Revisiting: Kane Roberts' "S/T"

Welcome to the third installment in my brand new kind of review series. Damn, that headline doesn't look good no matter what I do with it. Oh well. Since I started off this series with Alice Cooper's excellent "Raise Your Fist And Yell" album, I thought it would be fitting to revisit and do a breakdown of this album as well. Let's go!

Band/artist: Kane Roberts
Album: Kane Roberts (S/T)
Release year: 1987
Style: Glam Metal

Quick introduction: I'm guessing most of you who read this are probably here because you were actively Googling for Kane Roberts. If not, then let me introduce the man. Kane Roberts was a promising guitar player who's mostly known for his work with Alice Cooper. He helped the Coop in relaunching his career during the mid 80's after years of alcohol abuse and some album flops. It was a successful collaboration. Alice's career took off once again, now playing more of an 80's heavy metal style compared to his earlier classic (shock/hard) rock sound.

Kane Roberts himself was also known for playing a guitar designed as a machine gun, as well as for being a body builder. This made him something of a "metal Rambo" in media and MCA (Alice's record company at the time) tried to capitalize on his looks and guitar talents, launching a solo career for the man. It seems, however, that it was more or less a flop as it's fairly hard to find his solo music or any information about him. Not even his time with Alice Cooper, despite being quite successful, seems to have much substantial information to find these days.

1. Rock Doll

This was an MTV video back in the day. For being a single it's ironically a track I kind of like the least on the entire album. It's not bad but I've heard it a thousand times before. It's just your typical run-of-the-mill party track, 80's glam style. Nothing too memorable.

2. Women On The Edge Of Love

This is better. It's not as rocking as the album's opener but it's a lot more melodic, which I prefer in this case. It's obvious you're in for a typical 80's album as it's got your trademark cheese keys, almost bordering on an AOR-ish sound. It doesn't matter, the song is catchy as hell. I like it.

3. Triple X

"Triple X! It's only sex 'til it crosses the line!" The lyrics might not be something worth remembering but then again, whenever were glam lyrics that memorable anyway? This song is great, though. Kane also does a great solo on this one. Now the chorus is stuck on my mind. It's super catchy!

4. Gorilla

Just another case of "your typical", this time in form of a short guitar instrumental. If you ever bought an album in the 80's with some kind of guitar monster featured, it always had a "wank track" like this. This is just not that exciting, though.

5. Outlaw

This is the heaviest track so far. Short and straight to the point. The guitar(s) sound great here, riffs as solo. It's also got some of those lovely 80's style gang vocals in the chorus. OUTLAW! Cool song.

6. If This Is Heaven

The album's most upbeat-sounding track to my ears. It's not overly upbeat but more so than the others. It's pretty much another 80's anthemic song. Not superb but good enough. The chorus is once again a catchy thing.

7. Out For Blood

Like you can probably guess from the title it's going for a heavier route again. This is definitely the album's heaviest and most uptempo track. Speedy riff and pounding drums all complete with a gang vox chorus and a long blistering solo. One of the best tracks on here.

8. Full Pull

This is the only track on the album to feature a collaboration with the Coop himself, who did some or all lyrical work. The song itself, however, is amongst the album's weaker ones. It definitely lacks the same kind of memorability in chorus and solo compared to the other tracks.

9. Too Much (For Anyone To Touch)

...And the cheese-keys are back. To put it very simply: this is as 80's as it gets. Imagine the most 80's-sounding metal song you can think of and this is right up that alley. But I'm not dissing, I think this track is great. It's extremely catchy and I used to strongly associate it with Kelly Bundy (Christina Applegate) from Married With Children, whom I had a mad crush on during my late teens.

10. Tears of Fire

"She had a hand in my sex education, took me down right by the river." These lyrics sure are something special. All accompanied by one of those extremely soppy 80's metal ballads, musically speaking. This song and its lyrics have been a standing joke between me and my buddy for a decade, even though we haven't heard it for years. "But I still remember baby when she came..." Yeah I remember it too, Kane.

11. Strong Arm Needs A Stronger Heart

At this point I'm really out of ideas how to describe it without repeating myself. It's just more of the same, but since it's catchy and super 80's sounding I guess it's a good thing, right?

Overall impression:

So this was Kane Roberts' first solo album. I think it's pretty safe to say it didn't left much of a mark in metal history, despite sounding like basically any other successful guitar-shreddy 80's glam album. Musically it's a very cheesy album most of the time, but it's also an extremely catchy and memorable album. Despite not having listened to it for a decade or so, I find myself remembering these songs very clearly. Most of all I find it a fun album to listen to. Isn't that what truly matters?

If I compare this to what Kane did with the Coop I've gotta say I prefer the Coop stuff. Well, maybe not the "Constrictor" album but definitely "Raise Your Fist And Yell". This album, however, has better guitar solos from Kane in my opinion. He really gets to show more of his musical abilities on here, while with Alice he did more odd stuff during solos. I suppose you can call Kane another 80's guitar virtuoso, but he's also not that over the top. Guys like George Lynch or Warren DeMartini would beat him any day, in my opinion.

Sadly Kane Roberts' never truly took off. He got a fair amount of spotlight while playing with Alice, but in retrospect it's perhaps not a generally favored era in Alice's career either. Say what you will about Kane Roberts - the man could certainly play guitar really well and he seemed to be quite a showman as well. It's also pretty safe to say that he was rather productive at the time, releasing three albums over two years time. Personally I really enjoy his stuff with Alice as well as his solo stuff.

Revisiting: Tigertailz' "Bezerk"

Welcome to the second installment in this new review series of mine. Bear in mind that it's not gonna be your typical review, but instead a song-by-song breakdown and literal revisit for me. Let's jump right into it!

Band/artist: Tigertailz
Album: Bezerk
Release year: 1990
Syle: Glam Metal

Quick introduction: Tigertailz is one of those bands I never was a very big fan of. Not that I've ever disliked them but I never thought they were anything extra ordinary either. Their image (particularly the hideous haircuts) were definitely competing with bands like King Kobra, though. I was really into glam metal during the time frame 2007-'09, or "hair metal" as I always referred to it. I listened to a lot of relevant bands of that time and genre, and I discovered lots of great but obscure bands. Tigertailz, however, were just "another band" to me. Never leaving much of a mark for me back then, I haven't really revisited this album in the past 10 years - until now.

1. Sick Sex

Hearing this opener makes me think of two things: it sounds like quite the "typical" glam metal opener of the time (late 80's), but it also sounds rather generic. Put this up against a glam metal masterpiece opener, such as GN'R's "Welcome To The Jungle" or Ratt's "Wanted Man", and this is just proof that Tigertailz is nowhere near the same league as many of their peers. Not bad but not very engaging either.

2. Love Bomb Baby

Probably my clearest memory of this record but not in a positive matter. I suppose this was the album's "big hit" and I can understand why, but to me it just sounds cringey as fuck. The ultra-happy intro choir just rubs me the wrong way immediately. There's also a cheesy AOR-ish keyboard which makes it sound more dated than anything else on the album. Nope, time hasn't changed my opinion about this song.

3. I Can Fight Dirty Too

Now we're startin' to talk here. This is one of the album's rockers and possibly also the best track on the entire album. It's got a pretty nice drive and actually sounds way more instrumentally engaging and energetic than "Sick Sex". Pretty good riff and quite catchy chorus. Not awesome but definitely a song I could come back to again.

4. Noise Level Critical

I remember reading old Kerrang mags I bought from Ebay to get old band posters back when I was a teenager. They used this song's title for their concert reviews page. The song itself is very Van Halen-esque and pretty decent. I defintely would've prefered this as a single over "Love Bomb Baby" (and with that said, I have no idea if this was a single/video as well).

5. Heaven

I remembered this track. Kind of. I remember it being a ballad and that I thought it was pretty good, but I had forgotten the song itself. Hmm, it's still pretty good. I mean, it's very soppy and kind of "wimpish" and the lyrics are lame, but it's just what you'd expect from your typical hair metal ballad of the time. It reminds me of Steelheart. If nothing else then at least it's something to make out to with my girlfriend.

6. Love Overload

This starts off really good with a heavy if somewhat unimaginative riff. Think earlier Dokken or similar heavy hair bands closer to the mid 80's. Overall it's an okey song but the simple yet poppy chorus drags down its potential a notch. There's a pretty cool harmonica later in the song, though.

7. Action City

So this one started really good with another engaging riff only to kill itself when everything else kicked in. It's like they wanted to play a fast rocker at first but then they switched into your generic hair metal filler. Wasted opportunity.

8. Twist And Shake

Shalala la laaa... Shut the fuck up already. Annoying as fuck intro. Overall this is along the lines of "Love Bomb Baby", being another jolly and cringey sing-a-longish earsore.

9. Squeeze It Dry

This sounds like something off of Dokken's "Back For The Attack" album, being a rather positive thing in this case. Not the best track but it's definitely one of the better ones on the album. I like the calm mid-breakdown in the song. It's actually the only thing on the entire album that sounds like 90's music, reminding me of that one 90's song everybody's heard in some movie (forgive me for not remembering its name right now).

10. Call Of The Wild

Why did seemingly every band have a song with this title in the 80's? Doesn't matter, though. This is finally more of that up-tempo heaviness that left me hungering for more earlier during the album's playthrough. Still nothing extra ordinary for the genre but a solid enough closer and overall pretty cool. Along with "I Can Fight Dirty Too" I'd say this is my favorite track on the album. It's also got the best guitar solo on the entire album.

Overall impression:

So I've gotta admit that this wasn't exactly the most positive comments I've had to say about an album. My memory served me more or less correctly, though. To say it's bad is perhaps an overstatement. I'm sure there are glam metal fans out there who loves this band and this album. To my ears, however, it's a very mediocre album of its genre. There are very few moments that really catch my attention and those are all very second-rated stuff.

Having heard countless of bands in this genre, I'm just not so easily impressed. Hell, this album was a (very small) part of me ten years ago. Ten freakin' years. At that time I had more acceptance toward this kind of bands because I was so heavily dedicated to hair/glam metal. These days, however, most of those bands aren't still around in my speakers.

My ticket into Tigertailz was when I watched the video to the re-recording of "Living Without You". I thought that track was awesome. I still do. But that's also a whole nother level I feel the band never managed to reach again, further making this album something of a disappointment as its songs pale in comparison. For a hair metal album this just doesn't reach beyond an "average" to me. To compare it to all metal in general... I'm not even gonna be that much of a douche.

My TOP-10 Best Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Vocalists - Male Edition

One thing that's always been kind of strange for me is how huge my love is for the vocals in my music collection, yet I've never cared much for the lyrics of most bands. You see, a band's singer is super important to me since I'm mostly bored by instrumental music (often with lots of guitar wankery), but for some reason I'm always passive to the words. Instead the vocals are essentially just another instrument in the band's blend to me, giving the songs additional melody or perhaps even most of it.

Another thing about my preference is that I'm, like a true Swede/Scandinavian, prefer things to be "lagom" (meaning "just enough" in Swedish). I'm actually not that huge on some vocalists' styles like a lot of people tend to be. I don't like things to feel or sound overcooked. If a singer is in some way "overpowering" a band, then I'd like the band to be more overpowered as well. An example of this is a band like DragonForce - they simply take everything to the extremes. That's how I like it. Either do it extremely or do it stripped down, like AC/DC, but don't mix 'em.

So now you have a good idea about how I like and listen to singers in hard rock and heavy metal music. I might come across as picky but that's how I am. This list is not made to satisfy any of your tastes. It's my personal taste and I'm just sharing because the discussion is always interesting to me.

Let's dive into it!

10. Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad, Devin Townsend Project, solo)

Devin has one of the most dedicated fanbases in the world but it seems like his vocals are somewhat underrated to me. If you speak with fellow fans of Devin they tend to praise his music, which certainly is great and very unique, but his vocal work plays such a huge part in what he does. With one of the most versatile voices in the business, he pretty much masters anything he tries on. Most of all, however, he does it exactly where it works and enhances the music.


9. Dave Meniketti (Y&T, solo)

One of the most powerful rock voices there are. Dave and his main band Y&T are both criminally underrated. Ever heard "Summertime Girls"? Forget that, it was a one-time thing. Y&T is so much rawer and rocking than that. Try stuff like "Black Tiger" and "Mean Streak" instead and hear for yourself. Not only is the music great but Dave outmatches any similar vocalists from bands of their scene back in the day. Radio played a lot of lighter stuff like Night Ranger, Journey and whatnot, when in reality they should've cranked Y&T up to ten.


8. Mark Osegueda (Death Angel, Metal Allegiance)

I used to think that Joey Belladonna of Anthrax was thrash metal's finest vocalist, but in recent years after three excellent Death Angel records I've changed my mind. Mark Osegueda has done what most vocalists do opposite - he became much better with age. The guy was never bad by any means. I think his early vocals on masterpieces like "The Ultra-Violence" was some great thrash vocals, but he's simply become more than a thrash screamer - now he's a singer. His voice sounds better than ever these days while still maintaining those essential thrash barks. Simply the best voice in thrash.


7. Rob Halford (Judas Priest, Fight, Halford, 2wo)

Rob Halford needs no introduction. Anyone who doesn't know him or Judas Priest is basically wearing a large sign over their face that says "poser". But what is it that makes Rob such a badass vocalist? His extreme range? Yes, and no. While he had an insane range and high octave in his youth, it was always the way he executed them that made me love his style. He uses what fits the music right and nothing else. His almost talkative style in "Electric Eye" is so fitting it's just killer, but his non-stop screaming in "Screaming For Vengenace" works just as perfectly for that one song. But best of all is how his voice has aged - with grace and great maturity, even if it's not as powerful anymore.


6. Joey Tempest (Europe, solo)

I was a massive Europe fan back in my teens and it was all because of Joey Tempest's voice and John Norum's killer guitar playing. "The Final Countdown" is a decent enough record but the band's first two are great hard rock albums. The band's latest three records or so are great as well, even if they sound a lot closer to Deep Purple and Rainbow these days. But Joey's voice is simply one of the best to come out of the Swedish scene. Perhaps he's not that versatile with it, but instead his voice suits anything the band ever played, from their early heavy metal days to their most AOR-ish sound.


5. Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath, solo)

If you've read posts on this blog before, chances are good you've seen how big a fan I am of Ozzy's. The man and his music, solo as with Black Sabbath, is my dearest number one of all time. There's just something about him. But what about his voice? His voice has perhaps never been a technically "good" voice in that matter, but it's certainly unique. Well, you obviously should know this already regardless of being a fan or not. For me, however, that uniqueness is just that great. What makes his voice even greater is that he's great at coming up with memorable melodies, as well as always having killer musicians to back him up.


4. Bob Catley (Magnum, Avantasia, solo)

Another terribly underrated vocalist from an underrated band. Magnum is simply one of the finest hard rock/AOR bands ever to grace this earth. Guitarist Tony Clarkin might be the band's chief songwriter and creative force, but Bob Catley's melodically powerful voice is what makes the songs sound magic. He's just that kind of singer that makes your listening experience blissful. If you're not familiar with him, or if you've only heard him in Avantasia (which is not really my cup of tea tbh), then you should definitely check out Magnum. Particularly the 80's and more recent stuff.


3. Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Tomahawk)

This man should need no further introduction to anyone who's not living beneath a rock. Much like Devin Townsend, Mike Patton is a multitasker and mad creative force. Apart from Devin, however, Mike is much more oriented in the vocal department above all else. While he creates music of all kinds with all kinds of instruments and gear, it's always his voice that is the main focus. He's even done music exclusively made with his voice. His work with Faith No More and Mr. Bungle are my personal favorites and to be widely recommended. You'd definitely be in for a crazy treat.


2. Ronnie James Dio (Dio, Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Elf)

There only one word for this man: legendary. What he lacked in physical height he made up for a hundred times in vocal prowess. In my opinion there's just no one else that can match him. His voice was not only powerful but also extremely melodic, elegant and full of emotion. It was like an epic storyteller's voice. The bands and music he got to sing over was also a perfect match. He's just one of those vocalists who could front any heavy metal band and make it sound awesome. Inferior to none when it comes to metal music.


1. Freddie Mercury (Queen, solo)

What can I say? If Ronnie James Dio was untouchable in heavy metal, then Freddie Mercury was the equivalent in possibly all other musical styles. Queen played a lot of different styles and Freddie mastered them all. I'm not a huge fan of Queen itself but when I do listen to them, I listen to the amazing voice of the great, late Freddie Mercury.

Top-10 Favorite Sleazy Hard Rock & Glam/Hair Metal Bands

Anyone who's been reading this blog before will know what an open-minded kind of metal listener I am. During my early days of exploring and discovering metal music, my biggest genres were NWoBHM, thrash and typical glam/hair metal. Just like with any metal sub-genre there were some bands which I liked in particular and some others not so much at all.

During my first five years as a metalhead I was still somewhat of a casual listener to hair metal and similar sounds. I pretty much stuck to the more obvious choices - GN'R, the Crüe, and so on - as I spent so much time discovering all kinds of metal sub-genres during those years. Around 2008, however, I really got into this particular style of metal and I kinda considered myself a "hair metalhead" between 2008 and 2010.

For two years there I really dug into the genre and all of its largely unnoticed bands. I quickly realized that my favorite era of hair metal was 1988-1992, where the genre kind of bloomed better than ever, but with many great bands unfortunately slippin' under the radar due to the success of thrash and death metal, but also particularly (and obviously) grunge in the early 90's.

I will now present to you: ten of the greatest bands in glam/hair metal and sleazy hard rock music, all according to my personal taste. I hope you enjoy!

Starting at...

10. Mötley Crüe

Comment: The kings when it comes to glam metal and for good reason. Nikki Sixx sure knows how to make great songs, but at the same time I can't really say that I'm a huge fan of all the Crüe's albums. I'm the kind of fan who jammed "Too Fast For Love" a lot, truly loved "Shout At The Devil", was confused by "Theatre Of Pain", thought "Girls, Girls, Girls" was misunderstood, and absolutely hated "Dr. Feelgood" (ironically enough felt very bad about it). I'll just leave it at that.


9. Ratt

Comment: Possibly the best guitar tone of the genre. I just love that crispy guitar sound! The guitar work is overall great as well, accompanied by some very distinctive vocals and great grooves. Ratt is just one very solid band in the genre. Particularly the first two full-length albums are great.


8. Skid Row

Comment: Back in my teens I wanted to be Sebastian Bach (or have his looks at least) to get the chicks. Around 2009 my buddy started calling me "Seb Bach" because of my long and straight blonde-ish hair and feminine face features. It felt good, in a way. But it was not all about Bach either. Skid Row's one of the best bands in the genre. The debut is great but "Slave To The Grind" stepped up things even further. I just love how heavy it is.


7. Warrior Soul

Comment: With no disrespect meant against these guys, I'm aware they might not really qualify for this genre. Seeing as they are often put in the same batch as these bands, however, I will use that to my advantage of praising them. Hailing out of NYC, a city I've got an obsession with and a dream of moving to, I just love the dark and gutter-y vibe to their sound. It's hard and straight to the point. The lyrical themes are also real, unlike most bands in this genre who are - well, honestly - quite a bunch of posers and love failures.


6. Cinderella

Comment: Something with this band is just perfection to me. The vocals, guitars and vibes are all there. They are great at combining gutter-rockers with really good ballads. I usually despise a lot of glam ballads because of how cheesy they are, but Cinderella are just pros at their craft. "Night Songs" and "Long Cold Winter" are two of the genre's very best albums.


5. The Almighty

Comment: One truly underrated band in my opinion. These guys were, according to themselves but also somewhat accurately put, a bunch of Motörhead wannabes. With that said, I love their first two albums - "Blood, Fire & Love" and "Soul Destruction" - which are great sleazy hair metal. The rest of their albums, however, changed in musical styles and did not fare too well me though.


4. Sleeze Beez

Comment: These guys hailed from the Netherlands but they sounded very much like genuine L.A. hair metal, albeit better than a lot of those bands. Their sound was quite heavy and definitely rockin' with a high energy level. Great songs, great vocals. "Screwed Blued & Tattooed" and "Powertool" are two of the best albums you can get your hands on.


3. Saigon Kick

Comment: A very unique band within the genre. They actually covered a lot more musical styles than just typical hair metal of the time, which is something I enjoy a lot. Any fan of these guys will know what I'm talking about. On a single album they would go between playing thrash-y hair metal to acoustic ballads to funk to soul-esque stuff. They were rather musically entertaining as they made anything turn out great. The first album is the most pure hair metal release they did, but I'd really recommend anyone of their first four(!) albums, which I think is saying a lot.


2. W.A.S.P.

Comment: It's been well-discussed over the years whether they are glam or simple heavy metal. Considering they dressed like trannies and made glam-esque music on their first three efforts, I'd definitely include them as a glam metal band, even if they actually were rather heavy. There's just something magic about 'em. Blackie Lawless voice is so haunting and one of the best voices I know. His voice's also aged gracefully in my opinion. Just an amazing band with many truly great albums under their belt.


1. Spread Eagle

Comment: And the winner are these guys from NYC. These guys came too late, debuting in 1990 and basically failed to make an impact in the then-dying hair metal scene. It's kinda funny that they would take the first spot considering they only made two albums, with one of them (the debut) being fuckin' awesome while the second is no good at all (in my opinion as well as many others'). Quite interesting, I think. But at the same time it's just a proof of exactly how good the debut is! Think of a rawer and heavier Skid Row and you've got these guys. Too bad they never did any more good stuff.

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So that was my top-10 favorite glam/hair metal and sleazy hard rock bands. I think it's safe to say that I definitely prefer the heavier bands in the genre, and also the bands with the least amount of make-up and emptied cans of hairspray. Not that most of those "girlie" hair metal bands (if I may call 'em that) were bad or anything, I just like the bands that, obviously, were into heavier sounds. As far as hair metal hairdos go, I definitely like it on band members in bands such as Vixen. Not so much Poison or Tigertailz. Chicks with big 80's hair are great. The males just looked like my grandmas.

Just my five cents thrown here. I hope you enjoyed the list at least! Maybe there was some surprising choices and maybe even a new band or two to check out? I hope so!

10 Hard Rock & Metal Bands: With great energy

Starting off this year will be a list of ten (10) bands which I believe to have great energy in their playing style. So, what do I mean by "energy"? I mean it as in feeling, delivery and dynamic style. To see what bands I chose, simply scroll down below.

Note: This isn't a top-list as in rate 1-10. It's just a list of ten bands fitting the description.

• Van Halen

Everybody knows Van Halen, right? They're something of a "love 'em or hate 'em" kinda band. You're also either a David Lee Roth-era fan or a Sammy Hagar-era fan. Personally I'm the DLR-era fan. Now, what I like in Van Halen's sound is their playful style. Eddie VH is a fantastic guitarist and his style is very unique and innovative, especially for its time. They're like one huge party thrown into a musical package. Just listen to the power of the drums accompanied by the playful guitar and driving bass, while Mr. Roth delivers his characteristic vocals.

• Motörhead

There is no other band that will rock 'n' roll harder than Motörhead ever did. They were pure, raw, intense and hard. Call it hard rock, heavy metal, punk rock or whatever. Lemmy always said that they play rock 'n' roll. My father also once told me that I was conceived to Motörhead's music. How could I him for that? It's great shagging music.

• Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy has had a great many musicians coming and going throughout the years. Some have been great while others have been somewhat more forgettable. The man has had a serious talent for finding great guitarists in particular, however, as he played with the late legendary Randy Rhoads as well as Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wylde among others. While not all of his line-ups and albums were particularly energized, a few of them was. Both albums with Randy Rhoads have great energy from all musical departments.

The nowadays greatly (and sadly) overlooked "The Ultimate Sin" also had some really great playing by guitarist Jake E. Lee and the late drummer Randy Castillo. After that, Ozzy's had a few more high-octane albums featuring Zakk Wylde as well. Unfortunately though, quite a few of his more recent albums have been lacking that good ol' pure rock 'n' roll energy from his 80's heyday.

• Dio

Ronnie James Dio played with some of the best musicians of the genres throughout his career. Many legendary names as well as just-as-good lesser known names. For me personally, however, I always prefered the man in his solo band the most. Every Dio album up until and including the massively underrated "Strange Highways" (1993) all have great energy to them. Well, "Lock Up The Wolves" (1990) kinda lacked that a bit here and there I'll admit, particularly in the drum department.

With musicians like Vinny Appice behind the drum kit on all releases up till 1996, it's hard to not get a great energy going. Add guitar players such as Vivian Campbell, Rowan Robertson and Tracey G. along with bassists Jimmy Bain and Jeff Pilson and you've got a great fockin' band. The only thing that saddens me about Dio's solo career is how his last few efforts got very stale. It's like the fire turned into a struggling spark. Anything from the band's first ten years is great, though.

• Manilla Road

Another classic example of a three-piece managing to make something sounding epic as fuck, despite the lack of more players in the band. Manilla Road's got some massively underrated guitar, bass and drum work. Every department is just on fire! Well, the vocals maybe not so much, but they're what keeps them down to earth in what is otherwise God-like. Seriously, some of the best heavy metal guitars you'll ever hear are available from this band.

• AC/DC

For being a relatively mid-paced and straight-forward king of hard rock band, they've got an awful lot of energy to their sound. Is there any other band in the genre (hard rock) which you can headbang to like you can with AC/DC? I think not. A solid proof less can be more.

• Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy was such an amazing and unique band which could really do music any way they liked, and still it would sound great. Hard rock, soul, blues, funk or heavy metal - all the same: awesome! Just listen to this clip above here. It's like all hell's breakin' loose, and that's exactly what I want in a band.

• Entombed

Entombed was the first death metal band I ever got into and perhaps still the most intense one. Their first two albums are fockin' legendary and the pure energy of riffs, crushing drums and deathly grunts are just as metal as it gets. The Stockholm death metal scene in general really knew their shit back in the day.

• Cro-Mags

My favorite band within the hardcore scene. They were heavy, raw, intense and overall very genuine. Their first three records never get old in my world. They kicked some major ass back in the day and they still kick the asses of all new-comers out there.

• W.A.S.P.

I've always loved this band for Blackie Lawless' great sound and style, vocally as musically. They always were somewhat in between being glam metal and heavy metal, but it's like they fused the two together and became a dynamite. In my book, when a band manages to make you imagine one thousand roaring motorcycles come ridin' on Route 66, it's something done real right.


And that was ten bands, folks! I hope you enjoyed my list and maybe you even found a new band or two in the process? Later!

Top-15 Best Songs: Judas Priest

Welcome to a new series I'm starting here, right now! A top-15 best songs list, because 10 is simply not enough most of the times. Debuting this new series will be the almighty Judas Priest. I will base the list on my personal preference rather than the general one, or which songs are hits or not. Screw that! No further description is really needed so let's get started!

15. Blood Red Skies (1988)

Powerful and epic. Rob Halford vocally in top shape. The productions sucks but it doesn't ruin the song's awesomeness. The song also sounds very good and heavy live on Epitaph (2013).

14. Dissident Aggressor (1977)

The song itself isn't anything special, I think. It's the riff and drums that totally do it for me. One of Priest's finest "harder" metal moments.

13. Diamonds And Rust (1977)

Amazing cover of the Joan Baez song. One of the finest covers of all time, as well. Just listen and feel it for yourself. Outstanding vocal performance from Rob.

12. Out In The Cold (1986)

Another one of Priest's more emotional semi-ballad tracks. I guess I'm just a sucker for those. This live version is also very nice. It says a lot about the song when the band opened up with this in 1986.

11. Victim Of Changes (1975)

The studio version is awesome. Live it's even better. My favortie official release of the song is from the Unleashed In The East live album (1979). This live clip is from the US Festival 1983.

10. You've Got Another Thing Comin' (1982)

This is the closest I get to a "given hit" on this list. Love the biker-esque sound, my kinda shit. Also GTA: Vice City back in 2002. It was the first Priest song I ever loved.

9. Turbo Lover (1986)

In one way this song is actually kind of bad, but in other ways (plural!) it's just fucking awesome! 80's cheesy, guitar synths and an infectiously good chorus. Very driving song. Great solo section.

8. Freewheel Burning (1984)

I had a crazy dream many years ago where I witnessed a cops-and-crooks car chase while I heard this song blast all over the world. High energy, great guitars. The production could be rawer, though.

7. Exiled (2008)

Many fans really disliked the Nostradamus (2008) album, but I loved it from day one. It's actually my favorite Priest record. This song is very powerful, very beautiful. I especially love the last two minutes - great build-up and conclussion.

6. Prophecy (2008)

The opening track from Nostradamus. Just listen to that riff, so heavy. It's like riding a great chopper-style motorcycle while waving around a nasty sledgehammer at people. Fuck! Yeah, that's how I feel when I hear this.

5. The Sentinel (1984)

The guitars! The intro always sounded like you stood staring against a giant concrete wall, just to have the Metallian burst through it when the song kicks off. Such a huge song.

4. Hellrider (2005)

One of those truly perfect Priest songs. Simple but most effective riffing, great dual soloing, driving drums and a catchy chorus. A modern classic from Priest.

3. Beyond The Realms Of Death (1978)

Perfection. I actually almost stole the song title once. My old band made a song back in 2006 and we needed a title. I named it "Beyond Reality Of Death" (no "the", I'm Swedish and that's our own grammatic logic! I was really bad at English back then, as well). I always felt like the title was too familiar, though. Then I realized... haha!

2. Rock Hard, Ride Free (1984)

Another metal biker anthem, just the way I like my Judas Priest. This song never stuck with during the first few years as a fan. It wasn't before a guitarist we used to have in my old band, who loved this song, played it for me and I was instantly sold. Just like that!

1. Desert Plains (1981)

A very mellow track from Priest. Yet another biker anthem, and my favorite one at that. Very emotional, powerful and with an almost dramatic chorus. It sounds like the album cover, I guess. I always imagine myself riding a chopper (motorcycle, of course) on Route 68 or something when I hear this. Anyway, it's my favorite Priest song of all time.

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OK, so that's a wrap! Some people are probably surprised or even disappointed (maybe pissed?!) that I didn't include anything from Painkiller (1990) or British Steel (1980). Don't get me wrong for that, I love those albums. Just not enough, I guess. It was really hard coming up with 15 songs. I'm a huge fan of Priest, even the Ripper albums, so there's really a whole lot to choose from. But this was a fair and honest try, and I hope you enjoyed it.

My Top-10 Best Heavy Metal Albums Of All Time [2016]

On December 13, two years ago, I did my first list consisting of my ten (10) favorite heavy metal albums of all time. I'll tell you; it's fuckin' hard coming up with only ten albums which are supposedly the ten best. I have 3300-something played artists on my Last.fm, with the majority of the artists being some kind of metal. Then have in mind most of them did at least a few to many albums each, as well. That's quite a lot to choose from.

Another thing I did which I found rather weird was how I chose one album to represent the artists respectively as a whole. Looking back on it now, it's more like a "best heavy metal artist and their best albums respectively"-list. With that said, I decided to re-make a list and actually keep true to the list's purpose. Besides, my opinions have changed a bit during the last two years. So here ... we ... go!

Extra note: Only classic heavy and traditional metal, and NWoBHM will be included in this list. Not the "general understanding" that heavy metal means "all" metal.

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10. Saxon - Innocence Is No Excuse (1985)

Saxon is one of the greatest, hardest working and long-lived classic NWoBHM bands ever. They have made a large amount of records and still to this day they put out a record every two years. Another great feature of theirs is that they never put out a bad album. Some albums were obviously not-as-good as others, but I never disliked or got truly disappointed by a Saxon album. I feel secure when I say they're the only band on this list to have that feature.

Speaking of this particular choice of album. It's probably what you'd call their "second most commercial" release. The winner being Destiny (1988), of course. This was an attempt to break into the American market, which ultimately didn't succeed. I think it's still very much British heavy metal here, with a few touches of American influences. It's mostly the production that sounds American - huge arena-like soundscape, but that's exactly one of the features I love about 80's metal - lots of reverb all around. The songs just sound so huge on this record.

9. Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time (1986)

My first favorite band for a few years when I first started listening to heavy metal. I'll love Iron Maiden to death, but I do think the massive hype around them is overrated. I mean, in the long run their stuff just tends to be somewhat repetitive, especially Steve's songs although his the master at writing epic songs. But Maiden still deserves a lot of credit for what they've done throughout their career.

I'm one of those fans who prefer the old stuff. Mostly because I love the actual 80's sound so much, and I also think Bruce's voice was in much better shape back in his younger day. But one thing that was so great about Maiden in the 80's was how they constantly evolved into something better, in my opinion. This album was where they truly reached their peek in my book. I just love the sci-fi themed Blade Runner-esque setting from the cover art to the guitar-synths gracing the musical landscape.

8. Madison - Diamond Mistress (1984)

One of those more "odd" or "unheard" choices on this list, I imagine. Madison was an old Swedish band much in the vein of Priest, Maiden and speed metal. They only did two records with this being the first one. Their second album, unfortunately, followed the band Europe's success and did a glam metal album, which was rather bad.

This album was a great heavy metal. From the fast guitars and drums to the young and somewhat naive, but still great vocals from Göran Edman (later in John Norum and Yngwie Malmsteen's bands respectively, and more). Like many other Swedish bands in the 80's, there are also hints of ABBA influences in the bands music. As a Swede, you can kind of here that as you largely grow up with ABBA here (for reasons I'll leave obvious). It's just an amazing record!


7. Accept - Balls To The Wall (1983)

Accept is probably my favorite band coming from Germany, and there are a lot to chose from. They had a really great run in the 80's, not so much in the 90's, but then again in the 2010's (or currently). Just like with many other bands in this list, they've had such great records it's rather hard choosing one as the better. This has got to be it for me, however, as I just love the heavy sound of it. The drums in particular are real heavy and kick-ass.

The songs on this album are all great. Perhaps there isn't a real "hit", if you want to call it that, but as an album in its whole I think it's one of the strongest ones ever made. The guitars are heavy and loud, drums pounding, bass deep and Udo's vocals are in great shape. Udo even manages to do the album's ballad "Winter Dream" without sounding out of place, despite his unique vocal style.


6. Enforcer - From Beyond (2015)

I would suppose a lot of you are familiar with the Swedish band Enforcer which is currently very active and rocking throughout the world. They're a young band taking on the very best of old school metal. The recipes are all available today and Enforcer just takes that opportunity to re-do and refine the recipes, in my opinion. For not being one of the "old originals", I think they're very competent in what they're doing. Without a doubt the best band among the "revival/retro bands" these days, because they simply make it sound original again. #makeheavymetalgreatagain






5. Judas Priest - Nostradamus (2008)

I'm a huge Priest fan and love most of their catalogue except for the Tim "Ripper" records. I've got nothing against the fact that it's Ripper who sings on the two albums in question, I just didn't like the actual music on them. Other than that, I love everthing from Priest's 70's stuff to their modern stuff.

So here I come and present a rather strange choice in most fans' eyes, I suppose? The truth is, when I bought this album soon after its release, I've been amazed by it ever since. I've always thought that keyboards add a lot more to records, if done properly of course, but who can deny the quality work from a master such as Don Airey (Ozzy, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Priest, etc.)? This two-disc release is just an epic musical journey which I love to experience. It's like all the greatest JP ingredients being enhanced. Master craftmanship.


4. Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)

The almighty (Black) Sabbath, the "start of it all", as we say. Tony Iommi a.k.a. the riff maker no. 1 has driven this band to great heights throughout its career, whether it being musical or commercial heights. It doesn't matter, I love all eras of Sab and I'm a fan of all their records, even though some are not up-to-par with some others, like with most bands.

I had a really hard time choosing a favorite from Sabbath, because I love so many of them dearly, but I always keep going back to this particular one. I honestly can't say why that is exactly, but the music is just great and perhaps there are one or two extra special songs which are dear to me. It's hard to say. Nonetheless, it's an amzing record from an amazing band and it's a great record to experience the band through.



3. Dio - Holy Diver (1983)

Dio (the band) is one of my favorites of all time, and so is Ronnie's amazing voice. Everything from the raw guitar riffs, live-feel drumming, stellar bass and keyboard soundscapes. It's a band that really managed to make their music sound like "pictures", if you know what I mean? It's impossible to just listen to the music itself. You hear it and it's like making up your own fantasy movie with Dio's music as its soundtrack, and that's exactly what I love about their music.

There are many great records done by this band and I've been going back and forth throughout the years about which one is my favorite. Right now, it's this one, but at some points I favored other albums (note, plural). They were such an amazing band and RJD is actually my very favorite vocalist. The man had such an emotional and powerful voice, and it truly saddens me that we'll never hear his voice grace some new wonderful heavy metal again.

2. Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath (1984)

The most sinister and evil heavy metal album ever made. This is one of those few gems that are just flawless. Everything from King Diamond's ghostly falsetto to his darker and twisted screams. All that in company with some amazing and Judas Priest-esque twin guitars, courtesy of Hank Shermann and Michael Denner. I just simply love their style and sound, and I've never heard any more evil-sounding guitars on a heavy metal album than those found here. The ultra-distorted guitar sound is just mindblowing and most unique, as I've never heard any other band using this particular sound before or after (some black metal bands have come close, though).

This one is one of the most definitive, perfect and most amazing metal albums of all time, no matter what sub-genre we're talking. It's got all of the essential ingredients of what defines a great heavy metal record. From the classic and powerful cover art, which just suits the musical content perfectly, to every band members' creative efforts and skills. This is one of those truly immortal classics, and also one of my true holy grails in my vinyl collection.

1. Ozzy Osbourne - Diary Of A Madman (1981)

And number one ...*drum roll*...*tss!*... Ozzy Osbourne! The Godfather of heavy metal, and the one and only who made my interest for heavy metal explode back in 2002. I owe so much to Ozzy, his music and the countless hours I've been enjoying his legacy, from Sabbath to his most recent solo stuff. However, my favorite work of his lies in his 80's solo career, or more specifically up till the No More Tears album. Most of his records up till that point was awesome, with the exception of Bark At The Moon (whose title-track is still kick-ass as fuck).

This album is the perfect example of what I love about Ozzy's music: his unique voice (in awesome shape on this record, just listen to "You Can't Kill Rock 'n' Roll"), his musicians (particularly the amazing Randy Rhoads) and the songs themselves. This is truly the man's finest hour, especially with his own singing efforts in mind. This is the one album I'd chose to have with me on a deserted island.

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Honorable mentions (bands) which were ultimately rejected for not quite meeting the list's criteria or simply outdone:

Motörhead - (Several)
Danzig - Danzig (1988)
Twisted Sister - Come Out And Play (1985)
Tygers Of Pan Tang - Spellbound (1981)
Thin Lizzy - Thunder And Lightning (1983)
Ozzy, Sabbath, Dio, Priest, Saxon, Maiden, Enforcer - (More choices)

In retrospect: Ronnie James Dio

Hi and welcome back to a new round of "In retrospect:". This time I'm tackling the career of Ronnie James Dio, although not all of his career. This might sound weird, but truth be told - the man's legacy started way before Elf, which is kind of the first band people usually know him from. Back in the 1950's and 1960's, Ronnie James Dio was already an active singer, but since this was in a time long-before hard rock and heavy metal, the music was more what you could imagine from that time.

Judging by the fact that Dio's pre-Elf career is too hard to fully trace, not to mention having an interest and patience in hearing it all, leaves me determined to not include his early, mostly unknown career in music. Actually, the same goes for his first little-to-fairly-known band Elf, which I simply haven't heard enough from, and what little I've heard didn't really interest me that much either, I'm afraid.

What I will cover is Ronnie's well-known career and legacy, from Rainbow to Black Sabbath to his solo act Dio. The only releases I will exclude from these bands are live and compilation albums, since they rarely interest me anyway.

A small shoutout before I begin, however, for Rainbow's "On Stage" album which in fact is a good one. Nonetheless, I will not include it in the list, but it's very worth checking out.

Here we go...

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Rainbow


1975 - Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow

Ronnie James Dio's first well-known album, and his first mainstream introduction to the public, is quite a landmark. Though this album was a major factor in Dio's career, it was also important for band leader and legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who had left Deep Purple to form his own band. The release itself, however, is not quite as good to my ears as many other people think. Truth be told, I always found Deep Purple and Rainbow to be somewhat of a hit-or-miss kind of bands. It's solid and got some great tracks, but nothing awesome as a whole.


1976 - (Rainbow) Rising

Now this is a lot better than the band's previous effort, I believe. If anything, it's certainly heavier and more to my taste. While it's got a shorter amount of songs (six in total), half of the album is made-up of eight-minute songs. Back in my early teens many years ago, I was often bored of lenghty songs, but as I grew older I really started to appreciate those musical-journey style songs many bands do. This album really has got that, with music just as epic as the most classic album cover art. One mighty fine hour in Dio's career, not to mention in the rest of the band members' careers as well.


1978 - Long Live Rock 'n' Roll

Dio's last album with Rainbow has got quite an ironic title, doesn't it? Not because rock 'n' roll died, at least not as early as 1978, but because it was the last album of Dio-Rainbow. It doesn't quite matter that Rainbow switched members from every record to record (at least up until "Difficult To Cure", after that I'm not sure), the Dio-Blackmore collaboration was all that counted, really. The album itself is a good closure for Dio's tenure in Rainbow with some of both Dio's and Blackmore's best songs ever.


Black Sabbath (take 1)


1980 - Heaven And Hell

Starting off his career in a band like Rainbow, only to then go on and replace Ozzy Osbourne in the mighty Sabbath. That is one hell of a career move, right? Well, Dio had the chops to did, and he bloody well did. As a major fan of Sabbath I love every album they did with Ozzy except for "Never Say Die!", which is a bit bland. I can understand why some people didn't like a few more of their last Ozzy-fronted albums, though. Anyway, with Dio in the fold, they put themselves back on the map - big time. This album is one of the best albums of all time, particularly within the metal community. Anyone denying its mastercrafted heavy metal sound of grandeur is an idiot. Dio himself stated at several times that this was his very favorite album, as well.


1981 - Mob Rules

While it doesn't really seem like an unknown album, it's certainly underrated and overlooked in comparison to its predecessor. I sometimes wonder if I don't even like this one slighty more, but it's a close call any way. Where this album perhaps went by more quietly, however, it was an important career step for Dio, who met his future long-time drummer Vinnie Appice who plays drums on this album. This would also be the last Dio-fronted Sabbath album in ten years to come, but what a great closure of Dio-Sabbath (mark one) it was. Very heavy and powerful album!


Dio


1983 - Holy Diver

One of the most legendary metal albums of all time. The debut of Dio's solo band really showed the world that the little man with the big voice could make it on his own. An album that surely helped out a lot with putting American heavy metal on the map, because after all, Ronnie James Dio was American. While Dio himself was American, however, his new and sensational young talen Vivian Campbell came from Ireland. Viv Campbell is today more known as one of the guitarists in Def Leppard, something that is quite far away from the style of Dio. Anyway, this album showed everyone that the Dio band was just as good, if not better, than both Rainbow and Black Sabbath had been with Dio. Most worthy of mentioning is also Dio's classic rhythm section with Jimmy Bain on bass and Vinnie Appice on drums. Just one of the great rhythm sections of all time, what a band!


1984 - The Last In Line

For a long time this was my favorite Dio album. I don't know if it still is, but it's one damn good album to say the least. Coming from "Holy Diver" which largely lacked keyboards, something which was pretty crucial and prominent in the soundscapes of Dio's former bands, this one saw keyboardist Claude Schnell recruited and a lot of more keyboards being present in the music. I believe this really helped cementing the Dio band's sound, especially with Ronnie's fantasy-themed lyrics which fit the 1980's heavy metal scene very nicely. This album is a very heavy and atmospheric journey of heavy metal music that everyone should own. A great mix of heavy, speed, and poppy metal.


1985 - Sacred Heart

Somewhat unintentionally controversial, this album would prove to be the last album featuring the classic Dio line-up. Guitarist Vivian Campbell and Ronnie had clashed by this point, for whatever reasons (they are widely discussed throughout interviews if you're interested). It's a most typical Dio album in a musical sense, but it does perhaps feature a somewhat more commercial sound. The album's lead singles are quite poppy and the fans were largely split with opinions about this one. This fact along with the ultimate demise and departure of Vivian Campbell's tenure in the band made it somewhat of the controversy it is. But I am one of those fans who love this album. A few tracks do tend to sound a bit more filler than usual, but still - it's a pretty fucking good album anyway.


1987 - Dream Evil

Marking the first album without guitarist Viv Campbell, this was the first (and ultimately at the time the only) album to feature Craig Goldy. I've always been very fond of this album, especially considering it's Craig Goldy who plays on it. That might come across as I don't like the guy's playing, but I'll come back and explain that on later albums. What this album sounds like is a mix between Dio's previous three solo albums and his Rainbow albums. Goldy seemed to be very influenced by Ritchie Blackmore, and perhaps even a bit too much so. The guitar playing is just phenomenal but not really as original or interesting as on previous albums. At the end of the day, however, this release does feature some of Dio's most underrated songs, and for any fans who loved Dio in Rainbow, this one would surely be the album to check out from Dio's solo records.


1990 - Lock Up The Wolves

Dio's fifth album once again showed a change within the band, albeit a much larger one this time around. For this album, Dio had changed out his whole backing band. Some of the old guys got fired for whatever reasons and the rest felt uncomfortable playing with the replacing guys. I can only suppose it was inevitable and a much needed change at the time. But how does it affect the album then? Well, it sounds quite different (obviously). Compared to the previous albums, this one is way much more guitar-driven, with hardly any prominent keyboards at all. Perhaps a sign of the times as the 80's was over, I dunno. The guitarist here, Rowan Robertson, was infamously only seventeen years old at the time he joined the band, and boy was he full of great talent! Ultimately, it's not the strongest Dio release. It took me a few years to truly get into this, but when I finally did, it became a very good more hard-rock/glam metal-influenced record than its predecessors.


Black Sabbath (take 2)


1992 - Dehumanizer

Dio let-go of his solo band in favor of rejoining Sabbath during the early 90's. I suppose the reason was that both the Dio band as well as Black Sabbath had been struggling somewhat throughout the last few years, and while they assured everyone it wasn't about the money, well ... I beg to differ, especially considering how ill they spoke of each other during the 80's. But it all happened anyway, and the end result was one hell of a heavy album. Perhaps even the heaviest Sabbath album of all time, but in the end I always felt this album fell somewhat flat in comparison to Dio's previous Sabbath-albums. It's a solid album, but nothing too spectacular. Sabbath simply did better doom metal with Ozzy in the 70's (without disrespecting Ronnie's performance or place in the band). This reunion was, however, very short-lived.


Dio (take 2)


1993 - Strange Highways

Without a doubt this is the most overlooked and underrated album of Dio's career. I suppose the reasons for it were maybe not all that surprising, though. Seeing as how the 90's obviously changed the music market for this kind of metal, and Dio and his solo band were largely associated with "dragons and rainbows", I just guess nobody was interested anymore. Well, that sure as hell was their huge loss, because this album is fucking awesome. Once again, the old trademark-keyboards are almost completely gone on this one as well, and it's way heavier than any solo record Dio ever did. This one is a lot more like Sabbath's Dehumanizer, p. 2. The only difference is - I think this one turned out way better, to be honest. For this album, Dio used his new guitar player Tracy G. along with former Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson, and his former long-time drummer Vinnie Appice came back to the fold as well. Some fans ultimately disliked Tracy G. and his playing (strongly), but I guess it's mostly because the guy played his own solos on old Dio and Sabbath tracks when they played live. Otherwise, I think the guy had a great guitar tone and I love his "loose" riffing style.


1996 - Angry Machines

And without a doubt this is Dio's worst album of his (more well-known) career. I've tried to get into this but I just can't. It sounds like a further exploration within doom metal, this time taking an even heavier approach. The end result is just plain bad. The songs are boring, uninspired and most of all - it doesn't sound very much like a Dio album. I can only suppose that for those who disliked Tracy G., this album did nothing but further cement that opinion of theirs. This was ultimately the last album to feature Tracy G. (as well as Vinnie Appice), who left some years later due to even Ronnie getting tired of his solo-style during live performances. I liked the guy and his personal playing, but this album was pretty bad. Him not playing the older songs' solos properly either, well ... fans were obviously gonna be pissed.


2000 - Magica

This album marked four noteworthy things: the return of guitarist Craig Goldy, as well as drummer Simon Wright (who played on "Lock Up The Wolves") and the former classic and long-time bassist Jimmy Bain, and most of all: the return of Dio's trademark fantasy-style metal. The end result, however, is a bit hit-or-miss. Seeing as it was 2000, with new ways of making digital recording cheaper to use, as well as Dio having not had any greater success for almost ten years by this point, the album sounds rather cheaply recorded. The production is very flat-sounding. On top of this, Craig Goldy's return to the band is more of a disappointment than it is a success. The riffs just tend to sound very much the same over and over. His old Ritchie Blackmore-influenced style of riffing is long-gone on here, and while it was maybe Ronnie who wrote the riffs, it's still a pretty boring performane from Goldy. Simon Wright's stellar-rather-than-loose playing style (if compared to Vinnie Appice) just further makes this album stiff and a bit lifeless. It's sad because this album really had potential in its songs.


2002 - Killing The Dragon

Following much in the same vein as "Magica", this album is more of a success to my ears. It sounds more inspirated and more true to Dio's 80's albums than any Dio album has done post-80's. Maybe this was because of guitarist Doug Aldrich, who temporarily replaced Craig Goldy for a few years while the latter became a father. Still present, however, is the somewhat of the stiff sound from the previous album. It's not nearly as much, however, as the production is a bit more "full" and the guitars (especially) are more varied and alive on this one. Not really a superb album, but without a doubt the best album Dio did after "Strange Highways" in 1993.


2004 - Master Of The Moon

Ultimately what would become the last Dio album, this one once again sees the return of bassist Jeff Pilson as well as Craig Goldy(!), and along with him comes (once again) a more stiff performance like "Magica". Now these two albums have really left me wondering sometimes what this guy did to lose his amazing performance-style from "Dream Evil". It's just sad to see such a promising guitarist become so uninspiring and boring fifteen-to-twenty years down the line. This particular album itself, however, is not bad, but not very good either. Just like with "Magica", this is somewhat of a hit-or-miss kind of album. It's a bit more keyboard-oriented which is nice, but otherwise there's not really one single track that truly stands out as memorable.


Heaven & Hell (a.k.a. Black Sabbath, take 3)


2009 - The Devil You Know

Sometime soon after the mid-2000's, Ronnie once again reunited with his former Black Sabbath bandmates. Sabbath had not too long ago stopped playing with Ozzy Osbourne, whom they had reunited with in the late 1990's. Needless to say, Sabbath was most likely facing another rather unsuccessful bunch of years ahead of them, while Dio had already been working too hard for too little for several years at this point. The guys reunited once more, opting to change their name after the legendary "Heaven And Hell" album this time instead. They released their first and ultimately only full-length album in 2009, which I suppose was successful (judging by time of illegal downloads, etc). The album itself is also a very good one, being the best album by the Sabbath guys (Tony and Geezer) and Dio (with Vinnie Appice) in a long, long time. It's a very heavy doom metal album and a great way for Ronnie James Dio to (sadly) end his career.

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That was it for this time, guys. These are my reflections and presentations of Ronnie James Dio's albums in short. I hope you enjoyed and see you next time!

//J.

In retrospect: Magnum (UK)

Welcome to my second round of "In retrospective:", which today will feature non other than the excellent British band Magnum. If you're European, especially British, German or Scandinavian, then there's a good chance you know about these guys. If you're American and never heard of them before, then I wouldn't be surprised. Magnum tried and they failed at breaking the American market back in the day, but in Europe they were fairly successful or at least well-known with a dedicated fan-base.

My introduction to Magnum was through my old man, who was a big fan of Magnum as he grew up in the 80's. When I grew up and got a liking to hard rock and metal music in 2002, I eventually discovered his old vinyl stash, and with practically every Magnum album from studio to compilation being included (except for "Chase The Dragon", sadly), it wasn't long before I was another fan of the band.

The thing I've always loved the most with Magnum is the vocals. Bob Catley's such an amazing artist with a most passionate voice full of emotion, like Ronnie James Dio for instance, but with another character to it of course. His stage presence is also rather unique, as my girlfriend pointed out after watching old and new live videos of them. Then of course we have guitarist and song-writer Tony Clarkin, who is yet another (sadly) way underrated veteran in the genre. Writing all the music and lyrics for Magnum, I think his talent is very apparent, especially if you consider how all the other members the band has had throughout the years, were alright with him being the sole writer.

Musically speaking, Magnum is usually referred to as simply hard rock, or more often (and probably correctly) melodic hard rock or pomp-rock. Personally, I dislike the latter because of the word pomp's meaning in my native language; Swedish. I don't know how many ways and meanings you use it for in the English language, but in Swedish the word pomp, which is translated into "pompös" or "pampig" most of the time, can have both a positive and a negative meaning. Generally, however, I believe the word is mostly used in a more negative sense, like describing something or someone who is pompous in a bad or irritating way.

But enough of my talk now and let's instead go into their discography. Just like last time, I will present their releases (excluding some compilations and live albums) and make brief comments about my opinion regarding them, but also try to add a fair score to each and everyone of them. Let's go!

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Album / (year) / score (out of 10)
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Kingdom Of Madness (1978) - 7.0

Comment: The debut album which was actually recorded in 1975 already, but delayed for three whole years. I can only assume it was because of label bullshit, or a lack of one altogether perhaps, but this album is rather special in their discography. It doesn't quite sound like the classic Magnum, leaning more towards a progressive rock sound and sounding quite like a product of its time. Some tracks are really good, especially the title-track (though it was later remade) which is a classic live-staple of theirs. A solid release but the best is yet to come.


Magnum II (1979) - 8.5

The band's second album a lot closer to the classic Magnum sound, although still leaning a lot towards the progressive influences. This album was done before the band's long-time and classic keyboardist Mark Stanway joined the fold, but it's still a very keyboard-driven album. Actually, I would even say that it's at times more keyboard-driven rather than guitar-driven, and the keyboards do not rarely give me vibes of how the likes of Jean Michel Jarre, Vangelis or Tangerine Dream sounded at the time. A very good album.


Marauder (1980) - 7.0

A rather classic release from the band, this one happens to be a live album. To be honest, I am not too big a fan of live albums but I do enjoy some classics, with Judas Priest's "Unleashed In The East" being the perhaps best live album ever made. So, with that said, this is not a bad one by any means, but it just doesn't quite interest me that much either. However, I thought it was important to include this one since it appears to be well-appreciated among the band's fans, not to mention that several of the live takes on here are featured on several compilation albums instead of their studio-album counterparts. But once again, like always with live albums, I have no clue how much of this album is actually recorded live (or not).


Chase The Dragon (1982) - 9.8

Just like the debut record, this one was recorded in 1980 but delayed until 1982 because of label bullshit. This is in several ways somewhat of the "real" debut album for the band, as it was the first to feature long-time keyboardist Mark Stanway, which would cement the classic ever-going trio of Catley-Clarkin-Stanway. The album itself also features the true trademark sound of Magnum, not to mention it's heavier (perhaps their closest one to being heavy metal, without quite being that). The songs are all just excellent compositions and Bob Catley's vocals are really powerful on here. Why he didn't get more recognition for his amazing voice is beyond me. Needless to mention to other Magnum fans, this album also features several live-classics for the band, with particularly "Sacred Hour" being in mind, and what an amazing intro it's got!


The Eleventh Hour (1983) - 8.5

This one always struck me as being a classic release by the band, but from what I've come to understand through several fans and the band themselves, this album is many times closer to being "disliked". I personally can't imagine this to be very true. Sure, the band themselves were quite bitter at their label during this album's release, and thus maybe associate it and its music with bad times, but for me as a fan, this one is just another great album. What I particularly like about this one is how it once more manages to sound different while still maintaining Magnum's trademark essence. Musically, I always thought this album sounded like "English pub folk-rock music", something that would fit perfectly into the painting for the band's next album.


On A Storyteller's Night (1985) - 9.2

The band's first breakthrough came with this one, featuring classics like "Just Like An Arrow", "Les Mort Dansant" and particularly the ever-going live-staple epic "How Far Jerusalem". While it's certainly a somewhat more easy-accessible record and cleaner-sounding in the production department, I think it still manages to maintain a complete Magnum trademark sound, not to mention it feels like a natural progression for the band. Perhaps this one is more AOR-oriented, but it's still driven by a duel between guitar and keyboards, with heavy pounding drums and Bob Catley's fantastic voice in a very good performance. This would probably, really, be the best introduction you could get into the band's music.


Vigilante (1986) - 7.0

Another classic to many, somewhat of a sell-out to others, but to me this one is most of all a typical sign of the times album. Featuring an ultra-clean(ed up) production and lots of rather cheesy keyboards, this one was very much a typical 80's AOR album. Compared to the band's previous efforts, this one has more in common with the likes of Bon Jovi rather than Magnum themselves. Sure, some of the tracks are really good and well-worth getting the album for alone, but some tracks sound like leftovers from Billy Idol's then-new "Whiplash" album. Not bad, actually pretty good for what it is, but far from Magnum's finest hour (or trademark sound).


Wings Of Heaven (1988) - 6.0

At its time, this one was the band's most successful record in England, but in most other countries as well, I believe. I always found it rather ironic, however, that their most commercially successful album would prove to be the one I like the least (at least thus far). Once again, it's not at all a bad album, but its particular ultra-80's AOR sound doesn't really appeal that much to me.


Goodnight L.A. (1990) - 6.5

A continuation of the band's more easy-accessible sound, and also their most American-friendly release. Specifically aimed at the (north) American audience to try and break there, it does sound like a mix of recent Magnum albums with some typical American radio-rock. I actually prefer this one over the previous album since this at least is a bit rockier again, but it's kind of a hit-or-miss album. To summon it as best as I can; if I look at the album's track-list, I recognize a few songs all of which I like. The rest I cannot even recall what they sound like.


Sleepwalking (1992) - 6.8

A good step away from what the band (or label, rather) tried to do over the last three albums. This is certainly sounds more like the good ol' Magnum again, but in a somewhat more "mature" approach. I mean, the guys were like 40 years or so at this point, so it's understandable the sound matured a bit with them. But overall this is not something that I truly appreciate, yet. Some songs are really good and while the album maintains a better standard than the previous few albums, it's simply (still) not quite appealing to me.


Rock Art (1994) - ?

I don't recall ever listening to this on or its tracks. I don't have in my collection either, so I'll let this one pass for now. (After a quick Googling, I found out at the band themselves are very fond of this particular album, looking back on it today. I will have to get my hands on it.)


Breath Of Life (2002) - ?

The second (and last) album from Magnum which I currently don't have. I have heard some stuff from it, like the two songs which are featured (remixed or re-recorded) on the Evolution (2011) compilation, and a snippet or two perhaps, I don't remember. From what I've heard about this album from the band themselves, however, this album doesn't really sound like Magnum, but rather a mix of Mag and Hard Rain (the band Tony and Bob were in with current bassist Al during the 90's). I haven't heard the Hard Rain records either, so I don't have many clues about what this album is like, but the band themselves don't seem too interested in this one these days. I'll leave its rating blank for the moment.


Brand New Morning (2004) - 7.0

Widely considered to be the first "real" Magnum album since their reformation in 2001 by the band and fans alike. To my ears, it sure does sound like a modernized Magnum as well. The album itself, however, is not really their strongest effort since their reformation. Apart from perhaps Breath Of Life (I wouldn't know), this is their weakest post-reformation album. Some songs on this one, like the opening/title-tack for instance, are the best songs by Magnum since 1985. Some other songs just tend to not be as strong, and that's both alright and understandable, but at this point, Tony Clarkin and Magnum were just getting started with crafting their modern sound which we're familiar with today.


Princess Alive And The Broken Arrow (2007) - 8.8

This is officially, to me and many other fans alike, the best Magnum album in a very long time. To me, it's the band's best since 1985, but some fans hold this one as the band's best album, period. It's a bloody fantastic record which shows the return of the band's long-time artwork maker Rodney Matthews (one of my favorite artists, I might add). The album continues in a very similar direction like the previous album, but with more focus and better songs, I believe. Some of the band's strongest tunes to date are present here, and this was luckily just the start for a completely reborn Magnum.


Into The Valley Of The Moonking (2009) - 8.0

A slight step down from the previous record, but it's neither surprising nor a bad thing. It was kind of expected considering how good the previous one turned out. What is a bit weird, however, is why they chose "Cry To Yourself" as an opening track. I honestly have a hard time coming up with another example of opening tracks this inappropriate. It doesn't suck you in at all and it's a rather low-pace, ballad-esque tune. Otherwise, this album is very strong. It's a bit more ballad-esque overall I think, but they're all strong songs. The more rockier numbers also give me strong vibes of Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, which is a good thing. Another thing I've gotten the impression of is that this album is somewhat overlooked among Magnum fans. No one seems to talk about or listen to this one, and that is very odd considering how good it is.


The Visitation (2011) - 8.0

Another just-as-strong effort from Magnum, and yet another proof that the new-born Magnum is a force to be reckoned with. Compared to the previous album, this one is both less Rainbow-esque and ballad-esque in its approach and sound. The rockier numbers, particularly the opening track "Black Skies" are heavy-riffing melodic hard rock and has a similar vibe to (the track) "Brand New Morning", both of which in turn remind me of Led Zeppelin somehow. Overall, however, this album manages to vary itself more compared to the previous one, but instead loses somewhat of Moonking's consistency. At the end I'd say they're both equal in quality, though.


On The 13th Day (2012) - 8.2

Once again Magnum takes a slight turn musically and once more delivers a more varied album, but also a very colorful one. This album has got an excellent album art once again done by Rodney Matthews and it's full of lovely colors in almost a carnival-esque setting. The music sounds very fitting in relation to the album art, for sure. So this basically covers several areas in a wider stretch compared to most of the band's albums. There are some typical Magnum anthems such as the opening track "All The Dreamers", classic Magnum ballads, and even a real heavy one this time around in "Dance Of The Black Tattoo". It's got a lighter atmosphere at times compared to the recent three albums or so, but also darker moments. Overall a very good mix.


Escape From The Shadow Garden (2014) - 9.5

In a way, this is Magnum's very finest hour in my opinion. There are a few of their records that come close, but the only one that would possibly beat this one is Chase The Dragon, and that's out of a sheer nostalgia factor. This album is absolutely lovely and somewhat of a contrast to On The 13th Day. If that one was mostly light and joyful, then this one is darker and viler. I just love everything about this one from the tunes to the very dark artwork (by Magnum standards). Most of the guys in the band were around 65 when they did this one, and they rock harder on this one than they've done in a long time. It's an absolutely fantastic record and every song is great, making the album all-around very consistent and interesting.


Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies (2016) - 9.0

The band's most recent album as of today. I honestly didn't doubt they would come back with yet another great album, but I maybe expected another 8:er. I certainly did not expect the band to follow up their previous triumph with an album worthy of a solid 9, but they did. This album kind of follows the last one in style and sound/production, but it's not quite as dark-sounding this time around. Still, the songs aren't really as colorful as On The 13th Day, either. What it is is a melodic hard rocking journey through Magnum's lovely trademark keyboards and riffs, with some (still) amazing vocals by Bob Catley. Seriously, the man's voice is still as passionate as ever, and it's a crime by everyone who doesn't acknowledge his chops.


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If you're knew to Magnum and love 80's hard rock, melodic rock, AOR or NWoBHM, I suggest you check out Magnum. Either use this guide to buy an album or two, or go digital via iTunes, Spotify or Google Play. It's a lovely band with lovely music, and it's a great shame that they never made it bigger.