Category Archives: Heavy Metal

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

Gary Moore – Run For Cover (Album Review)

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Gary Moore – Run For Cover (10/Virgin 1985)

Gary Moore had a good voice but never quite at the same level as his fiery guitar playing so on 1985’s Run For Cover he enlists two legendary, but troubled, vocalists to help out. “Voice Of Rock” Glenn Hughes lends his powerful, soulful singing to four songs, most notably the classy Reach For The Sky which could have fit right in on his superb 1982 album Hughes/Thrall. And then Moore’s old Lizzy pal Phil Lynott basically steals the show with his larger-than-life presence: duetting on bullet-strewn hit Out In The Fields and contributing his own thumpingly macho, but characteristically vulnerable, Military Man. I enjoy the whole album but it’s these guest appearances that make Run For Cover a favourite.

My copy is from this box set. Good music, crappy packaging!
Black Metal, Death Metal, Genre, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, HMO Blog, NWOBHM

HO HO HMO Digest – 25th December 2023

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It’s a time for giving, a time for getting, a time for forgiving and time for another HMO Digest.

Blog Shenanigans

Since the last digest, I’ve been having fun with the new “Album Of The Day” posts. It’s giving me the opportunity to post photos from my collection and talk about albums again but without having to “review” the albums. I used to do posts like these on Facebook and I don’t see why they should have all the fun. Especially when they tried to ban me for posting a picture of boobs (the cover of Akercocke’s The Goat Of Mendes album). I photoshopped a goat over the nipples but that wasn’t enough apparently!

Looking forward to 2024…I’ve been thinking that a lot of my gaps in posting are because I often listen to a lot of one band, for example Black Sabbath, and I’ll post about them and then feel like I can’t post about them again for ages. So from now on, I’m just going to post about whatever I like, whenever I like. So if that means 12 posts in a row about Virgin Steele then you’ll just have to put up with it.

Best Album Of 2023

I called it pretty early in my July post about their song Tankespinnerens Smerte. Dødheimsgard’s Black Medium Current was my top album of 2023. Excellent, eclectic and moving black metal.

The runner up was Primordial with How It Ends which finds the Irish band, ten albums in, at their soaring, defiant best.

New Stuff

Usually at the end of year I end up having a blow out on some ridiculous deluxe box set but that hasn’t happened this year, despite the best efforts of Camel and Mott The Hoople to tempt me. I did have a rare wander round the music shops in both Edinburgh and Glasgow and picked up some goodies though!

Incantation – Onward To Golgotha (Relapse Records 1992)

The last couple of months have been unusually good on the live album front too, with excellent new live releases from Cradle Of Filth with Trouble And Their Double Lives, Mayhem with Daemonic Rites and Tom G. Warrior’s Triumph Of Death with Resurrection Of The Flesh, a live set of classic Hellhammer tunes. UGH!

I also bought the absolutely stunning new revised and expanded edition of Dayal Patterson’s book Black Metal: Evolution Of The Cult. The original version was already (easily) the best book on the subject and essential reading for anyone interested in the genre. But the new edition has an improved layout, additional material and bands added that weren’t included in the original due to length restrictions. I’m going to love getting tore into this over the Xmas holidays.

HMO Salutes

Steve Riley – (died aged 67) drummer in many bands but is most known round these parts for his stint in W.A.S.P.

Charlie Dominici – (died aged 72) the former singer in Dream Theater, having appreared on their under-rated debut album When Dream And Day Unite from 1988.

Torben Ulrich  – (died aged 95) I normally only do these about people that are in my CD collection but Torben (father of Metallica’s Lars Ulrich) won the hearts of all in the metal scene when he uttered the immortal words: “delete that”.

What I Was Listening To While I Wrote This Post

Malokarpatan’s Vertumnus Caesar is another highlight from 2023. Excellent blackened, proggy heavy metal from Slovakia that takes you back to the era of formative black metal influences like Master’s Hammer, Tormentor (Hun) and Mercyful Fate.

Upcoming Stuff

2024 is already shaping up nicely, with the likes of Saxon, Ihsahn, The Obsessed, Ace Frehley, Bruce Dickinson and Judas Priest all having new albums scheduled for release. And there are so many great bands like the BulletBoys working on new albums (BulletBoys!) that I can’t even be bothered listing them. Although I will say that one of them is the BulletBoys.

And that’s about it. Hope you had an amazing 2023 and have an even better 2024. Thanks for reading and remember… FOLLOW THE MASTER.

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

Winger – Purple Haze (Song Review)

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“Lately things don’t seem the same”

Winger’s glam metal re-imagining of Hendrix’s Purple Haze was doomed to fail, considering the relative positions of Hendrix and Winger on the Cool-o-meter Of Rock. I’ll give Kip and pals kudos for being brave/cocky enough to put their own spin on such an untouchable classic but the end result leaves me neither happy or in misery. It’s not so awful that I’m thinking “scuse me while I skip this shite” but in bringing the song in line with their own brand of 80s virtuoso sleaze, Winger also manage to bash out all of the dark, lysergic funk that made the original so intoxicating in the first place. Which is probably why…*points at Cool-o-meter* Winger down here, Hendrix up here.

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

Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (Album Review)

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Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (Vertigo 1970)

Each one of the first six Black Sabbath albums has enjoyed a spell as my favourite Sabs record. At the moment though, it’s the groundbreaking 1970 debut that takes the top spot. The evil riffing is timeless, Ozzy’s voice sounds uniquely mournful and I love every note of Tony Iommi jamming away on The Warning while everyone else has nipped to the pub. And, in case the cover’s upside-down cross, haunted watermill and iconic magical, mystical woman aren’t Hammer Horror enough for you, Black Sabbath captures the Brummies at their most atmospheric and spooky musically too. Making it my Sabs of choice this Winter.

Back cover of my copy – the Sanctuary 2009 deluxe vinyl edition

The gatefold with upside-down cross!
Classic Rock, Genre, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Song Reviews

Aerosmith – Make It (Song Review)

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“What have you got to lose?”

I remember buying Aerosmith’s Columbia years compilation Box Of Fire back in the mid 90s. I didn’t know a lot of the band’s 70s stuff and I was worried I’d risked too much cash on 13 CDs worth of albums I might not like that much. But the moment I heard the first riff of Make It, the opening song on their 1973 debut album, I knew it was going to be ok. Make It is a great, gutsy opener and a decent song but it’s the guitars that really umm… make it. It’s chock full of dirty drop-D riffing and colourfully wonky soloing. And that intro riff, with its goosebump-inducing suspended chord and mini-gallop, still knocks me out as much today as it did back in 1994. Money well spent.

Album Reviews, Black Metal, Genre, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock

Enslaved – Vertebrae (Album Review)

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Enslaved – Vertebrae [2008 – Indie Recordings]
Enslaved have a ton of impressive albums to choose from, and I own them all, but 2008’s underrated Vertebrae has always been my favourite. It’s a genuinely brilliant mix of mellow prog and black metal frost. It also doesn’t hurt that it was the first album of theirs that I heard. The Norwegian band’s discography is varied and challenging so it’s always tempting to just return to the album I’ve listened to the most and know best. It’s also the Enslaved album that I have bought the most copies of. In order of purchase I’ve picked up the fold-out digipak version, a box set with a bonus live disc and also the 2019 reissue with bonus covers of Rush and King Crimson tunes (a meh Earthshine and a pretty good Red, in case you’re wondering). If you like both of those bands and fancy adding a bit of extremity to your listening then Vertebrae is a great place to start.

The 2009 Box Set with essential patch and lanyard!

The 2019 remaster/reissue

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

The Wildhearts – The Wildhearts (Album Review)

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The Wildhearts – The Wildhearts (Round Records – 2018 Deluxe 2CD Reissue)

The thing I enjoy the most about The Wildhearts is the thing they do where they’ll be playing a song but then take off in all sorts of directions, riffing all over the place until you wonder if they’ll ever find the song again. Other bands do this but The Wildhearts are just so good at it that I associate it with them. To be honest, I occasionally enjoy these mid-song rifferamas more than the songs that spawned them. But that’s not a problem on 2007’s gleefully aggressive The Wildhearts. My favourite albums of theirs since its release, every song is a gem and practically every song veers off into a roller coaster ride of riffs. Heartily recommended.

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

Budgie – Never Turn Your Back On A Friend (Album Review)

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Budgie – Never Turn Your Back On A Friend (MCA 1973)

Budgie’s third album is a classic of early metal, mostly on the strength of its bookending tracks. The speedy, rifftastic opener (and future Metallicover) Breadfan and the monumental closer Parents make Never Turn Your Back On A Friend a must-hear and a great gateway into the Welsh band. My main gripe is the shite album title. I reckon that with that artwork they should have called it “Smuggler”. A wasted opportunity.

Death Metal, Genre, Heavy Metal, Song Reviews

Carcass – 1985 (Song Review)

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I can’t talk about instrumentals without including an album intro. A lot of them, especially on modern metal albums, are unremarkable atmospheric cobblers but you’ll still find plenty of instrumental openers that kick albums off in thrilling, memorable and iconic ways. Here’s a brilliant modern example: Carcass and 1985, the introduction to their 2013 comeback album Surgical Steel. Despite a relatively short run before their break up in 1996, Carcass exerted a huge influence on grindcore music and also melodic death metal. Their comeback was eagerly awaited and 1985 was a brilliant way to herald their return. A lot like a modern version of Priest’s The Hellion, 1985 layers guitar parts and builds tension and anticipation for the album to follow in such an imposing and grand way that it’s immediately clear that this album is going to be an event. The main musical idea was actually reworked from one the band’s first demo/rehearsal tapes that was recorded back in, you guessed it… 1985! It’s a fun Easter Egg for fans and a neat touch that hints at the level of craft and consideration that went into making Surgical Steel one of the best albums of the last ten years.

Black Metal, Classic Rock, Genre, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, HMO Blog, NWOBHM

HMO Digest – 10th September 2023

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It’s been aeons since the last HMO Digest! It’s time for another catch up on all things HMO.

Blog Recap

I don’t normally post in any sort of theme/series but I’m really enjoying doing my ongoing series of posts about instrumental songs. I’ll definitely be doing more stuff like this in the future. But, as far as instrumentals go, I’ve got plenty more to get through and you can expect some folk, prog and death metal over the next couple of weeks.

HMO Salutes

“Curse… the Gods! Too many people… have died.” Most recently, Bernie Marsden (died aged 72), most famous for his time in Whitesnake and co-writing all-time classic rock tunes like Here I Go Again and Fool For Your Loving.

The period since the last HMO Digest has also seen the passing of: Pete Brown (died aged 82) the poet, musician and co-writer of many extremely classic Cream cuts; Frehley’s Comet bassist John Regan (died aged 71); Mark Adams (died aged 64) – bassist and co-founder of doom pioneers Saint Vitus; Tank’s Algy Ward (died aged 63); and Metal Church drummer Kirk Arrington (died aged 61).


Up And Autumn

A weird September heatwave has just kicked in which is annoying as I was starting to get into a lovely Autumn vibe, listening to one of my go-to albums for this time of the year: Anathema’s Alternative 4. One of the best albums of the whole 90s British gloomy northerner scene, Alternative 4 is right at the sweet spot between the band’s metal beginnings and the emotional rock they’d become known for. And it’s being reissued on vinyl soon so if you don’t already own this classic… now’s the time.

New Stuff

Since it’s been a while since the previous digest, I’m just going to focus on some recent new albums I’ve bought (as opposed to reissues, box sets etc…). The biggest one is the new Virgin Steele album The Passion Of Dionysus. It still has all the idiosyncratic flaws of their other latter-day releases but I just find this band totally fascinating and this is their strongest release since The Black Light Bacchanalia (which, despite my muted review, has become one of my most listened to albums of the past few years). Yow!

There’s also the new Marduk album Memento Mori which is only just out. On first listen it sounds utterly caustic and hellish. These are compliments. There’s also been a “new” Akercocke live album Decades Of Devil Worship (actually an unreleased live recording from 2007) which is a complete blast, the band sound at the top of their game. And I’ve also posted my favourite songs from the new Albert Bouchard and DHG albums.


Upcoming Releases

September is looking pretty exciting in terms of new releases: to kick off there’s the eagerly-awaited return of Primordial with their new album How It Ends; Blood Incantation follow up their 2022 ambient release Timewave Zero with a new half brutal/half ambient EP Luminescent Bridge; Mayhem release a new live album Daemonic Rites; and space rockers Hawkwind celebrate the anniversary of their classic live album Space Ritual in super deluxe style with an 11-disc box set. Do not panic.

Thanks for reading! If you like seeing photos from my collection remember to check out the HMO Facebook page as there’s more of that stuff there. And if there’s any kind of topics you’d like to see me cover on these digest posts then let me know.