November 2024 "The Guardians" Playlist - Heavy/Power Metal Hellfire

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3w8wz5HBOoks78mYzldAMq?si=4fb67a3f926c447a

01. Iron Maiden – “Remember Tomorrow” (from “Iron Maiden”, 1980)

02. Iron Maiden – “Killers” (from “Killers”, 1981)

03. Black Sabbath – “The Sabbath Stones" (from “Tyr”, 1990) [Suggested by Karl]

04. Cirith Ungol – “Heaven Help Us” (from “Paradise Lost”, 1991) [Suggested by Karl]

05. Crimson Glory – “Lady of Winter” (from “Transcendence”, 1988)

06. Vulture – “Realm of the Impaler" (from "Sentinels", 2024)

07. Xandria – “No Time To Live Forever” (from “No Time To Live Forever”, 2024)

08. Nightwish – “Spider Silk” (from “Yesterwynde”, 2024)

09. Eternal Champion – “Cowards Keep” (from “Ravening Iron”, 2020) 

10. Rata Blanca – “Los Ojos Del Dragon” (from “Guerrero Del Arco Iris”, 1991) [Suggested by Karl]

11. Tierra Santa – “Dracula” (from “Legendario”, 1999) [Suggested by Karl]

12. Crystal Viper – “Heading Kadath" (from “The Silver Key”, 2024)

13. Riot City – “Beyond the Stars" (from “Electric Elite”, 2022) [Suggested by Karl]

14. Traveler – “Take the Wheel” (from “Prequel to Madness”, 2024)

15. Edge Of Sanity – “Blood of My Enemies” (from “The Spectral Sorrows", 1993) [Suggested by Daniel]

16. Blazon Rite – “Troubadours of the Final Quartering” (from “Wild Rites And Ancient Songs”, 2023) [Suggested by Karl]

17. Judas Priest – “Bloodstone” (from “Screaming For Vengeance", 1982)

18. Pertness – “Lost in Time” (from “Frozen Time", 2012)

19. Loded Diper – “Can You Smell Us Now” (from “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules”, 2022) [Suggested by Andi]

20. Manowar– “Ride the Dragon" (from "The Triumph of Steel”, 1992)

21. Maule – “Bring the Hammer Down” (from “Kill 'em MAULE”, 2024)

22. Blazon Stone - "Watery Graves" (from "Down in the Dark", 2017)

23. Lost Horizon - "Again Will The Fire Burn" (from "A Flame To The Ground Beneath", 2002)

24. Edenbridge - "Hall of Shame" (from "Shangri-La", 2024)

25. Manilla Road - "Return Of The Old Ones" (from "Out Of The Abyss", 2024)

I finished listening to this month's The Guardians playlist while cleaning one of our bathrooms this morning & enjoyed it noticeably more than last month's list. The extended Paul Dianno tribute that makes up the introduction was a nice touch with both tracks sitting amongst my favourites from their respective albums. I don't mind Black Sabbath's "The Sabbath Stones" or Crimson Glory's "Lady of Winter either" which makes the first section of the tracklisting a very solid way to begin proceedings. Eternal Champion's "Cowards Keep" is an excellent piece of US power metal & I've a traditionally had a bit of time for Lost Horizon's "Again Will the Fire Burn" (What a voice!) & Judas Priest's "Bloodstone", despite feeling that the "Screaming for Vengeance" album is a touch overrated. Even though I nominated it for inclusion, I struggle a bit with Edge of Sanity's cover version of Manowar's "Blood of My Enemies", particularly within the context of the "The Spectral Sorrows" album where it sounds a little out of place. It doesn't sound as bad here but I still wouldn't say that it does a lot for me personally. This is a pretty strong representation of the clan overall though.

I've been checking this month's Guardians playlist out over the last couple of days and generally found it to be pretty entertaining. The two-pronged Di'Anno tribute was spot on with two of my favourite Maiden tracks. Elsewhere, new (to me) stuff that grabbed my attention was the exuberant “Realm of the Impaler" from Vulture and to a lesser extent Blazon Stone, Manowar and Manilla Road. After re-checking Nightwish's "Once" out this month I even quite enjoyed the Edenbridge track and the instrumental part of the Rata Blanca track reminded me of Rainbow's "Light in the Black" (which is a very good thing). Ones I already knew which were good to hear again were Sabs, Priest, Cirith Ungol and Eternal Champion. Unfortunately the Manowar cover by Edge of Sanity was a misstep and the Loded Diper track was just that - total shit.

I am also increasingly coming to the conclusion that my biggest issue with Power Metal is the vocals, because there were a couple of tracks that I enjoyed instrumentally, but that annoyed me vocally. Still, nice job Xephyr - I did enjoy it a fair bit despite a couple of misgivings.

Unfortunately the Manowar cover by Edge of Sanity was a misstep

Yeah, it doesn't do anything for me either but I figured that others might like it more than myself given that I don't like the original & it seems to be regarded as the best song from Manowar's most popular album. Interestingly, one of my work mates listens to this playlist religiously & he mentioned that track as his highlight this month which surprised me.

Unfortunately the Manowar cover by Edge of Sanity was a misstep

Yeah, it doesn't do anything for me either but I figured that others might like it more than myself given that I don't like the original & it seems to be regarded as the best song from Manowar's most popular album. Interestingly, one of my work mates listens to this playlist religiously & he mentioned that track as his highlight this month which surprised me.

I don't much care for Manowar, but I bought Hail To England on vinyl when it came out on the strength of having heard "Blood Of My Enemies" somewhere and it remains my favourite Manowar album. I am surprised that the cover fails so badly though, because I like the track and I really enjoyed the two Edge of Sanity albums I have heard, with me awarding Purgatory Afterglow a whopping 4.5 stars. Just goes to show, sometimes things are less than the sum of their parts! Also, I generally have a poor opinion of cover versions (where I am familiar with the original anyway) and they have to be something special to appeal to me because most songs always sound better by the person who put their heart and soul into crafting them in the first place rather than someone interpreting somebody else's work without that indefinable personal connection.