Family Tree - Black Stone Cherry

I know I said I probably wouldn't listen to this album but I keep hearing radio adverts for it so I'm taking that as the universe's way of telling me to not only listen to Family Tree but also to review it!

Unless it's prefixed by "Dr", I generally can't stand the term "feel good". I usually find that things carrying that term don't make me feel good in the slightest BUT I'm going to make an exception on this occasion. Family Tree by Black Stone Cherry is a feel good Rock album, not because it contains families owning brand new puppies or old people being the recipient of charitable acts but because it contains a tight collection of energetic, footstomping Blues infused Southern Rock from start to finish.
Unfortunately, much like many modern Rock albums at the moment, the highlights are in the first third of the album. "Bad Habit" is a great album opener that could very well open live Black Stone Cherry gigs for many years to come, although it's a shame they had to go and ruin it with a terrible guitar solo needlessly slowing the entire song down. Luckily, "Burnin'" is able to recover some of the momentum with its catchy chorus and *shudders* feel good vibe. It helps that it sounds like one of your typical Black Stone Cherry songs, albeit a bit more upbeat.
As I said 86 words ago, these songs that come early on in the album are easily the best. They're the kind of songs designed up ramp up crowds at live venues or create a positive atmosphere in pubs/comfort dining restaurants; non-threatening but still punchy, kinda like Nickelback without the negative stigma. This is fine if you're picking and choosing individual songs but when experienced as an entire album, things start to get a little samey. The same drumbeats, the same guitar tones and the same basic structure for 13 songs...well, OK, not all 13. There are some anomalies.

For starters, "My Last Breath" stands out as having slightly higher production values than the previous tracks. There are backing vocals and non-Hard Rock instruments like electric piano in the introduction that separate it from your typical Black Stone Cherry footstomper. There's also "James Brown", a track that contains a pinch of Soul to carry the weight of the song's name and lyrics, once again using the brass musical accompaniments and gospel-like backing vocals to enhance it, and "Southern Fried Friday Night", another slow song but with more of a heavier, gritty feel to it.
However, you could argue that the small differences in these songs are mainly there to mask the fact that they're still generic Black Stone Cherry numbers...or that they were included to spice up what the band believed were pretty decent tracks, it depends on how cynical you're feeling. But even if the band were being genuine, that doesn't redeem the fact that a lot of songs are similar and therefore forgettable if you're not absolutely in love with their brand of Southern Rock. The album sounds like it's aimed at fans and general audiences but the minute differences between each track are arguably too subtle for the casual listener, not to mention borderline pointless in some cases.
"Dancin' In The Rain" makes a somewhat big deal of the fact that Warren Haynes (Southern Rock guitarist) is featured on - you guessed it - guitar...except Black Stone Cherry aren't faltering in the guitar department and what Warren brings isn't any more impressive or significant than anything else the band have already thrown at you. Then there's "You Got The Blues", a song with a bizarre introduction like something out of 80s New Romantic before returning back to your regularly scheduled sludgy Southern Rock. If you've read my reviews before, you're probably waiting for the part where I say "these songs needed faster drumbeats" and whilst I would've preferred many of them with slightly higher tempos ("Carry Me On Down The Road" is a perfect example), I'm hesitant to say that the album "needed" them.

The drummer (John Fred Young) has a couple of moments towards the end of the album where he's allowed to let loose but there aren't any fast paced tracks with furious riffing and driving rhythms...but that's OK! That's not what Black Stone Cherry are about; they're not a Hard Rock outfit, they're modern Blues based Southern Rock. It's about the quality of the music and, to a lesser extent, lyrics; the percussion is merely the skeleton from which the fleshy guitar riffs and solos songs hang. Besides, the band do an incredible job of maintaining the energy and.......
Sorry, let me try that again.
The band do an incredible job of maintaining the energy and...........feel good atmosphere of the album all the way to the finish line so increasing the speed of a couple of tracks to add more energy would be a hat on a hat, generally speaking. However, that being said, there are a couple of filler tracks that bring nothing of value to the table and possibly should've been rewritten to sound a little bit faster to the majority of what we'd already heard up to that point, just to give listeners more to enjoy ("I Need A Woman", "Get Me Over You").
Overall, Family Tree is decent. It might not be my favourite album by any means but it's not a bad collection of tunes, so long as you don't mind the occasional bit of Rock monotony around the middle. I'm welcome to be proven wrong but the biggest problem with this album is that it lacks that one great track, increasing the likelihood that it'll fade away into the band's back catalogue over the years to come. Sure, "Burnin'" is decent but it's no "Blind Man" or "In My Blood"...or even "Remember Me". Consequently, I rate it a 7/10. Strong effort and good delivery but a little too bland at times and not enough risks taken, seeing as this is the band's 6th album which is usually where bands start to innovate and..............
Fuck, I can do this, hold on.
Where bands start to innovate and.....*gags in mouth*.....experiment.

Shout Out: Miracle Of Sound

Jesus, I've really let myself down with the lack of posts lately. Time to get right on that!

Kicking the rest of the posts off this month is a brief shout out to Miracle Of Sound, a one-man band who doesn't sound dreadful and look like a robot made of terrible musical instruments. The man in question is Gavin Dunne and he writes/plays a variety of songs that belong to Rock, Pop, Metal and other musical genres all related to video games, TV shows and/or films. However, the main difference between Miracle Of Sound and those bands that write Legend Of Zelda tributes that rip off melodies from those games and feel like the lyrics were compiled by an AI algorithm full of generic Zelda references is that this guy's music can stand on its own feet.
Some of the songs feature heavier lyrical references to the games than others (e.g. "Nord Mead" and "Another Round Of Gwent" relating heavier to Skyrim and The Witcher than, say, "Jet Fuel Heart" to Ratchet & Clank) but even then, the songs are great to listen to and don't feel as uninspired as many of the others literally Spotify and Youtube. However, the greatest aspect of Miracle Of Sound's music is the ability to capture the essence of the game/show without using melodies ripped straight from them. The song "My Shooting Star" comes pretty close with the use of slide guitar from Firefly but at the end of the day, it still sounds like a damn fine song.
If you're an active gamer who seeks out new titles rather than simply replaying the classics, you should probably check out Miracle Of Sound on Spotify or Youtube, as he has eight different albums full of original tunes and he's probably written about something you love. I mean, you should go ahead and check out the ones about games/shows you don't watch as they're incredible well written, but you know what I mean. Normally, I'd post a tracklist and highlight songs I really like from the album I gave a shout out to but since there are too many songs to write about here, I'm just gonna leave it with you to find this guy and give the songs that you're interested in listening to a try.
Yeah, I know this is a short and relatively unsatisfying post but if it introduces just one more person to Miracle Of Sound, it's done its purpose.
COMING SOON: Rapid Fire and video game posts!

Showdown: Back From The Dead - Spinal Tap

Last year, I wrote about Mock Rock band Tenacious D in a Rapid Fire post for April Fool's Day. Whilst I might be a week late, the first blog post for April will continue the celebration of Mock Rock by looking at a series of rerecords from 2009 by quite possibly the most famous and beloved Mock Rock band of all time; Spinal Tap.
This Is Spinal Tap is a classic mockumentary about the British Rock/Metal band Spinal Tap. It's also the name of the film's soundtrack and collection of most (if not all) of the band's memorable songs:

Yep, the famous black album cover from Smell The Glove is the album cover for the soundtrack, naturally. The soundtrack/album was released in 1984 (and a poorly received follow up album entitled Break Like The Wind was released eight years later, presumably to tie into an appearance on The Simpsons) but the aim of this post is to compare the classic original recordings with the rerecords off Back From The Dead, a 25th anniversary compilation album containing a few new tracks and fleshed out versions of tracks mentioned in the film like "Saucy Jack" and parts of the 20-minute free form "Jazz Odyssey".

However, I won't be talking about those new songs in this post. I'll just be looking at shared songs from both records. Also, no Spotify playlist for this post since it's just songs off the two albums rather than a compilation of various Rock/Metal/Pop covers that'd be harder to source.
So, time to turn it up to 11 and some other hacky reference from the film!

ROUND ONE: Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight
This Is Spinal Tap - I'm surprised this wasn't the 1984 record's album opener, considering how prominently it featured in the film. However, it's a fucking great track. It manages to blend awesome riffs with amusing vocals ("you're too young and I'm too well hung" is a line KISS were probably a year or two away from writing non-ironically). It's a shame the backing vocals are kinda shitty but hey, it's still a top notch song to listen to even if you didn't care for the film.
Back From The Dead - I guess Spinal Tap found a drummer as the percussion for this song is definitely better than the original. It also helps that the song's main riff still sounds awesome although I can't say the same for the vocals. Backing vocals from Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) are still too comical but sadly lead vocals from David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) are a lot worse. It's almost like he's parodying his younger self which makes one of the few awesome Hard Rock songs on the album a little bit worse.
VERDICT - Got to give it to This Is Spinal Tap here. It might be a good rerecording overall with some small improvements but sadly the negatives outweigh the positives. If the vocals were identical in terms of silliness, it probably would've won.

ROUND TWO: (Funky) Sex Farm
This Is Spinal Tap - Wow, that opening riff stopped itself from being identical to the previous track, didn't it? Yeah, this is a fairly forgettable song from a Rock fan's perspective. Lyrically, it does a great job of lampooning forced metaphors and sexual language in Glam/Shock Rock but musically, there's something off about it. It sounds like one of those "shreds it" videos with riffs that sound incomplete or guitar harmonies that don't quite work.
Back From The Dead - So for some reason, the band decided to make this song sound less like a parody of bad Glam Rock and more like a parody of bad 70s Funk Rock, complete with added brass and softer guitar. I have to say, whilst I'm not a fan of the song, the corny Funk style definitely works better with the lyrics than the Rock style. I even prefer the brief Hip Hop interlude to the terrible guitar solo in the original.
VERDICT - Back From The Dead wins it for taking a chance and producing something that's still pretty poor but better as a parody track. I don't particularly like either but if I was forced to pick one to listen to again, it'd definitely be the rerecording.

ROUND THREE: Rock 'N' Roll Creation
This Is Spinal Tap - I guess this was their attempt at parodying Black Sabbath and other Heavy Metal/Hard Rock bands who use generic Biblical themes in their songs...it's OK, I guess. However, it needed to be taken a step further. It's not quite "bad" enough to be a good parody, if that makes sense? The lyrics needed to be just a bit more on-the-nose, although the music wasn't bad.
Back From The Dead - I actually quite like the music in this rerecord. They've amplified the better aspects (the chorus) and lessened the worse ones (guitar solos). Part of me would've liked to hear a version of this song where they actually changed the middle and made it sound more like an Arena Rock anthem than the original but at least this version isn't as bad.
VERDICT - It's another win for Back From The Dead for taking a mediocre parody and making it into a semi-decent song, although it still could've been improved with slightly more amusing lyrics.

ROUND FOUR: Gimme Some Money
This Is Spinal Tap - If I remember right, this is supposed to be one of Spinal Tap's earliest songs when they were a 60s guitar band like The Beatles or The Animals and God damn, it is fucking on point. It's lame, tepid Blues based "Rock" just like The Rolling Stones. It might not be a great song to listen to (unless you haven't heard Rock music before) but as a pastiche of Rock's early days, it's masterfully done.
Back From The Dead - A decent attempt at rerecording the original although the fact that it sounds so clean kind of works against it. The point of the song is to sound like a naff 60s Blues Rock track and this doesn't quite work. It would've been cool to hear a tarted up version of this track as a different period piece, like 90s Grunge or something. However, if you like the song, it's a great rendition of it.
VERDICT - Whilst the rerecording does have better sound quality, this is one of the few times where less is more. This Is Spinal Tap takes the win for being the perfect 60s Rock parody.

ROUND FIVE: Heavy Duty
This Is Spinal Tap - This is pretty damn close to Judas Priest for comfort! However, musically speaking, it's kind of plain with a poor mix. I don't remember this song from the film but I'm assuming it's supposed to showcase Nigel's guitar playing, as that takes centre-stage in this weak track. If the lead guitar tone was different, maybe I'd like the track more. As it stands, I'm not a huge fan.
Back From The Dead - Yeah, this is what I'm talking about. Better mix whilst retaining the better aspects of the track, plus some added keys from Keith Emerson during the solo. If I had to find flaws, I'd say that the vocals are a little too clear for a song that needs a grittier feel to it (and was previously ruined by the clean guitar in the original) but the track still works.
VERDICT - Another win for Back From The Dead. Could it be that Spinal Tap have pulled a Saxon and recorded a far greater collection of music 25 years after their original material?

ROUND SIX: America
This Is Spinal Tap - Songs about British bands travelling to America are a niche subject to parody and the film already covered the clashing of sensitive music with vulgar lyrics or themes with "Lick My Love Pump" (a song I would've loved to hear fleshed out as a precursor to Sensitive Axl Rose's material for 90s Guns N Roses albums) so I'm not really sure what purpose this song serves other than just a general Rock song. If that's the case, I guess it works. It's got some good riffs and great drumming, although it does sound a little like the band entered the studio after the first draft. A proper Rock band could've taken this material and done something great with it.
Back From The Dead - A relatively faithful rerecording but with far superior aspects; notice a theme emerging? Everything about this song is improved in the rerecording from the percussion to the passion of the vocals in the final verse. However, since they're rerecording the original material, it still suffers from sounding like they didn't do the necessary rewrites between verses to make crappier riffs sound better. At least this sounds like a good Alice Cooper song, unlike some of the originals.
VERDICT - I guess Spinal Tap really did resurrect what with all the wins Back From The Dead is getting!

ROUND SEVEN: (Listen To The) Flower People - Reggae Stylee
This Is Spinal Tap - Aaaaaand a perfect Psychedelic Rock parody from the late 60s now! It's almost scary how much I can imagine this song being used in some Vietnam flashback in a hacky action/comedy film with Seth Rogen and James Franco, if not for the lyrics...but I guess that's what makes the song work so spectacularly. If not for the forced Mozart riff, this would've been 10/10 on the Parodometer.
Back From The Dead - Remember how I said "Gimme Some Money" should've been rerecorded in a different style? Well, Spinal Tap did exactly that with this song! They rerecorded it as a Reggae song and once again, it works perfectly. The vocals are bang on the money and the music couldn't be better; if you were going to pick a new genre to mock with a song about the "Flower People", Reggae's a solid choice.
VERDICT - This is actually a really tough one. Both the original and rerecording do a spot on job of lampooning their respective genres so I'm going to have to give it to the song I preferred to listen to...which means This Is Spinal Tap gets the win because I will ALWAYS vote for Psychedelic Rock over Reggae.

ROUND EIGHT: Hell Hole
This Is Spinal Tap - This is one of few tracks Spinal Tap have released that could actually be a proper Rock song without being held back by silliness (which presumably explains why they made a music video for it). My biggest problem with Spinal Tap is that they're too far on the comedy side, meaning a lot of their music sounds like scrapings from the floor of Alice Cooper's recording studio. However, this song has a collection of great riffs, some ace backing vocals in the chorus and a sweet guitar solo. All in all, a strong song to start the original album.
Back From The Dead - A valiant effort but I guess the band were feeling a little insecure about this rerecording too, seeing as how it's been pushed way down the tracklist. At least the solo sounds great although none of that matters when you compare the backing vocals in this version to the original. Fuck me, they're terrible. Like, shite-awful. That alone is enough to give the win to This Is Spinal Tap.
VERDICT - Weren't you reading? This Is Spinal Tap get it for the superior backing vocals in the chorus and that alone, even though it has other positive attributes too.

ROUND NINE: Big Bottom
This Is Spinal Tap - A parody of bands that think they're lyrical wordsmiths when really they're talking out their arse, so to speak (once again, this film/soundtrack came out three years before Appetite For Destruction). Unfortunately, since its purpose is to showcase silly lyrics, the music is pretty dull and uninspired. So dull and uninspired that there's not much to say except it's a shame the percussion is the only thing lifting this song up.
Back From The Dead - Props to the band, they found a synth tone that was more comical than the one used in the original. At the end of the day though, it's still a dumb song that exists as a mediocre punchline. Whilst the elevated production values make the song quite amusing, it would've been funnier if they went even further with it. Imagining Def Leppard or even Michael Jackson level production values complete with 40-piece choir and orchestral accompaniments applied to a song called "Big Bottom" is funnier than what we got.
VERDICT - It's hard to say as both tracks are a bit shit so I'm giving it to This Is Spinal Tap for being a whole seven seconds shorter.

ROUND TEN: Stonehenge
This Is Spinal Tap - This is the song everyone knows, even if you haven't seen the film. It's also a perfect blend of funny lyrics and great music AND actually progresses the plot of the mockumentary in its own hilarious way. Whilst some lines ("No one knows who they were...or...what they were doin'") will always be funnier than others ("where the dew drops cry and the cats meow"), the highlight of this song is certainly the mandolin solo before the outro. It might get cut down in the film but hearing it fleshed out on the album is a real treat.
Back From The Dead - I think it's fair to say that I'm more familiar with this rerecording than the original due to my excessive playing of it on Rock Band but after comparing both, I definitely think this is the better version of the two. Tufnel's vocals in the intro sound perfectly clueless and the Rock elements are appropriately heavy. But hey, does the song master the mandolin solo? You bet your fucking arse it does. The original might be slightly more complex but the rerecording tightens up the imperfections into the perfect little melody. Fun fact: I learnt how to play this solo on the keyboard years ago. I doubt I can remember it now but it was still fun to play, even on a different instrument.
VERDICT - Back From The Dead, hands down.

ROUND ELEVEN: Cups And Cakes
This Is Spinal Tap - I really need to rewatch This Is Spinal Tap as I feel bad for being unable to remember any of these songs from the film. Anyway, it's a short little tune that's mostly strings. Probably not worth including on the soundtrack but here we are.
Back From The Dead - Oh...it got a rerecording too. That seems fair, I guess. It's basically the same as the original but with piano instead of strings so it makes sense to use as a fun little album closer, I suppose.
VERDICT - For the reason above, I'm giving it to Back From The Dead as it's the kind of song that would've been a hidden track on an album until digital distribution made those obsolete. It's a shame to end this Showdown post on such a meh song (especially after "Stonehenge") but that's the way the cupcake gets frosted!

FINAL SCORES:
This Is Spinal Tap - 5
Back From The Dead - 6

Well, there you have it. It's a close score but ultimately, Back From The Dead came out victorious! As for individual album ratings, I give This Is Spinal Tap a 6/10 (mostly for the parody aspect of it over musical quality) and Back From The Dead a 6/10 too, since there are a couple of new songs on it that I didn't discuss that are hit and miss. It's almost as if both albums are as good as each other and collectively, they come together to make the ultimate Spinal Tap album...you know, after Break Like The Wind, of course.

Shout Out: The Mission - Styx

Continuing the trend of discussing albums from 2017 that I weren't aware of until after I'd written about the best/worst albums of 2017, here we have a new record from Styx!

OK, I'm quite late on this one but I still feel like it deserves some attention, seeing as how I only found it through the Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify and not any of the lists about 2017 album releases I read over the last couple of years. However, I'm not reviewing it simply because I don't have an awful lot to say about it, at least not in the usual depth I go into on album reviews; hence, Shout Out! Usually Shout Out posts are dedicated to albums I really love but occasionally, I write one when I just want to bring it to people's attention. This is one of those times.
The Mission is a concept album about mankind's journey to Mars with some narrative fluff in between; your typical Prog Arena Rock affair. Whilst this may not have the passion and youthful energy that earlier Styx songs contained (arguably due to the lack of Dennis DeYoung), the band have pulled an ELO and written music to accommodate their age. The majority of tracks are slower, more atmospheric ("Radio Silence", "Time May Bend") but there are a couple of faster paced rockers in there, such as true album opener "Gone Gone Gone" and "The Outpost". Whilst there are a couple of unnecessary filler tracks designed to bridge songs with musical narrative ("Ten Thousand Ways", "All Systems Stable"), it's still a strong album that feels like it was written with the intention of creating great music, not forcing the creators back into the mainstream or making undeserved money off idiotic music magazines and their fans touting the talents of has-beens.
If you like albums that you can chill out to and listen to in the background, The Mission is perfect for you. It starts off with excitement and peacefully mellows out for the rest of the journey, not unlike the launch of a rocket to space (an artistic decision that was hopefully intentional and not me reaching). If you want an album full of "Lorelei"s and "Blue Collar Man"s, you'll be disappointed. I suppose the album opener did a poor job of setting standards from that perspective but hey, that's what I'm here for! There are far more egotistical, unnecessary examples of Prog Rock concept albums out there, although for someone like myself who prefers Rock music that actually Rocks, it's not an album I'll be revisiting any time soon.

1. Overture

2. Gone Gone Gone

3. Hundred Million Miles From Home

4. Trouble At The Big Show

5. Locomotive

6. Radio Silence

7. The Greater Good

8. Time May Bend

9. Ten Thousand Ways

10. Red Storm

11. All Systems Stable

12. Khedive

13. The Outpost

14. Mission To Mars

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

Aaaaand that's me all caught up on blog posts for the month! Bring on April...and May...and June...just keep bringing on months until everything ends.

Taster Session #10

Several months have passed since the last Taster Session post and, sure enough, many more Rock/Metal singles have been released! Funny, that. Anyway, let's look at five new songs for upcoming albums and decide whether or not we want to enjoy the full records based on their singles:

"Devil" - Shinedown         (listen here)

From the album Attention Attention (04/05/18)

I'm slowly getting into Shinedown after listening to a bunch of their albums in one sitting. I definitely prefer their earlier stuff, though. It had more of an edge and pound for pound it felt more like Rock music compared to the stuff on Threat To Survival. "Devil" has the passion and energy but also sounds like something you'd hear at the end of a Transformers film or covered in a singing talent show; safe Rock. I'll probably listen to the album but considering it doesn't sound like Shinedown are reverting back to their earlier sound, I'm not going to get excited about it.

"Waiting For A Sign" - Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow         (listen here)

From the album ???? (??/??/??)

Wow, the first new Rainbow song in about 22 years!!!

Holy shit, remember Rainbow? "Stargazer", "Kill The King", "Lost In Hollywood". They were an awesome Hard Rock band, I wonder what their new single will sound like?

WAHP WAHP. It sucks!

Yeah, Blackmore's lost it. He had something special and he fucking lost it, the twat. Seriously, listen to this song and get your head around the fact that the guy who laid down all the riffs and solos for the best Deep Purple songs shat out this Bluesy wank that sounds too dull even for Whitesnake. Maybe there'll be a full album and maybe Blackmore will unleash the beast, forcing me to eat my words (I'm not counting the upcoming live collection, by the way), but if this song is any indication, his time is done. But hey, I guess he doesn't think so as he's determined to milk whatever acclaim he can get; remember folks, this isn't just Rainbow. It's Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow again, a name the band haven't carried since 1975 and have presumably only reclaimed due to the man's unwarranted ego.

"Trouble" - Five Finger Death Punch         (listen here)

From the album And Justice For None (18/05/18)

OK, a bit of explaining needed here. "Trouble" was first released as a track on the band's A Decade Of Destruction compilation album as a new song that will be included on the deluxe edition of their upcoming album, And Justice For None (YO, WE'RE RIFFIN ON METALLICA UP IN THIS BITCH! MAXIMUM FUCKING EDGE, BOOOIIIS). The compilation may have come out already but it's still technically a sample of what's to come in the new album, so it counts! The track's not bad, got some good riffs and guitar melodies throughout. I doubt I'll listen to the album as I couldn't give a fuck about Five Finger Death Punch and their fanbase of angry white teenagers (that was a joke, don't get pissy) but this track's not bad. At least they didn't do the typical American Metal thing of forcing a soft middle section in to show listeners how sensitive they are.

"Burnin'" - Black Stone Cherry         (listen here)

From the album Family Tree (20/04/18)

I don't really have much to say about Black Stone Cherry. Yeah, they're pretty good? Some great songs, some meh ones. Nothing on either extreme, they're just very competent. As for this song...yeah, it's good. Solo sounds a little off; there's a sort of pre-solo bit that's played too high and it sounds terrible but then it sorts itself out. All in all, this is what I've come to expect from Black Stone Cherry and even though it's unlikely that I'll listen to the album, I'm not ruling it out if someone recommends it with unequivocal passion.

"Thought Contagion" - Muse         (listen here)

From the album ???? (??/??/??)

Hey, Muse are back with another single from an unnamed album! This time, they're going for a Coldplay thing along with their brand of synthy Prog shite blended with some 80s guff because nostalgia sells. Between this and their last single, "Dig Down", I am completely drained of excitement for any Muse album release in the near future. I can't remember anything about the last song except I think it sucked and this one definitely doesn't sound like the band are heading in the right direction, considering how awful their last Pop/Electronic based albums were. At least Drones had Rock songs that made it great to listen to.


I might have to write a video game post if I can't think of a better topic before the end of the month. Be warned.

Used Future - The Sword

Unlike Firepower, this is an album I was actually looking forward to listening to. If you're playing the Riffs And Raffs drinking game at home, take a drink every time I use the term "Stoner Rock" to get absolutely tanked!

If you asked me what I made of The Sword half a decade ago, I would've given them glowing praise. They were the kings of riff based Heavy Metal, magnificent bastards of Doom Rock and generally pretty fucking awesome at their craft. Since then, they begun their transition from Heavy Metal to Stoner Rock with the High Country album but there were still a couple of heavier tracks to enjoy. Used Future marks the complete metamorphosis into Stoner Rock by removing the aggressive Metal elements and replacing them with synth and Prog touches. Sure, the music's still good but it's a shame we had to lose a stellar Heavy Metal band to gain a great Hard Rock one.
Album opener "Prelude" is a pointless introduction to "Deadly Nightshade", the true album opener. Not only is it a good song but it's a great way of reminding fans about their new sound that's clearly here to stay; it's The Sword's blend of riff based Hard Rock with a cosmic touch. It's also a great choice for the lead single, as it's an easily accessible track from the album and the start of an unofficial trilogy of three songs that could very well be part of one Prog Rock movement, similar to the seven sections of "2112" - Rush. Whilst this album contains fuzzy bass, epic riffs and dynamic percussion throughout, "Deadly Nightshade", "Twilight Sunrise" and "The Wild Sky" run along so perfectly that they could quite easily be repackaged as a 10 minute epic. This is good news if you like the complete album experience but not so much if you want powerful precision strikes of great music.
This whole album feels like it was supposed to be enjoyed in one sitting; again, not unlike Prog Rock albums of the past. When I revisited a couple of songs just to brush up on the material, they often started abruptly due to continuing on from the previous song, which can be a little annoying if you just want to listen to a couple of favourites off the album. There are some highlights here and there if you enjoyed the Classic Rock style tracks from High Country such as "Brown Mountain", instrumental album closer that likely borrowed the riff from "Wheel In The Sky" - Journey without realising, and "Used Future", title track that could easily be a repurposed cover of a 70s B-side from [AOR BAND NAME HERE], but the majority of tracks are written to blend into the next one in order to carry you through your drug-fuelled musical odyssey. I know I've referred to this album as Stoner Rock but I don't think I've come across such a blatant example of the genre as this in a while.

As a result of this, certain aspects feel a little bit irritating if you just want to enjoy the album without hitting the dank load. For example, in this 13 song album, there are THREE non-songs. "Prelude", "Intermezzo" and "Reprise", all of which are terrible. "Intermezzo" is a moody synth-based interlude that adds nothing but padding and "Reprise" borrows the outro from "Come And Gone" to round off the album that could've quite happily concluded with "Brown Mountain". It comes across as arty-farty when you look at the song titles and general feel of each track but I guess you won't mind if you're high off your tits when listening to the album.
However, this desire to "experiment" has produced some gems. "Sea Of Green" and "Come And Gone" are tracks I never would've expected to hear on a record by The Sword and yet they work incredible well, offering slower Blues and Psychedelic Rock tunes to the categorically Hard Rock ones. There are also subtle features that amplify the quality of the music like the slow-burn build up of the bass and percussion in "Nocturne" or the more delicate mix during verses in "Book Of Thoth" to differentiate the song from previous Stoner Rock material. It's small changes like this that make a big difference, especially when compared to albums that get stale due to their lack of creativity around the halfway point.
Maybe producer Tucker Martine is the one to thank for that but either way, the band knew what they were doing. There may have been a couple of pretentious missteps here and there but as long as the music you're putting out is good and well crafted, this is how you get away with a bit of musical pomposity without coming across as a bunch of wankers (Queens Of The Stone Age, take note!); small steps towards a desired destination, not applying all the changes at once or assuming fans want to hear you sonically jacking off. In this case, The Sword applied synth aspects to Apocryphon, started focusing more on Hard Rock with High Country before putting out Hard Prog with Used Future, all the while improving their weaker aspects like vocals and the overall mix of material.

Used Future isn't my favourite album by The Sword (as I'll always take Heavy Metal over Stoner Rock) but this could be their most creative and ambitious to date. It's a shame that they've chosen this direction to follow as I still think they're at their strongest when blasting out thunderous riffs or creating battle anthems for frost giants but at least the album wasn't a complete disaster like whatever Muse put out before Drones. It's a tough one to rate as I doubt I'm personally going to revisit tracks as often as I have done for High Country (a 7/10, according to my review) but I do think they should be praised for their efforts and successes in recording a well oiled machine of Stoner Rock.
I'm gonna give it a 7/10 again as I feel the criticisms about pretentious aspects from the band that gave us "Fire Lances Of The Ancient Hyperzephyrians" go beyond my opinion and into critique. Plus, I'm going to apply the general rule I have for concerts, sports and entertainment based events to this album; if you have to get wasted to enjoy it, it's probably not that great. In this case, you're better off getting high as fuck, just like High Country, but unlike High Country there aren't songs that stand out when you're not baked in the same way "The Dreamthieves", "High Country" or "Empty Temples" did. Out of interest, if any of my readers do partake in the occasional marijuana puff, feel free to listen to this album and let me know if it blew your mind or if I'm just talking out my arse with all this Stoner Rock stuff.
Also, get a damn job, hippie!

Firepower - Judas Priest

It's finally here! The latest Judas Priest album since Redeemer Of Souls! Let's see how it holds up against some of their other records! This is how my blog posts work!

Thank fuck for this album, we needed some good quality Metal again!
Firepower is Judas Priest's attempt at recapturing their old magic in an attempt to release another "classic" album; in fact, I'm pretty sure the cover art is a continuation of their Screaming For Vengeance album cover. However, much like their last record, this one starts off incredibly strong but loses steam around the halfway point. Album opener, title track and second single "Firepower" is no "Dragonaut" (even if it does sound vocally similar in the chorus) but it's still a great song. There's a fast Metal rhythm with some heavy riffs to get you headbanging from the start but it's arguably not the best representation of the rest of the album.
Much like "Hardwired" off the latest Metallica album, it builds a false sense of speed and power that you expect is going to be maintained throughout the entire record and yes, whilst the first few tracks are some of the strongest, it's a shame that the loss of energy is not only painfully apparent but seemingly permanent. We start off with tracks containing Maidenesque galloping rhythms ("Lightning Strike") and elements from previous songs like "One Shot At Glory" and "Night Crawler" off the Painkiller album ("Evil Never Dies") and, naturally, there are a couple of great character-based songs that Judas Priest are easily the Heavy Metal masters of ("Necromancer", "Flame Thrower").
Even the slower songs like "Never The Heroes" stand out with more of an 80s Hard Rock feel due to the synth intro and less emphasis on epic riffs, all working in favour of the album. However, we then get to "Guardians", a moody instrumental introduction to "Rising From Ruins" that probably shouldn't have been its own song. This is where the album starts to drag a little as Scott Travis, previously one of my all-time favourite drummers, starts to get a bit tired and rely a little too much on the slow and steady rhythms. The songs from here one are decent but sometimes go on a little too long and neglect to shake things up a bit with energy bursts or progressive sections, resulting in lesser quality material that could've been salvaged with a much needed burst of action ("Traitors Gate", "Spectre").

All in all, plodding Metal tracks aside, the album's still good to listen to. Even if Scott Travis may be waning slightly, he's still keeping the time and helping the great tracks become a little bit more awesome. I'm always going to prefer Judas Priest's fast tempo tracks over their slower ones (especially if they include Blues elements like "Lone Wolf", definitely not what I want to hear in this Heavy Metal album) but as long as those slower tracks have epic riffs and vocals, I can dig it. Thankfully, the rest of the band are still able to produce high quality riffs and falsetto screeches comparable to their earlier material although once again they've decided to end the album on slow epic "Sea Of Red" rather than a rousing explosion of Metal like, say, "No Surrender".
I complained about their choice to end Redeemer Of Souls on a power ballad and whilst this is nowhere near as bad, it's still a weak way to end an album. It feels more like an exhausted exhale than the BANG needed to leave fans with a great impression. If you're going to end on a slow and epic note, it needs to stand apart from the other epics on your album. It needs to feel like the band have pushed themselves to create something awesome, not just stuck one of their filler tracks at the end. Compare some of the album closers Iron Maiden have put out like "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner", "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and "Empire Of The Clouds" with "Sea Of Red". Iron Maiden know that the last song should leave a lasting impression, whether it's with sheer length or grand ambition, something Judas Priest have clearly forgotten about in the last decade.
It's quite tricky to talk about Firepower in as much length as other albums as there's not an awful lot to say that will give you necessary information or differentiate it from other records by older bands who are still going to this date, so let's list off the key points. The first half is great, the second half is weak but not bad. The songs sound like a healthy blend of classic songwriting and modern recording technology/instrumentation. Judas Priest aren't ready to throw in the towel yet but equally they're not booting down doors and announcing to the world that they're here to stay. This album feels like a well crafted effort but won't be remembered as one of the band's strongest entries, hence I rate it 6/10.
Maybe the better tracks will grow on me over time but I've had about a week to enjoy this album and I still can't really hum any of the riffs or clearly imagine the melodies in the same way I could after listening to Dystopia - Megadeth. On the plus side, at least Judas Priest didn't try to rip off fans with a deluxe edition containing nothing but a fancy cover and a lyric booklet...


Oh?


Oh.

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

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


1. From The Fires - Greta Van Fleet

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

1. Safari Song

2. Edge Of Darkness

3. Flower Power

4. A Change Is Gonna Come

5. Highway Tune

6. Meet On The Ledge

7. Talk On The Street

8. Black Smoke Rising

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

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

2. The Knight Of Rebellion - Dream Troll

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

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

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

1. Time For Vengeance

2. Velvet Drawbridge

3. Mons Ominosus

4. Lost In The Pages

5. A Fairy's Tale

6. Unwanted By The Gods

7. (The) Earthbound Betrayal

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

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

3. Ghosts Of Yet To Come - Wayward Sons

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

1. Alive

2. Until The End

3. Ghost

4. Don't Wanna Go

5. Give It Away

6. Killing Time

7. Crush

8. Be Still

9. Small Talk

10. Something Wrong

ALBUM RATING - 5/10

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