Then there's the old chestnut of risking solo albums from band members you never even knew existed; I dunno, Jon Lord's stuff, Glenn "this week's release is..." Hughes, the late, great Cozy; oh, the list is endless!
100% agree. get them in that order. the rest of the bands catalog imo you can create 2 really great albums from the other what, 10 albums they released?
OMG . I guess if the interest is there then so be it. I shouldn't be surprised that they're coming back. It seems almost no band can actually retire if there's still $ to be made. My thing is, Neil's voice has been shot for over ten years and Mick Mars can barely stand up anymore. How's this supposed to be any good? Are they going to use vocal tapes/assistance for Vince Neil and have a guy playing guitar behind a curtain for Mars? No thank you regardless for me.
I read your post with interest, as it is something I too struggled with a few years back. In the end, I decided on a suitably three-prong'd strategy: 1 - Accepting the fact that I'll probably never get to know deeply enough all the music that I wish to know deeply enough. 2 - Accepting the not-so-fun evil of sampling the stuff online before buying. Youtube (sometimes crap) and Spotify (often annoying) are not my thing, but they give me the chance to listen to stuff a bunch of times and decide if it's something I'll be playing more and want to have on my shelf. 3 - Attacking bands' catalogues in a rigorously random order of preference (i.e. exploring band X when curiosity X hits - abandoning band X for band Y when curiosity Y hits - returning to band X if ever/whenever curiosity X hits back).
For me, I just accept that I don't need albums by some of the bands plying the metalic trade or otherwise these days.. The likes of Amon Amarth, Cradle Of Filth, DevilDriver, Mastodon...etc all on their day or should I say the odd track are indeed stupendous. I just can't sit through whole albums these days like I did when I was snapping up slabs in the 80's and 90's. So...I make good my own comps....and I don't have to listen to some DJ who thinks he's important or even worse...funny. When I need a album....and I mean really need one, normally it's a 'classic' that I grew up with. It is what it is...and I'm fine with that.
Hop into a time machine back to 1979 - Martin goes over the top 5 viewer faves, the 5 that missed out snd a few others. From my memories, 1979 was the opening act for the onslaught that was to come in the 80's.
19 albums is a lot to wade through. The first 5 (Feel The Fire through Horrorscope) are essential. While I'm not very familiar with a few of them I'd say the middle 9 are a mixed bag. I Hear Black is interesting and From The Underground And Below is solid, possibly the best of the bunch. The others tread water between somewhat uninspired thrash to Pantera-ish groove metal, although they still sound like Overkill and thus are atleast listenable. YMMV. Their most recent 5 albums are all very good with Ironbound being a top 5, if not to top 3, Overkill release for me and the best thrash album since Seasons In Abyss, IMO of course. I'd also highly recommend The Electric Age and this year's release, The Wings Of War.
No offense, but Martin might want to think about giving it up. He has always been incredibly nice to me and sold me several CDs from his personal collection, but yeeargh, that was bad.
He says that with Lovedrive the Scorpions got Matthias Jabs, he brought in an American sensibility and they started shifting their sound. Oh, and also Michael Schenker was around. I wonder if Michael Schenker has had Martin killed yet?
Yeah. He comes off like a guy talking on one of those VH1 shows. I know he's a good writer and very knowledgeable, but he also comes across as a bit of a blowhard. Still, props to Martin who has made a living off talking and writing about metal. That's pretty cool for a guy that used to work for Xerox. In all honesty, he's fine. I guess I just get a little tired of guys like him and Eddie Trunk being the de facto talking heads of metal. Also, I would admit that's there a bit of jealousy there because it's what I'd like to do.
Well you do/you are (being a talking head expert on metal). We all are (here in this thread)! We just don't get paid for it
Horrorscope is where I jumped off (I still love Soulitude). My favourite of those old 80s Overkill albums is Years Of Decay. I'm interested in their newer stuff, and I'll keep your recommendations in mind.
I was just about to say....'We are the de facto talking heads of metal'..... By and large I take most of these so called Experts with a large pinch of salt.
Pretty sure those guys all grateful for all the accolades from Martin’s 2 books, glowing album reviews and dozens of interviews. Martin’s 2nd book on the Scorpions includes extensive quotes from 5 separate Schenker interviews. And he’s done additional published interviews with him for recent releases.
It's not a bad and reasonably fair review of the bigger, ferric platters of the year but his 'Priest entry is 1978 whichever way his analysis be sliced; it just is for it doth so decree upon the sleeve. Therefore, he should stick Bomber in because that title track warrants worship like little else. Top of the Pops; specialising in mismatched audiences since the mid 60s.
For lovers (or likers) of progressive metal, in vein of say Dream Theater or Fates Warning, you might like this band (Teramaze)/album (Her Halo): This song is pretty intense...great guitar... Teramaze - To love, A Tyrant (Her Halo) I recently read a review of Her Halo in a back issue of Fireworks Magazine & picked up this and their most recent album (Are We Soldiers). I like Her Halo (from 2015) better (those 2 songs above are my faves so far). Those who've read my other posts in this thread should realize that melody is king for me, especially with hard rock/metal and this album has a lot of melody to spare. Add to that some killer guitar playing and a great singing voice & I'm impressed. They have other albums as well but these two feature a new singer for the band who I like more than what I've heard from the previous singer (but I also like the other singer). I have not fully explored their earlier albums at all other than a few songs on youtube. And I've only given Are We Soldiers one listen on the stereo so far, and Her Halo two. These albums seem to me to be the type that reward repeated listens though, like Dream Theater or Fates Warning, needing multiple "serious listens" to appreciate everything. I will definitely delve deeper into their back catalog, working backwards...anyways... Found this well written review of Her Halo on-line with more info at link below if anyone wants more background: Teramaze - Her Halo (Review by Daniel Fox) Teramaze Her Halo by Daniel Fox at 14 September 2015, 10:25 AM With great licks comes great riffponsibilities”. The teramazing TERAMAZE are set to ter-amaze us with a new record, titled “Her Halo”. Since the release of the huge “Esoteric Symbolism”, TERAMAZE added a new bassist and a new singer to the ranks; Luis Enrique Eguren and Nathan Peachey, respectively. Having lovingly previewed us a year or so ago as to their abilities, some neat stuff was to be expected. Then guitarist Dean dropped on the fans that the newest album would be graced by the hands of none other than Jacob Hansen. Looking pretty good so far, I reckon. There are a few facets present that still make this a TERAMAZE album. It’s a tad heavy and Thrashy for a Prog album, when it wants to be, and some of the chord progressions will come across as rather familiar for fans of “Esoteric…”. But it is oh-so very melodic; perhaps their most melodic release to date. Not only does Dean’s guitar shine and crank it out more in the melody department, but Nathan has, sufficed to say, changed the face of the band for the foreseeable future. Commanding a more ‘traditional’ vocal delivery, he possesses an immense range, and can fill that range to the brim with raw emotion. Liken him to, if you will, a mighty-morphin’ of Tommy Karevik and Michael Eriksen. “An Ordinary Dream (Enla Momento)” opens the album with a mouthful; placing the album’s longest track (at over 12 minutes) is an ambitious endeavour, and is naturally the most adventurous song on the album. Initially it moves between ballady and liquid verses, totally belied by the frenetic introductory riffs. The choruses are the first instances of Nathan’s voice ‘breaking in’ and solidifying himself within our ears as the new voice of the band. Somber in the low notes, and crystal-clear and pure in the highs, admirable is that is holds the highs long and loud; thin is not in his repertoire. These back-and-forths last for roughly 5 minutes; the ‘first song in the song’, if you will, and in an explosive and progressive nature it evolves into a different beast. The middle of the track is, interestingly, my favourite part, where Nathan and Dean almost have a trade-off, with Dean’s emotive leads effectively vocalizing a response; genius, pure genius, songwriting. The metal makes a return in an explosive series of riffs that seem to just spiral outwards, ending with yet another soulful croon. Already having been treated by a mini-album, the surprises sure weren’t over. The album’s title track is perhaps the catchiest number on offer here. A song that gives definition to the term “liquid grooves”, the fluidity of this song cannot be described, but felt, whilst you listen to the quaint, albeit thought-provoking lyrics and be carried on the tide of awesomesauce. Radio-friendly? Sure. Does it matter when it sounds like this? Not particularly. The track to follow, which is also destined to be their next single, “Out Of Subconscious” contains multitudes of Eriksen-isms that I could have guessed Nathan was capable of producing. A very vocally ‘wild’ track, his voice dances as the riffs do, a bevel to the choppy edge, underlined with prominent and busy bass work; "drummer Dean"'s drum work particularly stands out here, where the syncopation is not only tight but entrancing to listen to. Perhaps the biggest throwback towards their previous album is “For The Innocent”; interestingly enough, also my favourite track on the album. It bleeds energy; it’s not unnecessarily busy, but enough going on that you don’t require a breather to stop and think about what’s pounding on your chest. The chorus on the track represents “that moment” on the album, for me; the part that I keep rewinding to re-listen to. Additionally, it may also just be me, but Nathan more so seems to live through Tommy Karevik in some of the vocal passages, crooning away the end of the first verse. Yet amazingly, the man has his own voice, and to be able to make a listener nod lovingly towards those vocalists without having to incredulously emulate them for an entire album, is a testament to his versatility. Ultimately, it’s an album that absolutely has to be traversed from start to finish (note that I won’t spoil “Trapeze”; guitar lovers rejoice, wherein Dean will make you cry for a few minutes). It will require more than one listening (if, perchance, you can stop rewinding “For The Innocent”), but you will be left smiling. This album at times wants to make you smile, but will also steal the world away from you with tragic emotions that fueled some of the lyrics (those following Dean on his social network should have caught on by now). Melbourne’s metal scene has hit a jackpot. 1. An Ordinary Dream (Enla Momento) 2. To Love A Tyrant 3. Her Halo 4. Out Of Subconscious 5. For The Innocent 6. Trapeze 7. Broken 8. Delusions Of Grandeur Lineup: Dean Wells - Guitars Nathan Peachey - Vocals Luis Enrique Eguren - Bass Dean Kennedy - Drums Record Label: Mascot Label Group
Not sure if they have been mentioned before but a Facebook group introduced me to these guys...Canadian metal...I ordered a few CD's. Striker Former Glory
