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!
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:
Way to go Super Walmart. With all of the hoopla leading up to the new KISS album in well over a decade, throw in an “Only at Walmart” exclusive for this KISS album, then… do NOT HAVE Sonic Boom out on the shelves for sale at 8:00 a.m. EST, on it’s release date of October 6, 2009!! I went to the Super Walmart located in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, first thing at 8:00 a.m. EST this morning… with my twin daughters who were very excited about getting the new KISS CD with their daddy. The disappointment was even greater for them, for they love KISS and wanted to hear a few new songs before they went to school. To make matters even more somber, Sonic Boom was playing extremely loud in the CD/electronics department at this Super Walmart too… obviously a Super Walmart employee had a copy of it – forget about the customers!! I thought for certain, my daughters as well, that by hearing the new KISS being played, that there would have been the great KISS KORNER awaiting us – no such luck. Why advertise a release date and then not honor it? Why advertise a KISS KORNER and then not have one? Oh, Super Walmart with their trillions of dollars in profits could care in the least.
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
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 
The Kinks – another legendary Rock and Roll Band, (and Hard Rock Band too), that I have never forgotten about… no Metal way. I first caught on to this great band upon their Low Budget album being released – back on September 7, 1979. The Kinks were huge back in the day… I specifically remember the late 1970’s into the 1980’s version of The Kinks. This band had one hell of a work ethic – always touring. There used to be a horde of kids wearing The Kinks concert shirts to High School back in the early ’80’s… as a Metalhead back then, I thought that was cool, due to my fondness for this band. I never was lucky enough to catch The Kinks in concert… back in the early 80’s would have been the choice time too. That is alright, I can always Rock out to The Kinks by listening to their songs whenever I want, like I have been doing since 1979. The Kinks were rightfully inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 1990. I could not endorse a band like The Kinks any louder to the younger generation of Rock/Classic Rock fans… they really put out some incredible music spanning four decades.
Slaughter – Stick It To Ya 
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 
Lynyrd Skynyrd are Southern Rock Legends and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. What more does Lynyrd Skynyrd have to prove? What keeps the motivation meter running with this band? In my Metal opinion, it is a combination of many things… the Skynyrd Nation and the fact that this band has never lost touch with their roots are two quick examples. Southern Music roots… family roots… old school values, these three attributes come out Southern Rockin’ loud and clear on God & Guns
Meat L
I am going to embark on a topic that may be sensitive to some people… what really happens when a grocery store song gets you, well, psyched? I have decided tonight, to come out of the grocery store song closet. Yup. Please note, that department store chains also play songs over their central speaker system as well… I will refer to grocery store songs to simplify things. Be honest with yourself, there just had to be at least one moment in your life, where you were innocently shopping in a grocery store and then… that song was played. For me, I have had numerous experiences while grocery shopping and suddenly a song begins that just touches my Rock and Roll nerve. How do you act when this situation arises? Do you show emotion? Maybe you hide your psyched out – inner feelings and pretend that nothing is going on at all, you are in a public setting… a damn grocery store for Metal sakes. Let’s explore this incredibly taboo subject together now, shall we?
It is really senseless to ignore that this grocery store song phenomenon exists… it is o.k. to hear a song playing in a grocery store that psyches you out. My top three grocery store songs ever are: Lido Shuffle by Boz Skaggs, Sweet Talkin’ Woman by The Electric Light Orchestra and Call Me by Blondie. Seriously, I really strain to hold back my psyched out feelings when Lido Shuffle gets played at the grocery store – really. I can remember each moment when I heard these three songs in the grocery store… I felt so good I wanted to run up and down the aisles, high five strangers while shouting yeah! I have been fortunate enough to have heard Sweet Talkin’ Woman several times at the grocery store now, each time is a psyched out charm. Now, for the truth… when I do hear a grocery store song that gets me riveted, I stay cool and collected. My face may show signs of Rock Music satisfaction, a semi-grin if you will, however, staying cool is the best advice I can give anyone who hears a song they like in the grocery store. Just this evening, I was meandering about in an antiques mall, my wife and one half of my twin daughters were close by. Anyhow, inside this antiques mall, Old School Country Music was being played through the stores speaker system. No songs were psyching me out… no problem, until… Carly Simon came on with Your So Vain.
Uh, Carly Simon did get me semi-psyched out at the antiques mall tonight. Maybe it was due to my surroundings… all of this old stuff… antiques everywhere, the ambiance within the framework of this store is quite calm and somewhat like a rerun of The Walton’s. With all of this mellow and old fashioned stimulus around me, hearing Carly Simon sing Your So Vain in the midst of all the Old School Country Music just did it for me. Honestly, I now understand why Faster Pussycat did a cover of Your So Vain… this song most likely struck a chord with Taime Downe (lead singer of Faster Pussycat), like it did me tonight. Weird stuff. Remember, we as a society, are most likely 35 years away from hearing Megadeth and Obituary songs being played as grocery store songs. This is a shame. I have to take what is given to me here, then my Rock and Roll mind filters out the very best of what I do hear with these current grocery store songs that are being played… the psyche me out ones. Now, before you ever step foot into a grocery store again, please take some solid Metal advice in regards to getting psyched out by a song you may hear once there…
Foghat Live was released in the Summer of 1977. I did not own this album in 1977, instead I got my ears tuned into this Hard Rock Classic right when I was entering High School, just a few short years ago in 1980. Yeah, yeah, yeah… I bought this Classic Hard Rock gem on 8-track as well in 1980. I played it until all you could eventually hear was – hiiiisssssss. This Foghat Live album introduced to me back then, an unreal good sound of live and powerful Hard Rock Music. Being fourteen years old at the time, I was not yet the concert goer, no adult in my young life was into Rock concerts, plus I obviously was not old enough to drive a set of wheels just yet. Therefore, Foghat Live was the Hard Rock concert that entertained me for hours and nights on end. As a young teen, this album was my Hard Rock concert, it took me right there… I imagined seeing Foghat live, center stage in a middle row, on the floor. I will forever look back upon Foghat Live as an album that enriched my Hard Rock soul… an album that was a stepping stone or prelude, if you will, to the incredible world of Metal Music. This album helped soften me up and navigate me towards even heavier music. Hearing the Hard Rock – live power of Foghat made me hunger for more, to hear more heavier bands that were out there. Fast forward to 2009 and I still reach out for some classic Foghat – Hard Rock boogie… it will never grow old on me.
Ace Frehley has waited a long time to create and produce a new album, Anomaly is so incredibly worth the wait. I finally bought Anomaly today, (September 23, ’09, yeah, I am a week late from it’s release date), what an album of 12 songs. An unreal good album, a can’t miss for any fan of any Rock genre. I cannot stop listening to this new Ace Frehley album, oh darn. Anomaly for me, is one of those albums that I get contagious about and addicted to… oh darn. Before buying this album, I had not a clue as to what any of the songs sounded like. Man, what an incredible surprise to hear these songs for the first time… this album leans more towards Ace Frehley’s 1978 KISS solo album – not towards the sound of his Frehley’s Comet band from the late 1980’s. The Metal kicker is this… Anomaly rocks harder and heavier than the Ace Frehley 1978 KISS solo album, my ears cannot tell a lie. Where Anomaly gives a nod to 1978 is this: Old School Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. With that being said, Anomaly definitely embodies the grooves and heaviness of today’s Heavy Metal sound, while veering away from any resemblance of late 1980’s commercial heavy sound that was so popular in it’s day.
As I listen to Ace Frehley play guitar throughout Anomaly, all I can say to those who want to listen is this – Ace Frehley is back!! Ace Frehley shall remind the Rock and Roll world with all of it’s genres that yes, he can play guitar very well… and sing too. Ace Frehley’s vocals do not sound like a man who has been out of the recording studio for so many years, instead, it is my Metal opinion that Ace Frehley’s vocals are damn good and cool. Just listening to Anomaly takes me back to the days when quality songs were an important staple to Hard Rock and Heavy Metal bands. A sense of urgency to be real, is what I hear through the entirety of Anomaly, Ace Frehley has fused his very own Hard Rock and Heavy Metal sound with a nod to yesteryear, making Anomaly an album that far extends any relevance factor. From the song writing to the band backing up Ace Frehley here, this is a total album package. Ace Frehley has plenty of cool and damn good solo’s throughout this entire album, one of the many quality points of Anomaly.
I think about Heavy Metal a lot. I listen to Heavy Metal… a lot. I buy Heavy Metal Music… very often. (Alright, that is a down right lie, I buy Heavy Metal Music – constantly). When I refer to Heavy Metal, just to simplify things here, I am incorporating all the Metal Music Genres in one. Heavy Metal… all things Metal Music. As I sit around towards midnight on this, September 17th going on the 18th… many Heavy Metal thoughts have crossed my Metal mind. Heavy Metal favorites have drifted around my head this late evening, uh, early morning, some unusual ones at that… here they are, enjoy:
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.
I really, really, really like In This Moment… especially the vocal talent of Maria Brink. I bought The Dream last September of 2008, man, what an album. Collectively speaking, In This Moment put out one incredibly melodic Heavy Metal album of songs, with The Dream. Sure, In This Moment took on a more mainstream Heavy Metal sound, yet it hooked me line and Metal sinker. On June 30, 2009, In This Moment released The Ultra Violet Edition of The Dream
On July 7th, 1984, Helix released Walkin’ the Razor’s Edge
On Saturday, of this 2009 Labor Day Weekend, I set out on a trip to buy back to school necessities for my daughters. The local mall, which is only minutes away, provides for a cool stroll… an f.y.e. is located inside. (Yessssss!). As my daughters and wife are perusing the kids sneakers, all I kept thinking was… what is currently hiding in the batch of used CD’s over at f.y.e.? The trip to this particular mall proved to be very worthwhile, no sneakers were found that my daughter liked, however, we had some fine pizza slices for lunch while we were there, plus I found The Law. The debut album The Law 
Masters Of Reality – Sunrise On The Sufferbus was released back in 1992, on Chrysalis Records. I already owned the 1988 debut album, (self titled), from Masters Of Reality when I jumped on this album back in 1992. The best way I can describe this band is Old School Stoner Rock/Hard Rock, in my Metal opinion. This is a grossly underrated Rock album, the musicianship, songs and total grooviness on Sunrise On The Sufferbus makes this a lifetime keeper, for me. My favorite song on this album is J.B. Witchdance, a non stop bass groove with a semi-haunting overall sound, always seems to put me in a cool mood. My second choice pick from Sunrise On The Sufferbus is She Got Me (When She Got Her Dress On) – this song as with the entire album, is unbelievably unique, I just never heard a band sound like Masters Of Reality back then, nor do I now. This album is the closest thing to heavy without being so… I know that sounds crazy, I just cannot explain this music any better than that. O.K., maybe I’ll try this… cool under heavy… now that might work. (If you are wincing at the use of words here, just go with Stoner Rock).
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