I had me a real good time recently, getting 2025 off to fun start by listening to lots of The Faces and Van Halen.
The Faces At The BBC is one of the best box sets I’ve bought for a while, I’ve been enjoying it immensely. The fact that The Faces were ace live isn’t exactly news because the Five Guys Walk Into A Bar… box set already did a great job of documenting that, but these BBC recordings are a soulful, rocking revelation all the same.
You don’t need me to tell you how good the first two Van Halen albums are, but I’ve been listening to them cause I’ve been enjoying Alex Van Halen’s Brothers book. Actually it’s the audiobook I’ve been enjoying because I liked the idea of hearing him reading it. It’s a thoughtful, detailed and moving memoir and Alex hasn’t been an outspoken figure for many years so it’s a treat to hear him reading the story.
It seems like I buy more box sets these days than anything else. Especially as we get nearer to Christmas there seems to be a tempting set or two released every week. Just yesterday I got the new box set reissue of Porcupine Tree’s 2007 career-peak Fear Of A Blank Planet. Loads to take in here: the album, documentary, bonus tracks, radio sessions, live stuff etc… So far, I can say that the album sounds superb, the documentary is very interesting and the packaging is very deluxe.
But all this box set activity has got me casting my mind back to a time when a box set purchase was just an annual treat, if that, and what my earliest box set purchases were.
Might as well start at the beginning so I looked out the oldest one I’ve got: Iron Maiden’s The First Ten Years. Released in 1990, my copy is not much to look at any more as it’s missing the lid but it’s still a worthwhile 10CD set of the band’s classic singles. And as a bonus it has the entertaining Listen With Nicko spoken word series from the band’s drummer Nicko McBrain. Possibly the first metal podcast ever? Anyway, I stuck on the first disc which features the Running Free and Sanctuary singles, the highlight of which was a barnstorming live version of Drifter.
The Maiden set is sadly bereft of any reading material which is a shame as one of my favourite features of a box set is a good book. That got me rummaging around for my copy of Free’s Songs Of Yesterday box from 2000. This was a very good box set for the time, comprised almost entirely of unreleased recordings and alternate versions. But it sprang to mind because it also had a particularly good book and I’ve had a great time today reading that and listening to the first two discs of the set. Phil Sutcliffe had written an excellent history of the band for Mojo magazine in the late 90s and expanded it here for the box set. It’s a fascinating read about a talented, tortured band.
It’s been a fun weekend of listening and reading with a wee bit of nostalgia too. I think I’ll be giving Cheap Trick’s Sex, America, Cheap Trick from 1996 a whirl next. Got any recent box set purchases or any memories of your first ones? Pandora’s Box? Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B? The Misfits? All belters.
Recently the onset of winter’s grim permafrost has put me in a right old black metal mood. So I’ve been mainly listening to Mayhem’s Live At Leipzig and De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, which are two of the most indispensable and definitive albums of the whole genre.
In the Mayhem mode, I also watched the 2020 Norwegian TV documentary Helvete: The History Of Norwegian Black Metal. It was pretty enjoyable and fairly comprehensive in terms of the Mayhem story which meant it spent a bit more time than necessary on Mayhem’s Deathcrush era but had lengthy, compassionate coverage of Per “Dead” Ohlin’s story and a welcome focus on Snorre Ruch’s vital and often overlooked contribution. And it had a good overview of all the sensational stuff too. Be warned that the subtitles are a bit of a mess – hopefully someone will sort that out at some point.
Now we’re at the weekend and I’ve had to cancel a trip to the west coast of Scotland due to the arrival of Storm Bert. Sorry, Mum. So there’s nothing for it but to coorie in for a good blasting black metal session.
First up is Ulver’s Bergtatt: one of my absolute black metal favourites, it’s got all the hallmarks of the genre but is uniquely gentle and pastoral with wonderful monk-like vocals. After that I went back to the genre’s roots for Bathory’s hugely influential The Return….. which is a staggeringly primitive, caustic and evil classic. Emperor’s self-titled EP continues that mood but with a more musical and orchestral element lurking beneath the cacophony. I have a break for a shower and a toastie before bringing things up-to-date with Winterfylleth’s excellent new album The Imperious Horizon which finds the British band sounding vital and intense as well as including a show-stealing guest vocal from Primordial’s Alan Nemtheanga.
And that’s it for just now. I’ve been buying lots of box sets lately so I might report back on those once I’ve spent more time with them. But I’ve now realised I have lovely mince pies in the cupboard but no cream to put on them! An unacceptable state of affairs which means I must venture out and endure Bert’s windy passage.
Dio – Holy Diver: Super Deluxe Edition (Warner Records 2022)
I can’t say that Joe Barresi’s 2022 remix of Dio’s Holy Diver is a revelation exactly but it’s a tasteful update. It loses a bit of ambience but adds punch and it’s great to hear a fresh new version of an album I’ve listened to a gazillion times. And because the remix lets us hear beyond the original’s fade-outs we get to hear more of Vivian Campbell’s inspired guitar playing. Holy Diver was always one of my favourite-sounding metal albums though, so when I find myself thinking “this sounds fucking great” I also remember… it always did.
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.
Super Duper Alice Cooper (2DVD/BR/CD – £37 Love Music Glasgow)
I do love a good music documentary, which is probably just as well as they seem to be coming down the pipeline at an impressive rate these days. I blame Anvil. But few musicians warrant a film biog more than Alice Cooper. And when the film, Super Duper Alice Cooper, comes courtesy of Banger Productions (Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, VH1’s Metal Evolution and Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage) then the prospects are very promising indeed. Hot on the heels of a limited cinema run comes the release on DVD and Blu Ray. I hadn’t expected this to come out until later in 2014 so it’s a nice surprise to have a copy so soon but does it live up to its promise?
The Eyes of Alice Cooper
THE DOCUMENTARY
Unexpectedly, the film takes the form of an extended montage. There is no footage of the interviewees as they are now, Alice and co-stars providing only voice-overs to the stream of archive footage and images. The 87min running time is a bit miserly for such a huge and important story so the film focuses squarely on Alice the man and performer with little discussion of the music or discography. And even then it all feels a bit breathless. The movie hurtles from anecdote to anecdote faster than you can say “Michael Bruce”. Which no-one here does. Not even once. The pace and the effect of only hearing the protagonists’ voices renders the whole thing strangely flat. And as the film progresses it is rarely as exciting or as moving as it should be.
He’s no’ well
On the plus side, the film is a veritable treasure trove of visual material and, by cutting out the modern-day talking heads, a lot of this good stuff is crammed into the brief running time. I can understand the impulse to prioritise the historical footage but the filmmakers haven’t employed it with the dramatic and powerful effect of a film like Julien Temple’s The Filth and the Fury which took a similar approach. For long-time fans there are interesting and fresh insights into Alice’s life. Without spoiling too much, Dennis Dunaway’s recollections as the original band drift apart are sad and surprising and there is fascinating new light shed on Cooper’s addictions. The portrayal of the singer’s descent is harrowing enough to set-up a satisfying feel-good ending, as a healthier, happier Alice bounces back into action in the 80s with support from guitar-gunslinger (literally!) Kane “Rambo” Roberts. Nothing is said of his later career which seems strange as I felt that the reunion of the remaining original members with producer Bob Ezrin for Welcome 2 My Nightmare would have been a satisfying way to bring the story up to date and also full circle.
THE BOX SET
The individual DVD and Blu-Ray editions come with some extra archive footage, deleted scenes and extra interviews that were filmed for the Metal Evolution series. This deluxe version has even more extras that may prove very tempting for Coop fans. The LP-sized hardcover book has some great photos and some interesting insights from the film-makers which explain why they decided, rightly or wrongly, what approach to take with the documentary. And in addition to the DVD and Blu-Ray of the movie there is two bonus discs. The first is a DVD of footage shot from the 1972 Killer tour in Montreal. Any classic Alice Cooper concert footage is like gold-dust and I can imagine many fans buying this set for this disc alone. Sadly, the footage is very incomplete and the existing visual and audio components cut and pasted together to make as much out of it as possible. As a result the sound is often out of sync with the action and portions of the songs are missing. It’s a touch disappointing that the show is so incomplete but it is still a rare treat to the see the band in action at this point in their career. A fourth disc contains an energetic live performance from 2009’s Along Came a Spider tour at Montreaux which features some great classic material and great sound. It’s only slightly marred by some audible mic problems towards the end. I think all of the tracks here have been performed on other live releases so it’s fairly inessential in that respect but it’s a lean and rocking set and a nice bonus for any completists out there.
Taken individually the disappointing movie and patchy concert footage leave you wanting slightly more. But viewed together with the book and CD for bonus reading and listening, there’s an enjoyable evening of Cooper fun to be had here. And more archive Alice than you can shake a snake at! I still feel like the ultimate Cooper visual retrospective is still out there, waiting to be made, but this is still a welcome addition to the collection alongside Prime Cuts, Good to See You Again Alice Cooper and the many other Coop DVDs out there.
(Single taken from The Good, the Bad & the Live: (6½ Year Anniversary EP Collection) that I bought back in January 2013)
Metallica’s second European single was released after its parent album Ride the Lightning to promote the band’s European tour. The A-Side song Creeping Death is a stone-cold Metalliclassic, a nuclear biblical epic. The B-Side Garage Days Revisited consists of two faithful covers of NWOBHM tracks (Diamond Head’s Am I Evil? and Blitzkreig’s Blitzkreig). Everyone would have already been familiar with the title-track when this was released but, especially outside the UK, fewer listeners would have known the B-Sides.
It seems that the classic Metal bands of the 70s weren’t doing many covers and the few exceptions were songs lifted from outside the genre and given “heavy” treatment. But in the 80s bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden seemed keen to indulge in a bit of “Record Collection Rock”: recording many covers and, crucially, covers of other heavy and hard rocking bands. Both Maiden and Metallica proved vital in my musical education, pointing me towards other great artists (as well as some great films, books and TV shows).
I miss the orange demon dude.
Were Metallica simply self-serving in making these powerful, but largely unheard, songs their own? Or were they benevolently offering a helping hand (and some welcome royalties) to some great bands that hadn’t found an audience, for the greater good of Metal? I’d say there were elements of both but I would also credit Metallica for having the confidence to put an astounding song like Am I Evil? alongside their own, especially when Metallica’s sound and style was so clearly indebted to Diamond Head. But Metallica’s own compositions had more than enough firepower of their own and enough credit was given to their beloved NWOBHM heroes in interviews and on their T-Shirts to avoid accusations of exploitation.
A Metal Classic
While Metallica’s cover versions of Am I Evil? and Blitzkrieg might not quite have the charm or impact of the originals, Metallica admirably put their own crunchy, barky stamp on both tunes. The realisation that there were older bands capable of penning tunes that could hold their own against a classic Thrasher like Creeping Death had many a fan, myself included, scurrying off to their nearest record store. The Metal genre, and my music collection, are much better off thanks to Metallica, one of the greatest gateway bands of all-time.
(Single taken from The Good, the Bad & the Live: (6½ Year Anniversary EP Collection) that I bought back in January 2013)
Can I be honest here and admit one of my main reasons for wanting this was the incredible cover? I love the orange demon dude. He looks so pleased with himself. And so he should! He is adorning the first (if you’re British, anyway) Metallica single!
Jump in the Fire is taken from Metallica’s seminal debut, Kill ‘Em All. It’s one of the more old-school Metal tracks on the debut with its mid-tempo rhythm, bluesy soloing and a sing-along chorus (which always reminds me of Deep Purple’s Space Truckin’). It’s a fun track but not one of the debut’s more promising efforts. Hammett’s soloing and Hetfield’s hoarse vocals sell the song and, thankfully, the band replaced the shagging lyrics from the No Life ‘til Leather demo version with something more orange demon dude friendly. Besides, no-one should have to imagine James Hetfield moving his hips in a circular way. Ever.
The Back Cover with the Studio and “Live” Sides
Apart from the orange demon dude, the main attraction of this single is its live B-Sides. Unfortunately, these “live” versions of Seek and Destroy and Phantom Lord were actually recorded in a studio. Reverb was added (most audibly on Hetfield’s voice) to replicate the acoustics of a larger venue and crowd noises were added on. I’m sure I can remember reading that the crowd noise was taken from a classic live album but I’m not sure if that’s true or not (answers on a postcard please) but the crowd noise does give the impression that the band had amassed a pretty large following at this early stage in their career!
Like Hetfield’s hips, this record moves in a circular way
If you can get over the naïve fakery involved, these lively alternate versions are still well worth hearing. Both of the B-Side tracks are more representative of the band’s early, influential Thrash style than the A-Side. While these versions are missing the breakneck intensity of Metallica’s actual live performances, Cliff Burton’s fabulous bass playing is clear as a bell, Kirk’s soloing is free of bum notes and the performance as a whole is pretty tight. Pleasingly, Hetfield’s voice is starting to sound more like it would on future albums but his exhortations to the imaginary crowd (“let’s go, c’mon”) during Seek and Destroy are embarrassing.
Sans the fakery these are still excellent performances. If they had been radio sessions instead they would have been more appreciated and it’s probably preferable to think of them along those lines. For future releases, Metallica would lose the naiveté… and the orange demon dude.
![Dio – Holy Diver [Joe Barresi Remix] (Album Review)](https://heavymetaloverload.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/img_20240307_182557360_hdr7e25301399329513880485.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
HEAVY METAL OVERLOAD 