures who walk beneath us", it proves the band still have some desire to try new things. I would expect that kind of willingness to adapt whilst still retaining what makes you great from The Darkness, not Airbourne.
Thankfully, it's not the only highlight. The band have been influenced by the right sources, as some of the many belters have echoes of Heavy Metal bands such as Megadeth and classics such as AC/DC about them ("This Is Our City" and "Blood In The Water", respectively). I'll admit that AC/DC is an easy comparison to make but in the same way Rush and Triumph are often compared for being Hard/Prog Rock power trios from Canada, you won't find a better band to compare AC/DC to than an Australian Hard Rock group who are making a career out of releasing similar albums over and over again.
However, the main difference between AC/DC and Airbourne is that AC/DC usually screwed up when trying to play something that wasn't in their stronger skillset, meaning they'd often revert back to what they could do properly. Airbourne sound like they're ready to take things further one step at a time, which is just as well as their first album came out 12 years ago. This album has plenty of fun songs like "Switchblade Angel", a track with a unique solo (compared to other Airbourne songs) and a short length so as not to outstay its welcome. It's still Airbourne but it's not a carbon copy of 60% of their previous material. It's not as anthemic as the title track but it doesn't have to be; it's a great song and it sounds like it belongs on this album, if only to give listeners something short and sweet to enjoy before the meatier tracks.
Overall, Boneshaker will probably please fans of Hard Rock who want to stick this album on whilst occupying themselves with odd jobs around the house. They toned down the songs about sex and amplified ones inspired by aggression or power like literally everything about the album suggested before you listened to it. If it was advertised as a vastly different Airbourne album, I would've been a bit more sceptical and probably criticised it for not delivering on something the band are only starting to get better at.
Instead, it feels like they (or the record label/producer, probably) wanted to make people think it was something the band have already given us so the changes come as a pleasant surprise, so I give it a 7/10. It's pretty good, I didn't strongly love any of the songs but I liked listening to quite a few of them. Buy this album if you haven't listened to any of Airbourne's previous albums and just want more great Rock. Listen to the album if you like the band/genre and purchase the songs you really like individually. I imagine a tour promoting this album would be worth getting tickets for, as Airbourne strike me as a band who really bring the thunder live and have only just forged a bottle capable of holding it in the studio.
Maybe album number six will be the one where they take a more confident step forward with the asskicking...but I'll probably be fine if it's the same as this one.
The Cult - A Sonic Temple Tour
That's right, another blog post so soon after the last one!
This time, a short write-up of my experience seeing The Cult live at the O2 Arena in Leeds on Sunday 20th October. The last time I saw a gig was Blue Oyster Cult in February which, despite high hopes, was kind of a letdown. Fortunately, The Cult put on a fantastic show which might be great from a viewing perspective but kind of screws me from a "making a joke about bad live experiences based around the word 'Cult'" one.
The warm-up act for the evening were a small band called Piston. They put on an entertaining show full of riff-based-rockers that may or may not have been subconsciously lifted from deep cuts from bigger Rock bands (I swear their song "Rainmaker" uses the exact same riff as "Nervous Shakedown" - AC/DC). Despite boasting a healthy collection of their own fast paced Rock songs and an engaging stage presence to match their energetic music, one of the highlights of their performance was probably their Rock cover of "Proud Mary", sounding like a heavier rendition of the Ike And Tina version.
Based on the glimpse into the band I got during their time warming up for The Cult, I'd recommend Piston to those who aren't aware of them and to those who are, I'd like to offer my congratulations on knowing these guys before me. Check them out, they have a self-titled album out and if you like bands/artists such as The Answer, Slash and (obviously) The Cult, you'll probably get some pleasure out of a bunch of their material. It's not incredible but for a debut album, it does a good job of introducing their abilities and giving you something to listen to on long drives.
Now, onto the main event, The Cult! As the name of the tour suggests, the majority of songs were from their 1989 album Sonic Temple. I missed my chance to see them play Electric in its entirety so I knew I had to see this tour, at least until 2027 when they do Electric again. The band kicked the evening off with a great performance of "Sun King" followed by a mix of Sonic Temple deep cuts and singles from different albums. It made sense for the band to shuffle the order of songs, otherwise they'd be playing the album's two biggest songs within the first half hour. Whilst the album order would've worked too, I'm glad they saved "Fire Woman" until later on, as that's an absolute killer of a track (especially when played live).
As for band performances, I'm thrilled to inform you that guitarist Billy Duffy and vocalist Ian Astbury still have it. Whilst Ian can't belt out lines with the same silver lined pipes he had during the recording sessions, he's still capable of performing new and old Cult tracks with gusto and his banter with the audience was entertaining without being preachy (at one point, there may have been a technical issue but Astbury responded with "Fuck it, you guys don't care, right?" causing a cheer to erupt from the audience before the band played the rest of the set flawlessly). He also seemed genuinely happy to be performing, dancing around on stage and kicking the shit out of his tambourine as opposed to remaining rooted to the spot and hurrying the rest of the band through the set like he had a train to catch.
New band members can play with the big boys too, as bassist Grant Fitzpatrick did an amazing job playing the heavy basslines and maintaining the song's melody during Duffy's solos. Aside from that, everything I thought would be awesome was indeed awesome and everything I thought would be kinda bland was actually pretty good. Favourite underrated gems from Sonic Temple ("New York City", "Sun King") were incredible live and even tracks I wasn't a fan of when I first heard them ("American Horse", "Automatic Blues") sounded fantastic live. The only things missing were a few extra songs off different releases of the album ("Soldier Blue", "Wake Up Time For Freedom", "Medicine Train") but I'm glad we got better songs off lesser known albums instead ("Spiritwalker", "Rise").
The band also made the right choice in choosing the final songs for the evening with "Love Removal Machine" rounding off the main concert and the extended version of "She Sells Sanctuary" closing the two-song encore. Most of the hits were played except for "Lil' Devil" and "Wild Hearted Son" but I'm satisfied with the songs I heard; there wasn't a performance where I felt the band weren't giving it their all and even though I'm sure these guys would've sounded better with slightly less mileage, they definitely didn't sound rusty or fit for the retirement home. Hell, if they keep practising and not releasing albums like Hidden City, they may still be going this time next year.
With that in mind, I definitely recommend seeing The Cult live. I wouldn't call it an incredible show that tops my Top 5 list of all gigs but if I had to place this somewhere on a spectrum of previous live shows (Iron Maiden and Tenacious D in Brighton towards the left on the better side, Judas Priest and Tenacious D in Leeds towards the right), I'd say it's somewhere between the first third and midway point of the line; a solid Great which accurately represents the quality of music The Cult put out during their golden years. That may change over time but I'm glad that the band appear to be enjoying their work as opposed to some musicians with "Cult" in their band name.
The next concert I'm seeing will be Ghost in November at the First Direct Arena, also in Leeds. I have astronomically high expectations for this, not just because their last album Prequelle was my favourite album of 2018. To find out my favourite album of 2019, keep an eye on this blog over the next couple of months! That's right guys, I'm sort of back for a bit!
This time, a short write-up of my experience seeing The Cult live at the O2 Arena in Leeds on Sunday 20th October. The last time I saw a gig was Blue Oyster Cult in February which, despite high hopes, was kind of a letdown. Fortunately, The Cult put on a fantastic show which might be great from a viewing perspective but kind of screws me from a "making a joke about bad live experiences based around the word 'Cult'" one.
The warm-up act for the evening were a small band called Piston. They put on an entertaining show full of riff-based-rockers that may or may not have been subconsciously lifted from deep cuts from bigger Rock bands (I swear their song "Rainmaker" uses the exact same riff as "Nervous Shakedown" - AC/DC). Despite boasting a healthy collection of their own fast paced Rock songs and an engaging stage presence to match their energetic music, one of the highlights of their performance was probably their Rock cover of "Proud Mary", sounding like a heavier rendition of the Ike And Tina version.
Based on the glimpse into the band I got during their time warming up for The Cult, I'd recommend Piston to those who aren't aware of them and to those who are, I'd like to offer my congratulations on knowing these guys before me. Check them out, they have a self-titled album out and if you like bands/artists such as The Answer, Slash and (obviously) The Cult, you'll probably get some pleasure out of a bunch of their material. It's not incredible but for a debut album, it does a good job of introducing their abilities and giving you something to listen to on long drives.
Now, onto the main event, The Cult! As the name of the tour suggests, the majority of songs were from their 1989 album Sonic Temple. I missed my chance to see them play Electric in its entirety so I knew I had to see this tour, at least until 2027 when they do Electric again. The band kicked the evening off with a great performance of "Sun King" followed by a mix of Sonic Temple deep cuts and singles from different albums. It made sense for the band to shuffle the order of songs, otherwise they'd be playing the album's two biggest songs within the first half hour. Whilst the album order would've worked too, I'm glad they saved "Fire Woman" until later on, as that's an absolute killer of a track (especially when played live).
As for band performances, I'm thrilled to inform you that guitarist Billy Duffy and vocalist Ian Astbury still have it. Whilst Ian can't belt out lines with the same silver lined pipes he had during the recording sessions, he's still capable of performing new and old Cult tracks with gusto and his banter with the audience was entertaining without being preachy (at one point, there may have been a technical issue but Astbury responded with "Fuck it, you guys don't care, right?" causing a cheer to erupt from the audience before the band played the rest of the set flawlessly). He also seemed genuinely happy to be performing, dancing around on stage and kicking the shit out of his tambourine as opposed to remaining rooted to the spot and hurrying the rest of the band through the set like he had a train to catch.
New band members can play with the big boys too, as bassist Grant Fitzpatrick did an amazing job playing the heavy basslines and maintaining the song's melody during Duffy's solos. Aside from that, everything I thought would be awesome was indeed awesome and everything I thought would be kinda bland was actually pretty good. Favourite underrated gems from Sonic Temple ("New York City", "Sun King") were incredible live and even tracks I wasn't a fan of when I first heard them ("American Horse", "Automatic Blues") sounded fantastic live. The only things missing were a few extra songs off different releases of the album ("Soldier Blue", "Wake Up Time For Freedom", "Medicine Train") but I'm glad we got better songs off lesser known albums instead ("Spiritwalker", "Rise").
The band also made the right choice in choosing the final songs for the evening with "Love Removal Machine" rounding off the main concert and the extended version of "She Sells Sanctuary" closing the two-song encore. Most of the hits were played except for "Lil' Devil" and "Wild Hearted Son" but I'm satisfied with the songs I heard; there wasn't a performance where I felt the band weren't giving it their all and even though I'm sure these guys would've sounded better with slightly less mileage, they definitely didn't sound rusty or fit for the retirement home. Hell, if they keep practising and not releasing albums like Hidden City, they may still be going this time next year.
With that in mind, I definitely recommend seeing The Cult live. I wouldn't call it an incredible show that tops my Top 5 list of all gigs but if I had to place this somewhere on a spectrum of previous live shows (Iron Maiden and Tenacious D in Brighton towards the left on the better side, Judas Priest and Tenacious D in Leeds towards the right), I'd say it's somewhere between the first third and midway point of the line; a solid Great which accurately represents the quality of music The Cult put out during their golden years. That may change over time but I'm glad that the band appear to be enjoying their work as opposed to some musicians with "Cult" in their band name.
The next concert I'm seeing will be Ghost in November at the First Direct Arena, also in Leeds. I have astronomically high expectations for this, not just because their last album Prequelle was my favourite album of 2018. To find out my favourite album of 2019, keep an eye on this blog over the next couple of months! That's right guys, I'm sort of back for a bit!
Tuesday, 22 October 2019
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.
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.
Monday, 31 December 2018
Tenology: My Ten Favourite Rock/Metal Songs Of 2018
Well, here we are again. End of the year which means it's time to look back at all the new albums and singles I've enjoyed throughout 2018 and present them in a list of no particular order. That's right, this is NOT a "Top 10" post where the first or last song in the entry is the greatest song of the year, nor is it a ranking list of my favourite songs after listening to every Rock/Metal album released. There will be omissions and there will be no real reason for putting the ten songs I've picked in the specific order listed below, other than "because I wanted to do it this way".
Fortunately, I'll probably cover those omissions in a 2020 blog post in a similar manner to the one I'm planning for early 2019 where I'll be looking at songs from 2017 that I really enjoyed yet didn't listen to until some time in 2018. Got that? No? Too bad. One last thing before I start: I've included a Spotify playlist at the bottom of this post so you can listen to all the songs I've rated (honourable mentions and all!) whilst reading about why I liked them. It's also an opportunity for you to hear songs I really liked and would recommend in case you missed them. Right, let's do this!
1. "When The Curtain Falls" - Greta Van Fleet
When I reviewed Anthem Of The Peaceful Army a couple of months ago, I was largely indifferent to the majority of the songs due to how disappointing it was in comparison to the band's EP From The Fires. However, there were some songs I really liked and my favourite had to be lead single, "When The Curtain Falls". Great riff, shrill vocals and catchy melodies throughout, not to mention a decent solo to play us out. If you liked From The Fires but haven't listened to Anthem Of The Peaceful Army yet, you're probably better off listening to this song and maybe a handful of others instead of the whole album. Personal taste will depend on the other songs I'd recommend but regardless of what you're into, I'll always recommend this one.
2. "Firepower" - Judas Priest
Another song from an album I reviewed on the blog; don't worry, there'll be some tracks I haven't discussed before here too. The latest Judas Priest album was essentially a love letter to fans of the band's earlier material, combining good aspects of Painkiller, Screaming For Vengeance and British Steel with a modern twist. "Firepower" is a great title track and album opener with awesome riffs and fantastic vocals, exactly what was needed to remind fans that the band could still kick ass. There were other belters on the album too and who knows, maybe you'll see a few more in this post...
3. "Venom Of Venus" - Powerwolf
I only just finished writing about The Sacrament Of Sin, a great Power Metal album that contains a load of great tunes with heavy riffing and mild solos. However, for an album that's strength lies in its melodic nature, "Venom Of Venus" was the track that got me invested more than any other. The vocals steal the show, although the rest of the band bring the thunder too. However, I was also tempted to include "Fire & Forgive", "The Sacrament Of Sin" or "Fist By Fist (Sacralize Or Strike)" on this list too, although I feel like this song will stick with me longer than those.
4. "Fuchsia Machu Picchu" - Joachim Cooder
...who? Yeah, I heard this song on the radio one day and loved it. Great thumping rhythm, nice vocals, funky riffs and mystical accompaniments. I guess this is more of a Rock song than Pop, although it's probably the closest thing to Pop on this list. I haven't listened to any other songs by Joachim Cooder but if I hear something else by him/them (?) that I like, I'll be sure to check more tunes out. Until then, at least we've got this strange little number that I bet none of you ever expected to see on this list.
5. "Miasma" - Ghost
I'm mixing the formula up a bit by putting my number one favourite song of the year (from my number one favourite album of the year, as reviewed here) at the midway point of the post, rather than at the end like the last two from 2016/2017. This instrumental is fucking great and just goes from strength to strength as the song progresses. By the three minute mark, the song's taken off and before you know it, there are solos played on not just guitar and synth but also a fucking saxophone. This Metal instrumental finds a way of making a saxophone solo sound badass and for that reason alone, it deserves a spot on this list.
6. "Necromancer" - Judas Priest
Hey, look at that, Judas Priest showed up again! Revisiting some of my favourite songs from 2018 (a list that previously had about 30 different tracks in it), I tried to give songs by a wider variety of artists a chance but at the end of the day, I found myself enjoying multiple Judas Priest tracks over ones by Shinedown and Saxon. Whilst "Firepower" is probably my number one favourite off the album, "Necromancer" is a very close second. The faster tempo in the verse to give the song a driving rhythm is great and come on, if there's one thing Judas Priest knows how to do it's write awesome themes for their own mythological characters.
7. "Firewalker" - King Zebra
This was another song recommended to me that I ended up loving. Granted it might be a little similar to some of the others on this list (you can tell I definitely have a specific taste!) but when a band I've never heard of gets my attention as fast as King Zebra did with this song, I know they're worth mentioning. Fortunately for them, their song was great enough to earn a place on the full list and not just the honourable mentions so if you like NWOTHM, check this song out!
8. "Sugar Cane" - Slash, feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators
This song nearly didn't make it in the list! I completely forgot about this album until I started writing the post and after revisiting a few tracks that I remembered enjoying, I found myself wanting to come back to this song over all the others. Awesome Slash riffs, fantastic Myles Kennedy vocals in the chorus and a vibe that makes it sound like the perfect song to fucking jam to in a live gig. There are some other decent tracks on the Slash album too (that I mention in my review found here) but "Sugar Cane" is probably my favourite from it.
9. "Whatever" - Thundermother
Another new song that I heard on the radio once and forgot about for a while until revisiting all of the year's best tunes. Imagine if Halestorm were just a little bit better musically and you've got "Whatever" - Thundermother. You get the same raw vocal talent but with the added benefit of better solos, percussion and general song structure. It's a shame that Thundermother seem to be going through somewhat of a tempestuous period with changing lineups and whatnot but fingers crossed the lineup from this album sticks around for some time!
10. "Rats" - Ghost
I mean, you should've seen this one coming. Even if "Miasma" is my favourite song of the year, "Rats" is a very strong second best from Prequelle. I've talked about the track before but in short, it's got everything needed to make a perfect anthematic Rock song. If you read this blog, you must've heard the song by now. You must know that I fucking love this song and album so it's no surprise that it's on this list.
What MIGHT be a surprise are some of these honourable mentions (in alphabetical order):
"Book Of Thoth" - The Sword
I thought the latest album by The Sword was OK (review here) and had several tracks I was considering for the coveted spot of an honourable mention here. However, in the end, I went with "Book Of Thoth" for containing the heavy riffs I associate with The Sword and some interesting guitar playing too. It's a more memorable song than some of my other favourites from Used Future but it's not quite as good as the tracks listed above. At least not to me, anyway.
"Dance Macabre" - Ghost
Got to fit Ghost in one last time (go fucking listen to Prequelle). Whilst "Miasma" and "Rats" are worthy of a place in the main list, I felt like I couldn't justify three Ghost songs when there were other tracks that needed a place too. Sadly for "Dance Macabre", that meant one song had to be an honourable mention and this ABBA-esque Hard Rock tune drew the short straw. Don't get me wrong though, I still love the track and would recommend it without a moment's hesitation.
"Flame Thrower" - Judas Priest
Yup, same situation with Judas Priest. I liked Firepower and multiple songs on the album grabbed me in an incredibly pleasurable way but I couldn't put three songs off it in the list, hence "Flame Thrower" ending up here instead. I think it was easier moving this song here because I'm not really into the intro that much but once the percussion comes in, everything gets much better.
"Grazed By Heaven" - Uriah Heep
Definitely my favourite song from Living The Dream and probably the most accessible track to casual fans of the band, since it has the Hard Prog sound of guitar/organ harmonies. However, it also boasts some great lengthy solos too so if you only listen to one song from the album, make sure it's this one...which will probably happen anyway, since it's the album opener and lead single.
"The New Day" - Greta Van Fleet
The last song in the post and it's another repeat band! I may have been a bit frosty to their recent album but damn, I love this song's main riff. It's like a glorious blend of early Rush and peak Led Zeppelin...and then the vocals come in. They're so fucking bad in this song, they remind me of Steve Smith from American Dad (played by Scott Grimes) when he does a pained, high pitched scream. Those vocals can work in Hard Rock tracks but when you've got a more Folksy, acoustic-guitar driven melody and softer percussion, you need more delicate vocals. If I could travel across the multiverse and find a version of this song with identical music but someone more tactful than Josh Kiszka behind the mic, this song easily would've made the main ten.
That's it for 2018! I hope you've enjoyed what I've offered on the blog and will (hopefully) continue to offer throughout 2019 too!
Happy New Year to everyone who gives a shit about that sort of thing and see you all in January!
Fortunately, I'll probably cover those omissions in a 2020 blog post in a similar manner to the one I'm planning for early 2019 where I'll be looking at songs from 2017 that I really enjoyed yet didn't listen to until some time in 2018. Got that? No? Too bad. One last thing before I start: I've included a Spotify playlist at the bottom of this post so you can listen to all the songs I've rated (honourable mentions and all!) whilst reading about why I liked them. It's also an opportunity for you to hear songs I really liked and would recommend in case you missed them. Right, let's do this!
1. "When The Curtain Falls" - Greta Van Fleet
When I reviewed Anthem Of The Peaceful Army a couple of months ago, I was largely indifferent to the majority of the songs due to how disappointing it was in comparison to the band's EP From The Fires. However, there were some songs I really liked and my favourite had to be lead single, "When The Curtain Falls". Great riff, shrill vocals and catchy melodies throughout, not to mention a decent solo to play us out. If you liked From The Fires but haven't listened to Anthem Of The Peaceful Army yet, you're probably better off listening to this song and maybe a handful of others instead of the whole album. Personal taste will depend on the other songs I'd recommend but regardless of what you're into, I'll always recommend this one.
2. "Firepower" - Judas Priest
Another song from an album I reviewed on the blog; don't worry, there'll be some tracks I haven't discussed before here too. The latest Judas Priest album was essentially a love letter to fans of the band's earlier material, combining good aspects of Painkiller, Screaming For Vengeance and British Steel with a modern twist. "Firepower" is a great title track and album opener with awesome riffs and fantastic vocals, exactly what was needed to remind fans that the band could still kick ass. There were other belters on the album too and who knows, maybe you'll see a few more in this post...
3. "Venom Of Venus" - Powerwolf
I only just finished writing about The Sacrament Of Sin, a great Power Metal album that contains a load of great tunes with heavy riffing and mild solos. However, for an album that's strength lies in its melodic nature, "Venom Of Venus" was the track that got me invested more than any other. The vocals steal the show, although the rest of the band bring the thunder too. However, I was also tempted to include "Fire & Forgive", "The Sacrament Of Sin" or "Fist By Fist (Sacralize Or Strike)" on this list too, although I feel like this song will stick with me longer than those.
4. "Fuchsia Machu Picchu" - Joachim Cooder
...who? Yeah, I heard this song on the radio one day and loved it. Great thumping rhythm, nice vocals, funky riffs and mystical accompaniments. I guess this is more of a Rock song than Pop, although it's probably the closest thing to Pop on this list. I haven't listened to any other songs by Joachim Cooder but if I hear something else by him/them (?) that I like, I'll be sure to check more tunes out. Until then, at least we've got this strange little number that I bet none of you ever expected to see on this list.
5. "Miasma" - Ghost
I'm mixing the formula up a bit by putting my number one favourite song of the year (from my number one favourite album of the year, as reviewed here) at the midway point of the post, rather than at the end like the last two from 2016/2017. This instrumental is fucking great and just goes from strength to strength as the song progresses. By the three minute mark, the song's taken off and before you know it, there are solos played on not just guitar and synth but also a fucking saxophone. This Metal instrumental finds a way of making a saxophone solo sound badass and for that reason alone, it deserves a spot on this list.
6. "Necromancer" - Judas Priest
Hey, look at that, Judas Priest showed up again! Revisiting some of my favourite songs from 2018 (a list that previously had about 30 different tracks in it), I tried to give songs by a wider variety of artists a chance but at the end of the day, I found myself enjoying multiple Judas Priest tracks over ones by Shinedown and Saxon. Whilst "Firepower" is probably my number one favourite off the album, "Necromancer" is a very close second. The faster tempo in the verse to give the song a driving rhythm is great and come on, if there's one thing Judas Priest knows how to do it's write awesome themes for their own mythological characters.
7. "Firewalker" - King Zebra
This was another song recommended to me that I ended up loving. Granted it might be a little similar to some of the others on this list (you can tell I definitely have a specific taste!) but when a band I've never heard of gets my attention as fast as King Zebra did with this song, I know they're worth mentioning. Fortunately for them, their song was great enough to earn a place on the full list and not just the honourable mentions so if you like NWOTHM, check this song out!
8. "Sugar Cane" - Slash, feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators
This song nearly didn't make it in the list! I completely forgot about this album until I started writing the post and after revisiting a few tracks that I remembered enjoying, I found myself wanting to come back to this song over all the others. Awesome Slash riffs, fantastic Myles Kennedy vocals in the chorus and a vibe that makes it sound like the perfect song to fucking jam to in a live gig. There are some other decent tracks on the Slash album too (that I mention in my review found here) but "Sugar Cane" is probably my favourite from it.
9. "Whatever" - Thundermother
Another new song that I heard on the radio once and forgot about for a while until revisiting all of the year's best tunes. Imagine if Halestorm were just a little bit better musically and you've got "Whatever" - Thundermother. You get the same raw vocal talent but with the added benefit of better solos, percussion and general song structure. It's a shame that Thundermother seem to be going through somewhat of a tempestuous period with changing lineups and whatnot but fingers crossed the lineup from this album sticks around for some time!
10. "Rats" - Ghost
I mean, you should've seen this one coming. Even if "Miasma" is my favourite song of the year, "Rats" is a very strong second best from Prequelle. I've talked about the track before but in short, it's got everything needed to make a perfect anthematic Rock song. If you read this blog, you must've heard the song by now. You must know that I fucking love this song and album so it's no surprise that it's on this list.
What MIGHT be a surprise are some of these honourable mentions (in alphabetical order):
"Book Of Thoth" - The Sword
I thought the latest album by The Sword was OK (review here) and had several tracks I was considering for the coveted spot of an honourable mention here. However, in the end, I went with "Book Of Thoth" for containing the heavy riffs I associate with The Sword and some interesting guitar playing too. It's a more memorable song than some of my other favourites from Used Future but it's not quite as good as the tracks listed above. At least not to me, anyway.
"Dance Macabre" - Ghost
Got to fit Ghost in one last time (go fucking listen to Prequelle). Whilst "Miasma" and "Rats" are worthy of a place in the main list, I felt like I couldn't justify three Ghost songs when there were other tracks that needed a place too. Sadly for "Dance Macabre", that meant one song had to be an honourable mention and this ABBA-esque Hard Rock tune drew the short straw. Don't get me wrong though, I still love the track and would recommend it without a moment's hesitation.
"Flame Thrower" - Judas Priest
Yup, same situation with Judas Priest. I liked Firepower and multiple songs on the album grabbed me in an incredibly pleasurable way but I couldn't put three songs off it in the list, hence "Flame Thrower" ending up here instead. I think it was easier moving this song here because I'm not really into the intro that much but once the percussion comes in, everything gets much better.
"Grazed By Heaven" - Uriah Heep
Definitely my favourite song from Living The Dream and probably the most accessible track to casual fans of the band, since it has the Hard Prog sound of guitar/organ harmonies. However, it also boasts some great lengthy solos too so if you only listen to one song from the album, make sure it's this one...which will probably happen anyway, since it's the album opener and lead single.
"The New Day" - Greta Van Fleet
The last song in the post and it's another repeat band! I may have been a bit frosty to their recent album but damn, I love this song's main riff. It's like a glorious blend of early Rush and peak Led Zeppelin...and then the vocals come in. They're so fucking bad in this song, they remind me of Steve Smith from American Dad (played by Scott Grimes) when he does a pained, high pitched scream. Those vocals can work in Hard Rock tracks but when you've got a more Folksy, acoustic-guitar driven melody and softer percussion, you need more delicate vocals. If I could travel across the multiverse and find a version of this song with identical music but someone more tactful than Josh Kiszka behind the mic, this song easily would've made the main ten.
That's it for 2018! I hope you've enjoyed what I've offered on the blog and will (hopefully) continue to offer throughout 2019 too!
Happy New Year to everyone who gives a shit about that sort of thing and see you all in January!
Monday, 17 December 2018
The Music Made Me Do It - Ted Nugent
Did you know that Crazy Ted Nugent released an album this year? Yeah, he took a break from ranting about politics and generally being a trashy person to make some music again. Now we're all here to see what I thought of it!
If there's one motto I try to stick to whenever reviewing or discussing outspoken individuals in the world of Rock/Metal, it's "Judge a person by their personality and a musician by their music". In other words, regardless of how big a tosser or saint someone is in real life, your opinion of that person shouldn't affect your enjoyment of their craft as an artist. It's OK to like an album by a dickhead or, vice verse, hate an album by a genuinely decent person. However, it's always nice when the stars align and you can talk about how terrible an album by a piece of shit is...sadly, this isn't necessarily one of those times.
The Music Made Me Do It (which is probably going to be Ted's defence when he's arrested for shooting black people in a few years) is as bland and lacking in originality as you'd expect a 2018 album by Ted Nugent to be but unfortunately, it doesn't reach the point where as a casual critic you feel like you can justifiably rip it to pieces. It's got some solid riffs and solos here and there, almost certainly enough to get the average Rock fan's foot tapping along to several songs. A good example of this is the album opener and title track, "The Music Made Me Do It". It kicks things off with a bang and proves that Ted can still play guitar to a decent degree.
Not only that but the improvements in modern recording technology make the music sound cleaner and the riffs stand out more, something Ted was presumably happy with instead of choosing to put in the effort to make the material sound raw and untamed like his earlier records. Funny how Ted's willing to change with the times in some areas, huh. Anyway, the positives don't stop there. There's a good amount of musical variety for those who like slower acoustic ballads that still Rock ("Fred Bear") and faster Blues Rock numbers that maybe should've lasted a little longer ("Bigfundirtygroovenoize"), not to mention standard Hard Rock songs we've come to know Ted Nugent for ("Where Ya Gonna Run To Get Away From Yourself").
However, as I mentioned earlier, the lack of imagination in some of the songs really is telling. Ted's choice to write shorter Blues Rock tracks that rely on repetitive lyrics and riffs ("I Love Ya Too Much Baby") feels more like he couldn't be bothered to come up with a full-length track so chose to whack out generic boogie-woogie rather than spend a couple of extra hours penning a proper song. This might sound like I'm being too judgemental but when you factor in the fact that Ted's straight up copied his previous material on multiple occasions, the argument suddenly becomes a lot stronger.
Oh yes, Ted has absolutely phoned it in after realising that being out of the game for so many years tends to dry up the well of creativity. "Cocked, Locked & Ready To Rock" might sound familiar to fans of his earlier work because it quite literally copies the riffs, structure and even vocal melodies for "Stormtroopin'", a much better song from his self-titled debut that doesn't contain lyrics like "It's time to make a stand, it's time to put a gun in your hand", and tweaks them just enough to justify calling it a new song. Then there's "Backstrap Fever", a rerecording of "Cat Scratch Fever" but with altered lyrics, a slightly faster tempo and more refined riffing. Admittedly, this does result in a better song than "Cat Scratch Fever" though.
Finally, the album closer "Sunrize Fender (Fender Bass VI Solo)" is an extended version of the previous track, "Sunrize", but with different instrumentation. "Sunrize" is a great Rock instrumental that would've been the perfect album closer whereas "Sunrize Fender (Fender Bass VI Solo)" should've been a bonus track on the regular or special edition. However, since it's track 10 on a 37 minute album, it implies that Ted wanted it to be a proper song on the album. If he extended some of the shorter tunes and maybe added one or two more songs, it wouldn't have been an issue but this feels cynical. Either Ted couldn't be bothered to write more music or he was simply unable to, resulting in a smaller package that lacks the same power as contemporary Hard Rock records.
Basically, what I'm saying is Ted Nugent can't do a lot with his little package.
The Music Made Me Do It answers all of the questions you could possibly want to ask about a new Ted Nugent album. Ted can still play guitar and he knows how to write a passable Hard Rock song, although he can't keep all of his idiotic politics out of his music ("I Just Wanna Go Huntin"). He also still can't write music with any real depth to it or lasting appeal aside from good riffs/technically proficient solos. Fans of his earlier material might like some of the tracks but all in all, the album doesn't do enough to convince me that Ted Nugent should keep writing music. His best work already exists and anything else he comes out with is either generic or a rehash of his better songs from the late 70s.
I wasn't expecting a magnum opus, since Ted's claimed that this album basically came about through jam sessions, but it could've done with more time in the oven before being served. I rate it 4/10 but if Ted put more effort into some of the material, maybe it could've been a 6...or maybe the music is subconsciously making me think that Ted Nugent's mediocre work is actually great and that his politics are spot on, although I doubt that.
COMING SOON: A blog post about ten anti-Mexican and pro-arming our nation's children songs!
If there's one motto I try to stick to whenever reviewing or discussing outspoken individuals in the world of Rock/Metal, it's "Judge a person by their personality and a musician by their music". In other words, regardless of how big a tosser or saint someone is in real life, your opinion of that person shouldn't affect your enjoyment of their craft as an artist. It's OK to like an album by a dickhead or, vice verse, hate an album by a genuinely decent person. However, it's always nice when the stars align and you can talk about how terrible an album by a piece of shit is...sadly, this isn't necessarily one of those times.
The Music Made Me Do It (which is probably going to be Ted's defence when he's arrested for shooting black people in a few years) is as bland and lacking in originality as you'd expect a 2018 album by Ted Nugent to be but unfortunately, it doesn't reach the point where as a casual critic you feel like you can justifiably rip it to pieces. It's got some solid riffs and solos here and there, almost certainly enough to get the average Rock fan's foot tapping along to several songs. A good example of this is the album opener and title track, "The Music Made Me Do It". It kicks things off with a bang and proves that Ted can still play guitar to a decent degree.
Not only that but the improvements in modern recording technology make the music sound cleaner and the riffs stand out more, something Ted was presumably happy with instead of choosing to put in the effort to make the material sound raw and untamed like his earlier records. Funny how Ted's willing to change with the times in some areas, huh. Anyway, the positives don't stop there. There's a good amount of musical variety for those who like slower acoustic ballads that still Rock ("Fred Bear") and faster Blues Rock numbers that maybe should've lasted a little longer ("Bigfundirtygroovenoize"), not to mention standard Hard Rock songs we've come to know Ted Nugent for ("Where Ya Gonna Run To Get Away From Yourself").
However, as I mentioned earlier, the lack of imagination in some of the songs really is telling. Ted's choice to write shorter Blues Rock tracks that rely on repetitive lyrics and riffs ("I Love Ya Too Much Baby") feels more like he couldn't be bothered to come up with a full-length track so chose to whack out generic boogie-woogie rather than spend a couple of extra hours penning a proper song. This might sound like I'm being too judgemental but when you factor in the fact that Ted's straight up copied his previous material on multiple occasions, the argument suddenly becomes a lot stronger.
Oh yes, Ted has absolutely phoned it in after realising that being out of the game for so many years tends to dry up the well of creativity. "Cocked, Locked & Ready To Rock" might sound familiar to fans of his earlier work because it quite literally copies the riffs, structure and even vocal melodies for "Stormtroopin'", a much better song from his self-titled debut that doesn't contain lyrics like "It's time to make a stand, it's time to put a gun in your hand", and tweaks them just enough to justify calling it a new song. Then there's "Backstrap Fever", a rerecording of "Cat Scratch Fever" but with altered lyrics, a slightly faster tempo and more refined riffing. Admittedly, this does result in a better song than "Cat Scratch Fever" though.
Finally, the album closer "Sunrize Fender (Fender Bass VI Solo)" is an extended version of the previous track, "Sunrize", but with different instrumentation. "Sunrize" is a great Rock instrumental that would've been the perfect album closer whereas "Sunrize Fender (Fender Bass VI Solo)" should've been a bonus track on the regular or special edition. However, since it's track 10 on a 37 minute album, it implies that Ted wanted it to be a proper song on the album. If he extended some of the shorter tunes and maybe added one or two more songs, it wouldn't have been an issue but this feels cynical. Either Ted couldn't be bothered to write more music or he was simply unable to, resulting in a smaller package that lacks the same power as contemporary Hard Rock records.
Basically, what I'm saying is Ted Nugent can't do a lot with his little package.
The Music Made Me Do It answers all of the questions you could possibly want to ask about a new Ted Nugent album. Ted can still play guitar and he knows how to write a passable Hard Rock song, although he can't keep all of his idiotic politics out of his music ("I Just Wanna Go Huntin"). He also still can't write music with any real depth to it or lasting appeal aside from good riffs/technically proficient solos. Fans of his earlier material might like some of the tracks but all in all, the album doesn't do enough to convince me that Ted Nugent should keep writing music. His best work already exists and anything else he comes out with is either generic or a rehash of his better songs from the late 70s.
I wasn't expecting a magnum opus, since Ted's claimed that this album basically came about through jam sessions, but it could've done with more time in the oven before being served. I rate it 4/10 but if Ted put more effort into some of the material, maybe it could've been a 6...or maybe the music is subconsciously making me think that Ted Nugent's mediocre work is actually great and that his politics are spot on, although I doubt that.
COMING SOON: A blog post about ten anti-Mexican and pro-arming our nation's children songs!
Friday, 2 November 2018
Post-Apocalypto - Tenacious D
What's this? I'm posting a blog post at the START of the month instead of three days before the end of it when I'm knackered and almost passing out, frantically trying to think of one more thing to include in a Here Is The News post before I go to bed? That's right, because people who leave things to the last minute always suffer as a result and speaking of leaving things too late...
From this album's announcement to its eventual release, I've been worried about Post-Apocalypto. The album cover is fucking awful, the track-listing looked like a worse version of the debut containing more minute-long snippets than actual fleshed out songs like Rize Of The Fenix and let's face it, concept albums are rarely ever a good thing. With each week, we were "treated" to an episode of Tenacious D's hit & miss web series containing skits and music included on the album but none of it filled me with anticipation. Today, the album was finally released and my God, it is absolutely terrible. It is a piece of shit and if you've never heard any Tenacious D before, you owe it to yourself to avoid this album like the fucking plague.
For starters, the album opener and (I guess) title track "POST-APOCALYPTO THEME" is a 37 second repurposed riff that was originally written for "Rize Of The Fenix" only to be scrapped in favour of a much better verse/chorus structure. That's how they're opening their fourth album; scraps off the cutting room floor that they couldn't even be bothered to turn into a full song. From here, it only gets worse. The concept album dealing with a nuclear holocaust caused by Trump is 50% dialogue excerpts and 50% songs both from the YouTube series, each track having an average length of about 90 seconds. The entire length of the album is just over half an hour, about two minutes longer than Reign In Blood - Slayer.
Tenacious D's last album came out in 2012, six years ago. This album took them six years to make, just let that sink in for a bit. Six years for a rehashed title track and half an hour of mildly amusing comedy taken from about 76 minutes of much funnier material in the YouTube series. You can't even claim that they needed extra time to animate the YouTube shorts because they're largely based around still images knocked up in Microsoft Paint. It's the equivalent of having the entire summer holiday to complete a school project only to realise that you've left it until the day before term time begins to do anything, forcing you to ask your parents to do it all with you...or in this case, Dave Grohl.
Despite each song being written by Jack Black and Kyle Gass, many tunes sound like terrible Foo Fighters filler tracks with their slower tempos and dull, uninspired riffs ("TAKE US INTO SPACE", "WOMAN TIME") and the ones that do sound more like Tenacious D songs are generally piss poor. The lyrical themes are trite without the humour to carry it off ("COLORS", "ROBOT") and the few tracks that contain promising riffs or have a couple of funny lyrics are either too short or not strong enough to redeem the rest of the album ("DADDY DING DONG", "MAKING LOVE"). However, even the better songs have fatal flaws in the grand scheme of things.
Concept albums with a narrative, like this one, should have exactly that; a narrative. If you haven't watched the YouTube series from start to finish, I think you'd genuinely struggle to understand a lot of what was happening. The overall plot is there but there are large gaps that have to be filled in by a knowledge of the YouTube series. When I discussed the previous three Tenacious D albums on the blog last year, I claimed that the music on The Pick Of Destiny doesn't carry enough of the film's story for you to understand everything that's happening but the main difference between The Pick Of Destiny and Post-Apocalypto is that The Pick Of Destiny is more of a soundtrack to the film; there aren't tracks on that album dedicated to the narrative, it's all just music. Here, the album is expected to tell a story but utterly fails.
Instead, we get a few previews of dialogue taken directly from the YouTube series that often aren't as funny due to jokes being edited down and context being completely absent, featuring multiple different characters all seemingly voiced by Jack Black. It might have been better if they could've got some other voice actors involved (Hell, even Kage would've done) but at least the scientist and Terminator voices were fun. I also approve of the band firmly stating their political policy, although all being anti-Trump does is confirm that you're not a complete cunt. Pointing out that the guy's going to get a lot of people killed with his stupidity isn't anything new or original, it's like dedicating an entire album to the idea that we're made up of bones.
If I had to describe Post-Apocalypto in a word, it'd be Lazy. They phoned in the music, they phoned in the story (notice how the ending to both the YouTube series and the album are fuckawful), they phoned in the artwork and they made us wait half a fucking decade for it. It's a bad album and a weak concept album that could've been improved if it contained a story about Tenacious D journeying across a post-apocalyptic wasteland with songs about everything that could potentially cause an extinction level event; a song about aliens, a song about global warming, a song about nukes, a song about war, a song about volcanic eruptions, a song about overpopulation tied into having lots of unprotected sex, I mean JESUS this shit should write itself!
I rate the album 3/10 and that's me being generous. The band still play properly and I didn't hate every second of it. The fact that a couple of lines made me smile now and then have earned it an extra point but honestly, this could still be one of the worst albums I've ever listened to. It may only be 30 minutes long but those 30 minutes could be spend watching an episode of a sitcom or reading a comic book or having a difficult fucking wank, anything other than listening to Post-Apocalypto. I also wouldn't recommend seeing Tenacious D live if it's going to be an acoustic gig, as you know they'll be playing the shite off this album on their next tour.
It might be entertaining with the whole band if they try to tell a story on stage (and the band definitely put on a hell of a performance when it's more than just Jables and Kage) but seriously, it pains me to say that The D screwed up. Oh well, we can always enjoy their fifth album in 2023 that will probably be a return to form in an attempt to win back favour with everyone who wanted this Comedy Rock band to release Comedy Rock.
From this album's announcement to its eventual release, I've been worried about Post-Apocalypto. The album cover is fucking awful, the track-listing looked like a worse version of the debut containing more minute-long snippets than actual fleshed out songs like Rize Of The Fenix and let's face it, concept albums are rarely ever a good thing. With each week, we were "treated" to an episode of Tenacious D's hit & miss web series containing skits and music included on the album but none of it filled me with anticipation. Today, the album was finally released and my God, it is absolutely terrible. It is a piece of shit and if you've never heard any Tenacious D before, you owe it to yourself to avoid this album like the fucking plague.
For starters, the album opener and (I guess) title track "POST-APOCALYPTO THEME" is a 37 second repurposed riff that was originally written for "Rize Of The Fenix" only to be scrapped in favour of a much better verse/chorus structure. That's how they're opening their fourth album; scraps off the cutting room floor that they couldn't even be bothered to turn into a full song. From here, it only gets worse. The concept album dealing with a nuclear holocaust caused by Trump is 50% dialogue excerpts and 50% songs both from the YouTube series, each track having an average length of about 90 seconds. The entire length of the album is just over half an hour, about two minutes longer than Reign In Blood - Slayer.
Tenacious D's last album came out in 2012, six years ago. This album took them six years to make, just let that sink in for a bit. Six years for a rehashed title track and half an hour of mildly amusing comedy taken from about 76 minutes of much funnier material in the YouTube series. You can't even claim that they needed extra time to animate the YouTube shorts because they're largely based around still images knocked up in Microsoft Paint. It's the equivalent of having the entire summer holiday to complete a school project only to realise that you've left it until the day before term time begins to do anything, forcing you to ask your parents to do it all with you...or in this case, Dave Grohl.
Despite each song being written by Jack Black and Kyle Gass, many tunes sound like terrible Foo Fighters filler tracks with their slower tempos and dull, uninspired riffs ("TAKE US INTO SPACE", "WOMAN TIME") and the ones that do sound more like Tenacious D songs are generally piss poor. The lyrical themes are trite without the humour to carry it off ("COLORS", "ROBOT") and the few tracks that contain promising riffs or have a couple of funny lyrics are either too short or not strong enough to redeem the rest of the album ("DADDY DING DONG", "MAKING LOVE"). However, even the better songs have fatal flaws in the grand scheme of things.
Concept albums with a narrative, like this one, should have exactly that; a narrative. If you haven't watched the YouTube series from start to finish, I think you'd genuinely struggle to understand a lot of what was happening. The overall plot is there but there are large gaps that have to be filled in by a knowledge of the YouTube series. When I discussed the previous three Tenacious D albums on the blog last year, I claimed that the music on The Pick Of Destiny doesn't carry enough of the film's story for you to understand everything that's happening but the main difference between The Pick Of Destiny and Post-Apocalypto is that The Pick Of Destiny is more of a soundtrack to the film; there aren't tracks on that album dedicated to the narrative, it's all just music. Here, the album is expected to tell a story but utterly fails.
Instead, we get a few previews of dialogue taken directly from the YouTube series that often aren't as funny due to jokes being edited down and context being completely absent, featuring multiple different characters all seemingly voiced by Jack Black. It might have been better if they could've got some other voice actors involved (Hell, even Kage would've done) but at least the scientist and Terminator voices were fun. I also approve of the band firmly stating their political policy, although all being anti-Trump does is confirm that you're not a complete cunt. Pointing out that the guy's going to get a lot of people killed with his stupidity isn't anything new or original, it's like dedicating an entire album to the idea that we're made up of bones.
If I had to describe Post-Apocalypto in a word, it'd be Lazy. They phoned in the music, they phoned in the story (notice how the ending to both the YouTube series and the album are fuckawful), they phoned in the artwork and they made us wait half a fucking decade for it. It's a bad album and a weak concept album that could've been improved if it contained a story about Tenacious D journeying across a post-apocalyptic wasteland with songs about everything that could potentially cause an extinction level event; a song about aliens, a song about global warming, a song about nukes, a song about war, a song about volcanic eruptions, a song about overpopulation tied into having lots of unprotected sex, I mean JESUS this shit should write itself!
I rate the album 3/10 and that's me being generous. The band still play properly and I didn't hate every second of it. The fact that a couple of lines made me smile now and then have earned it an extra point but honestly, this could still be one of the worst albums I've ever listened to. It may only be 30 minutes long but those 30 minutes could be spend watching an episode of a sitcom or reading a comic book or having a difficult fucking wank, anything other than listening to Post-Apocalypto. I also wouldn't recommend seeing Tenacious D live if it's going to be an acoustic gig, as you know they'll be playing the shite off this album on their next tour.
It might be entertaining with the whole band if they try to tell a story on stage (and the band definitely put on a hell of a performance when it's more than just Jables and Kage) but seriously, it pains me to say that The D screwed up. Oh well, we can always enjoy their fifth album in 2023 that will probably be a return to form in an attempt to win back favour with everyone who wanted this Comedy Rock band to release Comedy Rock.
Monday, 29 October 2018
Anthem Of The Peaceful Army - Greta Van Fleet
Hey, you know that band that sound exactly like Led Zeppelin! They wrote an album...no, not Black Smoke Rising...no, not From The Fires either. Those weren't albums. This is their first album.
When I first listened to From The Fires, I did the obvious thing of comparing them to Led Zeppelin due to the vocals and guitarwork of the Brothers Kiszka. I was excited to hear them follow the original band's progression, developing their Classic Rock grooves into mystical Folk epics and thunderous Hard Rock bangers whilst retaining what made them pure. I also claimed that their debut EP didn't sound like "a hacky tribute album" and that they added their own flair to each track. I'm reminding you of this because anyone who's listened to this album will now start to understand just how disappointed I was after listening to Anthem Of The Peaceful Army.
From start to finish, the album felt like Greta Van Fleet were writing more of a Led Zeppelin parody akin to Beatallica than a Classic Rock revival like Robert Pehrsson's Humbucker or a Rock album clearly inspired by Led Zeppelin's distinct sound like Rush's 1974 debut. It's as if the band got together, played disc one of Mothership and said "Right, I think we've got the gist of this" before writing a load of generic Bluesy lyrics and Jimmy Page riffs over the course of a single afternoon. It's not a bad album (definitely not 1.6/10) but it reeks of cynicism from either the band or an overbearing record label trying to cash in on romanticised nostalgia.
Album opener "Age Of Man" should not have kicked the record off. If anything, it should've been the closer with its slower tempo, heavier riff, longer length and dynamic build-up throughout. A Rock band's debut should proudly announce "We're here and we rock!" and whilst the band partially did that with lead single "When The Curtain Falls", a riff driven belter clearly written for radio play and general public consumption, they needed something shorter and punchier for their introduction. Luckily, we got those tracks later on in the form of "The Cold Wind" and "Lover, Leaver" but there's something missing from them.
A great song isn't just an awesome riff or memorable lyrics; it's a perfect blend of multiple contributing factors, hence why bands like Led Zeppelin and Queen are iconic. Sure, they had incredibly gifted vocalists and knew how to lay down epic riffs but the drummers and bassists played an integral part on and off the stage too. Greta Van Fleet have put all their eggs in the superficial basket of sounding like Led Zeppelin after a casual listen but when you actually focus on each aspect of the songs on the album, it feels like they were inspired by specific songs rather than the band's music as a whole.
Take Joshua Kiszka's vocals; yes, he can wail like Robert Plant and this comes in very handy now and then...but that's not all that Robert Plant did. Plant knew when to show restraint, when to actually sing. Kiszka seems limited to just shouting, even when it's completely inappropriate. "The New Day" is a great track musically but it's ruined by the shrill, abrasive vocals. Similarly, Bluesy number "Brave New World" contains some decent riffs and percussion all crafted into a cracking Hard Rock song, only for it to be spoilt by unnecessarily loud shouting in the chorus. Even the verses sound needlessly aggressive for the music, something that only becomes more obvious the more you listen to each track.
It's a shame that one of the best attributes of the band's previous work is easily the weakest here although thankfully the guitarwork is still decent. A little uninspired here and there ("Watching Over") but great when it counts and serviceable throughout. Bass and drums do their job of making the band sound like a Led Zeppelin clone, only without the creativity and spark that Jones and Bonham effortlessly channelled into their music. However, there's only so much I can criticise the band's involvement in making the album before I start to question whether this disappointment truly lies at their feet or the record label's.
Anthem Of The Peaceful Army feels like the product of executive interference more than the band running out of creative steam after only a couple of years (like Royal Blood). There's no way a Rock band gets this level of promotion and attention in the media for a debut album without record labels pulling strings and even then, they'll only do that if they think there's something to gain from it. Right now, nostalgia is in so clueless, corporate executives are obviously going to try and cash in on that before the tide turns. I wouldn't be surprised if Greta's next release sounds wildly different in response to negative reactions to the album sounding like a poor attempt at recreating Led Zeppelin II because record executives only operate on extreme ends of the spectrum.
I rate the album 5/10 for being adequate but ultimately a missed opportunity for a truly great album. When writing reviews, I try to avoid directly comparing new bands/albums with a specific band/album from the past but in this case, I think it's fair to go into similarities and differences between Greta and Led Zeppelin seeing as how their striking musical (and attempts at visual) likeness to the 70s Rock pioneers is their central gimmick and it IS a gimmick. You can compare modern bands like Wolfmother and Muse to older Classic Rock acts but at least they developed their own sound and musical style, forging their own way into the Hall Of Rock
Normally I would give bands four or five albums to establish their sound, release their "best" album and find new ways to innovate their material as they start to head into a new decade. For Greta Van Fleet, I'm actually hoping they mix things up straight away. Whilst I'd still love to hear their take on some of Led Zeppelin's more ambitious music (as the band do have a natural talent for sounding like Led Zepp that would be absolutely wasted if not utilised in one way or another), I think Album 2 needs a couple of tracks that deviate from the generic; maybe some Hard Prog or synth-based Arena Rock making up 20% and the remaining 80% being more of the same, albeit with toned down vocals and better lyrics.
All in all though, the good thing about music is you can still enjoy it with repeat listens so if you really just want good old fashioned Classic Rock with great riffs and amazing vocals, all of the original Led Zeppelin albums are readily available online and they still stand the test of time. Or to put it another way, when you want good Rock, think of Led Zeppelin, not Greta.
When I first listened to From The Fires, I did the obvious thing of comparing them to Led Zeppelin due to the vocals and guitarwork of the Brothers Kiszka. I was excited to hear them follow the original band's progression, developing their Classic Rock grooves into mystical Folk epics and thunderous Hard Rock bangers whilst retaining what made them pure. I also claimed that their debut EP didn't sound like "a hacky tribute album" and that they added their own flair to each track. I'm reminding you of this because anyone who's listened to this album will now start to understand just how disappointed I was after listening to Anthem Of The Peaceful Army.
From start to finish, the album felt like Greta Van Fleet were writing more of a Led Zeppelin parody akin to Beatallica than a Classic Rock revival like Robert Pehrsson's Humbucker or a Rock album clearly inspired by Led Zeppelin's distinct sound like Rush's 1974 debut. It's as if the band got together, played disc one of Mothership and said "Right, I think we've got the gist of this" before writing a load of generic Bluesy lyrics and Jimmy Page riffs over the course of a single afternoon. It's not a bad album (definitely not 1.6/10) but it reeks of cynicism from either the band or an overbearing record label trying to cash in on romanticised nostalgia.
Album opener "Age Of Man" should not have kicked the record off. If anything, it should've been the closer with its slower tempo, heavier riff, longer length and dynamic build-up throughout. A Rock band's debut should proudly announce "We're here and we rock!" and whilst the band partially did that with lead single "When The Curtain Falls", a riff driven belter clearly written for radio play and general public consumption, they needed something shorter and punchier for their introduction. Luckily, we got those tracks later on in the form of "The Cold Wind" and "Lover, Leaver" but there's something missing from them.
A great song isn't just an awesome riff or memorable lyrics; it's a perfect blend of multiple contributing factors, hence why bands like Led Zeppelin and Queen are iconic. Sure, they had incredibly gifted vocalists and knew how to lay down epic riffs but the drummers and bassists played an integral part on and off the stage too. Greta Van Fleet have put all their eggs in the superficial basket of sounding like Led Zeppelin after a casual listen but when you actually focus on each aspect of the songs on the album, it feels like they were inspired by specific songs rather than the band's music as a whole.
Take Joshua Kiszka's vocals; yes, he can wail like Robert Plant and this comes in very handy now and then...but that's not all that Robert Plant did. Plant knew when to show restraint, when to actually sing. Kiszka seems limited to just shouting, even when it's completely inappropriate. "The New Day" is a great track musically but it's ruined by the shrill, abrasive vocals. Similarly, Bluesy number "Brave New World" contains some decent riffs and percussion all crafted into a cracking Hard Rock song, only for it to be spoilt by unnecessarily loud shouting in the chorus. Even the verses sound needlessly aggressive for the music, something that only becomes more obvious the more you listen to each track.
It's a shame that one of the best attributes of the band's previous work is easily the weakest here although thankfully the guitarwork is still decent. A little uninspired here and there ("Watching Over") but great when it counts and serviceable throughout. Bass and drums do their job of making the band sound like a Led Zeppelin clone, only without the creativity and spark that Jones and Bonham effortlessly channelled into their music. However, there's only so much I can criticise the band's involvement in making the album before I start to question whether this disappointment truly lies at their feet or the record label's.
Anthem Of The Peaceful Army feels like the product of executive interference more than the band running out of creative steam after only a couple of years (like Royal Blood). There's no way a Rock band gets this level of promotion and attention in the media for a debut album without record labels pulling strings and even then, they'll only do that if they think there's something to gain from it. Right now, nostalgia is in so clueless, corporate executives are obviously going to try and cash in on that before the tide turns. I wouldn't be surprised if Greta's next release sounds wildly different in response to negative reactions to the album sounding like a poor attempt at recreating Led Zeppelin II because record executives only operate on extreme ends of the spectrum.
I rate the album 5/10 for being adequate but ultimately a missed opportunity for a truly great album. When writing reviews, I try to avoid directly comparing new bands/albums with a specific band/album from the past but in this case, I think it's fair to go into similarities and differences between Greta and Led Zeppelin seeing as how their striking musical (and attempts at visual) likeness to the 70s Rock pioneers is their central gimmick and it IS a gimmick. You can compare modern bands like Wolfmother and Muse to older Classic Rock acts but at least they developed their own sound and musical style, forging their own way into the Hall Of Rock
Normally I would give bands four or five albums to establish their sound, release their "best" album and find new ways to innovate their material as they start to head into a new decade. For Greta Van Fleet, I'm actually hoping they mix things up straight away. Whilst I'd still love to hear their take on some of Led Zeppelin's more ambitious music (as the band do have a natural talent for sounding like Led Zepp that would be absolutely wasted if not utilised in one way or another), I think Album 2 needs a couple of tracks that deviate from the generic; maybe some Hard Prog or synth-based Arena Rock making up 20% and the remaining 80% being more of the same, albeit with toned down vocals and better lyrics.
All in all though, the good thing about music is you can still enjoy it with repeat listens so if you really just want good old fashioned Classic Rock with great riffs and amazing vocals, all of the original Led Zeppelin albums are readily available online and they still stand the test of time. Or to put it another way, when you want good Rock, think of Led Zeppelin, not Greta.
Tuesday, 23 October 2018
Showdown: Homages/Rip Offs 6 - Video Game edition Level 2
Is the title confusing enough for you?
Basically, two years ago I wrote a blog post looking at similarities between 10 Rock/Metal songs and 10 video game tunes whilst offering my opinion on whether the latter piece of music was a knowing wink to the original, a surreptitious copy of an existing track or a pure coincidence. Well, I'm doing another one! I'll also be giving my verdict on which song I believe is better based on personal taste, which came first and which tune sounds more appropriate for its medium.
Listed in each round will be the band and video game franchise, followed by the specific song and level or piece of music from aforementioned video game. I'll try to mention the game and (if I can find the information online) composer for said piece of music. There won't be a Spotify playlist for this as most of the video game tunes won't be available but I will include links to the video game music for you to listen to, if you want to compare as you read.
Time for another brawl!
ROUND ONE: Mega Man vs. Ghost
Dr. Wily's Castle - The theme from the final level of Mega Man 2 (released 1988) was composed by Takashi Tateishi and is considered one of gaming's most iconic themes. It's been remixed countless times by YouTubers and professional video game composers and is a pretty damn awesome piece of a music from a game full of great tunes. The galloping rhythm and melody played throughout is the focus here. Remember how it sounds, although anyone who's heard this tune probably doesn't need to try too hard to recall the melody.
Miasma - This is easily my favourite song off the most recent Ghost album, Prequelle. It's an instrumental featuring heavy riffs, synth melodies and a saxophone solo. However, after the percussion kicks in, we get treated to a guitar solo followed by the synth one. After the synth solo, we get a second guitar solo that contains a galloping riff incredibly similar to the main melody from Dr. Wily's Castle. There are subtle differences but the overwhelming similarities are undeniable. However, it's still an incredible song from what will almost certainly be the best album of the year.
VERDICT - Considering it's one small part of a great song and Ghost don't strike me as a band wanting to cater to old school gamers, I don't think they intentionally copied the theme from Mega Man 2 or intended it as a homage. It's almost certainly coincidence so the question now is which tune do I think is better? It's a hard choice but I'm gonna give the win to Ghost due to the quality of the instrumentation. Full band will always beat 8-bit and that's a fact.
ROUND TWO: Black Sabbath vs. Spider-Man
The Mob Rules - There were two Black Sabbath songs I could've chosen for this blog post but in the end, I went with this one. It's the title track off the band's second album with Ronnie James Dio as the vocalist, notable for its great guitar riff played throughout the song. However, unlike previous entries, we're not just focusing on specific part of the original track here. We're focusing on the riff, the percussion, the pre-chorus melody and the guitar solo.
Boss Theme 3 - This is the third Boss Theme from Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage for the SNES, released in 1994. Composers Chris Jojo and Tony Williams must've been big fans of 80s Heavy Metal as the comparisons to this tune and the Black Sabbath one stack up more than quite possibly any other example in these video game posts. Quite possibly most shocking of all is that the game doesn't even credit Black Sabbath for pinching their song, although I suppose it's a lot easier to deny plagiarism if you don't own up to it.
VERDICT - Absolutely a rip-off. Not just a rip-off but one done as a shitty MIDI file. The win goes to Black Sabbath for creating the song, making it sound awesome and for not getting due credit...although if it were a fist fight, Spider-Man would definitely win.
ROUND THREE: Surfaris vs. Spongebob Squarepants
Wipe Out - A classic Surf Rock tune with an iconic guitar riff and 12-bar Blues structure. It's also notable for the rolling drumbeat in between the riffs...and the vocal introduction of manic laughter followed by the words "wipe out", although we don't need to worry about that here. If the name of the song or band wasn't a dead giveaway, the sound should immediately make you think of surfing and having fun on the beach. It's a summer hit and the fact that it's mostly instrumental means it's easy to rework for video games.
Goo Lagoon - The beach level from Spongebob Squarepants: Battle For Bikini Bottom, a 3D platformer with music composed by Jimmy Levine. As I mentioned before, it's easy to be inspired by instrumental Surf Rock when writing video game music set on a beach where people surf (and presumably rock) so it's no real surprise that there are elements of "Wipe Out" here. Whilst it's not the most overt homage, the signs are definitely there.
VERDICT - I mean, I've already told you, haven't I? It's clearly a homage as none of the main riffs are directly lifted and the Blues chord progression is so damn common that it would be ridiculous to accuse Jimmy Levine of stealing the idea from "Wipe Out". That being said, I'm giving the win to Surfaris. I'd rather listen to "Wipe Out" than the Goo Lagoon level music, although I don't dislike it. The game actually has a colourful collection of fun tunes to listen to.
ROUND FOUR: Duran Duran vs. Double Dragon
Girls On Film - One of Duran Duran's biggest hits with a catchy chorus and, more importantly, intro riff. The guitar chords and their progression are key here, as that's what we'll be comparing. It's not a favourite of mine, even as far as 80s Pop Rock goes, but I don't hate the song. It's passable but it's no "Hungry Like The Wolf" or "Rio", that's for damn sure.
Intro Theme - The intro to Battletoads & Double Dragon for the SNES contains a similar sounding guitar riff despite being released in 1992, about 11 years after the Duran Duran single. Composer David Wise has acknowledged similarities to other 80s Pop Rock in his compositions (such as using the same equipment as "In The Air Tonight" - Phil Collins during a level from Donkey Kong Country 2, I believe) so this riff might be a little more than coincidence.
VERDICT - I think there may have been a cheeky bit of intentional or unintentional riff pinching going on, as this game seems to have very little to do with "Girls On Film" - Duran Duran so I can't see it being a homage or pure coincidence. Whilst the original song did come up with the riff over a decade before the game, I'm giving the win to Double Dragon as I prefer the heavier sound to it. If it was rerecorded with modern instruments, it'd definitely be the better tune.
ROUND FIVE: Alice In Chains vs. Doom
Them Bones - I've never been a big fan of Alice In Chains and the few songs of theirs that I generally enjoy listening to tend to need some form of modification (e.g. speeding up "Man In The Box" 25%) but I still know and admire aspects of this song. The guitar riff is heavy and evil, slowly ascending before plummeting back down again. It's the main riff and chorus that we're paying attention to for this comparison.
Bye Bye American Pie - Despite having spookier accompanying instruments and a less polished sound than the full band sound of Alice In Chains, the chords are seemingly identical in this piece of music from Doom 2 released just two years after "Them Bones". Composer Robert Prince didn't even credit Alice In Chains for this song either, another reason why I believe this is less of a homage and more of the other one.
VERDICT - This is another song that I reckon was a bit of a rip-off considering how similar it is without even crediting the original songwriters. However, if I had to choose which one I think fits its chosen medium better (90s Grunge vs. spooky song in FPS), I prefer the quality of the video game song. It sounds grittier and doesn't contain annoying vocals so the win goes to Doom.
ROUND SIX: Tina Turner vs. Super Smash Bros
Nutbush City Limits (The 90s Version) - Most people probably know the punchier version of this song from the 70s but in 1991, Tina Turner rerecorded this track with a slower tempo and a heavier emphasis on piano. The opening piano chords followed by the Dance Pop synthetic percussion and musical effects might sound familiar to Nintendo fans, as we'll discuss in a moment, but they also turn this song firmly into a Pop track. I debated including it here due to it not being a Rock song but hey, when you hear what I'm comparing it to, you'll understand why it needed talking about.
Targets! - Yep, the Target Smash song from Super Smash Bros. Melee sounds JUST like the 90s version of "Nutbush City Limits", what with the identical piano chords and synth accompaniments. Granted this tune is a little faster and has more guitar in it but it's pretty damn similar all the same. As the tracks progress, more differences emerge but the opening does all the damage necessary in my eyes.
VERDICT - I doubt composer Hirokazu Ando listened to Tina Turner before whacking out this tune so I'm chalking it up to coincidence rather than homage or rip-off. As for which song is better, I'm giving the win to Super Smash Bros simply because I have fond memories of Target Smash (and the Home Run Contest) thanks to this tune. Since it's a coincidence, I have no need to award Tina Turner the win for coming up with the song first and since it's a Dance Pop song instead of a Rock one, I'm not overly fond of the track itself. An easy decision.
ROUND SEVEN: Glenn Frey vs. P.O.W. - Prisoners Of War
The Heat Is On - The classic 80s Pop Rock tune with the saxophone riff and the awesome chorus, notable for its use in Beverly Hills Cop. However, since then it's earned the right to stand up on its own feet via radio play and use in other media. It might not be the most badass 80s Pop Rock song in existence but it doesn't need to be. It's fast, it's catchy and it's got a consistent rhythm that's perfect for car chases and whatever kind of antics you're bound to get into listening to this song.
Boss Battle 2 - Let's face it; not many readers here will know the game P.O.W. - Prisoners Of War on the NES from 1988 (a popular year in this blog post) but some gamers online have made the connection between the Glenn Frey single and a particular melody from the second boss battle theme in this game. It might not be the main focus of the tune but when it crops up, you know damn well that it was lifted from "The Heat Is On". I'm not sure which composer out of Kazuhiro Nishida, Toshikazu Tanaka and Yoko Osaka decided to borrow this melody but the deed has been done.
VERDICT - Definitely Glenn Frey. Whilst the tune in P.O.W. - Prisoners Of War is cute, it doesn't hold a candle to the 80s classic.
ROUND EIGHT: Pink Floyd vs. Rayman
Shine On You Crazy Diamond - This is a long-ass song that has multiple different musical sections but this Prog Rock epic by overrated Prog Rock outfit Pink Floyd contains a slow, four note guitar riff around the four minute mark. It also contains plenty of moody, atmospheric background noise that you usually hear during ambient sections in video games...but it's mostly the four guitar notes we're interested in.
The Bayou - Along with being one of the best 3D platformers in existence, Rayman 2: The Great Escape also contains a level with a long piece of music featuring moody, atmospheric background noise and four guitar notes played in a similar fashion. Composer Eric Chevalier has supposedly been inspired by other bands in his work before but I wouldn't be surprised if Pink Floyd was on that list too.
VERDICT - I don't think this was a rip-off or a homage, as the two pieces of music stand apart more than they stand together. However, I do think it's likely that Eric Chevalier was unintentionally inspired by Pink Floyd and composed a piece of music containing a similar riff. I'm giving the win to Rayman for creating a) the better assortment of creepy music and b) the shorter song.
ROUND NINE: Crash Bandicoot vs. Rob Zombie
The Eel Deal (Hidden) - In Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, there are hidden sections in the sewer levels (The Eel Deal, Sewer Or Later and Hangin' Out) that have a thick, heavy bass riffing and percussion effects that sound a little like a clanging piano, not to mention the Techno sound of musical accompaniments. The comparison I'm going to make with the Industrial sound of this tune composed by Mutato Muzika might be a little bit forced but try to stick with me.
Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy) - Rob Zombie is known for heavy Industrial music but the section that plays when Rob starts singing reminded me of the music from Crash Bandicoot, particularly the piano melody. As I said before, it's not quite as clear-cut as previous comparisons I've made and whilst there isn't a specific riff or melody that's been copied, it's more about the general sound of the song in comparison to the music from Crash Bandicoot.
VERDICT - Neither a homage or rip-off, absolutely a coincidence. Rob Zombie might be aware of Crash Bandicoot in some way or another but his song sounds closer to his own style of music than a hidden tune from a 90s video game. I'm gonna give the win to Rob Zombie for this one as I prefer his song to this specific tune from Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, although on the whole I definitely prefer the music in Crash to the music on a Rob Zombie album.
ROUND TEN: Friendship vs. Mario
Let's Not Talk About It - This little known track from 1979 contains a piano riff that fans of gaming (or just anyone who's been alive within the last 20 years) will almost certainly recognise straight away. There's nothing else you need to know, just that this contains a series of notes played in a curiously specific way that sounds exactly like...
Underground Theme - ...the Underground Theme from Super Mario Bros! Video game legend Koji Kondo composed the classic melody which has stuck with the Mario series ever since it was first released in 1985. However, even though it contains a different string of notes after the initial six, the tune is identical and it's enough for me to raise an eyebrow at the very least.
VERDICT - There's no way Nintendo intended the Underground Theme to be a homage to a 70s band nobody heard of and whilst most people would consider it a coincidence, I also think there's a small possibility that Koji could've heard "Let's Not Talk About It" in passing and figured it was the perfect match for the game he was working on. That being said, I'm awarding the win to Mario as the Underground Theme has become one of Nintendo's iconic tunes and even if it was pinched from a lesser known Rock song, Nintendo certainly used the track in the better way.
COMING SOON (as in, within a month or so): A series of posts about the music from Spyro The Dragon and the Spyro: Reignited Trilogy, similar to ones I wrote about the Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy last year.
Basically, two years ago I wrote a blog post looking at similarities between 10 Rock/Metal songs and 10 video game tunes whilst offering my opinion on whether the latter piece of music was a knowing wink to the original, a surreptitious copy of an existing track or a pure coincidence. Well, I'm doing another one! I'll also be giving my verdict on which song I believe is better based on personal taste, which came first and which tune sounds more appropriate for its medium.
Listed in each round will be the band and video game franchise, followed by the specific song and level or piece of music from aforementioned video game. I'll try to mention the game and (if I can find the information online) composer for said piece of music. There won't be a Spotify playlist for this as most of the video game tunes won't be available but I will include links to the video game music for you to listen to, if you want to compare as you read.
Time for another brawl!
ROUND ONE: Mega Man vs. Ghost
Dr. Wily's Castle - The theme from the final level of Mega Man 2 (released 1988) was composed by Takashi Tateishi and is considered one of gaming's most iconic themes. It's been remixed countless times by YouTubers and professional video game composers and is a pretty damn awesome piece of a music from a game full of great tunes. The galloping rhythm and melody played throughout is the focus here. Remember how it sounds, although anyone who's heard this tune probably doesn't need to try too hard to recall the melody.
Miasma - This is easily my favourite song off the most recent Ghost album, Prequelle. It's an instrumental featuring heavy riffs, synth melodies and a saxophone solo. However, after the percussion kicks in, we get treated to a guitar solo followed by the synth one. After the synth solo, we get a second guitar solo that contains a galloping riff incredibly similar to the main melody from Dr. Wily's Castle. There are subtle differences but the overwhelming similarities are undeniable. However, it's still an incredible song from what will almost certainly be the best album of the year.
VERDICT - Considering it's one small part of a great song and Ghost don't strike me as a band wanting to cater to old school gamers, I don't think they intentionally copied the theme from Mega Man 2 or intended it as a homage. It's almost certainly coincidence so the question now is which tune do I think is better? It's a hard choice but I'm gonna give the win to Ghost due to the quality of the instrumentation. Full band will always beat 8-bit and that's a fact.
ROUND TWO: Black Sabbath vs. Spider-Man
The Mob Rules - There were two Black Sabbath songs I could've chosen for this blog post but in the end, I went with this one. It's the title track off the band's second album with Ronnie James Dio as the vocalist, notable for its great guitar riff played throughout the song. However, unlike previous entries, we're not just focusing on specific part of the original track here. We're focusing on the riff, the percussion, the pre-chorus melody and the guitar solo.
Boss Theme 3 - This is the third Boss Theme from Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage for the SNES, released in 1994. Composers Chris Jojo and Tony Williams must've been big fans of 80s Heavy Metal as the comparisons to this tune and the Black Sabbath one stack up more than quite possibly any other example in these video game posts. Quite possibly most shocking of all is that the game doesn't even credit Black Sabbath for pinching their song, although I suppose it's a lot easier to deny plagiarism if you don't own up to it.
VERDICT - Absolutely a rip-off. Not just a rip-off but one done as a shitty MIDI file. The win goes to Black Sabbath for creating the song, making it sound awesome and for not getting due credit...although if it were a fist fight, Spider-Man would definitely win.
ROUND THREE: Surfaris vs. Spongebob Squarepants
Wipe Out - A classic Surf Rock tune with an iconic guitar riff and 12-bar Blues structure. It's also notable for the rolling drumbeat in between the riffs...and the vocal introduction of manic laughter followed by the words "wipe out", although we don't need to worry about that here. If the name of the song or band wasn't a dead giveaway, the sound should immediately make you think of surfing and having fun on the beach. It's a summer hit and the fact that it's mostly instrumental means it's easy to rework for video games.
Goo Lagoon - The beach level from Spongebob Squarepants: Battle For Bikini Bottom, a 3D platformer with music composed by Jimmy Levine. As I mentioned before, it's easy to be inspired by instrumental Surf Rock when writing video game music set on a beach where people surf (and presumably rock) so it's no real surprise that there are elements of "Wipe Out" here. Whilst it's not the most overt homage, the signs are definitely there.
VERDICT - I mean, I've already told you, haven't I? It's clearly a homage as none of the main riffs are directly lifted and the Blues chord progression is so damn common that it would be ridiculous to accuse Jimmy Levine of stealing the idea from "Wipe Out". That being said, I'm giving the win to Surfaris. I'd rather listen to "Wipe Out" than the Goo Lagoon level music, although I don't dislike it. The game actually has a colourful collection of fun tunes to listen to.
ROUND FOUR: Duran Duran vs. Double Dragon
Girls On Film - One of Duran Duran's biggest hits with a catchy chorus and, more importantly, intro riff. The guitar chords and their progression are key here, as that's what we'll be comparing. It's not a favourite of mine, even as far as 80s Pop Rock goes, but I don't hate the song. It's passable but it's no "Hungry Like The Wolf" or "Rio", that's for damn sure.
Intro Theme - The intro to Battletoads & Double Dragon for the SNES contains a similar sounding guitar riff despite being released in 1992, about 11 years after the Duran Duran single. Composer David Wise has acknowledged similarities to other 80s Pop Rock in his compositions (such as using the same equipment as "In The Air Tonight" - Phil Collins during a level from Donkey Kong Country 2, I believe) so this riff might be a little more than coincidence.
VERDICT - I think there may have been a cheeky bit of intentional or unintentional riff pinching going on, as this game seems to have very little to do with "Girls On Film" - Duran Duran so I can't see it being a homage or pure coincidence. Whilst the original song did come up with the riff over a decade before the game, I'm giving the win to Double Dragon as I prefer the heavier sound to it. If it was rerecorded with modern instruments, it'd definitely be the better tune.
ROUND FIVE: Alice In Chains vs. Doom
Them Bones - I've never been a big fan of Alice In Chains and the few songs of theirs that I generally enjoy listening to tend to need some form of modification (e.g. speeding up "Man In The Box" 25%) but I still know and admire aspects of this song. The guitar riff is heavy and evil, slowly ascending before plummeting back down again. It's the main riff and chorus that we're paying attention to for this comparison.
Bye Bye American Pie - Despite having spookier accompanying instruments and a less polished sound than the full band sound of Alice In Chains, the chords are seemingly identical in this piece of music from Doom 2 released just two years after "Them Bones". Composer Robert Prince didn't even credit Alice In Chains for this song either, another reason why I believe this is less of a homage and more of the other one.
VERDICT - This is another song that I reckon was a bit of a rip-off considering how similar it is without even crediting the original songwriters. However, if I had to choose which one I think fits its chosen medium better (90s Grunge vs. spooky song in FPS), I prefer the quality of the video game song. It sounds grittier and doesn't contain annoying vocals so the win goes to Doom.
ROUND SIX: Tina Turner vs. Super Smash Bros
Nutbush City Limits (The 90s Version) - Most people probably know the punchier version of this song from the 70s but in 1991, Tina Turner rerecorded this track with a slower tempo and a heavier emphasis on piano. The opening piano chords followed by the Dance Pop synthetic percussion and musical effects might sound familiar to Nintendo fans, as we'll discuss in a moment, but they also turn this song firmly into a Pop track. I debated including it here due to it not being a Rock song but hey, when you hear what I'm comparing it to, you'll understand why it needed talking about.
Targets! - Yep, the Target Smash song from Super Smash Bros. Melee sounds JUST like the 90s version of "Nutbush City Limits", what with the identical piano chords and synth accompaniments. Granted this tune is a little faster and has more guitar in it but it's pretty damn similar all the same. As the tracks progress, more differences emerge but the opening does all the damage necessary in my eyes.
VERDICT - I doubt composer Hirokazu Ando listened to Tina Turner before whacking out this tune so I'm chalking it up to coincidence rather than homage or rip-off. As for which song is better, I'm giving the win to Super Smash Bros simply because I have fond memories of Target Smash (and the Home Run Contest) thanks to this tune. Since it's a coincidence, I have no need to award Tina Turner the win for coming up with the song first and since it's a Dance Pop song instead of a Rock one, I'm not overly fond of the track itself. An easy decision.
ROUND SEVEN: Glenn Frey vs. P.O.W. - Prisoners Of War
The Heat Is On - The classic 80s Pop Rock tune with the saxophone riff and the awesome chorus, notable for its use in Beverly Hills Cop. However, since then it's earned the right to stand up on its own feet via radio play and use in other media. It might not be the most badass 80s Pop Rock song in existence but it doesn't need to be. It's fast, it's catchy and it's got a consistent rhythm that's perfect for car chases and whatever kind of antics you're bound to get into listening to this song.
Boss Battle 2 - Let's face it; not many readers here will know the game P.O.W. - Prisoners Of War on the NES from 1988 (a popular year in this blog post) but some gamers online have made the connection between the Glenn Frey single and a particular melody from the second boss battle theme in this game. It might not be the main focus of the tune but when it crops up, you know damn well that it was lifted from "The Heat Is On". I'm not sure which composer out of Kazuhiro Nishida, Toshikazu Tanaka and Yoko Osaka decided to borrow this melody but the deed has been done.
VERDICT - Definitely Glenn Frey. Whilst the tune in P.O.W. - Prisoners Of War is cute, it doesn't hold a candle to the 80s classic.
ROUND EIGHT: Pink Floyd vs. Rayman
Shine On You Crazy Diamond - This is a long-ass song that has multiple different musical sections but this Prog Rock epic by overrated Prog Rock outfit Pink Floyd contains a slow, four note guitar riff around the four minute mark. It also contains plenty of moody, atmospheric background noise that you usually hear during ambient sections in video games...but it's mostly the four guitar notes we're interested in.
The Bayou - Along with being one of the best 3D platformers in existence, Rayman 2: The Great Escape also contains a level with a long piece of music featuring moody, atmospheric background noise and four guitar notes played in a similar fashion. Composer Eric Chevalier has supposedly been inspired by other bands in his work before but I wouldn't be surprised if Pink Floyd was on that list too.
VERDICT - I don't think this was a rip-off or a homage, as the two pieces of music stand apart more than they stand together. However, I do think it's likely that Eric Chevalier was unintentionally inspired by Pink Floyd and composed a piece of music containing a similar riff. I'm giving the win to Rayman for creating a) the better assortment of creepy music and b) the shorter song.
ROUND NINE: Crash Bandicoot vs. Rob Zombie
The Eel Deal (Hidden) - In Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, there are hidden sections in the sewer levels (The Eel Deal, Sewer Or Later and Hangin' Out) that have a thick, heavy bass riffing and percussion effects that sound a little like a clanging piano, not to mention the Techno sound of musical accompaniments. The comparison I'm going to make with the Industrial sound of this tune composed by Mutato Muzika might be a little bit forced but try to stick with me.
Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy) - Rob Zombie is known for heavy Industrial music but the section that plays when Rob starts singing reminded me of the music from Crash Bandicoot, particularly the piano melody. As I said before, it's not quite as clear-cut as previous comparisons I've made and whilst there isn't a specific riff or melody that's been copied, it's more about the general sound of the song in comparison to the music from Crash Bandicoot.
VERDICT - Neither a homage or rip-off, absolutely a coincidence. Rob Zombie might be aware of Crash Bandicoot in some way or another but his song sounds closer to his own style of music than a hidden tune from a 90s video game. I'm gonna give the win to Rob Zombie for this one as I prefer his song to this specific tune from Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, although on the whole I definitely prefer the music in Crash to the music on a Rob Zombie album.
ROUND TEN: Friendship vs. Mario
Let's Not Talk About It - This little known track from 1979 contains a piano riff that fans of gaming (or just anyone who's been alive within the last 20 years) will almost certainly recognise straight away. There's nothing else you need to know, just that this contains a series of notes played in a curiously specific way that sounds exactly like...
Underground Theme - ...the Underground Theme from Super Mario Bros! Video game legend Koji Kondo composed the classic melody which has stuck with the Mario series ever since it was first released in 1985. However, even though it contains a different string of notes after the initial six, the tune is identical and it's enough for me to raise an eyebrow at the very least.
VERDICT - There's no way Nintendo intended the Underground Theme to be a homage to a 70s band nobody heard of and whilst most people would consider it a coincidence, I also think there's a small possibility that Koji could've heard "Let's Not Talk About It" in passing and figured it was the perfect match for the game he was working on. That being said, I'm awarding the win to Mario as the Underground Theme has become one of Nintendo's iconic tunes and even if it was pinched from a lesser known Rock song, Nintendo certainly used the track in the better way.
COMING SOON (as in, within a month or so): A series of posts about the music from Spyro The Dragon and the Spyro: Reignited Trilogy, similar to ones I wrote about the Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy last year.
Sunday, 30 September 2018
Living The Dream - Uriah Heep
That's right, it's a review of the brand new Slash album entitled Living The Dream, released September 21st!
...wait, what?
...
Oh. It's not the Slash album entitled Living The Dream. It's the Uriah Heep album entitled Living The Dream released exactly one week before the Slash album Living The Dream.
Uriah Heep might not be the most popular band releasing an album this month but they certainly know how to write decent music. Their latest album, Living The Dream, contains a variety of Hard Prog songs that tend to sway more towards the Prog side.
The songs are...
I mean...
Fuck it, I can't do this.
Change of plan guys, we're flipping the script!
Living The Dream - Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators
Today, we'll be looking at the new album from guitarist Slash, vocalist Myles Kennedy and the backing band The Conspirators. I was going to review the new album from Uriah Heep, also entitled Living The Dream, but I'm not sure I can make an entertaining review out of an album I was largely indifferent to. If you want to know my in-depth thoughts about that album, don't worry. I'll probably write about it in an upcoming Rapid Fire post.
If there's one thing that Slash has proven by now, it's that he's an incredibly competent guitar player and knows how to write a tasty riff. If there are two things he's proven, it's that he has some fuck-ugly album artwork ideas that nobody warns him about before it's too late. I mean, fucking look at it. It's like something you'd find in the candy section of a supermarket or inside a drug dealer's jacket pocket. The strange thing is, the album is apparently meant to be a sarcastic assessment of life in 2018 at the moment. We're all "living the dream" as far as world politics goes, which would've made for a pretty cool album cover if the artist hadn't snorted a load of Refreshers before coming up with this design.
Fortunately, the material contained within doesn't represent the cover and the music is still very much Slash's unique brand of guitar-driven Hard Rock with a few tweaks here and there. Album opener "The Call Of The Wild" starts off with a Southern twist but the guitarwork and exciting build up throughout sounds right at home on a Slash record, presumably to show off that Slash is still killing it on guitar but also that he's willing to try new styles out without going full Muse and abandoning the thing he's good at in favour of self-serving wank. If you read my review of the last Slash album, you'll see that I claimed Slash was beginning to try new forms of Hard Rock that weren't as guitar driven, something that remains in this album only with a few extra genres thrown into the mix for good measure too.
It's admirable that Slash found a way to innovate without straying too far from what he's good at and what people want when they pick up a Slash record. I said it before and I'll say it again; when you listen to a Slash album, you want Rock music with great guitar. Nothing more, nothing less. The worst things he can do are stray from that formula with dull piano ballads or pump out generic riffs that we've heard a million times before. Whilst he doesn't tickle the ivories just yet (I'm dreading the day that he does), there are a couple of songs sporting riffs that sound a little uninspired.
You can usually tell the songs that crew members felt were generic due to the addition of unique guitar tones to mask the fact that the riff isn't anything special ("My Antidote", "Read Between The Lines") but at least the solos are always great and you can't fault the band for at least trying to spice things up a bit with some guitar effects. In fact, out of the last three Slash albums, this one's probably the most varied as far as musical sound goes due to the addition of several Rock subgenre techniques and what the band toyed with in World On Fire.
Songs like "The One You Loved Is Gone" is more of an emotional power ballad, starting off similar to what I imagine an acoustic set by the band Poison would contain. Slash shows restraint, even during the guitar solo, and allows the band a chance to shine for a brief moment. Then there's slow Bluesy number "The Great Pretender", a song Slash probably wrote after listening to someone's monophonic ringtone of "Still Got The Blues" - Gary Moore going off. Thankfully, these slower songs don't appear that often and they're not the only examples of Slash trying out different genres.
"Driving Rain" was a great choice for the album's lead single, confidently boasting a funky rhythm, heavy guitar riff and powerful chorus that could easily belong on Apocalyptic Love or World On Fire. This is the kind of innovation that Slash should aim for, not the slower material (unless he can pull off some fine guitar work in the process). However, this album isn't all innovation; there's plenty for fans of previous material, specifically songs like "Slow Grind" that opens with some sweet bass before breaking into pure Hard Rock, "Sugar Cane" containing an action packed fast paced riff and footstomping rhythm and "Boulevard Of Broken Hearts", album closer with a touch of "Eye Of The Tiger" in the intro before bringing it home with a chorus perfect for being blasted out at a stadium gig.
Overall, Living The Dream starts to suffer in the middle but successfully turns things around in the third act. Guitar lovers have plenty to dig into and those wanting something more from Slash are given a taste at what he's capable of. Whilst I believe that Slash doesn't necessarily need to record his attempt at a Funk or Southern Rock album just yet, I'd like to hear him tackle some more musical styles blended with his signature style of Hard Rock. I would also recommend maybe cutting down the tracklist, as I feel like Slash and the band were stretched pretty thin coming up with 12 different songs when 10 would've been plenty.
If I had to pick out the weakest aspect of the album, I think I'd have to say Myles Kennedy. I've been a big champion of Myles ever since he proved he could do Axl's job better than he ever could but there were quite a few tracks here that felt like he was phoning it in a little. I'm not saying Myles has gone the way of Ian Gillan, just that he didn't bring anywhere near the same level of passion and fire that he channelled in Apocalyptic Love or World On Fire throughout the entire album. The backing band did their jobs admirably though and I know it's easy to gloss over their effort when you've got Slash and Myles at the top of the billing.
I rate the album 7/10 as it's got a lot of great stuff going for it but weaker vocals and some uninspired riffs take the score down a little, even if mixing genres and keeping stronger aspects of older songs boosts what would've been a mediocre score. I recommend the album to fans of Slash's previous work although I'd probably recommend those albums to fans of Hard Rock and maybe just a handful of songs off Living The Dream to those wanting new tunes to check out. I just hope Slash's next album has tighter Riff-Based-Rock, some more treks into different musical territories and album artwork that doesn't make me ashamed to fucking look at it.
...wait, what?
...
Oh. It's not the Slash album entitled Living The Dream. It's the Uriah Heep album entitled Living The Dream released exactly one week before the Slash album Living The Dream.
Uriah Heep might not be the most popular band releasing an album this month but they certainly know how to write decent music. Their latest album, Living The Dream, contains a variety of Hard Prog songs that tend to sway more towards the Prog side.
The songs are...
I mean...
Fuck it, I can't do this.
Change of plan guys, we're flipping the script!
Living The Dream - Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators
Today, we'll be looking at the new album from guitarist Slash, vocalist Myles Kennedy and the backing band The Conspirators. I was going to review the new album from Uriah Heep, also entitled Living The Dream, but I'm not sure I can make an entertaining review out of an album I was largely indifferent to. If you want to know my in-depth thoughts about that album, don't worry. I'll probably write about it in an upcoming Rapid Fire post.
If there's one thing that Slash has proven by now, it's that he's an incredibly competent guitar player and knows how to write a tasty riff. If there are two things he's proven, it's that he has some fuck-ugly album artwork ideas that nobody warns him about before it's too late. I mean, fucking look at it. It's like something you'd find in the candy section of a supermarket or inside a drug dealer's jacket pocket. The strange thing is, the album is apparently meant to be a sarcastic assessment of life in 2018 at the moment. We're all "living the dream" as far as world politics goes, which would've made for a pretty cool album cover if the artist hadn't snorted a load of Refreshers before coming up with this design.
Fortunately, the material contained within doesn't represent the cover and the music is still very much Slash's unique brand of guitar-driven Hard Rock with a few tweaks here and there. Album opener "The Call Of The Wild" starts off with a Southern twist but the guitarwork and exciting build up throughout sounds right at home on a Slash record, presumably to show off that Slash is still killing it on guitar but also that he's willing to try new styles out without going full Muse and abandoning the thing he's good at in favour of self-serving wank. If you read my review of the last Slash album, you'll see that I claimed Slash was beginning to try new forms of Hard Rock that weren't as guitar driven, something that remains in this album only with a few extra genres thrown into the mix for good measure too.
It's admirable that Slash found a way to innovate without straying too far from what he's good at and what people want when they pick up a Slash record. I said it before and I'll say it again; when you listen to a Slash album, you want Rock music with great guitar. Nothing more, nothing less. The worst things he can do are stray from that formula with dull piano ballads or pump out generic riffs that we've heard a million times before. Whilst he doesn't tickle the ivories just yet (I'm dreading the day that he does), there are a couple of songs sporting riffs that sound a little uninspired.
You can usually tell the songs that crew members felt were generic due to the addition of unique guitar tones to mask the fact that the riff isn't anything special ("My Antidote", "Read Between The Lines") but at least the solos are always great and you can't fault the band for at least trying to spice things up a bit with some guitar effects. In fact, out of the last three Slash albums, this one's probably the most varied as far as musical sound goes due to the addition of several Rock subgenre techniques and what the band toyed with in World On Fire.
Songs like "The One You Loved Is Gone" is more of an emotional power ballad, starting off similar to what I imagine an acoustic set by the band Poison would contain. Slash shows restraint, even during the guitar solo, and allows the band a chance to shine for a brief moment. Then there's slow Bluesy number "The Great Pretender", a song Slash probably wrote after listening to someone's monophonic ringtone of "Still Got The Blues" - Gary Moore going off. Thankfully, these slower songs don't appear that often and they're not the only examples of Slash trying out different genres.
"Driving Rain" was a great choice for the album's lead single, confidently boasting a funky rhythm, heavy guitar riff and powerful chorus that could easily belong on Apocalyptic Love or World On Fire. This is the kind of innovation that Slash should aim for, not the slower material (unless he can pull off some fine guitar work in the process). However, this album isn't all innovation; there's plenty for fans of previous material, specifically songs like "Slow Grind" that opens with some sweet bass before breaking into pure Hard Rock, "Sugar Cane" containing an action packed fast paced riff and footstomping rhythm and "Boulevard Of Broken Hearts", album closer with a touch of "Eye Of The Tiger" in the intro before bringing it home with a chorus perfect for being blasted out at a stadium gig.
Overall, Living The Dream starts to suffer in the middle but successfully turns things around in the third act. Guitar lovers have plenty to dig into and those wanting something more from Slash are given a taste at what he's capable of. Whilst I believe that Slash doesn't necessarily need to record his attempt at a Funk or Southern Rock album just yet, I'd like to hear him tackle some more musical styles blended with his signature style of Hard Rock. I would also recommend maybe cutting down the tracklist, as I feel like Slash and the band were stretched pretty thin coming up with 12 different songs when 10 would've been plenty.
If I had to pick out the weakest aspect of the album, I think I'd have to say Myles Kennedy. I've been a big champion of Myles ever since he proved he could do Axl's job better than he ever could but there were quite a few tracks here that felt like he was phoning it in a little. I'm not saying Myles has gone the way of Ian Gillan, just that he didn't bring anywhere near the same level of passion and fire that he channelled in Apocalyptic Love or World On Fire throughout the entire album. The backing band did their jobs admirably though and I know it's easy to gloss over their effort when you've got Slash and Myles at the top of the billing.
I rate the album 7/10 as it's got a lot of great stuff going for it but weaker vocals and some uninspired riffs take the score down a little, even if mixing genres and keeping stronger aspects of older songs boosts what would've been a mediocre score. I recommend the album to fans of Slash's previous work although I'd probably recommend those albums to fans of Hard Rock and maybe just a handful of songs off Living The Dream to those wanting new tunes to check out. I just hope Slash's next album has tighter Riff-Based-Rock, some more treks into different musical territories and album artwork that doesn't make me ashamed to fucking look at it.
Thursday, 30 August 2018
Tenology: Even More Terrible Rock/Metal Lyrics
Another Tenology post about lyrics? Darn straight, although this one isn't about Mondegreens; it's about poorly thought through lyrics in the world of Rock and Metal. This is the third one of these posts I've done so some of the songs might be deep cuts and some of the lyrics might not be as bad as "terrible". However, if the lyrics are poor, the lyrics are poor and this is where we get to laugh at them!
1. "I'll Be There For You" - The Rembrandts
"When it hasn't been your day, your week,
your month or even your year"
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Kicking this list off is the popular theme to the TV show Friends, notable for the introductory guitar riff, rapid claps in the verse and catchy chorus. However, there's one line that's always bothered me when I think about it. For those who don't know the song (...what, they might exist!), the first verse talks about how crappy life can be for you. It then talks about when life is stuck in second gear and how you haven't had a good day, week, month or "even" year...and that's where I take issue. I get that the rhyme works well but if you think about it, shouldn't "even" go before day? Years are longer than months, weeks and days so it'll be a lot harder for it to be "your" year than "your" month, week or day. Since days are the shortest, it's therefore logically the easiest for it to be good for you so "even" should come before day. I admit that I'm splitting hairs with this line so let's look at a song with lyrics that we can all agree are terrible.
2. "Debora" - Tyrannosaurus Rex
"Oh Debora, always look like a zebra"
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Most of you may know this song from the film Baby Driver and how Edgar Wright named a character Deborah just so he could include a scene where the characters laugh about this lyric...and with good reason! The rhyme of "Debora" and "Zebra" is so godawful that it makes you wonder why anyone would even bother forcing it to begin with. Choose a different rhyme scheme or something; imagine how bad "Eleanor Rigby" would've been if The Beatles tried to find rhymes for that name. Not only that but has any woman in the history of humanity ever been complimented by the comparison of her to a striped horse-like creature, or indeed non-striped for that matter? Just a terrible, terrible lyric.
3. "She's A Genius" - Jet
"She only listens to the radio,
To see who's alive"
Whilst I'm aware that these lyrics aren't meant to be taken literally, I believe there's an argument to be made for their inclusion in this post regardless of how you interpret them. First, there's the literal meaning; girl literally uses the radio to determine who's still alive, which simply doesn't work. Then there's the figurative meaning; girl listens to the radio to know who's popular, which means she's got a shit taste in music because she only cares about what everyone else likes. I dunno about you about if I'm going to try to convince listeners that a girl is a genius through song, I wouldn't want to establish her terrible taste in music before I've even reached the first chorus!
4. "Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees)" - Aerosmith
"'Cause falling in love is so hard on the knees"
This is the second time a song from Nine Lives has appeared in a blog post detailing terrible lyrics but this time, we're not mocking poor rhyme schemes and nonsensical sentences. This time, we're looking at Aerosmith's ability to create the most ridiculous, cringeworthy, eighth-grade lyrics about romance that one of the supposedly "wildest" Rock bands in the world just keeps on pumping out. This is the kind of lyric that sounds like part of a joke on The Simpsons about an ageing Rock band on their 50th anniversary world tour; they may as well have called the song "Make Love Or Make My Supper" or "Sleep With Me Before I Fall Asleep In My Armchair During A Countdown Repeat".
5. "Sweet Little Sister" - Skid Row
"She blew my mind behind the record machine...
...She's my sweet little, sweet little sister"
OK, this one requires some context. First up, I absolutely love this song. It's my favourite Skid Row song (yes, even over "18 And Life" and "Youth Gone Wild") and for the most part, the vocal delivery and lyrics are pretty damn great. However, whenever I listen to it, there's always something in the back of my mind that doesn't sit right after hearing the above two lines at the start and chorus of the song. When you factor in Skid Row's general image and musical style,"She blew my mind behind the record/wrecking machine" can only be taken as a sexual metaphor but "She's my sweet little, sweet little sister" implies that "she" is related to him. Even if it's not the intended denotation, the connotation that the singer is getting oral pleasure from his sister still exists all because he sung "she's my" instead of "she's A" or "she's YOUR sweet little sister". I still love the song, though.
6. "Lonely Is The Night" - Billy Squier
"Lonely is the night when you find yourself alone"
Billy Squier coming in with the piping hot observations. "Lonely is the night when you find yourself alone"? No fuckin' shit, Billy! What other pearls of wisdom have you got for us, "Teapots are useful only when they contain tea"? "A sport is not a sport if it's not a sport"? Once again, it's unfortunate that this terrible lyric not only belongs to Squier's signature song but is also the very first line he sings. Take note: if you're going to write a song with the intention of making it a radio hit, don't drop the ball in the opening line.
7. "Diggin' Me Down" - Ozzy Osbourne
"How will I know you, Mr. Jesus Christ"
This lyric probably doesn't deserve to be called "terrible" but let's face it, it's still a bit naff. Saying "Mr. Jesus Christ" is the kind of thing a child or stereotypical Latin American maid would do, certainly not the Prince Of Darkness. There's always been an element of silliness in Ozzy Osbourne lyrics but this is one of the few examples that made me laugh out loud when I heard it. However, since it's (probably) Ozzy's last studio album and it contains a collection of awesome Metal music, I can forgive him for saying "Mr. Jesus Christ". Besides, at least Ozzy seems aware of his silliness, unlike his Heavy Metal counterpart, Ronnie James Dio. Speaking of Dio...
8. "Stargazer" - Rainbow
"There's no sun in the shadow of the wizard"
Look out Billy Squier, looks like there's a contender for the Most Obvious Lyrics In Rock award that I've just created. I remember reading a quote about Dio that said something along the lines of "He never overestimated himself, nor underestimated himself". I agree with the second part. Ronnie's lyrics, whether they're from his time in Rainbow, Black Sabbath or Dio, contained fantastic mythological imagery but sometimes, he took himself a bit too seriously. Take this lyric: the declaration that shadows contain no sunlight is dumb but by adding something about wizards in there, Dio tried to pass it off as something majestic and awesome. Once you take a step back and listen to the lyrics without realising that it's Dio singing them, a lot of his material just sounds ridiculous. Of course, a lot of it sounds awesome too but that's not what this post is about.
9. "Uh! All Night" - KISS
"Well, we work all day and we don't know why"
This album came out in the mid-80s, well into KISS' career as Shock Rock superstars. By this point, they will have made shitloads of cash on tours, music and (most importantly) merchandise. In other words, they were comfortably wealthy. As a result, lines like "we work all day and we don't know why" come across as a little...well, Let-Them-Eat-Cakey. KISS strike me as a band that would question why people would work all day if they don't like it, completely unaware that the average blue-collar fan of Rock needs to work to survive. If they want to write songs about getting laid, that's one thing, but trying to connect with the average Joe working 9-5 to make ends meet is a bad idea for a band like KISS. Bands like Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Lynyrd Skynyrd can write those songs, KISS can't.
10. "Sex On Fire" - Kings Of Leon
"You, your sex is on fire"
No, I don't like this song. In fact, I'd even say that I hate it. It's bland and safe, exactly the opposite of what good Rock should be. However, we're not here for the tepid guitarwork or dull percussion in the verse; we're here for the lyrics in the chorus, namely the line that contains the title of the song. I'm guessing he's saying that they're having a cracking shag as opposed to the literal interpretation of spontaneous genitalia combustion but the term "your sex is on fire" sounds like something from a Steel Panther or Red Hot Chili Peppers track, definitely not the kind of lyric that belongs in a song like this. It's over the top and almost a parody of the kind of shit Hair Metal bands would write, yet Kings Of Leon seem to be delivering it non-ironically? I don't know and I don't care enough about the band to actually research whether this was meant to be a piss-take in the same way "(You've Got To) Fight For Your Right (To Party)" - Beastie Boys was. All I know is I don't much care for the lyric...or song...or band...Youth And Young Manhood was a good album though.
One day, I need to write a blog post about GOOD lyrics in Rock/Metal, as I've definitely been thinking of a couple recently. Maybe in October, as I don't want to do too many lyric-based Tenology posts in a short space of time.
1. "I'll Be There For You" - The Rembrandts
"When it hasn't been your day, your week,
your month or even your year"
One of the most 90s-est album covers ever...*clap-clap-clap-clap-clap*
Kicking this list off is the popular theme to the TV show Friends, notable for the introductory guitar riff, rapid claps in the verse and catchy chorus. However, there's one line that's always bothered me when I think about it. For those who don't know the song (...what, they might exist!), the first verse talks about how crappy life can be for you. It then talks about when life is stuck in second gear and how you haven't had a good day, week, month or "even" year...and that's where I take issue. I get that the rhyme works well but if you think about it, shouldn't "even" go before day? Years are longer than months, weeks and days so it'll be a lot harder for it to be "your" year than "your" month, week or day. Since days are the shortest, it's therefore logically the easiest for it to be good for you so "even" should come before day. I admit that I'm splitting hairs with this line so let's look at a song with lyrics that we can all agree are terrible.
2. "Debora" - Tyrannosaurus Rex
"Oh Debora, always look like a zebra"
Oh Marc Bolan, you never did get the hang of the lyrics part of songwriting
Most of you may know this song from the film Baby Driver and how Edgar Wright named a character Deborah just so he could include a scene where the characters laugh about this lyric...and with good reason! The rhyme of "Debora" and "Zebra" is so godawful that it makes you wonder why anyone would even bother forcing it to begin with. Choose a different rhyme scheme or something; imagine how bad "Eleanor Rigby" would've been if The Beatles tried to find rhymes for that name. Not only that but has any woman in the history of humanity ever been complimented by the comparison of her to a striped horse-like creature, or indeed non-striped for that matter? Just a terrible, terrible lyric.
3. "She's A Genius" - Jet
"She only listens to the radio,
To see who's alive"
I wonder if the girl this song's about is called Sharona...
Whilst I'm aware that these lyrics aren't meant to be taken literally, I believe there's an argument to be made for their inclusion in this post regardless of how you interpret them. First, there's the literal meaning; girl literally uses the radio to determine who's still alive, which simply doesn't work. Then there's the figurative meaning; girl listens to the radio to know who's popular, which means she's got a shit taste in music because she only cares about what everyone else likes. I dunno about you about if I'm going to try to convince listeners that a girl is a genius through song, I wouldn't want to establish her terrible taste in music before I've even reached the first chorus!
4. "Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees)" - Aerosmith
"'Cause falling in love is so hard on the knees"
No, this isn't a Rolling Stones lyric...although the song does contain a different Rolling Stones lyric
This is the second time a song from Nine Lives has appeared in a blog post detailing terrible lyrics but this time, we're not mocking poor rhyme schemes and nonsensical sentences. This time, we're looking at Aerosmith's ability to create the most ridiculous, cringeworthy, eighth-grade lyrics about romance that one of the supposedly "wildest" Rock bands in the world just keeps on pumping out. This is the kind of lyric that sounds like part of a joke on The Simpsons about an ageing Rock band on their 50th anniversary world tour; they may as well have called the song "Make Love Or Make My Supper" or "Sleep With Me Before I Fall Asleep In My Armchair During A Countdown Repeat".
5. "Sweet Little Sister" - Skid Row
"She blew my mind behind the record machine...
...She's my sweet little, sweet little sister"
It's either "record" or "wrecking" machine; my argument still remains
OK, this one requires some context. First up, I absolutely love this song. It's my favourite Skid Row song (yes, even over "18 And Life" and "Youth Gone Wild") and for the most part, the vocal delivery and lyrics are pretty damn great. However, whenever I listen to it, there's always something in the back of my mind that doesn't sit right after hearing the above two lines at the start and chorus of the song. When you factor in Skid Row's general image and musical style,"She blew my mind behind the record/wrecking machine" can only be taken as a sexual metaphor but "She's my sweet little, sweet little sister" implies that "she" is related to him. Even if it's not the intended denotation, the connotation that the singer is getting oral pleasure from his sister still exists all because he sung "she's my" instead of "she's A" or "she's YOUR sweet little sister". I still love the song, though.
6. "Lonely Is The Night" - Billy Squier
"Lonely is the night when you find yourself alone"
I'm ashamed to say that it took way too long for me to notice this lyric
Billy Squier coming in with the piping hot observations. "Lonely is the night when you find yourself alone"? No fuckin' shit, Billy! What other pearls of wisdom have you got for us, "Teapots are useful only when they contain tea"? "A sport is not a sport if it's not a sport"? Once again, it's unfortunate that this terrible lyric not only belongs to Squier's signature song but is also the very first line he sings. Take note: if you're going to write a song with the intention of making it a radio hit, don't drop the ball in the opening line.
7. "Diggin' Me Down" - Ozzy Osbourne
"How will I know you, Mr. Jesus Christ"
I want to see a fight between Mr. Jesus Christ and Mr. Crowley
This lyric probably doesn't deserve to be called "terrible" but let's face it, it's still a bit naff. Saying "Mr. Jesus Christ" is the kind of thing a child or stereotypical Latin American maid would do, certainly not the Prince Of Darkness. There's always been an element of silliness in Ozzy Osbourne lyrics but this is one of the few examples that made me laugh out loud when I heard it. However, since it's (probably) Ozzy's last studio album and it contains a collection of awesome Metal music, I can forgive him for saying "Mr. Jesus Christ". Besides, at least Ozzy seems aware of his silliness, unlike his Heavy Metal counterpart, Ronnie James Dio. Speaking of Dio...
8. "Stargazer" - Rainbow
"There's no sun in the shadow of the wizard"
I'm beginning to think maybe RJD wasn't the lyrical wordsmith the entire Metal community says he was
Look out Billy Squier, looks like there's a contender for the Most Obvious Lyrics In Rock award that I've just created. I remember reading a quote about Dio that said something along the lines of "He never overestimated himself, nor underestimated himself". I agree with the second part. Ronnie's lyrics, whether they're from his time in Rainbow, Black Sabbath or Dio, contained fantastic mythological imagery but sometimes, he took himself a bit too seriously. Take this lyric: the declaration that shadows contain no sunlight is dumb but by adding something about wizards in there, Dio tried to pass it off as something majestic and awesome. Once you take a step back and listen to the lyrics without realising that it's Dio singing them, a lot of his material just sounds ridiculous. Of course, a lot of it sounds awesome too but that's not what this post is about.
9. "Uh! All Night" - KISS
"Well, we work all day and we don't know why"
KISS: Undisputed champions of writing songs about shagging
This album came out in the mid-80s, well into KISS' career as Shock Rock superstars. By this point, they will have made shitloads of cash on tours, music and (most importantly) merchandise. In other words, they were comfortably wealthy. As a result, lines like "we work all day and we don't know why" come across as a little...well, Let-Them-Eat-Cakey. KISS strike me as a band that would question why people would work all day if they don't like it, completely unaware that the average blue-collar fan of Rock needs to work to survive. If they want to write songs about getting laid, that's one thing, but trying to connect with the average Joe working 9-5 to make ends meet is a bad idea for a band like KISS. Bands like Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Lynyrd Skynyrd can write those songs, KISS can't.
10. "Sex On Fire" - Kings Of Leon
"You, your sex is on fire"
Remember when Kings Of Leon used to be a Rock band? Then they wrote this fucking song
No, I don't like this song. In fact, I'd even say that I hate it. It's bland and safe, exactly the opposite of what good Rock should be. However, we're not here for the tepid guitarwork or dull percussion in the verse; we're here for the lyrics in the chorus, namely the line that contains the title of the song. I'm guessing he's saying that they're having a cracking shag as opposed to the literal interpretation of spontaneous genitalia combustion but the term "your sex is on fire" sounds like something from a Steel Panther or Red Hot Chili Peppers track, definitely not the kind of lyric that belongs in a song like this. It's over the top and almost a parody of the kind of shit Hair Metal bands would write, yet Kings Of Leon seem to be delivering it non-ironically? I don't know and I don't care enough about the band to actually research whether this was meant to be a piss-take in the same way "(You've Got To) Fight For Your Right (To Party)" - Beastie Boys was. All I know is I don't much care for the lyric...or song...or band...Youth And Young Manhood was a good album though.
One day, I need to write a blog post about GOOD lyrics in Rock/Metal, as I've definitely been thinking of a couple recently. Maybe in October, as I don't want to do too many lyric-based Tenology posts in a short space of time.
Saturday, 28 July 2018
Prequelle - Ghost
New(ish) album review time!
I've frequently discussed the fictional genre of Pop Metal and which songs/bands would qualify for such a categorisation. Whilst the album cover may scream "HEAVEH METAAAAAAL", the music on Prequelle is actually pretty damn accessible and would definitely cross into Pop Metal territories were it an actual genre. Album opener "Ashes" is a spooky synth-heavy introduction to the true album opener and lead single, "Rats". Clearly inspired by Ozzy Osbourne and sporting a winning combination of explosive riffs and catchy vocal melodies, this arena gig anthem kicks things off with confidence and style. It's a good introduction to an album that blends 80s Pop/Yacht Rock elements with Heavy Metal ones as effortlessly as Guns N' Roses blend great guitar-work with terrible vocals.
Unlike some albums that don't quite blend styles together all the way and instead write a bunch of tracks firmly belonging to one genre or the other, Prequelle's material can only be described as heavily mellow from start to finish. The lack of furious shredfest solos and pure aggression channelled into vocal performances may seem atypical for modern Metal, yet the thundering riffs and dynamic percussion go beyond your standard Hard Rock tracks.
However, if you told me years ago that I'd be listening to (and loving) an album that expertly mixed saxophone solos and Disney style twinkling glissandos with galloping guitar riffs and lyrics about the plague, I would've written you off and gone back to listening to...I dunno, Iron Maiden and Metallica and stuff, I can't remember what I was really into a couple of years ago. Point is that in a world so shitty with Rock/Metal music desperately trying to recapture the magic of the past by rewriting Led Zeppelin or AC/DC songs, it's great to hear a band that have captured a new, distinct sound (albeit one created through old influences).
So it's no secret that I really love this album and would recommend it to pretty much anyone who appreciates good music but there are a couple of minor issues here and there. For all the grandiose string/synth sections or lofty vocal performances from Tobias Forge or whatever the fuck title he's currently referring to himself as, the album sounds less like a Rock record and more like something from a broadway musical about the Phantom Of The Opera's neglected brother. This isn't a big problem for fans of that kind of music but it does create a few lulls for those who love the heavier tracks like "Miasma" and "Faith".
It's also quite possible that fans of Ghost's earlier work might not like the direction they're moving in, as their debut album contained more guitar-based Rock with lower production values. However, the lighter songs like "See The Light" and "Life Eternal" are still good, though. Plus the production and audio mix are exceptional, even if you're not stamping your foot or banging your head to the rhythm. It'd be hard to mark this album down based on that without sounding like a colossal tool; it'd be like criticising TV shows because they've started using colour and stereo sound.
All in all, it's hard to criticise Prequelle for anything other than personal taste. I can't fault the album for its ambition, I can't fault it for its execution, I can't fault it for its technical quality, I can't fault it for its variety, I can't fault it for lacking a certain 'wow' factor and I certainly can't fault it for its lasting impression as I've been enjoying the singles from this album for over a month now. I rate it...you ready for this? 10/10! That's right, it's a brilliant album that you should all go and listen to. Apologies for the slightly shorter review but do you really want to read me banging on about how awesome this album is for another three paragraphs? Also, that time spent reading could've been time spent listening to Prequelle.
Well? What the fuck are you still doing here, GET ON SPOTIFY NOW!
I've frequently discussed the fictional genre of Pop Metal and which songs/bands would qualify for such a categorisation. Whilst the album cover may scream "HEAVEH METAAAAAAL", the music on Prequelle is actually pretty damn accessible and would definitely cross into Pop Metal territories were it an actual genre. Album opener "Ashes" is a spooky synth-heavy introduction to the true album opener and lead single, "Rats". Clearly inspired by Ozzy Osbourne and sporting a winning combination of explosive riffs and catchy vocal melodies, this arena gig anthem kicks things off with confidence and style. It's a good introduction to an album that blends 80s Pop/Yacht Rock elements with Heavy Metal ones as effortlessly as Guns N' Roses blend great guitar-work with terrible vocals.
Unlike some albums that don't quite blend styles together all the way and instead write a bunch of tracks firmly belonging to one genre or the other, Prequelle's material can only be described as heavily mellow from start to finish. The lack of furious shredfest solos and pure aggression channelled into vocal performances may seem atypical for modern Metal, yet the thundering riffs and dynamic percussion go beyond your standard Hard Rock tracks.
However, if you told me years ago that I'd be listening to (and loving) an album that expertly mixed saxophone solos and Disney style twinkling glissandos with galloping guitar riffs and lyrics about the plague, I would've written you off and gone back to listening to...I dunno, Iron Maiden and Metallica and stuff, I can't remember what I was really into a couple of years ago. Point is that in a world so shitty with Rock/Metal music desperately trying to recapture the magic of the past by rewriting Led Zeppelin or AC/DC songs, it's great to hear a band that have captured a new, distinct sound (albeit one created through old influences).
So it's no secret that I really love this album and would recommend it to pretty much anyone who appreciates good music but there are a couple of minor issues here and there. For all the grandiose string/synth sections or lofty vocal performances from Tobias Forge or whatever the fuck title he's currently referring to himself as, the album sounds less like a Rock record and more like something from a broadway musical about the Phantom Of The Opera's neglected brother. This isn't a big problem for fans of that kind of music but it does create a few lulls for those who love the heavier tracks like "Miasma" and "Faith".
It's also quite possible that fans of Ghost's earlier work might not like the direction they're moving in, as their debut album contained more guitar-based Rock with lower production values. However, the lighter songs like "See The Light" and "Life Eternal" are still good, though. Plus the production and audio mix are exceptional, even if you're not stamping your foot or banging your head to the rhythm. It'd be hard to mark this album down based on that without sounding like a colossal tool; it'd be like criticising TV shows because they've started using colour and stereo sound.
All in all, it's hard to criticise Prequelle for anything other than personal taste. I can't fault the album for its ambition, I can't fault it for its execution, I can't fault it for its technical quality, I can't fault it for its variety, I can't fault it for lacking a certain 'wow' factor and I certainly can't fault it for its lasting impression as I've been enjoying the singles from this album for over a month now. I rate it...you ready for this? 10/10! That's right, it's a brilliant album that you should all go and listen to. Apologies for the slightly shorter review but do you really want to read me banging on about how awesome this album is for another three paragraphs? Also, that time spent reading could've been time spent listening to Prequelle.
Well? What the fuck are you still doing here, GET ON SPOTIFY NOW!
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