tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39702085529471350392024-03-13T00:47:52.330-04:00The Metal Blog Of MetalUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-77342616305103256822018-01-15T22:09:00.002-05:002018-01-15T22:22:32.237-05:00With Iron Will We're Reaching For The Sky<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>The Best Of 2017</b></span><br />
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Muthas, 2017 is history and I am back with my list of the best albums, live albums, and reissues. Enjoy!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Albums</u></span></b><br />
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<b>Air Raid</b> – <i>Across The Line</i><br />
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The third full length album from these Swedish bangers is packed with neo-classical shredding and features new vocalist Fredrik Werner. If you like <b>Yngwie’s</b> <i>Rising Force</i> album then you are going to love this! I cannot spin this enough! Buy or die!<br />
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<b>Sorcerer</b> – <i>The Crowning Of The Fire King</i><br />
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Album number two for this epic doom band is a tour de force of classy metal with superb vocals. Please don’t pass on this band especially if you are a fan of Tony Martin era <b>Sabbath</b>. If you find doom boring, check out epic doom which cranks up to mid-pace and crushes skulls.<br />
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<b>Ram </b>– <i>Rod</i><br />
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<b>Ram’s</b> new album is excellent traditional metal which recalls <b>Priest</b>. <i>Rod</i> is half stand alone tracks and half concept album and the whole thing rips like <i>Painkiller</i>. Check out “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRtf3M2dDkM">Gulag</a>” and buy the album. Their back catalog is top notch as well.<br />
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<b>Night Demon</b> – <i>Darkness Remains</i><br />
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It’s <b>Night Demon’s</b> second full length and it’s great. Check out my full review <a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2017/03/like-thunder-through-skull.html">here</a>.<br />
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<b>Overkill</b> – <i>The Grinding Wheel</i><br />
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New Jersey’s thrashers blast my face off again. Can they ever be stopped?! Check out my full review <a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2017/02/come-heavy-or-dont-come-at-all.html">here</a>.<br />
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<b>Striker</b> – <i>Striker</i><br />
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Canada’s <b>Striker</b> is back with another full length album and only a scant year has passed since their last disc! This eponymous album is stuffed with anthemic choruses, gang vocals and high energy songs. Do you need a soundtrack for your next training montage? Do you need some positivity and songs about achieving against all odds? If so, pick this up pronto. If not, pick it up anyway and stop being a loser.<br />
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<b>Vulture</b> – <i>The Guillotine</i><br />
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Pure, balls out, German speed metal is the order of the day here. Picking up where their demo EP left off, <b>Vulture</b> shreds all over the place with nary a pause to catch a breath. Good old speed metal that borders on thrash and takes a cue from <i>Show No Mercy</i>. Do you feel the need for speed? If so, this is your shit right here.<br />
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<b>Metalian</b> – <i>Midnight Rider</i><br />
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Holy shit this is good! <b>Metalian</b> has been rocking away for years up in Montreal and their newest album got the most spins from me of any 2017 release. Combine <b>Priest</b> and <b>Maiden</b> and throw in a superb vocalist with ultra-catchy songwriting and you get <i>Midnight Rider</i>. I love this album so damn much! Hail to you <b>Metalian</b>!<br />
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<b>Satan’s Hallow</b> – <i>Satan’s Hallow</i><br />
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Chicago’s own <b>Satan’s Hallow</b> delivers the goods on their full length debut. The band has crafted a rock-solid collection of traditional metal with hooks galore. NWOBHM fans and anyone that likes metal that isn’t pretentious bullshit should pick this up asap. All killer no filler!<br />
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<b>Iced Earth</b> – <i>Incorruptible</i><br />
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<b>Iced Earth</b> is on my list? Is it 1997? I had written this band off a decade ago and lost track of them for the most part. I picked this up on a whim and I am glad I did because they have delivered one of their best albums in the last 20 years. John Schaffer has dispensed with the concept album nonsense and has written a great metal album. Vocalist Stu Block has really come into his own on this one and sounds amazing. Check out the majesty of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmljtVrxul0">“Clear The Way (December 13th, 1862)”</a> and you’ll understand why this had to make it onto my list.<br />
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<b>Jag Panzer</b> – <i>The Deviant Chord</i><br />
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Metal legends <b>Jag Panzer</b> issue their first album since the reunion of their classic lineup and the results are excellent. This is classy power metal that the world needs more of. The Tyrant sounds great and the songs are packed with hooks. Check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47eP5qTRH2A">“Far Beyond All Fear”</a> if you need a sample. In addition to the great album, <a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2017/09/iron-shadows.html">Mark Briody</a> was gracious enough to answer my NWOBHM questionnaire. Thanks Mark and <b>Jag Panzer</b>!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Reissues</u></span></b><br />
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<b>Skol Records NWOBHM Single CD Replicas Round 2</b><br />
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Skol Records and Bart Gabriel deliver another great selection of <a href="http://www.skolrecords.com/nwobhm.htm">NWOBHM replica CD</a> singles and this time they are focused on Neat Records. Round 2 of the reissues includes classic singles from <b>Jaguar</b>, <b>Crucifixion</b>, <b>White Spirit</b>, <b>Blitzkrieg</b>, <b>Saracen</b>, and <b>Avenger</b>. Definitely pick these up if you can and check out Bart’s answers to my NWOBHM questionnaire right <a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2017/09/axe-crazy.html">here</a>.<br />
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<b>Wolf </b>– <i>Edge Of The World</i><br />
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One of the great NWOBHM albums finally gets a reissue! <b>Wolf</b>, originally known as <b>Black Axe</b>, released this excellent album in 1984 and High Roller saw fit to reissue it for all of us to enjoy. Check out the classic cut <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYC0WChR6c0">“Red Lights”</a> and then pick this up!<br />
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<b>Running Wild</b> – Noise Records Catalog<br />
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Finally, the long out of print <b>Running Wild </b>albums from Noise Records get a reissue! These stone cold classics from the German pirate rockers’ catalog is now available for all to enjoy without paying insane prices. These also feature remastering and a clutch of bonus tracks on CD and the whole catalog is also available on vinyl.<br />
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<b>Accept</b> – <i>Restless And Live</i><br />
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After three studio albums with Mark Tornillo, <b>Accept </b>offer up a double live album that captures the band live in Europe in 2015. The album sounds great and it was high time that the band released a live album with this lineup. The new material really shines in a live setting.<br />
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<b>Armored Saint</b> – <i>Carpe Noctum</i><br />
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I’m not sure if we can call this their first or second live album, but however you number it the album delivers eight tracks of prime traditional metal. The whole band is tight and John Bush is in fine voice. The only complaint I have is it’s too short – I’d really like a proper double live album from them.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Disappointment Of The Year</u></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1y23kdfnErQWTXRvlnJDxvt11g3O4YxSIY0ahPE9vkGoa1cef96apgUlECrL48dk0Z2Ehjdho155Q3R4-R3StKlt6ITFyFrdLRcNFdjaYYeO3-FpG4LpsLlOYpJiX4lzMR8q2uT3OiTg/s1600/Accept+the+rise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="355" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1y23kdfnErQWTXRvlnJDxvt11g3O4YxSIY0ahPE9vkGoa1cef96apgUlECrL48dk0Z2Ehjdho155Q3R4-R3StKlt6ITFyFrdLRcNFdjaYYeO3-FpG4LpsLlOYpJiX4lzMR8q2uT3OiTg/s200/Accept+the+rise.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Accept</b> – <i>The Rise Of Chaos</i><br />
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Well, they may have released a great live album this year, but their new studio album is not very good. Just like their previous album – <i>Blind Rage</i> – there’s not enough hooks to keep me interested. I hope that <b>Accept</b> will be able to match the quality of <i>Blood Of The Nations </i>in the future, but I get the sense that they are rushing their songwriting. Come on guys, prove me wrong on the next one.<br />
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That's it muthas! Thanks for reading and I'll see you back here in 2018.</div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-53685059932759840352017-12-17T15:24:00.000-05:002017-12-17T15:50:39.025-05:00Maiden Hell<div class="Standard">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Jarvis Leatherby </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Musician, Promoter and NWOBHM Enthusiast<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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Muthas, I was lucky enough to be able to interview the main man in <b>Night Demon</b> - Jarvis Leatherby - about the New Wave Of British Metal. It's a very cool interview and Jarvis has some really insightful (and lengthy!) answers to my questions. So let's see what Jarvis has to say about NWOBHM. Enjoy!</div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> Jarvis, thanks so much for doing this interview! How's the
touring going for the new <b>Night Demon</b> album?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span> So far so good. We are about 1/3 of the way through the
touring cycle for <i>Darkness Remains</i>.
We've done a ton of European headline touring and festivals, along with
some big U.S. Festivals. Heading back to
Europe at the beginning of the year to support <b>Accept</b> for about six weeks, then
returning stateside to do some more damage out here. Although it's a grueling lifestyle, I can
proudly say that we are really enjoying it now more than ever.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> In addition to being in <b>Night Demon</b> you are also the
singer for NWOBHM legends <b>Jaguar</b>. How did that come to pass? Any plans for a
new <b>Jaguar</b> album with you at the mic?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span> A few years back,
<b>Jaguar's</b> then time manager had contacted me regarding the band looking for a
new vocalist. They had heard <b>Night
Demon's</b> cover of "Axe Crazy" (on the expanded version of our debut EP) and
thought I would be a good fit.
Unfortunately at the time, I was right in the middle of a <b>Night Demon</b>
tour and had another one to follow right after.
It also didn't help that the rest of the band was spread over the U.K.
And Sweden. <o:p></o:p></div>
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About a year and a half went by with little to no
communication when I came across a poster for a big NWOBHM festival in the U.K
and saw their name on it. I immediately
contacted Garry Pepperd (founding guitarist of <b>Jaguar</b>) to find out who they got
to fill the role of lead singer. He
explained that they still had nobody, and had hoped to get somebody in on time
to do the show, but to no avail. At that
point I knew I would be available for this particular date, so I picked up our
conversation where we left off and I agreed to do the gig and see how it
goes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Night Demon</b> had just come off a tour in Mexico with <b>Skull
Fist</b>, and I immediately got off the plane in Los Angeles, can hopped on another
plane to London. I got to spend a couple
days with Simon and Garry prior to the gig (not rehearsing mind you) drinking
and getting to know each other. We hit
it off so well, it felt like we had been best mates forever. I met Nate the drummer onstage at the gig,
and we busted out an amazing set in Sheffield, and the rest is history.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Power Games</i> is such a huge vocal influence to me, it's a
surreal feeling to be up there with those guys on stage and live out a real
rock and roll dream. I'm a great fit for
the band, and at the moment we are just taking things as they come and keeping
it a fun and low pressure situation. The
great thing is the band has never rehearsed since I've been in it, and we just
have this mutual trust on stage that seems to work really well while also
feeling very spontaneous. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> What song/comp/album started you on your journey of
listening to and collecting NWOBHM?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span> <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eFFGUZ3yzw">NWOBHM 79' Revisited</a></i>. That was the one that did it all for me. I haven't been the same since. It changed my view of metal in the most
positive way. In the pre-internet years
there were so many NWOBHM bands that I had heard of, seen photos, artwork, new
song titles, etc. that I had never actually heard with my own ears. One day I was at Best Buy in the suburban
town I grew up in, and I came across the double CD version of this in the racks. I couldn't believe my fucking eyes! I had no knowledge of this compilation ever
existing, so to me I was in heaven and completely blown away with excitement of
what I was holding in my hands, and what I was inevitably going to buy and rush
home to throw into my stereo.</div>
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I remember specifically the excitement of popping in the
first disc so I could finally here “It's Electric” by <b>Diamond Head</b>. Here is a song that I had heard about for a
long time, but never had the opportunity to actually ever listen to. That was just the tip of the iceberg in all
actuality. The songs and the bands
themselves just kept my attention track by track from beginning to end. I thought I had an idea of what NWOBHM was
all about, but this thing really took me to my first major schooling on the
genre.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This compilation was something much more focused than <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEq6cGFSt0g">Metal for Muthas</a></i>. You also had twice three times as much music here. I suppose in hindsight guys like Lars Ulrich
and Brian Slagel could really be able to put together something more
comprehensive like this because the scene had already been and gone. Where as <i>Metal for Muthas</i> was released in the
thick of it all.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I discovered so many bands from this compilation. One thing I will say about it know a days is
that the bands that were on this very damn lucky to be included. Now that my knowledge of NWOBHM bands has
more than doubled from that point in time, there are so many unsung heroes of
the scene that were really great. If
only they were on this comp, maybe their careers would have been different in
the later reunion years of some of these bands.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> What's your favorite NWOBHM single?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span> <b>AIIZ</b> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXAAebA2IZQ">“I'm The OneWho Loves You” b/w “Ringside Seat”</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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This is a strange one because the sing is very commercial and
poppy sounding. Almost like it could've
easily been a Rick Springfield song or something like that, but something about
taking the risk to release a song like that as a single, really excites
me. It's a great song with some really good
hooks, and although the production is big sounding, the tones are very raw and
rock and roll. The song also kind of
reminds me of something <b>Rainbow</b> would do in the Graham Bonnet era. Funny thing is that the band didn't even
write this song, so I assume this was the record label's attempt to get a hit
song out of <b>AIIZ</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The cover art is fantastic!
A killer live shot of the band on stage with red lights and fog! That's exactly how Night Demon was in the
early days. We brought our own red
lights and fog machines to every gig. It
was our signature. Maybe subliminally
that came from this image. Who knows?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now the b-side “Ringside Seat” is really what's gonna save my
ass here. LOL!<o:p></o:p></div>
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This has got to be one of my favorite songs of all
time!!!!!!!!!! From the intro down to
the last note. If you ever want to
explain to someone what rock and roll sounds like, this is the first song they
should ever hear. I don't need to go
into explaining why, or breaking down the song.
Just simply go listen to it and feel that feeling.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> What's your favorite NWOBHM LP?<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span> <b>Angel Witch</b> – <i>Angel
Witch</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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This is a question I would normally struggle with, but in
truth it's not that tough a decision when I really answer the full
question. To me it's my favorite because
it's such a complete album. There are
enough songs, the sequence is perfect, the dynamics are definitely there, there
is an interesting yet unmistakable sound to the album, and the artwork is
iconic.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We have been fortunate enough to get to know Kevin and the
band and play quite a few shows with them.
I absolutely love the band and they are definitely in my top five
favorite NWOBHM bands of all time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> What's your favorite NWOBHM compilation released back in
the 80s?<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span> I would have to say
<i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXRFuqfXVJI">Roksnax</a></i>. It's a pretty rare comp that
our former guitar player <a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2017/08/ashes-to-ashes.html">Brent Woodward</a> turned me onto. <b>Hollow Ground</b> was one of the bands on there,
and really blew me away. <b>Saracen</b>, as
well. This comp has a lot of more rare
NWOBHM bands, but the quality of the bands is really high in my opinion, and
I'm really glad he turned me onto it when he did.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> Which band had the better debut album - <b>Iron Maiden</b> or
<b>Angel Witch</b>?<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span> This is a loaded
question. Difficult to say, but if I had
to make a choice, I would say <b>Maiden</b>.
<b>Angel Witch</b> in my mind had a better album, but <b>Maiden's </b>debut is just a
total and complete game changer. You
could argue that the <i>Soundhouse Tapes</i> was the true debut, but really with the
artwork, and the songs, the first <b>Maiden</b> album really did so much to advance
the genre. <b>Angel Witch</b> is still my
favorite of the two, but with <b>Angel Witch</b>, you kind of feel that it's more
sophisticated than a debut. I have
nothing ever bad to say about <b>Maiden</b>, and I'm not here, but even as amazing as
the self titled is, I still prefer <i>Killers</i> to the debut. Better production, and more direction in the
song writing and themes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> Which Brian Ross band do you like the most - <b>Satan</b>,
<b>Blitzkrieg</b>, <b>Avenger</b> or <b>Lone Wolf</b>?<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span> <b>Satan</b>. I'm not just saying that because I manage the
band, either. For my money, <b>Satan</b> is a
band who is a the top of their game.
There's not been anything I didn't like that the band has ever
released. I think Brian's voice fits the
band well, and has since he joined over thirty years ago. He is the voice of <b>Satan</b>. It's so rare to see a band like them these
days. The original five members from the
<i>Court in the Act</i> era are still playing together, and writing and recording, and
performing on the highest level. So
maybe that is why I manage the band.
They are the best! It's
undeniable.<br />
<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> Was <b>Motorhead</b> a NWOBHM band or were they a precursor like <b>Judas Priest</b>?<br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span> Definitely not a NWOBHM band.
They are more a U.K. Punk band than anything in my opinion. At least when they started. They are one of the most important bands to
the NWOBHM movement, but they came before and helped inspire it all, along with
<b>Priest</b>, punk rock, and the big three (<b>Sabbath</b>, <b>Zepplin</b>, and <b>Purple</b>).<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> Please recommend a good playlist for a NWOBHM newcomer.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Angel Witch</b> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Rxy3o6ZNo">"Gorgon"</a></li>
<li><b>Diamond Head</b> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6ieb5ZXYPo">"Lightning to the Nations"</a></li>
<li><b>Aragorn</b> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgAt-B_QjK4">"Black Ice"</a></li>
<li><b>Witchfinder General</b> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ62Mewedbs">"Witchfinder General"</a></li>
<li><b>Venom</b> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e0VvHZMaTs">"Welcome to Hell"</a></li>
<li><b>Jaguar</b> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I0S8xKTy1A">"Axe Crazy"</a></li>
<li><b>Tygers of Pan Tang</b> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX92w-WEiQ4">"Gangland"</a></li>
<li><b>Raven</b> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVxsduZBPJQ">"Rock Until You Drop"</a></li>
<li><b>Blitzkrieg</b> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll4Ij58497Q">"Blitzkrieg"</a></li>
<li><b>Satan</b> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6G3K84tRH8">"Blades of Steel"</a></li>
<li><b>Iron Maiden</b> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80Hyz4pOXtE">"Running Free"</a></li>
<li><b>Def Leppard</b> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI_2SchPjks">"Wasted"</a></li>
<li><b>Black Axe</b> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD2r4uJcE8I">"Red Lights"</a></li>
<li><b>Holocaust</b> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X3d8ARmVIM">"Heavy Metal Mania"</a></li>
<li><b>Demon</b> – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiaG3-99QNI">"Sign of a Madman"</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> Which NWOBHM band do you wish had been more
successful/well known?<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span> <b>Raven</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Standard">
They get well known for the first band to take <b>Metallica</b> on
tour. Well they were also the first band
to take<b> Night Demon</b> on tour. So
what?! The fact is that <b>Raven</b> still have
more energy on stage today as any metalcore acrobatic band out there. This guys are the real deal and always have
been. There are so many great songs that
span their catalog, it would be hard for me to pick the perfect setlist by
them, because something would obviously have to be left out. I'm not sure if it was bad decisions, bad
management, the public not being mature enough for them, or all of the
above. The fact that <b>Raven's</b> still not
as well known as they should be continues to blow my mind. I'm happy to have them still around, as I
know their die hard fans are. The
positive thing is that they are still making new records, touring the globe,
and always have a certain spark in them that makes them relevant today, and
always working toward a better future for the band. They are one of the most important bands in
the NWOBHM scene, and there can never be a conversation about the genre without
mentioning them. Their legacy is
cemented.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> Which of the classic "Black And White EPs" is
your favorite - <b>Paralax</b> - <i>White Lightning</i>, <b>Mythra</b> - <i>Death And Destin</i>y, or
<b>Crucifixion</b> - <i>Green Eyes</i>?<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span> <b>Mythra</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Standard">
I have had the pleasure of sharing the stage with this band
many times, and every time <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tsf1k1M3ks">"Death and Destiny"</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYSlWcTK2wE">"UFO"</a> is played, and just can't
stop smiling. <b>Paralex</b> and <b>Crucifixion</b>
also put out good EPs, but the <b>Mythra</b> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD9ZPtEL__Y">EP</a> has a little more musicianship for me,
good solid rock hooks, and a production more liking to my ear. Overall it's a more solid outing in my
opinion.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MBOM</span>: <b>Night Demon's</b> covers of <b>Jaguar's</b> "Axe Crazy"
and <b>Diamond Head's</b> "Lightning To The Nations" are excellent. Any
plans for any other NWOBHM covers?<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span> Yes, we are actually
in the studio next week to record a cover of <b>LeGriffe's</b> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKIv6A6AdXU">“Fast Bikes”</a>. Here's another band that had it not been for
our friend Rob McNees in Houston, TX, we would have never heard of, would have
had to wait to discover it years later.
Rob made us an old school mix-tape for the road, because our touring van
only had a cassette player in it. The
tape began with the <i>Fast Bikes</i> EP. We
ere totally blown away! I think we must
have listened to that thing hundreds of times on tour, and we still do to this
day. Definitely a diamond in the rough,
and a band that fell through the NWOBHM cracks.
I highly recommend checking out this band.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> Which NWOBHM band that never released an album do you
wish had released a full length? (Five bonus points for picking <b>Trespass</b>.)<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span> I'm actually going to
say <b>Buffalo</b>. I know they put out a
record in the 2000's way late in their career, but really those first singles
are so good, and show so much promise.
It makes me wonder what they would've become had they kept it going in
the early days. <b>Trespass</b> also would've
been a great band. <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K0VtNdPIC4">One of These Days</a></i> is
definitely one of my favorite singles. (Editor's note - I'll award 2.5 points for acknowledging the greatness of <i>One Of These Days.</i>)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> Are there any recent albums by old NWOBHM bands that you
can recommend?<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Satan</b> – <i>Life Sentence</i>
and <i>Atom By Atom</i>. A new album has been
completed and will be released in 2018.
I can tell you know that it's gonna be something great!</li>
<li><b>Raven</b> – <i>Extermination</i></li>
<li><b>Diamond Head</b> – <i>Diamond Head</i></li>
<li><b>Mythra</b> – <i>Still Burning</i></li>
</ul>
</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> Do you have any cool NWOBHM rarities/collectibles?<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span> I actually own a copy
of the <b>Diamond Head</b> white album. The
version I acquired years ago is just the white cover with no signatures on it. It is real though, and it is on Happy Face
Records. When <b>Night Demon</b> did some dates
with <b>Diamond Head</b>, I had Brian Tatler sign the black jacket for me. He confirmed that it was a legit copy, then
proceeded to write the year under his signature. LOL!
Another bucket list moment, nonetheless.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> Is there a particular NWOBHM rarity that you'd like to
have in your collection?<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Iron Maiden</b> – <i>Soundhouse Tapes</i></li>
<li><b>Jaguar</b> – <i>Axe Crazy</i> single</li>
<li><b>Witchfinder General</b> – <i>Burning a Sinner</i></li>
</ul>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
</div>
<div class="Standard">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> Thanks for taking the time to talk about NWOBHM! Any last
words or anything else to add?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="Standard">
<span style="color: orange;">Jarvis:</span> Thanks for spreading the word on NWOBHM. For me it's the best sub genre in all of
heavy metal. It has the perfect balance of melody, heaviness, and true spirit
than anything else I've ever heard.
These songs still live up to this day and continue to inspire me. I still can't believe that just when I think
I've heard every NWOBHM band that ever existed, something gets unearthed for me
and I start all over again. I hope
that's something that continues to happen.
Cheers!<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
_______________________________________________</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Muthas, I hope you enjoyed the interview with Jarvis and it inspires you to buy some <b>Night Demon</b> and to listen to more NWOBHM!<br />
<br />
Also, Jarvis just announced <a href="https://www.nightdemon.net/frost-and-fire--2">Frost and Fire in London </a>(!) on May 11-12, 2018. Several NWOBHM legends are scheduled to play including <b>Angel Witch</b>, <b>Mythra</b>, <b>Bashful Alley</b> and <b>Jaguar</b>!<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
As always, MAKE MINE METAL!</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-66607395290933751352017-10-08T15:41:00.000-04:002017-10-24T15:02:17.360-04:00I Breathe Fire<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Bob Mayo</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> Musician, Writer and NWOBHM Enthusiast</b></span></div>
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Muthas, I had the good fortune to interview Bob Mayo about the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. Bob was the lead singer and bassist for the excellent thrash band <b>Wargasm </b>which you can check out <a href="https://wargasmboston.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">here</a> - I highly recommend all of their releases. Bob also has a superb blog - <a href="https://mayobat.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Mayonoise</a> - which I cannot recommend enough. Bob's writing is clever and insightful and I love the way he discusses music. Read or die! Okay, without further ado, let's hear what Bob has to say about NWOBHM. Enjoy! </div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span></b> Bob, let me start by saying thanks so much for doing this
interview! I know you are in the midst of reissuing the entire <b>Wargasm</b> catalog,
but what else are you currently up to?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span></b> I have been recording songs under the name <b><a href="https://robot-monster-army.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Robot MonsterArmy</a></b> for 10 years, and I have put together a live band for a gig in November.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>I first became aware of <b>Wargasm</b> back in the 80s when a
friend recommended your band because he knew I was a big fan of <b>Tank</b>. How much
did <b>Tank</b> and the NWOBHM influence you and <b>Maniac/Wargasm</b> early on?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> Tank's</b> influence was huge on me specifically, but <b>Wargasm's</b>
sound was a combination of mine, Rich's and Barry's influences. Barry was way
into <b>Venom</b>, Rich was into <b>Accept</b>, <b>Raven</b>, and <b>Angel Witch</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>What song/comp/album started you on your journey of
listening to and collecting NWOBHM?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> </b>Probably <b>Iron Maiden's </b><i>Killers</i> album. In America, we new
Metal was coming back, starting with <b>Van Halen's</b> debut in 1978, but the NWOBHM
kind of snuck over here in a very underground way around 80/81.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>What's your favorite NWOBHM single?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> </b>I love all of the <b>Gillan</b> singles, the <b>Tank</b> and <b>Raven</b>
singles. they're all my favorites. <b>Def Leppard's</b> 1st ep is great (damn shame
what happened to them!)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>What's your favorite NWOBHM LP?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> </b>I think <b>Angel Witch's</b> album is the very best NWOBHM album.
The <b>Tygers of Pan Tang's</b> <i>Wildcat</i> is a favorite, <b>Tank's</b> 1st 3, <b>Maiden's</b> debut,
<b>Raven's</b> Wiped Out are all up there.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: lime;">Photo Credit: Bob Mayo</span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>What's your favorite NWOBHM compilation released back in the
80s?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: orange; font-weight: bold;">Bob:</span><b> </b><i>Metal for Muthas 1 & 2</i>, also <i>Axe Attack</i>, which was the
first time I heard <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA0NLXmSM3g" target="_blank">"Earth Mother"</a> by <b>Samson</b>, a great song.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>What's your favorite retrospective NWOBHM compilation
released in 90s to today?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> </b>Don't know of any!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Which band had the better debut album - <b>Iron Maiden</b> or <b>Angel
Witch</b>?</div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> Angel Witch</b>! <b>Maiden's</b> might have been the best if the
production was better...<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Was <b>Motorhead</b> a NWOBHM band or are they a precursor like
Judas Priest?</div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> Motorhead</b> defied categorization from Day One.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: lime;">Photo Credit: Bob Mayo</span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Do you consider <b>Gillan</b> to be part of the NWOBHM?</div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> </b>Yes I do.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Please recommend a good playlist for a NWOBHM newcomer.</div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> </b></div>
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<li><b>Jaguar - </b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I0S8xKTy1A" target="_blank">"Axe Crazy"</a></li>
<li><b>Saxon - </b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjEFL4-7y7k" target="_blank">"Motorcycle Man"</a></li>
<li><b>Tank</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2-31pUsBOE" target="_blank">"Turn Your HeadAround"</a></li>
<li><b>Diamond Head</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfim5uXViLo" target="_blank">"Sweet & Innocent"</a></li>
<li><b>Samson</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA0NLXmSM3g" target="_blank">"Earth Mother"</a></li>
<li><b>Angel Witch</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXH_9707PLc" target="_blank">"Angel Witch"</a></li>
<li><b>Raven - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2-ma5sENKo" target="_blank">"</a></b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2-ma5sENKo" target="_blank">Don't Need Your Money"</a></li>
<li><b>Girlschool</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8eb4zw5gfg" target="_blank">"Race With the Devil"</a></li>
<li><b>Tygers of Pan Tang</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOqIrh-vf3E" target="_blank">"Don't Touch Me There"</a></li>
<li><b>Blitzkrieg</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll4Ij58497Q" target="_blank">"Blitzkrieg"</a></li>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Which NWOBHM band do you wish had been more successful/well
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> Angel Witch</b>! I wish they had continued early on instead of
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Which of the classic "Black And White EPs" is your
favorite - <b>Paralax</b> - <i>White Lightning</i>, <b>Mythra</b> - <i>Death And Destiny</i>, or
<b>Crucifixion</b> - <i>Green Eyes</i>?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> Crucifixion</b> seemed to be more 'together', and had a better
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Can there be a <b>Tank</b> without Algy Ward?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> </b>NO! Ridiculous! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Your cover of <b>Tank's</b> "Power Of The Hunter" is
excellent. Any plans of any other NWOBHM covers?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> </b>Thanks! No plans.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Which NWOBHM band that never released an album do you wish
had released a full length? (Five bonus points for picking <b>Trespass</b>.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> </b>Um... <b>Trespass</b>? (Editor's Note - I'll take it! Five bonus points for Bob!) </div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Are there any recent albums by old NWOBHM bands that you can
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> Saxon's</b> last few are great, but they really don't sound like
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwVU7uPmBQIlFd5seNtT1Voozi5qKH9q6W6XQWEBw3oeT87LXmW6rPJFiP-iyBo1OFgceC8_LP22zBgP5UUWRc2tVgl93qhX-7ZXZWOslvrFbgShohCNsaau9F6f-Ln7V-b7m7MMyGJ8/s1600/Mayo3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwVU7uPmBQIlFd5seNtT1Voozi5qKH9q6W6XQWEBw3oeT87LXmW6rPJFiP-iyBo1OFgceC8_LP22zBgP5UUWRc2tVgl93qhX-7ZXZWOslvrFbgShohCNsaau9F6f-Ln7V-b7m7MMyGJ8/s320/Mayo3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: lime;">Photo Credit: Bob Mayo</span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Do you have any cool NWOBHM rarities/collectibles?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> </b>I have all the <b>Gillan</b> and <b>Tank</b> singles, I used to have all
of the <b>Raven</b> singles on Neat, can't find 'em!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Is there a particular NWOBHM rarity that you'd like to have
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> </b>There's a version of "Don't Take Nothin" by <b>Tygers</b> w/Jess
Cox that sounds like a 1st album outtake, I had it on a vinyl 'various artists'
comp but I am trying to find it on CD. The deluxe reissue of <i>Wildcat</i> has a
version of this song, but its not the same recording... HELP! (Editor's Note - I think that version is available <a href="https://www.discogs.com/Tygers-Of-Pan-Tang-Wild-Cat/release/9854986" target="_blank">here</a>. Bob ordered it so let's hope I'm right!)</div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Thanks for taking the time to talk about NWOBHM! Any last
words or anything else to add?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Bob:</span> </b>That was really a magic time for metalheads! Metal seemed to
be asleep for a while until we started to hear the buzz about <b>Maiden</b>, <b>Saxon</b>,
<b>Def Lep</b>, etc. The one place that sold all of these records was about 40 miles
North in Saugus, MA, called Rockit Records; we used to drive up there once or
twice a month and spend tons of money buying up all this stuff. It really was
exciting, discovering new bands all the time. The same thing happened with
Thrash a few years later but the NWOBHM was really something special!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Muthas, I hope you enjoyed this interview with Bob Mayo and it inspires you to do the following - buy some <b>Wargasm</b>, read <b>Mayonoise</b>, and listen to more NWOBHM!</div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-81555218711429965202017-09-24T12:08:00.000-04:002017-09-24T12:08:06.335-04:00Iron Shadows<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 46.9pt; margin-left: 11.75pt; margin-right: 4.2pt; margin-top: 0in;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Mark Briody</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Guitarist, Producer and NWOBHM Enthusiast</b></span></div>
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Muthas, believe it or not, Mark Briody of the mighty <b><a href="http://www.jagpanzer.com/" target="_blank">Jag Panzer</a></b> graciously agreed to be interviewed about one of his favorite musical genres - NWOBHM - and a bit about its influence on his band.<b> </b>Enjoy!</div>
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<b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span></b><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> Mark, first of
all thanks for doing this interview! I'm sure things are busy for you because
<b>Jag Panzer</b> has a new album coming out 9/29/17 entitled <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47eP5qTRH2A" target="_blank">The Deviant Chord.</a></i> What
can you tell us about the new album? What else is going on in your world?</span><br />
<br /><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span></b> Yep, it's coming
out on Sept 29, 2017 on SPV/Steamhammer. I'm very proud of it. We're looking at
tour offers now, so we hope to hit the road soon.</div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span></b> I know that you
are big fan of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. Were there any particular
NWOBHM bands that influenced you and <b>Jag Panzer</b> in the early days?<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span></b> I bought
everything I could get my hands on during the NWOBHM era. The bands that made
the biggest impact on me were <b>Angel Witch</b> and <b>Witchfynde</b>. The <i>Angel Witch</i> album
was perfect and it made me love the NWOBHM movement because I found the <b>Angel
Witch</b> to be just as good as the I<b>ron Maiden</b> debut despite the success
difference between the two bands. <b>Iron Maiden</b> were getting huge press and had a
major deal while <b>Angel Witch</b> were on a tiny label I never heard of. That showed
me that the NWOBHM scene was all about great music and not really major label
dollars. What I loved about <b>Witchfynde</b> was that their album <i>Stagefright</i> had
an incredible amount of variety on it. They had everything from doom (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UChQdT59T6Q" target="_blank">title track</a>)
to pop (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1NoRT11OD4" target="_blank">"Big Deal"</a>) to straight up British metal (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG9F8_n3rxE" target="_blank">"Trick or Treat"</a>). That album
showed me that the NWOBHM movement was open to all style of good metal.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>What
song/comp/album started you on your journey of listening to and collecting
NWOBHM?<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> </b><i>Wild Cat</i> from <b>Tygers of Pan Tang</b> was my first NWOBHM album. I was hooked right away! After
buying that I picked up a copy of Brian Slagel's magazine New Heavy Metal
Review. That magazine exposed me to a lot of great bands.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b><span style="text-indent: 0in;">What's your
favorite NWOBHM single? </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> </b>For me it was the
early <b>Def Leppard</b> single of <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX9twvtdAZw" target="_blank">Wasted</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE9Q2d7ORVU" target="_blank">Hello America</a></i>. It wasn't musically my
favorite, but that early version of "Hello America" really inspired me. We
(early incarnation of <b>Jag Panzer</b>) started recording as teenagers just as <b>Def
Leppard</b> did. Demos at that age can be hit and miss. The version of "Hello
America" as compared to the album version showed me how much a young band can
progress in a short time. It was inspiring.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>What's your
favorite NWOBHM LP?<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> </b>I'd have to go
with <i>Stagefright </i>by <b>Witchfynde</b>. The songwriting on it is outstanding. Plus the
cover lots of ground musically with that release. That album has been in my
regular rotation since then.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM: </span></b>What's your
favorite NWOBHM compilation released back in the 80s?</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> </b>I'll go with <i>The
Friday Rock Show</i> because of the bonus <b>Witchfynde</b> track <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX-LUrPtFDk" target="_blank">"Belfast."</a> It's a great
song, lots of emotion. Worth the price of the album just for that one song.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>What's your
favorite retrospective NWOBHM compilation released in 90s to today?<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> </b>I have never
bought a retrospective compilation album. The track lists just never seemed to
make sense to me. I suppose that everyone has their own unique experience with
the NWOBHM and my experience just isn't in line with any compilation I've seen.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="text-indent: 0in;"><b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Which band had
the better debut album - <b>Iron Maiden</b> or <b>Angel Witch</b>?</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> </b>They're both
great, but I have to go with <b>Angel Witch</b>. Both have equally great songs, but I
don't hear many weak spots on <i>Angel Witch</i> whereas there are a few spots (very few)
on the <b>Maiden</b> debut that didn't blow me away.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Photo Credit: satanmusic.com</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Which Brian Ross
band do you like more - <b>Satan</b>, <b>Blitzkrieg</b> or <b>Avenger</b>?<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> Satan</b> all the
way.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Was <b>Motörhead</b> a
NWOBHM band or were they a precursor like <b>Judas Priest</b>?<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> Motörhead</b> are not
part of the NWOBHM in my opinion. Lemmy already had a foothold in the music
scene via his time in <b>Hawkwind</b>. The NWOBHM was about fostering all the new
metal talent across the UK. Lemmy was already established.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Who's your
greasiest favorite - <b>Tank</b>, <b>Venom</b> or <b>Warfare</b>?<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> </b>I get lots of ack
for this, but I'm not much of a fan of any of them. <b>Venom</b> were huge with a
massive underground fanbase, but their music just didn't click with me.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Please recommend
a good playlist for a NWOBHM newcomer.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> </b>I think any
NWOBHM intro should include the early efforts from <b>Maiden</b> and <b>Def Leppard</b> - so <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9JndrzUbq0" target="_blank">The Soundhouse Tapes</a></i> and the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecVGv5JIACs" target="_blank">Bludgeon Riffola</a> songs. This would give the new
listener some reference as to how the scene sounded with these mega bands. Then
the entire <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5o-8FVXom8" target="_blank"><b>Angel Witch</b> debut</a>. Then lots of individual tracks - "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UChQdT59T6Q" target="_blank">Stagefright</a>" and "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG9F8_n3rxE" target="_blank">Trick or Treat</a>" from <b>Witchfynde</b>. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbHnfqwEOtY" target="_blank">"Spellbound"</a> from <b>Tygers</b>. Anything on <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MBhA_SqZxk" target="_blank">DeathPenalty</a></i> from <b>Witchfinder General</b>. <b>Mythra</b> <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD9ZPtEL__Y" target="_blank">Death and Destiny</a></i> would be cool.
Anything from <b>Legend</b> <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5GGRDQbid4&list=PLy7-Wh4fFymxrUMpC1aXPAAIs2kervAIo" target="_blank">Death in the Nursery</a></i>. And of course the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHtbzk_JK8A" target="_blank">Diamond Head classics</a> that <b>Metallica</b> later covered.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Which NWOBHM band
do you wish had been more successful/well known?<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> </b>I thought
<b>Witchfynde</b> had some of the best songwriting. Montalo (guitarist) also had a
very unique approach to metal guitar playing. Listen to the title track from
<i>Stagefright</i>, he's done some very different chord structures.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Which of the
classic "Black And White EPs" is your favorite - <b>Paralax</b> <i>White
Lightning</i>, <b>Mythra</b> - <i>Death And Destiny</i>, or <b>Crucifixion</b> - <i>Green Eyes</i>?<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> Mythra</b>. I am not
familar with the others.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b><span style="text-indent: 0in;">Which NWOBHM band
that never released an album do you wish had released a full length? (Five
bonus points for picking <b>Trespass</b>.)</span><br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> </b>Although we got a
full length many many years later, I'm still going with <b>Mythra</b>. The e.p was
brilliant.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b><span style="text-indent: 0in;">Are there any
recent albums by old NWOBHM bands that you can recommend?</span><br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> </b>That new <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBHIw_Ptf7g" target="_blank">Tygersof Pan Tang</a></b> is outstanding. I was a big Jon Deveril fan (vocalist on
<i>Spellbound</i>) so I was a bit skeptical. My fears went aside after a few seconds
of hearing the new album. It's great.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b><span style="text-indent: 0in;">Mark, judging by
some of your Facebook posts, you've got a huge collection of <b>Jag Panzer</b>
material. Do you have any cool NWOBHM rarities/collectibles?</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> </b>I have original
print vinyl of <b>Angel Witch</b>, <b>Witchfynde</b>, etc. Nothing too rare or in mint shape
(they were all played to death). I've got some <b>Maiden </b>12" singles too.
Much of my record collection was stolen from a warehouse in '83.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Is there a
particular NWOBHM rarity that you'd like to have in your collection?<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> </b>I always wanted a
copy of <i>The Soundhouse Tapes</i>. I've seen it before and even held it in my hands.
I could never afford a real copy though.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>I know you are
involved with the art direction and cover art for <b>Jag Panzer</b>. Are there any
NWOBHM releases that you think have great art, and are there any that you think
have art that's "so bad it's good?"<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> Demon's</b> <i>Night of
the Demon</i> has fantastic art! Love the green and the creepy look to the whole
cover. I can't think of one that's 'so bad it's good'. Now there are some
American bands that followed the NWOBHM with covers like that, but overall I
like all the art in the NWOBHM.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MBOM:</span> </b>Thanks for taking
the time to talk about NWOBHM and <b>Jag Panzer</b>! Any last words or anything else
to add?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Mark:</span> </b>All metal fans
should explore the NWOBHM. You may have heard a <b>Diamond Head</b> song or two (which
is cool) but there is so much more to the scene than that.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Muthas, I hope you enjoyed this interview with Mark Briody and it inspires you to get out there and listen to some more NWOBHM! </div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-44162303243966290182017-09-10T10:02:00.000-04:002017-09-10T11:56:55.735-04:00Axe Crazy<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Bart Gabriel</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Producer, Manager, Label Owner and NWOBHM Enthusiast</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4y6u6R5Jagz7050ZBhoYRxraEbArmcUcST1hOQWXVh8g3gu1qZiWTvCwR7SU3KVaBlx1haGUR4xzRXsX9zBYPU7OcNt1ESZNKzZlvuoXel_YiRk9W93zJZ06RP2A410nPAB-c2lP09-o/s1600/bartgabriel_picture1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="985" data-original-width="1600" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4y6u6R5Jagz7050ZBhoYRxraEbArmcUcST1hOQWXVh8g3gu1qZiWTvCwR7SU3KVaBlx1haGUR4xzRXsX9zBYPU7OcNt1ESZNKzZlvuoXel_YiRk9W93zJZ06RP2A410nPAB-c2lP09-o/s400/bartgabriel_picture1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: Bart Gabriel</td></tr>
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Muthas, I had the great fortune to ask Bart Gabriel - CEO of <a href="http://www.skolrecords.com/" target="_blank">Skol Records</a> and <a href="http://www.bartgabriel.com/" target="_blank">Gabriel Management</a> - about my favorite genre of metal, NWOBHM! Bart is huge NWOBHM fan and has lots of interesting choices for his favorites and offers a massive NWOBHM playlist to get you started on your own NWOBHM journey. Cheers! </div>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> Bart, firstly, thanks for doing this interview! You just may be the busiest man in metal right now. What's going on with you and Skol Records?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> It's good to be busy, isn't it? There was not much going on in the Skol Records camp for the last few months, but it will change now. First of all we're about to release brand new mini LP from <b>SAVAGE MASTER </b>- it might be interesting for your readers as well, as except four brand new songs, there is a cover version of the HOLOCAUST classic, "Death Or Glory", on it as well. Except that we will be continuing our series of the CD replicas of the original NWOBHM singles, with a lot of Neat Records titles. First in line are the JAGUAR and CRUCIFIXION singles, then we will do BLITZKRIEG and WHITE SPIRIT singles, and so on. Actually, it might be good opportunity the announce my next project, no one (except involved bands) heard about yet... I'm working on a compilation album titled "Granbretan Invasion", which is a tribute album, where young Heavy Metal bands play cover versions of obscure and rare NWOBHM tracks. Some of the confirmed acts are: ENFORCER, CAULDRON, AMULET, TWISTED TOWER DIRE, CRYSTAL VIPER, HELVETETS PORT and SUBSTRATUM. And yes, the title of the compilation is a tribute to the best writer that ever walked the earth, Michael Moorcock. In other news I'm also quite busy with GABRIEL MANAGEMENT, as all our bands either just released new albums, or will release them in the nearest future.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> I know that you are a huge NWOBHM fan and you've reissued a ton of great NWOBHM singles/albums. What NWOBHM reissues does Skol have coming out in the future?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b><b> </b>As I mentioned, we will be continuing our series of the CD replicas of the original NWOBHM singles. I'm very happy that we will be reissuing singles from the Neat Records back catalog, I know that I wasn't the only one guy waiting for them. I also signed deals with few other NWOBHM bands, but hard to say when exactly we will release something from them, as they are looking for the master tapes, we are trying to figure out the legal situation and so on.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> Are you planning on producing or releasing any new albums from NWOBHM bands in the future?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> Currently not, but there are two albums of one of my favorite NWOBHM acts in my schedule, which I will be remastering. I think I'm not yet allowed to reveal the news (I'm doing this for another label, not for Skol Records). What I can tell you, is that both albums will be packed with some killer bonus tracks no one ever knew they exist.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> What song/comp/album started you on your journey of listening to and collecting NWOBHM?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> I won't be very original here, but I need to say it all started with IRON MAIDEN. I'm not exactly sure right now, but I think that the very first MAIDEN album I heard was the self-titled debut. I know it sounds weird, but while I think that <i>Somewhere In Time</i> is one of three best sounding and best produced albums in the history of Heavy Metal, my favorite MAIDEN album is the mentioned self-titled debut. The next ones were RAVEN and their <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7vS0joohMU" target="_blank">All For One</a></i> LP, and then a lot of more usual stuff, such as SAXON, ANGEL WITCH and DIAMOND HEAD. At the beginning I wasn't aware they are part of any wave or group of bands, but when I was reading about them, I was seeing that mysterious NWOBHM term from time to time. I became curious what that's all about, and then I discovered the goldmine known as New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. I would lie if I would say I was only NWOBHM oriented, or that I became a collector of all things NWOBHM - I became a die hard fan of Heavy Metal in general, and I didn't care much about origin of the bands. I either liked something or not, but in fact, many of my favorite bands were British.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> What's your favorite NWOBHM single?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> I have no idea! There are so many absolutely great singles, that it's impossible to choose only one, especially when you like so many bands... If I could list few, then for sure I would list singles from: MYTHRA, TRIDENT, VIRTUE, LAUTREC, LEGEND (from Kent - this one from Jersey is awesome as well, but if we are talking about singles, then I vote for this one from Kent), <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TX6SBVAMnE" target="_blank">QUARTZ</a>, JJ'S POWERHOUSE, HELL, AVENGER, RAVEN, SPARTA, TRIARCHY, ANGEL WITCH, BLEAK HOUSE, JAGUAR, HOLOCAUST, BLITZKRIEG, BLACK AXE and WOLF, AXIS, NO QUARTER, A II Z... And of course IRON MAIDEN and their <i>The Soundhouse Tapes.</i><br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> What's your favorite NWOBHM LP?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> Oh wow, that's probably even harder than with singles... I think there is no one LP which I could list as my favorite one when it comes to NWOBHM, as there were too many great albums being released. But I can list my favorite live album here, and that would be <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGml3aCyPeY&list=PL72F41C7F953D6E9B" target="_blank">Live At The Inferno</a></i> from RAVEN. I remember I was blown away by the rough energy that was captured on that double LP. Sorry MAIDEN, I love <i>Live After Death</i>, but I'm choosing <i>Live At The Inferno</i> (laugh).<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> What's your favorite NWOBHM compilation released back in the 80s?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> Okay, this one will be easier, it's <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omvLch8Z1qk&t=4s" target="_blank">Metal For Muthas</a></i>, as it was the first NWOBHM compilation I heard, when I already knew what NWOBHM actually means and what it's all about. Not only it had 2 great IRON MAIDEN tracks, and great songs from PRAYING MANTIS (maybe their best one?) and ANGEL WITCH, but also allowed me to discover bands I didn't know before: ETHEL THE FROG, SLEDGEHAMMER and E.F. BAND (yeah, the NWOBHM band from Sweden (laugh)). I remember I didn't like very much the SAMSON and TOAD THE WET SPROCKET songs that were included there... Need to listen to that LP again, let's see if I still don't like them!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> What's your favorite retrospective NWOBHM compilation released in 90s to today?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> Definitely <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eFFGUZ3yzw" target="_blank"><i>New Wave Of British Heavy Metal '79 Revisited</i></a>, which Lars Ulrich and Geoff Barton did in 1990. I basically think this is the best NWOBHM compilation ever made. It's funny because when I started my Heavy Metal adventure, I wasn't big fan of METALLICA. But they were praising NWOBHM in the interviews, they were recording and playing live songs of bands such as DIAMOND HEAD and BLITZKRIEG, and then Lars did that compilation. So yeah, we can say I became METALLICA fan because of NWOBHM - they are a Thrash Metal band, but I hear a lot of British riffs in their music, and it's clear they are die hard fans of the genre. And let's be honest, they promoted the genre as probably no one else.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> Which band had the better debut album - <b>Iron Maiden</b> or <b>Angel Witch</b>?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> That's a difficult question. While both albums are absolutely perfect, and there is no bad or even average song on any of them, I think I would choose <i>Iron Maiden</i>. Don't ask me why, I don't know (laugh).<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> Which Brian Ross band do you like more - <b>Satan</b>, <b>Blitzkrieg</b> or <b>Avenger</b>?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> AVENGER, because I recently became their manager! I'm kidding, I wouldn't list AVENGER here, as they never did an album with Brian, only the <a href="ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wdQvNE10_M" target="_blank">demo</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_3Hq1bqdBo" target="_blank">split EP</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01fJYbqW0Ac" target="_blank">single</a>, so while I love and admire Mr. Ross, I would list Swifty as their "classic" vocalist. So, SATAN or BLITZKRIEG? I think I would choose SATAN - I love the early works of both bands equally, but when it comes to the more recent albums, then I think I prefer these ones by SATAN.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> Was Motorhead a NWOBHM band or are they a precursor like Judas Priest?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> MOTORHEAD and PRIEST are not NWOBHM bands to me, and here's why. First of all, both bands started and had first recordings before the world heard about NWOBHM. Second thing: it's hard to label first MOTORHEAD and JUDAS PRIEST recordings as Heavy Metal. And third thing - many NWOBHM bands used to either list these two acts as their influences, or even played their covers, so yeah, they are definitelly pre-NWOBHM acts in my opinion.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> Who's your greasiest favorite - Tank, Venom or Warfare?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> VENOM's <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkAPpKvxthA" target="_blank">At War With Satan</a></i> was the first LP from these 3 bands which I heard, so I will probably go with them. Isn't it always like that, that the albums you heard first from particular bands, remain your personal favorites? I also love TANK and their <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l9kkTV5Tqc" target="_blank">Filth Hounds Of Hades</a></i> - while they had few really cool albums back in the day (let me ignore the ridiculous current period, where 5 guys that didn't play on the classic first two albums keep on recording and releasing music as TANK), <i>Filth Hounds</i> is the absolute classic of the genre, perfect from the first to the last second. WARFARE were awesome as well, I was actually listening to their album earlier today.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> Please recommend a good playlist for a NWOBHM newcomer.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> How about this one: IRON MAIDEN "Prowler", MYTHRA "Killer", RAVEN "Fire Power", A II Z "No Fun After Midnight", AVENGER "Too Wild To Tame", JJ'S POWERHOUSE "Running For The Line", BLITZKRIEG "Blitzkrieg", INCUBUS "Life Beyond The Grave", LIMELIGHT "Metal Man", TYRANT "Hold Back The Lightning", JAGUAR "Prisoner", ELIXIR "Treachery (Ride Like The Wind)", ANGEL WITCH "Gorgon", SMOKIN' ROADIE "Midnight", DIAMOND HEAD "Lightning To The Nations", SARACEN "Meet Me At Midnight", WITCHFINDER GENERAL "Free Country", DEMON "Night Of The Demon", FIST "Name, Rank And Serial Number", TOKYO BLADE "Night Of The Blade", QUARTZ "Silver Wheels", SAXON "Princess Of The Night", SAVAGE "Let It Loose", PARALEX "Travelling Man", TANK "Shellshock", TYGERS OF PAN TANG "Slave To Freedom", WITCHFYNDER "Give 'Em Hell", TRESSPASS "Bright Lights", CLOVEN HOOF "Reach For The Sky", AFTER DARK "Evil Woman", HOLOCAUST "Heavy Metal Mania", OVERDRIVE "On The Run", BLEAK HOUSE "Rainbow Warrior", DRAGON FLY "Silent Nights", DRAGON SLAYER "Warrior", SATANIC RITES "Hit & Run", SWEET SAVAGE "Killing Time", BLACK AXE "Highway Rider", VENOM "Manitou", GRIM REAPER "Rock You To Hell"... Need few more? (laugh).<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> Which of the classic "Black And White EPs" is your favorite - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feyITemB7F4" target="_blank">Paralex - <i>White Lightning</i></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD9ZPtEL__Y" target="_blank">Mythra - <i>Death And Destiny</i></a>, or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUaI_XbF29k" target="_blank">Crucifixion - <i>Green Eyes</i></a>?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> I love all three releases you mentioned, but I would definitely choose MYTHRA over here. They always been one of my absolutely favorite NWOBHM bands. While over the years I became friends with the guys, and learned why they never "made it" back in the day, they always been one of the "big" NWOBHM bands in my book, along with RAVEN and AVENGER.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> Which NWOBHM band that never released an album do you wish had released a full length? (Five bonus points for picking Trespass.)<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> Sorry, but <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmQHiWNJKjs" target="_blank">A II Z</a>, haha... They were absolutely amazing, both their singles and the live album they did, are pure gold. I know that they continued for a little while as AURORA after they split with Gary Owens, but it wasn't the same. So, if there would be justice in the world, A II Z would do a full album back in the day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: Bart Gabriel Instagram</td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> Bart, judging from your social media posts you have an incredible music collection. What are some of the cool NWOBHM rarities in your collection?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> Well, my collection is not that big to be honest, at least I think so, as I know a lot of people that have collections few times bigger than my one. First of all, I'm not typical collector - I'm not trying to gather everything that is rare, out of print and so on, I only keep records that I really like and listen to. I'm not spending nights on Ebay, which is full of overpriced records. Of course when I find something I don't have in a good price, then I buy it and I take it home, but I'm an old school guy, so I prefer to visit small record stores (sadly not many of them left), or browse crates when there are Metal markets on the festivals that I visit - I'm not a big fan of online ordering or bidding. And to answer second part of your question: as I keep on gathering stuff for a Heavy Metal Museum, when it comes to NWOBHM, the crown jewel of my collection is the original RAVEN stage banner that I have. Thank you Mr. Gallagher!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> Do you have a particular NWOBHM rarity that you'd like to have in your collection?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> I would love to add many records to my personal collection, and I hope to have original <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFAgY-EoE6U" target="_blank">TRIDENT</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7STUe7IIgU" target="_blank">VIRTUE</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_pMuJBHs6s" target="_blank">WIKKYD VIKKER</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNr4-NHiicU" target="_blank">LAUTREC</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8p-TGipkLg" target="_blank">JJ'S POWERHOUSE</a> singles one day, but as I mentioned, I'm not a big fan of either online ordering nor overpriced stuff, so I guess my chances are down to zero. I would also love to have the original <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY5og7Bc56Q" target="_blank">MITHRANDIR</a> single - its cover artwork is so bad, that it's actually good. I will probably get it tattooed one day (laugh).<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> You produced Mythra's new album - Still Burning - and it's excellent. Are there other recent albums from NWOBHM bands that you can recommend?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> First of all I need to say it's been a huge honor and pleasure to do this album with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_za8dQsuVME" target="_blank">MYTHRA</a>. Music is one thing, but I was hanging out with the guys for almost 2 weeks, heard a lot of great stories from back in the day and so on, and this is something you can't buy with money. And I agree with you, I think this album is really excellent, as it sounds like NWOBHM or Classic Metal in general should sound: authentic and natural. Many bands go a bit too far, and they try to improve and change their sound and songs, to be "accepted" by younger fans. Very often when I work with bands, they tell me they want to sound like someone else, and I'm always like "and why don't you want to sound like YOU?". With MYTHRA it was different, they were very relaxed, and they really enjoyed playing these songs and recording them. We had a lot of fun in the studio, we sometimes laughed so hard we had to stop the recording and calm down. And you can hear that natural energy on "Still Burning" - the album sounds authentic and fresh at the same time, you hear that it's played by real human beings, and that nothing was replaced by the samples or alternated by computers or digital toys. When it comes to other recent albums from NWOBHM bands: yes, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZxX7DOfyAM" target="_blank">PAGAN ALTAR</a>. Their new album is coming out these days, but I heard it some time ago, as I was doing its mastering. Usually when I receive the audio material to master, I load it into my gear and I work on the sound in the real time, already during first listening - similar to FOH guys, that try to fix and set right sound when the band is playing first song. When I got the PAGAN ALTAR tracks, I played them for the first time, and I was just staring at my speakers like a rabbit that sees headlights of a car. They are so good!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: Bart Gabriel</td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">MBOM:</span></b> Thanks for taking the time to talk about NWOBHM! Any last words or anything else to add?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">BART:</span></b> Hey, my pleasure and thank you for your time. Last words? Yeah, everyone, please support the bands you like, buy the official merchandise, buy the original albums instead of downloading them, and go out to see the bands when they play in your town, or move your ass and travel a little bit. It's not that expensive and the real experience is always a million times better. Your favorite bands won't survive without your support!<br />
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I hope you enjoyed this interview with Bart Gabriel and it inspires you to check out some killer NWOBHM!</div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-25415912447256136052017-08-20T14:47:00.000-04:002017-08-20T15:20:02.199-04:00Ashes To Ashes<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Brent Woodward</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Guitarist and NWOBHM Enthusiast</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: Brent Woodward</td></tr>
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Muthas, way back in 2013 I <a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2013/05/metal-is-on-rise.html" target="_blank">reviewed</a> <b>Night Demon's</b> spectacular debut EP which featured the excellent guitar work of Brent Woodward. That EP blew my face off and has become one of my all time favorites, in no small part due to Brent's ripping style. Brent also crushed skulls on <b>Night Demon's </b>full length album - <i><a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2015/01/heavy-metal-heat.html" target="_blank">Curse Of The Damned</a> </i>which was another triumph.</div>
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I had the good fortune to meet Brent when <b>Night Demon</b> came to <a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2015/06/satans-serenade.html" target="_blank">Pittsburgh</a> a few years ago, and we spent some time conversing about NWOBHM, USPM and other great metal. Brent has moved on from <b>Night Demon </b>and is currently working on a new project. He graciously agreed to an interview to discuss the best genre of music ever created - NWOBHM. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: Metal Archives</td></tr>
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<b>MBOM:</b> <i>Brent, firstly, thanks for doing this interview! What have
you been up to since you departed <b>Night Demon</b>?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Brent:</b> No problem! It's my pleasure doing an interview all
about NWOBHM. For the most part I've
been laying low since I departed from <b>Night Demon</b>. I moved to LA from Ventura
to pursue a new musical project that better suits me. I'm still in the process
of writing and putting it together. It feels like it's taking a long time, but
I'll get something awesome going no matter how long it takes. I feel like every
new band I've been in in my life has been a step above the previous band. So I
have a very hard task of continuing that pattern. Hopefully you'll be hearing
from me soon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>MBOM:</b> <i>I know that you are a huge NWOBHM fan, and I need to know -
is Nuhwobum an acceptable way to pronounce NWOBHM, or is this some weird
hipster millennial pronunciation?</i></div>
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<b>Brent:</b> It's acceptable. People have been pronouncing it like that
for years. You even hear Malcom Dome refer to it as that. So it's cool. I
always say the long hand version though, "New Wave Of British Heavy
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<b>MBOM:</b> <i>What song/comp/album started you on your journey of
listening to and collecting NWOBHM?</i></div>
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<b>Brent:</b> <b>Diamond Head</b> <i>Lightning To The Nations</i> started it
all for me. My brother was a huge <b>Metallica</b> fan back in the early 90's. He
would buy magazines and read every article about them. From doing that he found
out about bands like the <b>Misfits</b>, <b>Blitzkrieg</b> and of course <b>Diamond Head</b>. I
stole his <i>Lightning To The Nations</i> tape when I was in the 5th grade and I never
gave it back.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>MBOM:</b> <i>What's your favorite NWOBHM single?</i></div>
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<b>Brent:</b> This is a hard one. There are so many good ones and I get
stuck on one for long periods of time. Right now my favorite is <b>Limelight</b> <i>Ashes To Ashes</i>. I can listen to that title track over and over. I
know it's a "Doctor Doctor" rip but is still amazing. It inspired me to write the
music to the song "Mastermind" off of <i>Curse Of The Damned</i>. The B side is great
too. "A Knife In Your Back" is a great 70's hard rockin' <b>Uriah Heep</b> jam.</div>
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<b>MBOM:</b> <i>What's your favorite NWOBHM LP?</i></div>
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<b>Brent:</b> The first <b>Iron Maiden</b> LP. I know that's not an obscure one
but it probably one of my all time favorite records ever made. I love the recording
quality on that album. The guitar tone is amazing. Hearing the beginning of
Prowler gets my blood pumping.</div>
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<b>MBOM</b>: What's your favorite NWOBHM compilation released back in the
80s?</div>
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<b>Brent:</b> <i>Metal For Muthas Vol.1</i>, just because it has <b>Maiden</b>, <b>Angel
Witch</b>, <b>Samson</b> and <b>Praying Mantis</b>. I love the different versions of the <b>Maiden</b>
songs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>MBOM: </b><i>What's your favorite retrospective NWOBHM compilation
released in 90s to today?</i></div>
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<b>Brent:</b> I had <i>NWOBHM '79 Revisited</i> on 2xLP like 10 years ago. I
ended up giving it to a friend for his birthday who eventually sold his whole
record collection. I kinda wish I would of just bought him a 6 pack or
something now. Haha. I think I paid $20 for it at the time. I didn't know that
classic heavy metal would explode in the underground. That's probably my
favorite "newer" comp.</div>
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<b>MBOM:</b> <i>Which band had the better debut album - <b>Iron Maiden</b> or <b>Angel
Witch</b>?</i></div>
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<b>Brent: Iron Maiden</b>. I mean I love <b>Angel Witch</b>, but that first
<b>Maiden</b> record is untouchable to me.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-aG5SiqMV8u2h44_BVflVghQ44UiembhiLS9YjjXmhrH_sITIi1PjRWdi0663ywV8NchjpasSPw4ecwr1too7CJGYchGcLcN3NS1AfurFH7S6mgOXG7vFY1DSoedDwqu6QpckNq2tw0/s1600/Motorhead+79.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-aG5SiqMV8u2h44_BVflVghQ44UiembhiLS9YjjXmhrH_sITIi1PjRWdi0663ywV8NchjpasSPw4ecwr1too7CJGYchGcLcN3NS1AfurFH7S6mgOXG7vFY1DSoedDwqu6QpckNq2tw0/s200/Motorhead+79.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>MBOM:</b> <i>Was <b>Motorhead</b> a NWOBHM band or are they a precursor <b>like
Judas Priest</b>?</i></div>
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<b>Brent:</b> I see them as a precursor band. They were kinda before the
whole movement hit hard.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsS9x9XFtp-ZI_AJzzq0sB99V9ldVcN0joSeMzjTcAUrDmEp_7G7luPH0O2803jw2NkPXuIPdgW8GmV-HXv6bzhBgP7K_Q9wxbYrF0Q3rrKPxBeVP2A0mGsV7r8WqM4nBnAOzf1lqz55E/s1600/Tank.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="287" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsS9x9XFtp-ZI_AJzzq0sB99V9ldVcN0joSeMzjTcAUrDmEp_7G7luPH0O2803jw2NkPXuIPdgW8GmV-HXv6bzhBgP7K_Q9wxbYrF0Q3rrKPxBeVP2A0mGsV7r8WqM4nBnAOzf1lqz55E/s200/Tank.gif" width="183" /></a></div>
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<b>MBOM:</b> <i>Who's your greasiest favorite - Tank, Venom or Warfare?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Brent: Tank</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>MBOM:</b> <i>Why did so many NWOBHM bands crap the bed when it came time
to release their sophomore album?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Brent:</b> I think that the musical landscape was changing by the mid
80's stage and these bands were trying to "make it". So they adapted
their sound to American glam/heavy metal instead of making a more rough around
the edges gritty hard rock/heavy metal like they were doing before. Plus a lot
of them got signed to bigger labels. They had their whole lives up until that
point to write their first EP or album. I'm sure once they were signed they
only had an allotted amount of time to make the second. Producers probably had a
lot to do with watering down their sound too.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>MBOM:</b> <i>Which NWOBHM band was the most underrated/overrated?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Brent:</b> I don't know how to answer this one. I think most NWOBHM
band are great. I do think that some of the super obscure bands are as good.
I've trolled YouTube for hours checking out random bands. A lot aren't good. I
think it's overrated liking a band just because they fit into the genre and
nobody knows who they are.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgaIpIa9SHvTaafvdaA6W6l8BjAA_wg5hafMR4qsQUBZFa4h9zOdzcsc52IcK0fGz-wQ9KUnNXL9owpbWRbbNjHRPkwMyi5w_IEfMDeJxZyJdxKeBXWMPW81-7LlCAQ6Oqm8-6MjqZm6U/s1600/Brent+Collection+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="1136" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgaIpIa9SHvTaafvdaA6W6l8BjAA_wg5hafMR4qsQUBZFa4h9zOdzcsc52IcK0fGz-wQ9KUnNXL9owpbWRbbNjHRPkwMyi5w_IEfMDeJxZyJdxKeBXWMPW81-7LlCAQ6Oqm8-6MjqZm6U/s400/Brent+Collection+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: Brent Woodward</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>MBOM:</b> <i>Please recommend a good playlist for a NWOBHM newcomer.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Brent:</b><br />
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<b>Iron Maiden</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th16vNh5HDw" target="_blank">"Purgatory"</a></div>
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<b>Wolf</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLua20-nybg" target="_blank">"Edge Of The World"</a></div>
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<b>Diamond Head</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjnwOVaI7V8" target="_blank">"The Prince"</a></div>
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<b>Holocaust</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pCQacxDshE" target="_blank">"HeavyMetal Mania"</a></div>
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<b>Virtue</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ub-S-eUCU8" target="_blank">"Fools Gold"</a></div>
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<b>Dark Star</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG_VXou7mfs" target="_blank">"Lady Of Mars"</a></div>
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<b>Def Leppard</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irriud4VrgY" target="_blank">"RocksOff"</a></div>
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<b>Angel Witch</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Rxy3o6ZNo" target="_blank">"Gorgon" </a></div>
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<b>Crucifixion</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNGQYnbP1us" target="_blank">"Green Eyes"</a> </div>
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<b>Blitzkrieg</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll4Ij58497Q" target="_blank">"Blitzkrieg" </a></div>
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<b>Praying Mantis</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr7xNqdiHLI" target="_blank">"Captured City"</a></div>
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<b>Le Griffe </b>- "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKIv6A6AdXU" target="_blank">Fast Bikes</a>" </div>
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<b>Witchfinder General</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92jv6TfPqwk" target="_blank">"Free Country"</a> </div>
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<b>Iron Maiden</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCViwXz7zAM" target="_blank">"Prowler"</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>MBOM: </b><i>Do you think <b>Def Leppard</b> was a NWOBHM band? If so, what's
their last NWOBHM album?</i></div>
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<b>Brent:</b> Of course. <i>High and Dry</i> is the last NWOBHM album. It's the
last record with Pete Willis. He brought the rock. After that they lose my
attention. They got more pop oriented on <i>Pyromania</i>. Not really my thing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>MBOM:</b> <i>Which of the classic "Black And White EPs" is your
favorite - <b>Paralax</b> - White Lightning, <b>Mythra</b> - Death And Destiny, or
<b>Crucifixion</b> - Green Eyes?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Brent:</b> This is a hard one too! I think I'll go with Crucifixion.
That such a great EP. The perfect balance of hard rock and heavy metal. Even
though it came out in '84 it has more of a early NWOBHM sound. It could of came
out in '81/'82.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>MBOM:</b> <i>Which NWOBHM band that never released an album do you wish
had released a full length? (Five bonus points for picking <b>Trespass</b>.)</i></div>
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<b>Brent:</b> Unfortunately it's not <b>Tresspass</b>. I'm going to say <b>Virtue</b>.
That band kicks so much ass. I would of loved to hear a full length from them.
That <i>EP</i> and the <i>Fools Gold demo</i> are so damn good and they were just kids when
they made them. I am fortunate though that No Remorse put out that collection
LP.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghuS6lwnA9PL2g6AIPcZacdq5KuUU0KIQCyfOoI1KRGmd5AbQWALaFwfZEYMyDqT5L7GH5JRhUq9Ix_LM6EQHiXgBSVHNRfWMwNuZmxO4RXo1018yZXFSc4pwaNoUUnjcZV2wmt5ycJOU/s1600/diamond-head-sweet-and-innocent-media-records.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="782" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghuS6lwnA9PL2g6AIPcZacdq5KuUU0KIQCyfOoI1KRGmd5AbQWALaFwfZEYMyDqT5L7GH5JRhUq9Ix_LM6EQHiXgBSVHNRfWMwNuZmxO4RXo1018yZXFSc4pwaNoUUnjcZV2wmt5ycJOU/s200/diamond-head-sweet-and-innocent-media-records.jpg" width="195" /></a></div>
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<b>MBOM: </b><i>Any cool NWOBHM rarities in your collection?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Brent:</b> I stopped collecting records for a while when I was broke
and playing music full time so I missed out on getting a lot of rarities. My
MP3 collection is amazing. I do have a decent collection though. It's not that
amazing but it's good. I have a bootleg of <b>Iron Maiden</b> <i>Soundhouse
Tapes</i> and the <b>Def Leppard</b> <i>EP</i>. I have a bronze pressing of the first Angel
Witch. I have <b>Diamond Head</b> <i>Sweet & Innocent EP.</i> I have a lot of
reissues too which will probably be rare in like 10 years.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>MBOM: </b><i>Do you have a particular NWOBHM holy grail that you'd like
to get?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Brent</b>: I really want the Blitzkrieg 7". I just can't bring
myself to pay $200 for it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>MBOM:</b> <i>Are there any recent albums from old NWOBHM bands that you
like?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Brent:</b> I haven't really explored the newer eras. I guess the one
band I do like is <b>Satan</b>. <b>Night Demon</b> played a few show with them in Europe
while I was in the band. They're great.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>MBOM: </b><i>Thanks for taking the time to talk about NWOBHM! Any last
words or anything else to add?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Brent:</b> Thanks for interviewing me. It was fun talking about my
favorite style of music!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I hope you enjoyed the interview with Brent and it inspires you to listen to some NWOBHM gems!</div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-13128547783734801842017-03-19T16:44:00.000-04:002017-03-19T16:44:33.085-04:00Like Thunder Through The Skull<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Night Demon - <i>Darkness Remains</i></b></span></div>
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Century Media Records - 2017</div>
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Muthas, in my not so humble opinion, <b>Night Demon</b> is one of the best new wave of traditional heavy metal
bands in the world right now. Their debut
EP was an unbelievably good slice of retro NWOBHM and their first LP – <i>Curse Oh The Damned</i> – was simply
excellent. That brings us to the present
where the band is scheduled to drop their all-important second LP on April 21<sup>st</sup>. So, will there be a sophomore slump or
another solid album of traditional metal?
Well, I was lucky enough to secure of promo of their new album – <i>Darkness Remains</i> – and after spinning it
about fifty times, I am ready to render a verdict. <o:p></o:p></div>
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First things first though, there’s been a lineup change
since we last heard from <b>Night Demon</b>.
Guitarist Brent Woodward has departed and he’s been replaced by Armand John
Anthony who was formerly with <b>Gygax</b>. Also, main man Jarvis Leatherby has been busy
fronting NWOBHM legends <b>Jaguar</b>,
playing bass in <b>Cirith Ungol</b> and
organizing the <a href="https://nightdemon.net/frost-and-fire--2" target="_blank">Frost And Fire Festivals</a> for three years running. Did the band lose focus with the new lineup
and all their various outside activities and projects? Thankfully, the answer is a resounding
no! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Darkness Remains</i>
is a tight collection of superbly executed traditional heavy metal and it’s
crammed full of great riffs, catchy choruses, hooks galore, pounding drums and
good vocals. There is a slight difference from their earlier material because
Armand John Anthony’s playing style is heavily influenced by <b>Thin Lizzy</b> and his melodic riffing
permeates the whole album. However, it’s
yet another cracking album from <b>Night
Demon</b> that rivals the best efforts of the NWOBHM. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The band rips right out of the gate with the lead track “Welcome
To The Night.” The song starts with a
creepy intro and then blasts into a faster tempo. It’s a quintessential <b>Night Demon </b>cut with varied tempos, a catchy chorus, a nice solo
and occult lyrics. Check out the
excellent video for it:<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Hallowed Ground” is a speedy blaster featuring a pummeling
riff that will definitely get your head banging with fury. ”Maiden Hell” is a very
fun and peppy track that has lyrics which are all <b>Iron Maiden</b> references. This
song is very infectious and Jarvis even serves up a “Scream For Me!” Very cool!<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Stranger In The Room” is a mid-paced, epic spookster that
reminds me of their song “The Howling Man” for their last album. The band is
particularly adept at this kind of atmospheric track. Well done lads! “Life On The Run” is one of
my favorites on the album because it features some tasty and crunchy riffage and
drops some really cool nods to other metal songs/albums in the lyrics –
Thundersteel, Power Games, Hand Of Doom etc…
It also drops into a nice chugging riff at the midpoint and then
transitions into a cool solo. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“Dawn Rider” cruises along on the back of a “Heaven And Hell”
style galloping riff and “Black Widow” is a classic “evil woman” song that has
a regal/martial opening riff that dissolves into a killer up tempo pace that
makes it another favorite of mine on the album.
“On Your Own” has a pure, classic 80s opening riff, “believe in yourself”
lyrics and an earworm of a gang chorus that will lodge in your brain for days. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Flight Of The Manticore” is a sprawling, mid-tempo
instrumental that definitely allows Armand to strut his stuff on the guitar. I am a sucker for good instrumentals and this
one is very good. The final track on the
CD and LP is the title cut and it’s quite the departure for <b>Night Demon</b>. The track reminds me of <b>Black Sabbath’s</b> “Planet Caravan” because
Jarvis’s vocals sound like they are done through a Leslie speaker and the
overall tone of the song is very melancholy. It’s quite the epic at 5:23
minutes in length and it fades out to some strings or synths at the end.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The digital download of the album also features two bonus
tracks – a cover of <b>Sabbath’s </b>“Turn
Up The Night” and a cover of <b>Queen’s</b>
“<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPA7mhT3AAY" target="_blank">We Will Rock You (Fast Version)</a>” which is a very cool idea!</div>
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I also need to note that the album artwork is seemingly a homage of <b>Iron Maiden's </b><i>Somewhere In Time</i> because it features loads of <b>Night Demon </b>references. There's the band's mascot Rocky from the EP cover, the <i>Curse Of The Damned</i> cover, the band itself, and the building is the <a href="http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/16843917.jpg" target="_blank">Ventura, California city hall</a>. I'll have to pore over the LP cover when I get the vinyl, because there's a lot I can't see in the tiny digital picture I have. I dig it! </div>
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The Bottom Line: <b>Night
Demon</b> has released another great LP with <i>Darkness
Remains</i> and it’s well worth your hard-earned coin. I am sure this will be
in my best of 2017 and you should pre-order the album at the links below if you don't want to suck at life:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.indiemerchstore.com/b/night-demon" target="_blank">Physical Media Pre-Orders and Bundles </a></div>
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<a href="http://smarturl.it/darknessremains" target="_blank">Digital and Physical Media Pre-Orders</a></div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-36876736175875802442017-02-19T21:03:00.000-05:002017-02-19T21:03:05.121-05:00Come Heavy Or Don't Come At All<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Overkill - <i>The Grinding Wheel</i></span></b></div>
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Nuclear Blast Records - 2017</div>
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Muthas, that unstoppable wrecking crew – <b>Overkill </b>– is back with their
eighteenth (!) album and it’s an absolute skullcrusher. <i>The Grinding Wheel</i> was originally slated for a November 2016
release, but thankfully it was delayed due to some scheduling issues. Why thankfully you ask? Well, because it had
the potential to be lost in the shuffle during the old school thrash-o-rama of
2016. <b>Overkill </b>didn’t have to
compete with <b>Metallica </b>and <b>Testament</b> for the limelight last
November. The band has all eyes on them and they deliver the goods and then
some. Did anyone doubt they would?! <o:p></o:p></div>
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The band possesses a signature sound much in the same way <b>Motorhead </b>did - you know what you are going
to get - but they always manage to make it interesting. <b>Overkill</b>
never really succumbed to trends in any sustained way, and because of this
tenacity they’ve enjoyed a long career while the vast majority of their peers
packed it in decades ago.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>The Grinding Wheel</i>
is a bit different from their last couple of albums in that the songs are
longer and feature a good bit of variety.
I wouldn’t say the tracks are progressive, but rather they approach the
epic with many tempo changes and vocal nuances.
The opening track “Mean, Green, Killing Machine” ably demonstrates what
the album is all about. It sounds like classic <b>Overkill</b> with a couple of tempos and Blitz uses a couple of
different vocal styles including some actual singing at the midpoint of the
cut. All of this unfolds over seven and a half minutes of excellence. Check out the lyric video:<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Goddamn Trouble” is one of the best songs on the album and
it’s quintessential <b>Overkill </b>- loads
of fun, a bit of punk, a bit of thrash and hooks for days. I’m not surprised that
it’s already featured in their live set and I would imagine it’s going to stay
there for a while. Check out the equally fun video:<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The Long Road” has a great intro that is begging to be
played live because of its sing-along woah-oh vocals and blistering riffs. The lyrics feel autobiographical because they
are about never stopping and always moving forward. Onward and upward indeed! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Another noteworthy cut is “Come Heavy” which is groovy and
swaggering with loads of <b>Black Sabbath</b>
influence that the band usually features on a couple of tracks per album. This song will definitely get your head
bobbing while you sing along.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The title track closes things out in epic fashion with a
mid-paced groove and then finishes off with a another sing-along chant/chorus
and then dissolves into a mournful string section. It almost reminds one of something <b>Iron Maiden</b> would have come up with,
believe it or not. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I should also note that the production by Andy Sneap is
stellar and the album sounds amazing. If you were looking for some dirty thrash
sounds you are out of luck, but if you like razor-sharp, clear production than
you will be thrilled. I hope he’ll be on
board for future albums as he really captures the band’s sound well. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Also the album is wrapped in nice artwork that features a
stylized Chaly in between interlocked green gears with sparks flying. It definitely evokes the sounds contained on
the album and it a step up from the usual <b>Overkill</b>
artwork which can be uninspired. Well done fellas.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Bottom Line: This is a great album and certainly equals
their recent classic <i>Ironbound</i> if not
some of their 80s albums. If you are a
fan of the band, a thrash fan, or a fan of heavy metal you should enjoy this immensely. Go buy it and catch them on tour! <o:p></o:p></div>
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As Always, MAKE MINE METAL!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-88696316966229353802017-01-03T15:57:00.001-05:002017-01-03T15:57:53.409-05:00Stand In The Fire<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>We Want You: The Best of 2016</b></span></div>
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Muthas, 2016 has bit the dust and I’m back with a list of
the best albums, live albums, reissues and album covers. Enjoy!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>The Best Albums of
2016</u><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b>Bat – <i>Wings Of Chains</i><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Do you like greasy, dirty, raw thrash metal that sounds like
<b>Motorhead + Venom + Warfare</b>? If so, you will love this LP. I previously reviewed their demo and this
picks right up where that left off with a refreshing and fun blast of speedball
metal. Another great band from Ryan
Waste. Check out “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEHmnlvhN50" target="_blank">Primitive Age.</a>” Raw future indeed!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Diamond Head – <i>Diamond Head<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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Well what do you know? After releasing a couple of crappy
albums that didn’t reflect their classic sound, Diamond Head comes roaring back
with a cracking album that is replete with good songs. Thankfully, the vocalist – Rasmus Bon
Andersen – sounds a lot like Sean Harris, and Brian Tatler has penned some
great songs. Check out “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpoJswktDYY" target="_blank">Bones</a>.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Grand Magus – <i>Sword Songs<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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It seems that <b>Grand
Magus</b> wanted to answer some of the complaints about their last album being
too “epic” because <i>Swords Songs</i> is a
return to more straight ahead, faster material.
It’s a very good album that features many anthemic cuts that will be
sure to get your head banging. Check out
“<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMPQgvhKis8" target="_blank">Forged In Fire – Crowned In Iron</a>.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Gygax – <i>Critical Hits</i><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Arising from the ashes of the now sadly defunct <b>Gypsyhawk</b> is the excellent <b>Gygax</b> which play a tasty selection of
heavy-70s metal that is heavily influenced by <b>Thin Lizzy</b>. Sinewy, twisting dual guitar leads are everywhere and
the songs are catchy as all hell. Oh,
the splatter vinyl is quite simply the most stunning I have ever seen. Check out “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8aDUxDSbMI" target="_blank">Draw Breath</a>.”</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshazYhpm0qtsMyhOd6kLkHXfGyxvaQNKLEkl7QwKipfluEQnZ7b9-Nf42rknCEN8mA_Z7jZwvjp9fE0sV2mwFxqyaQ3TNNNFxBdju6VPs_WJrLVRC3-KhcLaLSKcdEVRmiC5L8uuOxlI/s1600/metal-church-xi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshazYhpm0qtsMyhOd6kLkHXfGyxvaQNKLEkl7QwKipfluEQnZ7b9-Nf42rknCEN8mA_Z7jZwvjp9fE0sV2mwFxqyaQ3TNNNFxBdju6VPs_WJrLVRC3-KhcLaLSKcdEVRmiC5L8uuOxlI/s200/metal-church-xi.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Metal Church – <i>XI<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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The long awaited return of Mike Howe did not disappoint in
the slightest! <i>XI</i> is a phenomenal album that is one of the better comeback albums
in the history Metaldom. It’s great to
hear Mike’s powerful voice ladled on top of choice power/thrash compositions
once more. The songs are excellent and <b>Metal Church</b> are back to reclaim their
rightful throne! Check out “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFD9t3dvvPc" target="_blank">Killing YourTime</a>.”</div>
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<b>Testament – <i>Brotherhood Of The Snake</i></b></div>
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If you’ve liked the previous two <b>Testament</b> albums you will love this one. It’s in the same vein as <i>Formation </i>and <i>Dark Roots</i> –
Chuck Billy roaring over a superb rhythm section and great guitars. There’s lots of thrashing to be heard here
and several of the songs form a sort of concept album about lizard people?(!)
The songs are heavy and catchy with several memorable choruses that will worm
their way into your brain. (It’s probably because of unholy influence of the
lizard people.) Check out “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvUcLcqwSzw" target="_blank">Stronghold</a>.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Striker – <i>Stand In The Fire<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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Fun! Fun! Fun! <b>Striker</b> once again unleash an album
that is just damn fun and high energy! These guys know
how to craft great power metal in the vein of <b>Vicious Rumors</b> or <b>Leatherwolf </b>and the cuts are full of great hooks. The songs
are very upbeat and positive and are sure to lift your spirits. More people should be talking about these
Canadians, so get out there and buy this album.
Check out “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el1yIAX5TX4" target="_blank">Too Late</a>.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Metal Massacre 14</i></b></div>
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A compilation in a best of list?
You’re damn right! Metal Blade
has finally released a worthy follow up to their classic 80s series of compilations by
focusing on lesser- known traditional metal bands on small or independent
labels. If you are a fan of the NWOTHM
many of these names will be familiar to you, but there are several gems here by
<b>Stone Dagger</b>,<b> Savage Master</b>,<b> Crypt Sermon</b>,<b> Gatekeeper</b> and others. Check out “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh7bFVrkdq4" target="_blank">The Demented Force</a>” by <b>Assassin’s Blade</b>. Buy or die! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Megadeth – <i>Dystopia</i></b></div>
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Maybe the album of the year.
Full review <a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2016/02/evil-never-dies.html" target="_blank">here</a>. It’s so much
better than the other Big Four releases it’s not even close. What about <b>Metallica</b> you say? It was a big pile of meh. Not list worthy. </div>
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<b>Eternal Champion – <i>The Armor Of Ire</i></b></div>
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Sweet Odin’s Raven this is good! I’ve had a hard time listening to anything
else for the last three months. <b>Eternal Champion</b> is from Austin, Texas
but they may as well have been born in the Hyborian Age because their music is
a virtual soundtrack for Conan and Kull.
This is the way epic metal should be done – songs with fantasy based
lyrics and killer music. Thick,
pummeling rhythms abound and the songs are very catchy. I have nothing to criticize here – the artwork
is great and there’s even a map included!
Album of the year? Sure, why the
hell not? Check out “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZRi_9HwMbE" target="_blank">I Am The Hammer</a>”
and buy this album you knaves! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Best Live Album</span></u><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQywo49FgBOSwX_Dap-fR1jOJfL9Xi5F35M4JLZvxvbqFxUG7Fu_KmVyboqlKwMugP_MF9Ynq0eeyAS_qGiNhG9QY5Dhq97JHTVNlgSpoCqsePyd7KnrYse-seRdq0mdeY8dOKdG5boFI/s1600/Dirk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQywo49FgBOSwX_Dap-fR1jOJfL9Xi5F35M4JLZvxvbqFxUG7Fu_KmVyboqlKwMugP_MF9Ynq0eeyAS_qGiNhG9QY5Dhq97JHTVNlgSpoCqsePyd7KnrYse-seRdq0mdeY8dOKdG5boFI/s200/Dirk.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Dirkschneider</b> – <b><i>Live
– Back To The Roots</i></b></div>
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Good old Udo is back with a live set of <b>Accept </b>classics and some not so classics to close the books on the <b>Accept</b> stage of his career. Udo sounds great here and so does his backing
band, and he even pulls out some tunes that haven’t been played in years - when was
the last time you got to hear “Monsterman” or “T.V. War” live? Pick this up and
you’ll be able to compare it to the soon-to-be-released <i>Restless and Live</i> from <b>Accept</b>. Check out "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSf6JzzzMQY" target="_blank">Breaker</a>."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>The Best Reissues</u><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwA6ypIui_16JXhED7GgacXEHcKc2RJElyjXHc0O_TnGAqv9H_1rObhHA2X0GBQYQczqT2W7gdgrbN4LD7Ky5jCb4UVBr_fQpxpn4QZa-Bf75W838zU7oNn8femRHMKmrQtz06xBVItQE/s1600/banshee-divebomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwA6ypIui_16JXhED7GgacXEHcKc2RJElyjXHc0O_TnGAqv9H_1rObhHA2X0GBQYQczqT2W7gdgrbN4LD7Ky5jCb4UVBr_fQpxpn4QZa-Bf75W838zU7oNn8femRHMKmrQtz06xBVItQE/s200/banshee-divebomb.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Banshee – <i>Cry In The Night + Race Against Time</i></b></div>
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Divebomb Records thankfully released the debut EP and LP
from <b>Banshee</b> with beautiful
remastering and a nice, thick booklet.
This is top notch USPM that was mostly lost in the shuffle back in the
day and deserves to be heard by the metal faithful. Definitely pick up this absolute gem of a two
CD set. Check out “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp2p4HCPlV8" target="_blank">We Want You</a>.”<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b>Skol Records NWOBHM CD
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Great idea from Skol Records and Bart Gabriel to release
these cd replicas of NWOBHM singles.
Each CD has the original cover art and tracks from the vinyl singles,
and they haven’t picked totally obvious singles either - who thought <b>Hellrazer </b>would ever be reissued for
instance? I hope they continue with this
series in the future!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>The Biggest
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<b>Anthrax – <i>For All Kings</i></b></div>
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What a mess. I had
high hopes, but they crapped the bed.
Full review <a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2016/03/dying-wind-through-shredded-sails.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Best Album Cover</span></u></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3ulA7dyPqHQWYC6DFywweI3t2M7B7CE6RthBSzqI91cC4dHldRM9WZRLIPAVYW8Hwe2m3tAyrChLTahW8k_vK__X1v-V4pQoU_44q5xMf9YgS5dZa3Ag-te-2uXpShJu58H8iKHBtEs/s1600/MegadethDystopia.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3ulA7dyPqHQWYC6DFywweI3t2M7B7CE6RthBSzqI91cC4dHldRM9WZRLIPAVYW8Hwe2m3tAyrChLTahW8k_vK__X1v-V4pQoU_44q5xMf9YgS5dZa3Ag-te-2uXpShJu58H8iKHBtEs/s320/MegadethDystopia.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Megadeth – <i>Dystopia</i></b></div>
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Robot Samurai Vic Rattlehead in a dystopian future? Yes
please! Stunning cover art for an
excellent album. Kudos!<o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s it muthas! Thanks for reading and I’ll see you back
here in 2017.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-67628877790716942822016-09-18T20:46:00.000-04:002016-09-18T20:46:08.704-04:00The Curio Cabinet Of Metal #3<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Iron Maiden - <i>The Wicker Man (U.S. Promo)</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQz4RJ1r0BxixcL-of-yJpI95qRbqGY90K9bpZnn5Gn2CO1QabcYo4F-vkfGTOI3OEl4_AIGTtM0-SipkttbRNYrBF_0y_2RcyATtKQd5NcHr5i2mv97jDbWqaSp_O0PbhOy591tGv4aM/s1600/Wicker+Title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQz4RJ1r0BxixcL-of-yJpI95qRbqGY90K9bpZnn5Gn2CO1QabcYo4F-vkfGTOI3OEl4_AIGTtM0-SipkttbRNYrBF_0y_2RcyATtKQd5NcHr5i2mv97jDbWqaSp_O0PbhOy591tGv4aM/s320/Wicker+Title.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Muthas,<i> </i><b>Iron Maiden</b> has always released multiple
singles from each of their albums, and this was true in the year 2000 when the
band released their <i>Brave New World</i>
album. In the United States they
released this album on the Columbia Records imprint Portrait. This imprint had recently been resurrected as
a heavy metal label with the signings of <i>Ratt</i>,
<i>Cinderella, Great White, </i>and <i>The Union Underground</i>. <b>Maiden</b>
moved from CMC Records to the label when Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith
rejoined the band. Anticipation was
through the roof when a new album was released and the metal world eagerly
awaited hearing anything from the album.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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The first single released from the album was “The Wicker Man”
and in the United States it sounded like this:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4dfDkxHtT9I/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4dfDkxHtT9I?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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I loved it! It was a
bracing blast of old, peppy <b>Maiden </b>of
the kind that I love and that they rarely seem to do anymore. I ran out and
bought <i>Brave New World</i> on release
day, but, much to my dismay, the version of “The Wicker Man” on the album is
different from the promo version! WTF?
Here’s the album version for comparison:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bhOGV3Qo9sU/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bhOGV3Qo9sU?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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Notice that once the chorus of the promo version is different
than the album version. The promo
version features the lyrics “Thy Will Be Done” following “Your Time Will Come”
and eliminates a guitar part from the album version in the chorus. I think the promo version is superior to the
album version and I have no idea why the promo version wasn’t chosen for the
album, and I can’t find any explanation for the difference in the research I’ve
done. By the way, the <b>Iron Maiden </b>song “The Wicker Man” is
completely different from the <b>Bruce
Dickinson</b> solo song “Wicker Man” which was recorded in 1997 but not
released until 2001, just to confuse everyone further. Check out Bruce Bruce’s “Wicker
Man” below: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TRdZEjUK8Ks/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TRdZEjUK8Ks?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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I wanted the “Thy Will Be Done” version of “The Wicker Man”
but where could I find it? It clearly
wasn’t on <i>Brave New World</i> so that led
me to the single versions of the song. I
figured that the label probably put this video version on the various singles
that were released. Unfortunately, CD
singles were rarely released in the United States by the year 2000 and “The
Wicker Man” was no exception to this as Portrait/Columbia records didn’t
release it as a single. Well, my next
step was to get some import singles from Europe because <b>Iron Maiden</b> was still releasing singles in Europe and they were
fairly easy to get in the States. Thanks
internet!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I ended up ordering the following singles:</div>
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<b>EMI Cat. No. 7243 8 88687 0 9</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18wv8DY3ri9pXhkgUfifhAdpHkbFWqpt90pFLCOrmmYBsLEz89ourINEABqv8dnQ95BUWANAV3DC8MMma9iGL7TPu7LKdKK6VhIytfXH_V3IMoPeu9uPVITBijayFmoiUT8YP8bjvvjg/s1600/Wicker+Single+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18wv8DY3ri9pXhkgUfifhAdpHkbFWqpt90pFLCOrmmYBsLEz89ourINEABqv8dnQ95BUWANAV3DC8MMma9iGL7TPu7LKdKK6VhIytfXH_V3IMoPeu9uPVITBijayFmoiUT8YP8bjvvjg/s320/Wicker+Single+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrB7qXDOVvS-vTNwXguT2XF52KxoZh26dD-N7JOS0TZzECBn_XvbaF66lFgfyVOAY_d2ySq8njXb-LzNZGMbqz9memog53gOwt2eJsVqLC7cqOeJ7EtPgIawZpGWDvlHtosK24JpkVLqQ/s1600/Wicker+Single+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrB7qXDOVvS-vTNwXguT2XF52KxoZh26dD-N7JOS0TZzECBn_XvbaF66lFgfyVOAY_d2ySq8njXb-LzNZGMbqz9memog53gOwt2eJsVqLC7cqOeJ7EtPgIawZpGWDvlHtosK24JpkVLqQ/s320/Wicker+Single+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is a four track single released in Europe on May 8,
2000. This is part one of a two CD set
and features the following track listing:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The Wicker Man<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Man On The Edge (Recorded Live – Ed Hunter Tour
1999)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Powerslave (Recorded Live – Ed Hunter Tour 1999)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The Wicker Man – Enhanced Video<o:p></o:p></div>
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I eagerly cracked it opened to listen to track one hoping
that it was the “Thy Will Be Done” version, but alas, it was the album
version. The track four video is also
the album version in glorious 2000-era pixel vision! It’s beyond horrid. So
this single was a dead end, but at least it did have a poster with the band and
these ladies:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQS-RGnG69t3rm6Vj50nIdjvfl2bwMCKolcpjoBMLusx9pNoPuUDUVh7wcJov6QsaJ4g_7gphpeyzwzI163MFL3kcHMngPyfdcwtJiAFmZTVUgJCIevpq2RKM0W0gFkATZ9kgaJhkF3c0/s1600/Wicker+Poster+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQS-RGnG69t3rm6Vj50nIdjvfl2bwMCKolcpjoBMLusx9pNoPuUDUVh7wcJov6QsaJ4g_7gphpeyzwzI163MFL3kcHMngPyfdcwtJiAFmZTVUgJCIevpq2RKM0W0gFkATZ9kgaJhkF3c0/s320/Wicker+Poster+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOz9gGw6-GWGLDl1FXtLhjZM7bOuo7Hits3WOpYVOBBJT-Xxklp_lH3vUxB4AewlJJmlumWV75sEQzp7_uGd2DADxQ26_ecUnHo7Eakb7mFzrgOhZemWc6J8atPUa5qm1jAfCyVNmX-zw/s1600/Wicker+Poster+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOz9gGw6-GWGLDl1FXtLhjZM7bOuo7Hits3WOpYVOBBJT-Xxklp_lH3vUxB4AewlJJmlumWV75sEQzp7_uGd2DADxQ26_ecUnHo7Eakb7mFzrgOhZemWc6J8atPUa5qm1jAfCyVNmX-zw/s320/Wicker+Poster+2.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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This left me with part 2 of the single release:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>EMI Cat. No. 7243 8 88688 0 8</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKtY0qOABT8cWsmjTJx9mbB82x5_Of2cvlYqR1RrYEzlttaTTWubWL_tizITaMDvjKnb1_rbxenrKoJfK3M1ctX7sqAgsgXQ62QPTAXvKxR4rrcd0NztVAgb4Z3_WXJuKiFqUChB6pHs/s1600/Wicker+Pic+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKtY0qOABT8cWsmjTJx9mbB82x5_Of2cvlYqR1RrYEzlttaTTWubWL_tizITaMDvjKnb1_rbxenrKoJfK3M1ctX7sqAgsgXQ62QPTAXvKxR4rrcd0NztVAgb4Z3_WXJuKiFqUChB6pHs/s320/Wicker+Pic+1.jpg" width="316" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioqdkkU4nE5SrMBAImQuNpm_vzvX1m6JctDZ5iqNSi6SOqUCrt-3c2mKNVdQ5kSI3BzNX1afyV8X0MEI7PpDQaRiytCJmuc2rTJvx0x1YuIOhRivGX6TBS8Yyt_IMv8vDMtnPaHCVkNFc/s1600/Wicker+Pic+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioqdkkU4nE5SrMBAImQuNpm_vzvX1m6JctDZ5iqNSi6SOqUCrt-3c2mKNVdQ5kSI3BzNX1afyV8X0MEI7PpDQaRiytCJmuc2rTJvx0x1YuIOhRivGX6TBS8Yyt_IMv8vDMtnPaHCVkNFc/s320/Wicker+Pic+2.jpg" width="319" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbFeSkU60UOW6oRN6rx4GbainT0l6XV7HmKr_oN2TRlaThn6_3Xrfr6nHVK4uMbwKr32N9WzqadoU5hTkAdX_YurO9O9gvxF2QDwAl-r9O-oe79p4AaEa0so2OaWPYMmU6ZNR7LEHWrQU/s1600/Wicker+Pic+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbFeSkU60UOW6oRN6rx4GbainT0l6XV7HmKr_oN2TRlaThn6_3Xrfr6nHVK4uMbwKr32N9WzqadoU5hTkAdX_YurO9O9gvxF2QDwAl-r9O-oe79p4AaEa0so2OaWPYMmU6ZNR7LEHWrQU/s320/Wicker+Pic+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is another four track single, but it came packaged in a
clear pvc sleeve rather than a jewel box like part one. The disc is a cool
looking clear picture disc featuring Eddie as a wicker man. The track listing is as follows:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The Wicker Man<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Futureal (Recorded Live – Ed Hunter Tour 1999)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Killers (Recorded Live – Ed Hunter Tour 1999)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Futureal – Enhanced Video (Footage Taken From
The Ed Hunter Tour 1999)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Once again I was out of luck with this single because track
one was also the album version. So much
for that idea! I was at a dead end and I
put the search on the back burner for a while.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, some years passed and I became aware of the fact that
there was a promo only version of “The Wicker Man” which was issued in the US
to radio stations only. I don’t remember
how I found this out, but I started a search for it at that point. I finally tracked it down at a tiny online
vendor that I had never heard of and I ordered it. Luckily for me it was a legit shop and in a
couple of days I had this in my hands:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Portrait/Columbia Cat. No. CSK 12766</b> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizmjJANQx4PLX-t0quPcJynzR5Oxwz_i6KxhKeKy0WFx5embJkeEX1Ei9KP0_rveXpryvRoFGxR3JNBz3RPo640c7_xEBOekWl5eqoUJrlJ_hq_CHhczo7D76Lz3V5Ja6uJjt7mDqHBSI/s1600/Wicker+Promo+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizmjJANQx4PLX-t0quPcJynzR5Oxwz_i6KxhKeKy0WFx5embJkeEX1Ei9KP0_rveXpryvRoFGxR3JNBz3RPo640c7_xEBOekWl5eqoUJrlJ_hq_CHhczo7D76Lz3V5Ja6uJjt7mDqHBSI/s320/Wicker+Promo+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnD36kXsucD-wUX_Eyn5BBAyhnptteW2WSqxKWUSZFPAoXkaifHWyhVlSiEjXUMxREnq9yOQZatsxFhQLZjbC1n3nBOydT4ysRG7CxzScidHwNY14UsP_okLk58_DrhUVQ_SBpW0cu8fc/s1600/Wicker+Promo+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnD36kXsucD-wUX_Eyn5BBAyhnptteW2WSqxKWUSZFPAoXkaifHWyhVlSiEjXUMxREnq9yOQZatsxFhQLZjbC1n3nBOydT4ysRG7CxzScidHwNY14UsP_okLk58_DrhUVQ_SBpW0cu8fc/s320/Wicker+Promo+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSjfHgQlHbltBPygfytU81EZIwsZOjj1U_4bNucVjZ30QoXtOLyzJ9Abh-emJNCXbs5jxJEZ3nYA5JB4ch-nc8w5LNCDDEMp1KvxUGXn7eIam4XM9Bn9xSIRPgf_SsHMz7cEAMzXDscM/s1600/Wicker+Promo+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSjfHgQlHbltBPygfytU81EZIwsZOjj1U_4bNucVjZ30QoXtOLyzJ9Abh-emJNCXbs5jxJEZ3nYA5JB4ch-nc8w5LNCDDEMp1KvxUGXn7eIam4XM9Bn9xSIRPgf_SsHMz7cEAMzXDscM/s320/Wicker+Promo+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2LIqIDqhjrrVhAYbztKYFvIfK3-B6Vsg2BtmZJaXamtzXLpJsRJatfx3ya38GcsTgBIdhPynmFKXh5FT303j3PO5WQZxJAxfjm1sH468Fy_Tzm4eZzWzQjP924y-PD0zXwYIYeUiRXs/s1600/Wicker+Promo+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2LIqIDqhjrrVhAYbztKYFvIfK3-B6Vsg2BtmZJaXamtzXLpJsRJatfx3ya38GcsTgBIdhPynmFKXh5FT303j3PO5WQZxJAxfjm1sH468Fy_Tzm4eZzWzQjP924y-PD0zXwYIYeUiRXs/s320/Wicker+Promo+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This promo has the following tracklisting:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The Wicker Man (Radio Version)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The Wicker Man (Radio Edit)<o:p></o:p></div>
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I popped it in my CD player and finally I heard the “Thy
Will Be Done” version of “The Wicker Man!”
It had only taken a couple of years for me to track this down. Hooray! Clearly the artwork is from the session with
a similar cover to the European single.
The back cover features the wicker man but this time it’s unburnt unlike
on the back cover of the European single.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is probably the rarest <b>Iron Maiden</b> piece in my collection as this version of the song has
never appeared anywhere else since the year 2000. Add to that the fact that it was a U.S. only
radio promo and its rarity only increases. I don’t really think it’s that
expensive – it might go for $35-$50 – but that’s a pretty hefty fee for one
song! I would imagine that it will eventually appear on a future reissue of <i>Brave New World </i>as a bonus track. Have your credit card ready <b>Maiden<i>
</i></b>collectors!</div>
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I hope you enjoyed this bizarre little oddity from the <b>Iron Maiden</b> discography and another
installment in The Curio Cabinet Of Metal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL! <o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-28561467177371258642016-07-04T17:00:00.000-04:002016-07-04T17:00:10.291-04:00The Curio Cabinet Of Metal #2<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Judas Priest - <i>Painkiller: The Sharpest Cuts</i></span></b></div>
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Muthas, it’s no secret that <b>Judas Priest</b> is my favorite band, however they’ve never been a band
that issues a whole lot of promos, limited editions, picture discs, etc.,
unlike <b>Iron Maiden </b>for instance.
However, <b>Priest</b> has issued a couple
of interesting rarities over the year and I happen to have one of the stranger
ones – <i>Painkiller: The Sharpest Cuts.</i> Check out this thing:<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s a CD printed to look like a toothed sawblade (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018MT43YE/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3S7ESPQKGIYF2&coliid=I1VHY4MDZFGYI2" target="_blank">a motif that the band recently revisited</a>) and it’s on a cardboard background mocked up
like the packaging of a rotary sawblade, including stating “Coarse Tooth
(nonferrous metals)” and even having the hole punch at the top center to be
hung on a peg board at the hardware store.
Now that’s some cool attention to detail! It also reflects the sawblade
wheels of the serpent bike that the Painkiller himself was riding on the cover
of the album. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The back of the packaging has the tracklisting and a
description for each song, as well as the usual promo label – “Demonstration –
Not For Sale” and a list of all the <b>Judas
Priest</b> albums put out up to that point (1990) by Columbia Records. Clearly
this disc was intended to promote the <i>Painkiller<b> </b></i>album which was released in
1990. <i>Painkiller</i> was much heavier and thrashier than the
band’s prior couple of albums and was hailed as a triumph upon its
release. <b>Priest</b> was clearly highly motivated when this album was released
and it was quite the scorcher.</div>
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Over the years, I’ve heard some criticism of <i>Painkiller</i> as a “thrash sellout” in the
same way that <i>Turbo </i>was a “glam sellout”
back in 1986. I have never really agreed
with that notion because most critics fail to mention/remember the atmosphere
that <i>Painkiller</i> was recorded in. <b>Priest</b>
had just emerged victorious from the costly and farcical subliminal message
trial brought against them by the estates of Raymond Belknap and James
Vance. The teens had both attempted
suicide while listening to Judas Priest’s <i>Stained
Class</i> album. Belknap died
immediately, but Vance lingered for three years before passing away. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Jl4EFThO1e4/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jl4EFThO1e4?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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The plaintiffs’ attorney eventually claimed that there were
subliminal messages on the whole album, but focused on the track “Better By You,
Better Than Me” which apparently contained a backward masked message to “Do it.” I am assuming the hapless attorney didn’t
even realize this was a cover of a <b>Spooky
Tooth</b> song. Be that as it may, the
band spent $500,000 in attorney’s fees defending themselves! That’s enough to piss anybody off and the
band were still pissed about it in 2001 when they penned the tune “Bloodsuckers”
about scumbag lawyers. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It was in this atmosphere that <b>Priest</b> cranked out the most aggressive album of their career. Who can blame them? According to Rob Halford the label was
as pissed off as the band was and put out marketing taglines for <i>Painkiller</i> such as “The Antidote To
Annihilation” and “Awesome! Backwards or forwards.” This brings us to the back cover of <i>Painkiller: The Sharpest Cuts</i> which
contains a couple of interesting track notes.
First, the song “Better By You, Better Than Me” says, “The Most Talked
about track from the controversial <i>Stained
Class</i> release. Listen to it! Listen to it! Listen to it!”<o:p></o:p></div>
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The other interesting note is track 10. You can see that it’s only listed with a
backward question mark and two asterisks.
What’s that all about?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, in another giant middle finger to the whole
Belknap/Vance trial, it’s “Better By You, Better Than Me” backwards! How awesome is that! Clearly <b>Priest</b>
and Columbia Records were all out of fucks to give. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Apparently several thousand of these were pressed and a
cassette version was also released. There
is one note of caution if you’d like to acquire this piece of <b>Priest’s</b> history – while all copies list ten tracks on the tracklisting,
only some have the backwards version of “Better By You, Better Than Me.” Many
copies omit the tenth track and the cassette version doesn’t seem to have ever
been issued in a ten track version. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell the
nine track version from the ten track versions short of putting it in a CD
player. Caveat Emptor! <o:p></o:p></div>
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One more note, I own two copies and mine have ten
tracks. Hahaha!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I hope you enjoyed this little sliver of <b>Judas Priest</b> history and another installment in The Curio Cabinet Of Metal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As Always, MAKE MINE METAL!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-3959423570443788082016-04-17T17:59:00.003-04:002016-04-18T10:17:43.333-04:00The Curio Cabinet of Metal #1<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Motorhead <i>1916</i>
Promo Releases</span></span></b></div>
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Muthas, this is the first article in a new series that will
feature the rare, the odd, the strange and the sometimes interesting bits from my
collection. I’ve amassed a nice quantity
of stuff over the years and I thought you might want to see some of it. So to kick things off let’s take a look at
the various recordings released by Epic/CBS/Sony/WTG to promote the <b>Motorhead</b> album <i>1916.</i><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/ItjUcnh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/ItjUcnh.jpg" height="320" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">Vagrancy may still result even with purchase.</span></td></tr>
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<b>Motorhead</b> had bad
luck with record labels throughout their forty years of existence, and by the mid-80s they had sued their label Bronze Records and actually
prevailed in the case. Free from their
Bronze contract they formed their own label – GWR – with their management and
good times were on the horizon, right? Of course not. because they actually ended up
involved in a lawsuit with GWR in 1988!
This explains why there was a four year gap between the release of <i>Rock ‘n’ Roll</i> and <i>1916</i>. The GWR lawsuit was
finally resolved in 1990 and the band signed with Epic Records under the WTG
imprint. Things were finally looking up
for the band business wise and they finally had the promotional power of one of the
biggest records labels in the world behind them.</div>
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<i>1916 </i>was recorded in 1990 and the Epic
promotional machine swung in to action by releasing several recordings to promote the new
album. The first of which was released
only in the U.K. in late 1990 to promote the band’s February, 1991 tour. <i>The One
To Sing The Blues</i> promo comes in several formats including CD, cassette, 7”,
12” and picture disc. The CD version
(cat. no. 656578 2) was quite valuable to <b>Motorhead</b>
completists and collectors because it includes two unreleased tracks from the <i>1916</i> recording sessions – “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB1EuetuqIE" target="_blank">Eagle Rock</a>”
and “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQKtz8BjWJU" target="_blank">Dead Man’s Hand</a>.” Both are
trademark <b>Motorhead </b>speedballs which
rival anything on the album proper.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The 7” single version (cat. no. 656578 7) is a two tracker
with “Dead Man’s Hand” on the b-side.
The 12” version has the same tracklisting as the CD version and the picture
disc (which came in both 7” and 12” versions) has the same tracklisting as the 7”
single. The cassette also has the 7”
tracklisting. I have the 7” and the CD versions and here’s what they look like:<o:p></o:p></div>
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The next promo is <i>It’s Almost…1916</i> (cat. no. NSK 2295) which was released in 1991 on
CD only for use at radio stations. This
is a 3 track affair with “The One To Sing The Blues,” “I’m So Bad (Baby I Don’t
Care)” and a 9 minute interview with Lemmy as track three. The interview is interspersed with snippets
of “Angel City,” “The One To Sing The Blues,” “I’m So Bad (Baby I Don’t Care),”
“Nightmare/The Dreamtime,” “No Voices In The Sky,” and “1916.” The interview is
the highlight here, particularly Lemmy's discussion of “1916” and The Battle Of The Somme.
Lemmy does say that 96,000 died before noon on the first day, but that’s not
true. There were a little over 19,000
British troops that died that first day, not 96,000. That’s still a horrific slaughter by any
measure. I think Lemmy was confusing the
number killed on the first day with the number killed in the entire battle
which actually was almost 96,000. Regardless, it an interesting promotional piece and here’s
some pictures or my copy:</div>
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Next up is <i>No Voices
In The Sky</i> (cat. no. NSK 4010) which is a two track promo with no cover. It’s got full lyrics on the back for the
title track and the second track is the unreleased “Eagle Rock.” It’s a standard radio station promo piece from
the era, but it had some collectability due to the unreleased track. Here’s mine:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuRylAV20KYWvrZcOH8v9uPU4Re2LD6qHLkor8G8pVmIYDedDjvsnxuMhuSSMgBuN98Kru5wAuckQAmnlxjAwRuStCI4Fk4Ec4sabxfc5VMiYxUYiQ3qLk3S2wB1U2op2khUJD6w_izBo/s1600/No+Voices.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuRylAV20KYWvrZcOH8v9uPU4Re2LD6qHLkor8G8pVmIYDedDjvsnxuMhuSSMgBuN98Kru5wAuckQAmnlxjAwRuStCI4Fk4Ec4sabxfc5VMiYxUYiQ3qLk3S2wB1U2op2khUJD6w_izBo/s200/No+Voices.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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The last promo release is <i>Angel City And Other Cities Live 1991-1916</i> (cat. no. NSK 4169)
which is a five track promo with no cover.
“Angel City” is the studio version of the song and the other 4 cuts – “Going
To Brazil,” “No Voices In The Sky,” “I’m So Bad (Baby I Don’t Care)” and “Ramones”
– are all live. The live tracks are all
taken from the Sony video <i>Motorhead Live
Everything Louder Than Everything Else</i> which was released on VHS tape. You’ve probably seen “Ramones” from that
release because MTV played it frequently in the early 90s.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What’s amazing about this release is one particular quote on
the back cover from, of all places, <i>Seventeen</i>
magazine!!! In case you don't know, <i>Seventeen</i> magazine was a publication
aimed at tween/teen girls and probably wasn’t your first choice for <b>Motorhead</b> reviews back in 1991. Epic Records was so powerful back in 1991 that
even <i>Seventeen </i>magazine had to stop
writing about Richard Grieco and how to look great on your first date in order
to promote Lemmy and the boys. Check out
my copy:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/4RIHklZ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/4RIHklZ.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">Grieco ist Krieg!</span></td></tr>
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So that was all of the promotional releases from the <i>1916</i> album, but if you are wondering how
much you are going to have to shell out to score the two unreleased songs on
that CD promo the answer is not much!
Luckily for you, Epic put out two greatest hits compilations that both
include “Dead Man’s Hand” and “Eagle Rock.” In 2003, they released <i>Hellraiser Best Of The Epic Years</i> and in
2007 <i>Hellraiser – The Best of the WTG
Years</i> and both are still readily available.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIzeZLQR5yzZM0OxOFBbD7jWz0VHImbBgg-cUdDHJgD4on-J00tk7XVg4WWPBoRoMEuyQF91VjMsvTP6f3S0IUnQUWUcQ6LVBJYiCGRCPW7Kagle4jeakwgCT8H6Rg0oRk1dLXdsK-HA/s1600/Moto+Hellraiser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIzeZLQR5yzZM0OxOFBbD7jWz0VHImbBgg-cUdDHJgD4on-J00tk7XVg4WWPBoRoMEuyQF91VjMsvTP6f3S0IUnQUWUcQ6LVBJYiCGRCPW7Kagle4jeakwgCT8H6Rg0oRk1dLXdsK-HA/s200/Moto+Hellraiser.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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In 2014, Cherry Red Records released the album with
remastered sound, a thick booklet that is packed with photos and full lyrics,
and most importantly, the two unreleased tracks are tacked on as bonus
cuts. It’s the ultimate version of this album and features
a picture that perfectly encapsulates <b>Motorhead’s</b>
entire ethos:<o:p></o:p></div>
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So that’s the first installment of the Curio Cabinet of Metal. I hope you liked it and more oddities are on the way. </div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-3626881951683058402016-03-06T21:25:00.002-05:002016-05-17T21:30:14.574-04:00Dying Wind Through Shredded Sails<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Anthrax – <i>For All Kings</i></span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Megaforce – 2016<o:p></o:p></div>
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Muthas, hot on the heels of <b>Megadeth’s </b>new album <i>Dystopia</i>,
we have gotten another Big Four™ album and this time it's from New York’s <b>Anthrax</b>. Oddly enough, just
like <b>Megadeth, </b>they have added a new
member from a metalcore band -<b>Shadowfall’s
</b>Jonathan Donais – and he’s an improvement over the person he's replacingthe - Rob Caggiano. Also like <b>Megadeth</b>, the artwork on <i>For
All Kings</i> is excellent – the band have once again used the always awesome
Alex Ross. Unlike <b>Megadeth</b>, this album is not a triumph at all, and in fact it pales
in comparison to their excellent 2011 album <i>Worship
Music</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This may be one of the most frustrating albums I have ever
listened to. There are all sorts of
great ideas on the album, including many cool solos and riffs, but the majority of the songs never seem to gel and most contain odd departures. The album is littered with many strangely
melodic pre-choruses/choruses that simply do not fit with the rest of the song
they’re tacked on to. I have no idea
what <b>Anthrax</b> was trying to achieve
with this tactic. Did they think cramming Modern RAWK choruses into their songs was a great idea? What you get here is neither fish nor fowl - it's part thrash and part modern, melodic hard rock - all in the same song usually!<o:p></o:p></div>
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To further compound things Joey’s vocals sound odd and most of the songs seem
like they weren’t written with him in mind. Don’t expect “Medusa Part 2”
because you sure as hell aren’t getting it here. This is even stranger when you
consider that <i>Worship Music</i> wasn’t
written for Joey at all and he sounds great on it! He’s an excellent vocalist and
this album does nothing to showcase his considerable talents. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Another issue I have with <i>For All Kings</i> is the terrible
sequencing. Why in the world did they
choose to kick things off with a symphonic instrumental and then a six minute
long song with a huge slowdown at the midpoint?
Hey dummies, put this song at track four or five after you’ve served up some
speedier fare. Is sequencing really that
hard to understand? It’s not a terrible
song at all, and does slip into that patented <b>Anthrax</b> DUN DUN DUN riff by the end, but it shouldn’t be the lead
off cut. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The tile track is somehow lifeless with (of course) a god
awful chorus. This pattern repeats itself over and over again on the album. What’s the deal with the weird modern RAWK chorus in “Breathing
Lightning?” I simply don’t understand why this choice was made continually on the album.</div>
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So is there anything good here? Thankfully there is, but inexplicably most of
the good tunes are at the end of the album.
“Defend/Avenge” is nicely aggressive with a good chorus, even if the riff sounds like a ripoff of <b>Marilyn
Manson’s</b> cover of “Beautiful People.” I also like "All Of Them Thieves" with its memorable stop/start chorus, and tasty, speedy solo. I wish more of the album was like this. </div>
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Album closer "Zero Tolerance” is
thrashy <b>Anthrax</b> of yore and is one
of the better tracks here, and it would be a good track to add to their live
set. I also like the single “Evil Twin”
which is sounds more like you would imagine a classic <b>‘Thrax</b> song sounds like.
Check it out here:<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Bottom Line: I am
hugely disappointed in this album. I am
a big <b>Anthrax</b> fan but I am
nonplussed when I listen to <i>For All Kings</i>.
You may want to give it a shot if you are a fan of the band, but just be aware
you might not like what you hear. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-59800691080591012282016-02-28T17:57:00.000-05:002016-02-28T18:53:20.964-05:00Evil Never Dies<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Megadeth – <i>Dystopia</i></b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Universal – 2016<o:p></o:p></div>
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Muthas, I don’t know if you’ve noticed it, but <b>Megadeth</b> is by far the most prolific of
the Big Four™. Since 2000 they’ve
released seven albums, whereas Slayer has put out four, Anthrax has three and
Metallica has only managed two. You might not like everything they’ve done, but
Dave Mustaine and the bodys shows no signs of stopping their career any time soon. Which brings us to their newest album, <i>Dystopia,</i> which features one (two?) new
band members – <b>Angra’s</b> Kiko Loureiro
and <b>Lamb Of God’s</b> Chris Adler (who’s
a studio only member or something – he might tour too, whatever.) <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Megadeth’s </b>last
album – <i>Super Collider</i> – was an
unmitigated disaster that was almost as bad as the atrocious <i>Risk </i>from 1999. The album was a mess of commercial songs,
banjos, fiddles and David Draiman (?!), which stiffed completely at the box
office. I’m not sure what Dave was
thinking, but it was a major disappointment for the fans, especially so because it came after a string of good
albums. On the plus side, we did learn about Dave’s hatred of model rocketry in
the “Super Collider” video. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Super Collider</i> was followed by a management shakeup and the
exit of both Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover.
There were then rumors that the “classic” lineup of Marty Friedman and Nick
Menza would be coming back, but that never came to fruition. (By the way, that lineup produced exactly one
great album and a bunch of good to complete shit albums, so I don’t care if
they ever get back together.) Following
this, Kiko and Chris were announced as filling out the vacant slots and
recording began. So how’d it turn
out? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Thankfully, it turned out great with nary a banjo, fiddle or
David Draiman anywhere in sight!
Vocally, Dave sounds strong and his old sneering, snotty voice is all
over the album. Junior is solid as
always and even gets to show off a bit in some songs. Kiko and Chris are both good and I think
Chris’s drumming adds much needed fire to the compositions. Lyrically, Dave focuses on corruption,
societal disintegration and the illegitimacy of the societal elites. He’s really full of the old venomous piss and
vinegar again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The album starts with the killer “The Threat Is Real” that
features a middle eastern flavored intro before plunging headlong into a
thrashy crusher circa <i>Countdown To
Extinction. </i>Check out the animated video:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3-d6LFLpBvw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3-d6LFLpBvw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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The first single is the blistering “Fatal Illusion” which is
pure, old school <b>Megadeth</b> that
recalls “Wake Up Dead.” I would have
placed this as the opening track on the album, because this is the type of song
that old-school thrashers want to hear and it also ably demonstrates that <b>Megadeth</b> doesn’t take a back seat to
anyone in the Big Four™. Great stuff!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7MRtdd3tXI4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7MRtdd3tXI4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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A hallmark of <i>Dystopia</i>
is its very catchy choruses the will burrow their way into your brain and live
their for a long time. I was humming
the, “Know Know Know” chorus from “Bullet To The Brain” for days after hearing it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The drumming is top notch and really stands out when
compared to what Shawn Drover was doing.
It’s obvious that Chris Adler was drumming for his favorite band and
wanted to put his mark all over the proceedings. Kiko also contributes greatly and actually has co-writing credits
on three songs - “Post American World,” “Poisonous
Shadows,” and “Conquer Or Die.” All of them are good with the chugging “Poisonous
Shadows” sounding like a long lost track from <i>Countdown To Extinction </i>or <i>Youthenaisa. </i>This cut blends seamlessly with the
instrumental “Conquer Or Die” where Kiko gets to strut his stuff from the acoustic
flamenco intro to the electrified intricacies on the rest of the song.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Another highlight is the face ripping speedster “Lying In
State.” This is vintage <b>Megadeth</b> which would be at home on the mighty <i>Endgame</i>
or the classic <i>Rust In Peace</i>. If you aren’t banging your head at the 2:20
minute mark, you’re most likely dead. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Strangely, I’ve read many reviewers complaining about not liking the
chorus from the closing track “Foreign Policy.”
Hey idiots, that’s a cover song by the band <b>Fear</b>, so stop complaining about it.
Maybe Dave’s buddy Lee Ving needed some cash or something to make up for
the lack of sales for <b>MD.45</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgliQXEI-0Q_eObPzX-j73SJ5ugA1EKyKGAyeqU6tSRTybutYyZISFxjHXeK8w6SPYiLvRYWn8MiSQgmztpQ6M-D682r-O5U6qwjB4_lZeakCL0mRMMMY9SKQ-KOiQnSsMTWbyr_oFQ4Lg/s1600/Megadeth+-+Dystopia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgliQXEI-0Q_eObPzX-j73SJ5ugA1EKyKGAyeqU6tSRTybutYyZISFxjHXeK8w6SPYiLvRYWn8MiSQgmztpQ6M-D682r-O5U6qwjB4_lZeakCL0mRMMMY9SKQ-KOiQnSsMTWbyr_oFQ4Lg/s320/Megadeth+-+Dystopia.jpg" width="181" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">Hey look! I bought all this stuff!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Visually, this is probably the best album artwork <b>Megadeth </b>has ever used with the album coming wrapped in a cover that features a cyborg Vic Rattlehead armed with a katana, some drones and a
destroyed metropolis burning in the background.
This would make a killer poster for your music room, apocalypse bunker,
concert venue or Skynet installation. </div>
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_____________________________________________________</div>
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The Bottom Line: <i>Dystopia</i> is the
equal of <i>Endgame </i>and is the best
thing any of the Big Four™ have done for years.
It’s definitely worth your coin so go buy it!</div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-38183924785605491182016-01-03T23:29:00.000-05:002016-02-02T22:44:45.956-05:00See Me Burning<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Death Or Glory:</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Best of 2015</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEceeycwdvMHsLhB8WBMmOns1QqtmzZ92PBRpIzLI03XMcW1RiWaBlgpYYuHb3yAwGfpkkCyB7r2maJkN1ZKUjhcWkqHV08HM-2VSytk4gejlvo9ZTf1NkvfpRe5dH0LJx_SHxM1rSuM8/s1600/Motorhead+-+I%2527m+Gone.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEceeycwdvMHsLhB8WBMmOns1QqtmzZ92PBRpIzLI03XMcW1RiWaBlgpYYuHb3yAwGfpkkCyB7r2maJkN1ZKUjhcWkqHV08HM-2VSytk4gejlvo9ZTf1NkvfpRe5dH0LJx_SHxM1rSuM8/s400/Motorhead+-+I%2527m+Gone.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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Muthas, 2015 has bit the dust and I’m back with a list of
all the best, and some of the worst albums, EPs, concerts, reissues and album
covers. Enjoy!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Thunder &
Lightning - The Best Albums of 2015</span><o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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2015 seemed to be a slower year for releases, but there were
several excellent albums that grabbed my attention. Here’s the best of them:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX-EflGBvE1ZgE2tC9erS-xOB_SoLfSnbhZtaY4y0vIGBECZWCJT7VcZpXHR0AjmuO5UvLaTghky12c8C3BxhMMI-7OB93p34KxRFuLqeC5wycmeanFwf2DuqZeNa3-eDW4OzD3Iu-c6I/s1600/blacktripshadowlinecd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX-EflGBvE1ZgE2tC9erS-xOB_SoLfSnbhZtaY4y0vIGBECZWCJT7VcZpXHR0AjmuO5UvLaTghky12c8C3BxhMMI-7OB93p34KxRFuLqeC5wycmeanFwf2DuqZeNa3-eDW4OzD3Iu-c6I/s200/blacktripshadowlinecd.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Black Trip – <i>Shadowline</i></b></div>
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This is a great sophomore release from these Swedish
purveyors of tasty, melodic, heavy 70s style hard rock. They sure do love <b>Thin Lizzy</b> which makes them all right in my book. Check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qBv1AroYvo" target="_blank">“Berlin Model 32”</a> for a rollicking
good time.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7nDxwGAEFJyKvS73G5NO02D1n0bN6fQJzFHT8MuikNEjj7vWfY2VqqUsC5eYBKSrLODsYzGfHyjQe_SbIUwmnmaPAAw-zzxVzKBrFJXiXKPZqyzwdKhesssk4GTZ7ZJsJVpkutNTwMJc/s1600/Visigoth-TheRevenantKing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7nDxwGAEFJyKvS73G5NO02D1n0bN6fQJzFHT8MuikNEjj7vWfY2VqqUsC5eYBKSrLODsYzGfHyjQe_SbIUwmnmaPAAw-zzxVzKBrFJXiXKPZqyzwdKhesssk4GTZ7ZJsJVpkutNTwMJc/s200/Visigoth-TheRevenantKing.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Visigoth – <i>The Revenant King</i></b></div>
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Crushing and bruising their way into my ironclad heart is
the debut LP from Salt Lake City’s own <b>Visigoth</b>. Full review <a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2015/03/from-utah-they-came-with-iron-and-fire.html" target="_blank">here</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCIZ0tFzFO1-8N4eFDD25eXeVzbVh82HNPGOOY7_8bLQBaXGt69cL_EiqkkVn6-kBUpIyzv8d9YL8VnYzOOhoVhjuU6dj92J_9qV2IlK_uLGWnxGLtm_rGggdQpW4bsAu4avz8sm-dPco/s1600/Venom1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCIZ0tFzFO1-8N4eFDD25eXeVzbVh82HNPGOOY7_8bLQBaXGt69cL_EiqkkVn6-kBUpIyzv8d9YL8VnYzOOhoVhjuU6dj92J_9qV2IlK_uLGWnxGLtm_rGggdQpW4bsAu4avz8sm-dPco/s200/Venom1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Venom – <i>From The Very Depths<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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Cronos and crew roar back to life with a solid and
unexpectedly good album of signature latter day <b>Venom</b>. Full review
<a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2015/07/party-with-demons-down-below.html" target="_blank">here. <o:p></o:p></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpu2J-Aud-UiK9Wzchp8XPepQ3svuUD49ItapsBVGVfdB2UP5u-SKzACHsaN4UhRyIJxNTz5wiGGVgMPeB2qCc6Aj0oLMkoR9uHTzEmrNhXjfHduNW2iKk5Tl3BEwarhhWlikE0d7AJ4/s1600/RAVEN_Extermination.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpu2J-Aud-UiK9Wzchp8XPepQ3svuUD49ItapsBVGVfdB2UP5u-SKzACHsaN4UhRyIJxNTz5wiGGVgMPeB2qCc6Aj0oLMkoR9uHTzEmrNhXjfHduNW2iKk5Tl3BEwarhhWlikE0d7AJ4/s200/RAVEN_Extermination.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Raven – <i>ExtermiNation</i></b></div>
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NWOBHM stalwarts, <b>Raven</b>,
have crafted a superb album that easily eclipses their last couple of
albums. The LP is chock full of their
“athletic rock” stylings, and harkens back to their first three albums. Check
out the excellent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVGIT0FaoeI">“Fight.”</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsRK3_KYz06iUNLvVVvXRr8rIiSgkymCGko1jnm2FBljrAhXalfaEj-3ym5EmTftdCM7DSdmX8RT4_QXJoRSowFDEdhND0M5uX9WH82j0pB-qooUZjL1VsKEdQqgu2B3DuXzzEHytO4A/s1600/ArmoredSaint-WinHandsDown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsRK3_KYz06iUNLvVVvXRr8rIiSgkymCGko1jnm2FBljrAhXalfaEj-3ym5EmTftdCM7DSdmX8RT4_QXJoRSowFDEdhND0M5uX9WH82j0pB-qooUZjL1VsKEdQqgu2B3DuXzzEHytO4A/s200/ArmoredSaint-WinHandsDown.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Armored Saint – <i>Win Hands Down<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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The new album completely wipes the floor with their weak
sauce last album and has energy and inspiration to spare. The fire in the belly is palpable here as
these traditional metal stalwarts offer up an album of blistering guitar work
and amazing vocals. At least seven of
the cuts are classics and this is definitely their best album since <i>Symbol of Salvation</i>. Guitars, guitars, guitars everywhere!!!!
Check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8uBAZ35gJ8">“An Exercise In Debauchery.”</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Sorcerer – <i>In The Shadow Of The Inverted Cross<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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I can’t blame you if you’ve never heard of <b>Sorcerer</b>, because they had only
released two demos and then faded into obscurity over twenty years ago. They reformed in 2010 and this year they
cranked out this spectacular album of epic doom metal. If you like Tony Martin era <b>Black Sabbath</b> you will love this. Each track is like a pounding anvil of doom
straight to the skull! Check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxAJ6i_jKkY">“TheDark Tower Of The Sorcerer”</a> for an idea of how good this album is.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCryAukWcHK8RGx4jg5_-C9qkwnJHnKK4KJQVeYLR8F12ISNtJQMVpWIRq_5JGjM2z36Q_tlNT9sjfYdnhlYGeA6brK9653MjjE2-sq8efHpqicw5zOwovR7F4peuIlwH09PpLxb0WtEk/s1600/satanatomcd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCryAukWcHK8RGx4jg5_-C9qkwnJHnKK4KJQVeYLR8F12ISNtJQMVpWIRq_5JGjM2z36Q_tlNT9sjfYdnhlYGeA6brK9653MjjE2-sq8efHpqicw5zOwovR7F4peuIlwH09PpLxb0WtEk/s200/satanatomcd.jpg" width="199" /></a></div>
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<b>Satan – <i>Atom By Atom</i></b></div>
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Yet another superb album from these NWOBHM merchants. Check out the full review <a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2015/10/let-them-pacify-while-we-annihilate.html">here.</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCBdNYJqa4vB-pwkfo0xN5FoFMMapx6i7HZshR4pA1CPnrZGnZ4usBIF2wWZ0QPn4vcDly1jWZkmml4RHH2wZagf73tV6Ovamk9tE2ZZVNoeFrS8rVRrtiOaQj7grru9Z84J7Xca70yc/s1600/Saxon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCBdNYJqa4vB-pwkfo0xN5FoFMMapx6i7HZshR4pA1CPnrZGnZ4usBIF2wWZ0QPn4vcDly1jWZkmml4RHH2wZagf73tV6Ovamk9tE2ZZVNoeFrS8rVRrtiOaQj7grru9Z84J7Xca70yc/s200/Saxon.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Saxon – <i>Battering Ram<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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Cleary, <b>Saxon</b> can
do no wrong. They are rivalled only by <b>Motorhead </b>and <b>Overkill </b>when it comes to only releasing excellent and consistent
albums in the last 25 years. On <i>Battering Ram</i>, the band offers up an
album that is full of top-notch power metal sprinkled with rock solid
traditional metal. Damn this is
good. Check out the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oLC0nOfWGc">title track</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJUPjmyVZA4K5U6kgOF_12NxYfGAcUOouRHronq4I_RSoYuepyUql2N4egiHy9QEiZ1SB2o3yNhC1rUaAlHz7Qa0vdQpUHgxaCtlRJ5g1bqLHWjeDRrMu-Gng_ZaFfPaixcLH4sW2e6Qw/s1600/Ram-Svbversvm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJUPjmyVZA4K5U6kgOF_12NxYfGAcUOouRHronq4I_RSoYuepyUql2N4egiHy9QEiZ1SB2o3yNhC1rUaAlHz7Qa0vdQpUHgxaCtlRJ5g1bqLHWjeDRrMu-Gng_ZaFfPaixcLH4sW2e6Qw/s200/Ram-Svbversvm.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Ram – <i>Svbversvm<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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Whatever Sweden is doing to encourage excellent metal, they
are doing it right because <b>Ram </b>has
released the best album of their career.
I like their entire discography, but this LP displays loads of <i>Screaming For Vengence</i> era <b>Priest-ish </b>style<b> </b>and very memorable songs. I can’t recommend this one enough! Please buy it and support this type of
traditional metal. Check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY6YXsaYPSo">“Enslaver”</a>
and you’ll understand my effusive praise.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6U_Wh-xmkQ_2J6kok9pj4MOH3UNdIGZVFTdbV-8mHg5xenLTW0Gq1fz9Z1oE9SbV0Q5RI90bNnHk_cr6GMK6HwvG0le7T0w1ciKS5qt_oWdpfocU3Y5xSF7enWDjMxkTH0pbjOAnHBy0/s1600/Night+Demon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6U_Wh-xmkQ_2J6kok9pj4MOH3UNdIGZVFTdbV-8mHg5xenLTW0Gq1fz9Z1oE9SbV0Q5RI90bNnHk_cr6GMK6HwvG0le7T0w1ciKS5qt_oWdpfocU3Y5xSF7enWDjMxkTH0pbjOAnHBy0/s200/Night+Demon.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Night Demon – <i>Curse Of The Damned<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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What can I say about <b>Night
Demon’s </b>first LP that I haven’t already said in the full review <a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2015/01/heavy-metal-heat.html">here</a>? Not much, other than to tell you that it’s
easily one of the best traditional metal albums released in the last 25
years. Buy or die!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcTJk2W_lOQUXeE74eLOENrm8MBbBc8MaTC2-UtbNxrEDDswLD4igtyQxPk6l6f1Y5hlSADJt70FLduSreXpQwgXfJaHxduZcr2Pn8_iLG3mIQ9SwhTMWckMgwNYV2W1P-ymu-OLbBN0/s1600/Enforcer-_From-Beyond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcTJk2W_lOQUXeE74eLOENrm8MBbBc8MaTC2-UtbNxrEDDswLD4igtyQxPk6l6f1Y5hlSADJt70FLduSreXpQwgXfJaHxduZcr2Pn8_iLG3mIQ9SwhTMWckMgwNYV2W1P-ymu-OLbBN0/s200/Enforcer-_From-Beyond.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Enforcer – <i>From Beyond<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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Damn <b>Enforcer</b> is
good. They always deliver and this year
is no different. Check out my full
review <a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2015/09/killers-are-ready.html">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgK954T8lY5mGa9dj7PYQLYjUhM_S0siY-8_0iuj1zBT5Zk0T2ajHCCW1N5V6SqhjoWMODDyR0l7uVSLRTeuhUYdqduMLo0_kYBMkBdufORkAMP0sQYPccuzFM3ZNdmshJk5XaldKJio/s1600/Motorhead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgK954T8lY5mGa9dj7PYQLYjUhM_S0siY-8_0iuj1zBT5Zk0T2ajHCCW1N5V6SqhjoWMODDyR0l7uVSLRTeuhUYdqduMLo0_kYBMkBdufORkAMP0sQYPccuzFM3ZNdmshJk5XaldKJio/s200/Motorhead.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Motorhead – <i>Bad Magic</i></b></div>
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I am writing this shortly after Lemmy slipped this mortal
coil for the great mead hall in the sky and it’s nearly impossible to overstate
just how important he was to heavy music of the past 40
years. He always delivered the
goods. Always. No faltering.
No trend hopping. No “return to
form” because he never was out of form. No comeback because he never left. This album is no different. Sure, he might sound a bit threadbare, but he
was 69 when he recorded this and on his last legs. Guess what?
<i>Bad Magic</i> is better than 99%
of the bullshit that most magazines, blogs, writers, journos and other idiots
drone on and on about. Was there ever an
album that was as much of a goodbye as this one? The lyrics are full of farewells and no
regrets. It’s a biography of a life of
no bullshit and no compromises. Check
out the lyrics to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI90KW_5Vso">“Thunder & Lightning”</a> which tell you all you ever need to
know about Lemmy and <b>Motorhead</b>:<o:p></o:p></div>
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I always wanted
the scream in the night<o:p></o:p></div>
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I always wanted
the noise and the light<o:p></o:p></div>
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Standing on the
stage the thrill never fades</div>
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<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> The ultimate rage,
raving and fighting</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Maybe you’ll
shake, maybe you’ll break<o:p></o:p></div>
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You’ll never
escape, thunder and lightning<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">One Short Life –
The Best EPs of 2015</span><o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhctlRpjUZkdFmYjbBh2jOgcoVXqvZc8688XscKzGNYjN_Qvn1qXnd6oDp1QY3DYBeB-QQ0Vwh6GRyfj0FZg82NDQml_fokd6hNuYBce9d1TApqNS_7Oo1GyP1_dIT_g56bPnNo0ufjWQY/s1600/Orchid-Sign-Of-The-Witch-Artwork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhctlRpjUZkdFmYjbBh2jOgcoVXqvZc8688XscKzGNYjN_Qvn1qXnd6oDp1QY3DYBeB-QQ0Vwh6GRyfj0FZg82NDQml_fokd6hNuYBce9d1TApqNS_7Oo1GyP1_dIT_g56bPnNo0ufjWQY/s200/Orchid-Sign-Of-The-Witch-Artwork.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Orchid – <i>Sign Of The Witch<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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Surprise!<b> Orchid’s</b>
back<b> </b>with another great EP. Of
course they are. Check out the full
review <a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2015/07/blackened-swarms-of-sorrow.html">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFa35iMt_hTcu0QxcLE-Yg2VFjMthsptm36qUvbJEQUmM06EwOWeMKBSTob1n_tMifR4cLhMeNUyWyHaRIne7Gm94ThyphenhyphenF3SkYN4NG85b6cMhEPf43oBdC0MD-G7BlNzb9-zq8jmIflIE/s1600/DennerShermann-SatansTomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFa35iMt_hTcu0QxcLE-Yg2VFjMthsptm36qUvbJEQUmM06EwOWeMKBSTob1n_tMifR4cLhMeNUyWyHaRIne7Gm94ThyphenhyphenF3SkYN4NG85b6cMhEPf43oBdC0MD-G7BlNzb9-zq8jmIflIE/s200/DennerShermann-SatansTomb.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Denner / Shermann - <i>Satan's Tomb</i><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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This is a killer little EP that features the always amazing
Michael Denner and Hank Shermann ripping it up with solos and riffs galore. On top of that, the EP features the stellar
vocals of Sean Peck who also fronts <b>Cage</b>
and <b>Death Dealer</b>. This blows <b>Force of Evil</b> out of the water and it's very good, old school power
metal. A full length LP is supposed to follow
in 2016. Check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2Zjz1fjCv0">“Satan’s Tomb.”</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">No Sleep At All – The
Best Live Album of 2015</span><o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-MfKBROSV0oBe9wOaAhNeyz7oZqAotvA6iShdJNndblRgO8PEN5T3aul-9pqQxRfMyem3lm65Y9n-2PN8z2Qzdji0HCQi4-Cq6-7LBQjp5pQtygohA2XFX1O_o9Y6ZpYEkqvdVsjwRo/s1600/Enforcer___Live_By_Fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-MfKBROSV0oBe9wOaAhNeyz7oZqAotvA6iShdJNndblRgO8PEN5T3aul-9pqQxRfMyem3lm65Y9n-2PN8z2Qzdji0HCQi4-Cq6-7LBQjp5pQtygohA2XFX1O_o9Y6ZpYEkqvdVsjwRo/s200/Enforcer___Live_By_Fire.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Enforcer – Live By
Fire<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Not content with having one of the best studio albums of the
year, <b>Enforcer</b> have released the
best live album of the year – <b>Live By
Fire</b>. If you haven’t heard anything
from the band this is as good as any place to start because this is a virtual
greatest hits set. The band sounds great
as they blast through sixteen tracks live from the Kytarro Clue in Athens,
Greece. The CD version of the album also
include a cracking DVD featuring nine songs live from Japan. Finally, all versions of the release have a
bonus 3 track EP – <i>Speak The Tongue Of
Heathen Gods </i>– included to further add more bang for the buck for the fan. Check out the ripping <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVbDEeEYoPY">“Scream Of The Savage.”</a><i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Dancing On Your
Grave - The Best Reissues of 2015</span><o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
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<b>Wargasm – <i>Why Play Around?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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Finally an official reissue of the debut from Boston’s <b>Wargasm</b>! This album has been bootlegged for years, and
now we get a real reissue with great sound and nice packaging. If you are a fan of <b>Motorhead</b> and especially <b>Tank</b>
this will be right down your alley. This
is a definite must buy! Check out their
classic <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJOFqF994Kg">“Revenge.”</a><b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Shok Paris – <i>Steel And Starlight (The Auburn Sessions)<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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Hello Cleveland!
Auburn Records has thankfully released their version of this 1987 <b>USPM </b>classic! This reissue features a completely different
mix from the I.R.S. Records release, the original running order and a host of
bonus tracks. The band sounds great on this and Vic Hix’s vocals are stellar as
always. His soulful, passionate tone
added so much to <b>Shok Paris</b> and set
them apart from their contemporaries. Check out their all time great cut <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce1lVWpQsSs">“Tokye Rose.”</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">I’m So Bad (Baby I
Don’t Care) – The Biggest Disappointments of 2015</span><o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWm6llYiuvkXWev5XqmhZFYd7H60SjYl4WAzsezHSFFJexTTppK5nfuqcy87_yV4INSmASKE5q2pXL3j3BcgS1sEoECxPRg-ZukjSOAP_iXtE0M7-Xu5dhSD9I_bDwCWDPCPacNrTNswY/s1600/Sword.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWm6llYiuvkXWev5XqmhZFYd7H60SjYl4WAzsezHSFFJexTTppK5nfuqcy87_yV4INSmASKE5q2pXL3j3BcgS1sEoECxPRg-ZukjSOAP_iXtE0M7-Xu5dhSD9I_bDwCWDPCPacNrTNswY/s200/Sword.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>The Sword – <i>High Country<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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I love <b>The Sword</b>
and I was looking forward to their new album.
Unfortunately, <i>High Country</i>
sounds like an album by a band that's rushed and confused. They can’t seem decide what they want do or sound like, and as a result the album never really gels. Also fifteen tracks is about five
too many and the album needs some judicious trimming. Nothing stuck with me after
repeated listens and quickly faded from my playlists. Oh well, maybe the next release will be more
focused. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9vU5jp1YjNPNtT4nYqVE0beafFGsZY2KjBn9SivPqJU6QBuR7b3o2-dgdOh-uJPXTSMTzHw0olX3cJ6jMG1OorjXZj7viLmrHEeMzibRUDkINwYTYM1ucqIJcXTlyHCnTvJJ0wuH1_mE/s1600/panzer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9vU5jp1YjNPNtT4nYqVE0beafFGsZY2KjBn9SivPqJU6QBuR7b3o2-dgdOh-uJPXTSMTzHw0olX3cJ6jMG1OorjXZj7viLmrHEeMzibRUDkINwYTYM1ucqIJcXTlyHCnTvJJ0wuH1_mE/s200/panzer.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Panzer – <i>Send Them All To Hell<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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Who didn’t think a band featuring Schmier from <b>Destruction </b>and Herman Frank and Stefan
Schwarzmann of <b>Accept</b> wouldn’t be
great? Well, it wasn’t. The album did absolutely nothing for me and
is lacking any real hooks. It also got
lost in the early January release shuffle here in the United States. Maybe things will get better on the next LP. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">We’re Artists!
We’re Sensitive As Shit! – The Best Album Cover of 2015</span><o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b>Panzer’s </b>album
may have been a pile of meh, but their album cover is kick ass! A giant panzer! Flamethrowers! Fire! Skulls!
Apocalyptic visions! Count me in
with those visuals. Well done Gyula Havancsak.
Your artwork is everything a heavy metal cover should be. Hail and Kill!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Stone Deaf In The
USA – The Best Concerts of 2015</span><o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b>Night Demon – June 6<sup>th</sup>,
Gooski’s, Pittsburgh PA<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Night Demon killed it in a tiny Pittsburgh club for a small
group of hardcore fans. Check out the full review and setlist here.</div>
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<b>Overkill – September 21<sup>st</sup>,
Altar Bar, Pittsburgh PA<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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I hadn’t seen <b>Overkill
</b>since the Relixiv tour back in 2005, and thankfully they hadn’t missed a step in the
intervening decade. They were a
well-oiled machine and played an excellent set of classics and newer material
that had the pit going all night. I was
nursing a cold, but even I was singing along at the top of my lungs. I hope to see them again in the near future!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Saxon/Armored Saint –
September 17<sup>th</sup>, Altar Bar, Pittsburgh PA<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Saxon</b> hadn’t
played Pittsburgh since 1983 and <b>Armored
Saint</b> had never played Pittsburgh so this was destined to be a special
night. The Altar Bar was completely full
and the crowd was electric. This might
have been the most enthusiastic crowd I have ever been in. <b>Armored
Sain</b>t seemed stunned by the thunderous response they received from the crowd
and they were in fine form. I hope they
come back to the Steel City soon. I
haven’t seen <b>Saxon </b>since 1998(!) and
they were amazing. The crowd was
euphoric and sang along to every song.
The band even took requests because they had been absent from Pittsburgh
for so long. God damn it was great. It’s nights like these that remind me why I
put up with all the bullshit of going to a live show. There’s nothing better than being in a crowd that’s
completely at one with a band’s performance – totally chill inducing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Y&T – May 5<sup>th</sup>,
Altar Bar, Pittsburgh PA<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Finally! <b>Y&T</b> is one of my all-time favorite
bands and I own their entire discography, but I had never managed to see
them. Thankfully, I have now and they
more than delivered. Dave Meniketti
still sounds great and his playing is superb.
The band was in great form and they had a great rapport with the
audience. Thanks for the great show and
I hope to see you again!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p>That's it muthas! Thanks for reading and I'll see you all right back here in 2016.</o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<o:p>As always, MAKE MINE METAL!</o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-15752940402908728002015-11-22T17:44:00.001-05:002015-11-22T22:54:52.293-05:00Burning Metal<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Rockaway Drive – <i>We Live</i></b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Independent – 2012<o:p></o:p></div>
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Muthas, I’m not normally in the habit of reviewing three
year old albums, but I was listening to an episode of the always awesome <i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1511342542428798/" target="_blank">Rock And Metal Combat Podcast</a></i>, and
cohost Ian Wadley recommended a band by the name of <b>Rockaway Drive</b>. He played a
couple of their songs and I was completely blown away by the quality of the
cuts. I immediately began searching for
information on them and I found their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/rockawaydrive/?fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page and <a href="https://www.reverbnation.com/rockawaydrive" target="_blank">ReverbNation</a>
account. Unfortunately, I couldn’t
locate any of their CDs for sale, and there only appeared to be a couple of
their tracks for sale as downloads. I
then contacted the band and they quickly responded with information and a link
to their whole album on Youtube. Thanks guys! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Rockaway Drive</b> is
from the same city that’s home to half of my family - Louisville, Kentucky -
and they play rock solid, traditional heavy metal. In fact, if their debut album <i>We Live</i> had been released back in 1984,
it would slot right in with other U.S. Power Metal like <b>Shok Paris</b>, <b>Ded Engine</b>, <b>Breaker</b>, and <b>Riot</b>. There’s a ton of mid-80s <b>Judas
Priest</b> to many of these songs too, which is always a good thing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>We Live </i>features
ten tracks and is 39 minutes long, which is the perfect length for an album –
not so much material that you lose interest, but rather they leave you wanting
more. The songs themselves are mostly
straight-up traditional metal with tasteful guitars and a solid rhythm
section. There are a couple of slightly
more commercial tracks, and by that I mean commercial for 1984 because they
sure as aren’t commercial for 2015! The
vocalist on the album is very good and he sounds like one part Rhett Forrester,
one part Harry Conklin, with a dash of Midnight and a pinch of Mandy Lion’s
rough edge.
Basically, he’s got the perfect voice for this type of material –
melodic with a rough edge. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Check out the songs “We Live” and “Black Witch” which are
great examples of what they do. In fact,
just listen to the whole album below:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JApLevzi-Sw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JApLevzi-Sw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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The band was nice enough to provide me with the following
bio which should answer most of your questions: </div>
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“Rockaway Drive was formed in August of 2009 with one goal
in mind and that was to bring back the sounds of 70s and 80s Heavy Metal. In
the six years of the band’s existence they have played countless local shows in
the Louisville, KY area, and they have opened for such acts as Metal Legends
Accept, Quiet Riot, and most recently, Sanctuary. They released their debut album, <i>We Live </i>in 2012 to much critical
acclaim. Over the years there have been
a few line-up changes and other challenges, but the band continues to march
forward! The current line-up are led by
the twin axe attack of Mick Watkins and Wes Rogers, vocalist Dani O’Dea,
bassist Brad Rogers and drummer Nigel Paul.
They are currently writing material for their sophomore release and
aiming for a 2016 release date.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Also, check out the following live videos featuring the
current lineup:</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BK9gcXTi7Cg/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BK9gcXTi7Cg?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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I am looking forward to their new album and I hope they make
<i>We Live</i> available in its entirety
either digitally or in a physical format. Pro tip - a Bandcamp page is always a good way to sell some downloads and merch!<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Bottom Line: Do you like U.S.P.M. and traditional heavy
metal and do you like supporting
independent bands? If so, check out <b>Rockaway Drive</b> and throw them some coin
when their new album is released. I know
I will. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-14177314216395356972015-10-18T21:24:00.001-04:002015-10-18T21:31:48.002-04:00Let Them Pacify While We Annihilate<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Satan - <i>Atom By Atom</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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Listenable – 2015<o:p></o:p></div>
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Muthas, in 2015 several NWOBHM bands have released, or are
set to release, new albums. I’ve already
reviewed the new <b>Iron Maiden</b>, I’ll
review the new <b>Saxon</b> shorty, and this
time I’m reviewing the new album from <b>Satan. </b>In <a href="http://themetalblogofmetal.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-bombastic-bakers-dozen.html" target="_blank">2013</a>, <b>Satan</b> came out of nowhere with one of the best albums of the year –
<i>Life Sentence</i>. It has a legitimate claim to the crown for
most impressive comeback album of all time.
The band intentionally wrote and recorded the album as if they were
recording the follow-up to their 1983 classic <i>Court In The Act</i>. Most bands
claim to do this, but they normally deliver something that’s various shades of disappointing. <i>Life
Sentence</i> delivered on that promise and then some, with the album being
maybe the best thing they have ever done.
So how does the new album, <i>Atom By
Atom</i> stack up? Read on!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Atom By Atom</i> picks
right up where <i>Life Sentence</i> left off
and is definitely a worthy successor. It
features their patented intricate guitar work, solid rhythm section, and the
ageless voice of Brian Ross. The forty seven minute album offers up ten tracks
that are all good if not great. There are no low points on the album to bore the listener, which is very rare with older, reunited bands. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“Farewell Evolution” kicks off the proceedings with a killer
scream and then tons of frantic, frenetic guitars that propel song ably. It’s a great way to launch an album! “Fallen Saviour” and “Ruination” display more
pure speed, hooky guitar work and tasty vocals.
“The Devil’s Infantry” has appropriately martial drumming and crunchy
guitars with really cool lyrics. Also, the final scream from Ross is a perfect display of his vocal power. Check it out here along with the rest of the album:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2644386491/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://listenable-records.bandcamp.com/album/atom-by-atom">Atom by Atom by SATAN</a></iframe>
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It should be noted that <b>Satan</b>
write some insanely catchy choruses that will drill right into your gray matter
and stay there for days and the title track is
a great example of this. There are a couple of other superlatives tracks on the album – the galloping “In Contempt,” the middle-eastern flavored tinged “Ahriman,” and the uber-catchy “Bound In Enmity,” which reminds of their song “Twenty
Twenty Five.” So damn good!</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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One of the absolute highlights of the LP is the final cut, “The
Fall Of Persephone” which spins an epic tale of the destruction of the Earth by
a meteor. This is a departure for <b>Satan </b>with its varied tempos, mid-song spoken word piece, and the result is an unmitigated triumph. This
sprawling track proves that you don’t need eighteen minutes to tell a great
story and enthrall your audience. Also,
it’s not about a fucking blimp that crashes, which certainly helps.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Bottom Line: This is a great album and a more than worthy
follow up to “Life Sentence.” It’s
definitely worth picking up if you are a fan of the band, the <b>NWOBHM</b> or great
heavy metal in general. There’s much to
love here and it’s definitely worth purchasing, so go out and get it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL! <o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-40154811832369413692015-09-19T12:59:00.001-04:002015-09-19T13:18:54.612-04:00Book Of Lols?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Iron Maiden – The Book Of Souls<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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BMG – 2015<o:p></o:p></div>
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Muthas, have you noticed that every recent album from the Old
Masters of Metal has been praised to the hilt as being superb – <b>Black Sabbath</b>, <b>Judas Priest</b>, <b>AC/DC</b>, and
now <b>Iron Maiden</b>? Let’s face the truth, most of these albums
range from awful, to forgettable, to passable, to average. None of them is “the best thing the band has
ever done” regardless of what most reviewers and the<a href="http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/iron-maidens-nicko-mcbrain-the-book-of-souls-is-the-best-album-weve-ever-made/" target="_blank"> band members themselves claim</a>. So that brings us to the latest
album from <b>Iron Maiden</b> – <i>The Book Of Souls</i>. Most of the reviews of this album have
devolved into nothing more than a hagiography of <b>Maiden</b>, with such absurd claims that it’s the best album since <i>Brave New World, </i>or <i>Fear Of The Dark</i>, or <i>Seventh
Son of a Seventh Son, </i>or even more absurdly <i>Powerslave</i>. Come on man,
that’s total bullshit. Let’s not go
crazy here, and instead let’s take a look at this album with an honest,
critical eye.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Two things are immediately apparent upon the first listen to
this 93 minute double album- the production by Kevin Shirley is fucking
atrocious and Bruce’s vocals are very strained on the majority of the tracks.
It’s is baffling to me that the band retains the services of Shirley because
his production jobs are universally terrible.
There is absolutely no separation of the various instruments and the
drum sound is particularly bad. Poor
Nicko’s drums sound like state of the art cardboard box drum sound from 1995. Awful.
Bruce is really pushing it on most of the songs and the results are
disappointing and troubling. Bruce needs
to take a page from Rob Halford’s book and pull it back a notch and realize
that age has caught up with him. The
tongue cancer and chemo can’t have helped matters either. <o:p></o:p></div>
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What about the songs?
Well, there are eleven of them spread over two CDs. Disc one clocks in at 50 minutes and disc two
at 43 minutes. Of course there are some longer tracks, but there are many sub
eight minute cuts for a change. The
album kicks off with “If Eternity Should Fail” and it’s a very good opener,
with a catchy chorus and doesn’t feel its eight minute length. The next song is the lead single, “Speed of
Light” which feels dull and lifeless at first, but does get somewhat better
with repeated listens. There is a cool
video game themed video for it which you can check out below:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-F7A24f6gNc/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-F7A24f6gNc?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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“The Great Unknown is a good song that delivers the goods
and has that vintage <b>Maiden</b> sound,
but the album comes to a screeching halt with the next cut, “The Red And The
Black.” Unfortunately, this is not a cover of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIawk-9PApw" target="_blank">killer <b>BOC</b> song</a>, but rather a bloated thirteen minute cut that could
really use some judicious trimming. Of
course this is a Steve Harris construction and exhibits all of his worst modern
day songwriting habits. There’s probably
a great five minute song lurking in there someplace, but I don’t have the
patience for Steve’s bullshit. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Thankfully, this is followed by “When The River Runs Deep”
which shows tons of pep and is not repetitive at all which helps to clean the
palate after “The Red And The Black.” Disc one closes with the ten minute title
cut, and of the three ten-minute-plus songs on the album it’s the best. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Disc two opens with “Death Or Glory” which sounds like the <b>Iron Maiden</b> of the days of yore and is
easily one of the best songs on the album.
It’s direct, full of energy and is a fun listen. “Shadows Of The Valley” is enjoyable and sounds
like something that could have been on <i>Somewhere
In Time</i> without the synth guitars. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“Tears Of A Clown” has cringe inducing lyrics about a
comedian that’s really sad inside and it’s dedicated to Robin Williams. <b>Maiden </b>deserves a round of cock punches
for this trite horseshit. A clown that’s
sad?! How inventive! <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSURBaT3XF4" target="_blank">I’ve never heard of that before.</a> Fuck off with this. Paradoxically, the music is very good on this
track with some very nice guitar work.
Too bad about the lyrics being hot garbage.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The Man Of Sorrows” is a bit lackluster and sort of just
plods along. It’s not the worst song on the album, but it’s one of the more
forgettable compositions. By the way, really
inventive song title there <b>Maiden</b>. It’s not like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfh5S-cOKmk" target="_blank">Bruce has a far superior song with the same title or anything.</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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And that leaves us with only the eighteen minute and three
second “Empire Of The Clouds” which many are hailing as a masterpiece on par
with “Rime Of The Ancient Mariner.”
Those people are fucking idiots. This song is thirteen minutes too long
and is a perfect example of self-indulgent, repetitive twaddle featuring Bruce
Dickinson at his pretentious worst.
Egads. There isn’t even a guitar
solo until ten minutes into this journey to the center of boredom. The rest of the band was probably like, “Oh
fuck! Bruce has cancer! We’d better indulge this horseshit because
who knows how long he’ll be around.” Of
course it’s about a blimp that crashed in 1930.
How exciting! I’d rather listen
to Bruce recite passages from a 747 maintenance manual. Fuck this shit. Boo!!!! <o:p></o:p></div>
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______________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqPj6MEq9fFDTORKlTv8FIFHnDreDqkJWpE3XVwzeQNEi-4X3GeScnSqxPvwaM_iWr3UpFsmoM3eD0GOtRHsxBYqQBEq7qNhzYjJ5uzQtYijNqGlUjTMudK6Pj2mRfqpsDH7a4Upif_c/s1600/Lols.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqPj6MEq9fFDTORKlTv8FIFHnDreDqkJWpE3XVwzeQNEi-4X3GeScnSqxPvwaM_iWr3UpFsmoM3eD0GOtRHsxBYqQBEq7qNhzYjJ5uzQtYijNqGlUjTMudK6Pj2mRfqpsDH7a4Upif_c/s320/Lols.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: lime;">Well this is harsh. It's not that bad.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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The Bottom Line: <i>The Book Of Souls</i> is not a great <b>Iron Maiden</b> album, but it is the best <b>Iron Maiden </b>album since the
reunion. Of course, that’s not much of a
high bar to hurdle, but they did at least achieve that. If you are a fan of the band from their
classic period you will find a lot to enjoy here even with its flaws. It’s bloated with several tracks that are
absurdly long, but you can always skip the nonsense. If this sounds like something you’d like, then go
buy it, or better yet, go buy Bruce’s <i>Accident
Of Birth</i> and <i>The Chemical Wedding</i>
which are far better than anything that <b>Maiden</b>
has put out since 1988.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-6873822837231398222015-09-07T18:34:00.000-04:002015-09-07T18:34:37.617-04:00Killers Are Ready<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Enforcer - <i>From Beyond</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0GF78pEmNqOMxhNXVUjKhr2_xWU0S4Y_oZkBWInO-e88nhT0G6PGrkGKzlNICtd-LQLSoa2IXc_ejg8CgJmL2TSJw4umYXhzNOt6uIRWBQfPPX1OdkokcyFUPFjxtdHFoNdOTNwYuwE/s1600/From+Beyond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0GF78pEmNqOMxhNXVUjKhr2_xWU0S4Y_oZkBWInO-e88nhT0G6PGrkGKzlNICtd-LQLSoa2IXc_ejg8CgJmL2TSJw4umYXhzNOt6uIRWBQfPPX1OdkokcyFUPFjxtdHFoNdOTNwYuwE/s320/From+Beyond.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></b></div>
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Nuclear Blast Records - 2015</div>
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Muthas, Swedish metallers <b>Enforcer</b> are back with their fourth album, <i>From Beyond</i>, and it's a blazing 42 minutes of 100% pure,
unadulterated, chromium steel. 2013's <i>Death
By Fire</i> was great, and this new album is definitely its equal, if not even
better! It’s rock-solid and all of the songs are top notch, which makes it a
great companion to <i>Death By Fire</i>.
There are loads of balls-out speed metal tracks mixed with heavy doses of
traditional metal, and that's a winning combination in my book. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>From Beyond</i>
features mostly speedier cuts, as it to be expected from Enforcer, but it does
have a couple of longer, epic tracks that are very good. Frankly, there aren't any bad songs on the
album at all. It's clear that <b>Enforcer</b> knows how to write excellent
songs, and one of their strengths is their choruses - they are total
earworms! Some bands struggle with this,
but <b>Enforcer's</b> choruses will be
stuck in your head long after you're done listening to the album. Also, the
album is very well sequenced and is the perfect length for vinyl - all of which
is conducive to a great listening experience.<o:p></o:p></div>
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"Destroyer" is the absolutely ripping opening cut
and it's also the lead single and video.
Check it out below:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4785h6JSqNc/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4785h6JSqNc?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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"Undying Evil" is the second track and it's another
freewheel burner with an anthemic chorus and lyrics about vampires. Check out the video for this
bloodthirsty killer of a tune:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5EExbLCeUnI/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5EExbLCeUnI?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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"One With Fire" and “Hell Will Follow” are
examples of the killer, balls out, speedsters that have become a staple of <b>Enforcer</b> albums. Once again, the band
has included an excellent instrumental - "Hungry They Will Come" -
and it's positioned perfectly at the midpoint of the proceedings. I love that <b>Enforcer</b> has a real appreciation for meaty instrumentals, as
they've become something of a lost art since their 80s heyday. Well done lads. "Below The Slumber"
and "Mask Of Red Death" are the two longer, epic tracks and they are
both very good. They ably showcase
another aspect of the band's excellent songwriting skills. Would you like to hear some sweet,
dual-guitar <b>Maidenisms</b> without
ploughing through a 92 minute, two CD monstrosity? If the answer is yes, you
should definitely check out the guitar noodling on “The Banshee.” </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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In other news, <b>Enforcer</b>
is releasing their first live album – Live By Fire – on November 20th and they
are embarking on a co-headling tour of the States with <b>Warbringer</b>, <b>Cauldron</b>,
and <b>Exmortus</b>. Here are the dates:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15ea7-3xhQhqKoKMocb7hikDVWGNIvjRXg7xZmRESXdbKA10Op0ZjrOB-JxffmDhhQezdbss0ad6lGLFhnbm5GjsXQq5kF9gDbfEa2-idQxbGy-w9-8PuxLsJ0_WchDHxWa0oCNImHC8/s1600/Enforcer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15ea7-3xhQhqKoKMocb7hikDVWGNIvjRXg7xZmRESXdbKA10Op0ZjrOB-JxffmDhhQezdbss0ad6lGLFhnbm5GjsXQq5kF9gDbfEa2-idQxbGy-w9-8PuxLsJ0_WchDHxWa0oCNImHC8/s640/Enforcer.jpg" width="523" /></a></div>
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_______________________________________________________________</div>
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The Bottom Line: <i>From
Beyond</i> is a great follow-up to <i>Death
By Fire</i> and is well worth picking up if you are a fan of Traditional Metal,
Speed Metal or plain old good music. <b>Enforcer </b>proves once again why they are the cream of crop of the <b>NWOTHM</b>. Highly recommended!<o:p></o:p></div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-79222992853424666862015-07-19T14:49:00.001-04:002015-07-19T14:49:49.897-04:00Blackened Swarms Of Sorrow<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Orchid – </span><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Sign Of The Witch</span><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMs6cpBo7sOM3Q_g_lW6kjUxbgN8KqJx1yCatz84u0v1svZ8VTQbN5gEoUrKMWDgKglXRkso3EAy_8IdMIcHqRT9nBQiIl6hBw6HOGuCkLHscvd42chCxx9ktSS4BHg6nBJtJTRuQzuXQ/s1600/Orchid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMs6cpBo7sOM3Q_g_lW6kjUxbgN8KqJx1yCatz84u0v1svZ8VTQbN5gEoUrKMWDgKglXRkso3EAy_8IdMIcHqRT9nBQiIl6hBw6HOGuCkLHscvd42chCxx9ktSS4BHg6nBJtJTRuQzuXQ/s320/Orchid.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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Nuclear Blast Records – 2015</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Muthas, San Francisco doomsters <b>Orchid</b>
are back with their fifth (!) EP and, as per usual, it’s a superb
mini-collection of 70s-inspired metal.
Most people think of EPs as being throwaways or stop-gaps, but <b>Orchid’s </b>are just as good as their
LPs. They assemble all of their
recordings with great care regardless of the length which is not usually the
case with other bands. I love these
shorter musical statements and I wish more bands would embrace the format, but
I doubt they are very lucrative financially. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s a breakdown of the tracks:<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Helicopters” – Starts the album off with a crash and
follows with a sense of impending destruction that permeates the rest of the
song. Lyrically it’s about a village that’s being attacked, most likely during
the Vietnam War. It’s a very good track and reminds me a bit of
“War Pigs.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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"John The Tiger" – The song is a perfect example of how <b>Orchid </b>truly understands one facet of <b>Sabbath’s </b>music that’s frequently
missing from other doom bands – sometimes you just gotta swing! This is definitely a toe-tapper and one of the
highlights of the EP. Killer! <o:p></o:p></div>
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"Under The Sign Of The Witch" – The lead single/video is a
prototypical <b>Orchid</b> song, which
means it recalls the glory of the <b>Sabs</b>
without exactly copying any one particular song. A massive drum sound is coupled with an excellent
chorus that will get stuck in your brain for hours. You’ve been warned! Check out the video below:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lreXQQEPbdY/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lreXQQEPbdY?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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"Strange Winds" – The last cut is a mystical, ethereal ballad
that features a creepy 60s style organ sound that compliments and enhances the
atmosphere of the song. <b>Orchid </b>always<b> </b>excels at these ballads – e.g., “Falling Away” – and this one is
no exception. <o:p></o:p></div>
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One of the reasons that <b>Orchid</b>
is one of my favorite bands is they understand the importance of cover art,
fonts and layout. They’ve got a very
good sense of aesthetics and this time it’s exemplified by the 3d cover art on
the EP, the cool fonts on the cover and spine, and the use of <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Thetriumphofdeath.jpg" target="_blank">Bruegel’s <i>The Triumph of Death</i></a> for center labels
and on the back cover. Kudos fellas!<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Bottom Line: <i>Sign Of The Witch</i> is another excellent
EP and it’s certainly worth your bucks.
If you’ve never purchased anything by <b>Orchid</b>, this is a great place to start as it’s a good overview of
what they have to offer. Check it out.</div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-56517181916041334232015-07-12T19:29:00.001-04:002015-07-12T19:29:11.916-04:00Party With The Demons Down Below<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Venom
– <i>From The Very Depths</i></span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-FeQEH1jp9vWGBhS6cWSWsZ84kdQpWcOnbl3070mMvVoOnQpY3h8THFmgGfJU1VkRYUmP4fFf75mW5-XorxytchztIaLrxipez6vaq_SiM7oPVgIa9Wgl_cyw5LmJfnd8Lgzko1Ocl4/s1600/Venom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-FeQEH1jp9vWGBhS6cWSWsZ84kdQpWcOnbl3070mMvVoOnQpY3h8THFmgGfJU1VkRYUmP4fFf75mW5-XorxytchztIaLrxipez6vaq_SiM7oPVgIa9Wgl_cyw5LmJfnd8Lgzko1Ocl4/s320/Venom.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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Spinefarm Records – 2015<o:p></o:p></div>
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Muthas, NWOBHM stalwarts <b>Venom </b>released a new album back in January and it’s a rib-cracking,
gut-pounding, rip-ride of Metal. It
might be the best thing they have done since their 1995 reunion, and it’s certainly
the best release with the current lineup of Cronos, Rage and Dante. Let me state right off the bat that if you
are only a fan of “classic” <b>Venom</b>
from their Neat Records days, you might not like this album. This is modern <b>Venom</b> and it’s much more groove-oriented than what you may have
been expecting. If you only like <i>Black Metal</i> this won’t be your cup of
poison, but you might want to give it a listen anyway if you like your thrash
with some groove.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The band’s last album was <i>Fallen Angels </i>from way back in 2011, and it was a long slog through
fifteen tracks of lackluster tunes. <i>From The Very Depths</i> is 14 tracks and
its fifteen minutes shorter than <i>Fallen
Angels</i> and two of those tracks are brief instrumentals, so there’s only 12
tracks of real material. The shorter
length really helps tighten up the proceedings and, as a result, the album
never feels long and has a great flow.
Cronos is the producer and his knob-twiddling efforts result in a superb
production that is the best any <b>Venom</b>
album has ever had. The album is packed full of loads of
mid-paced, crushing songs such as “Smoke,” “Temptation,” “Stigmata,” “Crucified,”
“Mephistopheles,” and “Wings Of Valkyrie,”
Check out the video for “Smoke” below:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/a_YOkexxGRA/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a_YOkexxGRA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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There are some speedier cuts sprinkled throughout the album
to keep things moving along such as the title track, “The Death of Rock N Roll,”
“Grinding Teeth,” and “Long Haired Punks.”
Check out the videos for “Long Haired Punks” and "Grinding Teeth" below:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9KwCOoEI0rM/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9KwCOoEI0rM?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QHMC-llcnJw/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QHMC-llcnJw?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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One oddity is the track “Evil Law” which is a groovy mid-paced, stomper that’s apparently
sung in Ancient Sumerian?! I am not so
sure I believe that one, but that’s what Conrad Lant is claiming and my Ancient
Sumerian Rosetta Stone lessons were lost in the mail, so I guess we’ll just have to take old Cronos at
his word. The album closes with
the anthemic “Rise” which would make a great opening live track when they hit
the road. <b>Venom </b>is on the bill for the Maryland Deathfest XIV in 2016, so
maybe they’ll play some of these new tracks then. <o:p></o:p></div>
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_____________________________________________________________</div>
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The Bottom Line: <b>Venom </b>has conjured up a surprisingly good
album of groove-based thrash, and if that’s your thing you should definitely
pick this one up. It’s clearly superior to all the other modern <b>Venom </b>albums, and
it’s great to see them come out with an album that’s this good so late in their
career. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-27790029961722198372015-06-21T18:55:00.002-04:002015-06-21T18:55:58.673-04:00Satan’s Serenade<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Night Demon</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> Live In The Steel City</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipxgp1k9acU8eJ0rnaXMJyUjIc1F8XX3lNNV4ngqQotz4z_EWvqoO6CXm4EVwTjDql4Je49SWUpFaPMqe3whDQMKmmioVUe8uTjq2qQ3NWDUbtWM5qTY3Got-nJEygLiWUpUMf85dnFMM/s1600/Night+Demon+Promo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipxgp1k9acU8eJ0rnaXMJyUjIc1F8XX3lNNV4ngqQotz4z_EWvqoO6CXm4EVwTjDql4Je49SWUpFaPMqe3whDQMKmmioVUe8uTjq2qQ3NWDUbtWM5qTY3Got-nJEygLiWUpUMf85dnFMM/s320/Night+Demon+Promo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Muthas, have you ever seen a band that
not only commands the stage, but demands your attention? That’s what <b>Night Demon</b> did in a tiny club in Pittsburgh on Tuesday June 6<sup>th</sup>. They blazed through a high energy set of
absolutely killer tunes as if they were playing in front of a crowd of
thousands. Their relentless assault
reminded me of when I saw <b>Motorhead</b>
for the first time and they absolutely blew me away.<br />
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Did they waste any time with pointless chit-chat and
rambling nonsense in between songs? Fuck
no. They played song after song with
barely a pause in between. <b>Night Demon</b> was the
physical embodiment of "all killer, no filler!" They didn’t let the
lack of monitors affect them in any way - they simply played like they were on
stage at Wacken Open Air instead of Gooski’s bar. They even used a smoke machine and a light
show to great effect! When was the last time you saw a band do that in a tiny bar?! <o:p></o:p></div>
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If you aren’t already aware, they also have a mascot – Rocky – who comes out during the song “The Chalice” –
and interacts with the crowd. It’s hilarious
and badass at the same time, and is a great example of <b>Night Demon’s</b> determination to entertain their fans. In another bid to be fan-friendly, the band
keeps merch prices low - $15 shirts – and they offer a great variety of items.
When was the last time you saw a tour program and for a mere $8! They also sell a couple of different patches,
a baseball hat, CDs and vinyl – all for great prices. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It was a great night and everyone in the band was gracious
enough to sign CDs, vinyl, tour programs, etc.
Jarvis, Brent and Dusty are very approachable and more than wiling to chat with
the fans. Be sure to ask Dusty about the
Ultimate Warrior and don’t forget to get Andrew Bansal’s (aka Rocky) autograph! Also, check out Andrew’s awesome website –
<a href="http://metalassault.com/" target="_blank">Metal Assault.</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Here's the setlist:<br />
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<i>Screams In The Night<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Full Speed Ahead<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Heavy Metal Heat<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Lightning To The
Nations</i> (<b>Diamond Head </b>cover)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>The Howling Man<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Curse Of The Damned<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Livin’ Dangerous<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Mastermind<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Ritual<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Road Racin’</i> (<b>Riot</b> cover) (Dedicated to yours truly!)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Ancient Evil<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Satan<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The Chalice<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Save Me Now<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Axe Crazy</i> (<b>Jaguar</b> cover)</div>
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<i>Night Demon</i></div>
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________________________________________________________</div>
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The Bottom
Line: Go see them and buy some damn
merch! These guys are more than
deserving of your ducats. Also, you’d better
go see them now before they are in limousines and jets, stylin’ and profilin’! You can find their tour dates here: <a href="http://nightdemon.net/tour" target="_blank">http://nightdemon.net/tour</a><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-73194016855196751262015-05-03T21:43:00.001-04:002015-05-03T21:43:55.795-04:00We Won't Be Back<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Diamond Head:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Making Sense of Their CD Releases</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Part 2</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5Q9loAEPpMqTpvMMHxUr3uBILy7BPEYVeVs436uOqiL12Lb-U4l1n5zP_SmZpftCDyOHEHkT-e0XmwRfnsW3onfL4-OvkXFGDN3HKx-1BGXWj-ZEDKiYUK-y5Uxp9TCUdieZ3YI6dPo/s1600/WWBB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5Q9loAEPpMqTpvMMHxUr3uBILy7BPEYVeVs436uOqiL12Lb-U4l1n5zP_SmZpftCDyOHEHkT-e0XmwRfnsW3onfL4-OvkXFGDN3HKx-1BGXWj-ZEDKiYUK-y5Uxp9TCUdieZ3YI6dPo/s1600/WWBB.jpg" height="292" width="400" /></a></div>
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Muthas, we covered the albums from <b>Diamond Head’s </b>classic period from 1980-1983 in Part 1, and in Part
2 we are going to cover the later studio albums, compilations and live
albums. This is where their discography
gets even more confusing, if you can believe that! First we are going to cover their later
studio albums.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Death And Progress<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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In 1993, the band actually released a new studio album with
both Sean Harris and Brian Tatler on board, but, unfortunately, Colin Kimberley
and Duncan Scott were not involved.
However, a couple of Metal luminaries were on hand – Tony Iommi, Dave
Mustaine and Max Norman. The results
were fairly pedestrian with nothing on the album approaching the quality of
their classic material. This album
should once and for all convince you that Sean Harris is not interested in
being in a heavy band as most of the songs sound like they could have been on a
<b>Thunder </b>album. It’s definitely not
the amazing return to form that we all wanted, but rather an average collection
of hard rock songs. It’s not terrible,
but it’s not anything noteworthy either.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There are two versions of this album:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhVMUhUH_O-10KpU8G-C4KRNRfZWdKOlHE_0OCkx-uhbNtqe9dVekimfDOc8Yk8XhQkGz7xkq4WXY2jlmsGpG2lfk6xGxqFot_cCJVGDXMCwt207mgRTeAf6AjM8nDzkUaMFgRgRvucoY/s1600/DeathProgress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhVMUhUH_O-10KpU8G-C4KRNRfZWdKOlHE_0OCkx-uhbNtqe9dVekimfDOc8Yk8XhQkGz7xkq4WXY2jlmsGpG2lfk6xGxqFot_cCJVGDXMCwt207mgRTeAf6AjM8nDzkUaMFgRgRvucoY/s1600/DeathProgress.jpg" height="319" width="320" /></a></div>
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1993 – Castle Communications/Essential/Bronze – Cat. No. ESS
CD 192<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is the most common version of the album and is
abundantly available on the used market.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJDjQ1xNBMt3hZ9uvi-QTB7k4ZeF49ViDeMpACFkYDOwDh5zoAXdFlvtmu_Z1CJqm6svP6ZO5Xiey5LxVrYTnHclWBEhzI5Y-0POy5kMjc4C7u6YfTTjKOF8Ik4TSLSmxhsasQ26LVHY/s1600/DAP2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJDjQ1xNBMt3hZ9uvi-QTB7k4ZeF49ViDeMpACFkYDOwDh5zoAXdFlvtmu_Z1CJqm6svP6ZO5Xiey5LxVrYTnHclWBEhzI5Y-0POy5kMjc4C7u6YfTTjKOF8Ik4TSLSmxhsasQ26LVHY/s1600/DAP2.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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2001 – Castle Music – Cat. No. <span style="background-color: black; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.8400001525879px;">CMRCD241</span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.8400001525879px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">This is a reissue with new artwork and has reportedly been remastered which somehow actually makes the album sound worse! It’s unlikely you’ll run across this version, and I don’t recommend it. </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<b><u>All Will Be
Revealed & What’s In Your Head?<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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I am lumping their two most recent albums together because
neither feature Sean Harris, and without him the resulting music lacks any of
the old <b>Diamond Head </b>magic. Harris might be impossible to deal with and
temperamental as all hell, but his vocals are amazing and the band suffers
without him. Neither of these releases
is essential to your collection, and I don’t really recommend them. Again, they
aren’t terrible, but they aren’t really the <b>Diamond Head</b> that you’re expecting to hear. Here’s the info on each:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZCPGSHgHcQByt4AscXpunmAIITr2F-z_F4A18JRDUNOoHiA9eJmMHvpr0BKoVb6DPSk03ZvsSqM1qSciaTS2RnFpk5sXQkDv1gKnzI1pgIzL8ESqah7kfQ-kmdZQRAjuGmUxdU4IlFk/s1600/all+will.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZCPGSHgHcQByt4AscXpunmAIITr2F-z_F4A18JRDUNOoHiA9eJmMHvpr0BKoVb6DPSk03ZvsSqM1qSciaTS2RnFpk5sXQkDv1gKnzI1pgIzL8ESqah7kfQ-kmdZQRAjuGmUxdU4IlFk/s1600/all+will.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>All Will Be Revealed<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2005 – Livewire – Cat. No.<span style="background-color: black;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 106%;"><span style="background-color: black;">LW015-2</span><span style="background-color: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 106%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielXMzHR-cjUNRcDlYAzBby6vZCa7q0wmSTxUAQ_rrQ8h-aQ-kQ36fQnzf46zr_QyEL4OWyldWhyphenhyphenlpFU8on3MeCZDheS7UEngBVH0kE1_5xuHayMnwHk-sy7XNUYohqgdGzROgpbFjLt0/s1600/wuh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielXMzHR-cjUNRcDlYAzBby6vZCa7q0wmSTxUAQ_rrQ8h-aQ-kQ36fQnzf46zr_QyEL4OWyldWhyphenhyphenlpFU8on3MeCZDheS7UEngBVH0kE1_5xuHayMnwHk-sy7XNUYohqgdGzROgpbFjLt0/s1600/wuh.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 106%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 106%;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">What’s In
Your Head?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">2007 – Livewire/Cargo Records – Cat. No. </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 106%;">LW020-2</span></span><span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Compilations<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s where things start getting fun as there are a
bewildering array of <b>Diamond Head</b>
compilations, and four of them all have the same title! Which takes us to:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>I Got A Case Of The Am I Evils<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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I guess it should come as no surprise that Am I Evil is a
popular name for <b>Diamond Head</b>
compilations considering it’s the band’s most well-known song. However, there are four separate compilations
with that name and most of them have completely different content! Here’s how they break down:<o:p></o:p></div>
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1994 – Heavy Metal Records – Cat. No. WKFM XD92<o:p></o:p></div>
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This collection features another stunning album cover from
Rodney Matthews, a slipcase, and a nice booklet with full lyrics. The vinyl version was originally released by
FM Revolver in 1987. Of course the booklet makes no mention of the
origin of the songs, but it turns out that these are all demos from the years
1978-1981. In addition, these were all
remixed by Brian Tatler in 1986 - 1987. Hooray!
More remixes! They are reverbed to
hell and back with a very annoying, clattering cymbal sound just like his remixes of <i>Lightning To The Nations</i>. It’s interesting
to hear early versions of some <b>Diamond
Head</b> classics, but don’t be fooled, this is NOT a greatest hits package. I
recommend this for die-hard collectors only. It’s unlikely that you’ll run
across it anymore because it has been out of print for many years.<o:p></o:p></div>
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1999 – Chrisly Records – Cat. No. CR 25001<o:p></o:p></div>
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Guess what, despite the completely different artwork and
label, this is the same exact material as on the 1994 Heavy Metal Records version of <i>Am I Evil</i>. There is no difference at all even though the
booklet goes to great lengths to NOT explain where this material came from. Also, this version is readily available at
distributors right now and should be avoided.
Don’t buy this unless you’re insane like me, and you are dying to hear
remixed demos.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizhfY6Mcv-8VUOx9WpxxU9lVeos1xEaZ4UbcCzAJrO1ohZH2Tl9FQrS5Pc9WUEJ90LbJhPixKIclQRy1bdZJE6L1a6xKtmYZgJXtk89EWmmSUO6Xvoc_MgpKUKcExSHngYQeVM-8LLLpc/s1600/Evil3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizhfY6Mcv-8VUOx9WpxxU9lVeos1xEaZ4UbcCzAJrO1ohZH2Tl9FQrS5Pc9WUEJ90LbJhPixKIclQRy1bdZJE6L1a6xKtmYZgJXtk89EWmmSUO6Xvoc_MgpKUKcExSHngYQeVM-8LLLpc/s1600/Evil3.jpg" /></a></div>
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2004 – Sanctuary Records – Cat. No. CMEDD880<o:p></o:p></div>
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This compilation is
actually a honest-to-god greatest hits collection! Hooray!
This is a nice two disc set that covers their entire career up to 2001 . The songs are a mixture of material from <i>Lightning To The Nations</i>, <i>Borrowed Time</i>, <i>Canterbury</i> and <i>Death And
Progress</i>. There’s also a couple of
live tracks and an acoustic version of “Lightning To The Nations.” This is a fairly comprehensive collection and
I recommend it if you only want a greatest hits package. It’s out of print, but easy to acquire on the
used market fairly cheaply.<o:p></o:p></div>
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2013 – Spectrum Music/Universal – Cat. No. SPEC2139<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is the newest <b>Diamond
Head</b> CD to hit the market and it is a single disc that features
material from their first four albums and a couple of live tracks from the BBC
archives. It’s not a bad single disc
set, and is readily available. I prefer
the 2004 Sanctuary compilation to this one, but if you only want a single CD,
this isn’t a terrible choice.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Compilations That
Aren’t Called Am I Evil<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b>Behold The Beginning<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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1992 – Metal Blade Records – Cat. No. 3984-14005-2<o:p></o:p></div>
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The granddaddy of them all! This was the earliest
compilation of <b>Diamond Head </b>songs
and is composed of remixes done by Brian Tatler in 1986. Yep, those same old remixes are back again
and they still sound like crap. Six cuts
from <i>Lightning To The Nations</i> are
featured, as well as four songs from various singles. The U.S. CD version adds the track “Am I
Evil?” and has a liner notes essay from Lars Ulrich. Lars even trashes the shitty quality of the
remixes. Ha! Also, the liner notes are
wrong because they bizarrely state, “All tracks form the album <i>Lightning To The Nations</i> except “Waited
Too Long” released as a single.” I have
no idea why the liner notes say this because it’s clearly incorrect. Even stranger is this incorrect “fact” has
crept into the band’s discography on places like discogs.com and
metal-archives.com. </div>
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I don’t recommend
this compilation because it’s composed of the inferior 1986 remixes, however,
you are definitely going to run across this.
It’s been in print since 1992 and is readily available online from many
distributors. Avoid.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Singles<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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1992 – MCA Records Japan – Cat. No. MVCM-321<o:p></o:p></div>
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You aren’t likely to run across this one, but I have it so I
might as well cover it here. This is a
compilation of all of the band’s singles from 1980-1983. Well, actually, it’s not that at all, but
rather a strange combination of 1986 remixes and material from their MCA
albums. The pre–MCA “singles” are merely
the Brian Tatler 1986 remixes and not the original single versions. The MCA material is all original though, and
was rare at the time of release. This is
a novelty and not something you should waste money on at this point as all of
the material is available elsewhere.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>To Heaven From Hell<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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1997 – Metal Blade Records – Cat. No. 3984-14136-2<o:p></o:p></div>
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This little five track EP has liner notes that claim this is
a collection of demos from 1978-1981 that were remixed by Brian Tatler in
1987. So are these some new demos that we
haven’t heard before? Of course
not! Instead, this is half of the
material that was presented on the original <i>Am
I Evil</i> compilation from 1987. What a
useless ripoff this is. Not only is it
the same old shit, but it’s only half of the demos and they charge full price
for it. This is still in print and I
urge you not to buy it. Metal Blade
should feel ashamed of this cash grab.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KdHApVkREB_SY-5S_ID-sMc5St9Ymyhyphenhyphen51fnuVAmtQXPRKyv9pDa-_hXARHb2XddG8KaRQ9NyrAI42WCtv6rS9sZCm63fxb-UO5X9Y_tXUVpz7peHO8QC1Banvc7bdnwPgt5zJTDeYg/s1600/half+moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KdHApVkREB_SY-5S_ID-sMc5St9Ymyhyphenhyphen51fnuVAmtQXPRKyv9pDa-_hXARHb2XddG8KaRQ9NyrAI42WCtv6rS9sZCm63fxb-UO5X9Y_tXUVpz7peHO8QC1Banvc7bdnwPgt5zJTDeYg/s1600/half+moon.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>The Best of Diamond
Head<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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1999 - Half Moon/Universal – Cat. No. HMNCD 046<o:p></o:p></div>
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This compilation was a breath of fresh air when it was
released because it was composed of songs from the MCA releases, and that
material had not been released on CD in the U.S. up to that point. There are no Brian Tatler remixes and no
material from <i>Lightning To The Nations.</i>
This is only studio material from <i>Borrowed
Time </i>and <i>Canterbury</i> without any
demos or live tracks. This is not a bad
single disc best of, but it is limited in scope and had been surpassed by other
compilations.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Diamond Nights<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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2000 – Metal Blade Records – Cat. No. 3984-14336-2<o:p></o:p></div>
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This compilation was the first compilation to feature the
original mixes of all of the band’s pre-MCA singles and the entirety of the <i>Lightning To The Nations </i>album<i>. </i>The songs were all remastered from the
original source by Dirk Buro and they sound great. In fact, these remasters were the source for
the 2001 Sanctuary Records version of <i>Lightning
To The Nations</i> (mystery solved!) For
some unknown reason, Metal Blade chose to shuffle the song order all up rather than
presenting them in chronological or even album order.
They also thought it would be a good idea to give it a name that’s very
close to another <b>Diamond Head</b> song/EP
name – Diamond Lights. Lights, nights,
whatever! <o:p></o:p></div>
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In addition, this is the only compilation to feature the “It’s Electric (Remix)”
from the 1981 <i>Diamond Lights </i>EP which while it's certainly not essential, it is nice to have. This compilation is still readily available
and I highly recommend it if you come across it and you don’t already have a
version of <i>Lightning To The Nations</i>
that has all the pre-MCA singles on it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Live Albums<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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Unfortunately, there aren’t many live albums from any era of
the band that have been released and only two are currently in print:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimN2SAN-Fbqb6JH4OG6a7EtufoG7u2yeFch78emydGgfW_zbGstGGoHup6VhWgvEBFdAgOcoB2HIGADucG9_4Tws6pEd58OrvIVY3fnMA3rfgWj9743-dubqH5BLimO2hjtWEKvfreK_c/s1600/DH+-+MCA+Years.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimN2SAN-Fbqb6JH4OG6a7EtufoG7u2yeFch78emydGgfW_zbGstGGoHup6VhWgvEBFdAgOcoB2HIGADucG9_4Tws6pEd58OrvIVY3fnMA3rfgWj9743-dubqH5BLimO2hjtWEKvfreK_c/s1600/DH+-+MCA+Years.jpg" height="320" width="314" /></a></div>
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<b>Bonus Live Tracks</b></div>
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2009 – Universal Music – Cat. No. 5320200<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is the third disc that’s included in <i>The MCA Years</i> box set. It contains 11 tracks and is composed of the
band’s performance from the 1982 Reading Rock Festival, and their 1982 BBC In
Concert recordings. Overall, this is a
nice collection of vintage live material from when the band was at their
peak. It’s yet another reason why I heartily
recommend <i>The MCA Years </i>box set. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Live At The BBC</b></div>
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2010 – Universal Music – Cat. No. 5329138<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here we have a two-disc set of live material from 1980, 1982
and 1993. Essentially all the material from <i>The
MCA Years</i> box set is here along with the band’s 1993 show from the Milton
Keynes Bowl. The 1993 set is pretty good and was previously released on the
long out of print CD called <i>Evil Live</i>.
I would only recommend you pick up this set if you don’t have the box set, or
you just have to have the 1993 show. There
is nothing else on it that’s exclusive. <b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><u>Missing In Action?<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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You may be asking if there’s anything official that has
never made it on to CD and this answer is…yes.
To lessen confusion earlier I said that all their pre-MCA material has been
reissued on CD, but one song actually hasn’t.
For some reason, the single version of “Helpless” has never made it on
to any CD that I can find. “Helpless”
was originally the b-side of the “Shoot Out The Lights” single which was the
band’s first single. This version of “Helpless”
is two minutes shorter than the album version, but other than that, is not much
different. I can only assume that’s why
it’s never been reissued. You can check
it out below:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IOJjz4a1sIM/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IOJjz4a1sIM?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fdqwR0ISPDE/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fdqwR0ISPDE?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<b><u>A Brief Note On
Wax</u><i><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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If you are a vinyl collector, the good news is that because <b>Diamond Head</b> was signed to MCA, their
old vinyl is plentiful and can be had for good prices. They issued several nice singles, EPs and
even a picture disc or two. There have
been virtually no reissues of their albums on vinyl to date, but I suspect that
will change in the near future. You are
only going to run in to difficulty when you get to their pre-MCA material, and <i>Lightning To The Nations</i> goes for all
sorts of crazy prices now. Hey, at least
the CDs are plentiful and cheap!<o:p></o:p></div>
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___________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well that’s the end of the <b>Diamond Head</b> CD mysteries.
To recap, I recommend you simply buy these two releases:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Lightning To The Nations </i>2011 – Universal Music – Cat. No. 2785026<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>The MCA Years </i>2009 – Universal Music – Cat. No. 530197<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvAMMBZJjMy3-Go_Oq8S8GeCFWF7R-t_K2hbto_e4uoMJf416zez_0Xox7pEHJljGE1oDbbXlQmrHEho0wgXcvC25stUti1AehoDrD8cwe4zCvhwg4mX6fhFY8Fiosvs8Rrc9ePcOa00/s1600/Buy+this!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvAMMBZJjMy3-Go_Oq8S8GeCFWF7R-t_K2hbto_e4uoMJf416zez_0Xox7pEHJljGE1oDbbXlQmrHEho0wgXcvC25stUti1AehoDrD8cwe4zCvhwg4mX6fhFY8Fiosvs8Rrc9ePcOa00/s1600/Buy+this!.jpg" height="156" width="320" /></a></div>
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That’s it! Those are
the only two you need and you’ll have all their pre-MCA material, all their MCA
material and some nice live tracks. I hope this helped sort out the <b>Diamond Head </b>CD discography and saved you a bit of cash too.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-43040889422842753522015-04-26T17:17:00.000-04:002015-04-26T17:35:53.306-04:00Dead Reckoning<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Diamond Head: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Making Sense of Their CD Releases</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Part 1</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Muthas, <b>Diamond Head </b>is
generally considered one of the best and most influential bands of the NWOBHM. Lars Ulrich thinks so highly of them that
they were the only band to have two songs on his seminal NWOBHM compilation <i>New Wave of British Heavy Metal ’79
Revisited,</i> and <b>Metallica</b> has
covered four <b>Diamond Head</b> songs on
various releases. Certainly every
metalhead is familiar with <i>Am I Evil </i>because
of <b>Metallica</b>. I know that’s how I first became aware of <b>Diamond Head</b> and that began my quest to
acquire their catalog. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Little did I know that their CD releases are a tangled web
of remasters, remixes, live albums and compilations. Adding further to my confusion, the band was
very prolific in the late 70s and early 80s and released all sorts of demo versions
of songs that went on to be re-recorded for official releases. To make matters even worse, the rights to
their various recordings were spread across several record labels and
countries, and all of these labels put out all sorts of CDs without any explanation
of where the songs came from. It’s total
chaos! <o:p></o:p></div>
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The good news is that I have purchased nineteen of these
releases, and tried to track down the origin of each and every one. I will go through each release and detail the
catalog number, contents and whether or not it’s worth owning. When all is said and done, you are only going
to need to purchase a grand total of two(!) items to have the absolutely
essential material from <b>Diamond Head</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Lightning To The
Nations<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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As you probably already know, <b>Diamond Head’s </b>first album was 1980s <i>Lightning To The Nations</i>.
Now, the album actually didn’t even have a name when it was
self-released by the band. It came in a
plain white sleeve with plain white labels without any identifying information
at all! The album was sold through mail
order and through shows, and the band members would sign the cover and
sometimes write a song title and lyrics on the cover. A second pressing added song titles to the
labels, but there was still no album title.
This led to the album being known initially as <i>The White Album</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In 1981, Woolfe Records, a small German label, reissued the
album with a proper cover and gave it the title <i>Lightning To The Nations</i>. Incredibly, <b>Diamond Head’s </b>manager sent the only copy of the master tapes of
the album to Woolfe Records and they never sent it back! This would lead to all sorts of shenanigans
in the future, and it would take Lars Ulrich, of all people, to set things
straight. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The commonly available CD issues of <i>Lightning To The Nations</i> are as follows:<o:p></o:p></div>
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1. 1992 - Metal Blade Records – Cat. No. 3984-14006-2<o:p></o:p></div>
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So this was the first CD readily available in the United
States of the album and it’s probably great, right? Nope.
Guess what? This is actually not
the original version of the album, but rather it is composed of remixes done in
1986 by guitarist Brian Tatler. He
claimed to have remixed the album to make it sound more “modern.” What he really did was reverb the absolute
shit out of the album, and lay on an annoying as hell drum sound as a
bonus. Ugh. (These remixes will loom
large when we get to the discussion of compilations.) This was the first CD version that I ever
owned and it was the only version that you could obtain for quite a while. It only contains the original seven songs
without any bonus material and has a crappy cover. It’s become scarce over the
years as it is now out of print, and I highly recommend you don’t buy it as
it’s completely extraneous and sounds like shit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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2. 1997 – High Vaultage Records – Cat. No. HV-1014<o:p></o:p></div>
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High Vaultage Records from Germany struck next with this
fifteen track version that featured the original cover artwork from Woolfe
Records. To my knowledge, this is the
only CD to feature this artwork. High
Vaultage always does great reissues, so this is probably top notch, right? Well, it does have the original album and all
of the various singles that the band released before getting signed to MCA. It also has a very nice booklet that is
loaded with good info, full lyrics and a ton of pictures. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend that you
buy this CD because High Vaultage did not have access to the master tapes and
simply used some vinyl pressings as their audio source. As a result, this CD sounds very odd and isn’t
much of an improvement over the 1992 Metal Blade version. This is still in print, but I recommend you
avoid it because there are much better options available.<o:p></o:p></div>
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3. 2001 – Sanctuary Records Group – Cat. No. CMRCD239<o:p></o:p></div>
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Remember when Sanctuary Records was reissuing tons of
amazing NWOBHM albums and compilations, before Beyonce’s dad drove them in to
bankruptcy? Well, this CD was part of
that program of reissues, and consists of the original 1980 album and all their
pre-MCA singles and EP releases except for one track. The missing track is
“It’s Electric (Remix)” that was released on the <i>Diamond Lights </i>EP. The CD is
housed in a white embossed slipcase and the booklet is a replica of the
original album cover with the signatures of all the band members. The CD sounds
fine, but the music is licensed from Horgi Licensing, which is the same company
that licensed the High Vaultage version.
I am not sure if this is vinyl sourced, but I don’t think it is, because
the sound is very good. This version is
now out of print, but if you find it cheap it’s not a bad purchase.<o:p></o:p></div>
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4. 2011 – Universal Muisc – Cat. No. 2785026<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is the latest version of the album to be issued and
it’s an absolute gem. This is sourced
from the original master tapes and beautifully remastered by Andy Pearce. The booklet is excellent and there are fourteen
tracks spread over two CDs. This version
is 100% authorized by the band as the rights to the album have now reverted to
Brian Tatler. Hold on a minute - where
did Universal Music get the master tapes?
The last I told you, Woolfe Records had them in Germany. Well, back when Lars Ulrich was doing his
NWOBHM compilation, he found out the masters were at the house of the president
of Woolfe Records and he promptly sent a couple of guys over to the president’s
house and they forced him to return them!
They now reside in a vault that is 100% under the control of the
band. Well played Lars. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This is the ultimate version of the album. It does have the same fourteen tracks as the
Sancutary version, and some brand new, much better artwork and a thick booklet. I highly recommend this version and, if you
only want one <b>Diamond Head </b>CD, get
this one.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><u>Borrowed Time<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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After a couple of years of hard work, lots of touring and
robust sales of their self-financed LP and various singles, <b>Diamond Head</b> was finally signed to a
major label. Unfortunately, that major
label was MCA Records and MCA knew exactly two things about marketing a Metal
band – jack and shit. MCA was notorious
for signing many NWOBHM hopefuls and totally fucking them over with a complete
lack of any support and little in the way of marketing. <b>Diamond Head </b>was not the exception to this rule and their signing
to MCA did nothing to help them. While
they were signed to MCA they did manage to issue two LPs. One was pretty good and the other not so
much.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The first was 1982’s <i>Borrowed
Time</i> and it featured five new songs, two re-recorded songs – “Am I Evil”
and “Lightning To The Nations,” and absolutely stunning artwork by Rodney
Matthews. Unfortunately, the production
of the album was much more polite than <i>Lightning
To The Nations</i>, with Tatler’s guitar work in particular being robbed of
much of its power. As a result, the two re-recordings
are subpar when compared to the original versions – don’t let anyone try to
convince you otherwise. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Paradoxically, even though this was released on a major
label, official CD versions have been scarce until very recently. There were reissues released in 1989 and 1992
in Japan and a 1992 French reissue, but other than that, there are only two CD
versions commonly available in the United States:<o:p></o:p></div>
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1. 2007 – Metal Mind Productions – Cat. No. MASS CD 1078 DG<o:p></o:p></div>
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Metal Mind
Productions from Poland is well known for producing high quality reissues that
are generally housed in digipaks with many bonus tracks and nice sound. <i>Borrowed
Time</i> is no exception to that. Their
version includes the original seven tracks and an additional seven bonus tracks
– the entirety of the <i>Four Cuts EP</i>
and the three track <i>In The Heat Of The
Night </i>single. It should be noted
that the <i>Four Cuts EP</i> has a
re-recording of “Shoot Out The Lights” (also inferior to the original version)
to make their discography even more confusing. Thanks guys! <o:p></o:p></div>
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The sound on this version is good, but the liner notes make
no mention of any remastering, so I would assume it’s not. This edition is out of print though, but
there’s no real need to spend a bunch of ducats on it because of the next version
we’re going to discuss. As an aside,
<a href="http://www.uberrock.co.uk/interviews/62-november-interviews/3498-brian-tatler-diamond-head-interview-exclusive.html" target="_blank">Brian Tatler claims</a> that Universal Music told him this is a bootleg. I’ve read nothing else that either confirms
or denies that. <o:p></o:p></div>
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2. 2009 – Universal Music – Cat. No. 530198<o:p></o:p></div>
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In 2009, Universal Music released a nice little box set
called <i>Diamond Head – The MCA Years</i>. This set features a clamshell box, a very
nice booklet chock full of good information and replica LP versions of <i>Borrowed Time, Canterbury </i>and a bonus
disc of live material. The entire set is
once again beautifully remastered by Andy Pearce. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This version of <i>Borrowed
Time</i> has seven bonus tracks including the <i>Four Cuts EP</i> and four songs from a BBC Radio 1 Session. The sound is great and the bonus tracks are
excellent. This box set is readily
available, cheap and still in print. I
highly recommend you buy it.<b><u><o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b><u>Canterbury</u><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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It’s at this point in our story that we have to talk about
one of the most baffling career choices in the history of Heavy Metal. For some reason, <b>Diamond Head</b> decided that their third album would be a great time
to completely shift gears and attempt to emulate bands like U2 and Big Country.
WTF?!! I’ve heard many people say that
this is comparable to what <b>Def Leppard</b>
did with <i>Pyromania.</i> At least <i>Pyromania</i> was still identifiable as hard
rock, even if it was more commercial. <i>Canterbury</i> represented a virtual
wholesale rejection of heaviness for the sake of pop-rock stylings. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I have no idea what the hell they were thinking, but it has
become clear to me as I have read more about Sean Harris that he really has no
interest in being in a Metal band. He’s interested
in more commercial styles of music and he tried to change <b>Diamond Head </b>into a pop-rock band with this 1983 release. As you may have already guessed, <i>Canterbury</i> was a complete and utter
disaster that completely immolated the band’s fledgling career. The drummer and bass player either quit or were
fired during the recording process, which should give you an idea of how bad
things got. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Once the album was issued fans couldn’t wait to NOT buy it. The sales were terrible and to make things
worse, the initial pressing was marred by a defect that caused it to skip
resulting in a recall of 20,000 copies!
The album was also the end of their major label deal as MCA dumped them
in 1984. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The album does have a couple of decent tracks that were re-workings
of earlier material – “To The Devil His Due” and “Knight Of The Swords” and it’s
no coincidence that these are the songs most people cite to as being the best
on the album. “Ishmael” is a bit of <b>Zeppelin-esque</b> pretentiousness that’s
not half bad, but the rest of the tracks are straight up pop-rock with loads of
sugary-sweet lyrics and hooks. If you don’t
believe me, then check out “One More Night” for proof:<o:p></o:p></div>
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The strange thing about this album is it becomes clear that <b>Diamond Head</b> could have been a pretty
good pop-rock band as they could produce catchy, commercial songs. However, when you start out with songs like “Lightning
To The Nations” and “Am I Evil” the chances of a smooth transition to pop are
about zero percent. <o:p></o:p></div>
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CD versions of this album are not very numerous just like <i>Borrowed Time</i>. Here’s what is readily available:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwn7L7dgCFL8gEiNFxG1-hE_AEYF77NRsnqxeyzLX0B1ICgGXXJJg4mbb9_Rpv93wVxyxLRwHaJgpjw5v-Z-XGEr7mNYqPrj4zr1cLVihrnm-uePDPuI_DiWkWI0xMqefBFbvCRQUQlOw/s1600/DH+-+Canterbury.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwn7L7dgCFL8gEiNFxG1-hE_AEYF77NRsnqxeyzLX0B1ICgGXXJJg4mbb9_Rpv93wVxyxLRwHaJgpjw5v-Z-XGEr7mNYqPrj4zr1cLVihrnm-uePDPuI_DiWkWI0xMqefBFbvCRQUQlOw/s1600/DH+-+Canterbury.JPG" height="320" width="317" /></a></div>
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1. 1989 – MCA Records
Japan – Cat. No. 18P2-2747<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now this is an oddball.
Lately, I’ve been seeing this version for sale from a couple of
distributors. I ordered one to see what
it was and it appears to be a Japanese release from 1989, but I think it’s a
nicely made bootleg. There is no obi
strip, but there is a Japanese language insert.
The lack of an obi is baffling if this is legit. The CD matrix has no information on it other
than the word Canterbury, and the printing on the actual CD is somewhat
shoddy. The booklet has complete lyrics,
but there are no bonus tracks. I would
suggest you avoid this if you come across it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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2. 2007 – Metal Mind Productions – Cat. No. Mass CD 1079 DG<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is the companion to the Metal Mind <i>Borrowed Time </i>reissue and it sports the same format of gold CD,
digipak and bonus tracks. There are only
three bonus tracks – an extended version of “Makin’ Music” (as if anyone needed
that!), a live version of “Sucking My Love”, and a band interview. This release is still readily available on
Amazon, so it’s not a bad choice if you absolutely have to have this album.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXPS3USq-pzwMR72wb71yPP6Vla9OdlOTJt8Uo_MRukh79ZBTyKW8Nuorxtdttsl7FQ-4kO_Ay0vssHBw9cQO5SDDxT4Bbjfe81cUzRBk1rAwMgtHKGd_plJdmIvlyaTA9LS4i0fNIMUk/s1600/DH+-+MCA+Years.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXPS3USq-pzwMR72wb71yPP6Vla9OdlOTJt8Uo_MRukh79ZBTyKW8Nuorxtdttsl7FQ-4kO_Ay0vssHBw9cQO5SDDxT4Bbjfe81cUzRBk1rAwMgtHKGd_plJdmIvlyaTA9LS4i0fNIMUk/s1600/DH+-+MCA+Years.jpg" /></a></div>
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3. 2009 – Universal Music – Cat. No. 5320199<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is the version that’s in the <i>Diamond Head – The MCA Years</i> box set. It’s remastered by Andy Pearce
and has four bonus tracks – the “Makin’ Music” Extended Version, and three
previously unreleased demos. The demos
are “Can’t Take No More,” “Time’s On My Side,” and “Come To Hear You Play.” Unfortunately, there’s no information about
these demos, but they are better than most of the material on the actual
album. My guess is they were pre-production
demos for the album, because they sound similar to the material on <i>Borrowed Time</i>. If anybody out there knows what these are,
leave me a comment. As I mentioned
before, I highly recommend you get this boxset.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Okay folks, that’s the end of Part 1. In Part 2, we’ll cover the newer studio
albums, the live albums and the absolutely insane number of compilations. If you thought <b>Diamond Head’s</b> discography was confusing so far, you ain’t seen
nothing yet!<o:p></o:p></div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970208552947135039.post-68813493122515218462015-03-01T22:27:00.001-05:002015-03-01T22:27:29.209-05:00From Utah They Came With Iron And Fire<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Visigoth – </span><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Revenant King</span><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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Metal Blade Records – 2015<o:p></o:p></div>
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Muthas, have you gotten your fill of music about swords,
sorcery, warriors, battles, wizards, mammoths, brotherhood, Hyperborea, necromancers, and
vengeance? Of course you haven’t! Who
has? Well, we are all in luck because <b>Visigoth</b> from Salt Lake City, Utah has
delivered an album chock full of epic, glory-filled Metal! To give you an idea of where they are coming
from musically, they did a cover of an <b>Omen</b>
song on their 2010 demo, and their new album features a ripping cover of <b>Manilla Road’s </b>“Necropolis!” They have taken these classic sounds and have
built their mighty sonic monolith, <i>The
Revenant King</i>, on top of it and the result is a kick-ass masterpiece. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The album is composed of eight original songs and the
aforementioned cover tune with a total running time of just over one hour. Normally we would complain of a seemingly
bloated length, but there are absolutely no boring cuts and, as a result, the
album actually feels much shorter. Every
original song is a multi-part epic that takes the listener on a sonic adventure
to the mythical realms of yore. Tracks
one through four and nine are all new material, and tracks five through eight
are re-recordings of demos or EP cuts and the <b>Manilla Road</b> cover. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The musicianship is top notch with excellent and tasteful
guitar work, crunchy bass, booming drums and the superb vocals of Jake
Rogers. In fact, his vocals are what set
this album apart from most other Epic Metal bands. The vocals in many Epic
Metal albums are marred in some way - weird sounding, nasal, harsh, etc... and make those albums less enjoyable as a result. That’s not the case here because Jake’s
vocals are powerful and have a nice touch of grit that toughens up the band’s
sound. This isn’t some puffy-shirted,
rapier-wielding, foppish warbling. No
sir, these vocals are clad in chainmail and wield a battle axe! Hail and kill!</div>
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The opening track, “The Revenant King,” is excellent and is a
perfect showcase of what <b>Visigoth</b> is
all about. It’s over eight minutes of Epic Metal that tells the tale of a king slain by treacherous bastards and how
he exacts his revenge from beyond the grave.
Spoiler Alert – their flesh is rended from their bones! The band has released a super-cheesy and,
therefore, super-awesome video that fits the music perfectly. Check it out:<o:p></o:p></div>
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I could detail each track, but there’s really no need
because every one of them is excellent - from the kickass opener to the nearly
ten minute closer “From The Arcane Mists of Prophecy.” Are you still not sure you want to buy this? Check out the track “Mammoth Rider” and admit
you need to buy this asap!<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Bottom Line: This
is a stunning collection of Epic Metal with U.S. Power Metal touches and burly
vocals. Crom’s teeth man! Stop being a
treacherous dog, join the Iron Brotherhood and buy the damn thing! <o:p></o:p></div>
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As always, MAKE MINE METAL!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2