Death Metal, Genre, Progressive Rock, Song Reviews

Cynic – The Eagle Nature (Song Review)

3 Comments

“Don’t be shallow”

Not that I need a reason, but with the 30th anniversary and an imminent remixed, remastered reissue, it seems like a good time to give Cynic’s incredible 1993 debut Focus a spin. Here’s The Eagle Nature, one of my favourite tracks from the album. Knotty thrash riffing and growling vocals keep this in familiar brutal territory but King Crimson-esque interlocking guitars, weirdo vocoder effects, moody synthscapes and a general sense of wellbeing make this a bit of a space oddity in the death metal realm. Back in 1993 (just six years on from barbaric early death metal classics like Scream Bloody Gore) Focus must have sounded like it was from another planet. And 30 years later, tracks like The Eagle Nature still sound like they’re at the cosmic cutting edge.

Black Metal, Death Metal, Genre, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Song Reviews

Tribulation – Winds (Song Review)

1 Comment

“Through the music’s violence I bare my soul”

Tribulation’s third album The Children Of The Night was a breath of fresh air when it was released in 2015, injecting some much-needed excitement into a fairly dull year for metal. Every song on the album is absolutely killer but Winds was an immediate favourite of mine. Like the rest of the album, it’s a veritable “Best of Sweden” with the anthemic horror of Ghost, Dissection’s cold kvltness, In Solitude’s gothic darkness and Watain’s blackened, gurgly vocal attack. But the main thing I want to single out is the song’s chorus riff. It’s one of those brilliant “why wasn’t this written before?” moments. It’s an absolute show-stopper and the main reason that Winds instantly blew me away.

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

Virgin Steele – Last Supper (Song Review)

5 Comments

“The Law reveals itself, shining like the sun”

It’s Easter so I thought I’d listen to something a bit more Jesus-y for a change. Here’s Virgin Steele’s Last Supper from their superb album The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell – Part One. Virgin Steele most often concern themselves with outsider/rebel figures in religion and mythology so it’s great fun to hear frontman/songwriter David DeFeis portraying the big J.C. with his characteristic defiance and passion. And it’s an excellently crafted and mature metal song too with dark Phrygian riffs adding an appropriately middle-eastern feel and an intense, rousing performance from DeFeis. As the song comes to an end his Zep-esque oohs and woos will have you picturing Jesus as some kind of windswept, chest-beating Robert Plant type figure. Which is how I like to imagine him anyway. Praise the Lord.

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

Judas Priest – The Sentinel (Song Review)

33 Comments

“The figure stands expressionless”

Over the years, Judas Priest have had a growing penchant for lyrics that basically just describe some sort of apocalyptic cartoon character. A lot of their album covers depict similar creations too – check out the Metalli-Tarkus or whatever it is on the cover of their 1984 album Defenders Of The Faith. And that same album also has one of the best songs of this particular type: The Sentinel. Just that title alone is metal as fuck. And so is the song. The guitar intro is imposing and dramatic, the pacey riffing builds to a typically phenomenal display of guitar jousting from the Tipton/Downing dream team and Boaby Halford totally delivers the goods: singing phrases like “sworn to avenge” with utter conviction. Recorded following the band’s big US breakthrough, The Sentinel brims with confidence while also retaining the cutting edge of their earlier material, closing a faultless side of vinyl on an epic sci-fi high.

Classic Rock, Genre, Hard Rock, Song Reviews

Whitesnake – You ‘N’ Me (Song Review)

13 Comments

“If you don’t stop what you’re doing to me, I’m gonna to do it to you”

Poor Cov the Guv. He’s normally the cock of the walk but on 1979’s You ‘N’ Me the ‘snake frontman is left holding his own, wondering where his lover has been all night… and who she’s been with. This short and sweet rock ‘n’ roller is slathered with rootsy slide guitar and injects some welcome energy into the Lovehunter album. It reminds me of Deep Purple’s Lady Double Dealer: lively and direct with cheating woman lyrics and a feelgood bridge that lifts the whole song. There’s no twist or suggestion that the narrator is just a big jealous pants (a nuance that would have worked well on that catchy bridge). No, this lady is just a double dealer. But given that Cov compares her to “page three girls in the Playboy books” I can’t blame her for looking elsewhere.

Classic Rock, Genre, Hard Rock, Progressive Rock, Song Reviews

Blue Öyster Cult – Monsters (Song Review)

6 Comments

“New worlds waiting in the sky”

In Blue Öyster Cult’s Monsters, one woman and three men form a crew to steal a spaceship and head out into the cosmos in order to escape a laughter-free Earth. Unfortunately they don’t reckon on the monsters of their minds and the trip ends in sex, jealousy and murder. On BÖC’s 1980 album Cultösaurus Erectus, the band were keen to focus on their enigmatic, heavier side and Monsters‘ dark sci-fi yarn definitely delivers on that front. It’s also a ton of fun: a demented mix of sex and sax where huge stadium rock mixes with schizoid King Crimson riffs and swinging jazz interludes. And while the story ends badly for the crew, Monsters takes off in a climax that is Blue Öyster Cult at their euphoric best.

Black Metal, Classic Rock, Genre, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, HMO Digests, NWOBHM, Progressive Rock

HMO Digest – 13th March 2023

21 Comments

I ended up moving house at the end of February. It’s been an exciting time in terms of getting a nice new place and loads of extra space, but it’s been a complete pain in the arse in terms of having to actually move. But it’s done now. Only one CD bit the dust during the move, the inlay torn in half by a tumbling shelf: the 2CD Ear Music reissue of Pride & Glory’s self-titled album. Luckily it was still available and easily replaced.

Yee Haw

My music collection is now unpacked, organised and looking sexier than ever so it’s time to get back to the old blogging shenanigans. Fresh horses!

Recent Posts

I only managed two posts in February before real life got in the way. Opeth’s twisty, turny The Twilight Is My Robe, which may well leave you wondering “where am I now?” and Love/Hate’s She’s An Angel, which features an extremely rare instance of strings being taken off a bass guitar! Surely not.

New Stuff

I mentioned three upcoming releases in February’s digest and those have all been bought. The excellent IX from Paradise Lost side-project Host, a reissue of Danzig’s Circle Of Snakes and a reissue (that I totally don’t need but bought anyway) of Darkthrone’s Goatlord. I also got a few box sets: Porcupine Tree’s deluxe reissue of their underrated Deadwing album; a set of Scottish NWOBHMers Holocaust; and the BBC Broadcasts set from Genesis. Oh yeah, and that copy of Pride & Glory… to replace the one damaged in the move.

What I Was Listening To While I Wrote This Post

T-Rex’s The Slider from 1972. For my money the best T-Rex album. It’s got some of his darkest, weightiest rockers (Buick Mackane is class), his best singles (Telegram Sam) and choice deep cuts like Spaceball Ricochet and Baby Strange. It’s a magical album of rock ‘n’ roll at its simple, inspired best.

Upcoming

March has some tantalising new stuff coming out: Hanoi Rocks are bringing out a re(al)mix of their Oriental Beat album to celebrate its 40th anniversary; Saxon are bringing out another covers album (still haven’t listened to the last one); Behemoth continue their plush reissues of their early albums with a deluxe edition of Grom and there is even more Danzig! The imminent reissue of the out-of-print 777: I Luciferi will give me the opportunity to finally own all the Danzig studio albums.

Other than that, normal blog service will be resumed shortly. Watch this space. And hopefully I won’t have to move house again for a very long time.

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

Love/Hate – She’s An Angel (Song Review)

7 Comments

“They’ll lock you away”

They think she’s insane but Love/Hate, experts in all different types of ladies (from the cuddly wuddly wuddly ones to the nymphomaniacs… in black), know better: She’s An Angel. Taken from the band’s thumping and debauched 1990 debut album Blackout In The Red Room, She’s An Angel stands out as a refreshingly romantic, windswept change of pace from the rest of the album’s party-hearty race to the bottom. But there’s still plenty of that going on in She’s An Angel too, with its drug-taking protaganist, relentless yeah yeah yeah yeah yeahs, and its breathless, driving intensity. I always get a total charge from this exhilarating sleaze metal gem. It’s a guaranteed good time, even during the bad times.

Black Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Genre, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Song Reviews

Opeth – The Twilight Is My Robe (Song Review)

4 Comments

“You are the embodiment of pure freedom”

The lengthy, linear songs, relentless changes and a lack of repetition make Opeth’s debut album Orchid a tough nut to crack but it’s well worth the effort. Here’s one of the album’s best and most accessible tracks, The Twilight Is My Robe. It’s brilliant questing stuff that gallops across rolling Maidenesque hills, ventures through bleak forests of gothic doom and rests its weary head in a dingly dell of acoustic enchantment. It’s astonishing to think this band hadn’t been in a proper studio before they recorded this. It’s audacious, ambitious stuff from an adventurous band that was clearly going places.

Black Metal, Classic Rock, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Genre, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, HMO Digests, NWOBHM, Thrash Metal

HMO Digest – 2nd February 2023

9 Comments

With pesky January out of the way, it seems like a good time to have a wee catch-up on all things HMO.

Recent Posts

2023 got off to a galloping good start with Tyrant and their righteous NWOBHM single Hold Back The Lightning. On the softer rock side, I’ve been talking about Marillion and Journey. Marillion’s Holidays In Eden got me wondering about albums with shite title tracks… can you think of any? And the comment scuttlebutt seems to be that Wheel In The Sky is the best Journey song. It’s official!

On the more extreme end of things I’ve selected songs from Napalm Death and Testament and I’ve talked about a couple of my favourite tracks from 2022 as well: Artificial Brain’s Celestial Cyst and Avatarium’s Death, Where Is Your Sting.

HMO Salutes

Jeff Beck – the legendary and innovative guitarist, who has died aged 78.

Dan McCafferty – the leather-lunged Nazareth vocalist, who has died aged 76. And so soon after the death of Manny Charlton too!

Bob Nalbandian has died aged just 58. He was a crucial figure in the US metal scene but has a special place in my heart due to his old podcast ‘The Shockwaves Skullsessions’. As I was writing this, it was announced that a special tribute run of ‘The Shockwave Skullsessions’ is in the works along with uploads of the original episodes! Great news because I had them all on a hard drive but can’t seem to find them anymore. Follow their FB Page for info/updates. His podcast was a big inspiration to me in the early days of starting this blog so a big thank you to Bob for being such an absolute legend.

New Stuff

Following the usual Christmas spendathon, it’s quietened down a bit in January. The big purchase has been the excellent new Thin Lizzy Live And Dangerous box set. And I’ve also picked up the reissue of UFO’s overlooked No Heavy Petting album, a cool Deicide reissue and the purchase of Smear Campaign and Inside The Torn Apart completes my collection of Napalm Death studio releases! I bet you’re well jell.

What I Was Listening To While I Wrote This Post

Svart Records have done superb work with Slice Of Doom, the recent box set of Reverend Bizarre’s early demos and recordings. I was listening to the first disc and it’s brilliant: the Finnish doom upstarts at the top of their game. How can you not love a band that started their career with a cover of the Dr. Who theme tune and have a song called Fucking Wizard?

Coming Up

I’ve got posts about top tunes from the likes of Opeth, Iron Maiden and Whitesnake on the way. As far as new releases: I’m looking forward to IX, the new album from Paradise Lost side-project Host; Circle Of Snakes is one of the few Danzig albums I don’t have so I’m pleased to see that getting reissued; and I already have two versions of Darkthrone’s Goatlord but… OK, let’s make it three!

And that’s about enough for now. I think the plan will be to do this at the start of every month from now on so… see you in March!

… and classic rock too!