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IRON MAIDEN – “KILLERS” STILL REIGNS AS A KILLER OF A METAL ALBUM

Posted in 1980's heavy metal albums, 1980's heavy metal bands, 1980's heavy metal music, 1980's heavy metal songs, 1980's metal bands, 1980's metal music, 1981 heavy metal music, 1990's heavy metal bands, Album Review, classic heavy metal albums, cool album covers, creepy album covers, current heavy metal bands, essential heavy metal albums, guitar legends, Heavy Metal, heavy metal album covers, heavy metal albums, heavy metal albums 1981, heavy metal bands, heavy metal bands from england, heavy metal drummers, heavy metal guitarists, heavy metal history, heavy metal music, heavy metal vocalists, metal music, metal odyssey, Music, old school heavy metal, progressive metal, rock music, scary album covers, vintage heavy metal albums with tags 1980's heavy metal albums, 1980's heavy metal bands, 1980's heavy metal music, 1980's metal music, adrian smith guitarist, Album Review, classic heavy metal, clive burr drummer, dave murray guitarist, Heavy Metal, heavy metal albums, Iron Maiden, iron maiden 1981, iron maiden heavy metal band, iron maiden killers album, iron maiden killers album cover, iron maiden songs, killers album 1981, metal odyssey, Music, old school heavy metal, paul dianno vocalist, progressive heavy metal, rock music, steve harris bass guitarist, the ides of march song on December 12, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

As decades pass and thousands of Heavy Metal albums are released, there will always be those select titles that are still left standing tall. Iron Maiden Killers is one of those select albums that reigns as a killer for me… 28 years after it’s June 1981, U.S. release. Killers epitomizes Old School Heavy Metal, plus Iron Maiden legitimizes the single word – Metal, as it’s very own sub genre. Whenever I think of “Metal” the first band that comes to my mind is Iron Maiden. I sometimes debate myself senseless, asking why isn’t Iron Maiden my favorite Heavy Metal band of all time? Then, I ease my confusion by just knowing that Iron Maiden is and forever will be a “core” band of mine. Killers essentially was faster and harder than many traditional Heavy Metal albums of it’s time… the great part is that Iron Maiden was just beginning to “touch upon” the progressive side of Metal Music, an attribute they became so legendary for.

Back in 1981, the Thrash Metal movement was the welcomed storm on the horizon… Iron Maiden was the baddest and heaviest outside of just a select group of their peers. Motorhead, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Scorpions and Accept come to mind, when deciphering which Metal bands were as hard and heavy as Iron Maiden, back in 1981. Still, outside of Motorhead, Iron Maiden was about speed, the songs on Killers are overall – fast. Exceptions do exist, Prodigal Son is a slower paced Iron Maiden song without a doubt. The tempo being dictated by the acoustic guitars only magnifies the slender tempered sound of Prodigal Son. (Going back to the debut Iron Maiden album, Remember Tomorrow signified the flirtation with somberness that this legendary band would revisit in future albums, Prodigal Son carry’s over this assertion).

Backtracking to the intro of Killers, The Ides Of March, I insist that this was the sign of all Metal things to come on this prolific album. The Ides Of March is heavy, it is melancholy, dark and foreboding… in essence, a Metal prelude or warning if you will, that Iron Maiden was not fabricating or pretending. Twilight Zone is the song from Killers, where I feel Paul Di’Anno is at his giant best, vocally. Certainly, it is my personal opinion, as is the case with this entire article. Genghis Khan is the Metal instrumental that catapulted the musical identity of Iron Maiden, the trademark sound of this soon to be – historic Metal band. My eyeballs still pop open wide, to this very day, each time I listen to Genghis Khan.

When it comes down to musicianship, what honestly can be nit picked here? Iron Maiden as a unit on Killers made layering famous and vogue – basically instigating Progressive Metal from it’s dormancy. I cannot and never will find a fault with this legendary Iron Maiden lineup, Paul Di’Anno was the lead singer for this band in 1981 and a damned great one too… Metal case closed. Even back in the mid 1980’s, I never gave a damn about comparing Paul Di’Anno to Bruce Dickinson… what’s the point? Any seasoned Metalhead knew then and should know now, that these two lead singers are worlds apart with technique and range. In my Metal opinion, one is not better than the other, they are both unique and stylistically genuine. Paul Di’Anno gave the songs on Killers a mysterious tone, his vocals created a fog invading sound scape that bordered on macabre.

Murders In The Rue Morgue is my favorite song on Killers. Again, it’s speed, hard and heavy that this song illuminates. Paul Di’Anno never needed to hit the highest note on the planet to make Murders In The Rue Morgue an Iron Maiden classic, instead his fiery swagger is not just heard vocally, it is felt. Dave Murray and Adrian Smith unleashing their duo guitar leads proved that there was another one-two Metal guitar punch out there… alongside Metal guitar legends Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing of Judas Priest. Clive Burr on drums was not an enigma, he was THE drummer for Iron Maiden during the most important years of their maturation. And then, there is THE bass guitarist for Iron Maiden. To better accentuate my Metal point here, what Babe Ruth will forever be to the history of baseball, what the Mona Lisa will forever be to the history of fine art portraits, Steve Harris will forever be of equal importance to the history of Heavy Metal and Metal Music. Go ahead, listen or re-listen to Iron Maiden Killers… then listen really closely to the bass guitar playing of Steve Harris, hopefully you might just understand what I mean.

HEAVEN – 1983 HEAVY METAL ALBUM “WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD” REMEMBERED

Back in the early 1980’s, I would buy just about any Heavy Metal album that had a cool or scary cover. I also would buy a Heavy Metal album just based on the bands name alone… if it was interesting enough. Usually, I was lucky with my choices, although there were those duds that I picked over the decades, (I won’t lie about that). Buying duds happens to any fan of any music genre, I would surmise. Not listening to an album before buying it was, (and still is), a risky Metal proposition, especially if you never heard the respective band before. Step in… Heaven. This Heavy Metal Band was not a dud.

Heaven, a Heavy Metal Band from Australia, released three studio albums during their brief career, (1982-1985), on a major label being RCA. I used to own one of the three Heaven albums – Where Angels Fear To Tread. I bought this album at a Caldor department store, back in 1983. Caldor had one really fine album/records department for a large retail store. Caldor went belly up years ago, it was a shame to see, especially when it was responsible for my having such an array of Heavy Metal albums back in the ’80’s. I bought this Heaven album without ever hearing a single song from it… the bands name being Heaven, along with the front cover logo and artwork was too good to pass up. Plus, the backside of this album had a very large photo of the band, looking real tough, (Heavy Metal tough). In this photo, lead singer Alan Fryer is shown holding a leash with a black panther attached to it. (That is to the best of my Metal memory when describing this back cover photo, if I am in error in any way, please feel free to comment with a correction).

Back in 1983, this was all I needed to see to make a blind Heavy Metal album purchase. I believe the only Heaven song I ever heard on mainstream radio was on WCCC or WHCN, (on the FM dial in expensive Connecticut), the song was Rock School. Quite honestly, I remember really liking this album, yet it was not the Heavy Metal thunder of a Def Leppard, Krokus, Accept or even Helix from that time period. Nonetheless, Heaven was heavy and good enough for me to even be looking back upon, in 2009. Where Angels Fear To Tread was a Heavy Metal album that fit right in during 1983, still Heaven obviously never caught on with the Metal masses… for reasons that I may never know. Let’s face it, I never bought their first album – Twilight of Mischief/In The Beginning, nor did I buy their third album – Knockin’ On Heavens Door, so my Metal loyalty to Heaven was not up to task back in the early ’80’s. What was I supposed to do? There were literally tons of Heavy Metal Bands coming from all sides back then, from Vintage and Classic Rock bands to the birth of the Thrash, Black and Death Metal genres. Heaven just fell victim to choice, when it came to my album purchasing decisions.

As I look back, I really wish I kept Where Angels Fear To Tread, however, it does not appear to be in print on CD. From scoping out the world wide web, it seems that this album is unofficially in print and is referred to as a bootleg version, with five live bonus tracks included. I would be Metal smitten to land a copy of this Heaven album, especially on vinyl once again. Getting ahold of this CD seems to be doable, regardless of any low quality from it being described as a bootleg.

This might sound a tad strange when I state that my favorite song from Where Angels Fear To Tread is the cover song Love Child. Yup, that famous Love Child song originally done by The Supremes. Metal truth be told, Heaven made this song heavy and it Rocked for me back in good ol’ 1983. Aw heck, this entire Heaven album would sound good again for my ears, 26 years after it’s release. It would be interesting to see, with the current Heavy Metal revival ongoing, if Heaven was to resurface in some shape or form. As the old Metal saying goes… you can’t hold onto everything in life, this Heaven album on vinyl is a great example of that, for me anyways.

A quick Metal note: There was another band named Heaven… this particular band goes back to the early 1970’s. From everything I have researched, this Heaven band does not have any association to the Heaven Heavy Metal Band of the early ’80’s. I have never listened to this band, they are categorized as a Rock band and have an album titled: Brass Rock 1, released back in 1971 on Esoteric Records. (See pic of album cover on the left of this paragraph). I found this other Heaven band and Brass Rock 1 album on http://www.fye.com, yup, it was out of stock. This same Brass Rock 1 album is in stock on http://www.bestbuy.com, however, Best Buy categorizes this 1971 Heaven band as “Metal”… go figure. This other Heaven band’s Brass Rock 1 CD is priced at $20.99, U.S. dollars, a bit too pricey for me to take a gamble on. Plus neither f.y.e. or Best Buy offer music samples for this other Heaven Band’s CD, Brass Rock 1.

Here is the front cover for Where Angels Fear To Tread, by the early 1980’s Heavy Metal Band – Heaven. This cover does scream early ’80’s Heavy Metal with it’s color and artwork, the Heaven logo I feel was well done. This cover is nothing too fancy, nor is it uncool, in my Metal opinion.

MOTORHEAD – “BEER DRINKERS” PICTURE DISC I HAVE FOR KEEPS!

MetalOdyssey Tonight I was going through a stash of Heavy Metal albums I own. This particular pile I have not looked at for about three years, since my family and I escaped from expensive Connecticut. Honestly, I don’t recall really looking through this pile for years… the movers handled our belongings, I am thankful nothing bad happened to them. Anyhow, there were some really cool picture discs among this pile. Motorhead too! Man, some of the stuff I found tonight I was certain was either sold, lost or given away. To say this pile of Vintage Heavy Metal vinyl put a grin on my face is a huge Metal understatement! One excellent picture disc that caught my eye and brought back neat memories for me is Motorhead Beer Drinkers. I can’t recall the exact year that I bought this gem… 1983 or 1984 is the ballpark for certain. I can remember playing this picture disc on my turntable years, uh, I mean decades ago. Like all picture discs, the overall sound quality is not as clear or good as regular vinyl. Nonetheless, this is a Motorhead picture disc that I played and displayed for quite a few years. I still cannot believe I found it buried in my collection tonight.

I am leaning towards the notion that this Beer Drinkers picture disc is rare. I don’t know and never knew the actual number of pressings that these picture discs had… back in the early ’80’s who gave a crap about that anyways? There are a few other great picture discs I found as well, I will share them with the world in the near future too. The track listing is below, (instead of the word “side”, the word “face” is printed on this picture disc. Check out the views of the front and back of this picture disc, real cool. There is a “Made In France” sticker on the outer plastic sleeve of this picture disc. The date on the picture disc is 1983, along with S.P.I. Paris. The first song – Beer Drinkers (And Hell Raisers) is a ZZ Top cover song. Uh, no, I am not going to part with this Motorhead Beer Drinkers picture disc… not a chance for it serves me right.

Face A:

Beer Drinkers (And Hell Raisers)

On Parole

Vibrator

White Line Fever

City Kids

Face B:

Instro

I’m Your Witch Doctor

Keep Us On The Road

Lost Johnny

Motorhead

Motorhead "Beer Drinkers" picture disc - front cover - x-large

Motorhead "Beer Drinkers" picture disc - back cover x-large

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

Posted in 1980's heavy metal albums, 1980's heavy metal music, 1980's heavy metal songs, 1980's metal bands, 1990's heavy metal bands, 1990's metal bands, Album Review, classic heavy metal, classic heavy metal albums, cool album covers, creepy album covers, current heavy metal albums, current heavy metal bands, current heavy metal music, essential heavy metal albums, heavy metal album covers, heavy metal album review, heavy metal albums, heavy metal albums 1985, heavy metal albums 2009, heavy metal bands, heavy metal guitarists, heavy metal music, heavy metal music 2009, heavy metal vocalists, independent record labels, Metal, metal music, metal odyssey, Music, new heavy metal album, old school heavy metal, rock music, scary album covers, spooky album covers, vintage heavy metal albums, vintage heavy metal bands, vintage heavy metal songs with tags 1980's heavy metal bands, 1990's heavy metal bands, blackie lawless guitarist, blackie lawless vocalist, demolition records, doug blair guitarist, heavy metal album review, heavy metal albums, heavy metal albums 2009, heavy metal guitarists, heavy metal music, heavy metal music 2009, heavy metal songs, heavy metal vocalists, lyrical messages, metal music, metal odyssey, Music, rock music, W.A.S.P., w.a.s.p. albums, w.a.s.p. babylon album, w.a.s.p. babylon songs, w.a.s.p. crazy song, w.a.s.p. heavy metal band, w.a.s.p. the last command album, w.a.s.p. wild child song on November 11, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

W.A.S.P. Babylon small album pic Thank you Blackie Lawless. Thank you for not going away, taking an extended leave of absence or selling out. There are too many 1980’s Heavy Metal Bands that did just those things, now they are scrambling to make their triumphant comeback or best album ever. Some are doing just that, only Blackie Lawless does not belong to that club. The Heavy Metal membership card that Blackie Lawless holds says two words… for life. Why shouldn’t it say just that? The true fans of Heavy Metal and/or W.A.S.P. are in it for life. While the 1990’s ushered in the Grunge genre and scores of pretentious bands (being mistakenly labeled) Heavy Metal, all the while lining up at Hollywood’s red carpet gala’s for accolades, W.A.S.P. was too busy making real Heavy Metal albums of integrity. The politically correct mainstream press was not a necessity for W.A.S.P.’s survival then, it certainly is not now. There is no return of or part ll theme happening with W.A.S.P., just a band that is a Heavy Metal mainstay, due to the perseverance and creativity of Blackie Lawless. To take a quote from Blackie Lawless, (as stated in the liner notes from Babylon)… If it is not the truth, it will not stand.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I will be writing a series of reviews on the new W.A.S.P. studio album, Babylon. Concentrating on individual songs, musical elements and lyrics from Babylon makes for a more enlightening Metal experience for me, hopefully visitors to Metal Odyssey will agree. When an album of Heavy Metal has such a powerful impact on me, as does Babylon, a generalized review is about as fulfilling as a stale beer sitting in the hot sun. Could I have predicted Babylon would have impacted me in such a fantastic way? Of course not, yet the surprise is more expected than unexpected.

Crazy is the opening song on Babylon. The weight of the world always seems to be put on the opening track of any album. The first song sets the table for the remainder of the album, good or bad, this all important track can either be the demise or exclamation point for the songs that follow. With Crazy, this song kicks and extends it’s Heavy Metal tentacles like a giant sea squid on a caffeine rush. Crazy is the prelude to nine Heavy Metal songs of substance, this song alone foretells that W.A.S.P. connects in 2009. Blackie Lawless borrowed some of his Old School Heavy Metal and fused it with a more mature presentation, both with lyrics and tempo. Sure, Crazy is a fast moving song, only it’s the streamlined sound of it’s speed that makes it so appreciable. The consistency of Heavy Metal muscle is what I have come to expect from W.A.S.P., Crazy illuminates and flexes it from the opening note. My best Metal buddy Scott cued me into the comparison of Crazy to Wild Child, from the 1985 W.A.S.P. classic, The Last Command. (This was well before I owned a copy of Babylon, Scott was a lucky one who nailed Babylon on it’s import release date of October 13th). The opening guitar intro to both Crazy and Wild Child are very similar, still not a mirror image note for note.

The vocals of Blackie Lawless during Crazy extends maturity, not a voice that needs a stretcher… Blackie Lawless is not fooling anyone or pulling any high tech tricks. Doug Blair on lead guitar sounds like a rising star that Ozzy Osbourne would have plucked out of the bushel to call his own, decades ago. Instead, Blackie Lawless has a guitarist that doesn’t just play… emotion is emanated from the guitar of Doug Blair. Listening to the guitar solo on Crazy reminds me as to why I love Heavy Metal in the first place. Crazy is as commercially viable as any song from the storied Heavy Metal history of W.A.S.P., (only it has never been about accessibility with this band)… thank God for that. This is absolutely not an accusation that Blackie Lawless has set out to make a hit single, rather it is a Heavy Metal song that is so melodically driven that it is awe inspiring.

Lyrics, as with music itself, is art. One persons interpretation of a songs lyrics will differ far and wide against another’s. My interpretation of the lyrics for Crazy is – don’t fall in love with anyone or anything that cannot love you back. The symbolic person or thing that won’t accept love in Crazy sends a deep message of steering clear from personal hurt. Human emotion is a very volatile subject and Blackie Lawless has penned some intriguing lyrics with this song. You cannot draw love from drugs, alcohol or hate. These are things that will make anyone look crazy for loving. Inanimate objects are never going to love anyone. A tremendous Heavy Metal song is Crazy, this is the one song I have listened to the most from Babylon thus far… isn’t that crazy?

W.A.S.P. "Babylon" large album pic #2

BADLANDS – 1989 Heavy Metal Debut Album Still Reigns Supreme

Badlands was a Heavy Metal band that I caught onto the instant they released their debut/self titled album – Badlands, (on Atlantic Records), back in 1989. I purchased this Badlands cassette at Strawberries Records & Tapes, located right around the corner from Central Connecticut State University on New Britain Avenue. I was a student at CCSU back in 1989, very much broke to the Metal wind. Therefore, my Heavy Music purchases were not abundant, I chose quality over quantity. With so little funds to buy music as a college student back then, being choosy was a necessity. Badlands with their classic and ultra talented lineup of musicians became a necessity for me. From the very first listen through of this album, (in my case cassette), to say that Badlands left an earthshaking mark on me is the understatement of the decade. The Heavy Metal onslaught of cool and psyched out vibrations, that this Badlands album gave me back in 1989, has once again reintroduced me to that same experience this past weekend.

My best buddy – a.k.a. – best Metal buddy – a.k.a. – Scott, well, he remembered just how much Badlands and their debut album resonated with me back in the day, therefore Scott landed me a CD copy of Badlands. Scott was my roommate at CCSU, my best man at my wedding and if anyone knows my Metal tastes and background… it is him. Thank you Scott, for this Metal gift of Badlands this past Saturday. Getting Badlands on CD in the mail was like experiencing Christmas Day on this cold, dank and rainy day in October. F’n unbelievable surprise.

It is an unreal great feeling to have this Badlands CD finally in my collection. I have never let go of my Badlands cassette since 1989… and I never will. To the best of my Metal research, this Badlands CD is extremely hard to find at retail. Out of print perhaps? Badlands is definitely one of my favorite Heavy Metal albums that I have ever listened to. I only wish this band was able to stay together forever, yet lead vocalist Ray Gillen was called to heaven a little early, on December 1, 1993 at the age of 34. The unreal great guitarist – Jake E. Lee and Ray Gillan on vocals may be the two main musical focal points of Badlands, yet Eric Singer on drums and Greg Chaisson on bass make for an ear bending and jaw dropping rhythm section – stuff of legend. Anyone that knows and enjoys Old School Heavy Metal can certainly identify with Badlands, this band is from that mold. Jake E. Lee proved with Badlands that there was definitely a Heavy Metal life for him away from Ozzy Osbourne.

The eleven songs on Badlands encompass the melodic driven side of Heavy Metal enormously, with the late Ray Gillen’s unique vocals surpassing many of his peers of that time, when it came to harmony and range. I include the late Ray Gillen in with Tony Martin, Jeff Scott Soto, Gary Barden, Jorn Lande and Joe Lynn Turner when it comes to lead vocals status in Old School Heavy Metal. He belongs with this select group of singers. (I definitely left out some names here, yet I think my point is made). If not for his passing away at age 34, I am convinced Ray Gillen would have been a top tier Heavy Metal and/or Hard Rock vocalist to this very day. With so many new vocalists coming out of the woodwork in all of the Metal genres since the 1990’s, too many of them sound like each other or have little regard for originality. This is why I can never tire from the late Ray Gillen’s vocal talent.

My favorite song on Badlands is Dreams In The Dark, I played it six times over, very loud the other night and it served me right. Yes, I acted very silly jumping around in my basement like a psyched out kid, while this song and the rest of Badlands cranked. As the ultra great Blackie Lawless would say… I don’t need no doctor. All I need is to delve back into the Metal world of Old School Heavy Metal, (on a very consistent basis), turn on some Badlands and let the bull crap of the world around me, wallow in it’s own decrepit stank. I don’t look back upon Badlands as a supergroup, instead I look upon them as a fabulously talented Heavy Metal band that was too short lived. Long live the legacy of Badlands – their Heavy Metal still reigns supreme for me.

Track List For Badlands:

High Wire

Dreams in the Dark

Jade’s Song

Winter’s Call

Dancing on the Edge

Streets Cry Freedom

Hard Driver

Rumblin’ Train

Devil’s Stomp

Seasons

Ball & Chain – (this song is not on the vinyl record version of Badlands)

BADLANDS "Badlands" large album pic

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My Least Favorite Ozzy Osbourne Song Ever Is…

Ozzy Osbourne, the Heavy Metal Prince of Darkness. Ozzy Osbourne – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee with Black Sabbath. Honestly, I revere the living hell out of this Heavy Metal legend. I did get to see Ozzy Osbourne live in concert twice during my lifetime. For me, those two concerts were unbelievable, with Metallica opening up for Ozzy in New Haven Connecticut, (at the spooky New Haven Coliseum) – it was The Ultimate Sin Tour for Ozzy and Metallica was promoting their legendary Master of Puppets album. The other Ozzy concert I saw had Queensryche open for Ozzy in Springfield, Massachusetts, (at the Springfield Civic Center), on this same Ultimate Sin Tour. Alright, so it is obvious I think the Metal world of Ozzy Osbourne… fine. However, by process of elimination, there has to be my least favorite Ozzy Osbourne song out there and there is one. I do not think much of the song, uh, ballad So Tired from Ozzy’s Bark At The Moon album. This song, ugh, ballad is responsible for my distaste of most Heavy Metal ballads ever released since, by any band. This album was released on December 10, 1983. Don’t get me wrong here, the Bark At The Moon album as a whole, is unreal good. Three songs on this album are incredible for me… Rock ‘n’ Roll Rebel, You’re No Different and of course – Bark At The Moon. These three Ozzy songs I can hold up on a Metal pedestal forever. Plus, Jake E. Lee on guitar is a Metal bonus to listen to.

So Tired is a song that in my Metal opinion, is overwhelmingly dull and depressing and does absolutely nothing but annoy me beyond belief. Who exactly is supposed to be so tired in this song? Is it Ozzy himself? Someone that Ozzy knows? I really do not care in the darn least who is tired. I get tired too, yet I never whine about it like Ozzy did in this song. Sure, maybe the tired theme was about waiting around for a love lost… who cares. So Tired is a perfect example of what happens when a Heavy Metal icon decides to go the Pop and Bubble Gum Music route with a song. Sappy city is open for tourists with So Tired. Get out the kleenex, So Tired is now playing… sniffle, sniffle, I am so moved. The orchestration in this song only annoys me more.

To me, So Tired just never seemed to fit in with the Bark At The Moon album. So Tired is a downer in the midst of some riveting Heavy Metal songs, a huge let down, like the depressed dude at a party trying to bring everyone else down with him. The video for So Tired, (which was on MTV too often back in the day), was so ridiculous that even I felt embarrassed for Ozzy. When the Bark At The Moon album was reissued, So Tired should have been omitted from the track list… it is that lousy – for me. In my Metal opinion, So Tired is the lowest moment of Ozzy Osbournes unparalleled and ultra legendary Heavy Metal career.

Ozzy Osbourne "Bark At The Moon" Large album picture

RAVAGE – “The End Of Tomorrow” – A Monster Of A Heavy Metal Album

Posted in Album Review, classic heavy metal, classic heavy metal albums, classic metal, collecting heavy metal albums, collecting metal music, collecting rock music, cool album covers, cover songs, creepy album covers, current heavy metal albums, current heavy metal bands, current heavy metal music, essential heavy metal albums, essential heavy metal songs, essential metal music albums, halloween songs, Heavy Metal, heavy metal album covers, heavy metal album review, heavy metal albums, heavy metal albums 2009, heavy metal bands from boston, heavy metal cover songs, heavy metal drummers, heavy metal guitarists, heavy metal music, heavy metal music 2009, Heavy Metal Reviews, heavy metal songs 2009, heavy metal vocalists, Metal, metal music, metal music albums, metal music today, metal odyssey, Metal Reviews, Music, new heavy metal album, old school heavy metal, rock music, scary album covers, speed metal, spooky album covers, spooky metal album covers, thrash metal music with tags al ravage vocalist, Album Review, classic heavy metal, current heavy metal albums, edward j. repka artist, eli firicano guitarist, g.t.b. drummer, Heavy Metal, heavy metal album review, heavy metal bands from boston, heavy metal guitarists, heavy metal music 2009, heavy metal songs 2009, howie snow bass guitarist, Metal, metal blade records, metal music, metal odyssey, Music, nick izzo guitarist, old school heavy metal albums, old school heavy metal bands, ravage, ravage band members, ravage heavy metal band, ravage the end of tomorrow album, the end of tomorrow album, the end of tomorrow song, the grapes of wrath song, the shredder song, track listing for the end of tomorrow on October 22, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

Ravage is a Heavy Metal Band from Boston, (actually Malden), Massachusetts and is hell bent on keeping Classic Metal Music alive, loud and damn proud. Every song on this second album from Ravage, The End Of Tomorrow, (their Metal Blade Records debut, released on August 18, 2009), is writhing with Old School Heavy Metal influence. Ravage does a credible job at flexing their Metal muscles on each song, heavy, hard and speed are irreversible elements that dominate The End Of Tomorrow. No where is the Old School Heavy Metal influence more evident than in the cover of the Judas Priest classic – Nightcrawler. Ravage shows Judas Priest their deserved Metal respect by not ripping Nightcrawler to pieces with any unnecessary fills or excessiveness. A fabulous cover Ravage does with this song, Nightcrawler is a genius choice to add to their track list on this album, based on it’s creepy and dark theme.

I have found that, the more I listen to The End Of Tomorrow, the more I am being convinced that this album was released back around 1985. Alas, that is not such the Metal case… Ravage brings forth to 2009 the Heavy Metal song structures and ambiance of what I have come to expect from vintage Metal Church and early Judas Priest and Armored Saint albums, to name just a few Old Schoolers. After each listen to this album, it is very obvious that the members of Ravage have done their Classic Heavy Metal homework. Knowing and creating all of the heavy nuances of their influences only catapults quality and integrity, on an upmost consistent level throughout The End Of Tomorrow. The Halls Of Madness not only has a vintage Metal title, it also is quite the convincing Heavy Metal instrumental intro that brings back memories of early Helloween and Savatage, for me. There really is not a scapegoat song to point out on The End Of Tomorrow, all twelve songs have their own distinctive Metal bite, an album that I can hit play and let the Heavy Metal assault take it’s natural course. Excuse me for a Metal second as I proclaim The End Of Tomorrow as being a top favorite Heavy Metal album for me in 2009, in my Metal opinion. Ravage can play Heavy Metal… their original brand too… I would not tell a Metal lie.

Reign Fall lyrically expresses the ghastly imagery of what happens to those who cannot think for themselves, wasting away at the mercy of ones very own doing. Reign Fall, as well as every song on The End Of Tomorrow, is a throwback Metal feast of melodic speed crashing into riffs that are beyond run of the mill. Al Ravage reminds me thoroughly of a young Rob Halford, (Judas Priest), intertwined with a young Paul Dianno, (of early Iron Maiden). Hey, I am by no means putting Al Ravage in this heroic class of Heavy Metal vocalists… (not yet anyways), what I am pointing out is Al Ravage can sing Heavy Metal with marked influences and originality combined. Ravage knows they are Old School, using this phrase so much doing a review may sound very redundant, yet for any veteran fan of Heavy Metal from yesteryear, you know just how juicy it can get when a new album excretes all things good about the glory days of Metal… The End Of Tomorrow is an unleashed monster of what I am talking about here.

My other favorite songs on this album are: The Grapes Of Wrath, which takes a Heavy Metal swipe at all the idiot talking heads on television, these plastic morons get called out on the Metal carpet by Al Ravage here rather eloquently. Plus, The Grapes Of Wrath is authentically memorable for my Metal mind, I just cannot shake this song out of my senses. The Shredder is another manifestation of early Judas Priest influence, only it takes on it’s own Ravage originality… reminding me of the Judas Priest classic – The Ripper, only The Shredder is absolutely not a knock off or copy cat by any means. The End Of Tomorrow is one powerful way to conclude this album, fittingly the title song… lyrically doom laden, the end result is a reality check on the life we are leading and living now. The End Of Tomorrow has a Power Metal approach that echos of great Heavy Metal triumphs to come in the future for this killer “new” band they call Ravage.

Ravage, as they appear on The End Of Tomorrow:

Al Ravage on lead vocals

Eli Firicano on lead and rhythm guitars

Nick Izzo on lead and rhythm guitars

G.T.B. on drums

Howie Snow on bass

Track Listing for The End Of Tomorrow:

The Halls Of Madness

Reign Fall

Freedom Fighter

Damn Nation

The Shredder

Into The Shackles

In Shattered Dreams

The Nightmare’s Hold: Part One

Nightcrawler

The Nightmare’s Hold: Part Two

Grapes Of Wrath

The End Of Tomorrow

C’mon, is this album cover OLD SCHOOL HEAVY METAL or what? Not only does the Heavy Metal of Ravage stand on it’s own, (they could have issued a plain blue cover and that would not change the quality of Metal songs heard inside one bit), yet man, this is cool throwback artwork happening here. I cry out a huge Metal bravo! – to artist Edward J. Repka for creating a REAL Heavy Metal album cover for Ravage.

Ravage - "The End Of Tomorrow" x-large pic

How I Discovered Motorhead And My Favorite Motorhead Song Ever

Motorhead is and always will be a core favorite Heavy Metal Band of mine, (a top 3 band without a doubt). I was first introduced to this prolific band back around 1983, a friend of mine in high school gave me an 8-track of a live Motorhead bootleg. (This dudes name was Rich, I am glad we had crossed paths back then). The sound was enormously awful, (the actual 8-track didn’t help), the lead vocals were beyond raspy and unclear and the Heavy Metal Music being played was raw, uncommercial and unlike anything I had ever heard before in my young life. I loved it. I was beyond thrilled at listening to this Motorhead 8-track. I was enamored by every unpolished intricacy that my rookie Metalhead ears heard. Here is this band, on a beat up 8-track, recorded as a live bootleg somewhere far away in the world, that only a dozen or so dudes in my high school even knew about at that time in 1983. All that was written on the blank white sticker on this 8-track was a barely legible – Motorhead Live. I’ll never forget that… an Old School Metal memory at it’s most innocent. I was awe struck by the unnatural vocals of Lemmy Kilmister and his bass was over powering to boot. Gimme some more Motorhead is what I said.

I wound up buying the Iron Fist album by Motorhead first, (on vinyl of course). This Iron Fist album was released on April 17, 1982, I bought it sometime in 1983… owning a real Motorhead album became a dire Metal necessity then, I needed to get the Metal ball rolling in starting my Motorhead collection. Not having too much money as a teenager, I did not make another Motorhead album purchase until the double album No Remorse was released – which was September 15, 1984. (I can’t recall if I actually bought No Remorse on it’s release date, who would care now? I do remember that I bought it right away though!). Buying No Remorse heightened my awareness, attitude and respect for Metal Music in 1984 – I now had a legitimate greatest hits of Motorhead in my possession. My favorite Motorhead song ever, is on No Remorse, it actually was a brand new song added to this greatest hits track list at the time. Killed By Death. An unreal and damn incredible Metal song for me then… still is now in 2009.

When I listen to Killed By Death today, it is like I am hearing it for the very first time again. I cannot figure that out, why bother? All I know is what this song does for me, it gets me extremely pumped up and motivated beyond Metal belief. The Heavy Metal and Roll vibe and groove that Killed By Death bestows is unlike any Motorhead song pre-1984. I was so fascinated back in 1984, while holding the double album jacket, staring at the front cover artwork of Snaggletooth, a.k.a. War-Pig and having my ears being ignited by Motorhead Metal. It felt like my little teenage world was made into a more tolerable place to exist in, with the Heavy Metal of Motorhead being at the ready for me to escape in. I could never forget just how much this No Remorse album of greatest hits means to me still, especially the song Killed By Death. Yes, I still have this No Remorse album, this double album is like Metal gold to me. I have kept it in pristine condition since September of 1984, this album is one of the fortunate ones that never was traded, sold, lost or given away by me.

I bought No Remorse at the no longer existing – Strawberries Records & Tapes. I even begged, bribed and pestered the Strawberries manager for months, to give me the Motorhead No Remorse promotional poster that hung on the store wall. (Back then, large record stores had class, they would actually give away any and all promotional posters for free, that is correct… for free). This Strawberries manager turned out to be a Metal hero for me… upon one of my extremely many trips there, he saw me enter the store and informed me the No Remorse promo poster was mine. That’s one cool memory – simple, innocent and Metal. This Motorhead No Remorse promo poster was hung up on my college dorm wall at Central Connecticut State University and survived. (I don’t know how it survived either). This same poster now adorns my basement wall… surrounded by many, many other Metal posters. However, this Motorhead No Remorse promo poster will forever remain as the Metal epicenter of my Rocked out basement, while the No Remorse album will remain as an integral reason as to why I revere Motorhead and Metal Music in the first place.

*My original copy of this Motorhead No Remorse – double album, depicts the same artwork on the front cover, however, the graphics Motorhead No Remorse are in deep red type.

TONY IOMMI & GLENN HUGHES – 1996 DEP SESSIONS ALBUM- OLD SCHOOL HEAVY METAL

Posted in 1970's classic rock albums, 1970's classic rock bands, 1970's hard rock bands, 1970's classic rock music, 1970's hard rock, 1970's heavy metal, 1970's heavy metal music, 1970's Rock, 1970's rock music, 1980's classic rock bands, 1980's classic rock guitarists, 1980's heavy metal albums, 1980's classic rock music, 1980's heavy metal bands, 1980's heavy metal music, 1980's metal music, 1986 heavy metal albums, 1986 heavy metal music, 1990's classic rock albums, 1990's classic rock music, 1990's hard rock music, 1990's heavy metal albums, 1990's heavy metal bands, 1990's rock music, 1990's hard rock bands, 1990's heavy metal music, Album Review, Black Sabbath, century media records, classic hard rock, classic hard rock music, classic heavy metal, classic heavy metal albums, classic metal, classic rock, classic rock albums, classic rock bands, classic rock music, classic rock vocalists, collecting classic rock, collecting heavy metal albums, collecting music, cool album covers, essential classic rock albums, essential hard rock albums, essential heavy metal albums, essential rock albums, hard rock music, hard rock songs, hard rock vocalists, hard to find rock albums, heavy metal album covers, heavy metal album review, heavy metal albums, heavy metal guitarists, heavy metal music, heavy metal vocalists, Metal, metal odyssey, Music, old school hard rock, old school heavy metal, rock & roll, rock and roll, rock and roll hall of fame inductees, rock music, rock vocalists, tony iommi heavy metal guitarist, vintage hard rock bands, vintage heavy metal bands with tags 1970's hard rock music, 1970's heavy metal music, 1970's rock music, 1980's heavy metal albums, 1980's heavy metal music, 1990's heavy metal music, Album Review, black sabbath heavy metal band, black sabbath seventh star album, classic hard rock music, classic rock, classic rock albums, classic rock music, deep purple hard rock band, glenn hughes bass guitarist, glenn hughes vocalist, hard rock music, Heavy Metal, heavy metal music, iommi and glenn hughes, iommi with glenn hughes the 1996 dep sessions album, metal music, metal odyssey, Music, old school heavy metal, rock music, the 1996 dep sessions album, tony iommi guitarist on October 20, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

I found IOMMI With Glenn Hughes – the 1996 Dep Sessions on the Century Media Records online store CM Distro.com. This CD set me back 3 bucks plus shipping. (I bought a few CD’s so the total shipping cost of 5 bucks was reasonable to me). This CD was in the clearance section at CM Distro.com, proving to be a cool Metal find for me. Tony Iommi is the lead guitarist for the ultra legendary/Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee – Black Sabbath. Glenn Hughes has had a stellar career of his own, most notably being a vocalist and bass guitarist for Deep Purple on their Burn and Stormbringer studio albums from 1974. Glenn Hughes is also on the Deep Purple studio album – Come Taste the Band from 1975, as well as several Deep Purple live albums, the most notable being Deep Purple – Made In Europe, from 1976. Glenn Hughes was a member of Black Sabbath, (hey, it is an official Black Sabbath album – Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi – Seventh Star). This studio album, Seventh Star, was released back in January of 1986 and Glenn Hughes was the lead vocalist only… Dave Spitz played bass on Seventh Star. This background information on Glenn Hughes is to help anyone who may be unfamiliar with his musicianship and/or career. Trust me, it would be a very long post to acknowledge everything Glenn Hughes has done during his illustrious music career dating back to 1968.

I have always revered the vocals of Glenn Hughes, not to mention his bass guitar exploits. When I listen to Glenn Hughes sing, it is the real deal for me… real Hard Rock vocals, real Heavy Metal vocals and yes, even soulful vocals on some of his solo work as well. Tony Iommi in my Metal opinion, is… if not the founding father of Heavy Metal guitar, then one of the very first. The combination of Glenn Hughes on vocals and Tony Iommi on guitar worked just fine for me on the Black Sabbath album, Seventh Star. Certainly, it was not the most famous music achievement for either Tony Iommi or Glenn Hughes, still it remains a standout album for me due to it’s Old School – Heavy Metal resonance and quality of songs.

This 1996 DEP Sessions album seems to rekindle that Old School Heavy Metal and Old School Hard Rock sound from the late 1970’s into the ’80’s. Do not expect a layered and very heavy album here, you will not be listening to Heaven and Hell or Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Even the Heavy Metal fog storm of Seventh Star is not revisited here by Iommi and Hughes. What I hear, is an appropriate blend of Rock, Hard Rock and Heavy Metal vocals from Glenn Hughes, to correspond with the diverse guitar brilliance of Tony Iommi. The riffs are plentiful, extremely distinguishable that this is Tony Iommi – the Old School, Heavy Metal riff king himself. Iommi does not shy away from writing and playing tremendously melodic leads as well, in a Metal nutshell… Tony Iommi’s guitar is the dominant musical force on this 1996 DEP Sessions album, (of course). Unlike the Black Sabbath albums with Geezer Butler on bass and Bill Ward on drums, the rhythm section on this album honestly does take a back seat… albeit intentional during production or it just may be my aging Metal ears.

My three favorite songs on this 1996 DEP Sessions album are: Gone – which plays out as the heaviest song, the opening riff is vintage Tony Iommi. I‘m Not The Same Man – has reality check lyrics and is driven with melodic hardness at every nook and cranny. Fine – is a Hard Rock ballad that just grabs my attention on a personal level, plus Tony Iommi and Glenn Hughes really deliver a genuine song here. All eight songs are memorable and good quality, both musically and lyrically. I won’t yell out loud that this album is unreal great and the best stuff these two Heavy Music legends have ever done. I will attest that this album has been a damn cool listening experience for me though. 1996 DEP Sessions is definitely worth picking up if you are a fan of Old School Heavy Metal and/or Hard Rock, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. Glenn Hughes and Tony Iommi fans have to own this album of course, the value is in the overall musicianship and diversity in songs. I will be playing this album regularly in the future, the combination of Glenn Hughes and Tony Iommi is just too cool to ignore.

Track Listing For: IOMMI with Glenn Hughes the 1996 Dep Sessions:

Gone

From Another World

Don’t You Tell Me

Don’t Drag The River

Fine

Time Is The Healer

I’m Not The Same Man

It Falls Through Me

* the 1996 Dep Sessions IOMMI with Glenn Hughes was released on September 28, 2004, on Sanctuary and Mayan Records.

My Favorite KISS Song From “SONIC BOOM” Is…

Posted in 1970's classic rock music, 1970's heavy metal, 1970's heavy metal music, 1970's rock music, 1980's classic rock bands, 1980's heavy metal albums, 1980's classic rock music, 1980's heavy metal bands, 1990's heavy metal bands, 1990's heavy metal music, Album Review, classic heavy metal, classic heavy metal albums, classic rock albums, classic rock music, collecting rock music, cool album covers, current heavy metal albums, current heavy metal music, essential heavy metal albums, essential heavy metal songs, Hard Rock, hard rock music, Heavy Metal, heavy metal album covers, heavy metal album review, heavy metal albums, heavy metal albums 2009, heavy metal bands this decade, heavy metal drummers, heavy metal guitarists, heavy metal music, heavy metal music 2009, Heavy Metal Reviews, heavy metal songs 2009, heavy metal vocalists, Metal, metal music, metal odyssey, Music, old school heavy metal, rock and roll, rock music, vintage hard rock bands, vintage heavy metal bands with tags 1970's hard rock music, 1970's heavy metal bands, 1980's heavy metal, 1980's heavy metal bands, 1980's heavy metal music, 1990's heavy metal bands, classic heavy metal, classic rock, classic rock music, eric singer drummer, gene simmons bass guitarist & vocalist, Heavy Metal, heavy metal albums, heavy metal guitarists, heavy metal music, kiss, kiss albums, kiss heavy metal band, kiss never enough song, kiss sonic boom album, Music, never enough song, paul stanley guitarist & vocalist, sonic boom album 2009, tommy thayer guitarist on October 7, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

I’m on a KISS high right now, thank you very Metal much. Sonic Boom is a tremendous album from the legendary KISS. Anyone who slams KISS and Sonic Boom either has never liked KISS to begin with or they are extremely constipated or they just don’t get it at all. Sonic Boom is rooted with a Classic KISS sound from the 1970’s… I don’t hear any influence from the KISS Asylum or Animalize albums from the roaring ’80’s – nope. This is one hell of a legitimate album of Heavy Metal songs from KISS. Tommy Thayer is unreal good on lead guitar, (I didn’t expect anything less), Gene Simmons sounds great on bass and vocals and Eric Singer is his usual outstanding self on drums. Onward with my favorite song from Sonic Boom – Never Enough. I always liked Paul Stanley’s vocals the best, (my personal preference), plus this song’s lyrics are upbeat as hell. Paul Stanley f***n nails it down on vocals with this song. Never Enough psyches me out of my Metal mind and that serves me right. I listened to this song at least six times before I continued forward through Sonic Boom… holy Metal crap is this song great. The whole Sonic Boom album is great. I am such a happy KISS fan right now, I am farting rose scented happy faces all over the place. Long live KISS Rock and Roll!

KISS "Sonic Boom" x-large album pic 2009

MY SUPER WALMART FINALLY PUT OUT KISS “SONIC BOOM” TODAY, OCTOBER 6, 2009

Posted in 1970's classic rock albums, 1970's classic rock bands, 1970's classic rock songs, 1970's hard rock bands, 1970's classic rock music, 1970's heavy metal, 1970's heavy metal albums, 1970's heavy metal music, 1970's rock music, 1980's classic rock bands, 1980's heavy metal bands, 1990's heavy metal bands, classic hard rock, classic heavy metal, classic heavy metal albums, classic rock, classic rock albums, classic rock bands, classic rock music, classic rock songs, collecting classic rock, collecting heavy metal albums, collecting music, collecting rock music, cool album covers, current hard rock albums, current heavy metal albums, essential hard rock albums, essential heavy metal albums, hard rock music, hard rock music 2009, Heavy Metal, heavy metal album covers, heavy metal albums, heavy metal albums 2009, heavy metal bands this decade, heavy metal guitarists, heavy metal music, heavy metal music 2009, heavy metal vocalists, metal odyssey, Music, old school hard rock, old school heavy metal, rock and roll, rock music, vintage heavy metal albums, vintage heavy metal bands, vintage rock albums with tags 1970's classic rock albums, 1970's hard rock music, 1970's kiss albums, 1970's rock music, 1980's heavy metal, classic heavy metal, classic rock albums, classic rock music, current heavy metal albums, eric singer drummer, gene simmons bass guitarist, Heavy Metal, kiss, kiss 2009, kiss dvd live in buenos aires, kiss heavy metal band, kiss klassics 2009, kiss sonic boom album, kiss sonic boom cd packaging, kiss sonic boom liner notes, Music, only at walmart, paul stanley guitarist & vocalist, super walmart, tommy thayer guitarist & vocalist, walmart on October 7, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

MetalOdyssey It’s always great to vent. Vent I did in my last post – where I needed over 1,100 words to express my disappointment in not being able to purchase the new KISS CD – Sonic Boom at my local Super Walmart on October 6, 2009, (the release date for it). Just as I hoped for and predicted, at 4:00 p.m. EST, I entered the Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, Super Walmart and took hold of my very own copy of Sonic Boom. (Phew). I can now say I bought this new KISS CD on it’s release date… yes, it means something to me. I have my core Heavy Metal and Hard Rock Bands that I have followed for decades, when they release a new album I try my very best to buy it on the release day. Metal case closed. I went to this Super Walmart twice during the morning of October 6, (the release date), my last visit was at 9;30 a.m. EST, as I left empty handed. I will say this much… the packaging for this Sonic Boom CD is INCREDIBLE! Once I get to crank up Sonic Boom for a couple of listens, I will post my Metal jubilation. Here are some quick tidbits about my Sonic Boom shopping experience at Super Walmart, plus other related notes:

* I give credit where credit is due – Sonic Boom, is being sold (exclusively) at Walmart for a cool $12! The credit is the price of $12 – not the “exclusive” part.

* As a 3 disc set, Sonic Boom is: disc 1 – is 11 new KISS songs! disc 2 – is 15 KISS Klassics! (re-recorded with the current KISS lineup and disc 3 – is a DVD of KISS live in Buenos Aires! Not too shabby for $12!

* The Sonic Boom digipak opens up four times across – 4 panels! With each KISS member having his own image on a panel. Cool.

* The liner notes are a Metal kick! 20 pages of complete lyrics! A center photo spread of the entire KISS Band! Facsimile autographs of each KISS member are on the center spread photo as well. (They aren’t real autographs just to make it very clear). Cool enough for me. These liner notes are like a Sonic Boom mini-book.

* There is a KISS KORNER after all! (It did not exist at my Super Walmart the morning of October 6th). My daughters actually found it… up in front of the store, just in front of one register lane. It is not as big as I anticipated, still it is cool enough for me. You can buy a complete set of KISS cards, (33 card set), that are inside a very cool box. I bought the Gene Simmons box version… it has the classic Gene Simmons “The Demon” face all over it. There are also some crazy looking KISS character dolls, blankets and tee shirts too. The blankets and tee shirts have the Sonic Boom album cover artwork all over them! I was unfortunately pressed for time on my third trip to Super Walmart today, therefore on my next visit there I will inspect the KISS KORNER thoroughly, making certain I know of every little KISS goodie that is available to buy.

* The Sonic Boom CD was in the front rack of the CD aisle – filed under new releases. Sonic Boom also was found in the area of CD’s which housed the re-issued Beatles CD’s for the last couple of weeks. Sorry, Beatles. (And I do revere the Beatles). Again, this was not the case at this Super Walmart on my first two trips there that morning. No Sonic Boom CD’s were in sight between 8:00 and 9:30 a.m. EST.

* Another credit goes to Walmart – you can buy KISS CD’s from their 1970’s catalog for – $5!!! You read that right… five bucks man! I did not see or find any 1980’s KISS CD’s for this price. That is cool, for the CD’s priced at $5 that I did see were: Dressed To Kill, Hotter Than Hell and Rock and Roll Over. These KISS CD’s might have been the first batch or whatever to get into this Super Walmart, the selection hopefully will grow into the whole catalog of KISS CD’s. Again, these were the only KISS CD’s that I for certain identified and were there for $5.

Am I still upset with Super Walmart for not having Sonic Boom stocked at 8:00 and then 9:30 a.m. EST – the morning of it’s release? You bet I am. This is not the first time I have gone to this Super Walmart on a new release Tuesday… several times in the past few years I have had to make a return trip later in the day, (or go to Best Buy, Target or f.y.e. instead), to get a newly released CD that I wanted to initially buy at Super Walmart. This instance where it involved the new KISS Sonic Boom, well, it just was the Metal straw that broke the donkey’s back for me. The service or vendor that Walmart uses to stock their CD’s should be held accountable for failing to get new releases on the shelves before the doors open to the public. I still hope Gene Simmons would somehow get wind of this blunder that has occurred at Super Walmart in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania… it’s the fans that get screwed out of enjoying Sonic Boom for the whole first day of it’s release like I did. I guess you just can’t get between, (or mess with), a middle aged, (male), Metalhead and his adoration and loyalty to KISS.

KISS "Sonic Boom" x-large album pic 2009

KROKUS – “ROCK THE BLOCK” Has Rocked My Heavy Metal World

Krokus "Rock The Block" large album pic At the end of the day, I thank my lucky Metal stars that Krokus has existed – and still exists as a Heavy Metal Band. I have listened to Krokus since the early ’80’s, with Headhunter, (released on November 30, 1983), being my favorite Krokus album ever. Krokus has always maintained their straight-up brand of Heavy Metal over the decades, (spanning 4 decades), mixing in a power ballad here and there for good Metal measure. The comparisons to AC/DC over the years have been rather unfair, although I can understand why this comparison exists. (Marc Storace on lead vocals for Krokus does have resemblance to the legendary and late Bon Scott). Krokus has easily differentiated their songs on past albums, Screaming In The Night from Headhunter, Our Love from The Blitz album and Burning Up The Night from the Change of Address album are three cool examples to point out. Plus, Krokus has never been bashful in the past about doing cover songs… they kicked some Metal ass with School’s Out by Alice Cooper, Ballroom Blitz by Sweet and American Woman by The Guess Who. In a Metal nutshell, AC/DC is a legendary – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Band… Krokus has longevity, a strong and hard work ethic and a catalog of Heavy Metal albums worth their weight in Metal gold. Two different bands, Krokus just never received the popular vote… they are the band that Metalheads from decades past know are damn great at what they do. Krokus does not need acceptance from a Hall of Fame building to feel like they belong or accomplished anything… the fans know the difference.

Krokus collage band photo 2009 Phew, now that this Krokus introduction is out of my Metal system, I can get excited now about telling the world about their 2003 album – Rock The Block (on Warner Brothers). You see, I have kept cool Metal tabs on Krokus throughout the years, still, an album will be put on my want list and wind up not being purchased for some unreal reason or another. Skipping over Rock The Block, I wound up buying right away the Hellraiser album by Krokus back in 2006. (Hellraiser by the way is one damn good Krokus album too). Fast forward to October of 2009 and I still do not own the Rock The Block album… until, once again, step in my best buddy – Scott. He sent me the Rock The Block CD via mail last week. On Friday, October 4, 2009 – I officially owned this album on CD and cranked it up for all it’s Heavy Metal worth.

Within a four year period, from 2003 to 2006, Krokus has released two great Heavy Metal albums. All the while, there are those bands who release that one album every ten to fifteen years and because they are elite, the mainstream press goes ape crap over it. With Krokus, there is no Walmart exclusive contract, yet they bring the Old School Heavy Metal that never fails to kick my ass into Heavy Metal shape. Rock The Block never made the cover of any prima donna – mainstream Rock magazines… thank god. This album gets it’s just due here, on Metal Odyssey. Krokus will forever get their just due on Metal Odyssey. All 14 songs are Krokus Heavy Metal… there is no in between. Mad World opens up this album and has me amazed at how strong and relevant the lyrics are. I instantly became absorbed into the Heavy Metal world of Krokus while listening to this album. Mad World is as intensely good a Krokus song I have ever heard. To go through each song that is on Rock The Block would be nonsensical here, this album is as complete a Krokus Heavy Metal album as there ever was. Rock The Block – Rocked my Heavy Metal world this past Friday… as a first time listen nearing seven years after it’s release.

Krokus, as they appeared on Rock The Block:

Marc Storace – lead vocals

Fernando Von Arb – lead guitar

Tony Castell – bass guitar

Dominique Favez – rhythm guitar

Patrick Aeby – drums

Krokus – Rock The Block Track Listing:

Mad World
Leading the Pack
I Want It All
Open Fire
One For All
Looking to America
Go My Way
Hot Shot
Raise Your Hands
Night of the Snakes
Throwing Her China
We’ll Rise
Freedom
Rock the Block

Krokus "Rock The Block" large album pic

SLAUGHTER – “STICK IT TO YA” HAS STUCK TO ME

Posted in 1990's classic rock music, 1990's heavy metal albums, 1990's heavy metal bands, 1990's heavy metal hits, 1990's heavy metal songs, 1990's rock music, Album Review, classic heavy metal, classic heavy metal albums, classic rock music, collecting music, cool album covers, essential heavy metal albums, essential heavy metal songs, hard rock music, heavy meta albums 1990, Heavy Metal, heavy metal album covers, heavy metal album review, heavy metal albums, heavy metal guitarists, heavy metal music, Heavy Metal Reviews, heavy metal vocalists, metal music, metal odyssey, Music, old school heavy metal, rock music, vintage heavy metal albums, vintage heavy metal bands, vintage heavy metal songs with tags 1990's heavy metal songs, 1990's heavy metal music, Blas Elias drummer, bristol connecticut, bulletboys, chrysalis records, classic rock, classic rock music, Dana Strum bass guitarist, f.y.e., fly to the angels song, heavy metal album review, heavy metal albums, heavy metal guitarists, heavy metal music, lake compounce amusement park, mad about you song, mark slaughter vocalist & guitarist, Music, poison hair metal band, poison heavy metal band, slaughter, slaughter 1990, slaughter heavy metal band, slaughter stick it to ya album 1990, spend my life song slaughter, stick it to ya album track listing, tim kelly guitarist, up all night song slaughter on October 3, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

Slaughter – Stick It To Ya is an album that has really stuck to me lately. I have been listening to Stick It To Ya each day this past week, these songs on this album just seem to have hit me the right way. Released in 1990, Stick It To Ya has at least four songs that were played quite steadily on FM radio back in the very early 90’s. Up All Night, Spend My Life, Fly To The Angels and Mad About You were the hits, if you will. I have always liked this band for certain, the vocals of Mark Slaughter and the straight up Heavy Metal sound of Slaughter never fails to put me in a cool mood. Labeling Slaughter as a Glam/Hair Metal Band just does not jive with me, their brand of Rock will always be Heavy Metal, in my Metal opinion. I saw Slaughter live back around 1990 or so, they were opening up for Poison. The other opening act that night was BulletBoys. Slaughter did an all acoustic set that evening… I was disappointed that they were not going to let it all Rock out, frankly I was stunned. Despite my initial feelings with Slaughter doing the acoustic versions of their songs, it turned out to be quite cool after all. I was able to see a different look of Slaughter that night, this band showed me they were damn good musicians. This concert took place at Lake Compounce Amusement Park, in Bristol, Connecticut.

I have owned for some time, the CD – The Best Of by Slaughter, the ten songs on this disc are great, only Fly To The Angels and Spend My Life are missing from the song selection. Not cool. So, I promised myself to add the real Slaughter albums to my CD collection over time, starting with Stick It To Ya. About one week ago, I found the used copy of Stick It To Ya at my local f.y.e., the astounding Metal price of $4.49 is all it took for me to claim this CD as my own. Man, I cannot get enough of this album… every single song too. Going back to 1990 for just a Metal second… Spend My Life was a song that reminded me of my girlfriend I was going steady with back then, it still does remind me of her for she is my incredible wife for the past fifteen years now. My wife, (girlfriend was her title back in 1990), gave me unconditional love and support when I needed it most back in the early 90’s. (Believe me, she still does). Spend My Life could not have been released at a better time than 1990, this song means a ton to me.

I just spoke about Stick It To Ya today, in a conversation with my best buddy Scott, (he digs Slaughter too)… telling him that I could not believe it has been 20 years since this album was released, (give or take a few months). He understood where I was coming from. I told Scott, it seems like it was just a couple of years ago, when Slaughter made their move onto the Heavy Metal scene. This is what happens as you get older I guess, albums and bands you really dig don’t age, they only get better with time and are there for you at the push of the play button. I will be pushing that play button for Slaughter and Stick It To Ya for a very long time to come.

Track Listing for the original release of Stick It To Ya:

Eye to Eye – 3:57
Burnin’ Bridges – 4:07
Up All Night 4:16
Spend My Life – 3:21
Thinking of June (Instrumental) – 1:05
She Wants More – 3:55
Fly to the Angels – 5:05
Mad About You – 4:05
That’s Not Enough – 3:25
You Are the One – 3:55
Gave Me Your Heart – 3:51
Desperately – 3:34
Loaded Gun – 4:18
Fly to the Angels (Acoustic Version) – 3:22
Wingin’ It – 1:11

Some Extra Info on Slaughter’s Stick It To Ya… to better fulfill your Metal Soul:

* Stick It To Ya has gone double platinum, selling over 2 million albums – very cool.

* Stick It To Ya was nominated for best Heavy Metal album of the year, by the 1991 edition of the American Music Awards.

* Stick It To Ya was released on January 27, 1990, on Chrysalis Records.

Slaughter as they appeared on Stick It To Ya: Mark Slaughter – lead vocals and guitar, Tim Kelly – guitar, Dana Strum – bass guitar and Blas Elias – drums

LOUDNESS “Shadows of War/Lightning Strikes” – A 1986 Heavy Metal Blast From The Past

Posted in 1980's heavy metal bands, 1980's heavy metal music, 1980's metal music, 1986 heavy metal albums, 1986 heavy metal music, Album Review, classic heavy metal, classic heavy metal albums, cool album covers, essential heavy metal albums, Heavy Metal, heavy metal album covers, heavy metal album review, heavy metal albums, heavy metal albums 1986, heavy metal music, heavy metal music from japan, Heavy Metal Reviews, japanese heavy metal bands, Metal, metal music, metal odyssey, Metal Reviews, Music, old school heavy metal, rock music, vintage heavy metal albums, vintage heavy metal bands with tags 1980's heavy metal albums, 1980's heavy metal, 1980's heavy metal bands, 1980's heavy metal music, 1986 heavy metal albums, Album Review, classic heavy metal, Heavy Metal, heavy metal album review, higuchi munetaka drummer, loudness, loudness band lineup 1986, loudness heavy metal 1986, loudness heavy metal band, loudness japanese heavy metal band, loudness lightning strikes album, loudness shadows of war album 1986, Music, niihara minoru vocalist, old school heavy metal, shadows of war and lightning strikes albums from loudness, takasaki akira guitarist, yamashita masayoshi bass guitarist on September 29, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

The Heavy Metal genre and all of it’s mind bending sub genres can be quite the vast musical Universe to explore. There are countless bands that make these Heavy Music genres quake and explode with excitement at every turn. For me to say I have listened to every band out there would be an outright Metal lie… I have stated this before. Come forward please, Loudness and their 1986 album Shadows of War. Whoa. Whoa again. Why on Metal Earth, did it take me 23 years to finally listen to Loudness and Shadows of War? (See previous explanation within this paragraph for the Metal answer). Man, the outright powerful, Heavy Metal thunder of Loudness, is overwhelmingly great on Shadows of War. This album is the Japanese version with a different album/CD cover of it’s twin – American release Lightning Strikes. The only differences between Shadows of War and Lightning Strikes are: the order of the track listing, slight differences in the vocal melodies and Ashes In The Sky (from Lightning Strikes) and Shadows of War (from Shadows of War) are the same song. Buying one version over the other is basically an identical listen of Loudness Heavy Metal here. In this Metal situation, recommending either version is the way to go.

Loudness "Lightning Strikes" very small album pic

Yes Virginia, there is a Metal Santa Claus and his name is my best buddy Scott. You see, Scott gets quite giddy about sending CD’s of Metal through the mail to me… especially CD’s of Metal Bands that I have never delved into with unrestrained Metal abandon. Loudness Shadows of War came in the mail last week, courtesy of my buddy. This album is so damn cool, the songs on Shadows of War is yet another reminder to me, that 1986 was an incredible year, from an amazing decade for Heavy Metal album releases. Loudness could have easily named this album – psyche you out of your Heavy Metal mind – for all nine songs encompass a continuous and momentous listen in electrifying Heavy Metal power. Believe me, the last thing I want to come across as doing here is being rah, rah, rah, about Loudness and this album. I could never be more Metal serious by stating… Loudness and their 1986 album, Shadows of War, is one fine Heavy Metal blast from the past.

Loudness "Shadows of War" large album pic

This is the Shadows of War cover! (Japanese version)

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Check out LOUDNESS on their myspace page:

http://www.myspace.com/loudnessisback

Check out LOUDNESS on http://www.takasaki.net/Loudness/

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Loudness – 1986 Band Lineup on Shadows of War/Ligtning Strikes:

Guitars: TAKASAKI Akira

Vocals: NIIHARA Minoru

Bass: YAMASHITA Masayoshi

Drums: HIGUCHI Munetaka

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LOUDNESS – Shadows of War/Lightning Strikes – Track Listing:

1. Let It Go (4:13)

2. Dark Desire (4:19)

3. 1000 Eyes (4:35)

4. Face To Face (3:49)

5. Who Knows (Time to Make A Stand) (4:02)

6. Shadows of War (Ashes In The Sky) (6:02)

7. Black Star Oblivion (3:55)

8. Street Life Dream (4:28)

9. Complication (4:00)

Loudness "Lightning Strikes" large album pic

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Some SCARY SONGS to Search Out for this Halloween Season

Posted in 1960's classic rock music, 1960's rock & roll, 1970's classic rock bands, 1970's classic rock songs, 1970's hard rock bands, 1970's classic rock music, 1970's heavy metal, 1970's heavy metal music, 1970's rock music, 1980's thrash metal music, 1980's classic rock, 1980's classic rock music, 1980's heavy metal music, 1990's heavy metal bands, 1990's heavy metal songs, 1990's thrash metal bands, 1990's thrash metal songs, 1990's heavy metal music, 1990's thrash metal music, classic hard rock, classic hard rock music, classic heavy metal, classic heavy metal albums, classic rock, classic rock albums, classic rock bands, classic rock cover songs, classic rock music, classic rock songs, collecting music, collecting rock music, cool album covers, cover songs, creepy album covers, essential classic rock albums, essential heavy metal songs, halloween rock music songs, halloween songs, Heavy Metal, heavy metal music, horror metal, horror punk, horror punk albums, horror punk rock music, Metal, metal odyssey, misfits album covers, Music, old school hard rock, old school heavy metal, old school punk rock, power metal music, punk rock music, rock and roll, rock music, scary album covers, scary rock music songs, spooky album covers, thrash metal music, vintage rock and roll cover songs with tags black sabbath heavy metal band, black sabbath song, blue oyster cult rock band, bobby boris pickett, boris the spider song, cky heavy metal band, dead skin mask song, edgar winter rock musician, frankenstein song, godzilla song, halloween, halloween songs, hard rock music, heavy metal music, helloween halloween song, helloween power metal band, iron maiden heavy metal band, john entwistle bass guitarist, marilyn manson, michael kiske vocalist, misfits cuts from the crypt album, misfits project 1950 album, misfits punk rock band, monster mash song, Music, old carver's bones song, over kill thrash metal band, ozzy osbourne vocalist, punk rock music, slayer thrash metal band, the nightmare before christmas soundtrack, the number of the beast song, the who, this is halloween song, tony iommi guitarist, warren zevon, werewolves of london song on September 23, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

Misfits "Cuts From The Crypt" large album pic

Halloween is coming and there are scary songs aplenty out there, to get me in the spooky spirit. I came up with a list of my favorites, each song a true Classic in it’s own frightful right. Heavy Metal, Hard Rock and Punk Rock are all represented here well with cool and frightening songs… go ahead… peruse and enjoy this list – if you dare!

Monster Mash – Misfits – I really get a kick out of the Misfits cover version of this 1962 Bobby “Boris” Pickett original. The Misfits cover version can be found on their albums Project 1950 and Cut’s From The Crypt. The Bobby “Boris” Pickett original version of Monster Mash reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart on October 20, 1962. I covet the original version just as much as the Misfits cover.

Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon – this song is originally found on Warren Zevon’s 1978 album Excitable Boy. I just bought the live version of Warren Zevon’s Werewolves of London on itunes a week ago… the live version is unreal good. Since I first heard this song in 1978, it never ceases to put me in the Halloween mood, no matter what time of year I listen to this great song.

Godzilla – Blue Oyster Cult – this song is found on the Blue Oyster Cult album Spectres, released in 1977. The live version of Godzilla is found on their 1978 album Some Enchanted Evening… I lean towards liking the live version more, always have. The live version just seems to have more total heaviness – a Classic Rock gem.

Halloween – Helloween – alright, now we are talking about some serious Metal here. The 1987 album Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part 1 is where you can find this song, truly an amazing Power Metal epic… at 13 minutes & 18 seconds long, yet every second is Metal brilliance. This song exploits the vocal excellence of Michael Kiske, he was an incredible singer for Helloween, period.

Boris The Spider – The Who – Released in 1966 (the year that I was, gulp, born) – A Quick One is The Who album where this legendary song is found. A short song, at 2 minutes & 29 seconds, the late John Entwistle gives this creepy little song it’s Rock character through his bass and vocals too.

The Number of the Beast – Iron Maiden – Whoa, this song gets better each time I hear it… I am sure I am not alone in stating that. Released on the Number of the Beast album from 1982, it seems like yesterday to me.

Old Carver’s Bones – CKY – From the 2009 CKY album Carver City, this song is scary with multiple exclamation points. The music and lyrics of this song makes the creep out meter catch on fire.

Dead Skin Mask – Slayer – In 1990, Slayer released Seasons in the Abyss – just the title of this song says enough… F’n Slayer rules.

This Is Halloween – Marilyn Manson – I practically inhale this song every late September up until Halloween night. This Is Halloween sung by the legendary Marilyn Manson, can be heard on the re-release of The Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack, (re-released in 2006). Metal truth be told, this is probably my most favorite Marilyn Manson song ever… and I like a ton of Marilyn Manson songs a great deal. Marilyn Manson sounds so damn mean, nasty and scary on this song that it creates a thunderstorm in the sky above, wherever it is played.

Frankenstein – Over Kill – this Thrash Metal cover of the Edgar Winter original is frighteningly unreal good. An instrumental, there is no need for lyrics… the music is alarmingly spooky to the maximum. I embrace the Edgar Winter original as much as the Over Kill cover version… bear in mind the Over Kill cover version is damn heavier!! The Over Kill cover version is found on their 1991 album Horrorscope. The Edgar Winter Group original version of Frankenstein is on their 1972 album They Only Come Out at Night.

Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath – from the debut self titled album Black Sabbath, (released in 1970), the song Black Sabbath carries me through a nightmare that I never mind revisiting. Everything about this song spells chillingly scary… from Ozzy Osbourne’s vocals to Tony Iommi’s doom laden riffs, the godfather of creepy Metal songs without a doubt in my Metal mind.

I could go on until Doomsday with a master list of scary and horror laden songs that get me pumped for Halloween. These songs are the ones that I seem to listen to the most, (or so it seems). Maybe you agree with this list of shock and scream songs, maybe you have a song to add to this list too… don’t hesitate to give your suggestion or two for songs that are just as frightening or more so. Happy Halloween.

http://www.covenworldwide.org/
http://www.myspace.com/kingdiamond

KING DIAMOND – METAL BLADE TO REISSUE “THE GRAVEYARD” and “THE SPIDER’S LULLABYE” on OCTOBER 13, 2009!

King Diamond, the legendary Metal front man for Mercyful Fate and Horror Metal/Heavy Metal icon. King Diamond and his band have left more than a mark on Heavy Metal history, a chunk of Heavy Metal history is King Diamond. On October 13, 2009, the infamous Metal Blade Records will reissue two King Diamond Classics… The Graveyard and The Spider’s Lullabye. Very cool. Just in time for Halloween… very cool again. Both albums have been re-mastered by King Diamond guitarist Andy LaRocque. The Spider’s Lullabye was originally released in 1995, with The Graveyard originally released in 1996. Bonus live bootleg footage will be available for download, for those who purchase either of these two reissues. The bonus footage for download will be these three King Diamond songs: The Spider’s Lullabye, Trick Or Treat and Up From The Grave. Reissue’s are always great, especially when they include new songs and/or videos – downloading the bonus content for these albums is fine with me, especially when King Diamond is looking at giving the fans the highest quality in sound and video. Man, I better start saving up some spare change or my Christmas want list is going to be very long with all of the new Metal CD’s that are coming out next month! Metal rules. King Diamond is a big reason why. King Diamond is delivering a Happy Halloween to his fans and all fans of Metal on October 13, 2009.

You can find out more about these reissues and King Diamond by visiting the official King Diamond/Mercyful Fate site and King Diamond’s MySpace page:

King Diamond - The Graveyard large album image

KISS “Sonic Boom” album cover & track listings!

KISS Sonic Boom will be released on October 6, 2009, in the U.S., exclusively at Walmart, Walmart.com and Sam’s Club. Sonic Boom is a 3 – disc set: a CD of 11 new KISS songs, a 15 song newly re-recorded KISS Klassics CD and 1 KISS Bonus Live DVD. Cool. I will be buying my copy of Sonic Boom first thing on October 6th, (right after I bring my daughters to school). Admitting that I am stoked about KISS returning with Sonic Boom is a Metal understatement! The wait is coming to an end… a new KISS album is upon us, for me it will be Christmas in October, uh, Kissmas in October that is. Long live KISS Rock and Roll!

The Bonus Live DVD is footage from the KISS 2009 South American Tour in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A 20 page booklet will be included inside Sonic Boom as well. Sonic Boom will come as a DigiPak.

KISS "Sonic Boom" x-large album pic 2009

Track Listing for KISS Sonic Boom:

1. Modern Day Delilah

2. Russian Roulette

3. Never Enough

4. Yes I Know (Nobody’s Perfect)

5. Stand

6. Hot And Cold

7. All For The Glory

8. Danger Us

9. I’m An Animal

10. When Lightning Strikes

11. Say Yeah

Track Listing for the KISS Klassics CD:

1. Deuce

2. Detroit Rock City

3. Shout It Out Loud

4. Hotter Than Hell

5. Calling Dr. Love

6. Love Gun

7. I Was Made For Lovin’ You

8. Heaven’s On Fire

9. Lick It Up

10. I Love It Loud

11. Forever

12. Christine Sixteen

13. Do You Love Me

14. Black Diamond

15. Rock And Roll All Nite

KISS Bonus Live DVD Track Listing:

1. Deuce

2. Hotter Than Hell

3. C’mon And Love Me

4. Watchin’ You

5. 100,000 Years

6. Rock And Roll All Nite

TWISTED SISTER – “Love is for Suckers” has made a sucker out of me

Posted in 1980's hair metal bands, 1980's heavy metal albums, 1980's heavy metal hits, 1980's classic rock, 1980's hair metal music, 1980's heavy metal bands, 1980's heavy metal music, 1980's heavy metal songs, 1987 heavy metal music, Album Review, classic heavy metal, classic heavy metal albums, collecting music, cool album covers, essential heavy metal albums, essential heavy metal songs, feel good stories, hair metal music, Heavy Metal, heavy metal album covers, heavy metal album review, heavy metal albums, heavy metal guitarists, heavy metal music, Heavy Metal Reviews, heavy metal vocalists, Metal, metal odyssey, Music, old school heavy metal, rock and roll, rock music, vintage heavy metal albums, vintage heavy metal bands, vintage heavy metal songs with tags 1980's heavy metal albums, 1980's heavy metal, 1980's heavy metal music, 1980's heavy metal songs, a.j. pero drummer, Album Review, atlantic records, big hits and nasty cuts: the best of twisted sister album, classic rock music, dee snider vocalist, eddie "fingers" ojeda guitarist, Heavy Metal, heavy metal album review, heavy metal albums, heavy metal music, hot love twisted sister song 1987, jay jay french guitarist, joe franco drummer, joey "seven" franco drummer, kip winger vocalist, love is for suckers album 1987, mark "the animal" mendoza bass guitarist, me and the boys twisted sister song, metal music, mtv, Music, twisted sister, twisted sister 1987, twisted sister albums, twisted sister heavy metal band, wake up (the sleeping giant) song, yeah right twisted sister song on September 19, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

Twisted Sister – Love Is For Suckers was released on August 13, 1987, on Atlantic Records. Back then, as a Metal fan, I was totally engulfed with Thrash and Speed Metal. To make a Metal confession, I never bought this Twisted Sister album, after owning their first four albums. I was not overly impressed with Come Out And Play, (released in 1985), I guess the first three Twisted Sister albums really spoiled me. So, I took in whatever songs MTV or the FM stations were playing from Love Is For Suckers. Seeing the video for Hot Love and hearing it played on FM radio very frequently, back in 1987-1988 was, I thought, the coolest extent of this album. I always liked Hot Love, this song reminds me of some cool times back in 1987-88… and there isn’t anything wrong with that. Hot Love is upbeat and (gasp), commercially catchy in it’s unique Heavy Metal way. A few years ago, I bought Twisted Sister’s Big Hits and Nasty Cuts: The Best of Twisted Sister, it contains several cool live bonus tracks that enticed me… unreal great songs at that. The Metal kicker here, is that there are no songs from Love is for Suckers on this Best of album… I smell controversy. Therefore, my continuation of never hearing more than Hot Love from Love is for Suckers continued… Fast forward to September 18, 2009… Twisted Sister – Love is for Suckers has for all Metal intents and purposes, made a sucker out of me.

Understand, that I could never financially afford or find the time to listen to every Heavy Metal and Hard Rock album that has been created in the last forty years. For me, that is impossible, I would have to be able to do nothing at all but listen to Heavy Metal/Hard Rock every hour, around the clock, with an endless flow of cash available to buy every album out there. Step in my best buddy Scott… a copy of Love is for Suckers arrived in my mail today, thank you Scott. This album was just an unfortunate victim of being overlooked by me for over two decades… today I repent this Heavy Metal error and I am a better Metalhead for it. I now hereby declare, that Love is for Suckers is incredibly better than Come Out And Play, in my Metal opinion. Plus, all of the professionally paid Rock critics who have bashed and trashed this great album over the years should be embarrassed for never listening to it in the first place.

My favorite song is the album opener – Wake Up (The Sleeping Giant), not to sound like a lame television talent show judge here… Dee Snider on vocals is not just powerful, he is electrifying, in my Metal opinion. Whoa, do I wish I listened to this album years ago. I honestly will put this song at the top of my favorite list for Twisted Sister songs and Heavy Metal songs period. Me and the Boys and Yeah Right are two other stand out songs for me as well. Suffice to admit, there is not one song on Love is for Suckers that I would fast forward through ever. A wise Metalhead once told me… great Metal comes to those Metalheads who wait. Well, this Metalhead unbelievably waited twenty two years to finally listen to Love is for Suckers in it’s entirety. I’m sure Dee Snider will forgive me. I am Metal thankful to my best buddy Scott for making me realize… I am a sucker for Love is for Suckers after all.

Twisted Sister as they appeared on Love is for Suckers:

Dee Snider – lead vocals

Eddie “Fingers” Ojeda – lead guitar

Jay Jay French – rhythm guitar, backing vocals

Mark “The Animal” Mendoza – bass, backing vocals

Joe Franco – drums, percussion (credited as Joey “Seven” Franco)

* Obviously, the legendary A.J. Pero was not the drummer on Love is for Suckers.

* Kip Winger supplies backing vocals on Love is for Suckers… cool.

SAXON – “Denim And Leather” Heavy Metal song resonates with Old School pride

Saxon - Biff Byford image 2009 My favorite Saxon song ever created is Denim And Leather, found on their 1981 album Denim And Leather. The riff that repeats throughout this entire song is so addicting and memorable for me. I swear that this song could never lose it’s Metal appeal, ever. Each time I listen to Denim And Leather, this song just resonates with Old School Heavy Metal swagger, pride and power. The power is in the Heavy Metal music, the pride is in the lyrics and the swagger is Biff Byford on lead vocals. Denim And Leather is probably one of the very first in a long line of Heavy Metal anthems. (I would not want to take on the task of actually researching which song was the very first Heavy Metal anthem … it does sound like a cool thing to do if I have the spare time in the future though). If I ever make a list of my top 25 favorite Heavy Metal songs of all time, man, Denim And Leather would be right up there. If someone who has never listened to Saxon before, asked me to play them a song from Saxon, Denim And Leather would be choice #1. When this song gets cranked up really loud, it makes for the Metal maximum enjoyable listen.

The band lineup for Saxon, as they appeared on Denim And Leather in 1981:

Biff Byford – Vocal, Graham Oliver – Guitar, Paul Quinn – Guitar, Steve Dawson – Bass and Pete Gill on Drums

Denim And Leather:

Where were you in ’79 when the dam began to burst
Did you check us out down at the local show
Were you wearing denim, wearing leather
Did you run down to the front
Did you kill for your ticket through the ice and snow

Denim and Leather
Brought us all together
It was you that set the spirit free
Denim and Leather
Brought us all together
It was you that set the spirit free

Did you read the music paper from the back and to the front
Did you find out where to see your favorite band
Did you listen to the radio every Friday night
Did hang around your local record store

Denim and Leather
Brought us all together
It was you that set the spirit free
Denim and Leather
Brought us all together
It was you that set the spirit free

Do you dream of playing guitar or smashing up the drums
Maybe you can learn to play the bass
You can always be a singer like me and front the band
When on the stage we wait at your command

Denim and Leather
Brought us all together
It was you that set the spirit free
Denim and Leather
Brought us all together
It was you that set the spirit free

It was you – that set the spirit free
It was you – that put us here today
It was you – that filled the concert halls
It was you – that set the spirit free

Denim and Leather
Brought us all together
It was you that set the spirit free
Denim and Leather
Brought us all together
It was you that set the spirit free

Saxon "Denim And Leather" large album pic