Category Archives: Heavy Metal

Album Reviews, Genre, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal

Manowar – Hell on Wheels (Album Review)

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Strangely, for a band renowned for their live show and their tinnitus-inducing black wind of volume, it took a long time for Manowar to release a live album. Released in 1997, the New Yorkers’ long-awaited debut live release Hell On Wheels couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointing.

Selected from multiple dates, the album does a fine job of capturing Manowar’s punishingly loud live sound, with vocalist Eric Adams fighting to be heard amongst the din. It kicks off in powerful style with the iconic Orson Welles intro and the perennial Manowar. Fan faves like Kill With Power follow suit but the ill-conceived grouping of guitar solo, piano interlude and the cheesy ballad Courage kills the momentum too early in the proceedings. The superb Blood Of My Enemies and Hail And Kill put the show back on a triumphant track but Joey DeMaio’s overlong bass solo Black Arrows soon arrives to spoil the fun. With less time-wasting and mighty classics like Thor (The Powerhead) and Battle Hymn, the album’s second half is more enjoyable but there’s too much representation from 1996’s disappointing Louder Than Hell and songs like Return Of The Warlord and Carry On aren’t fit for their climatic positions in the set.

With 15 years of incredible material to draw from Hell On Wheels could and should have been so much better than this. With prudent use of the skip button there’s some great fun to be had but the album is marred by its padding and poor pacing. “Other bands play, Manowar kill” but Manowar’s first live album is poorly executed.

Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Genre, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal

Sammy and the Wabos – Live Hallelujah (Album Review)

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Let us offer praise for this thoroughly entertaining live album from Sammy Hagar and his nifty backing band The Waboritas. 2003’s Live Hallelujah captures Hagar and friends in buoyant form after a run of enjoyable solo albums and, as the title suggests, it has a celebratory feel to it. It is also incredibly loud: ear fatigue guaranteed but it does capture that feeling of being front row in front of some massive fuck off speakers. The older tracks are bristling with the kind of wild 70s style guitar attack that would make The Nuge proud and the Van Hagar-era selections are feelgood bliss with special guest appearances from Gary Cherone and a speaker-rattling Michael Anthony. They’re no slouches on the axe, but Hagar and Vic Johnson pick less flashy Van Hagar tracks that sit comfortably alongside the non-VH tunes. Throw in some sterling newer tunes like Shaka Doobie and Deeper Kind Of Love and you’ve got a party of a set that assimilates a long career cohesively. If your ears can take the remorseless pounding this is great fun and totally evokes the excitement and vibe of a loud, entertaining rock show. Just expect a bit of tinnitus on the way home.

Album Reviews, Classic Rock, Genre, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal

W.A.S.P. – Live… in the Raw (Album Review)

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Live… in the Raw 1997 Reissue

Released in 1987, W.A.S.P’s Live… In The Raw performed the double duty of marking the end of their sex and gore era and also buying the band some valuable time to craft their new, more “serious”, direction. It’s a veritable greatest hits set, rounding up the best songs from the band’s increasingly patchy studio output. Live… In The Raw doesn’t sound particularly live or raw but it’s energetic and captures the excitement of a live show, delivering definitive versions of great songs like Inside The Electric Circus, L.O.V.E Machine, Wild Child and 9.5.-N.A.S.T.Y. And as an added bonus there are three new tracks too: two superb “live” tunes (Harder Faster and The Manimal) and one studio recording Scream Until You Like It that bolster the outrageousness of the whole thing. The omission of the controversial (Animal) Fuck Like A Beast feels like pulled punch but there’s too much fun to be had here for it to matter much. W.A.S.P. put out some great stuff once they got all clever but my favourite W.A.S.P. is still dumb W.A.S.P. And Live… In The Raw is dumb W.A.S.P. in their prime. And it’s seriously good fun.

2011 reissue of Inside the Electric Circus relegates Live… in the Raw to mere bonus disc.