Bootlegs-Bootlegs (2014 Re-Release)

Minotauro Records
2014

Last month I covered "M.C. Monster" (Bootlegs' 1989 debut album and the first of two re-releases from this Icelandic metal band) so this month it's time to cover this self-titled follow-up. Originally released in 1990, with the Metal Archives suggesting that less then 50 vinyl copies were actually sold and are still floating around somewhere out there (whether it was a issue having to do with the LPs being pressed or a lack of proper distribution and/or promotion isn't exactly clear, but either way it in no way, shape or form takes away from the quality of this thrash product!), "Bootlegs" changed the tune of the band somewhat in that it was sung in the band's native language. And while "W.C. Monster" bore all the trademarks of a crossover album (speed/thrash moshing it up with punk/hardcore!) this self-titled album finds the band leaning closer to (pure) old-school thrash. Or for the most part. There's still some punk and hardcore here ("SOD II" as well as "Fuck Off") as well as some flat-out weirdness ("Vögguvísa"). But pound for pound this is thrash metal 101! For those who love the mid-late eighties and even the early nineties thrash era (specifically the more underground or raw thrash scene!) "Bootlegs" offers more then it's fair share of heavenly headbanging!  Remarkably though both "versions" of Bootlegs work. They easily compliment each other as both studio albums echo the same sentiment-Play It Loud and Play It Like It Means Something! For Bootlegs to have conquered their homeland so easily* speaks volumes about the talent and charisma that this thrash metal had back then and even now! These fine gentlemen played with passion and with a sincere purpose. Once you've thrashed your way through both of Bootlegs studio-albums you'll truly understand just who these Icelandic metalheads were and why, despite the hang-ups that were likely involved with being far away from the more rampaging metal scenes, they kept at it and continued to wave the banner of unfiltered, pure as the land that once spawned the group, thrash! Lead vocalist Junior provided the band a captivating front-man with the strength of this outfit lying in it's ability to write heavy material that is technical and pit-worthy. Despite the potential set-back of singing in their native tongue, Bootlegs utilizes the universal language of heavy metal thanks to the blistering lead work of guitarist Nonni! To their advantage, Nonni's playing taps into the thrash metal style of the day while also throwing in traditional and/or classic heavy metal passages. Bootlegs plows through the material at hand and, thanks to the additional feature that is bonus live material**, their sophomore album stands tall and proud! With Minotauro Records once more delivering a stupendous package, "Bootlegs" is front to back/top to bottom (and everywhere fucking in-between fiends!) a hell of a re-release and one that I'm laying my stamp of approval down on! 

      


*Between 1986 and 1991 the band was not only one of the bigger names in Iceland's metal scene, but one of the most respected!

**In addition to the actual album (one which is worth owning just by itself!) the re-release from Minotauro Records tacks on the following cuts:

"Gamli Nói"(bonus track Live 2006) 
"Street Lover" (bonus track Live 2006) 
"Augun" (bonus track Live 2006) 
"Fuck Off" (bonus track Live 2006) 
"Óljóslega Stjórnlaus" (bonus track Live 2006) 
"SOD" (bonus track live 1006) 
"Thrash Attack" (bonus track live 2006)

http://www.minotaurorecords.com/#!cds/cnec

Sultan-Check & Mate (Deluxe Edition)

Tribunal Records/Divebomb Records
2014

I'm really got to hand it to the folks over at Tribunal Records. These guys sure know how to pick 'em when it comes to re-releasing classic and/or cult recordings. Case it point "Check & Mate" from Geneva's Sultan. Originally released in 1990 on Zar records (and containing classic heavy metal that fans of Fifth Angel, Leatherwolf and Riot should simply love!) this "one and done" LP was preceded by a 1986 vinyl single entitled "Rebel Fire" (included here as a bonus) and stands as a testament to the fact that far too many good bands simply never got their proper-due. Tracing their roots back to the mid-eighties (before disappearing around 1991) this Swish five-piece had one hell of a front-man in Dragi Majstorovic* whose voice was perfectly suited for the straight-ahead heavy metal gold that this lot provides on "Check & Mate". Stating the obvious here, but the sound** is superb as always (Tribunal Records and their division Divebomb Records really does wonders when it comes to re-mastering this long-lost gems!) while the songs (other then the slightly lame ballad "Mary") simply rock! Along with the original/long out of print album this re-release includes the aforementioned "Rebel Fire" single and what's interesting about the title cut there is (according to the Metal Archives) the fact that besides producing the number, Norbert "Nono" Krief (of Trust and Shakin' Street fame) plays the final guitar solo on the track! Pretty sweet right? But then again this whole re-release is simply sweet anyway! Taking their cues from not only traditional heavy metal (hence the references to the likes of Fifth Angel and Riot!), but also the N.W.O.B.H.M. movement (think along the lines of a more hard rock version of Saxon and/or a band like Salem) the band Sultan really should have done more, but it is what it is. Plagued by line-up changes early on and a every-changing music scene Sultan just couldn't keep it together. Thankfully labels like Tribunal Records/Divebomb Records remain diligent about their mission to provide solid re-releases. While I only have the digital version of this cool little rocker I can tell you that the CD version will come with an 8-page booklet including pictures and a interview with drummer/founding member Fabian Ranzoni! That would be the route that I would go when it comes to "Check & Mate" and, hopefully when I'm first able to do it(!), that is what I intend to do-add this bad boy to my personal CD collection! For fans of Fifth Angel, Leatherwolf and Riot (as well as other similar-sounding traditional heavy metal outfits) a release like "Check & Mate (Deluxe Edition)" should be welcomed with open arms and I'd feel like I was keeping this gem all to myself if I didn't recommend it!

*The 7" single "Rebel Fire" features vocals from one "Wils". 

** Per the promo material: "New mastering by Jamie King + Layout/Restoration by Adam Peterson (WATCHTOWER, EPIDEMIC and SOLSTICE)"

Manta Ray- Visions Of Towering Alchemy

Divebomb Records
2013

For this entry into Divebomb Record's "Bootcamp Series" we must step inside the WABAC machine and return to another time period. While it might not seem as if it was all that long ago, as we're only talking about 20+ years having passed, the fact is so much has changed (from our day to day lives to the world in which we now we come home) that it might have been a 100 years ago! Long before the internet made us all slaves to technology, and the best albums (usually only to be found on cassette tape and vinyl mind you!) could still be had by going to your local Mom and Pop store down the street, a young band named Manta Ray released their one, and unfortunate as it would prove to be, only release in "Visions Of Towering Alchemy". The exact time (1990) and place (Dallas, Texas) are recorded in the pages of history (or Heavy Metal History that is), but what has been previously laid to paper in regards to this young band is woefully inadequate! The band Manta Ray, which had formed one year earlier and was lead by guitarist/vocalist (and recent Hollywood Musicians Institute' graduate) Lance Harvill, issued this (originally) four-track EP that, despite being less then twenty minutes in length, told the world everything that they needed to know about the band's long-term potential. Unfortunately for every good album that came out that year (Death's "Spiritual Healing", Annihilator's "Never, Neverland", Judas Priest's "Painkiller", Prong's "Beg To Differ", King's X's "Faith Hope Love", Mother Love Bone's "Apple" and Social Distortion's "Social Distortion") there were more then enough train-wreck releases from likes of  Poison, Warrant, Slaughter, Don Dokken, Firehouse and Dread Zeppelin (God, remember them?) to derail the hopes of any up-and-coming band. And of course lost in the shuffle of a dying heavy metal scene was this young Dallas act. At the time this should have been just the starting point for a promising career. While the Lance Harvill might not ring any bells now there was some serious talent waiting in the wings as far as Lance's cohorts. Standing beside Lance was guitarist Mike Morgan (ex-Hell Church, ex-Seventh Gate) and two gentlemen who would go on to have quite the successful careers (bassist David Harbour and drummer John Luke Hebert). While both of these individuals would go on to play with Chastain, Leather and King Diamond (!) it would be David, whose exceptional bass playing was obvious from the very start of his career, who really took after Manta Ray's far too brief existence! Not only did this talented bassist find himself with Chastain, Leather and King Diamond (and not to mention the ambient act Equimanthorn), but he was also involved with solo projects from the likes of David T. Chastain and Michael Harris. All of which is fine and dandy I hear you saying, but what about this particular band and the re-released "Visions Of Towering"? I'm glad you asked as "Visions Of Towering Alchemy", which was originally laid to tape at Dallas Sound Lab Studios (Pantera and Rigor Mortis), showcases a young band that had so much to offer a scene that was in desperate need of earnest heavy metal like this. Early Queensrÿche would be one good starting point as far as references are concerned. Anything from the "Queensrÿche" EP up to "Rage for Order" would be in order. But, "Visions Of Towering Alchemy", having now been expanded to a six-track EP thanks to the inclusion of two bonus cuts in "Guilty" and "On My Own" (both from the 1991 demo "Die Hard"), would likely be a welcomed addition to those who count Sanctuary's "Refuge Denied" and Dio's "Lock Up the Wolves" as part of their personal heavy metal collection. Along with a little maybe a little Crimson Glory ("Transcendence"-era), Lethal (their "Programmed" album), Fates Warning (only up to their "No Exit" album though) and Mainiax & Ray Gunn (two cult 80's metal bands who sadly only released one release apiece like Manta Ray!) and there you have it! Six (slightly) prog-leaning heavy metal/power metal tracks of exceptional quality. That is what this particular "Bootcamp Series" release from Tribunal Records' offshoot label, Divebomb Records, has to offer. Here's the thing though (and this is one thing that I really like about Divebomb releases). You don't just have to take my word for it. Nope. You can actually listening to samples of this cult re-release at the link below! How sweet is that! Just be forewarned though of one tiny little detail. As with the other release in the "Bootcamp Series" this one is limited to just  500 copies! So, you know the drill then right? You snooze, you lose! It's as simple as that folks! Personally I'd suggest that you not miss out on this one, but that's just me! Still, at a mere $7.00 this one seems like a real no-brainer my friends. I'm just saying....

http://tribunalrecords.bigcartel.com/product/manta-ray-visions-of-towering-alchemy

Forgotten Gems: Hash Palace-Grit and Bear It

Resonance
1990

Last night I had dinner with my friend Suzanne. As we talked about the music of our youth

(as we are both close in age) we touched briefly on the nineties 

and I was reminded that I owed you, our faithful readers, 

a respectable write-up of Hash Palace.Despite the negativity that 

often times is associated with nineties rock (and rightly so)

there were more then a few really solid groups/ 

albums that emerged from that time period. Of course we all

know that in addition to 90's rock (which had it's own sound

just like 80's and 7o's rock did)the era was all about grunge.

While I have run into my fair share of people who hold a long-

standing grudge against the movement (all because one simple song,

"Smells Like Teen Spirit", killed off hair metal)I would gladly take

Nirvana, Soundgarden or Alice In Chains over some of what passed for

"metal" back in the day. While it might not be completely fair to

associate Hash Palace with the movement (sound-wise they not 

only owed a debt to 80's punk and hardcore, but 70's hard rock 

as well)as this album came out before the big explosion that 

"Nevermind" started they do admittedly have more in common with 

the post-Black Sabbath rock scene then any other scene of the time.  

There is not much to go by when it comes to the band (which I

found both weird and frustrating as the Internet seems to have 

information about even the most trivial/unimportant subjects)

as far as their history goes there is no doubt that Hash Palace

deserved a better fate. With a heavy sound that combines elements 

of not only grunge (more Tad-style grunge then Nirvana at that), 

but hardcore/punk (Misfits, The Butthole Surfers) and dirty 

garage rock (you can almost close your eyes and picture these guys

playing in some old bingo hall) Hash Palace seems as if they

should have easily been able to hold their own.I suspect that if 

you were to also label this psychedelic pseudo-heavy metal you 

probably wouldn't encounter much of an argument. With a vocalist 

that often-times sounds all the world like a (more) crazed version

of Glenn Danzig this is certainly an interesting album. At times

I imagine that this is what The Doors would have sounded like

if A)they had more then their fair share of acid to go around

and B)they had been served a healthy dose of Black Sabbath in

their formative years. Other times it comes off as Nirvana 

meets any number of defunct 80's punk bands. That is the 

sound of a band playing simply for themselves and not some

industry suit.It's hard for me not to appreciate to a band that 

is all the above while still have other moments where they employee 

this classic punk meets Jane's Addiction sound! Thankfully this

isn't one of those albums that you have to search high and low for.

I found this on the excellent site "I Hate The 90s" (link below)

before picking up a copy off of Amazon for under $5.00 (incl.

shipping!). I've provided a link for that as well for those of you

that prefer hard copies of albums. With bands like Hash Palace the

90s were not all bad. 

http://ihatethe90s.blogspot.com/2012/09/hash-palace-grit-and-bare-it-1990.html

http://www.amazon.com/Grit-Bare-It-Hash-Palace/dp/B0001MXR3O/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353329526&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=hash+palace-grit+and+bear+it

Forgotten Gems-Mystic Force-The Eternal Quest

Every state had and have their own hard rock and metal bands. I grew up in Maryland in the 80's and didn't really go to that many shows but knew of some local bands. KIX are likely the hard rock band most associated with my state from that time which is a shame because they really weren't that great, but people know them because they were on a major label and the local radio stations played them to death. I Child's Play were another mediocre hard rock band from the area that got some press. Far better than those two was metal act Wrathchild America (formerly Wrathchild) who knocked out two decent albums on Atlantic records before getting dropped and changing their name to Souls at zero. Twenty some years ago Wratchchild America would have been my favorite local metal act from back in the day. However there albums have not aged so well. They are still good, but flawed. Another band I heard back then who I like better know is Baltimore's Mystic Force. They formed back in 1983 and eventually knocked out a few demos, EPs and full length albums. Instead of following the  more popular trends of thrash or hair metal these guys went for the early progressive sound. Think early Queensryche, Mercyful Fate, Fates Warning, Iron Maiden and Crimson Glory. Now  "The Eternal Quest" includes a number of songs that appeared on previous demos, but it's a quite a few songs and it's a good representation of what this band was capable of. It shows a good variation of what they could do. "Shipwrecked with the wicked" is a flat out amazing tune that goes this way and that with more riffs than you can shake a stick at. "Temples of exiles" twists back and forth with vocals leading the way. "Another world" eases on with a late 80's Maiden vibe before gliding into a smooth flow. Mystic Force were tight in all areas and there is never a moment here where I felt like they missed and opportunity. They fill every second with sounds that make their songs more powerful and complete. Now they may be called progressive metal, but since they played the style year ago their brand of progressive metal pulled more on being heavy and less on trying to flash technical prowess. That last part is something that Mystic Force excelled out. These guys are back again these days playing shows in the area. It's a shame they never got discovered by a label that could give them the exposure they deserved, but if you never heard them that shouldn't stop you from tracking down some of their material and checking them out.

Forgotten Gems-Sgt. Roxx-Push and squeeze and Weapon of miss distraction

Frequently I have come across some message boards and blogs where some hair metal fans will claim numerous small budget or self-released albums to be some overlooked gem. Frequently those people are wrong and easily pleased. One band I heard about some years ago on blogs and message boards was Sgt. Roxx who played around the Chicago area. They self-released an EP in 1990 called "Push and squeeze". The few people who had claimed to have heard sang it's praises. There were reports of copies of this CD going for hundreds of dollars of eBay. Well, of course that's just nuts even if it were good it couldn't be worth that much. However eventually Eonian records released Weapon of Miss Distraction which contained the six songs from the Push and Squeeze EP plus 12 other songs from demos and live recordings that were done between 1992 and 1994. I didn't run after it because I still expecting them to be run of the mill, but I was sent a copy to review. Hey, I was wrong those hair metal fans were right for once. These guys were legit, a real solid hard rock act that everything together. The sound is somewhere between Ratt, Cry Wolf, a heavier Poison and maybe a less bluesy Tora Tora. Nothing out of the ordinary, but almost every song out of the 19 are very likable. Particularly when I think of some the bands that got signed back then it's sad that a band who had their act together like this never made it. They recorded a demo for CBS records in the early 90's but didn't get a record deal. My best guess is that hailing from the Mid-west and being a year or two late to hair metal flood worked against them. They sure had the talent to get a deal. I listen to this album quite frequently. When I first heard I expected the song after the EP to be leftovers, but if anything the band got even tighter after the EP. Eonian records also included a booklet with a band biography and plenty of pictures. It's a nice package and you don't have to pay a bundle for six songs.

Hair metal hodge podge

So the rules on this are I have these bags of hair metal discs and I reach in without looking, pull out two, listen to them and give some mini-reflections on them. After all it's hair metal they don't deserve that much time. It's not like 90% of the bands that did these albums put much thought or effort into their writing or recording. Here we go...


Warrant-Born Again
Curse my hands, I picked a Warrant disc. This disc got some praise back when it came out and that's why I bought it. It was supposed to be heavier and Jaime St James formerly of Black -n- Blue was brought in to replace Janie Lane on vocals. Warrant were terrible on their early albums, one of the worst hair metal acts during the time when lame hair metal bands were all the fashion. They were lame, dull and showed how bad hard rock could be. Now in 1992 they attempted to be heavier with their "Dog eat dog" album. It was a little heavier, but the results were like instead of a pile a poop it was a pile of poop with one rose petal laying on top. Anyways "Born again" was supposed to be heavier than this band had ever been, for whatever that was worth. It was...to an extent. Almost every song started out well, but only a few of them kept the momentum going. Not being heavy was always a problem with this band, but so was the lack of solid songwriting which still plagued this album. Although overall they tried, I hear that and on a few moments they managed to put together some fair pieces. Now on to the vocals. Janie Lane always struck me as a very dull vocalist. I liked Jaime St. James in Black -n- Blue, but here it sounds like his voice is burnt out and fried. The excitement he once had in his voice has been replaced by a dry sound and he's seems to straining to achieve even that level. So the vocal change was not a plus, but the music showed some promise. Yes, this was definitely an improvement for Warrant, but still not an album anyone should run after.


Uzi Suite-s/t
Here are the facts that I know about this album-it has four songs, the band was from Texas, it was recorded in 1990 and issued on CD by Retrospect in 2005. That's it, all I know for sure. No band members are listed on the inlay card, I don't know if it was originally a self-released album or just a demo. However beyond that I do know that is album is pretty darn good. The sound is mid-80's hard rock with a touch of metal (despite being released in 1990) along the lines of early Keel, Dokken and Icon. The vocalist was limited, but got the job done. The guitars are solid and plentiful and the rhythm section was above average  for this style. Even their ballad is solid although it's like a mid-80's ballad and not the shallow sappy ballads that were so big in the late 80's/early 90's. I bought this probably when it came out and liked it, but now it sounds even better to my ears than it did back then. This album was so good it could have made it on our Forgotten Gems segment. Except that I hesitated to do that just because I don't know much about this band. Definitely check this album out if you get a chance and if anyone knows more about them then feel free speak up and enlighten us.

There you go, I'll do another segment of this some time soon.

Hair Metal Hodge Podge with Every Mother's Nightmare and Diamond Rexx

Have not done one of these in a while so it was time to close my eyes reach into a bag filled with hair metal discs, pull two out, listen to them and either suffer or be surprised. Now if I said one of these discs was mainly influenced by Poison while the other disc was by a band with a singer who sounded kind of like Alice Cooper and they were heavy for a hair band then which band do you think you'd rather here? Well I am hoping that most of you will choose band B. So let's get into them and see.


Every Mother's Nightmare-s/t 1990
I remember seeing ads for this one when it came out, but I was full on thrash metal mode at the time so I didn't hear it then. Instead my introduction to this Nashville band was in the form of their 1993 release "Wake up screaming". Someone else played it for me and I found it to be mediocre and it suffered from poor production. It wasn't until just a few years ago then I spotted their debut in the bargain bin of a now defunct record store for $2. I picked it up not expecting much. The down side is these guys liked Poison a lot and their ballads are terrible as in skip over them kind of bad. However the up side is they are faster and heavier than Poison with a touch of blues rock thrown in and all of their non-ballads are at least decent. The music is generally tight although basic. They keep it going pretty well. The vocals are not as consistent, but certainly passable. This was a surprisingly decent album and I listen to it from time to time.



Diamond Rexx-Golden Gates 1991
This EP was the third outing from Chicago's very own Diamond Rexx. These guys had the glam look and a sound  that crossed metal and hard rock. The singer sounded somewhat like Alice Cooper and I said above they were on the heavier side of the hair metal spectrum. You can just sense the "however" coming. However as with their previous efforts this album was dull, almost painfully so. They can knock out a riff and the singer had some talent. Yet all their promise was flushed down the toilet due to lack of ideas. They begin a song, they run out of places to go about thirty-five seconds into it and then just play the same thing over and over. Even with only six tracks this album felt like it went on forever. It was maybe okay when I heard their debut because I remember thinking well, with experience they'll get better and grow as songwriters. Nope, they got worse with each album. What a shame.

There you go. What a surprising turn of events.

Forgotten Gems-Buster Cherry-s/t

Not to be confused with the album Buster Cherry released by Cherry St. in 1999. This band Buster Cherry recorded this EP in 1990and according to Retrospect it was not released until they released it in 2005, but now it's out of stock. Very little is known about this band. The band credits are in the CD card but only first names with first initials for the last name. Plus there's not even a band picture. You are probably hoping the music is better than the band name. Well, fortunately it is. Opener "No Control" reminds me kind of Skid Row with a stronger groove. Vocalist Chris L. certainly has a strong range. "Jack" sounds like sleazier version of Tora Tora, this one has some great hooks."Forever" is a fairly simple ballad, but this band demonstrated how a ballad can work out with a good singer and solid music. "Time After Time" is back to the Tora Tora sound with a slick style."Livin' Sin" sounds like mid-70's Aerosmith with some sleaze rock around the edges."Faces" is another ballad and it's a bit more typical than "Forever", but still decent. So we get five strong songs and one decent one. This band had it down, the sound was there and the production was strong. Can't say why they didn't get signed because I know virtually nothing about them or their circumstances. All I can say is they left one very worthwhile EP.

Re-animator-Condemned to eternity/Deny Reality

Kraze
1989/1990/2011

In the late 80's-early 90's thrash bands were popping up everywhere. The UK was no exception. Although not nearly the hot spot of say Germany or the Bay area of the United States they still had several bands churning out high powered thrash for a few years like Onslaught, Acid Reign, Sabbat and Xentrix. One of the better acts out of that bunch in my mind was Re-Animator. The band recorded a two song demo in 1988 and managed to secure a record deal with Music For Nations subsidiary Under One Flag. This re-issue includes their debut 1989's "Deny Reality" EP and their 1990 lp "Condemned To Reality". These guys are not going to be accused of being terribly original because their sound is a combination of a number of bands like Testament, Nuclear Assault, Megadeth and Sacred Reich. That's not terribly important because these guys knew a thing or two about creating killer riffs and keeping the pace going. The music is extremely tight on both albums which is better than what many thrash bands of the day were doing on their early efforts. These guys were not afraid to make the songs a little longer either as there are quite a few going over five minutes and even two tracks going past the seven minute mark. It's certainly not filler either as they make every second count. My only real complaints about these albums are that the bass is kind of low in the mix and the vocals could have been a little stronger. After this the band decided to go in more of a funk metal approach for their next two albums before calling it a day. This band frequently gets unfairly dismissed, but this is really strong thrash that's worth checking out. The re-issue has the two albums on one disc for a fair price. Definitely worth getting a copy.

Ten things I think about hard rock/metal in 1990

Here are some random thoughts on the scene twenty years ago.

1-I still can't believe some of the bands that got major label deals that year.

2-Iron Maiden's decline at the time still seems sudden to me because their stretch of greatness lasted so long.

3-Steve Vai's "Passion and warfare" is still fantastic album twenty years later.

4-I don't know what came over Prong prior to "Beg to differ", but it was a major transformation because this was the beginning of a stretch of four of the better metal albums of the decade.

5-"Lock up the wolves" was probably the first (but not the last) time I heard Ronnie James Dio sound tired.

6-It's a shame that Anthrax booted Joey Belladonna because the direction they were heading in on "Persistance of time" could have really lead them to something.

7-If the Desperado album with Dee Snider had been released rather than shelved it would have made my list for the top ten albums of the year.

8-No matter how many chances I give it Slayer's "Seasons in the abyss" still comes across as a dry turd of an album.

9-Cinderella unfairly were and are still sometimes unfairly lumped in as a hair band. They were a fine blues/hard rock band as Heartbreak demonstrated.

10-There were so many hard rock/hair bands that got far more credit and hype than they deserved in 1990, but Spread Eagle were a good band that I wish had gotten more of a push in 1990 because they were the real deal.

Golden Turd Award for 1990

I always like to explain what this award is. It's not a worst album award, but more a combination of being bad and disappointing in some way. I have given one a year for each of the years of the 1980's and now am on to another decade. Now when I was thinking about the award for 1990 I first thought it would be Slayer and they put out a poor album in 1990 for certain. However the disappointment factor had me thinking that Iron Maiden was the more likely choice here. Slayer were coming off of two great albums and two good ones before that. However Iron Maiden had done seven albums in the 80's and I think five were great and the other two were very good plus they did the greatest live metal album of the 80's and maybe ever. So for them to put out an album like No prayer for the dying was stunning. "Hooks in you" and "Bring your daughter to the slaughter" are painful while several other songs come across as filler. Even the epic "Mother Russia" is corny and forced which is something that Maiden had never been not even for a minute in the 80's. Unfortunately the 90's was going to get even worse for Maiden and their fans. Although the band has certainly turned it around this decade.

Top ten hard rock/metal albums of 1990

Kind of a strange year for hard rock and metal. Lots of hard rock/hair band releases coming out, but not a lot of good ones. Thrash was was seeing something of a split with a number of major labels bands becoming more accessible while death metal was continuing to rise as it's own entity. My list for this year has altered greatly over the years several albums have fallen a few places while others have come up in the rankings. Here you go.



10-Celtic Frost-Vanity/Nemisis
A good bounce back after Cold Lake.

9-King Diamond-The eye
This album has actually grown on me over the years.

8-Tigertailz-Bezerk
The only hard rock album to make my top ten list.

7-Judas Priest-Painkiller
People either hate it or love it. I think it was a well need burst of energy for this band.

6-Kreator-Coma of souls
Their last really good album for some time.

5-Prong-Beg to differ
They finally figured out their direction.

4-Artillery-By inheritance
They were good on the previous two outings, but they stretched out for this one.

3-Anthrax-Persistance of time
A slight change in direction helped a lot.

2-Megadeth-Rust in piece

Their best album.

1-Steve Vai-Passion and warfare
Simply amazing effort.

What's coming up?

I still have a Lesser of two evils to write. After that I hope to have reviews of...
Black Breath-Razor to oblivion
UDO-Dominator
Mean Streak-Metal Slave

Clash of the album covers

One of the projects I wanted to do when I started this blog in 2005 was to go back and re-examine and put out my top ten album list for the year that was twenty years ago. So back then I did 1985 and so on with each year. Now I move out of the 80's and on to 1990 so next week I will have my top ten albums of 1990 plus the Golden Turd award for the year. It was kind of a strange year. Major labels were signing up hard rock bands left and right, but that doesn't mean all those bands were good. A number of thrash bands from the 80's seemed to be slowing down. A couple of long time bands put out some clunkers. Still there were a few surprises. I considered two instrumental albums for my list and a couple of veteren bands went in new directions.

***Have a great week!

Felony-Helltown Hotel

Eonian
2009

I admit that I never heard of Felony before a few months ago, but there are couple pages in the booklet of this collection that tells their tale. They formed back in 1989 in Indianapolis and knocked an EP a year later. Some problems arose and the band changed members and got back to recording a few years later. The songs from the EP open this disc and they are very much influenced by Theater of Pain era Motley Crue. There is a slight groove to some of the songs, but quite honestly you have probably a dozen bands that sound like this. Still it's above average as they try hard to make it work. The other ten tracks were recorded in 1993 and 1994. For these songs there is a definite shift away from the old hair metal as they attempt to put more of a raw sound to their songs. Quite honestly it's hit and miss with some songs benefiting from the heaviness while others have the band sounding awkward. Felony benefit from not being too watered down and the rhythm section isn't bad, but it's easy to say why they never got very far. This is very typical run of the mill hard rock for the time and they may have been a year or two behind with what they were trying to create on these songs. Just an okay band, but Eonian records does another fine job of putting out a rarity and the packaging helps.

Shake City-s/t

Eonian
2009

The Sunset Strip scene was flooded with tons of hopefuls trying to getting a slice of the pie. The realty was that not everyone was going to make it. So numerous bands were left by the wayside. One such act was Shake City. The band has ties to Warrant as Adam Shore fronted that band for a while before being replaced by Jani Lane. In 1986 Shore met guitarist Don E. Sachs and formed Hot Wheelz. The band would soon become Shake City. This line-up included Erik Turner's cousin guitarist Michael Blair and bassist Ray Bailey and drummer Jaycee Cary rounded out the line-up. Over the next few years they managed to play at The Roxy, the Whiskey and the Coconut Teazer plus they ventured outside of the LA area playing in Utah, Florida and Arizona. All of the songs collected here were recorded in 1990 and 1991. Tommy Thayer of Black -n- Blue and Jani Lane and Erik Turner of Warrant all contributed writing to a few of the tracks. The sound is very much like Warrant which to me means they really lacked hooks, life and fire that would have qualified them as a good hard rock band. I don't know if they always sounded like this considering they were around for three years before the earliest of these recordings. Whatever the case the impression I get from this collection of songs was that the band had heard Bon Jovi and Warrant, seen the success those bands had so they set out to try and churn out radio friendly songs in the hopes of getting a record deal. The results were some stale songs, no record deal and they broke up in 1992. The production is fine and as usual Eonian records does a good job with the packaging. A lot of bands and fans may have flocked to the clubs on the Sunset Strip in the 1980's but the truth is that for every good band like Motley Crue or Ratt you had half a dozen pretenders like Shake City trying to make it.