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Friday, May 31, 2013

The Wild Lies – 'Jack’s Out Of The Box' EP review

 
 
 
The Wild Lies – 'Jack’s Out Of The Box' EP review

Released on: Izzi Records. Release date: Available now.
 
 
 
 
 
 
So here we are with a band that most likely, none of you have heard of. Why?
Well, most likely it’s because The Wild Lies are currently – As yet - an unsigned young British act from High Wycombe (England), who put together this wonderful, self-financed release and yes, I know it’s just an E.P. of five songs – that are killer! – but they clearly wanted to get something out there quickly and it seems in recent times, even some established acts have been reluctant to record a full blown album, for various reasons and have done the same.
 
I know a few right off the bat, who did so because their take is that many people, modern listeners, simply lose interest in one act’s whole new album of say twelve to fifteen or so songs, so they feel it’s better to focus on a handful of top notch tracks.
 
Others I’ve heard say they’re reluctant to do a full album, because so many people simply find pirated tracks online, download them for free or for a ridiculous nominal fee – That they, the pirates. – keep for themselves without any royalties going to the artist, to which I say to the artists, I don't blame you!
 

There’s also another angle that I’ve not heard said, but there’s probably a lot to it and that is, when an act goes out live and plays their sets, how many new songs off their latest album, do they ever play? One? Two? Maybe five tops right, so right there is maybe a valid reason and angle today, certainly from established acts for sure.
Sad days, as I indeed love hearing a completely new album’s worth of material!
Maybe I’m the exception though ….?
 
 
To the E.P. that we are covering here though, is The Wild Lies first recorded output, ‘Jack’s Out Of The Box.’The lineup that recorded this E.P. was – Yes, I’ll get to that … - Matt James - vocals, Rob Gamble - guitar, Dylan Smith - bass and Ralph Morris on drums.
 
 
I just love how strong opening track ‘Falling’ is, especially the killer chorus, strong hook line, great vocal from Matt James – He should go far! - great catchy lyrics and the band recorded an interesting video for this track. Check it out on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tG2b4on3N0
It’s weird because the opening of the song seems to come across very heavy, but then before long it just grabs you as it’s such a hooky song … ‘That’s why I’m F-a-l-l – i-n-g, Got no destination … I don’t want this, to be the end. I’m dreaming, not cheap imitation, I don’t want this, to be pretend!’
Love the chorus, then into the heavy chord changes again through each verse and then, once again ‘I’m F-a-l-l-i-n-g …’ You’ll get it when you hear it!
Very heavy bridge and then a ripping solo from Rob Gamble.
There are clearly loads of influences across just this song alone, but the album, sorry, E.P. is just solid!
 
 
 
‘Stone Cold Love’ next is equally as edgy as ‘Falling’ and at first I didn’t feel that the chorus was as catching as ‘Falling,’ but you know what? It really is!
Plenty of timing changes throughout the song, which is possibly why it didn’t grab me in the same way as ’Falling’ from the start but once you’ve played this a few times, you’re like kicking yourself for not thinking it from the get go.
The band has got great harmonies too on the vocals, all to just make this better and better.
 
 
Next track ‘Relive the Ride,’ was the first track I ever heard of this band from a good old friend in the UK – Thanks Ian! – who asked me if I had heard of these guys before.
He sent me the You Tube video link for this – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sEOsXcBFUA – and it was like, wow! Who are these guys? Then I found the ‘Falling’ link from there and was hooked and could not figure out, how I missed this band before?!
The song opens with an almost – Oh boy, here I go … Comparisons! – Def Leppard like groove intro, then gets driving with a very familiar like driving riff and becomes an absolutely killer song with big vocals, big dirty yet catchy chord patterns and wonderfully subtle guitar licks that aren’t overpowering, just accenting the song. Wonderful stuff!
 
 
Who’d of thought after all the powerful hard rockin’ and drivin’ of the three previous songs that they’d then come up with the magical power ballad ‘Beginning To End.’Love Rob’s lead guitar sound, very (Michael) Schenker like and once more I can’t emphasize enough how strong Matt James vocal is. The whole song structure is very well written, as are all the five songs on here.
 

  
Final of the five tracks here is ‘Heartbreaker’ which starts with a big old dirty, sleazy intro and then just rocks out, in an edgy style not unlike Jet when they do it.
All the songs have very many elements to them that may have you comparing those  elements to other bands, but as an all-encompassing package here this is simply great!
Again on ‘Heartbreaker,’ as elsewhere here, the timing changes show just how tight the band is and seeing them live for me would be just another wonderful dimension personally.
 
 
So here’s the thing, I love everything here and it’s very worthy of the rating it receives and so I wanted to know more about the band and have found out that they have toured as a support act in the UK and have also lined up a prestigious appearance at this year’s UK Download festival on June 15th, fantastic.
 
 
I wanted to also know about future plans too and have learned that the lineup has now changed, from the guys that recorded the E.P. and two promo videos.

The current lineup features original member Dylan Smith on Bass, Matt Polley – Vocals (Who is in fact, Matt James! Name change!), Tom Miles – Drums, Andre Ruffell and Zak Muller on Guitars.
It will be interesting to see where the band goes from here and hope to hear more of them in the future.

 
 
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Just wish there was a full album’s worth of material though …
 
 
Weblink:
 
 
Wanna buy the E.P. folks? Here's a link:
 
 
 

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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Rainbow – ‘Live in Munich 1977’ album review

 
 
 
 
Rainbow – ‘Live in Munich 1977’ album review

Released on: Eagle. Release date: Available now.
 
 
 
 
 
First off I have to tell you that this Rainbow 'Live in Munich 1977,' is a release that was previously released in different formats, although never on vinyl and has now been reissued in various different formats with re-mastered audio. 
So now it's available in DVD, vinyl, CD and digital download formats for both the video and finally the music that I have to cover here.
No mention of Blu-ray ... Yet!
 
My source had limited availability on the DVD, so I went and picked up a copy for myself – From Amazon … - which includes many bonus features, that I really wanted a copy of for my collection anyway ..., but I'm not covering that review here ... Took me long enough to wrap this beauty up!
 
This release basically features the lineup that released the wonderful album, ‘Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll’ in 1978 with leader Ritchie Blackmore (Guitars), Ronnie James Dio (Lead vocals – RIP Ronnie), Cozy Powell (Drums – RIP Cozy) and the two newest members of the band, who were let go / quit after the recording the album and touring it finished in 1979.
Bob Daisley (Stan Webb’s Chicken Shack, Widowmaker, Ozzy Osbourne, Uriah Heep, Gary Moore and many more!) on bass who after leaving Rainbow was hugely sort after and on keyboards David Stone who could really jam on Hammond!
None of the other three members surely need any introduction at all, as they all have / had great track records, end of story!



Sadly both Ronnie James Dio and Cozy Powell are no longer with us, leaving the world way too early in anyone’s book.
After Rainbow though, they both went from success to success, until both of them sadly passed. Cozy in a car crash in 1998 and Ronnie just three years ago to stomach cancer.
I sincerely miss both these players, as they were both top notch.
RIP guys ...

 
 
 
So this is the CD version of this release, ‘Live in Munich 1977’ that sadly only includes nine tracks and there could’ve been more, but for Mr. Blackmore’s incredible self-indulgencies ... Seriously!



  This became all too obvious in subsequent Rainbow gigs and live releases, which in each case had much more of a set list to them, not necessarily much longer shows, but without doubt more streamlined.


In fact this is really only eight tracks when you take out the ‘Introduction’ from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ with the voice of Judy Garland and it really rocks out with ‘Kill The King’ reflecting the band on absolutely top form with their opening number!

David Stone’s Hammond totally compliments Ritchie’s magnificent guitar work and Ronnie’s wonderful vocals and the driving force of both Cozy Powell and Bob Daisley, it’s just wow!

At the end of ‘Kill The King,’ Ronnie talks to the crowd, ‘Thank you so much, again we say thank you for staying so long, for staying as long as you have, we hope you enjoy the show.’

The story goes that the band were late starting this gig as prior to this Munich gig, Ritchie Blackmore had to be smuggled out of Austria after trouble with Police at a gig there two nights earlier, which caused the band to arrive late for this gig.
 
Have to say, the band sounds great, so maybe Ritchie’s freedom drove him to play the performance of his life perhaps?! LOL!

 
 
‘Mistreated’ from Ritchie’s Deep Purple career is next and for all intents and purposes it’s as strong as ever, if drawn out which is my only criticism here, with Ritchie just going off on his own little jaunt, before the band all come crashing back in with the song’s heavy blues groove.
 
I love Ritchie Blackmore’s guitar work, always have done as any of my old mates would tell you and he was my favourite player for ages until around the mid-80’s when I just felt that really for me, Michael Schenker (UFO, Scorpions) was edging it ...
Still love all of his Purple and Rainbow stuff though!
 
 
‘Sixteen Century Greensleeves’ comes next, almost like a breath of fresh air.
The track that gently lulls the listener into a false sense of security with its gentle intro before kicking down the door with some seriously heavy guitar chords, drums and bass, is a
great number that I hadn’t heard in years and it brought back great memories! Magic!

 
 
The wonderful and epic ‘Catch The Rainbow’ is next, which finally starts after about two minutes of Ritchie’s ‘song introduction ...’
Although it’s such a lengthy excursion, it allows each band member to shine, but it’s really Ritchie Blackmore’s centerpiece if you will with his soloing in the middle – even with David Stone trying to make his Hammond organ get some attention – reaching over seven minutes alone in this seventeen minute monster!
Still love it!
 
 
As a lead into ‘Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll,’ Ronnie explains ‘We’d like to do a song for you from an LP that you’ve never heard before, because we’ve only just finished recording it … An LP that you should be able to buy, I hope or steal it or whatever you do with it, get it, in January some time. Our new LP which this is the title track from, kind of the message that we’re trying to give to the world .., except for Austria … It’s a song called ‘Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll’ this one!’
 
 
It’s actually kind of cool as clearly since the band had only just wrapped up recording prior to these dates, the new song’s structures were not yet set in stone, so as with ‘Kill The King,’ ‘Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll’ each song actually comes across slightly different from how you may have familiarized yourself with the tune from the 1978 album release.

The intro especially with the drums – Cowbell count in! – and Hammond keyboard playing back and forth a little before finally kicking everyone in together and it’s a seriously heavy Hammond intro and then Ronnie’s vocal sounds completely inspired!
Wonderful stuff!

 
 
 
Disc two kicks off with an almost speed driven version of ‘Man On The Silver Mountain,’ which if you go back and listen to the original 1975 version from ‘Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow,’ it’s like this one leaves that version in the dust!
 It of course get's into it's jam section, where after a little Blackmore break, the band kicks into 'Starstuck' just briefly, still a kick ass jam!
Said jam continues and then gets back into 'Man On The Silver Mountan' before wrapping the track up.  

I must say I’ve always thought the original studio version sounds so slow, I remember our band looking to cover it a few years ago and when we first got together to jam it everyone said to me, ‘Al, that’s way too slow man!’ I said, ‘OK, let’s all listen to the original together then and you’ll see why I’m playing so slow?!' LOL! Funny times!
 
 


‘Still I’m Sad’ next is another monster here, clocking in around twenty five minutes, although it does capture my all-time hero drummer Cozy Powell, performing his solo accompanying Tchaikovsky's '1812 Overture!'
 
It is another with the lengthy intro, not Ritchie so much this time, but David Stone, no complaints though ... Then right around the four minute mark, wham! In comes the band!
 When they reach the mid section, Ritchie throws in little snatches of songs / tunes, first off I hear 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,' then Beethoven's 'Ode To Joy.'
David Stone gets a little time, where he even at times sounds like Keith Emerson to a degree with some serious synth stuff ... Wow!
 
Then it's Cozy's turn ... Prior to the '1812 ...' piece, he shows his own little endeavors, with rapid double bass drum and wonderful fill's the whole thing clocking in just under six minutes ...
Love the DVD of this ... Boy are you missed Cozy .... :(
The cheers when Ronnie yells out, 'Cozy Powell!' Speak for themselves, massive!
 
 
The band departs the stage briefly only to be beckoned back for an encore in 'Do You Close Your Eyes?' Of course not before Ritchie's provided us another three minutes of his guitar flurries ...

The band totally rocks on this and there's a moment or so when Ritchie and David Stone play off each other in great style and then there's Ritchie's own soloing that is just wonderful!
The ending I will say though is seriously drawn out by Ritchie as he gets all crazy and trashes his guitar ...
 
All said and done though, a very solid and suitable finish, good old rocker!
The whole performance is closed by 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow,' with Judy Garland doing her bit in the intro for the band and at the end ....

It's releases like this that kind of in some respects rile the listener up, that Ritchie Blackmore stopped rockin' 'n' rollin' more than a few years back.

I really did enjoy listening to this though and checking out the DVD ...
The bonus footage there for me, is going to take some time for me to get to though unfortunately ..., as more album reviews beckon!

This is certainly a winner in my books however you look at it, even if kind of drawn out in places, there's plenty here in the flow of things that more than make up for Ritchie's 'dabbling's!'

With Rainbow, 'Long Live Rock 'n' Roll' simply couldn't say it loud enough and with these guys, the memories will always remain special and legendary.
Good job Eagle Rock for putting this out!


Rating: 4.5 out of 5


Weblink:

http://www.eagle-rock.com/

Related sites:

http://www.blackmoresnight.com/
http://www.rainbowfanclan.com/ - Fan site, very good!

 
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Queensryche featuring Geoff Tate – ‘Frequency Unknown’ album review.

 
 
Queensryche featuring Geoff Tate – ‘Frequency Unknown’ album review.

Released on: Deadline Records. Release date: Available now
 
 
 
 
 
 
So, here’s the first of two new releases by the band’s - Yes, I did say band's ...! - Queensryche and this is the lineup that features original singer Geoff Tate and none of the other members of the most recent lineup that still included Geoff Tate and recorded the 2011 album ‘Dedicated to Chaos,’ before last year’s band split.

Those other members have moved on and will have their new album featuring singer Todd Le Torre (Crimson Glory) released in June …
 

 
So what of this new album 'Frequency Unknown' featuring Geoff Tate, is it just another Geoff Tate solo affair following on from his solo release last year, ‘Kings and Thieves’ or has he tried to capture the Queensryche vibe at all?
 

Well, a couple of points are very clear and first off is that if he couldn’t have all of the last Queensryche lineup onboard, Geoff Tate would put together a very respectable lineup, to record an album under the title Queensryche.

He went back to grab a player from his pre-Queensryche days from the band Myth, in Kelly Gray who in fact was the guy who had replaced original guitarist, Chris DeGarmo who quit in 1997. – Kelly was let go from the band in 2002.
 

Also from his Myth days, Tate has brought in keyboardist Randy Gane who had also played keys on the Queensryche’s ‘American Soldier’ album and toured with the band prior to that.
 
 
Geoff Tate also decided to pull in a bunch of guest players for this new album cue guitarists, Brad Gillis (Night Ranger, Ozzy Osbourne.), Dave Meniketti (Y&T), KK Downing (Judas Priest), Ty Tabor (Kings X), Chris Poland (Megadeth) who all played guitar solos throughout the album and rhythm guitarist Craig Locicero (Forbidden) plays throughout and much travelled bassist Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy, Whitesnake, Dio) plays on three songs here.
Robert Sarzo (Hurricane), Rudy's brother also plays a solo on one song.
 

The also much in demand drummer Simon Wright (UFO, Dio, AC/DC) also plays on two of the album tracks as well as has been touring already with this version of the band, until recently where Brian Tichy (S.U.N., Whitesnake, Foreigner, Billy Idol, Gilby Clarke) has stepped in while Simon rejoins his band mates in Dio Disciples on tour in South America.


Another pro drummer involved is metal man Paul Bostaph (Slayer, Testament, Forbidden) who plays on four of the albums ten original new songs.

Other players involved here who I know little about really are Chris Cannella (Guitars), Evan Bautista (Drums) and the album’s producer Jason Slater who also plays bass and keyboards through the album and who actually produced three of the last four Queensryche releases before this one. So I guess I did know that about the guy!

That’s a lot of info on the people involved in this project and probably for many rock fans, perhaps you couldn’t care less about who played on this, as it’s not all of the guys from Queensryche’s past!
So, shall we get on with the music?
 

 
It is quite heavy in places, certainly comes across as angry from Tate too, just listen to his lyrics throughout and certainly I would guess that opening song ‘Cold’ is most likely directed at his former band mates who moved on with Todd La Torre.
Would I call it as progressive as many fans would like? I think it is in places.
I think this opening song is edgy, plenty of power chords yet it has a catchy melodic feel to it, plenty of keys splattered throughout.
 

‘Dare’ next is also full of attitude and I will say it almost nods at rock/rap here and there, which I know Tate has come close to before. Some weird chord patterns right after the mid-section and into the bridge.
Doesn’t work for me really, it’s OK.
 
 
Some of the phrasing on next track ‘Give It To You’ again tends to nod to borderline rock/rap and when I hear the line, ‘How’d you like me so far,’ I can’t help but be reminded of the song by The Heavy, ‘How’d You Like Me Now?’ Not a good feeling …
That said, Robert Sarzo plays some absolutely killer guitar here, love the solo, really is a winner!
 
 
‘Slave’ is very almost punky / grunge like and I really can’t put it any other way, it just is. Not too keen on this at all.
 
 
You know, there’s often been times when I listen to Geoff Tate’s voice and many times think he’s very similar in sound to Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson, on ‘In The Hands of God,’ is just one such time, but that’s not to say the track sounds like Iron Maiden by any means.
It’s a kind of prog like track with its highs and lows for me throughout, it’s OK but I do have add, I really enjoy Ty Tabor’s guitar work on here, it’s actually very much in a similar vein to Neal Schon (Journey), very nicely done indeed.
 

‘Running Backwards’ starts with a creepy sound, not quite sure what it is, maybe messing with the guitar bridge before getting into heavy edged groove and then easing off a bit through the verses with Geoff Tate giving it a borderline rock/rap meets prog like vocal here and then it gets into a manic solo from guest player KK Downing.
It’s OK, but isn’t really growing on me even after a number of plays.
 
 
Next is ‘Life Without You’ which seems to have a little more commercial feel to it and there’s an interesting dark’ish, edgy solo from Night Ranger guitarist Brad Gillis, before getting back to the song and then Brad wraps up the song with a solo that sounds like something Zakk Wylde might do. Crazy!
   

‘Everything’ up next captures a kind of light and dark heaviness with some very melodic touches to it as well and once more, some very nice guitar work from Ty Tabor.
 

You know I’ve read all the stories about how badly mixed this album was and yes it may have been before, but I understand the version I have was redone and for all intents and purposes I think it sounds a very good mix, yes really, not bad at all.

 I also think there’s nothing wrong with Geoff Tate voice from his performance throughout, so to the doubters out there, I think you have it wrong …
 
I personally think the direction Geoff's looking for though is perhaps uncertain, but that's just my take, I'm sure live he's still belting out the classics just fine.
 

I do agree that his attitude issues which were very clear on the TV broadcast of last year’s Rocklahoma show, was bad and subsequent activities on the South American dates that followed that, which ultimately led to the split, were just simply wrong.
Really friction had been brewing for some time, so really the split was on the cards ..., but let's get back to the album here!
 
 
 
‘Fallen’ is up next and this features one of my favourite guitarists Dave Meniketti on the guitar solo.
The generally vibe on here captures a pretty atmospheric sound, with a lot of layers to it, good mix of sound, good emotional vocal performance and indeed the solo from Meniketti slots in well with a great band performance.
 
 
Last of the new material here is ‘The Weight of the World.’It’s a big epic like number that builds from it’s quiet, gentle intro into some big crunching power chords into rocking groove and then eases back off again …, think also of how Whitesnake’s ‘Still of the Night’ goes back and forth – Ed’s note: For the record, this sounds nothing like ‘Still of the Night!’ – and Chris Poland’s guitar solo is fantastic!
 
 
So, the new material done, what’s my take on that?
Is it back to classic Queensryche? I don’t think so.
Are there elements of it, yes, here and there, but overall I like the majority of the album, I think it’s a good rock album, but still there are two or three songs that even after a number of plays, didn’t do it for me.
 
 
On the remakes of ‘I Don’t Believe In Love,’ ‘Empire,’ ‘Jet City Woman’ and ‘Silent Lucidity,’ Geoff Tate has called on the services of Argentinian multi-instrumentalist, Martin Irigoyen who I knew absolutely nothing of before I saw his name here.

Basically Geoff sings and Martin does all the rest, well at least drums, guitars, bass …, but it doesn’t mention in the album’s sleeve notes, who is playing any keys …? Hmmm …

Randy Gane gets credit for the orchestration on ‘Silent Lucidity,’ Miranda and Emily Tate credit for backing vocals on the same track.
Nina Noir covers backing vocals on ‘Jet City Woman.’

 
Overall, good to hear these again, but I don’t hear any dramatic edge one way or the other with the four re-recordings.
Certainly a pretty respectable release with some very good performances.
 
 
Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5
 
 
 Official website:
 
 
 
Links to purchase the album:
 
 
 
 

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Monday, May 6, 2013

Axel Rudi Pell (ARP) – ‘Live on Fire’ album review

 
 
 
Axel Rudi Pell (ARP) – ‘Live on Fire’ album reviewReleased through: SPV/Steamhammer. Release date: Available now
 
 
 
 
 
 
The man that clearly, not enough people know of, but he deserves to be heard!

Axel Rudi Pell decided to go solo after the split of German rockers Steeler around 1988 / 89.
His solo band released their first album way back in 1989 and in total to date he has released fifteen – Yes, really! Where have you been people?! – A.R.P. studio releases, not to mention a few live albums along the way.

 

Clearly his popularity has its strongest foothold in his native Germany and perhaps here’s a little known fact that is why I am amazed that he has not had more success …
Across those fifteen studio releases, he has had some amazing singers in his band, something that even I was guilty of not knowing!
 

Jeff Scott Soto (Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Journey, Talisman, Soul SirkUS) sung on four of them, Charlie Huhn (Ted Nugent, Gary Moore, Foghat) sung on the first one, Rob Rock (Impellitteri, M.A.R.S., Avantasia, Warrior) sung on one and the excellent Johnny Gioeli (Hardline, Crush 40) has sung on the past eight studio releases and also features here.

Other band members have generally come and gone, with the exception of bassist Volker Krawczak who has been present on every A.R.P. release, also current drummer Mike Terrana has featured on the past seven releases and keyboard whizz, Ferdy Doernberg on the past eight studio albums.

 
Axel Rudi Pell's sound – IMHO – kind of fluctuates, taking in influences such as Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, The Scorpions, Dio / Black Sabbath featuring Ronnie James Dio, M.S.G. and at times, there’s without doubt some (Jimi) Hendrix appeal in there.
Heck, it’s even similar to some of Europe’s early material too, but then Axel has been doing this for a while, so hardly surprising that listeners will pick up on other similarities too.
Mr. Pell, I will add though, does like to go off on some lengthy diversions on some tracks, but the wonderful thing about his playing, is that he is clearly a lover of hearing keys alongside guitar on a pretty even balance, sometimes a rare thing, but it does help you understand why the Blackmore / Malmsteen comparisons.

So, if you’re a classic / hard rock fan and aficionado of those acts, I have a feeling, you should be checking this guy’s material out!   

  
I really am a newer fan of the guy, having heard the name for a number of years, but never – Foolishly! – having taken the time out myself to check him out until about three years back, having heard material from ‘The Crest’ and then the most recent studio album, ‘Circle of the Oath’ released in 2011 and reviewed on this site.
 

I think Jeff Scott Soto previous involvement is seriously, a little known fact, as whenever press releases for his material come out or any cross reference to his past works, sadly A.R.P. is rarely if ever mentioned and I am going to make it a priority to track copies of those releases down for sure!

 
 This is a really enjoyable live album, that I can play again and again, a great two disc set!
Events start with the intro and opening song from the last A.R.P. release ‘Circle of the Oath’ in the form of ‘The Guillotine Suite / Ghost in the Black’ and ‘Ghost in the Black’ is a great opening song, hard, heavy strong musically and vocally, love it!

Johnny Gioeli's vocals kind of come across a little differently throughout his performance here, at times pushing himself close to Ronnie James Dio, but he’s really not quite there, but simply put it's strong and also he seems to work hard at pleasing the German crowd with much interaction, even confessing later during the set that his grasp of the German language is crap, but at least he tries here and there with a few words.

 
‘Strong as a Rock’ from the ‘King’s and Queens’ album is great next number once more nicely blending the keyboards of Ferdy Doernberg and rocking guitar work of Axel Rudi Pell. During the song, Johnny urges the crowd to join in on the chorus and the participation seems a little restrained here, but it gets better as the performance goes on.
To those not familiar with the guitarist’s style, again I hear a lot of Blackmore influence in his playing on this track, but also where he hits the wah wah, certainly some Hendrix.
It’s all good to me!
Back to the ‘… Oath’ release for ‘Before I Die’ starting with some rabid guitar work and into the up tempo groove of the song and once more it’s a strong chorus. Hard rocking catchy stuff!
 
 
 
Next up is a medley capturing ‘The Masquerade Ball / Casbah / Dreaming Dead / Whole Lotta Love / Dreaming Dead (Reprise)’ that lasts just under eighteen minutes, with ‘The Masquerade Ball’ capturing a sound not unlike say M.S.G. or The Scorpions and no, there’s no Klaus Meine about it at all, so don’t expect it!

‘Casbah’ next has that haunting mystical Rainbow like underlying Hammond sound as the song kicks in, then before too long Johnny gets the crowd involved singing the chorus, it’s getting there!
Elements of ‘Dreaming Dead’ with some beautiful guitar work throughout here too. Almost (Tony) Iommi like at times and Blackmore at others, wonderful and then this merges into a little snippet of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love,’ before finishing ‘Dreaming Dead’ with a touch of Black Sabbath’s ‘Heaven and Hell.’ Nice touch guys!

 

Mike Terrana then gets his solo spot and proves he’s no slouch, introduced by Johnny as ‘The animal, the beast … Mike Terrana!’This lasts for just over four minutes before Ferdi jumps in on keys, initially playing  Offenback’s ‘The Can, Can!’ Funny!

 Johnny Gioeli then talks about, ‘why can’t we do this while having some f**king fun!’
He does like to swear a bit, so if you’re easily offended, maybe you won’t appreciate that?

Next he introduces ‘Mystica’ which is very much in the groove of Rainbow / early Europe’s material too, of course this is all through Axel’s playing styles.

Johnny really has a Ronnie James Dio approach here, without a shadow of a doubt before the band take another diversion through Deep Purple’s ‘Mistreated,’ ironically a song Ritchie Blackmore carried over into his Rainbow band and this takes the song overall to just under the twelve minute mark, with some lengthy guitar interludes.
 

 
Now remember, this is just the CD version of this release, so now we’re onto CD disc two, as the band goes back in time to the ‘Oceans of Time’ release from 1998, for the title track itself.

The CD set captures thirteen tracks in total, including the various tracks that capture some great medleys.
If you track yourself down the DVD, it’s a two DVD set, encompassing a massive twenty four tracks, an interview with Axel, the story of A.R.P. and bonus video clip of the song, ‘Hallelujah’ which I’m guessing is a new track, but the press release and even his website do not elude to this ..?
 

Anyway on with the details of CD two and before they get into the track Johnny talks to the crowd a little and this is where when he’s explaining that this band has been going on almost fourteen years together, he says, ‘Don‘t let me have to say that in German! My Deutsch is Scheiße!‘ Which raises some laughter from the crowd ... Going on to add‚ ‘Fourteen years and I can say, Hallo! Sorry!‘
Anyway, on with the music ...

‘Oceans of Time’ is a generally easy going rock ballad, that picks up some towards the end, with Johnny Gioeli giving the song plenty of emotion with his vocal performance.
 
 
The title track of the latest studio release next, ‘Circle of the Oath,’ which is quite the monster track at just over nine minutes long.
From the slow building start Johnny gives an almost Robert Plant like vocal, but then the song does have a kind of Zeppelin feel to it, with Axel playing some deep stuff here and even some mystical strings added by Ferdy to good effect.
 
 
Back to the ‘Black Moon Pyramid’ album for ‘Fool Fool’ next which has a kind of Rainbow like feel to it and Johnny with his almost Ronnie James Dio style vocal. Good one!
 
 
We get a keyboard solo from Ferdy Doernberg next, who toys with the crowd a little before they then play ‘Carousel’ from ‘Oceans of Time,’ which completely rocks out and is hugely catchy, very much to like Europe’s ‘Storm Wind …’ Sorry, but it is, still an immensely enjoyable track, that takes a diversion with Johnny introducing the band, while the band jams some, before coming back on track again to wrap up ‘Carousel.’
‘Tear Down The Walls’ then blends into ‘Nasty Reputation’ to rock out at the end of the CD album version of this release.
 

Two very strong tracks with great hooks, although it’s kind of funny as one of the lines in ‘Nasty Reputation’ sings ‘Rock the Nation,’ so when they go off and the audience claps and cheers to bring them back, it’s interesting that they close with the encore ‘Rock the Nation.’

I do like this album, there’s indeed very much talent in this band, many great songs and if you’ve never checked out Axel Rudi Pell and you’re one of those rock fans that often picks up9albums to see how much material they like by a band, then get this ...
 
It really is a great collection of the bands past history blended with sprinkling of newer tracks.
‘Live On Fire’ rocks and now I want to track down the DVD!

 
Rating: 4 out of 5
 
 
Official weblinks:
 
 
Purchase links:
 
 
 
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Thursday, April 18, 2013

Saxon – ‘Sacrifice’ album review

 
  
Saxon – ‘Sacrifice’ album review
Released through: UDR / EMI. Release date: Available now.
 
 

 
 
Saxon are a band that readers of this site, for the past year or so have probably realised have indeed regained my support, with reviews in the past two years of CD’s, DVD and a gig review here in Detroit, during their ‘A Call To Arms’ tour.
 
I think I’ve already said plenty about the bands background in my previous coverage, so for the sake of regulars here, I won’t bore you again, for newer visitors just use the search function here and type in Saxon and you should find plenty to get you up to speed!
I will back track just a little though, to add that I thought ‘A Call to Arms,’ was an absolute breath of fresh air to me and the documentary ‘Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie’ great stuff indeed.
 

Biff Byford (Vocals) and Paul Quinn (Guitars) have been with the band from the start and current drummer Nigel Glocker (Drums) joined the band originally in '81 and although he has dropped in and out of the band here and there, he is the longest serving drummer to date with the band.
For his latest stint with the band he's been back onboard since around 2005.
Then there's the multi-talented Nibbs Carter (Bass, Keyboards) who's been with the band since '88 and 'newest' member Doug Scarratt (Guitars) who's been around since 1996.
They are a serious force to be reckoned with these days and have really got back into a great stride once more!    

 
Now we get ‘Sacrifice’ with a warning to all-comers ears that this is a little darker at times and certainly a heavier affair, no question about it.
That said I have no doubt that those fans of the era of Saxon that covered their heavier, less commercially edged stuff will love this!
 
 
Ed’s note: This copy of ‘Sacrifice’ is actually the second one I received, as the original promo for whatever reason came to me as a white labeled promo, but sadly it was just a blank disc, so I had to wait for the album to become officially available, before getting this copy. This one is fine by the way, but apologies for the review getting here a later than originally planned.
 

Intro track ‘Procession’ basically for me just delays getting into the album proper, but you know, it kind of brings back memories to me to how expectant I was of UFO when they released ‘No Place To Run’ the first post Michael Schenker era release.
It kind of makes me feel like just saying, ‘get on with it already!’
Sure enough it then launches into title track ‘Sacrifice’ and it’s a ‘get in there lads’ kind of approach, dirty metallic riffs double bass drums pounding and musically almost Metallica meets (Iron) Maiden.
 
For the most part I’m OK with the heavier switch back for the band, although I’m really not into the demonic echo on Biff’s vocals in the backing vocal ‘Sacrifice’ in the chorus.
A little too dark, in that sense and kind of kills it a little for me.


‘Made in Belfast’ starts with a little mandolin at the beginning before the bass and kick drum ease in and then some seriously crunching, dirty heavy riffs, before the song itself kicks in.
The mandolin returns here and there and you kind of perhaps wonder, ‘what’s the point,’ with so much heaviness elsewhere in the song.
It has its moments for me, but it just seems a little bit of an odd structure.
 

 
I’m very much reminded of earlier Saxon following the intro sound of a formula one car zooming by and then the opening riff of ‘Warriors of the Road,’ but here vocally Biff seems to push his voice a little harder it seems through the verses, perhaps a little more than he should and then the chorus actually seems very Maiden like.
There’s some interesting timing changes throughout and I do like the song overall, it is heavy, but good!
 

Next track ‘Guardians of the Tomb’ from its title right down to its structure is almost like the band paying tribute to Iron Maiden, seriously and forgive me but doesn’t the chorus come across just like the previous track? They are very similar choruses indeed.
Sounds good, don’t get me wrong, but … Well, when you hear this, you’ll know what I mean I’m sure!
 
 
‘Stand Up and Fight’ just really grabs me from its opening riff through the chugging verse into the very catchy chorus.
It’s a familiar Saxon song structure if heavier crunching, chugging chords throughout. Great guitar solo, really love it!
 
 
For next track ‘Walking the Steel’ the band almost to some extent, resurrect the elements of ‘Denim and Leather’ for the basic groove. Classic Saxon fans should most certainly relate to this one. It’s a solid, steady stomper generally with a wonderfully eased back bridge around the song’s midpoint, with some nice solo guitar work. Works for me!
 

‘Night of the Wolf’ starts with a frenzied guitar assault before easing back a little for the verses and then crunching guitars once more for the chorus, then the bridge bring in acoustic guitars for a nice interlude before building back into its main groove, where it’s seriously heavy. It’s an epic like track, with its light and dark touches throughout.
 

The very dark ‘Wheels of Terror’ has a kind of Metallica vibe to it and pretty much maintains this throughout.
 
 
I’ve read in other reviews criticisms of the final track – on this standard version of the album. – about the very basic nature of the song title and lyrics for ‘Standing in a Queue’ and yes, OK it is simplistic in that sense, but it’s no doubt Biff and the guys association with their fans.
Think ‘And the Bands Played On,’ ‘Denim and Leather,’ ‘Back In ’79,’ etc for common threads here.
Yes, it’s basic in that context, but it worked before and otherwise it’s a good solid Saxon rocker to close the album.
 

This review covers the basic standard album that has a surprisingly short running time of just over thirty nine minutes and while you may track down the iTunes version with the bonus track, ‘Luck of the Draw’ that only adds another three minutes or so.
There is a deluxe two CD version out there with five bonus tracks on the second disc, an orchestrated version of ‘Crusader’ done in similar fashion to what the band did on the magnificent ‘A Call To Arms’ release and its title track. Also on the bonus disc are different re-recorded versions of ‘Just Let Me Rock,’ ‘Requiem,’ ‘Frozen Rainbow’ and ‘Forever Free’ too.
I have heard those tracks and they are very well done.
As a bonus disc, I think it’s great!
 
 
 
It’s funny, nay sad that Saxon seem to be reducing the length of their new album material each time a little more over the past three releases and I’m not including the bonus stuff, that you’d have to pay more for if you wanted those versions, but just look at the pattern: 2008’s ‘Into The Labyrinth’ was just under fifty five minutes, ‘A Call To Arms’ clocked in at just over forty three minutes – Again ignoring pricier bonus version. -  and now ‘Sacrifice’ at under forty minutes.
 

Perhaps it’s a theory of quality over quantity being used, as that was pretty much what Steve Lukather (Toto) had told me about his last solo release ‘Transition’ being so short and also that most people’s focus tends to drop a little if something becomes a little longer, drawn out some songs may possibly be considered mediocre. Perish the thought!
 
I personally think it’s a shame, but maybe there’s more to it, relating perhaps more to so much ‘stealing’ of new music from artists, where certain ‘individuals’ rip artists off, depriving them of potential royalties by file sharing again and again and I know firsthand, that this tends to put artists off recording complete new albums these days. Many artists have told me that why should they bother taking countless hours in writing new material, going through the painful hour after hour recording and doing retake after retake, because they want it perfect, only for thieves to steal it, sometimes before it’s officially released.
Sometimes even before review promo copies are available to reviewers like myself, it’s just wrong!
So I got off track there folks sorry, so to sum it up …
 
 
Saxon’s ‘Sacrifice’ is once again a good release, to me personally and it is just me when I say that I don’t think it’s as strong as ‘Call To Arms’ it’s like it’s lacking something, but to Saxon fans, it’s metal and that’s all that matters, right ….?!
 
 
Rating: 3.75 out of 5


Website:
http://www.saxon747.com/
 

  
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Saturday, April 13, 2013

Krokus – ‘Dirty Dynamite’ album review



 
 
Krokus – ‘Dirty Dynamite’ album review
Released on: The End Records. Release date: Available now.
 
 
 
 
Although Krokus were started originally around the mid-70’s they really didn’t make any significant impact until Marc Storace came onboard prior to the release of their fourth album, ‘Metal Rendez-vous’ album in 1980, which spawned hits such as ‘Bedside Radio,’ ‘Tokyo Nights’ and ‘Heatstrokes.’
 
It was with this lineup that inroads were made towards the bands varying levels of success.
 
 
Honing ‘their’ own take on a sound that made AC/DC such a household name, not to mention a vocalist with a sound very akin to Bon Scott (RIP), they really did start to win over fans around the world.
 
 
The follow up album ‘Hardware’ (1981) further established the abilities of Storace, founder Chris von Rohr (Bass/Vocals), guitarists Tommy Kiefer (RIP) and Fernando von Arb and drummer Freddy Steady to co-write themselves into charts everywhere!
 
Mark Kohler replaced Kiefer for next album ‘One Vice at a Time’ (1982) which included the hit’s ‘Long Stick Goes Boom’ and the band’s take on ‘American Woman,’ originally by The Guess Who.
 
 
The album ‘Headhunter’ (1983) next, included guest appearances from Rob Halford (Judas Priest) and Jimi Jamison (Survivor) and became the band’s first gold certified album in the US and has since become platinum, helped significantly no doubt by the success of single ‘Screaming in the Night’ and plenty of MTV and radio play.
 
Steve Pace replaced drummer Freddy Steady, who’d been with the band since 1977.
 
 
 
‘The Blitz’ (1984) seemed to gain the band possibly their greatest North American success with a hit single in ‘Midnite Maniac’ as well as the band’s cover of The Sweet’s ‘Ballroom Blitz’ picking up plenty of airplay too.
 
 
Lineup changes continued as well, for subsequent releases ‘Change of Address,’ ‘Heart Attack,’ ‘Stampede,’ ‘To Rock or Not To Be,’ ‘Round 13,’ ‘Rock The Block’ and ‘Hellraiser.’
 
In 2010 the reunited ‘classic’ lineup of Krokus released ‘Hoodoo,’ which sadly had no impact in the US, but still achieved reasonable success in Europe including #1 in their native Switzerland.
 
 
 
So now we get ‘Dirty Dynamite,’ which although it is not the classic lineup, it's close with all but Tommy Kiefer involved, as he sadly passed away in 1986. 
Mandy Meyer (Asia) once again returns to the band on this album, he had originally stepped into Krokus on the bands 'Hardware' tour, when Kiefer quit the band around that time.
He had first officially recorded with the band on their 2006 'Hellraiser' release.
Meyer was out again though in 2008 when the original lineup of the band joined forces once more and as previously mentioned they released 'Hoodoo' in 2010, sans Meyer ...
So ....

 
'Dirty Dynamite' is a very good album indeed, with perhaps one ‘strange’ track included, but I can understand why they’ve done it …, I suppose.
 
The album – I’m sorry, but … - has an awful cover picture of a bulldog, with shades on and a cigarette hanging out the side of its mouth, sitting in what appears to be a shady back street alley. That said, don’t let that put you off getting this album, as it’s a very strong release indeed.
My thoughts on the cover folks, that's all ....
 
 
 
  Opener ‘Hallelujah Rock ‘n’ Roll’ is a great rocking opener and truly sounds like classic Bon Scott era AC/DC, I mean seriously Marc Storace’s voice sounds more like Bon than it ever has before!
It does however open with a dog growl, then it kicks in with a great groove and a very strong chorus line. Killer opener! Nice return to form!
 
 
 
‘Go Baby Go’ follows in similar style to many an AC/DC track, even a nod to Status Quo possibly too, with a sub underlying almost ‘Caroline’ style riff towards the end of the guitar solo, but nonetheless totally enjoyable stuff indeed!
This one is the chosen media favourite track here in the States right now.
 
 
 
‘Rattlesnake Rumble’ is kind of ZZ Top meets Status Quo and it’s a fun bluesy jam. Nothing too fancy, which is perfect.
Down and dirty rockin’ 12 bar blues with a simple yet strong chorus, same as with ‘Go Baby Go.’ It just works so well!
 
 
 
It’s the very ‘Girls Got Rhythm’ like sound that is ‘Let the Good Times Roll’ next. Jamming guitar solo!
 
Seriously folks, if you have missed Bon Scott, you will love this, Brian Johnson much as I love what he brought to AC/DC can’t come close to what Marc Storace does on perhaps the best album AC/DC didn’t make!
That is with perhaps the exception of the next track, but then you call it folks …
 
 
 
Krokus have decided to cover The Beatles ‘Help’ next and they’ve done it in a ballad style, which actually comes across like Nazareth’s version of ‘Love Hurts.’
It’s OK for me, guess I just prefer their rockin' style.
 
I don’t know though, did they really need to put a cover song on here?
I just feel that perhaps they got so knocked in the past by folks in some certain rock elements for doing that just a little too much on previous releases, I kind wondered why they would do it again?
I understand that they chose to do so, since all the vocals were recorded at the Abbey Road studio, where the Beatles recorded so many classics.
 
Here are the facts though, I mean how much attention will this release get, with it being released on a small label and with how much promo behind it that as well, I really don’t know, which is a real shame since this really is a strong release from Krokus.
This album really deserves rock fans attention!!!
 
 
‘Better than Sex’ comes next with hints of ‘Sin City’ - How appropriate is that?! - possibly thrown in for good measure and this one is a steady slow grooving rocker, right down to the laid back bridge, that eases back some more then builds back up again and into its original groove. Cool!
 
 
Next up the song title reads as ‘Dog Song’ but it has a chorus that really should be titled ‘All Night Long.’
It’s another very AC/DC like grove again and it works!
 
 
 
‘Yellow Mary,’ hmm, not so sure on that song title guys, but the song has a bit of a Quo touch to be honest.
Chorus is a big vocal as it should be, but perhaps the song itself overall is a little average to everything else here.
 
 
 
‘Bailout Blues’ next I feel sounds possibly like a cross between AC/DC and Free, if you can figure that one out.
Strange call I know, but there’s simply no escaping the bands biggest influence throughout – AC/DC – which I’m sure Chris von Rohr would be the first to admit, but there’s like an underlying groove that’s very like Free were back in the day. 
 
 
It’s all good though and again, when you think Krokus have been out of the mainstream for so long really, this could really be an album to get them back in the public eye again.
 
 
 
With ‘Live Ma Life’ it is a great grooving riff and this is again serious Bon Scott era AC/DC turf, but with some clever Krokus touches.
Some nice guitar work again as well! Well done guys!
 
 
 
The AC/DC meets Quo touch really applies to ‘Hardrocking Man’ and it’s a true rock ‘n’ roll tune, with typical if a little cheesy lyrics and a seriously basic chorus that just simply repeats the song title over and over, but there’s interesting guitar break not unlike The Shadows to add to making it interesting. 
 
 
 
The title track ‘Dirty Dynamite’ is the album closer the way this copy of the album runs and I can’t help thinking that this whole album is perhaps going to appeal to more European fans than US fans, as the Quo touch is there again, even with some honky-tonk piano as well, but I hope I'm wrong. Fun jam!
 
The title track was apparently chosen as the leadoff single in Europe and really I could see why and it may well give them a hit again there, who knows? They deserve it by what they’ve done here I believe and maybe if the right folks here in the States hear this, it will get them some attention here too.
 
 
 
Check it out folks, I really enjoyed it, even if the cover tune I’m not 100% convinced about.
 Welcome back to the limelight – Hopefully – Krokus, you’ve got a good one here!
 
 
 
Rating: 4 out of 5
 
 
 
Official Website:
 
 
 
 
Purchase links:
 
 
 
 
 

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