Great White “Rising” for me, is a retrospective listen, and it is not Heavy Metal. This is some inspiring, well written and high quality – Hard Rock. I can even go as far to say that “Rising” can be defined as a Rock album. You are not going to hear the 1980’s flamboyant, grandiose, guitar riff – infused Heavy Metal tunes here. No insanely – Metal driven solos either, some tastefully crafted solo’s do appear however, (“Danger Zone”), so do not despair. What I do hear on “Rising”, is a band that has clearly found themselves creating music straight from the heart. I am not trying to sound sappy here, sappy is not allowed on Metal Odyssey. What I am trying to convey is that Great White has proven to us Metalheads years ago, that they can play heavy and light up an Arena or two. I am convinced, after listening to “Rising”, that Great White is just as enthusiastic and talented as ever. Great White are real musicians… they do not need to carbon copy their past albums onto a 2009 release. “Rising” has some really addicting Old School Hard Rock flavor throughout.
Jack Russell on lead and background vocals has close to no resemblance of the Hair Metal heyday of his 1980’s voice. Forget the comparisons anymore to the legendary Robert Plant! (It started to get very old, even though Great White is what I consider the greatest Led Zeppelin cover band in the world). It is refreshing to hear Jack Russell not sound like a 1980’s retread. His vocals are absolutely superb on this album. “Danger Zone” and “Down On The Level” are two of the more hardest rockers on “Rising”, giving way to some of Jack Russell’s vocal past. “My Sanctuary” exemplifies what the Hard Rock ballads sound like on this album… free flowing with plenty of catchy grooves. “Situation” and “Shine” are songs that are similar, being heavy enough that they are very far removed from being mellow meltdowns. “All Or Nothin” is laden with enough grooves, hooks and foot stomping moments to make this my favorite track. “Loveless” is a real retrospective visit to late ’70’s early ’80’s Hard Rock sound- only it is a really good visit at that. Great White in my Metal opinion, has found the perfect balance of melody and harmonious vocals with just enough heavy guitar and rhythm section to make “Rising” a legitimate Hard Rock keeper.
I cannot possibly compare Great White of the ’80’s to Great White of 2009. I dig the music from both Great White eras. I find it cool when a band, especially one that is renowned for Heavy Metal, digs a little deeper into their musical souls and delivers a knock out of an album, filled with tunes you were not really expecting. Great White “Rising” should appeal to a very vast audience of genres… Hard Rock, Rock and Heavy/Hair Metal fans should find what they like on this album, I know I have. With all of my mentioning of retrospective on this review of “Rising”, I am steadfast against the labeling of music as being dated. Just because music brings back memories of other decades or sounds like music from the past, does not make it uncool. Look at how many CD’s and albums that the immortal Elvis and legendary Beatles sell on a weekly basis… if dated music does exist, then I guess dated music is in. Great White of 2009 is happening for me. I have spoken my Metal point.
“Rising” was released on April 21, 2009, on Shrapnel Records. And now, a Metal Odyssey roll call of the members of Great White, as they appear on “Rising”: Jack Russell – lead and background vocals, Mark Kendall – guitar and background vocals, Audie Desbrow – drums, Michael Lardie – guitar, keyboards, mandolin, sitar, harmonica, percussion and background vocals, Scott Snyder – bass and background vocals.
My wife is a loyal fan of Heavy Metal. (Thank goodness). Well, I knew this over 20 years ago before we ever married. This turned out to be quite the Metal bonus, having my wife being a fellow Metalhead. I get cool Metal gifts for my birthday and Christmas from her and she encourages and nurtures the love I have for Metal music. I am a very fortunate Metalhead to have a wife like her. Her favorite Heavy Metal band of all-time has always been Def Leppard… until I introduced her to Disturbed. (I still believe both these bands are tied for my wife’s favorite). So, as I write away with Metal Odyssey, she keeps looking over my shoulder… waiting to see when Disturbed makes it to this blog. I without further Metal ado… will give my Metal opinion on Disturbed. I feel Disturbed is an excellent Metal band. Sure, Disturbed came around during the Nu-Metal phenomenon, yet I still never would classify them as such. No matter how much I try to dissect it… Disturbed holds up as being Metal.
I am blown away by this new Thrash Metal band that call themselves – Lazarus A.D. – really blown away. This is not cookie cutter Thrash, nor is this band a bunch of Thrash wannabes either. Lazarus A.D. is for real. These dudes can play Thrash… with no cutting corners, just plain great – in your face – Thrash Metal. I read all of the articles and reviews I could get my Metal hands on regarding this band. Now, I have my hands on their debut release “The Onslaught”, (released March 3, 2009), the contents of this CD is ten tracks of unrelenting, intense and fired up Thrash. I am extremely Metal happy that a young Thrash band like Lazarus A.D. sounds and plays this good. I always say… we veteran Metalheads can never have enough younger bands to carry on the Metal tradition – the more new Heavy and/or Extreme bands, the better! I liken this band to being a throwback, to the days when Thrash Metal was felt, not just heard.
Enslaved, from Norway, has created quite the exquisite Black Metal album with “Vertebrae”. Why do I use the adjective exquisite to describe this album? Well, I revere the Progressive Metal of Mastodon and Dream Theater, the legendary Progressive Rock of Pink Floyd and the groove infested Black Metal of Satyricon. Enslaved encompasses the most Metal and progressively delicious elements from these favorite bands of mine, while incorporating them into their very own startlingly, mind popping sound. What Enslaved has done here, is taken Rock and Metal influences to a new level, creating an album that embraces everything that is brilliant about Heavy and Progressive music. (I am not saying Enslaved actually looked to these bands for inspiration, this is just my musical and Metal interpretation and/or opinion). Enslaved has their roots in Black Metal, a musical track record that overflows with Metal bragging rights… “Vertebrae” by no means exemplifies this band as not being original. This album is as original as it gets… I cannot truly count how many Metal bands there are, that dare to experiment with music so valiantly.
First of all, I am a fan of Ronny Munroe, the current lead vocalist for Metal Church. I just happen to gravitate towards the Old School Metal sound, both vocally and musically. Ronny Munroe in my Metal opinion, has the unmistakable Old School Heavy Metal vocals… and in no way do I subscribe to the opinion that this sound is dated. This brand of Old School Heavy Metal has been proven successful for decades now. For me, it is another Metal genre that lives on. With that said, I have obtained a copy of the new Ronny Munroe debut CD… “The Fire Within“, (released 2009), I am impressed by the total package of music here. This is Heavy Metal made the old school way, no frills, bells or whistles get in the way of the straight ahead approach that Ronny Munroe has taken on with “The Fire Within”. Honestly, Ronny Munroe comes with his Metal Church – front man credentials… he delivers a mightily solid twelve tunes alongside some talented friends. Rick Van Zandt of Metal Church, plays lead and rhythm guitars superbly throughout, with Michael Wilton of Queensryche delivering a solo on two tracks I will mention.
Saxon – the words durable, old school, enduring and still excellent at their Metal craft, come to my mind. Let’s be honest, this is not the same Saxon from their “Denim and Leather” days, yet they are Saxon 2009 – that is Metal-good enough for me. Saxon was an essential part of “the new wave of British Heavy Metal”, going back to the late 1970’s into the early 1980’s. When I first heard Saxon back then, I felt like I found a band no one else knew about… I had a cool Metal secret. Well, the secret was already out, as I later found. Saxon was justifiable a favorite of legions of Metalheads, therefore I was not alone with my new found Heavy Metal band after all. 
“into the Labyrinth” is the newest album from Saxon, released on January 13, 2009. “Battalions Of Steel” and “Valley Of The Kings” have an almost majestic Power Metal sound, complete with keyboards and what sounds to me like an enlightened choir. For me, Saxon pulls it off extremely well when they go the Power Metal route. “Live To Rock” is the single being pushed off of this album, it is bona fide Old School Heavy Metal with a cool, vintage, anthemic delivery to it. This is the fist raising – head banging tune that will stir up plenty of 80’s Heavy Metal memories for many. “Slow Lane Blues” is another fine example of how Saxon holds onto the Classic Metal approach, a fun tune that tells the complete story of a dude being pulled over by a cop for speeding. “Crime Of Passion” is heavy, heavy, Metal. Nigel Glockler punishes the drum kit on this song, again, head banging can and may occur when listening to this song too. If there is to be a song on this album that is considered a ballad, well, “Voice” is it. However, this is a heavy ballad – staunch Metalheads need not worry – Saxon does not get sappy here at all. “Hellcat” is my favorite track on this album, it is fast, furious and heavy. The three key Metal music ingredients I always embrace! “Come Rock Of Ages (The Circle Is Complete)” is a Heavy Metal exclamation point for Saxon on this album, man this song is good. “Coming Home (Bottleneck Version)” is a back woods – lets stomp in the swamp – foot stomping tune. It is a cool way to come down after the previous 12 tracks of fired up Heavy Metal.
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