What are we LISTENING to lately?

[Rodolphe Dux]

The last Sodom’s EP again and again. It’s still one of my favorite metal band, the production, guitar and voice works are awesome. Definitely out of the frontline trench is a great piece of metal, loud but subtle. Plus the re-recording of Agent Orange and the live track of bombenhagel os just a great addition. Highly recommended.

Edited December 31, 2019 by Rodolphe Dux

[Omni Dragon]

This Frank C. Stanley performance is my personal favourite version of Auld Lang Syne:

 

Edited January 2, 2020 by Silver and Gold Dragon

[Secret Executioner]

Browsed through my vinyl and CD collections to dig out all the albums released in a year in "0" - ie: 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010. I only got issues with compilations but decided to pick two kinds of those: 

1) the ones released in a "0" year - eg. AC/DC's Iron Man 2 (from 2010) or Status Quo's The Singles Collection 1969-1973 (from 2000) - that do not necessarly contain only stuff from a year in "0".

2) less frequent but still existing, the ones containing material from a year in "0" like the 2 Originals of The Mothers of Invention album (released in 1975, but it contains two albums from 1970).

 

My first picks in this specific group of "zeroes" were

Helloween - Unarmed - Best of 25th Anniversary (CD + DVD special edition)

A compilation/re-recordings album including accoustic and/or orchestral versions of classic material (mainly from the Keeper of the Seven Keys albums and 1994-200) from the German Power Metal icons. It seems it was released in late 2009 in some places, but the date on my copy is 2010 so I stick with that.

It's a very interesting concept, with some songs barely changing ("Perfect Gentleman" seems nearly identical to the original, "Forever and One (Neverland)" also barely changes) while others become a whole different thing ("Eagle fly free" goes from ultra fast metal to a melodic, atmospheric number with female vocals, "I want out" feels like an attempt at mimicking Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall Pt. II"). A staple here is a 17-minute long medley called "The Keeper's Trilogy" performed with the Prague Symphony Orchestra that includes parts of "Halloween", "Keeper of the Seven Keys" and "The King for 1,000 Years". The orchestral instruments and choir add to the epicness and intensity of the songs, and they flow into each other seamlessly. 

The band seemed to have mixed feelings on this, bass guitarist Markus Grosskopf finding the experience more interesting for the fans (instead of plain re-recordings or yet another compilation) and enjoying recording as he got to try different playing styles, while singer Andi Deris felt betrayed and that if they were to play accoustic versions, they could have done it from the start - he was very against the idea and didn't enjoy the experience. He did admit it gave him a chance to show his vocal skills as his voice became more preemient and a more central instrument than on the previous albums where it was burried in the mix.

 

Nightwish - Wishmastour 2000 (CD)

A limited edition 6-track EP from the band's 2000 tour promoting their 3rd album, Wishmaster. The EP feels a lot like an extended single release for "Wishmaster" (I mean the song that's the titletrack of the album) with the accompagnying tracks being edits (promo version of "Passion and the Opera"), outtakes ("Sleepwalker", "A Return to the Sea") or relatively rare bonus tracks ("Nightquest", "Once upon a Troubadour"). 

Between various compilations and releases of the band's past albums that would cover most (if not all) of the material on here, this one comes across as more of a collector's item than something interesting purely for its content. The material is still very good, the bonustracks being on par with the material from the first two albums - "Once upon a Troubadour" is a rather slow but catchy accoustic number with male vocals while "A Return to the Sea" is more piano-driven but still very melodic and melancholic with very emotion-loaded vocals by Tarja Turunen, "Nightquest" is a faster paced and keyboard-heavy number with very classical-sounding vocals (something that can be said of a good portion of Oceanborn TBH). The edit of Oceanborn's "Passion and the Opera" is a bit odd as it seems to essentially loop the portion with opera-esque singing - I enjoy this part, but I feel it coming a bit out of nowhere is more interesting and enjoyable than basing a whole track on it.

Edited January 5, 2020 by Secret Executioner

[Secret Executioner]

Started 2020 with a little haul. 

D-A-D - A Prayer for the Loud (CD) (2019)

Some classic hard rock from Denmark. Very straight-forward and enjoyable album.

 

Equilibrium - Renegades (Limited 2-CD Digipack) (2019)

Metal from Germany - not sure which subgenre, the album has Power Metal. Very diversified and enjoyable stuff, though long-time fans seem rather displeased with the change from the band's original Folk Metal style. Not regretting picking up this album that originally picked my interest because the second disc is an 8-bits remake of the album - a very interesting and enjoyable concept, and seeing the reactions on YouTube it seems like a very well-received inclusion.

 

Turili/Lione Rhapsody - Zero Gravity: Rebirth and Evolution (Limited CD-Digipack) (2019)

An album I had been hesitating to buy for several months but I finally got it.Not a bad buy actually, I should have expected something great from one of the original Rhapsody masterminds whose solo work was also briliant. It may be the more sci-fi aestethics on the package than had me hesitate, but much like Turilli's own Prophet of the Last Apocalypse, sci-fi elements are added to the original fantasy-oriented Symphonic Metal of Turilli/Rhapsody and it spices things up, dusting off the concept to make it fresh again but without betraying the Symphonic Metal roots that remain strong and preeminent through the piece. I mentionned earlier the couple of tracks I had heard reminded of the aforementionned Turilli solo record, and it's not only similar to it but also as good, if not even better. 

 

Frank Zappa - Orchestral Favorites: 40th Anniversary (2019 reissue)

The new 3-CD edition of a Zappa album I'm very fond of. On CD 1 is a new remaster of the 1979 classic album as well as an alternate version of "Strictly Genteel" as a bonus, while CDs 2 and 3 include a nearly 2-hour long concert of the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra from 1975. Inside is also a very interesting booklet recounting the background on how the show and the album came to be, notably Zappa's interest in orchestral music from the 1970s and the fallout and disputes with Warner Bros. It also includes notes from Frank Zappa's longtime drummer Terry Bozzio (who also plays on the album, at least the concert part) and producer Joe Travers who co-produced this release with Zappa Family Trust executor and Frank's son Ahmet.

[Rodolphe Dux]

Tankard's The Beauty and The beer.

Frankly, if you want to make your life better, listen to this one. German thrash at his best.

 

Edited January 11, 2020 by Rodolphe Dux

[Secret Executioner]

AC/DC - Powerage (CD)

An oft overlooked album - obviously overshadowed by its follow-up Highway to Hell - that I think is among their best, if not my favorite. More bluesy-influenced, it has some very catchy and memorable melodies and the songs all showcase some solid musicianship, notably from bass player Cliff Williams who is more heard here than on most of the band's repertoire (save maybe Ballbreaker, another release with a strong blues touch).

Some classics include the obvious "Rock N Roll Damnation" and "Sin City", but I say check out the whole piece for the great guitar solo intro in "Riff Raff", the great bassline on "Gimme a Bullet" or "What's next to the Moon", catchy choruses with "Upto my Neck in you" or "Kicked in the Teeth"... All the songs have something great to offer. 

Fun fact: some vinyl releases include an extra track with the song "Cold-hearted Man", which one can also find on the Iron Man 2 "soundtrack" album. I could be wrong, but I don't think it was available on CD before that. Great song that IMO feels right at home on Powerage.

 

Continuing my exploration of the albums from years in "0".

Alice Cooper - Flush the Fashion (1980) (CD)

The Doors - Morrison Hotel (1970) (CD)

Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden (1980) (vinyl)

Kiss - Unmasked (1980) (vinyl)

Saxon - Strong Arm of the Law (1980) (vinyl)

Scorpions - Crazy World (1990) (CD)

Uriah Heep - Very 'eavy... Very 'umble (1970) (vinyl)

[Secret Executioner]

Alice Cooper - Brutal Planet (CD) (2000)

Six years after his previous effort - six years where he heavily toured, briefly reunited with members of the original Alice Cooper and that saw the release of a live album and a 4-CD, 80+ songs boxset - Alice returned with an album that remains eeriely relevant and topical 20 years later. The music is agressive, the mood is dark and broody, and the lyrics... They deal with a dystopic world - SPOILER ALERT: it's (again) a concept album - where the elite is in a little paradise ignoring the suffering of the common people ("Brutal Planet"), society is ruled by statistics and rules that turn people into robots or zombies ("Sanctuary", "Cold Machines"), violence reigns and is inflicted by brain-washed extremists ("Wicked young man", and in response to the Columbine murders and the controversy regarding the shooters' inspirations he mentions "it's not the music [he] dig(s), the games that [he] play(s), the movies [he] see(s)"), intolerant people ("Blow me a Kiss" where someone is to be blown a kiss because they're black or gay) or random people abusing their spouse ("Take it like a Woman", a modernized version of the 1975 classic "Only Women bleed") or causing untold destruction ("Pick up the Bones" where an unnamed place has been burnt down and all that remains are some items and bones), sometimes for petty reasons ("It's the little things"). Over commercialism is also discussed with overeating ("Eat some more") and the possibility of being able to buy anything one wants ("Gimme", which may also address a deal with the devil). As a result, people are left "Pessi-mystic".

This album really emphasizes an aspect of the Coop' I've grown more aware of as I grew up - behind the theatrics and the make-up was a very intelligent man whose material went far beyond being "in your face" for shock value. His songs often have undertones, usually addressing serious topics such as abuse ("Dead Babies", "Only Women bleed"), depression and suicide attempts ("Hey Stoopid") or simply more personal issues (see the album From the Inside). And eerily, even songs from the 1970s are still very relevant in today's world... But I feel Brutal Planet and its follow-up Dragontown are actually very relevant and spot-on depictions of our world.

 

Saxon - Power and the Glory (vinyl) (1983)

Some good ol' Saxon for you. Not as good and memorable as Strong Arm of the Law, but songs like "This Town rocks" or "The Eagle has landed" are classics.  

 

VA - The Rock Album (vinyl) (1980)

One of them compilations I mentionned having issues with concerning the "zero" year thing. A really cool compilation nonetheless, lots of classic stuff with 16 songs released between 1974 and 1980, from artists as varied as Tom Petty, Cheap Trick, Foreigner, Blue Öyster Cult, AC/DC, Styx, Boston, Journey, Kansas or Toto. The perks here are a live track from AC/DC ("The Jack" from their 1978 album If you want blood) and an exclusive Jethro Tull track called "Something's on the Move" - exclusive in that I haven't been able to figure out what album it came from, so maybe a JT specialist could help here ?.

Edited February 1, 2020 by Secret Executioner
I hadn't finished posting, thank you.

[Secret Executioner]

Since today (February 4th) is his birthday, spent the day listening to some - maybe a lot of ? - Alice Cooper stuff (can you believe he is 72 ?!)

School's out (vinyl) (1972)

A classic mostly for the titletrack as the rest seems overlooked. Very solid material with the introduction of the phrase "Remember the Coop'" in "Alma Matter" and songs inspired by cartoons ("Luney Tune"), the musical West Side Story ("Gutter Cats vs the Jets") or school memories ("Alma Matter" mentions a teacher and a school from some of the members' past)... Broad spectrum if you ask me.

 

Muscle of Love (vinyl) (1973)

Final album for the Alice Cooper Group. I find it often gets overlooked, probably because of how huge its predecessor Billion Dollar Babies was. A notable track is "Teenage Lament '74" (based on its recurring inclusion on compilations), but a noteworthy (IMO) song would be "Man with the Golden Gun", a number written because Alice loved James Bond and then-newest film Live and let die had teased the next Bond film would be called that. 

 

Alice Cooper goes to Hell (CD) (1976)His second album as a solo act. Liner notes suggest a link to Welcome to my Nightmare as this would be something told as a bedtime story to Steven. I enjoy the cheesiness of this one, though the songs are genuinely good - "Go to Hell" has been a live staple since the late 1970s and songs like "I never cry" or "Guilty" (the hardest rocker on the album) randomly find their ways in live setlists.

The instrumental at the end of this video is a bit from "Wish you were here" (also from this album).

 

DaDa (CD) (1983)

One of his most bizarre and obscure albums, a favorite of mine but a lot of people seem to hate it. From the art - a part of a Dali painting whose title literally says that you're supposed to see French author/philosopher Voltaire's face in the middle of that market - to the musical direction to the songs' lyrics, everything is quite weird here.

I find "Former Lee Warmer" is my favorite number, and one that can summarize most of the album with its broody, haunting mood, a heavy focus on emotions and bizarre characters.

 

The album was produced at possibly the worst time in Alice's life as he had fallen back into alcoholism and had been taking various kinds of drugs since some time during the Special Forces Tour (circa 1981/1982) - much like its predecessor Zipper catches Skin (1982), DaDa is an album Alice doesnt remember the recording of and didn't support with a tour. By the time the album came out, Alice's condition had degraded to a point he barely ate and drank heavily, his marriage was also crumbling, but Alice ultimately pulled through, quitting his bad habits for good (yup, he remained sober from then on) thanks notably to a new found passion for golf. 

Speaking of sports, Alice mentions in the song "I love America" - a song one could say is at odds with the rest of the album - that "he loves the Tigers". Not surprising considering he grew up in Detroit, but he is apparently quite a fan of baseball IRL and especially of said Tigers - his favorite player is HOF member and former Tiger right fielder Al Kaline, he is friends with former Tiger player and 1984 champion Kirk Gibson and he threw the ceremonial first pitch of a game between the Tigers and the Blue Jays in Toronto in 2013 -, though his residing in Phoenix, AZ and recent footage (2016) seem to suggest he also loves the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Another personal nod is a reference to his uncle who introduced young Vincent Furnier to rock n roll music in "Enough's enough" ("Hey Dad... Why'd you hide your brother ?")

 

Prince of Darkness (CD) (1989, compilation)

A compilation containing mostly material from his "comeback" albums Constrictor (1986) and Raise your Fist and yell (1987) - I put comeback in quotes as DaDa was intended to be his final album, Alice having considered retiring at the time.

Decent song selection from two albums that were aimed at the current Metal crowd enjoying the likes of W.A.S.P., Twister Sister and other acts obviously influenced by Alice. The album contains the most noteworthy songs from the time ("He's back" from the slasher film Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason lives, "Teenage Frankenstein", the singles "Freedom" and "Prince of Darkness"...) as well as "Lock me up" (that includes a spoken part by Robert Englund, so you get a Jason song and a Freddy song (well, sorta) on the same disc) and a rarity in the form of a live B-side - this supposed 1976 live recording of "Billion Dollar Babies" is actually a 1982 re-recording for a French TV special with fake audience sounds.

 

Nobody like me (CD) (1995 ?)

One of the gazillions releases of barely 20 minutes from the Alice Cooper Group's set at the Toronto Rock N Roll Revival festival in 1969. As with the vast majority of the recording's releases, the artwork is completely off, the song titles in the tracklist mostly bogus (save for "Nobody likes me") and the last two songs aren't even Alice Cooper songs but instead studio cuts by a Canadian singer named Ronnie Hawkins recorded in 1964 (and the live stuff with those two songs make the album's runtime a whooping 25 minutes). The quality isn't that great, but it could be considered some interesting piece for being a very early Alice Cooper performance that includes material from Pretties for you (1969) as well as Easy Action (1970) (one song each: "No longer Umpire" and "Lay down and die, Goodbye"), the non-album tracks "Nobody likes me" or "Don't blow your mind" (and were made available on the Life and Crimes boxset in 1999), and "Fields of Regret" having different lyrics than the version off Pretties for you somehow. I'm not 100% certain, but from memory I'd say this early ACG stuff would completely disappear from the live setlist and not appear on compilations (save for the aforementionned Life and Crimes boxset) after Love it to Death came out in 1971.

From what I recall reading it can't be considered a bootleg but it's also not an official release because of some loophole, hence why so many releases (mostly by obscure labels) exist with such a broad variety of titles and artworks on various formats - I know of a couple of vinyl releases (notably Toronto Rock N Roll Revival 1969 Volume IV, supposedly the original release and one of the very few releases with the proper titles IIRC) and I've seen a handful of releases on cassettes and CDs (Ladies Men, Freak Out, Freak Out Songs (Prime Cuts), Science Fiction...).

 

Collections (CD) (2005, compilation)

One of the many Sony-era (1989-1994) compilations out there. Nothing particularly of note, though I'd give kudos to this release for appearing more focued on The Last Temptation (1994), the most obscure and least commercial of the three albums - the singles "Lost in America" and "Stolen Prayer" are here of course, but adding the very cool "Sideshow" and the rather dark "You're my Temptation" is a nice touch. Trash (1989) is represented by 3 songs (including the smash hit "Poison" of course, but the other two are the always enjoyable titletrack and the not-so frequently present on compilations "Why trust you"). Finally, Hey Stoopid (1991) is represented by its titletrack but they got creative and put the beautiful "Might as well be on Mars" instead of the usual "Feed my Frankenstein". We still get "Love's a loaded Gun" though.

Edited February 4, 2020 by Secret Executioner

[Secret Executioner]

Peter Criss - Out of Control (vinyl) (1980)

Kiss' drummer Peter Criss' first solo album following his departure in December 1979 (though it was made public only several months later, hence his appearance on the cover of Kiss' Unmasked). The album is fairly similar to his 1978 "solo" album, mixing ballads, bluesy numbers and a few rockers though the album feels more pop-oriented and isn't blues/jazz oriented as Peter Criss. The similarities could be due to the involvment of writer/composer/guitarist Stan Penridge who was an important contributor to the 1978 album and was very essential to this album's creation.

Even though Peter never reached the success Kiss got with his song "Beth" - part of why he wanted to go solo and of the tensions with fellow Kiss members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons in the late 1970s -, I think Peter's 1978 album and this album here are well worth a listen - even though Kiss fans mostly hate Peter's 1978 album and put it towards the bottom, if not very last in their rankings of the band's albums.

[Secret Executioner]

On 2/4/2020 at 10:47 PM, Secret Executioner said:

Nobody like me (CD) (1995 ?)

Seems I made a mistake here as there doesn't seem to be a known year of release for this one. The 1995 date actually applies to a different release called Freak Out Song (Prime Cuts) that has a similar artwork.

  

 

On another subject, my latest finds from this past couple of weeks

[AlbertV]

I've been getting into Space and even some 70s and 80's songs from Germany

 

Edited February 21, 2020 by AlbertV

[Secret Executioner]

@AlbertV Space is an awesome band, and a classic among Kung Fu cinema fans.   If you're into music from Germany, I suggest this - some good old cheesy disco that's catchy as hell.

 

 

[AlbertV]

1 hour ago, Secret Executioner said:

@AlbertV Space is an awesome band, and a classic among Kung Fu cinema fans.   If you're into music from Germany, I suggest this - some good old cheesy disco that's catchy as hell.

 

 

I am a huge fan of theirs...there are now two groups with the name, one led by the two original women of the group (Henriette Strobel and Edina Pop) and one led by one of the guys (Henriette's ex-husband Wolfgang Heichel) and Stefan Track, the replacement for the late Louis Potgieter for the 2005 reunion concert. Heichel gained the rights to use the name in German and Spain while Strobel and Pop own the rights to use the name elsewhere. Both are distinguished by their logos:

This is the logo used by Heichel's group

This is the logo used by Strobel and Pop's group; original producer Heinz Gross owns this particular brand as well.

Wolfgang's Dschinghis Khan at Discoteka 80-X in 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dakqVUbbNm8
Henriette and Edina's Dschinghis Khan at Retro-FM 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUUCB3Wp0k

 

[Secret Executioner]

@AlbertV I tried to check out more recent performances by either band (not sure which I actually saw), but I can't seem to be getting into them as much as I do the old incarnation from back in the day. 

 

Meanwhile (and for something completely different), I've been returning to some late 1960s/early 1970s.

Uriah Heep - Demons and Wizards (2-CD reissue) (original from 1972, reissue from 2017)

Including classics such as "The Wizard" and "Easy Livin'", this album is a classic in the band's discography. The artwork is awesome, the music mixes hard rock ("Easy Livin'" feels heavy for the time, and is one of the hardest and fastest number here), melodic material ("The Wizard" is a beautiful little gem) and progressive rock ("Circle of Hands" and its King Crimson-ish vibe, "The Spell" and a startling guitar riff starting in a piano section) in one great package. 

 

Frank Zappa - Lumpy Gravy (CD, Japanese vinyl replica) (1968)

Zappa's first solo album is a rather strange piece. Being extremely "musique concrète" oriented, it has musical parts randomly thrown in amongst people talking about various subjects. Some musical parts are recognizable as Zappa re-used them for songs with the Mothers - a couple of bits can be heard on We're only in it for the Money (my fav' is the catchy instrumental version of "Take your clothes off when you dance" that closes the album), there's an instrumental that would become "Oh no" two years later on Weasels ripped my Flesh...The album also has the music being altered in way that would make you think your LP is playing at the wrong speed or that the CD is skipping (a bit actually sounds exactly like what something you're fastforwarding through, and it was like 15 or so years before CDs came up). I can't tell what it is, but much like The Mothers' We're only in it for the Money it's an album I enjoy as a whole, even if it's very disjointed and is frankly weird to listen to. Possibly my favorite Zappa solo release (Sheik Yerbouti is also a big favorite, though a very different kind of thing) and one of my top favorite among all things Zappa (some stuff with the Mothers comes close).

The release itself is quite neat. It comes with a obi, a gatefold (with an assortment of photos, some credits that are hard to make out due to the fact it"s a much smaller version of the package and an important note to listen to Side 1 first), the CD is housed in some bag that's part a soft cloth-like material, part plastic sheet and there's a paper insert mostly written in Japanese but with credits and the "lyrics" in English. Even though there are only two tracks - "Part 1" and "Part 2", each being oone side of original vinyl - the tracklist includes the titles for subparts (IIRC, the record was originally supposed to be divided into several small parts before Zappa got into trouble with the label and released the album with a different label that made it the two-parter we know), and there's also a list of other releases but the albums titles are listed only in Japanese. The FZ at the top and the continuity of the numbering suggests it should be a bunch of Zappa re-releases similar to this one.And finishing with the aforementionned We're only in it for the Money, the backcover is Zappa asking if it's Phase 2 of it.

[Secret Executioner]

Def Leppard - On through the Night (vinyl) (1980)

Not as popular as many of its follow-ups, the Brits' first album hactually contains some gems - "Rock Brigade", "Wasted" and "When your Walls came tumblin' down" are some solid rockers. Don't expect the sound they became famous for with hits like "Pour some Sugar on me" though, this is some straight hard rock more in the lines of AC/DC or Saxon.

 

Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden (remastered CD) (original from 1980, reissue from 1998)

Another first album from an iconic British band. The titular album from Iron Maiden is a bit of a mix bag IMO. While I enjoy a lot of classics like "Prowler", "Running free", "Phantom of the Opera" and "Charlotte the Harlot", I'm also not too fond on some numbers, either because I can't get into them ("Remember tomorrow" is so slow and dull, "Strange World" is rather forgettable) or because they are way overheard ("Iron Maiden" isn't that bad but I'm - ironically cause I still love the band - kind sick of it). The remastered version from 1998 adds in the song "Sanctuary", a song that's actually better than several tracks from the original version. On the other hand though, I prefer the old "misprinted" version of the artwork with the bug-eyed Eddie (such as on my vinyl copy) over the red-eyed, evil Eddie from the 1998 artwork.

   

 

Fun fact (1): "Charlotte the Harlot" would spawn a recurring character in Maiden's songs. There are the three songs supposedly continuing the adventures of the titular prostitute - "22 Acacia Avenue", (on The Number of the Beast in 1982, the title being of course her address), "Hooks in you" (on No Prayer for the Dying in 1990, though there's speculation on this one) and "From here to Eternity" (off Fear of the Dark in 1992, a song sees her take a - literal ? - motorbike ride to Hell)

Fun fact (2): "Transylvania" is one of the band's few instrumentals. I can't think of many others save for "Losfer Words (Big 'orra)" from Powerslave in 1984.

(maybe not so) Fun fact (3): this is Maiden's only album with guitarist Dennis Stratton as he would be fired after this album due to creative differences.

 

Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier (CD) (2010)

30 years, a handful of line-up changes and the addition of a third guitarist later (or after their initial album if you prefer), Iron Maiden would give us this album with a title that has an ending feeling to it - even though they weren't considering retirement and would release an album five years later.

This album contains great songs early on ("Satellite 15... The Final Frontier", "Coming Home") and at the end ("Where the wild Wind blows"), but has overly long songs in the middle that feel like the album is dragging at times. This problem is actually one I have with most of the 6-man line-up albums, and while I still find TFF better than its predecessor A Matter of Life and Death (in spite of some neat songs like "Different World" or "The Longest Day"), I still find it disappointing and it hasn't been growing on me like Brave New World (2000) and Dance of Death (2003)have. 

An element I like though is the artwork. The alien Eddie is pretty cool, and I kinda like the pirate-like logo with Eddie's head and the kinds of fork he uses on the cover to eat the astronauts (as you'd probably have guessed from my new profile pic). Also, they had a comic book-ish imagery for the single "El Dorado", pretty neat idea and for once something very colorful.

 

Judas Priest - British Steel (vinyl) (1980)

More British heavy metal with the album including the legendary hits "Livin' after Midnight", "Metal Gods" and "Breaking the Law". But more than these classics, one can also find lesser known but still awesome cuts - "United" and "You don't have to be old to be wise" are songs I highly recommend people to check out.

Fun fact: "Breaking the Law" is such a classic that the audience at concerts can sing it on their own.

 

Marilyn Manson - Holy Wood (CD) (2000)

Manson's 4th album is one I always enjoyed. Listening to it again, I realize it mixes thematics from Antichrist Superstar (notably with the society separating the always beautiful upperclass people and the uglier "nobodies" that strive to live, there are also a lot of  references to JFK, and the fact JFK was implied on AS while a lot of HW focuses on an assassinated president could make it a sequel of sorts) and musical elements from Mechanical Animals (notably an odd mix of accoustic guitar parts and very electronic sounds, the song "Coma Black" from HW could echo "Coma White" from MA).

From what I read, it's a concept album focused on one of these "nobodies" named Valentine (hence the song "Valentine's Day") who decides to assassinate the president (who may or may not be JFK, a lot of explicit references are made, including on the cover where once can see a piece of paper listing him dead with his date of death, but it's never explicitely said the president IS JFK) to get attention and become a "pretty" (the upperclass/famous people that would be "beautiful" per the song "Beautiful People off Antichrist Superstar). The song "The Nobodies" which mentions this drew some controversy as it was deemed (stop me if you heard this one before) having inspired the Columbine shooters. Of course, the song actually came out AFTER the events.

[laagi]

Still listening to Punk Rock or Pop Punk... Whatever you wanna call it since 1999/2000. 20 years holy sh** I'm getting old. But never too old to still find new bands and tunes I can enjoy like the ones below. Just bought a cd from each of these bands. Looking forward to it. Seems right up my alley.

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by laagi

[DiP]

Westside Gunn - Pray For Paris

 

Edited April 17, 2020 by DiP

[DragonClaws]

 

 

 

[DragonClaws]

 

 

[DragonClaws]

 

 

[Koravec]

Got around to listening to Anal Cunt yesterday night had me cracking up, their song names, chants, and live show is all hilarious.

before beginning to play, "Before we start does anyone want to fight us?" 😂😂 

silly, highly offensive music, I dont recommend lol 

Edited May 18, 2020 by Koravec

[DiP]

Ka - Descendants of Cain

 

 

[Koravec]

Ive accidently become that guy who says "I like everything", but to clarify I like a bit everything, since there are exceptions of course lol.

But Ive been on a country kick lately, suppose its suitable for the season.

[Secret Executioner]

Genesis - Turn it on again: the Hits - The Tour Edition (CD, 2007)

An expanded 2-CD version of the 1999 single disc compilation of the same name released as Genesis reunited and toured in 2007. Not too bad a selection, though the tracklist is a bit weird as it opens (like the 1999 version) with "Turn it on again" then gets in reverse chronological order from We Can't dance to Trespass and ends going forward to 1997 and ...Calling all Stations... with "Congo", just like the Platinum Collection 3-CD set did in 2004 (though they threw in the titletrack of the 1997 album over "Congo", an IMO better choice as I feel "Congo" is the weakest of the three singles and "Calling all Stations" should have been a single instead). Also, the 1999 version of "Carpet Crawlers" is at the end of CD 1, so it comes in the middle of the Abacab stuff. 

The selection is a bit uneven as some albums are given a lot of focus (Invisible Touch and We can't dance) while some are barely featured (A Trick of the Tail, Selling England by the Pound, Trespass) or not represented at all (Foxtrot, Nursery Cryme). One could argue this is because the tracklist is meant to be representative of the tour's setlist but the disc throws in some rarities ("Paperlate" may not be that rare, but "Pigeons" or "Happy the Man" are not that easy to come by) and songs the band would likely not play ("Tell me why", an edited "The Knife" ?) while tracks like "In the Cage" or "Ripples" are missing.

All nitpicking aside though, it's a nice collection and a very enjoyable listen - for someone who isn't familiar with them or wants a Genesis compilation for the car, it's a very good option. My version is a 3-disc digipack that also throws in the Video Show DVD, a compilation of music videos covering the whole Phil Collins era and the Calling all Stations album. Cool stuff here too.

[Secret Executioner]

Recents listens:

AC/DC - Who made who (1986)

A soundtrack album to Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive. King actually chose AC/DC for the soundtrack because he is a big fan of theirs and as a result, you get a lot of bits from AC/DC classics in the movie as well as two instrumentals, something extremely unusual for this band - I can't think of any other save for "Fling Thing" (used as an intro to "Rocker" in early concerts and that I don't think exists on record) and "Bonny" off the 2-CD release of Live. A great album IMO, the new tracks rock (the titletrack is among my very favorite AC/DC songs) and the selection of older songs is very solid (though maybe too focused on Brian Johnson stuff).

 

AC/DC - Iron Man 2 (2010)

More of a compilation using the MCU as a reason to be since only three songs appeared in either existing Iron Man movies at the time. Some other tracks could be briefly heard in Iron Man 2 trailers. Still, a great selection mixing hits and obscure stuff (including the rare "Cold-hearted Man") as well as a good balance between Bon Scott and Brian Johnson (one of Who made who's main "flaws", as it only has one single Bon Scott track out of 9 tracks)

 

Alice Cooper - Along came a Spider (2008)

A concept album dealing with a serial killer with a spider gimmick. Much like Trash (1989), it's one of my go-to Coop' albums. The short film based on it is also pretty cool (and includes a cameo by Slash who contributed some guitar work). Also of note, a little nod to From the Inside during the lobby scene (listen closely to the background music).

 

Judas Priest - Stained Class (1978)

Judas Priest - Ram it down (1988)

Two very different albums I have on a 2-CD set. The first is a forgotten gem ("Beyond the Realms of Death" is an amazingly beautiful song), the second isn't (IMO) as bad as it's made out to be, though the cover of "Johnny B. Goode" is among the worst I've heard. 

 

Kiss - Alive III (1993)

16 years after their second live album, Kiss finally delivered a third one. And while it's okay, many factors make it frustrating - it sounds very fake (especially when you hear the actual November 1992 concerts it's supposed to be sourced from), the song selection is a bit weird ("I still love you" hadn't been performed live in 6 or 7 years but is on here while some neat tracks that were played during the tour like "Tears are falling" or "War Machine" are missing), the album is a one-disc release when they could have easily gone for a 2-CD release with a full show or at least something ressembling a full set, they finally release a new live album right after their first tour following Eric Carr's death (that feels very bitter, especially when you listen to how great Kiss sounded live between 1980 and 1990 - I guess the Animalize Live Uncensored video (only available on DVD via a Brazilian bootleg) and KIssology volume II sorta fix that though)... The more time passes, the harder it seems for me to defend it but I still play it every now and then.

 

vs

Note how the drums sound less like pounding and how the guitars and bass seem more fluid. The Detroit footage also sounds more organic and not as polished as the album versions.

 

Kiss - You wanted the Best (1996)

A compilation released to cash in on the original line-up reuniting. It's mostly excerpts from Alive! and Alive II with 4 new songs from back in the day added. Except that from the beginning this is an obvious lie - "Room Service" opens with the intro from Alive II and sounds like mid-1990s Kiss with a fake audience. "Two Timer" also doesn't sound much like a recording from 1975 - I'm not even sure the song was actually played in concert at the time (though I know "Room Service" got performed a few times). I like to give "Let me know" the benefit of the doubt (the song was performed a lot in Kiss' early years and I heard a recording of Alive! outtakes that included this song and this version sounds quite close - possible overdubs here and there though), and "Take me" (said to be a 1977 recording) is widely considered the most genuine of the 4. Not that bad, but you gotta roll with its obvious bulls**t.

 

U2 - October (1981)

U2 - All that you can't leave behind (2000)

Not much to say here. Some good songs, but I tend to have a hard time really paying attention to U2's music. Good background music, but it won't get me reacting like other bands.

Edited October 17, 2020 by Secret Executioner