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Post by duojett71 on Dec 31, 2018 2:31:49 GMT -5
Yeah I think it is Helloween playing outside the box and trying to be current at the time.....I think that album caused a rift between Kiske and Weikath. My favorite Helloween albums are the first 3 with Hansen, but the two albums with Kiske after Hansen left I think are still good. 'Pink Bubbles Go Ape' also has some great songs.
Last two days:
Sanctuary-Into The Mirror Black.....great band and great record.
Iron Maiden-Book Of Souls Live Chapter....excellent live album with each song from a different city. Exact same track list as the set list from the tour.
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Post by duojett71 on Jan 8, 2019 0:50:30 GMT -5
Bruce Dickinson-Skunkworks
Been reading his book and he talks about this album. I actually like it a great deal. Skunkworks is actually the name of the band and the album. More of a Soundgarden, AIC vibe. More of a heavy rock album than a heavy metal album.
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Post by duojett71 on Jan 15, 2019 0:25:29 GMT -5
Gary Moore-Corridors of Power. Maybe not one of Gary's most consistent albums, but it has some of his best work. 'End of The World' with Jack Bruce, 'Don't Take Me for A loser'. great cover of 'Wishing Well' and "Cold Hearted" . The outro solo for "Cold Hearted" makes the hairs stand up on my neck. So much tension in Gary's lead work, as well as melody and aggression. Also his stratocaster tone on this album, 'Victims Of The Future' and 'We Want Moore' can't be beat. Every time I hear Gary's music from the 80's it makes me want to be a better guitarist.
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Post by duojett71 on Jan 29, 2019 1:32:51 GMT -5
First Slash's Snakepit album. That was his best band outside of GNR....and actually rival GNR. Of course it is 3/5 of the last 90's era lineup. First off Eric Dover was a great singer and frontman. He should have kept him around for sure. I am not the biggest Matt Sorum fan....but he plays his ass off on this album. Also you can distinguish between Slash and Gilby Clarke's guitar....and I will have to say Gilby plays some tasty rhythm guitar on this record. He plays a lot of cool parts and really adds a lot and both guitar players compliment each other. Very well produced album as well. Might be one of my favorite GNR associated albums and that includes 'Appetite..'
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Post by Jesse on Feb 27, 2019 15:10:24 GMT -5
Gamma Ray-No World Order Yesterday it was: Gamma Ray-Majestic and Narnia-Desert Land Monday: Hammerfall-Legacy Of Kings Been in a Metal mood this week  |
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Post by duojett71 on Mar 9, 2019 4:04:23 GMT -5
I need to check out some of the Gamma Ray stuff....especially the early stuff with Ralph Scheppers on vocals. Always liked Kai Hansen.
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Post by Jesse on Mar 9, 2019 22:21:09 GMT -5
I need to check out some of the Gamma Ray stuff....especially the early stuff with Ralph Scheppers on vocals. Always liked Kai Hansen. "Heading For Tomorrow" was their first album and it sounds the most like classic Helloween IMO. "Sigh No More" was their second album and probably the most consistent of the Ralf Scheepers era. 3rd album (and last with Sheepers) was "Insanity And Genius". It is wildly inconsistent. Hansen sang several of the songs. BUT, the good songs on it were GREAT! "Heal Me", "Gamma Ray", "No Return" and "18 Years" were outstanding. Rest was kinda… eh. "Somewhere Out In Space" was my personal favorite of theirs. Kai sang the whole thing. Just great stuff. instant classics from start to finish! |
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Post by duojett71 on Mar 13, 2019 1:31:21 GMT -5
Great I will check those out for sure. One thing I don't like about European power metal is how it progressed in the 90's and early 2000's where it sounded overly triumphant and symphonic. Too many layered choruses and too much symphonic sounding keyboards. I hate it. Basically power metal lost its power. I like great riffs and songs that really hit you and I hope the early Gamma Ray stuff can do that. That's why I didn't like Helloween after Kiske left. Andi Deris took them in that direction that I hate and I didn't like him stylistically as a singer....it wasn't so much the sound of his voice....but how he sang.
Last few days for me:
Testament-The Ritual....crushing and underrated Testament album. Skolnik's playing is off the hook and its a very consistent album from start to finish
Lynch Mob-Brotherhood. Their final album and it ranks up there with there best including 'Wicked Sensation'.
Metallica-Hardwired to Self Destruct.....excellent album. Probably their best since 'And Justice For All'. Not really a bad song on the album. Kirk's playing is hit and miss on this one though. There are some good solos on several songs and there are some bad ones. Even the good ones are more for the melodic content and less for the execution. I get the feeling he just stopped practicing after 'Master Of Puppets'.....and I want to break his hands with that wah pedal right after knocking Lars upside the head with it...
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Post by duojett71 on Mar 16, 2019 8:31:45 GMT -5
 The new Tora Tora album..'The Bastards of Beale'. This band picked right up where 'Wild America' left off. It sounds like old school Tora Tora. Great new album from a great band. Always loved these guys. |
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Post by Jesse on Mar 17, 2019 0:31:48 GMT -5
Great I will check those out for sure. One thing I don't like about European power metal is how it progressed in the 90's and early 2000's where it sounded overly triumphant and symphonic. Too many layered choruses and too much symphonic sounding keyboards. I hate it. Basically power metal lost its power. I like great riffs and songs that really hit you and I hope the early Gamma Ray stuff can do that. That's why I didn't like Helloween after Kiske left. Andi Deris took them in that direction that I hate and I didn't like him stylistically as a singer....it wasn't so much the sound of his voice....but how he sang. Last few days for me: Testament-The Ritual....crushing and underrated Testament album. Skolnik's playing is off the hook and its a very consistent album from start to finish Lynch Mob-Brotherhood. Their final album and it ranks up there with there best including 'Wicked Sensation'. Metallica-Hardwired to Self Destruct.....excellent album. Probably their best since 'And Justice For All'. Not really a bad song on the album. Kirk's playing is hit and miss on this one though. There are some good solos on several songs and there are some bad ones. Even the good ones are more for the melodic content and less for the execution. I get the feeling he just stopped practicing after 'Master Of Puppets'.....and I want to break his hands with that wah pedal right after knocking Lars upside the head with it... I like a lot of Deris-era Helloween. I think they put out some great songs, but they were fewer and further between. Also, the big thing I noticed with them is that Uli Kusch was a pretty damn boring drummer. Even on the best Deris-era songs, the drums suck compared to what Ingo would've done with them. I guess one of these days I have to give Testament a second chance. Back in the day, I bought "Souls Of Black" and I thought it was shit. In the years since, I've actually had a lot of testament fans tell me that "Souls Of Black" was shit. I think, "the Ritual" was the album that they pointed me to in order to change my opinion on the band, but I haven't gotten around to buying it yet. I gave up on Metallica after the "Re-Load" album. Just haven't had any interest in them. I heard a few good riffs from "Death Magnetic", but by then, I was over them. I dunno, as I get older and have become a better musician, I've come to realize that Kirk Hammett and Lars Ulrich are both rather pedestrian. Neither sucks, but they are both sorta one-trick-ponies (ok, maybe TWO tricks). Good enough at their tricks to impress the non-musician and good enough to make the songs work, but kinda, meh, compared to other bands of their ilk. |
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Post by duojett71 on Mar 25, 2019 12:42:22 GMT -5
Of the Classic era Testament, 'Souls Of Black' is the weakest album....although I still like it. The two best are probably 'Practice What You Preach' and 'THe Ritual'...followed very closely by 'The New Order'(that used to be my favorite Testament album for years). I never listened to the albums that Alex Skolnick is not on. He was too big a part of that band. Amazing guitarist who added a lot to the sound.
Give 'Hardwired To Self Destruct' a chance. It's much better than 'Death Magnetic'. I can't even listen to the Load era albums. It's like bad Motorhead meets bad indy rock. I am not a huge fan of the Black album either but I like about half of it....to me 'Hardwired...' is the best album since '...And Justice For All'. I still think Kirk needs to go back and get a refresher course from Satriani though. He suffers from very bad vibrato and lame blues licks that he can't seem to break out of. He needs to go back and listen to his solos on songs like "Disposable Heroes" and "Ride The Lightning" and try to get inspired again. He still has good melodic ideas but can't seem to properly execute them.
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Post by Jesse on Mar 25, 2019 16:11:52 GMT -5
Of the Classic era Testament, 'Souls Of Black' is the weakest album....although I still like it. The two best are probably 'Practice What You Preach' and 'THe Ritual'...followed very closely by 'The New Order'(that used to be my favorite Testament album for years). I never listened to the albums that Alex Skolnick is not on. He was too big a part of that band. Amazing guitarist who added a lot to the sound. Give 'Hardwired To Self Destruct' a chance. It's much better than 'Death Magnetic'. I can't even listen to the Load era albums. It's like bad Motorhead meets bad indy rock. I am not a huge fan of the Black album either but I like about half of it....to me 'Hardwired...' is the best album since '...And Justice For All'. I still think Kirk needs to go back and get a refresher course from Satriani though. He suffers from very bad vibrato and lame blues licks that he can't seem to break out of. He needs to go back and listen to his solos on songs like "Disposable Heroes" and "Ride The Lightning" and try to get inspired again. He still has good melodic ideas but can't seem to properly execute them. I'll have to check those out. Been listening to Helloween's "7 Sinners" last few days in my truck. Not awful, but kinda "meh". Maybe you'd like it, cuz I actually prefer the more symphonic stuff and they do little of that here. Just bludgeoning you over the head with heavy riffs. Some are good, some aren't, but there are very few good hooks and it all sorta blurs on by. "Rabbit Don't Come Easy" was the same way IMO. Also was listening to Black Oak Arkansas's "Keep The Faith". Gawd! Don't know what to think of that one. Not sure if it's so bad that it's good...… or if it's just bad! LOL! Vocals sound like Adam Sandler impersonating Axl Rose while squeezing out a turd! |
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Post by duojett71 on Mar 27, 2019 13:18:11 GMT -5
The Deris era Helloween I want to like and I had that album 'The Dark Ride'....it was ok but not great....just made me miss the Kiske and Hansen era even more. I am hoping the reunion with those two produces something I am interested in....but from what I understand Kiske is not involved in the songwriting....which is a shame because...two of the best songs on Keeper Prt. 2 were written by him and he writes the best stuff on 'Pink Bubbles...'. His 'Instant Clarity' album is very good as well.
I have been listening to a lot of Accept lately....'Balls To The Wall', 'Breaker', 'Restless And Wild' and 'Eat The Heat'. Love the classic era and some of the modern era with Mark Tornillo. The modern era has great riffs but the songs are less memorable. The String of albums from 'Breaker' through 'Russian Roulette' is killer....
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Post by Jesse on Mar 30, 2019 11:20:59 GMT -5
The Deris era Helloween I want to like and I had that album 'The Dark Ride'....it was ok but not great....just made me miss the Kiske and Hansen era even more. I am hoping the reunion with those two produces something I am interested in....but from what I understand Kiske is not involved in the songwriting....which is a shame because...two of the best songs on Keeper Prt. 2 were written by him and he writes the best stuff on 'Pink Bubbles...'. His 'Instant Clarity' album is very good as well. I have been listening to a lot of Accept lately....'Balls To The Wall', 'Breaker', 'Restless And Wild' and 'Eat The Heat'. Love the classic era and some of the modern era with Mark Tornillo. The modern era has great riffs but the songs are less memorable. The String of albums from 'Breaker' through 'Russian Roulette' is killer.... I liked "The Dark Ride" a lot, however, "Time Of The Oath" was probably the best Deris-era album IMO. Yeah, Kiske wrote the best stuff on "Pink Bubbles...." as well as "Chameleon". His songs on "Keeper...II" was good, but I thought Weikath's songs were the best on that one. I liked 3 songs on "Instant Clarity" a LOT! But the rest, I didn't like AT ALL. Weird album, really hit or miss with me. I have yet to get a Mark Tornillo-era Accept albums. Not that I haven't liked what I heard, it's just that, maybe like Metallica and Megadeth, I'm just past that point in my life where I'm into new metal no matter how good it may be. I always felt "Russian Roulette" was the ultimate Accept album. Nothing new, but they really perfected everything they ever did up to that point on that album. "Eat The Heat" had it's moments. Didn't particularly like the overall sound, but there were some good songs on it. Could've been a huge, breakout hit album for them had they not released the 2 worst songs as singles. From the start, I didn't like "Generation Clash" and "D-Train" made for ok filler, but shouldn't have been released as a single. I thought "XTC", "Prisoner" or "Hellhammer" would've made good singles as they had a solid Hair-Metally sound, but still sounded like Accept. Didn't really matter, that version of the band came apart at the seems before their supporting tour was over. |
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Post by duojett71 on Apr 1, 2019 2:16:25 GMT -5
The 'Instant Clarity' album is a little all over the place...but I like it. it has about 4 metal songs on it....and some rock stuff and then some more singer/songwriter stuff. I think it really is kind of where he was at around the 'Chameleon' era and where he was going. I recently got a copy of 'Chameleon' and found I liked it more than I thought I would....there really is some great songs where they are writing outside their comfort zone. Much better album than critics and fanes gave it credit for and I would say it is very good.
...same can be said for 'Eat The Heat' by Accept. I remember liking it for what it was. It was Accept trying to do something a little more accessible to a broader fanbase. I remember being hopeful when they were searching for a new singer that they would put out a breakout album....but it probably came out too late....and the production of the album did not help at all. Guitars should have been heavier and more in the mix. According to Wolf and Stefan....Dieter Dirks insisted on using an electronic Simmons drum kit instead of an acoustic kit and basically micro managed everything Stefan played. I like the songs and I actually think David Reece did a great job on that one. Looking back it probably falls way short of 'Balls To The Wall' , 'Metal Heart' and 'Russian Roulette'......but I do enjoy listening to it every so often. Still some great guitar work from Wolf.
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Post by Jesse on Apr 2, 2019 21:13:29 GMT -5
The 'Instant Clarity' album is a little all over the place...but I like it. it has about 4 metal songs on it....and some rock stuff and then some more singer/songwriter stuff. I think it really is kind of where he was at around the 'Chameleon' era and where he was going. I recently got a copy of 'Chameleon' and found I liked it more than I thought I would....there really is some great songs where they are writing outside their comfort zone. Much better album than critics and fanes gave it credit for and I would say it is very good. ...same can be said for 'Eat The Heat' by Accept. I remember liking it for what it was. It was Accept trying to do something a little more accessible to a broader fanbase. I remember being hopeful when they were searching for a new singer that they would put out a breakout album....but it probably came out too late....and the production of the album did not help at all. Guitars should have been heavier and more in the mix. According to Wolf and Stefan....Dieter Dirks insisted on using an electronic Simmons drum kit instead of an acoustic kit and basically micro managed everything Stefan played. I like the songs and I actually think David Reece did a great job on that one. Looking back it probably falls way short of 'Balls To The Wall' , 'Metal Heart' and 'Russian Roulette'......but I do enjoy listening to it every so often. Still some great guitar work from Wolf. I loved "Chameleon"! Was it Metal? Only in a few spots, but it was some very strong songwriting. A few turds on there, but there was plenty of great material to make up for 'em. Yeah, the drums were very stiff sounding on "Eat The Heat", but it was otherwise a mostly good album. 30 years later it apparently has enough of a cult following that David Reece is currently touring and playing the full album! He's still got a great voice...…. his band is sub par though  |
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Post by duojett71 on Apr 28, 2019 22:56:13 GMT -5
The new Grand Magus album 'Wolf God' yesterday and today the previous album 'Sword Songs'. One of my favorite bands and will be seeing them open for Amon Amarth/Arch Enemy/At The Gates in October. Mainly going to see Grand Magus but Arch Enemy should be good.
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Post by Jesse on May 9, 2019 20:54:58 GMT -5
Today I got a chance to listen to 4 cds! Usually don't even get a chance to listen to one in its entirety! They were:
Doc Holliday-Doc Holliday
Black Oak Arkansas-High On The Hog
Black Oak Arkansas- Street Party
Percy Fairweather & The Storm (Winters Brothers Band)-Reign Of Blues
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Post by duojett71 on Oct 26, 2019 9:06:42 GMT -5
Been on a Whitesnake 'Slide It In' kick lately.....kind of become geeked out by it for some reason. It's probably my favorite Whitesnake album along with 'Come 'An Get It'......I really dig the album but I think the reason I have been listening to it a lot is because it is the one album where they have two versions....The U.K. version that features Mickey Moody and Mel Galley on guitar and Colin Hodgekinson on bass and the USA version that has Mel Galley, John Sykes and Mickey Moody on Guitar....although Moody is not credited on the USA version and I believe there are more of his guitar tracks present than Sykes'....as well as Neil Murray on bass.
I bought the 2009 Remaster at Walmart a few weeks ago for 5 bucks....it is the USA mix......but it got me to thinking about the UK version so I sought that out on ebay....and got the 35 Anniversary 2 disc version that has both mixes. I actually like both. The USA version is a slicker production and sounds better for the American market....its a little heavier. The UK version sounds more like old Whitesnake and I prefer the Moody/Marsden eras. Still I think the USA version is slightly better.
To me 'Slide It In' was the last great Whitesnake album.
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Post by duojett71 on Nov 8, 2019 16:56:25 GMT -5
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