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.