Archive for September 4, 2010

BLACKIE LAWLESS OF W.A.S.P. – HAPPY METAL BIRTHDAY!!

Posted in celebrity birthdays, hard rock albums, hard rock bands, hard rock music, Heavy Metal, heavy metal albums, heavy metal bands, heavy metal music, heavy metal news, metal music, metal odyssey, Music, rock & roll, rock and roll, rock music, rock music history, rock music news with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 4, 2010 by Metal Odyssey

BLACKIE LAWLESS – On September 4, 1956, Blackie Lawless was born. On that day, the history of Heavy Metal was solidified and secured. Blackie Lawless turns a Metal cool 54 today! Happy Metal Birthday Blackie Lawless! You are a Metal Odyssey – Lifetime Metal Warrior. With 14 studio albums and 4 live albums as the founding Metal leader of W.A.S.P., I and Scott Coverdale give you a Metal salute and a rousing THANK YOU!

THANK YOU Blackie Lawless for also standing up against the PMRC back in 1985… our freedom to listen to the music that we love in America was on the brink due to this PMRC “group” and WE WON due to our Metal and Music community banding together as one. Scott Coverdale and I don’t forget what you stood up for back in those late 80’s. Stone and Scott Coverdale shall never forget their Metal roots, therefore, we shall never forget the history of Blackie Lawless and W.A.S.P.!

THANK YOU for creating Babylon. This 2009 studio album of unreal & supercharged Metal was heralded as the #1 Heavy Metal album of 2009, right here, on Metal Odyssey! On December 28, 2009, Metal Odyssey posted their “Top 25 Heavy Metal Albums Of 2009”. Anyone who missed it can read all about it and check out W.A.S.P. Babylon being #1, just by clicking on the big and cool link below:

METAL ODYSSEY’S TOP 25 HEAVY METAL ALBUMS OF 2009

* After the release of Babylon, I was so psyched out of my Metal mind about this album, that praising one song at a time from it seemed like a logical Metal choice. Here is the post, from November 14, 2009, that gives Metal praise to the Chuck Berry classic Promised Land, that W.A.S.P. so admirably covered on Babylon:

W.A.S.P. COVERS CHUCK BERRY CLASSIC – “PROMISED LAND” ON “BABYLON” ALBUM

* On November 11, 2009, I gave a Metal thumbs up to the song Crazy from Babylon:

W.A.S.P. “CRAZY” FROM “BABYLON” ALBUM IS WOVEN WITH HEAVY METAL MATURITY

* And on November 10, 2009, I ranted and Metal raved about W.A.S.P. covering the Deep Purple classic Burn that is heard on Babylon:

W.A.S.P. COVERS THE DEEP PURPLE CLASSIC “BURN” WITH HEAVY METAL PRIDE ON BABYLON ALBUM!

* On March 10, 2010, Metal Odyssey posted about just how incredible W.A.S.P. Live… In The Raw truly is. You can check it out by clicking on the magic link below:

W.A.S.P. – “LIVE… IN THE RAW” RESONATES THE LIVE POWER AND SOUL OF HEAVY ROCK ‘N ROLL!!

* On January 14, 2010, Metal Odyssey featured a post about the collector side of Stone when it comes to W.A.S.P., the 12″ single of The Real Me is shown in all of it’s Metal glory! Click that jim dandy link below to check it out:

W.A.S.P. – “THE REAL ME” 12″ SINGLE FROM 1989 REVISITED!

* On December 30, 2009, Metal Odyssey got all Metal giddy about the 1989 picture disc of The Headless Children. Yes… that fine link below will take you right to this post:

W.A.S.P. “THE HEADLESS CHILDREN” 1989 PICTURE DISC IS FOR KEEPS!

* Going back to April April 24, 2009, Metal Odyssey wasn’t bashful about being Metal psyched about the 1985 studio album – The Last Command. Metal be thy name, this is a fabulous W.A.S.P. album! Read for yourself, if you so choose, by clicking the link below:

W.A.S.P. “The Last Command” is a Heavy Metal classic!

* Back on March 21, 2009, Metal Odyssey celebrated 26 years of W.A.S.P. Heavy Metal! A terrific post was written to celebrate this amazing and historic Heavy Metal event. The link below shall guide you to this Metal read:

Celebrating 26 years of W.A.S.P. Heavy Metal!

* For those who want to learn about more incredible W.A.S.P. albums from the past, all you need to do is click on the links below. These are all album reviews written by Stone!

* From March 15, 2009:

W.A.S.P. – DYING FOR THE WORLD

* From March 15, 2009:

W.A.S.P. – STILL NOT BLACK ENOUGH

* From March 15, 2009:

W.A.S.P. – HELLDORADO

* From March 14, 2009:

W.A.S.P. – THE CRIMSON IDOL

So, as anyone can see, Blackie Lawless and his amazingly important and Metal historic band W.A.S.P. are and forever will be embraced here on Metal Odyssey.

LONG LIVE BLACKIE LAWLESS!

BLACKIE LAWLESS = HEAVY METAL & ROCK ‘N’ ROLL LEGEND

Stone.

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BLACKMORE’S NIGHT “SECRET VOYAGE” – I’M ON BOARD FOR THIS MUSICAL JOURNEY!

Posted in classic rock, classic rock music, folk rock music, metal odyssey, Music, renaissance music, rock and roll, rock guitarists, rock music, rock music news with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 4, 2010 by Metal Odyssey

BLACKMORE’S NIGHT – Ritchie Blackmore has never abandoned his love affair for creating incredible classical sounds with his guitar. The lure and attraction for Renaissance music has made Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night become an impeccable duo of musical minds and talent since their 1997 Blackmore’s Night album debut – Shadow Of The Moon. With 1970’s era Rainbow, Ritchie Blackmore intertwined the Renaissance sound with bluesy Rock and Hard Rock like no other. It only makes sense to me, that Ritchie has taken his immeasurable musical talents to this extraordinary level of existence with Blackmore’s Night, so many years ago.

No one will find the supercharged Hard Rock sound of Straight Between The Eyes or Bent Out Of Shape with Blackmore’s Night. This is another world of music prowess for Ritchie Blackmore and I’m admittedly hooked on this Secret Voyage… it’s an impossible thought for me not to embrace this music. If it’s not the guitar virtuosity of Ritchie, then it’s the beautiful and mesmerizing voice of Candice Night that thrills my ears and mind into a state of… joy.

Rainbow Eyes is such a wonderful song to hear and Candice Night’s vocals just might have me growing wings and flying through the sky… in my Secret Voyage dreams that is. Taking a Rainbow classic, such as Rainbow Eyes from the 1978 album Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll and covering it this way is certainly a musically credible move by Ritchie Blackmore, in my Metal opinion.

The liner notes to Secret Voyage characterize the music created by Blackmore’s Night as Renaissance/Folk/Rock and I won’t disagree. What should be conveyed here to all, is this style of music should not be judged until it is heard. Anytime the words “Folk” or “Renaissance” come into view of a Rock/Hard Rock or Heavy Metal platform such as Metal Odyssey, it can become quite deceptive. Music genres unfortunately can fall victim to stereotyping, sad but true.

In listening to Blackmore’s Night, I have become all the more rich in my quest for hearing all the great works of Ritchie Blackmore. The elements and styles of music heard from Blackmore’s Night are not worlds apart compared to that of early Rainbow and many of the works of Yngwie J. Malmsteen. I can even go further by adding in The Electric Light Orchestra or The Moody Blues as well, when it comes to stylistic comparisons.

Can’t Help Falling In Love is easily guilty of being the “heaviest” song on Secret Voyage, with both it’s tempo and overall energy of sound. Trust me, this is not the molasses sweet and teary eyed original version of Can’t Help Falling In Love made famous and sung by the unreal legendary Elvis Presley in the 1961 film – Blue Hawaii. Forget the UB40 cover version of this song as well… for Candice Night and Ritchie Blackmore make Can’t Help Falling In Love an upbeat, Rockin’ and inspirational listen, like it has never been done before.

The Renaissance fair kicks into high gear with the song – Peasant’s Promise. Once again, the music shares center stage with Candice Night’s vocals. As I listen to this song, I surely wish I owned and could play a shawm, so I could bounce around my surroundings while I gleefully take part in this Renaissance Folk euphoria that I’m experiencing. I’m not kidding or being a wise-guy here. The more I listen to Secret Voyage, the more I wonder as to why this album did not win one of those coveted Grammy’s? Politics I reason.

Far Far Away has a tinge of Enya “style” background chorus/vocals, which only enhances the sensory backdrop of this earthy fortified song. Very mellow, very soft are the vocals of Candice Night on Empty Words… coupled with the acoustic magic that resonates from Ritchie’s guitar are enough to make my Metal heart melt, like a slab of butter on an open fire. Hey Celine Dion… I have two words for you… Candice Night. Metal be thy name.

Guitar enthusiasts, Rainbow and Ritchie Blackmore fans should already be in the know with Blackmore’s Night. Fans of Folk, Renaissance Folk/Rock may very well become enriched with the sounds of Secret Voyage. Any Old School Metalhead like myself, that has a spot in their Metal heart for the guitar greats of our generation, might just take a dive into Blackmore’s Night and fall victim to this living legend’s guitar once again. Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night come across to my ears as two musicians who were born to be together, not only as husband and wife, as Blackmore’s Night as well.

* Blackmore’s Night – Secret Voyage was released on July 15, 2008, on Steamhammer/SPV. Secret Voyage is the seventh studio album from Blackmore’s Night.

* For more info on Ritchie Blackmore, Candice Night and Blackmore’s Night, just click on the link below:

THE RITCHIE BLACKMORE & BLACKMORE’S NIGHT – Official Website

* A special thanks to Metal Mark at Heavy Metal Time Machine for pushing this album my way.

Track Listing For Secret Voyage:

God Save The Keg

Locked Within The Crystal Ball

Gilded Cage

Toast To Tomorrow

Prince Waldeck’s Galliard

Rainbow Eyes

The Circle

Sister Gypsy

Can’t Help Falling In Love

Peasant’s Promise

Far Far Away

Empty Words

LONG LIVE BLACKMORE’S NIGHT!

Stone.

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