Thanksgiving reviewathon coming soon

The promo links are piling up. This would be partially do the fact that I have not been reviewing them. There are some good albums ready to be listened to and reviewed. So to catch up I am going to attempt to review 12 albums in five days between this Wednesday and Sunday. Right now the plan is to review albums by these artists- Mos Generator C.F.A. Volume Marty Friedman (2 discs) Rites Asia A perfect day Fight Amp Deceased Troubled Horse Kylesa I hold the right to substitute any albums that come in between now and the start of the reviewathon for the album albums should a new more interest promo pop up in the next couple of days. Actually I already made some substitutions while making this list. As I realized there doom, stoner and experimental metal albums availible I quickly put those in and tossed out some power and prog metal stuff.

Labor Day weekend reviewathon and the bet

I have sucked at reviewing this week. Just have not had time. However I will make up for it by attempting to do ten reviews between today and Monday. That's right ten in four days and here are the artists I will review: Ufomammut, Doro (2), Loverboy, Razorwyre, Gouge, Xibabla, Rabbits, Vision Divine, Eclipse and Muknal. Now two of these are singles however I will do two Doro CDs as one review and the Ufomammut is long and involved that it will be as challenging as reviewing two discs so it will all even out. So what if I don't get all ten done by the end of Labor Day? Well, then on my honor I will sit down and listen to Warrant's Cherry Pie from start to finish with no pauses, bathroom breaks just straight ahead torture. Let the games begin.

What's coming up?

I have too many items sitting around waiting to be reviewed so I have several lined up over the next few days. I will be cranking out reviews of Primal Fear's new DVD plus the latest from Toxic Lab Rats, DesDaemon, Suicidal Angels and Jorn.

What's coming up?

I have a number of reviews I need to do so I am going to attempt to knock out ten reviews between today and Easter Sunday. I have actually already listened to nine of the ten discs so it may not be as hard as I think. So I hope to have some big name acts, up and coming acts, new releases re-issues, metal, hard rock, doom and more. The bands will include Scorpions, Aittala, Six Dead Horses, Armored Saint, Saint, Titanic (2 titles), Final Axe, Guardian and Christopher Lee (yes, that Christopher Lee). I don't know if I can accomplish it or not, but I'll give it a shot.

Beyond those I'll shoot for a Clash of the album covers, something on another genre maybe doom and stoner plus maybe another topic as well.

***Have a great week.

Viking Skull-Doom, gloom, heartache and whiskey

Powerage
2008

Viking Skull have been in existence for around five years and they have a few releases out. I love the band name and this album title plus the combination had me thinking this was going to be rough and aggressive punch in the face style of album. Unfortunately it's not that powerful so it's more like a slightly hard punch to the shoulder I guess as they hit some, but it's off target as well. The press release says they draw deeply on a mix of Black Sabbath, AC/DC, WASP, Motorhead, The Who, KISS and Thin Lizzy. These releases normally exaggerate a little and this one is no exception as the only one of the above that can be heard much is Black Sabbath. It would be far more surprising if a doom/stoner act didn't have a heavy Sabbath influence. Viking Skull try at times to march in the battle, but they tend to bogged down by too many layers of repetition. That can work to some extent, but grabbing one riff holding on for the duration seems to always be Plan A for these guys and I am sure that they really have a Plan B. They remind me of Sabbath bloody sabbath era Black Sabbath as interpreted by Fireball Ministry only with a less keen sense of timing. I get the impression that this band might do very well live though. The ideas are not exactly flowing like wine here, but they do seem excited enough at times and they can some good hooks on occasion. The new Viking Skull isn't going to bowl anyone over, but it's a worth listen and I might pull it out every once in a while and give it a spin.

JK Northrup-Wired in my skin

Alien Records
2007



This is an album from veteran guitarist JK Northrup who had previously played with Northrup, King Kobra, XYZ and others in his 25 plus year long music career. Because he has played with so many different acts he knows a lot of people so he brought in several vocalists for this project including Kelly Keeling (Blue Murder, MSG, Baton Rouge, Trans Siberian Orchestra), Johnny Edwards (Montrose, Foreigner, Royal Jelly, King Kobra), Ted Poley (Danger Danger), Terry Ilous (XYZ, I.R.S.) and newcomer vocalist David Zaragoza (Category 7). There are eleven tracks total here including three instrumentals. Largely it's typical but smooth hard rock with most the majority of the tracks sounding like they could have been recorded between say 1989 and 1991 as they thrive on large melodies and high production values. Using so many vocalists is a little bit of a double edged sword as it allows the album to have some different sounds because the singers have somewhat different styles and ranges yet the album has a whole doesn't quite feel like a unit because of this approach. However that's probably minor because I enjoyed most of the songs as individual tracks. I think the pacing was right on for the most part despite having so many hands or voices in the mix, I would say it was a fairly tight album. The only song I wasn't huge on was "If I were James Taylor I could finish this song" which felt very awkward to me. The instrumentals allow JK a little room to spread out and roam a little more with his riffs and these three tracks tended to be some of the heavier ones on the album. Overall this was a fairly ambitious project and mainly it succeeded in pulling me in. I just wish that I had discovered it a little sooner.





http://www.jknorthrup.com/
http://www.myspace.com/jknorthrup

Mini-reviews

Here are some older CDs that I picked up recently.


Every Mother's Nightmare-s/t (1990)
I have had their second release for some time and just thought it was very average although it was hurt by poor production. I found there debut recently for $6.99 which I think is way less than what it normally goes for. They sound sort of like a heavier version of Poison in some ways and yes I realize that still doesn't mean they are very heavy at all. It's a little more rockin' than the bulk of the hard rock stuff that was spewing out all over the place in 1990. Yet I think the arrangements and okay vocals kept them from being that memorable.

Soul Kitchen-s/t (1992)
This one always shows up cheap on eBay and I normally skipped it because I knew nothing about. Finally I took a chance on copy that was under $2.00. The good news is it's a little like early Black Crowes, but the bad news is that it sounds even more like rotten popular hard rock of the time complete with mandatory sappy ballads. They have some groove here and there, but it's normally too subdued and too far below a few layers of lame, almost generic hard rock. Decent vocals and good production help it to be worth what I paid for it.

Metalium-Hero Nation and As One (Double disc set)
This two disc set cost $9.99 used which I thought was a decent deal. Hero Nation is the band's third disc and it's standard Euro power metal in the Helloween/Gamma Ray mold. The vocals seem to be the major focus and it just felt the music was pushed too far back. Also the music never really flowed as much as I was hoping, it came out and went yet it never truly that dynamic. A decent album, but all a little too tame. As One was the band's fourth disc and fares quite a bit better. The music soars and it's overall and more vibrant, it actually feels like there is some direction to what they are doing. The vocals are good although the lyrics are the same old cliches although the band doesn't try to pretend it's anything else. As a package it was worth what I paid.

MSG-In the midst of beauty

Inakustik
2008


After tour cancellations last summer Michael Schenker moved to England and began reuniting the original MSG. So along with Schenker we get Gary Barden on vocals, Neil Murray on bass, Simon Phillips on drums and Don Airey on keys. So they reformed and felt the need to put an album in the hopes of bringing back past glory and moving forward. This is a talented bunch although no one here has really been part of anything that spectacular or relevant in quite some time. The results are better than I expected, but this album does not fall into that rare category known as good reunion albums. There are no bad tracks here nor are there any great or even very good ones either as most of the songs range from fair to decent. It's not a matter of skill, but the major shortcoming is that everyone seems to hang back too much and no one pushes at all. I appreciate Michael Schenker not being a hot dog and trying to just be a virtuoso but this album needed someone to step forward and light that fire. Schenker riffs have some natural groove but he never tries to build any momentum. The rhythm section is solid as it should be with these two veterans towing the line, but they glide far too much. Don Airey has been one of the best keyboard players around, but his parts here are just above average. Gary Barden's vocals are in tune and all, but it sounds like he is just sitting there filling time instead of really belting it out. Of course it's tight, but that's not enough particularly considering when I think the ability is still very much in these guys. I also got the impression that when Don Airey came over on loan from Deep Purple that he swept up some their castoff songs off the floor and brought them with him to use for this project. Okay, maybe that didn't happen, but several songs sound like watered down Deep Purple. Sure this release is better than a number of reunion albums because it's decent overall. However that bit of promise on this album just makes me wished they had taken their time, really listened to what was going on and taken that extra step needed to make it special.



http://www.myspace.com/michaelschenkerhimself

Century-Black Ocean

Prosthetic
2008

If more metalcore bands subscribed to the approach of central Pennsylvania’s Century then I would be more of a fan of that style. Century also bring perhaps more death metal rumblings than other acts in this style. The vocals switch between growls and screams although both seem to generally work for the moments that they are in use. The guitars are thick as molasses when needed as squealing like crazy when needed as well. The rhythm section was particularly strong plus they mixed up sounds just enough to keep me guessing. Century’s brand of music had me thinking of hills rather mountains in terms of their attack. By hills I mean that rather attack with one giant wave of sound they brought numerous smaller assaults of jarring heaviness oftentimes alternating sounds enough to keep everything fresh. The only thing that didn’t click with me on this disc was the direction or lack there of. Although the musical presence is strong, the path they were taking with a number of these tracks wasn’t very clear. It seemed almost like they were attempting so hard to bring about relentless blows from every direction that they forgot about a strategy or a purpose. Now what they have created is almost enough to carry the album, but I was just left wondering about the lack of purpose on too many songs. Still this is a heavy album with enough angles to keep you hanging in there for a while.



http://www.myspace.com/century

Zebra-The DVD

Visionwork/Zebra
2008


For me Zebra have always been one of those bands that I like well enough when I hear them, but their music just doesn't stick with me that long. Sounding like Led Zeppelin and early Rush is good in that I like both of those bands, but if you sound too much like another artist then you inevitably get compared to them. Being as those acts are two of my favorite hard rocks acts of all time, it's hard to live up to them in comparison. Still Zebra have always been a fairly tight band and they play a fairly solid if unoriginal brand of classic hard rock. This DVD includes an anniversary show, the story of Zebra and some bonus material. The story of Zebra tells the story of the band from their inception in 1975 until the release of their debut. It includes interviews with all three band members and other people who worked with the band back then. It's fairly short and actually interesting when they were talking about their struggles to get signed in the late 1970's due to labels being more interested in new wave than in hard rock. In the interviews the band come across as being rather genuine and down to earth. The anniversary show was filmed at the House of blues in New Orleans. This was obviously a great choice for filming a show because they have an audience of what appears to be die-hard Zebra fans. It's also a good choice because the lighting is such that you actually get to see the crowd which is something I always like in a live DVD. Their set is solid and more than anything they really seem to be enjoying going through their songs for an audience that is obviously into everything that they are doing. The sound and visual quality is very high and the camerawork is competent, but the smaller venue probably helps with this as well. The bonus features includes more interviews and some additional footage. My favorite part in this section was a segment with bassist/keyboard player Felix Hanemann in his garage showing off his collection of Zebra tour shirts that he has collected over the years. I love vintage concert shirt so this this part certainly appealed to me. This was an entertaining look at a slightly overlooked band.

Black Earth-That's right we're goin' ballz deep

Big Ape
2008

Sometimes I look at a CD cover before playing the disc and wonder what the band's music might be like. For this particular entry with a name like "Black Earth" I was expecting something heavy. As for the title and cover I was expecting something with a sense of humor and a raw nastiness to it (in a good way). Low and behold when I played to disc it was heavy, humorous and had a slight nasty edge to it. Although it certainly went beyond just that simple prediction in some aspects. This is kind of basic, but pleasing down and dirty stoner rock in the style of Fu Manchu, Roadsaw and Nebula. Although I would say there is perhaps much more of an emphasis on a stripped down rock feel than on the fuzzed out riffs that dominate the music by other bands in this genre. Perhaps they slip in just as much AC/DC and Ramones as they do Black Sabbath only they honor all of their influences with the same amount of enthusiasm. This Austin, Texas trio waste little time or build-up in biting into the rabid style of rock. With song titles such as "Damn you", "Fuck all y'all" and "What ever happened (to drinking whiskey and kickin' ass)" you kind of know (or hope) that there is more of a focus on the music than on the lyrics. That's okay though because the music is a fine attempt at being real, no-apologies style rock. I only have two minor complaints with the first being that with only eight tracks it seemed like the CD ended a little too abruptly. The other is that the closer "More than friends" is a slow song and it just didn't feel like the most appropriate way to close an album like this. Still as a whole it was an enjoyable album and I took to it on the first play.

http://www.myspace.com/blackearth

Hulda-Always Haunted

Self-Produced
2008



I had to give to give Hulda's new CD a few spins to really figure it out. It's not that it's necessarily a complicated album, but rather that the approach they take is different than I was expecting. Hulda play a style of music that although seemingly basic in some ways still manages to combine elements of punk, pop, gothic and heavy influences as well. The sound has a definite mid-80's feel flowing through it although not so much that it's stuck in that decade. What really threw me initially about this album was how subtle their approach is and it is certainly low-key on many levels. I think my initial reaction caused me to dismiss it because it did not grab me immediately. However on repeated plays I realized they were shooting for this style and you just had to listen deeper to really pull out what was happening below the surface. There is little build-up to their songs instead they are more like steady waves yet the music is thick even though it doesn't immediately hit you in the face. The rhythm section is extremely solid laying down a strong backbone for the rest of the band to play off of. The guitars are largely straight forward, but the solos are strong. The vocals are slightly laid back almost deadpan at times yet they fit with the music. This is perhaps not a CD that will instantly grab you because it's not that style, but this band has the skill and the style to pull it off at their pace. If you sit back, reach out and try to take everything that's taking place on these songs then I think that really begin to hear, feel and realize all that's going into these songs. This may be a release that you have to be in a certain mood to play, but it certainly has a great deal to offer once you give it a chance.

http://www.myspace.com/hulda

Some more mini-reviews

I am still making it through that stack of older CDs that I picked up a few weeks ago. I am finding that some are gems, some are not and the rest fall at different levels in between. So here are five more that I listened to this past week.

Budgie-Power Supply (1980)
It was the 80's and Budgie had changed guitarists yet this was probably their best album in six years at that point. A much heavier, more raw album than they had done in some time. This one gets overlooked far too often because too many people assume this was after their prime.

Survivor-Vital Signs (1984)
Almost every song sound like something that someone would pick to have played at their wedding. I like some AOR and the vocals are strong, but this is just so sappy that I can only take it in small doses. Plus the fact that so many songs here were overplayed on the radio back in 84-85.

Cycle sluts from hell (1991)
This is a mixed bag overall and I actually bought this on cassette when it came out. Some of the songs are joke songs and they work, but then they try to be sort of serious and those songs are just alright. It would have been stronger as just a total joke album.

MSG-Save yourself (1989)
I liked when Robin McAuley sang for MSG, he had a good voice and was a nice fit. This album is decent, but it's a just a bit retrained at times. It really seemed like they needed for the music to just explode a little more and the album could have used that extra energy.

LA Guns-Cocked and loaded (1989)
I think I wore out a copy of this on cassette back then. It's still good, but not nearly as explosive as I remember it being. I think this band's biggest problem was that even when they rocked they had problems really defining their own sound.

The Budgie CD was the only one I had not heard before. The Survivor CD was about like I remembered it being, the LA Guns and Cycle Sluts were not as good as I remember them being and the MSG one may have been a little better than I remember it being years ago. There you go, I may post some more of these as I eventually make it through the rest of the pile.

Hate Eternal-Fury and flames

Metal Blade
2008

About fifteen years ago the label "death metal" meant pretty much one thing and that was an aggressive style that plowed straight ahead while being accompanied by definitive growling type vocals. Like most genres and sub-genre, death metal seems to have expanded over the years as we now have the likes of "melodic death", "technical death" and various other labels now falling under this once singular heading. Oftentimes it great to progress, but addressing the basics and pushing them to their fullest can work too and that's what Hate Eternal have done with their latest offering. "Fury and flames" is about as crushing as it is relentless in this celebration of raw brutality. There is little build-up or technical flaunting, but there is no time or reason for it when you are able to produce a blistering mountain of sound like this release. One of my biggest problems with death metal is the all too common feeling that the songs blend together and have a lack of personality. Although there is a definite sameness in style to most of the tracks here, I think they easily avoid that trap because they have manage to give the songs enough of their own identity and each one sweeps you under as they plunge forward. The vocals are the traditional death style, but they very much compliment the music and fluctuate enough as needed. I don't think Hate Eternal are doing anything that terribly different, but when everything they are doing tramples your senses then originality doesn't matter a whole lot in the long run. If you are looking for melodies and virtuoso flashes then you will have to search elsewhere, but if you are in search of a straight ahead massive assault then you are in luck.

http://www.myspace.com/haeteternal

Dead Boys-Return of the living dead boys

MVD Visual
2008


Punk/glam legends the Dead Boys were a band that influence a lot of bands including the such varied artists as Hanoi Rocks and Overkill. This is a reunion show they did in New York on Halloween, 1986. Joey Ramone introduces them and they slash into Sonic Reducer and just keep moving from there. The music very much of that mid-late 1970's style of early punk rock, but the Dead Boys were probably a bit more into early 70's glam than were some of their peers. Stiv Bators comes over as a bit more moody and low key than I figured at first however he guides the chaos and keeps things going. The set is tight and straight forward and they waste very little between songs and instead just charge ahead making the most of their simple approach. The crowd seems to be a mix of people who like they could have been fans in the 70's plus teenagers who constantly dodge bouncers as they spend their second or two on stage before diving into the wiggling mass of fans. The sound quality is strong enough and fairly consistent through the entirety of the fifty minute set. The picture quality is okay enough, but flickers in and out a few times early on. The Dead Boys probably relied as much on swagger as they did on angst in their performance and that's largely what makes them different from a number of other early punk bands. Guitarist Cheetah Chrome moves back and forth never coming close to showing much expression, but his music speaks for him and he twists and pulls notes at will. The rest of the band bounces here and there with a fairly constant amount of energy. By the end of the show Stiv Bators comes dangerously close to exposing himself, but neither he or the audience seems very shocked and the show wraps up. The disc also includes a 1980 interview and a rare early video for "Sonic Reducer". A really cool show overall that makes me wish I had be there to see them then and earlier to soak in all that they were really doing.

More mini-reviews

Bob Vinyl and I have been hard at work on our Rocklahoma post and that will be out on Thursday. However because I was spending so much time on that post I didn't get a chance to write much for today. So I will do a few more mini-reviews from that stack I got last week.

Sammy Hagar-VOA
Actually a pretty decent album and better than I remember it being. A bit more keyboards than it needed maybe, but Sammy sounds good and the songs are generally solid enough.

Quiet Riot-Metal Health
I wore out my cassette of this back around 83-84, but then around say 1985 I kind of stopped listening to it because I got more into metal. It's actually still pretty good for the most part and has aged okay. The music is a little thin in places, but Du Brow's vocals keep it going.

Trixter-Hear
Okay, they tried to get a little heavier on their second album because they saw all of the other fluff bands getting knocked aside by grunge. However, most of their songs start with some okay guitar parts and then fade into fluffyland by the 30 second mark of each song.

Ted Nugent-Spirit of the wild
This was the Nuge's first solo album after Damn Yankees and one the better ones he had done in years at that point. It's different because he actually experiments a little here and there and generally it turns out pretty well. Not a classic, but a good hard rock album for him

Ramones-Mania
A best of that covered 1976 until 1988. A nice collection that gave a good idea of what they had done up until that time. I pretty much liked everything on this and I once wore out a cassette of this as well.