Album Reviews

[Terry]

I think ya mean In Rock there, bin. Believe it or not, when Gillan first left, the band asked Paul Rogers to sing for Purple, but he declined.

I agree with the assessment of Coverdale. His singing on those three DP albums was quite good, but the lyrics were downright boneheaded and cliche-filled in places. Glenn Hughes' singing on those records was outstanding ("This Time Around", "Gettin' Tighter"), and his voice paired with Coverdale's (as on "Sail Away" from Burn or "Lady Double Dealer" from Stormbringer) was really cool. Too bad he usually resorted to yelping and screaming onstage.

Paul Rogers, to me, isn't much of a singer. Never was.

Coverdale singing boneheaded, cliche-filled lyrics? Shit, the man has made a CAREER of that! GREAT rock voice, though.

Would have to agree with Hughes being utterly annoying onstage when he was a member of DP. Watching the DP MKIII 1974 California Jam show, Hughes becomes tiresome rather quickly.

[chefcraig]

Would have to agree with Hughes being utterly annoying onstage when he was a member of DP. Watching the DP MKIII 1974 California Jam show, Hughes becomes tiresome rather quickly.

Sadly, things only got worse once Blackmore left and Bolin (and his drug problems) came on board. The band were absolutely awful live, as many of the bootleg titles from the time (Numb In Japan, In Deep Grief, Crisis What Crisis, Come Taste The End, Last Straw) and concert reviews (Melody Maker, March 12, 1976) attest. Here is a link to the band's final show, which by most reports was a complete disaster: The End Of Deep Purple

WARNING: This really sucks...

[lesfunk]

whoop!

[Terry]

Sadly, things only got worse once Blackmore left and Bolin (and his drug problems) came on board. The band were absolutely awful live, as many of the bootleg titles from the time (Numb In Japan, In Deep Grief, Crisis What Crisis, Come Taste The End, Last Straw) and concert reviews (Melody Maker, March 12, 1976) attest. Here is a link to the band's final show, which by most reports was a complete disaster: The End Of Deep Purple

WARNING: This really sucks...

Bolin had quite a bit of talent going for him, but his fairly brief stint with DP wasn't really representative of the best he had to offer... at least not in terms of live performances, with that MKIV Japan stuff being abysmal. Had seen what little footage there was of that particular show before, and it was pretty bad...one suspects that Lord and Paice stuck around that long just for the money, while Hughes and Bolin were dulling their talents with heavy drug use...sad, really.

[SunisinuS]

English People just do not know what to do with blues.

[ThrillsNSpills]

Sadly, things only got worse once Blackmore left and Bolin (and his drug problems) came on board. The band were absolutely awful live, as many of the bootleg titles from the time (Numb In Japan, In Deep Grief, Crisis What Crisis, Come Taste The End, Last Straw) and concert reviews (Melody Maker, March 12, 1976) attest. Here is a link to the band's final show, which by most reports was a complete disaster: The End Of Deep Purple

WARNING: This really sucks...

Wow. Now THOSE are some uncomplimentary titles.

[binnie]

I think ya mean In Rock there, bin.

Doh! Yes, yes I do.

Oh man, I can't believe I fucked that up.....

[binnie]

Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier.

You have to admire Maiden's refusal to become a heritage act. Whilst most bands their age trot out a by-the-numbers album before touring the same old setlist, Maiden's continued commitment to push the boundaries of their sound and really tour a new album is refreshing. Listening to 'The Final Frontier', you are left in no doubt that these six guys are still very, very passionate about making music - you are also crucially aware that they are smart enough to evolve, realizing that it would be fruitless to attempt to compete with their mid-20's selves, and that the only way forward really is progression. Indeed, 'prog' really is the word here - in many ways 'The Final Frontier' is the next logical step of Dickinson-era mark II, with the songs being even more epic and expansive than at any other time in the band's career. Less metallic that 'A Matter Of Life And Death' or 'Dance Of Death', Maiden here teeter on becoming the Rush of heavy metal, making albums uniquely their own within a sound that is nonetheless unwaveringly distinct.

It's a very good record, but that shouldn't surprise us. Well written, beautifully played, and passionate. And yet, it's a difficult album to love. Part of the problem is that for all the aim here was to be progressive, that aim has been achieved at the expense of the 'edit' button. Some of the songs feel long for the sake of it: album closer 'Where The Wild Thing's Are' does not contain enough ideas to warrant 11 minutes; and the series of drum loops, riffs and doodles that make up the first 4 and a half minutes of the album sound like a bunch of middle aged men masturbating in a room. Nevertheless, when it works it really works. On songs where the band push far beyond their heavy metal roots and incorporate elements of 70s prog ('Isle of Avalon', 'Talisman' and 'Starblind' being the best examples), Maiden achieve moments of hypnotic beauty which are truly moving. Largely moving away from themes of war which had dogged previous albums, Dickinson has more scope to show the range of emotions he can command as a singer, with 'Coming Home' being a particuarly heartfelt example, and something which the band have never really attempted in the past.

It's a shame, then, that much of this ingenuity is marred by moments of mediocrity. 'The Alchemist' and 'El Dorado' are not bad songs by any means, but they do feel like vintage Maiden fodder, an attempt to placate Maiden die-hards rather than fully indulging themselves in the prog-rock record you sense they'd really like to make. The result is an album which feels unsteady and of-balance, where previous effort 'A Matter Of Life And Death' felt like a unified vision. Perhaps these uncomfortable niggles are the natural result of experimentation. They shouldn't dent our admiration for a band which refuses to rest on its laurels. Once the archetypal Heavy Metal band, Maiden have evolved into something much, much more. Prepared to challenge their fanbase as much as themselves, 'The Final Frontier' remains a fascinating journey and an absorbing listen.

[binnie]

Parkway Drive - Deep Blue.

This is a moment in which lots of movements chrystalize into a whole. Fans of contemporary heavy music will not find anything particuarly innovative here, but Parway Drive are nevertheless separated from the pack by two things. Firstly, the sheer sincerity of the band's delivery - their is no contrived angst of trendy self-pity here, just an uncomfortable undercurrent of rage. Secondly, and more significantly, Parkway Drive have absorbed lots of elements of extreme music over the past 5 years into a unified vision: thick grooves, beatdowns, blast beats and metalcore are rolled into one ungodly beast of a sound. It is for that reason that everyone else is going to have to up their game. This Australian band have given us an album of the year candidate, and a record as vibrant and well produced as anything which the US could offer (including Lamb of God or Devildriver.)

Not a chirpy record by any means, it remains an oddly uplifting listen. The rhythms here are infectious, driving songs like 'Wreckade' and 'Sleepwalker' to allow Parway Drive to combine the best bits of extreme metal into something more accessible than their contempories. The variety in the shades of aggression is commendable. 'Pressures' is an anthem for bleak times, whilst 'Alone', with its crooked melody and jagged riff, is a truly inspired modern classic. Sure, you've heard much of this before. But Parkway Drive do it more powerfully than most: unlike most of their contempories, they are prepared to be silent virtuosos, giving them songs more energy and groove precisely because they don't overplay. It leaves the songs to exist as a collection of raw nerves. Indeed, whilst this certainly isn't for the faint hearted, it is metal at its most earnest and honest, a group of men who live for every tortured note of the music which they play. With beautiful artwork, heartfelt songs and an impassioned delivery, they really are the band who have come from nowhere to light up the centre stage this year. This is a twisted concoction of beautiful agony.

[binnie]

From the vaults: AC/DC - Let There Be Rock (1977)

I've got to level with ya: this is the reason I'm here. It was this record - played to me by my dad at 8 years old - that hooked me on hard rock, and 20 years later I've never looked back. What has surprised me more and more over those 20 years, however, is how this record is treated by other rockers. Not ignored so much as under-appreciated, it holds a place much lower in the hearts of 'DC fans than 'Powerage', 'Highway To Hell' or 'Back In Black'. But if the latter two records are celebrated for their hits, hooks and infectious choruses, for me it is the pre-Mutt Lange records where 'DC really stood out. Have AC/DC ever sounded rawer than they do on these 8 songs? From the title-track's supercharged rawk, a clarion call to rockers everywhere; the cheeky sleeze of 'Go Down', the band's ode to fellatio and Bon Scott at his salacious best; or the sheer abandon of groupie shagging 'Whole Lot of Rosie', a song so wanton the medium really does equally the message; this is a pure unadulated joy of a record.

It is also one which contains some forgotten moments. 'Overdose', with its delicate intro and bad-boy in love lyrics, is a charmer of a song, and the wild blues of 'Bad Boy Boogie' and jagged cynicism of 'Dog Eat Dog' are tunes many bands would give their right nuts to write. Is this the superlative AC/DC record? No, but it is the most powerful. The sound of a band still growing, 'Let There Be Rock' bursts with infectious enthusiasm, drips sin, and contains Angus's finest collection of solos. Much, much more than a stepping-stone in the band's rise to world domination.

[binnie]

Suicide Silence - No Time To Bleed

This is a 37 minute nightmare of a death metal record. Bleak, and crushingly aggressive. A twisted mesh of screams, growls, blast-beats, and schizophrenic songs wrapped around demented time changes and tortured riffs, this is extreme by any measure. And yet, what surprises most about the album's opener 'Wake Up' is how oddly catchy it is. Not hooky, but catchy. This song - with it's harrowingly sparse solo - also introduces us to how intelliegent this band is. On 'Something Inside' we are treated to a claustrophobic take on self doubt and religious affiliation, a take far beyond the generic anti-Christian sentiments of many Death Metal bands. Indeed, this is a genre in which it is easy to sound generic, but Suicide Silence make a sound very much their own. 'Lifted' is classic thrash put through a blender, whilst 'Smoke' and 'Wasted' sound like Fear Factory being tortured. This is a punishing listen, but with so much crammed into these songs it is rarely a draining one. A very good record, Suicide Silence nonetheless have a startling one in them. Learning to push their innovations would be rewarding. The sparse and harrowing instrumental '...And Then She Bleeds' - demonstrates that this is a band at its best in the slower tempos, and learning to mix such parts into their dementia would really allow this band to separate themselves from the pack.

[binnie]

From the vaults: The Almighty - Crank (1994)

"I've got everything that I need to be free, I've got masturbation and cable TV". Witty, weary and aggressively despondant, the throwaway charm of that lyric is typical of the attitude brimming from this album. The sound of punk and metal smashing into each other, 'Crank' combined the thoughtful, anti-establishment cynicism of the former and life-affirming, aimless rebellion of the latter in perfect measure. Whilst the bands earlier records had seen them dreaming of Sunset Strip from drizzly Scotland, things changed with 1993's 'Powertrip'. Bigger, darker and grizzlier, their sound was part Warrior Soul, part New Model Army and part Motorhead, and its crushed. 'Crank' took things a stage further. From the crushing riff of 'Wrench', the jack-hammer punk fury of 'Ultraviolent' and 'Welcome to Defiance', and cynical metallic crunch of 'Sorry For Nothing' and 'Way Beyond Belief', this was a band which combined tort riffs, poetically defiant lyrics, and vocals which were rasped and spat into a real pitbull of an album. They should have been huge - as huge as this record sounded.

[Terry]

From the vaults: Rainbow - Straight Between The Eyes (1982)

Joe Lynn Turner era Rainbow was a long way from that of Ronnie James Dio, epic soundscapes being eschewed in favour of pop senibilities, and in truth this is a record more of its time than timeless. It remains undervalued, however, and should not be dismissed as AOR, even if the band do come close on 'Stone Cold.' What we have here, rather, is a solid Heavy Metal record. 'Death Alley Driver' is a straight out rocker delivered at piledriver pace which comes on like a motherfucker, even if it does suffer by comparison with 'Highway Star'; and 'Tite Squeeze' sees Richie Blackmore and Roger Glover return to the funk-soul of their Deep Purple heyday. In the annals of rock history, Joe Lynn Turner is not accorded the place he deserves as singer: a master of diction, he puts in a remarkable performance here and if his lyrics suffer from cliche, his delivery on the emotive croon of 'Tearin' Out My Heart' is world class. Blackmore, as expected, is on fire and his sultry riffs even carry filler like 'Power' and 'Rock Fever'. Drenched in a crisp and clear production, the songs suffer from a sheen which burries their blues influences far below the surface and have meant that it hasn't aged well. That being said, it deserves a place in any classic rock collection - closing with 'Eyes of Fire', awash with eastern orchestratin and the bombast of '80s rock, this was the sound of a band still fire much of fire if not quite 'Rising.'

Have always thought the solo in Stone Cold was totally brilliant, and the song has a great brooding quality to it. Certainly more commercial than the RJD era to be sure (and on the whole the album probably isn't even the best that the JLT albums have to offer), but also demonstrates that commercial rock doesn't have to be mindless by default. Whatever shortcomings the record had in terms of production or rigidity of performances were more than compensated for live. Great drumming.

[Seshmeister]

From the vaults: The Almighty - Crank (1994)

"I've got everything that I need to be free, I've got masturbation and cable TV". Witty, weary and aggressively despondant, the throwaway charm of that lyric is typical of the attitude brimming from this album. The sound of punk and metal smashing into each other, 'Crank' combined the thoughtful, anti-establishment cynicism of the former and life-affirming, aimless rebellion of the latter in perfect measure. Whilst the bands earlier records had seen them dreaming of Sunset Strip from drizzly Scotland, things changed with 1993's 'Powertrip'. Bigger, darker and grizzlier, their sound was part Warrior Soul, part New Model Army and part Motorhead, and its crushed. 'Crank' took things a stage further. From the crushing riff of 'Wrench', the jack-hammer punk fury of 'Ultraviolent' and 'Welcome to Defiance', and cynical metallic crunch of 'Sorry For Nothing' and 'Way Beyond Belief', this was a band which combined tort riffs, poetically defiant lyrics, and vocals which were rasped and spat into a real pitbull of an album. They should have been huge - as huge as this record sounded.

I'm confused by this, I know music is subjective and so forth but I really don't get this one.

I'm listening to Wrench at the moment in case something changed in the couple of years from when I saw them and sorry but what?

Musically, melodically, rhythmically, technically, lyrically???

I wouldn't be posting this if I didn't respect your opinion and I do fear I'm just being jealous as a contemporary but I really really don't get it.


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[binnie]

Well, music is subjective as you say.

My tastes lie with the heavier end of things, and Wrench plays straight into that. It is crushingly heavy, a I love the riff. It's pretty much a pissed off anthem of defiance isn't it? I would also add that I can't think of another band that sounds anything like that. Most of all, however, it's always been the intensity and sincerity of Warwick's delivery that sold that album for me - he always sounded like he meant it.

For me, whilst 'Blood, Fire & Love' and 'Soul Destruction' were interesting records, the band sounded like they wanted to be an American band at that point. It was only really on 'Powertrip' and 'Crank' that they evolved into something wholly their own.