Stratovarius - Infinite

Having been a fan of STRATOVARIUS' neo-classical sound since the group's excellent 1996 Episode release (the band's fifth), I was genuinely hoping that the quintet's latest album would offer a slightly different twist to what has become an increasingly predictable songwriting approach. Unfortunately, this was simply not to be.
As is always the case with STRATOVARIUS, one would be hard-pressed to find fault with the group's musicianship or the production, both of which have been fine-tuned to near-perfection through years of experience. However, much like YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, STRATOVARIUS tend to use and re-use the same formula when composing their material, and after awhile, many of the group's songs start sounding virtually indistinguishable from one another. This is not to say that STRATOVARIUS are a musically one-dimensional act indeed, there is a sharp contrast between the double-bass intensity of "Millenium" and the touching emotion of "Mother Gaia". But when all is said and done, there is an air of familiarity behind these songs that is very difficult to shake off, and one need not look any further than the band's last three recordings to find references for virtually all of the group's current musical ideas.
As disappointing as Infinite may be to some longtime fans, it is by no means a bad album, and it would still serve as a potent introduction to the band's music to all those who have a liking for the YNGWIE/early HELOWEEN neo-classical metal sound.

Yngwie Malmsteen - Alchemy

Never known as the most diverse or commercially accessible recording artist around (well, not outside Japan, at least), YNGWIE was still able to deliver rasonably enjoyable albums troughout the late '80s and most of the '90s, even when he would change his bandmembers like most people change their underwear. At some point, however, the fire and passion that always existed in his music dissipated, and he began regurgitating his ideas in a way that turned off even his most ardent fans (hence his diminishing popularity in the Far East). His eleventh studio album (by my count), Alchemy sees the return of vocalist Mark Boals to the fold (14 years after his appearance on Trilogy)and a switch to a more "uncommercial" direction, one that was intended firmly to recapture some of the excitement of YNGWIE's early recordings. Unfortunately, YNGWIE's efforts fall well short of the mark, with his substandard attempt at rehashing the neo-classical complexity of his first couple of albums sounding contrived and not entirely effective. As superbly performed as the likes of "Leonardo" and "Playing With Fire" are, they simply sound like they were thrown together in a hurry, and they lack the spark that made 's earliest output so special.
If you're a die-hard YNGWIE MALMSTEEN fan, you probably already own this record and love it for what it is. The rest of us, however, will want to spend our dollars elsewhere.

Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls

Although ‘Redeemer of Souls’ isn’t a “comeback” album, expectations for Judas Priest‘s 17th studio album can be compared to Iron Maiden‘s ‘Brave New World’ or Black Sabbath‘s ’13.’ The departure of legendary guitarist K.K. Downing mixed with the uncertainty of Priest’s future touring plans at the time, fans wondered if they were witnessing the end of Judas Priest, but with ‘Redeemer of Souls,’ the iconic heavy metal mainstays have made a powerful statement of solidarity.
A monstrous clap of thunder introduces the album’s first track, ‘Dragonaut,’ which adds to the long list of deities unleashed within Judas Priest’s realm. Both ‘Dragonaut’ and the album’s title track are fairly straight-forward, revolving around solid riffing which vocalist Rob Halford follows with his own rhythmic progressions. Though guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner trade off fantastic solos during the album’s two introductory tracks, it isn’t until ‘Halls of Valhalla’ that Judas Priest launch into true excellence.

Manowar - The Sons of Odin (Immortal Edition)

When Manowar do things, they do them big. Their album covers are filled with big men with big muscles holding big swords. Their tunes are big anthems filled with big choruses. Even their website is bigger than big; it's available in a staggering eight languages (but you might learn to read Greek before the English site loads). Thus, it's no surprise that the "Immortal Edition" of The Sons of Odin EP packs more content than most double albums. Not only does it contain a music disc and a DVD, its liner notes also fold out into a poster. Manowar sure must be rich.

That much is evident on the music disc alone. It contains three studio tracks and two live tracks. The studio tracks are what you'd expect from Manowar – bombastic power metal with lyrics about Odin, Valhalla, and so on and so forth. Music this epic you either love or hate. The live tracks were recorded at the Earthshaker Fest 2005, where the band was accompanied by a 200-piece combined orchestra and choir. Manowar sure must be rich.

Tyrant - Freaks of Nature

Originally formed in 1983, this Tyrant has nothing to do with the American band that released albums including Legions Of The Dead on Metal Blade records in 1985. Instead, this Tyrant represents a rollicking hard rock establishment out of Australia from a nostalgic AC/DC and Helix mold. They released a cassette titled Never Too Loud in '84 before calling it a day in late 1986. Freaks Of Nature is Tyrant's hope for resurgence with ten new songs while the final four selections are new versions of the 4 classic anthems from Never Too Loud. The music represents the best of the 80s rock 'n' roll decade with 100% loud and abrasive metal.

The dominating lyrical phrase from the title-track chants "No longer cool, we're considered out of fashion. Ten years later you know we still got the passion!" Well, It has been more than ten years but I have no doubt about Tyrant's passion. As the songs pass by you get a spectrum of rock from the Kiss leanings on 'Dressed To Kill', the Cult influenced 'Feelings', and the Tattoo, Quiet Riot and W.A.S.P. tinged power chords emancipated on 'Love Child'. The bonus tracks also make a great treat giving newcomers, like me, the ability to hear Tyrant’s roots. Despite the simple album art, I think the front cover should've been abandoned leaving the back collage for the front, Freaks Of Nature is a nostalgic example of what hard rock should be. "Well give me THUNDER & STEEL" and give me Tyrant!

Twisted Sister - Big Hits & Nasty Cuts: Best of

The two breakthrough hits, the key album tracks and crushing live cuts by Dee and his hard-rockin' brethren! Includes We're Not Gonna Take It; I Wanna Rock; The Price; Under the Blade; Destroyer; Tear It Loose (last two live), and more.
I know that TS was generally embarrased by both the quality and the sales performance of their last two albums ("Come Out And Play" and "Love Is For Suckers") and therefore chose not to have them represented on this compilation, but there were at least three tracks worthy for inclusion - "Leader Of The Pack", "Be Chrool To Your Scuel" and "Hot Love". Yeah, "Leader Of The Pack" is kinda cheesy (watch their "Behind The Music" episode to see how well that song is regarded by those associated with the band), but wasn't Twisted Sister pretty cheesy to begin with? And isn't that what we loved about them? I mean, any of those three songs would've definitely fit better here than the pathetic live tracks at the end of this disc. Their version of the Stones' "It's Only Rock & Roll (But I Like It)" may be the worst cover version ever recorded.

As it is, this record pretends that Twisted Sister ceased to exist after 1984, which is sad. Still, if all you know is "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", there's some hidden gems here. "The Kids Are Back" is my all-time favorite TS song, and "Shoot 'Em Down", "I'll Never Grow Up Now", "The Price", "You Can't Stop Rock & Roll" and "I Am (I'm Me)" are all classic as well.

Quiet Riot - Condition Critical

Condition Critical was Quiet Riot's follow-up to their multi million selling METAL HEALTH record. This record sold decent, about 1.5 million in the states, but not nearly as much as its precedor. I do feel, however, that this album is superior to METAL HEALTH. I still dont' have the CD, only the vinyl, but it is great. the first side is great. Sign of the Times, Party All Night, and Winners Take All are among the highlights. The second side has 2 great catchy songs: Red Alert and We were born to Rock. However, you can't forget the "hidden gem" on this record, which is the title track. If you are a fan of early 80s commercial metal, and you liked the songs on METAL HEALTH, pick this one up. You are in for a real treat!

Quiet Riot ‎– Metal Health

I purchased my first copy of this in the fall of 1983 (I was in 11th grade) and listened to it about 30 times in a row as I sat on the floor of my bedroom making the mask on the cover from sheet metal for a Halloween party the next week. I worked really hard on the mask, making all the little bends, holes, and stains. My mask was about a 99% perfect copy. I went to the party and found out it was not a costume party and later forgot the mask at the party. Listening to this again after decades reminds me of a great time in my life and the most remarkable thing about this record is that it STILL sounds as fresh as it did in 1983. Seriously. Every single song on this album is great and it flows really, really well.

Helloween ‎– Metal Jukebox

Cover albums can be tricky sometimes. There is the chance that a band goes for a simple cash-in or puts a quick release to escape a record contract. This usually leads to faithful renditions to a song with little to no improvisation. On the other side of the spectrum, an album full of covers gives an opportunity for a band to showcase its influences or just completely show another side of them. Helloween falls into this category. Any pumpkin fan would be delighted to see them put the Helloween magic on some metal favorites from maybe Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, or Black Sabbath. However, if one takes a look at the cover art for “Metal Jukebox”; the pumpkin man dressed as a hippie gives an odd impression of what exactly is going to be found.

The jukebox lifts off to a rousing start with a Scorpions tune of “He’s a Woman-She’s a Man.” Andi Deris’ gritty vocals serve as nice contrast to that of Klaus Meine from the original version. The punchy guitars give this the aggressive tone the song invokes and is a pleasant sting to open the proceedings. A grounded version of “Locomotive Breath” ensues minus the flute styling of Ian Anderson. It definitely has a metal edge by letting the percussive elements shine.

Things become weird when ABBA makes an appearance. Yes, THAT ABBA. “Lay All Your Love On Me” is undeniably catchy and I give them credit for trying to put a metal on it, but it just doesn’t work. It is also downright weird hearing Deris crooning to lay all your love on him. Another cover that misses the mark is The Beatles song “All My Loving.” Helloween manages to make this a speed metal song somehow and the duel solo between Roland Grapow and Michael Weikath is cool, but it just doesn’t capture the lovable spirit of the original. The lyrical content also does not match the amped tempo either.

A cover that ended up working that I was first apprehensive about was “Space Oddity.” Helloween perfectly captures the spacey, eerie atmosphere and Deris shines as a vocalist. The acoustic guitar has a radiance that measures exactly what the song entails as well. I am confident David Bowie nodded in approval when he heard this version of his tune. The one pleasant surprise was the inclusion of a Faith No More cover. The spirited, uplifting tone of “From Out of Nowhere” does fit the Helloween mantra of having fun, but this was still unexpected. Deris has a firm grasp of his voice, which unfortunately I can’t say for Mike Patton’s cracking pipes in the original track.

The best cover is “Hocus Pocus” by Focus (try saying that five times fast.) The simple, repeated riff is a joy to listen too because of the continued yodeling of Deris and the quirky, odd sound effects that jump out on the middle section. It’s a song that easily becomes trapped in your head and the humorous noises are good for a laugh or two. The wailing solo by Grapow breaks up the ongoing nuttiness for a spell before it goes back to the madhouse, but the silly nature and the catchy and roaring riff works perfectly.

The latter half of the album features basically hard rock tracks made into metal. I like the moodiness and the creepy vibe of “Faith Healer” from Alex Harvey. It’s a definite change of pace from “Hocus Pocus” and puts the listener into a different setting. “Juggernaut” is crushing and the drumming from Uli Kusch is outstanding. The way Deris sings “it’s a juggernaut” is amusing too. Cream’s “White Room” sounds much better as a metal song and the melodic solo keeps the tune to its psychedelic roots. Finally, “Mexican” is a cool and fast closer from Babe Ruth. Who knew the famous baseball star had some music ability?

“Metal Jukebox” is the finest cover album I have heard. Everybody’s second favorite Germans (Scorpions being the first) captured the perfect guitar sound as found on their albums from the late nineties. “Hocus Pocus”, “Space Oddity”, and “He’s a Woman-She’s a Man” should provide incentive for repeated listens. With all that said, I wish they would have taken on some metal tunes, like maybe “Freewheel Burning” from Judas Priest or “2 Minutes to Midnight” from Iron Maiden. Tracks such as these would have made this even better, but unfortunately it does reach its full potential with covers of The Beatles and ABBA. However, this is a very well done album and is in no way a simple cash-in; so slip a coin into the jukebox and have a hell of a time listening to Helloween.

Tysondog ‎– Cry Havoc

TYSONDOG is a British Heavy Metal band from Newcastle. The band was formed in 1983, when NWOBHM was going strong. Via the well-known label Neat Records they released their debut album “Beware Of The Dog” in 1984. Cronos (VENOM) produced it. The following year TYSONDOG released the EP “Shoot To Kill”, preceding the sophomore album “Crimes Of Insanity”. Years later (in 2002) a compilation was put out.

I had never heard of TYSONDOG until I got a review copy of their latest album, “Cry Havoc”, a few months ago. The album was released in April 2015 and contains twelve tracks. It all begins with a police scene (shooting, cars, …) in “Cry Havoc”. The bass comes in, playing the main rhythm, leads join to create some tension, after which everything erupts into firm Heavy Metal. The vocals reminded me, somehow, of Blaze Bayley, albeit in a lighter version. Musically you get the kind of music that is similar to IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, BLAZE BAYLEY, and even, one way or another, IRON SAVIOR. The chorus is catchy, with those rhythms and melodies. Of course, with this kind of music, the guitar solo is a must. Coming back to the vocals, and that counts for the entire album: Was there and effect to them? Were the recordings like this? Did he sing behind a screen or something? The singing doesn’t sound or come out like it should. Or was this “effect” done on purpose?

“The Needle” offers direct slow/midtempo Heavy Metal, very rhythm-based, but with the bass guitar high in the mix and that’s a good thing. The vocals, despite the aforementioned problem (by lack of a better word) go well here. Rhythm in the verses, melodiousness (and an emotional touch) in the bridge and chorus, which sounds a bit whiny, if I may say so. Overall, a good song, but not as strong as the first one. “Parasite” begins in a powerful way with the drums and guitar in a dominating role. Firm Metal is unleashed with again a nice bass sound. The verses are in half-time, allowing for massive head-bang pleasure. The chorus, on the other hand, is of the atmospheric and emotional kind. It’s not heavy at all, not sound-wise. Yep, it’s all about contrast. The Bluesy solo is inline with the overall feel and atmosphere.

“Nemesis” begins with a mysterious intro, thanks to the guitar. This leads to linear, straight-forward Heavy Metal by the book. The vicious, Bluesy verses could be compared to some of SAXON’s tunes. Solos are good to have, but if only they were a bit more memorable. Later on, the rebuilding commences with the intro theme, shattered windows, barking dogs, sirens…

After these two ok songs, “Shadow Of The Beast” steps up as another highlight. Starting with a creepy intro, you get fast Metal after that. Good! But the surprise then comes from the rather funky verses, while full power is reserved for the chorus. At some point the band even goes into Power Metal mode, paving the way for the solo. A more rhythmic bridge leads back to business as usual. Another quite good song is “Into The Void”, which also begins with a pounding intro. The Heavy Metal that follows is by the book and very predictable. But the music’s got power and energy. It’s catchy and I like the contrast between the verses and the chorus. “Playing With Fire” is another definite highlight: Fast and diverse in tempo. This could also have been a BLAZE BAYLEY song.

“Relentless” doesn’t refer to the guitar here, which acts like a blinker: start-stop-start-stop-…, but to the drums and bass, which play on no matter what. The singing here doesn’t go/flow well with the music, I find. To be honest, the song itself, on a whole, isn’t that strong/interesting/captivating/… Even the atmospheric break made me frown, not in the least because of the not so good production on this album. There’s also a ballad on “Cry Havoc”: “Broken”. Ballads are hazardous. It’s hard to write a good ballad. “Broken” isn’t among the good ones, in my opinion. Contrast is created between the two halves: Calm at first, a bit more musical power later on.

“Cold As Ice” has a mysterious, atmospheric intro comparable, not 100% of course, to e.g. MACHINE HEAD. Clean guitar, tension… and *bang* into firm Metal, again with a more melodic chorus. At some point there’s a half-time break, followed by the intro theme. But when you think the song is done then, TYSONDOG restart their engines and add another, instrumental part to it. Why? It sound a bit out of place and it needlessly prolongs the song.

“Crash And Burn” isn’t a SINNER cover. But it’s got pounding drums, fat sounding guitars and all flows firmly onwards. Another ok song, though compared to the (personal) highlights, not that spectacular. Last but not least, the last highlight: “Addiction”. The music fades in, the song is being built and develops into Bluesy Heavy Metal, though with the required power. This is another catchy song and another one that should do well on stage.

I’m not familiar with TYSONDOG’s back catalogue, but “Cry Havoc” is, by itself, a fairly good album. A majority of songs make it entertaining enough. Songs aside, I did not find the production that good, especially for a band that has been around for so long and especially in this day and age. Sometimes the guitars sound too fat for a particular song, the drums are a bit too plastic for my taste and the aforementioned “effect” on the vocals…  Maybe it’s just better to see the band at work, maybe the stage is where the songs come out better.

Metallica ‎– Garage Inc.

I must admit to being biased towards this disc. THis is the album that turned me onto real metal, the album that opened up my world. I was at a friends place and he put The Prince on, and I was stunned by the fast riffing and the great singing/growling thing James was doing. I went out and got all the metal I could find.

7 Years later, and most of the early stuff I bought is at the bottom of my CD collection. This album still gets regular spins though, basically because there's two awesome but very different CD's on offer here. The first CD, full of the new covers, is full of experimentation and just a bit of goofing around. The seconds CD, the one I guess you're all looking for, is just full of straight up, ass whooping thrash.

I'll start with the first CD. Let me jsut say right now that most of you will hate this CD. THe only bands that make sense to me would be Sabbath, Diamond Head and Merciful Fate. Still, there's a lot of quality cuts on here. The album starts off a bit weakly, with the punky blast of Free Speech, but the next two songs are really, really good. It's Electric and Sabbra Cadabra are bursting at the seams with energy, and James seems to really enjoy singing these songs. His performance in Sabbra Cadabra is pretty happy and stuff, it's a nice change. There's a bit of misstep with Turn the Page next.. I think it's a decent cover, but not Metallica cover. Then there's the epic, brooding Loverman. Personally, I would've prefered someone else to do the spoken word parts (Nick Cave should've guested!) But it's still a cool song, unlike anything Metallica have ever attempted.

I'm not going to go through all the songs in that much detail, but there's two more tunes that really stand out. Astronomy is a really, really good power ballad, and why it wasn't the first single confuses me. Great verse and a cool, heavy chorus, with a very melodic and catchy solo to finish the song off. Met's best ballad since One? Maybe. The Merciful Fate tune stands out as the most metal thing MEtallica have done since AJFA, and there's some really, really great leads and riffs here. Top stuff.

The second disc is the one you are all looking for, and I don't blame you, because all the songs here are really, really good. The songs aren't as diverse, but you know what you're getting here, that is, super heavy and raw thrash. Helpless has a great bridge and some fairly techincal riffing, Small Hours is slow, punishing doom metal,. But my favourite is THe Prince, the heavy, almost punky kinda song. THe song that got me into Metal, it will always have a place in my heart. Am I Evil too... Damn, what a solo. This record really shows how damn good Metallica were/are (cross out whichever one seems most valid to you). They also deserve a mention for the production, because while it is raw and heavy, it's also really clear. Some of the songs are short on bass, but overall, this is heavy, raw and clear production, the best kind there is IMO. Why can't more bands do covers this good?

Damn, this is one amazing covers disc. One CD full of cool, diverse tunes, the other one full of ballsy thrash. It losses 7% because of a few dodgy parts in the first CD. Overall, you won't find many better cover albums then this. Essential listening for the Met fan.