I hope it was of some use or interest to some.

1. Blue In The Face – DoubleDrive
2. Tonight The Stars Revolt! – Powerman 5000
3. Confessions – Dweezil Zappa
4. Chickenfoot – Chickenfoot
5. The Resistance – Muse
6. Awake – Dream Theater
7. Wheatus – Wheatus
8. Beyond The Common Ground – Jan Cyrka
9. Whatever Gets You Off – The Last Vegas
10. A Twist In The Myth – Blind Guardian
11. Empire – Queensrÿche
12. Hardcore Superstar – Hardcore Superstar
13. Runnin’ Wild – Airbourne
14. Hi-Fi Serious – A
15. Americal Pearl – American Pearl
16. Sound Of White Noise – Anthrax
17. Skyforger – Amorphis
18. Rest In Sleaze – Crashdïet
19. Infinity – Devin Townsend
20. You Made Me – Josh Todd
21. Inhuman Rampage – DragonForce
22. Youthanasia – Megadeth
23. Making Enemies Is Good – Backyard Babies
24. Karkelo – Korpiklaani
25. Waking The Dead – LA Guns
26. Saigon Kick – Saigon Kick
27. Native Tongue – Poison
28. Thickskin – Skid Row
29. The Return Of The Great Gildersleeves – Danger Danger
30. Slam – Dan Reed Network
31. Ragnarok – Týr

Thanks for playing.

–c.

Ragnarok – Týr (2006)

Týr - Ragnarok

Yep, we’re ending with more Folk Metal – specifically Viking Metal. Out of all my recent discoveries in this genre and those around it, these guys from the Faroe Islands are still my favourites. Equal parts riffing, shredding, and tale-telling all with what are known in death metal circles as “clean” vocals (i.e. no cookie monster growling), these guys can easily prog it up alongside Dream Theater but without the annoying existential navel-gazing that DT seem to go in for these days. These guys are awesome musicians, and  Terji Skibenæs  (or Terry Skibbens, as some call him) in particular can fucking wail, which always helps. As with many of the bands I’m discovering, Týr like to sing in their native language but they don’t do so exclusivley – and even when they do sing in Farese, Danish or Icelandic, it feels like you’re sitting round a fire being told tales of derring-do upon which great nations were built. In fact a lot of the time you are, since Týr draw from Norse mythology a lot, hence the term Viking Metal. I love all Týr’s albums, and I deliberated for a while over which one to include here. I finally settled on Ragnarok (one of only two they have released NOT to feature the splendid song “Hail To The Hammer”) firstly because it’s 16 tracks long (18 if you get the digipak version, but I hate digipaks), secondly because it features more lyrics in English than 2008′s Land, and lastly because it feels to me like a more cohesive journey of an album than 2009′s By The Light Of The Northern Star. It’s excellent throughout – pour a flagon of ale and crank it up loud.

Standout tracks: Brother’s Bane, The Ride To Hel, The Hammer Of Thor
You’ll like this if you like: Turisas, Iron Maiden, Dream Theater

Slam – Dan Reed Network (1989)

Dan Reed Network - Slam

Dan Reed Network were one of those bands who on paper should have been much much bigger than they were, but as was so often the case, the record company didn’t give them the support they deserved. If anything the 1991 followup The Heat is perhaps a more cohesive album but this was the one that opened the door for funky rock as far as I was concerned way back when. Produced by Nile Rodgers, and as slick as you would expect, this is a fantastic collection of funk-rock tunes all strung together with Dan’s silky voice and Brion James’ highly melodic lead playing that does sound a little dated now, but certainly for me, can’t be beaten in terms of epic nostalgia. Cracking.

Standout tracks: Tiger In A Dress, Rainbow Child, Slam
You’ll like this if you like: Bon Jovi, Prince, Gun

The Return Of The Great Gildersleeves – Danger Danger (2000)

Danger Danger - The Return Of The Great Gildersleeves

I had no idea that Danger Danger even kept going after the frankly wonderful Screw It! from 1991, but it turns out they did. They parted ways with singer Ted Poley and guitarist Andy Timmons, and the two original founding members Bruno Ravel and Steve West recruited a new singer and got on with writing new material. They released Dawn in 1995, Four The Hard Way in 1998 and The Return Of The Great Gildersleeves in 2000. In actual fact, they had recorded a 3rd album with the original lineup for release in 1993 entitled Cockroach, when for reasons unknown to me, they fired singer Ted Poley, who then took legal action to stop that album being released.This in fact was when they hired new singer Paul Laine, who re-recorded the vocals only to have the record company shelve the record. Cockroach eventually saw the light of day in 2001 when after talking to the record company, they released it as a double album – one with Poley singing, one with Laine. That’s some pretty wacked out shit right there. Anyway, The Return Of The Great Gildersleeves is an absolutely splendid rock album, and just what you’d want to hear from Danger Danger, including guest guitar solos from Andy Timmons here and there.

Standout tracks: When She’s Good She’s Good, Grind, Dead Drunk & Wasted
You’ll like this if you like: Enuff Z’Nuff, Poison, Mötley Crüe

Thickskin – Skid Row (2003)

Skid Row - Thickskin

The shock upon hearing that Skid Row were back together was immediately eclipsed by the further shock that Seb Bach had been replaced… who could even begin to fill those shoes? Well, like the idea of it or not, the reality was pretty fucking astounding in that new boy Johnny Solinger was in fact nothing short of an awesome singer. Still, for the die-hard fans and backwards-facing critics, the absence of St. Sebastian was enough to ruin any chance this album ever had of getting off the ground, and that’s a huge shame because it’s fucking good. To those for whom it really still is 1991, go listen to Slave To The Grind, and while you’re there, say Hi from me to John Major, George Bush Snr., the first Gulf War, Jeffrey Dahmer, Superbowl XXV and Chesney Hawkes. The rest of us can accept change, a world where a black man can be president of the USA, and where someone other than Sebastian Bach can sound awesome in Skid Row. This is a cracking album – the only thing I’d change would be to drop the unnecessary punking-up of “I Remember You” into “I Remember You Two”. Didn’t need that – but the rest of it rules.

Standout tracks: Born A Beggar, Ghost, Down From Underground
You’ll like this if you like: Buckcherry, A, Mötley Crüe

Native Tongue – Poison (1993)

Poison - Native Tongue

When I was 17 I was in a glam rock band, hanging out with other glam rock bands, spending all my time listening to glam rock bands. One of the biggest at the time was of course Poison, but they had one huge problem – their guitarist sucked balls. And so, in a move of cosmic jizz proportions, they junked him and got Richie Kotzen – one of the most awesome and able players on the planet – and made this album.  And Jesu Jumping Christos, does it rock. Richie was allegedly (this is the story I heard at the time, I don’t know for sure) binned from the band for indulging in extra-curricular wossname with a band member’s wife, so they only recorded the one album with him, and that still burns because this record is *so* good it hurts. If you wrote off Poison as a no-frills no-thrills gimmicky party band, you obviously never heard this album. Get on it.

Standout tracks: Stand, Blind Faith, 7 Days Over You
You’ll like this if you like: Mr. Big, Cinderella, Skid Row

Saigon Kick – Saigon Kick (1991)

Saigon Kick - Saigon Kick

This was the first CD I ever owned. It was 1991 and either for my birthday or Christmas I was given a new stereo, one with a CD player, so I promptly headed into town to buy something to play on it, and this was what I came home with, and it’s a fantastic rock record. Saigon Kick were one of those bands that almost did huge things around this time – they were opening for Extreme and releasing great albums – the followup The Lizard is awesome too, though after that they did tail off a bit – but somehow the planets never quite aligned. Jason Bieler’s guitar playing is so tasteful that at the time I rated the solo in “Come Take Me Now” as my favourite guitar solo ever. I’d take it down a few notches now (hey, I was 17, and I rated one of my own solos second best despite hardly being able to play) but it’s still a spine-tingler. This is a corker from start to finish – punkish in places, humourous on occasion (how many other rock records feature a kazoo solo in a ballad?), and bloody good throughout.

Standout tracks: What Do You Do, Come Take Me Now, Colors
You’ll like this if you like: Extreme, Skid Row, Guns N Roses

Waking The Dead – L.A. Guns (2002)

L.A. Guns - Waking The Dead

It wasn’t until 2005 that my band at the time, Little Monkeys, opened for L.A. Guns in Camden, and by that time Tracii Guns had split away to form his own lineup also called L.A. Guns (at this time there are two bands with the same name presumably playing the same back catalogue…) but this album was the last one to feature both Tracii and singer Phil Lewis (as well as original drummer Steve Riley), and it shows that when these guys can stand to work together they can really pull out something great. Though by this time the glory and glamour of the stadium gigs of the 80s was long gone – signed to Spitfire in this country, a pretty budget label, as evidenced by the misspelled “Psycopathic Eyes” on the sleeve – they still managed to really get a massive sound here, probably owing largely to having the legendary Andy Johns as producer. I really hoped that this would signal a return to form for L.A. Guns, but since the divergence into two competing lineups, both have suffered. The 2005 followup Tales From The Strip was shite.

Standout tracks: Lost In The City Of Angels, OK Let’s Roll, Don’t Look At Me That Way
You’ll like this if you like: Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, Whitesnake

Karkelo – Korpiklaani (2009)

Korpiklaani - Karkelo

WODKA! Yes, it’s another folk-metal album kids, and we’re off to Finland this time. Where many folk metal bands started out as metal and then dipped into the histories and legends of their countries to find sources of inspiration, Korpiklaani were originally a folk outfit that later added guitars. I absolutely fucking love these guys. The combination of heavy metal guitars, accordion and lyrics (mostly in Finnish) about drinking just never fails to raise a smile. I find I don’t need to understand what Jonne is singing about most of the time, and that’s a good thing, since only 2 of the 11 songs on this album are in English. Whatever the words actually, it all sounds like jolly good fun, and I love it.

Standout tracks: Vodka, Bring Us Pints Of Beer (If You Don’t Drink You Can Leave), Erämaan Ärjyt (Men of the Wild)
You’ll like this if you like: Týr, Turisas, Iron Maiden

Making Enemies Is Good – Backyard Babies (2001)

Backyard Babies - Making Enemies Is Good

In about 2003 or so I had a real hard rock renaissance. Having survived for about ten years on a diet of old Skid Row, GnR and Crüe albums, I suddenly discovered Buckcherry, Beautiful Creatures, and Backyard Babies – the trinity of B, if you will. This was the album that woke me up to the existence of Backyard Babies, and it’s a cracker. On the slightly punkier edge of hard rock, this bunch recently released their 6th studio album, but it was this – their 3rd – that broke them out of the ranks of demo bands, with two hits (“The Clash” and “Brand New Hate”) co-written by Ginger of the Wildhearts and some slick but not too glossy production. Rock on.

Standout tracks: Brand New Hate, Colours, Payback
You’ll like this if you like: Mötley Crüe, Buckcherry, Guns N Roses