October 28th, 2009 § § permalink
Come on then, let’s have you…
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
October 28th, 2009 § § permalink
Yeah yeah, I know…
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
October 23rd, 2009 § § permalink
Should be caught up today… just in time to fall behind again at the weekend!
Megadeth - Youthanasia
Many will point at 1990′s Rust In Peace as the highpoint of Mustaine & Co’s discography, many more will nod to 1992′s sublime Countdown To Extinction, and in that they may be right. This was the album after that one though, and it continued with the slightly more commercial production style of Countdown. Mustaine’s trademark snarl-and-grimace vocals are as good as ever on this record and Friedman’s angular off-the-wall soloing is perfectly placed throughout. For me some of the songs on this album are better crafted than many of the tracks on Countdown, though there is the occasional filler. “A Tout Le Monde” is one of the best slow metal/ballady songs you’ll ever run through your lugs, and I reckon it makes up for the shite closing track “Killing Road”. Nice.
Standout tracks: Train Of Conseqeuences, A Tout Le Monde, Reckoning Day
You’ll like this if you like: Metallica, Anthrax, Iron Maiden
October 22nd, 2009 § § permalink
Al…most…caught…up…(gasp)
DragonForce - Inhuman Rampage
Like quite a few people, my first exposure to the music of DragonForce occurred when I completed Guitar Hero III, and the credit rolled, allowing me to play “Through The Fire And Flames”, which is the opening track to Inhuman Rampage. For the first minute or two, in between the frantic button mashing, I was inwardly wincing at what I was hearing, but that soon changed to intrigue then interest, and by the time I’d got to the end I was looking them up on Last.fm to hear more. One thing I will say about DF – they’re an acquired taste. We’re talking about speed metal, with cliched metal vocals, the most wildly over-the-top guitar solos possible, and general musical wanking off in every quarter. But it all somehow manages at the same time as being completely po-faced, to somehow convery a sense of fun. Perhaps it’s the ever-present Nintendo-style guitar themes that Herman Li injects into most of the tracks that save this from just being yet another soldiers-of-metal band, marching off into the distance, drowning in a torrent of notes. I’m not sure. But I know I do like me some DragonForce, and for me this is the best album they’ve made yet.
Standout tracks: Through The Fire And Flames, Operation Ground And Pound, Body Breakdown.
You’ll like this if you like: Um…. not sure really. Speed/power metal with awesome guitar work!
October 21st, 2009 § § permalink
Nearly caught up! Might get there tomorrow!
Josh Todd - You Made Me
I’ve been a big Buckcherry fan since the moment I first heard them in about 2003 or so, and Josh Todd’s voice and charisma are a big part of what makes Buckcherry work, so when they disbanded it was natural for him to branch out with a solo album. Surprisingly though, this sounds very little like Buckcherry, and I think it works as a great rock album in its own right. The guitar sounds are much edgier, the production is much rougher and the songs are much heavier than any of BC’s albums, and the overall sound has more to do with the “Nu” metal sound that was so popular at the time, but with Todd’s trademark yell over the top binding it all together. It’s more baggy jeans and chains than leather trousers and belts, if you get me. I gathered at the time that BC fans hated this album, most likely because they wanted to hear more Buckcherry, and wouldn’t accept anything else. Shame, as it’s a fucking corker.
Standout tracks: Flowers & Cages, Mind Infection, Straight Jacket.
You’ll like this if you like: Buckcherry, Velvet Revolver, Powerman 5000.
October 21st, 2009 § § permalink
Still catching up…
Devin Townsend - Infinity
Few people can combine heavy with melodic in quite the way Devin Townsend can. I first became aware of him, as did many of friends, when he landed the lead singer role on Steve Vai’s 1993 album Sex & Religion. He was only 21 at the time, and frankly initially seemed a but out of place in the superband Vai had assembled – I say initially, because that impression vanished the moment he opened his mouth and the unholy sound came out. It was obvious from that point that he was a special talent vocally, but it wasn’t until I saw Vai on tour that year that I discovered what a prodigious guitarist he is as well. Fast forward a few years, and a friend played me this album, and I was floored. Devin is not only a massive talent on the guitar and vocally, but his production chops are nowadays pretty legendary too. In some ways it’s a shame that Phil Spector took the term “wall of sound” back in the 60s, because it leaves no sufficient phrase to describe what comes storming at you out of the speakers when you listen to some of Devin’s albums. Panzer Division of Sound, perhaps? It does feel a little like being invaded, overrun and conquered by force. This album – written just after Townsend had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, something that comes across in the sometimes contrasting styles of his music – in particular does it for me, but his entire catalogue is marvellous.
Standout tracks: Christeen, Bad Devil, Dynamics
You’ll like this if you like: Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Steve Vai.
October 20th, 2009 § § permalink
Still playing catchup here – hope to be up to speed by the end of the week. 
Crashdïet - Rest In Sleaze
This was another one of those albums that rekindled my faith in hard rock music as a whole. About a year ago I discovered a slew of bands I’d previously been unaware of – Voodoo Six, Gemini Five, Black Stone Cherry, Stone Gods, and Crashdïet among them – and of this was definitely one of the best albums to come out of that discovery phase. Released in 2005, Crashdïet came barrelling out of the crowded Stockholm glam scene and managed to shoulder themselves some space and get ahead of the pack by simply being awesome. Listening to this album feels like listening to the first Skid Row album, but crucially it feels like listening to that album felt in 1989 – fresh, raw, snarling and full of swagger. The songs are all intelligently put together along the glam mould, with interesting key changes and melodic guitar breaks keeping the arrangements interesting, and singer Dave Lepard’s screech nailing everything together beautifully. Sadly, in 2006 Dave lost a secret battle with depression and killed himself, so this is the only chance you’ll ever get to hear him wail. I advise you do, if you like your rock with whiskey and hairspray, as this is a truly great record.
Standout tracks: Breakin The Chainz, Riot In Everyone, It’s A Miracle
You’ll like this if you like: Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, Buckcherry
October 19th, 2009 § § permalink
Hmmm… this is the 5th band in a row from the “A”s. I must scroll down more…
Amorphis - Skyforger
Those close to me will tell you right that at this very moment I am in the grip of an obsession. A fanaticism, a burning devotion beyond my control, that if it turned out to be anything other than a fad might threaten to unhook my slender grasp on any form of musical perspective. I speak… of Folk Metal. I must use this broader term than the previously favoured “Battle Metal” or “Viking Metal” since I have been discovering new bands at a stunning rate just lately, and they defy the narrow pigeonholes that others would happily thrust them into – Eluveitie are broadly Celtic Metal, Tyr are fairly Viking metal, Turisas are quite Battle Metal, Korpiklaani are… well, they’re more what I would call Drinking Shanty Metal, but that doesn’t seem to exist yet. Perhaps it should. Anyhow, my first gentle amble into these brave new musical landscapes was in the company of Amorphis, once again thanks to my esteemed ex-colleague Nick “The Squirrel” Jones, and he I must thank most highly. This album Skyforger is their ninth studio release, and it is from start to finish hard, heavy and utterly awesome. Amorphis are – like many folk metal bands including Ensiferum, Turisas and Korpiklaani – Finnish, and like some of their counterparts base their songs on the epic poems of old from their homelands – in this case, the Kalevala, which was written in the early 1800s and translated into English in 1888. In short, if you like your songs to speak of chasing girls, modern life, teen existential angst, or your parents not understanding you, please skip on. If you’d rather hear epic tales of heroism and derring-do set to some jaw-dropping musicianship, then Folk Metal may be for you, and from experience I can say that Skyforger is a wonderful introduction to the genre.
Standout tracks: Silver Bride, From The Heaven Of My Heart, Skyforger
You’ll like this if you like: Blind Guardian, Turisas, Iron Maiden