New Rock / Metal releases - start of Dec 2016

Is there life after a new Metallica release? Yes - there has been some excellent stuff out in the last month.

Light & Shade - The Essence of Everything : If you like epic / symphonic metal, you'll love this. If not, you won't. They do it very well, the orchestral arrangements are brilliant; the songwriting is too, with many hooks. Vocally there's plenty of variation, a mix of growled and powerful female head-voice.
★★★★☆

Beasto Blanco - Beasto Blanco : OTT theatrical stuff - female vocal contribution from Calico Cooper (daughter of) so it's unsurprising there's a noticeable Alice influence. Catchy feelgood stuff with balls.
★★★★☆

Sister - Stand Up, Forward March : Their bio says 'sleaze / punk influenced' the punk is definitely low in the mix. I can hear GnR in there, with a bit more growl. Energetic.
★★★★☆

Chronicles of Israfel - A Trillion Lights Tome II : As you'd guess from the title, this is progressive, conceptual stuff. Very good for when one's in the mood for something more complex but still very heavy.
★★★★☆

Dario Mollo's Crossbones - Rock the Cradle : Hard rock, and very good with it. Definitely a Rainbow / Purple feel to it
★★★☆☆

Hevidence - Nobody's Fault : more hard rock / melodic metal, again from an Italian guitarist.
★★★☆☆

Skalmold - Vogguvisur Yggdrasils : This is Viking stuff very much along the lines of Amon Amarth. The bonus track on this album is a pretty authentic cover of Alestorm's Drink which works so well. This might be upgraded to a 5 with a few more listens.
★★★☆☆

Agenged Sevenfold - Best of, 2005 - 2013 : I wouldn't normally mention a 'best of' but this is too good. If you don't know them, this is one for your Christmas list.


As usual, all music I've listened to goes into my New Rock and Metal releases playlist. Note that I now archive this off to leave only the more recent ones in there. For the older ones, see my 2016 rock  / metal releases playlist. There's loads in that one now, just sort it by date to see the most recent at the top.

Notable new releases, mid Nov 2016

The big release this time (the big release of 2016) is Metallica - Hardwired....  : I bought it right away,  but then I would have done whatever the content because it's Metallica and I've been with them since the mid 80s. The album consists of 2 'discs', or 3 if you buy the deluxe version. The first two consist of new songs, 6 per 'disc' (meaningless if you buy electronically). The third has the already-known Lords of Summer, along with three covers and a load of live stuff.

It's more of Metallica doing what they do, and I mean that in the best way. The three singles that we've heard already are clearly very strong songs and were full of promise. After a few listens, the album sounds like a very well-engineered continuation of Death Magnetic with a few nods to earlier albums. For me it goes off a little during the second disc. I'm not a fan of the 'slow and heavy'. But the thrash returns with a vengeance as the disc finishes off with Spit Out the Bone, which is like an ace they'd kept up their sleeve.

The covers are the Ronnie Rising medley, previously released on the RJD tribute album, Purple's When a Blind Man Cries (standing in for Nothing Else Matters pt. whatever) and Maiden's Remember Tomorrow. All excellent stuff. I'm not a fan of live but I'm enjoying listening through the selection on the third disc. Mostly early stuff (all from the first two albums if I'm not mistaken, except for Hardwired). It gets 5 rather than 4.5 simply because it's Metallica. I don't care if that doesn't make sense to anyone else.
★★★★★

Also moving me in the last couple of weeks:

Sirenia - Dim Days of Dolor : I do love a bit of symphonic metal, and this has it all, proper operatic vocals (new singer Emmanuelle Zoldan), proper orchestra and choir, growled vocals. There's plenty of variation which makes for an enjoyable and interesting listen.
★★★★☆

(Symphonic metal fans also note: Dark Sarah - The Puzzle, a continuation of concept album Behind the Black Veil. And Diabulus in Musica - Dirge for the Archons)

(Steve Grimmett's) Grim Reaper : I was almost as excited about this as the Metallica release and for similar reasons. A new Grim Reaper album. Unmistakeable and brilliant.
★★★★★

Toby Knapp  - The Atchitect of Paradox :  I've never really been mad about Guitar Heroes (the games or the actual heroes). This is an album of guitar-based instrumentals, and I've found myself playing it again and again.
★★★★☆

Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons - (self-titled) : Phil Campbell was loyal to Motorhead and Lemmy for a lot of years. Without Lemmy's Rickenbacker, vocal chords and input, this isn't going to be anything like Motorhead, and it's probably right that Campbell and his sons (no word on whether they're actually bastards) find its own direction. Powerful rock, clean vocals.
★★★☆☆

Sixx:A.M. - Prayers for the Blessed Vol 2 : I'm feeling less warm about these two volumes than about Modern Vintage. I'm not sure whether it just needs time, I'll reserve judgement on this one because I've heard some good sounds as I've listened through and I want to like it.

I must give another mention to the Avenged Sevenfold album The Stage, I gave it a solid 4 in the last post, but this is another one that I've found myself playing again and again and liking it more and more. I have to upgrade that one to a 5
★★★★★

As usual, all music I've listened to goes into my New Rock and Metal releases playlist. Note that I now archive this off to leave only the more recent ones in there. For the older ones, see my 2016 rock  / metal releases playlist. Just sort that one by date to see the most recent at the top.

Notable Recent Rock / Metal Releases, start of Nov 2016

After a little bit of a fallow period, maybe, the last week or two has seen some excellent releases (and some purchases on my part).

Top of the list is Testament - Brotherhood of the Snake : They've been thrashing since the early days of Metallica, Megadeth et al. But I've never paid them much attention, which is my loss. I'm off to see them tonight (Nov 5) along with Amon Amarth and excited about that. If they play this entire album I won't be disappointed, every track has merit. If I can't buy a tee-shirt I will be disappointed, because the artwork is as epic as the music. An easy 5 out of 5 and purchased. [later update: I did get the tee shirt, the sound sucked a bit, which is a shame and often the way with second on the bill. But an excellent show otherwise, a great night.]
★★★★★

I've been looking forward to Graham Bonnet - The Book too. Rainbow's Down to Earth is one of my all-time favourite albums. For me, his voice is up there with Dio's as one of the great voices of Rock. The new songs are quality songs and at (unbelievably) age 68 his voice sounds almost as great as ever. There's a bonus disc containing covers of songs from his history (including three from the Rainbow album). It's become a bit of a trend for artists to re-record classic songs, I'm not sure that it always works, but the ones in question here sound pretty faithful generally. New guitarist Conrad Pesinato doesn't try to do Ritchie Blackmore but does entirely his own thing. The result is some worthwhile new versions of these songs.
★★★★★

Avenged Sevenfold - The Stage : The marketing campaign for this album involved some conspicuous secrecy, I'm not sure that worked because the album hasn't been as well-received as the last one. But I like it, lots of hooks and very listenable. Notable is the final and 15-minute track, Exists, which features a Carl Sagan-type speech from Neil deGrasse Tyson.
★★★★☆


As usual, all music I've listened to goes into my New Rock and Metal releases playlist. Note that I now archive this off to leave only the last couple of weeks-worth in there. For the older ones, see my 2016 rock  / metal releases playlist. Just sort that one by date to see the most recent at the top.

Notable recent rock and metal releases - end Sept 2016

As usual, below is just a selection of some of my favourite releases. All music I've listened to goes into my New Rock and Metal releases playlist. Note that I now archive this off to leave only the last couple of weeks-worth in there. For the older ones, see my 2016 rock  / metal releases playlist. Just sort that one by date to see the most recent at the top.

King 810 - La Petite Mort or a Conversation with God : This sounds like Faith No More have become *really* pissed off about something. That's my best stab at describing the sound/style but it makes you sit up and take notice when something truly original comes along. Maybe this isn't a new style but it's not like anything I've heard before. The anger is difficult to take for an entire album, but in smaller doses it's great.
★★★☆☆

Sixtynine - You are Me : A fresh sound, nicely oldschool and a wide variety of styles from almost unplugged to Foos-style rockout. The first time I heard it I starred it for another listen, by the third listen it was in the favourite albums of 2016.
★★★★★

Allegaeon - Proponent for Sentience : It's prog/thrash/symphonic/death metal all rolled into one. I'm not keen on growled vocals but it's not all growled and musically it's an awesome album. The last couple of tracks were a surprise, with a switch to clean vocals. I assume the switch relates to the story, which has to do with machine sentience and them quite rightly deciding to destroy us.
★★★★★

Charred Walls of the Damned - Creatures Watching Over the Dead : Supergroup that seems to have come out of Iced Earth featuring Richard Christy, Steve DiGiorgio, Tim "Ripper" Owens and Jason Suecof. Delightfully heavy with the excellent vocals you'd expect from Owens.
★★★★☆

Devin Townsend Project - Transcendence : No Ziltoid this time, but more of that huge epic sound and great songwriting.
★★★★☆

Ghost BC - Popestar : I've been waiting for this release but I have to say that the songs (all covers) don't grab me as much as previous original work has. Maybe it needs more listens.
★★★☆☆

Lordi - Monsterophonic : Another one I've been looking forward to. I thought they'd shaken off the Eurovision legacy. There is still the odd anthematic chorus that sounds as if it's designed for the popfans who like to put on a New Look leather jacket and pretend that they're into metal. But for the most part it's genuine honest stuff.
★★★☆☆

Notable rock and metal releases , end of August 2016

Have the recent releases been abundant with good thrash metal or have I just been noticing them because that's the mood I've been in?

My Regime - Dogmas : Singer/guitarist Spice has some frustrations and says "I can't think of a better way than to express it through some good old thrash songs... Thrash the way it was in the beginning. Fast, angry and raw." As he says, it's old-school thrash, done well.
★★★★☆

Paradox - Pangea : The seventh album from German band Paradox (going back to mid-eighties). I really like the slightly agitated, quite high-pitched vocals. Who do they remind me of? Flotsam and Jetsam maybe. If I remember I'll edit this. Quality. A keeper.
★★★★★

Helstar - Vampiro : Still with the thrash, but with a black theme this time, or rather (going by the song titles and album name) a vampire theme / atmosphere. Which for the record are the best and sexiest monsters and I would willingly offer my neck if I met one. Although I'd probably then be like Bradd Pitt in Interview with The Vampire and live on rats because I couldn't bear to kill another person. Anyway, immortal music!
★★★★☆

Vicious Rumors - Concussion Protocol : I'm starting to feel that a theme of a planet breaking apart indicates a great thrash album. (see also Pangea by Paradox in this post and previously Destruction, Under Attack and I'm sure there are more). There's also something noticeable about the bands who've been around for a long time (also applies to Paradox) I don't know whether it's the tightness from musicians with long experience or something old-school in the style but you can spot the longevity in the sound alone.
★★★★☆



Meshiaak - Alliance of Theives : Debut album from a new Australian band (although formed from some accomplished musicians). Sounding timeless but with some modern metal polish. Mixed feelings; it's heavy and it moves, but I'm not sure I like the newer flavours.
★★★☆☆

I've enjoyed Michael Sweet's album, One Sided War. Brilliant vocals, skilful guitar work. Hard rock / classic metal. The Christian theme isn't so 'in your face' as with his band Stryper.
★★★★☆

Running Wild - Rapid Foray : Pirate metal done a little more seriously than the brilliant Alestorm. (If you can play at being pirates more seriously.) Great songwriting on some engaging themes and some very listenable music from a another band that's been around for aeons. I feel this is going to become a firm favourite.
★★★★★

Going back a week or two there's Sabaton doing more of what they do so well with The Last Stand. Solid metal with a 'we were heroes' theme. They've done something novel with the track The Lost Battalion, use sampled period guns and explosions for drums. Overall the sound can get a little samey but it's a good sound.

An honourable mention for SkeletonWitch - The Apothic Gloom. It's a teeny bit on the doomy and growly side of my taste, but I've enjoyed this particular album from them.


As always, all of the rock and metal releases that I like go into the 'New Rock and Metal Releases' spotify playlist.

I've begun a new system. They've been piling up in there, which is OK as you can sort by date to bring the newest to the top. but each week I'm now moving some older ones out into a 2016 rock and metal releases playlist, so the 'new' one just has the last couple of weeks-worth and is a more playable playlist.

Death Row, second album from Touched

The latest addition to the family that is my Ebony Records collection is the second album from Touched, Death Row.

There's something really satisfying about buying a vinyl record that contains music that's not available via the streaming services (correct me if I'm wrong. I've found a couple of downloads online from other fans but I don't think they're great rips.) I would have bought this and many more discs at the time if the paper round money had stretched further.

I'd love to go back and tell my younger self "Don't worry - in the future the Internet will make it easy to find and buy decent copies of these albums, you'll have a bit more money to buy them and you'll have better equipment to play them. But there won't be much need; the vast majority of music will be available on demand via the Internet at a much better quality than you're getting from those crackly discs and that cheap stereo." "What's an Internet?"  "Possibly the most amazing thing that happens in the history of mankind. But you know how you think it's weird that ancient Egyptians worshipped cats...?"

I've got a rip that I'm pretty happy with and I'm very happy with the music. After the first couple of listens I feel that the music is a little more serious here than on the first album. Still boppy in places (moving on) and has the obligatory power ballad (When I Call Your Name) but goes to some harder and heavier places (title track). There's definitely a touch of Motley Crue going on. The guys are tight musically; John Hull does great work on all guitars and I like Ronnie's voice.

Rather confusingly, the track 'Back Alley Vices' appears on this album, which is the title of the debut album.

I've written before about the quality of the sound of the recordings from this studio which I don't really mind. It makes me smile, and it's the music that matters. This one definitely sounds better than the band's first album (I notice the words "digitally mastered" on the cover) but still isn't a very clear dynamic sound.

Notable recent rock / metal releases, mid-August 2016

Metal Allegiance - Fallen Heroes : There are two offerings from this supergroup, a self-titled album of new material and an EP which is a tribute to some recently-departed artists.

The album, called Metal Allegiance, is definitely worth a spin, it's great music. It features a cover, which is also a tribute, Dio's We Rock. The track really does rock, but what turns me off is the number of vocalists taking it in turns, which makes the track sound like one of those charity singles.

The EP is superb. Iron Fist is a head-shaking version of a classic song. But I really like Suffragette City, It's always so good to hear a metal rendition of a familiar but not-originally-metal classic.
★★★★☆

Equilibrium - Armageddon : I'm a fan of Equilibrium's fun mix of metal, growl, epic and folk. But I can't help feeling that the symphonic elements would sound so much better as real orchestral recordings rather than the obvious keyboard sound. I bought the previous album on first listen. Is this one better? I've not decided yet. Extra marks for great cover art though.
★★★★☆

Helion Prime - Helion Prime : I'm not sure why so many albums feature '50s-style sci-fi imagery, but I'm not complaining. The cover gives a clue about the subject matter of this album, heavy with space adventure and current science theories. The music is powerful but melodic with multi-tracked female vocals, a mix that works brilliantly well for me. Re-release, originally self-published earlier in the year.
★★★★★

Elm Street - Knock 'Em Out With a Metal Fist : I've been listening to this for a couple of weeks, it somehow missed being listed here sooner. This is only the second full-length album from the Melbourne band as Elm Street (previously one album as Raid) Musically this is old-school metal verging on thrash. Vocals are growled but not in such an extreme way. I love it, and the previous album and EP are just as good.
★★★★☆

As usual, these and all of the new rock / metal releases I discover are in my New Rock and Metal Releases Spotify playlist. Sort it by date order to bring the most recent to the top.

First New Rock / Metal Releases first half Aug 2016

This is a real week for bluesy rock-n-roll. There's Blues Pills – Lady In Gold which you'll love if you love Halestorm. Then a surprise (to me) new release from Blackfoot - Southern Navive. Slightly weird situation; I'm not sure what's wrong with Rickey Medlocke but he's no longer playing, just 'shepherding' the new band. It's good solid stuff but I'm not sure I like the cleaner vocal sound.

Then there's the Dead Dasies album - Make Some Noise. Initially I was a bit stand-offish with it because I've been seeing heavy advertising for this album all over the place for months. Not sure why that turns me off but it does. Now I'm listening to it and wow.... It has everything that the Blackfoot album is missing; the upbeat boogie-woogie, the driving rhythms, the dirty, lived-in vocals.

It had gone into the recent favourite albums playlist when not even half way through. Five stars from me.
★★★★★

If you like a little bit more metal with your  rock'n'roll then there's Jackyl - ROWYCO. These are the guys who gave us the genius that is the chainsaw solo.
★★★☆☆

For solid metal there's Necromancing the Stone - Jewel of the Vile. Besides the puns, they have driving metal, verging on old-school thrash in places, in a Kvelertak kind of way.
★★★★☆

And back to the more melodic, Brick - Faceless Strangers. Sounding a little more American than Scandinavian (I'm getting Trucker Diablo.) Am I hearing a hint of boogie-woogie piano in there? Low in the mix but I'm sure it's there. And cowbell!
★★★★☆

Iron Savior - Titancraft : I recommend this if, like me, you're a fan of old-school metal. Besides outstanding music, there's a whole backstory, this and other Iron Savior albums are based on a sci-fi / Atlantis story.
★★★★☆

Infinite Spectrum - Hunter of the Dark : I'm a fan of H P Lovecraft and one of my favourite albums is the proggy Non-Euclidean Spaces by Anthropia. This is a very similar album. Complex music and an album based on a Lovecraft story.
★★★★★

Notable recent rock and metal releases mid-end July 2016

Dust Bolt - Mass Confusion : Good proper old thrash metal. Love it.
★★★★☆

Orbs - Past Life Regression : Described in some places as progressive, it's a nu-progressive rather than traditional prog rock or metal. I love the creativity in the music and the subject matter, albeit a bit twisted and disturbing at times.
★★★★☆

Defecto - Excluded : Good solid heavy metal with a hint of the orchestrals. And proper old-fashioned guitar solos, it's so good to still hear those from time to time. The vocals vary from clean to growl (not too much of the latter). In places I can hear a James Hetfield influence. Maybe a little bit 'nu'. I see that this is their first full-length album. But it sounds very mature in sound and songwriting. This is excellent stuff. But then they're Scandinavian. What is it about that part of the world that produces such great music?
★★★★☆

Hammers of Misfortune - Dead Revoltution: I read somewhere that the band thinks they're too proggy for the metallers and too metal for the proggers. I love this album *because* it's prog and it's metal. And it has cowbell. great sounds and great writing. This is a keeper.

★★★★★

Notable recent rock and metal releases

Trick or Treat - Rabbits Hill pt 2 : I have to confess that I missed part 1, but I'm very happy to have caught up. I love the concept, the songs are based on Richard Adams' Watership Down. (In that respect it reminds me of the classic Butterfly Ball album) The Italian band began life as a Helloween tribute, which gives an idea of the feel. Because of a number of guest musicians it has a 'supergroup' feel to it. Musically and vocally it really rocks. Songwriting is excellent and the concept really works. Bonus points for the great artwork.

★★★★★

Q5 - New World Order : An 80's band with rather a long gap in their discography. They released a couple of albums in the 80s before splitting up, got together recently for a festival and that led to this new album. It really has an 80's feel and in a very good way, I can hear Saxon, AC/DC and Scorpions in there among others. The first track in particular 'We Came Here to Rock' starts out sounding like another AC/DC tribute but stick with it,  the album broadens and for me rapidly became a keeper. Fear is the Killer sounds like Scorpions have re-recorded The Same Thrill with guest vocals by Biff Byford, and I mean that in a good way - it's AWESOME.

★★★★☆

Denner/Sherman - Masters of Evil : I was very excited about this, being a firm King Diamond / Mercyful Fate fan. The cover looks like they've morphed the Melissa and Don't Break the Oath album covers, I'm sure that's no accident. So if I'm comparing this to DBTO and looking for a follow-up to that, they've only got themselves to blame! I didn't find that, at least not initially. There's only one King Diamond in the world, but Sean Peck does a fine job at the front. Musically it didn't grab me initially. But with each listen it's growing on me.

★★★★☆

Also an honourable mention to Secret Rule - Machination, I'm not usually keen on clean female vocals but I love the twists and turns and industrial/electronic sounds in the music  Also Under Attack by Destruction. Very Slayer-like and very good. Either or both of these may return with star ratings

These albums and many more recent releases are in my Spotify Playlist - New Rock and Metal Releases which you are welcome to subscribe to. Just sort it by date to see the most recent additions at the top.

Monsters of Rock (AKA Download) 2016 music

I didn't manage to write a 'notable new releases' last Friday because I was standing up to my ankles in mud at the 2016 Monsters of Rock (OK, Download if you really insist).

It was a superb line-up of bands over three days, three of the best headline acts that they could possibly have booked, including a 'farewell'* performance from Black Sabbath. There were also so many good bands lower down the bill.

Without commenting on everything I saw and enjoyed, here are some of my highlights.

Killswitch Engage : well on form and having lots of fun.

GutterDammerung : An original mix of arty black-and-white cinema, lighting effects, live music, classic tunes and live acting. A huge star-count on the screen, and some big names appearing on the stage. It was a little like Pink Floyd's The Wall - you feel sure there's deep alegory there, but you can't quite suss it. But incredibly enjoyable,  it's a real shame that it was necessary to leave just a little early in order to get over to the main stage for....

Rammstein : If I hadn't seen them at the same festival a couple of years ago, I'm sure I would have been blown away by the theatricals and pyrotechnics. But the previous show had been jaw-dropping and I went this year with expectations of them matching or topping those stunts. Which I don't think they did. The music was as awesome as ever.

Avatar : They appeared early on Saturday and I was gutted to only catch the tail end. I've been enjoying the latest album.

The Men Who Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing : I wasn't quite prepared for this, new to me. They announced themselves as the least professional band, that wasn't entirely a lie, but the music was good and the lyrics clever. They put the punk in steampunk, and I'm convinced that everything they utter is poking fun at someone's expense, that possibly even goes for their steampunk image. Lots of fun.

Lawnmower Deth : Another band that you have to see a couple of times before you start to 'get'. Loads of cheap props and costumes. But how amazing was it to see the Kim Wilde appear as a guest?! It's a very long story involving BBC Radio 2; the short version is that the band cover KW's 'Kids in America', she subsequently claimed them as her favourite thrash metal band and has now performed the song (at speed) on stage with them.

Megadeth : A huge highlight for me. I've long appreciated one of the original thrash-metal bands since the genre was invented, and the most recent album is brilliant. There were a couple of songs from the new album and all the classics you'd expect. Plus an unscheduled guest appearance from Nikki Sixx (who had been on the same stage a little earlier playing with Sixx A M) for a combined version of Anarchy in the UK, which both Megadeth and Motley Crue have covered.

Skindred : Not my first time seeing them, but the most enjoyable. I'm still not sure I really 'get' the combo of metal and dub, or the use of a DJ as a musician with a band, but good stuff.

Black Sabbath : I didn't expect this to be a highlight of the weekend but maybe low expectations are the key to having a surprisingly good time. Ozzy's vocals were off at times, way off, but I think this might have been a monitor problem because they clicked in and were great at other times. He was more active on stage than previously, and it was great to see the round shades gone and the scary eye make-up back! Tony Iomi was well on form, playing some great solos and knocking out those chunky riffs. Most of all it was just awesome to see such a classic band performing (they invented metal, didn't they?) The set started at the very beginning (Black Sabbath from the Black Sabbath album) and working through the classic era - Fairies Wear Boots, Snowblind... There were some surprises too... Technical Ecstacy is one of my favourite albums and so I loved hearing Dirty Women.

Amon Amarth : This was a great stage set, great effects, great performances of some great songs. I've seen them here before, listened to their albums including the new one. Now I'm a firm fan. Thanks guys, Skoll!

Halestorm : I was looking forward to this band too having enjoyed the latest album. It's dirty, bluesey rock (as was the previous band, Temperance Movement, a nice juxtaposition). The live performances were even better than the studio album, more animated, more life, loved it.

Tremonti :  I'd marked the new album Dust for more listening, and the live performance confirmed the suspicion that this is a terrific album worth more listens.

Nightwish : At this point was an unfortunate clash - Ghost, Billy Talent and Nightwish all scheduled to play at the same time. This was made slightly less difficult when Ghost had to cancel due to illness, unfortunate for anyone who had been looking forward to seeing them. They've been regulars at this festival and on a larger stage before, which is surprising because the latest album has been very popular. Back to Nightwish, I am a fan of the symphonic metal genre. NW aren't my favourite but this was still a very enjoyable performance. As musicians and singers they're incredibly good. I'm not sure about adding the pipes and recorders to the mix. I was also suspicious that backing tracks were in use, there were some complex orchestral sounds but only two hands on one keyboard.

Iron Maiden : Like Megadeth, the band have recently put out a very good album that will stand the test of time - The Book of Souls. The Mayan theme has given some great subject matter for the songs and lots of potential for stage set and theatricals. We had a 12 foot Mayan Eddie staggering about, saw Bruce rip out Eddie's heart, squeeze out the blood and throw it into the crowd (who caught that?)

Bruce was on form, mucking about at times, and doing the serious thing very well at other times (he informed us of the Orlando shooting, which led beautifully into 'Blood Brothers'). His vocals aren't what they were when he recorded Piece of Mind and Number of the Beast, but they weren't as bad as they have been either.

I really love the cover, it's great to see the old Eddie back, the 'staggering around' and inflatable versions on stage were amazing.

One of the giants of heavy metal, on form with some great new songs, well-chosen classics, fabulous stage set and effects, well played and well sung. A great end to the weekend.

Oh yes, there was rain. And mud. Lots of mud.


* last one at Donington, but they seem to have plenty of dates lined up for their 'the end' tour.

Recent Rock and Metal releases and a few reviews

I've added about 20 albums to the New Rock and Metal playlist this week, but nothing has really eclipsed some of the recent favourites I've been spinning again such as Kvelertak, Metal Church, Holy Dragons and one of my favourites of the year, Lords of Black II.

Some notable releases this week:

The Erkonauts - I Did Something Bad : Complex music and great artwork (is that a 2001-style monolith?) are apparently at odds with some frivolous titles and lyrics. That all makes for a compelling 4-star listen. I feel there's more here that I've yet to 'get'.
★★★★☆

HELLYEAH - Unden!able : I've been looking forward to this one since they released Human from the album. A little bit nu / melodic but on the hard side of that.
★★★★☆

Toseland - Cradle the Rage : This guitar R'n'F'n'R has had me boogie-ing around the room. Solid stuff. May have to upgrade this to a 5 after a few more listens.
★★★★☆

A mention too for Mother Feather's self-titled album. I was put off by the cover image - is it lipstick-pouting-let-me-bend-over-for-you stuff? I'm not sure, but I do like the music; good rock and interesting songwriting behind the clean female vocals.

Also Imperium; of all the recet album covers featuring hooded or mythical figures or mystical titles, Dreamhunter might be the one I give a few more listens.

Lacuna Coil - It's been getting a lot of attention; I'll be listening some more in case everyone else is right and I'm wrong.

Notable recent rock and metal releases

I've added about 30 albums to the New Rock and Metal playlist in the last week. I'm adding all the time so just hit follow and sort by date added.

Metal Church - XI : Classic heavy metal (a la Priest, Accept). A band with a long history, influencers themselves, and here they're being true to their roots. This has been in the playlist for a couple of weeks, taking time to work its true magic.
★★★★★

Long Distance Calling - TRIPS : Although the sound of vocals / lyrics vary between bands more than anything else, they've never been very important to this blogger unless they're particularly special. So instrumental tracks / long instrumental passages is no problem to me, maybe even a plus. The complexity of the music makes it progressive, the style varies widely, at times reclining back and other times banging its head. Is it a coincidence that the last track, 'Echo' with its slide guitar and driving rhythm reminds me of Floyd, not 'Echoes' itself but 'One of These Days?"
Love it.
★★★★★

Angarthal - Uranus And Gaia : Steve Angarthal is primarily a guitarist so this solo project features plenty of virtuoso guitar work and some guitar-based instrumentals. The music is quality hard rock / melodic metal, a touch epic in places. I like the sound of his vocals though they often don't quite hit the mark. Overall, excellent stuff.
★★★★☆

The Order - Rock n Rumble : This really stood out from the crowd for me this week. As a teen of the 80s. It brings back memories of big hair, ripped jeans and pretty boys wearing make-up (which The Order aren't).  The titles sum up the feel - Play it Loud, Rock 'n' Rumble, Gimme a Yeah. Early in the first track I was getting strong hints of AC/DC but that gave way to Van Halen and 80s Kiss. The artwork looks like a well-played LP cover, they're not trying to hide where they're coming from. For this blogger it's like tasting Mum's cooking again. Retro done extremely well.
★★★★★

War Machine by Tank

Currently on the turntable (or rather not on the turntable because it's a CD but coming out the speakers anyway) is this relatively-recent Tank offering.

I made the 'pre-loved' purchase because it's not available for streaming or to buy digitally. (I don't count Youtube but that's a conversation for another day.)  Odd that, because War Nation (same record label) and the recent Valley of Tears are both available sans removable media.

Tank vinyl figures in my collection, but when an album first comes out in 2010 it feels as if the vinyl is simply put out as a collector's item and that perversely makes me not want to collect it. In this case I'll go for the nice clean rip, not being in the 'vinyl is warmer' camp.

Some say that it's not Tank without Algy Ward (who rather confusingly is also releasing records as Tank). My own feeling on this is that any album is a collection of work by a particular set of musicians and should be judged as such  regardless of the name on the front, but I can certainly understand how Algy's fans would feel on this matter.

What about the music? It's great. It's a more sophisticated sound than early Tank, but still has the classic metal sound that I love. I can really hear Saxon there in the music as well as the vocals; lots of good lead riffs and root-note bass. I'm not a fan of a couple of the more ponderous tracks here, but when it rocks, it rocks.

I'm becoming a Doogie White fan, he has a new album out in his own name (with La Paz) as well as a more recent Tank album.

New Rock and Metal Releases playlist and notable recent releases

The Spotify playlist that I've used for the last couple of years for discovering new Rock / Metal releases hasn't been getting many updates recently, so I've had to start doing the legwork myself - my own playlist is here:

New Rock and Metal Releases

A few notable recent additions are:

Inner Blast - Prophesy : The epic / symphonic sound is getting very familiar now, but what's not to love? It's a great sound and the songwriting / arranging is particularly good here and rewards a few listens. Debut full-length album so I'm really looking forward to hearing what they produce as they mature.
★★★★☆

Why does the cover bear more than a passing resemblance to Known-Learnt from Arcane? Same artist? Both inspired by something else? Anyone know?

Holy Dragons - Civilizator : Great old-school metal verging on thrash at times with twin leads and double-bass drum. Soaring vocals with harmonies but just enough roughness. A brilliant sound a la Maiden / Priest, I don't know how I've missed them before now, superb.
★★★★★

Shiraz Lane - For Crying Out Loud : Oh those Scandinavians. This is more hard rock / melodic, and very well done. Vocals are a bit high-pitched for me, but I love the way Hannes Kett sounds like Dave Mustaine when he growls.
★★★★☆

Kvelertak - Nattesferd : I don't usually go for full-on death growl, but I find Erlend Hjelvik's vocals a little more accessible and the music is excellent, thrash dipping a toe into melodic metal maybe? I don't know but I love it.
★★★★★


I'm just adding to the New Rock and Metal Releases playlist all the time. Hit the 'Follow' button and sort it by date to keep up with the new additions.

Grim Reaper, See you in Hell and the Ebony label

I've just welcomed this little beauty into the family.

I'm collecting Ebony LPs now. I have a few in the collection, bought at the time (mid-late 80s) because of the great music; Touched, Samurai among others, but strangely not Grim Reaper, possibly (I know now) the best act to come out of the Ebony studio. (Don't judge too harshly, these were pre-internet days - we relied on magazines, a weekly rock show and word of mouth. Plus you often had to buy a whole album without any way of sampling any of it on demand. It was easy to miss great stuff.)

With so much of that output currently not available to buy or for streaming, it's a reasonable excuse to fill the gaps in the vinyl collection now.

Why Ebony? Back then, on cheap stereos and without the benefit of an audiophile's ear, it was obvious that the sound on these particular LPs sucks, but what they lacked in polished sound they made up for with top-quality A&R.

They had an ear for a really good band and great songs, and even on the Rock meets Metal compilation albums (bands payed for a day's studio time in return for being cut into a record) there are some real gems.

So here's to Darryl Johnston. Being able to discover (and afford) the music was difficult at the time, but better late than never!