Welcome to Greeley Estates, a metalcore neighborhood where not many people have stayed for a full decade, all except two guys; Ryan Zimmerman (vocals) and guitarist Brandon Hackenson. Well, no matter the lineup changes, Greeley Estates have managed to make their initial career last 5 albums. The Death of Greeley Estates (same title as their 2005 live DVD) is high on ambition and in perfect consistency despite the amount of tracks, similarly to Trivium's In Waves released the same day!

The album is filled with metalcore heaviness and some background symphonic keys, in contrast to the emocore sound of their earlier material. Bright melodies are still around to counterbalance with the darkness, making a fantastic blend that I enjoy in other bands of a similar style.

The first track "Straitjacket" is just straight-on heaviness in the riffing and drums. The cleans and screams are in great balance, along with some guitar harmonies here and there. Next up, "The Last Dance" delights me even more. The chorus is so beautiful, especially when the clean singing leads you in. Of course, the track strikes hard with the furious verses and gives you an emotional breakdown. Absolutely precious! "Friendly Neighbourhood Visit" has occasional background choir to level up the experimentation. Within the fast rhythm is an ethereal chorus. They really know how to get experimentation in metalcore right. "Bodies" stands out with dark organ and symphonies, alongside clean singing and pummeling drumming. A haunting highlight! Then "The Medic" continues the massive sound with soaring symphonics, guitars, and vocals.

"Thousand Burning Forests" builds up to powerful soloing. "Broken" is a brief interlude in which not a lot of happens though it helps set the mood for the next track. "Leave the Light On" sounds quite sharp in the guitarwork. "Circle the Wagons" has the melodic/heavy blend heard in other metalcore bands like 36 Crazyfists and Oh Sleeper. In fact, Oh Sleeper lead vocalist Micah Kinard guest appears here to give that song a raging punch. "The Reaction" is another relentless highlight with screaming energy. Midway through is an electronic-sounding bridge, and the song ends by reminding you of its dark glory.

"Tonight" continues the darkness in a more accessible pop-ish direction. Despite that, the heaviness is what matters here. "The Postman" is more chaotic while having some groove, similar to Every Time I Die and Harm's Way. Same thing with "Mouth to Mouth" with some TDEP-esque experimentation. Then we have another interlude, "Repaired". It segues to the emotional "December", starting off soft before the instrumentation expands in the buildup then ends on a haunting note.

Greeley Estates made an ambitious album with lots of heaviness and a small bit of softness. The occasional cinematic synths are what makes this masterpiece impressive with its experimentation. Although The Death of Greeley Estates may seem aptly titled for their breakup, they've recently reformed. I say it's their ultimate death and rebirth!

Favorites: "Straitjacket", "The Last Dance", "Bodies", "The Medic", "Circle the Wagons", "The Reaction", "Tonight", "December"

Goatess were formed in 2009 as Weekend Beast by guitarist Niklas Jones and Chritus (Christian Linderson), veteran vocalist of Count Raven and Lord Vicar. They changed their name to Goatess in 2012 and released this debut album the following year. If you are famiiar with Chritus' previous bands then you will be on pretty firm ground here as Goatess have one foot firmly planted in the traditional doom camp of those bands, although the other is very much rooted in the stoner tradition of acts like Sleep and Kyuss. Chritus said after the album's release that the songwriting was done by jamming in the rehearsal room and I think you can feel that approach manifested particularly in Jones' trippy guitar leads which feel a lot like the more jam-oriented stoner grooves of those acts. The tracks are quite lengthy, generally from seven to eleven minutes, so there is ample scope for the laid-back six-string flights of fancy to weave their spells. 

The riffs are still mostly derived from the trad doom template, although a track like "Full Moon at Noon" is much groovier and more rooted in stoner metal and even desert rock than actual doom metal. Meanwhile the two-part "The Oracle" begins with its first section sounding like latter-day, psychedelia-obsessed Cathedral, although the second part is one of the heaviest and doomiest tracks on the album with the forceful drumming of Kenta Karlbom playing a significant role. Closing track "Tentacles of Zen" even features an extended eastern-flavoured instrumental breakdown that wouldn't sound out of place on "Sgt. Pepper". The result of this trade-off between heavy riffs and trippy guitar leads brings to mind 90s Electric Wizard, albeit without the dark edge I associate with Jus Osborne's crew and with Chritus sounding so unlike Osborne the comparison doesn't entirely hold up successfully, although I still feel it is valid. Overall I like how this dynamic between the heavy and the trippy works and it has produced an album that comes across as a little bit different and a band that has a definite and particular vision for how they want to sound.

Making my full return to The Guardians has leveled up my motivation to explore more releases from all of the clan's different genres; heavy metal, power metal, symphonic metal, and neoclassical metal. For classic heavy metal, I still haven't gotten a lot of appeal for the more popular bands that helped develop the genre, but releases like this one by Judas Priest, Ram It Down, show that these kinds of bands and albums should never be taken for granted...

The band had already released 10 albums before this one, and they were having tons of commercial success with global tours and arenas. They were having the time of their lives, but at what cost? The heavier metalheads were turning away from the band because they were dissatisfied with their more mainstream sound in Turbo. However, what they didn't know was, Turbo was meant to be part of a double album titled Twin Turbos, an idead turned down by their record label. The speedy heavy metal material written for what would've been the second Twin Turbos disc ended up recorded for its own album, Ram It Down. All pounding heaviness and melody, with no synths in sight!

The opening title track is filled with energetic speed that was missing in Turbo. It has massive soloing by guitar duo Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing, alternating between each other, similar to how DragonForce would do it 15 to 20 years later. And this is the album before the pinnacle of Judas Priest's career that is Painkiller. After that is "Heavy Metal". You might think it would maintain their metal redemption based on the song title and the intro solo, but it just leads to what sounds like a Turbo B-side. I'm talking about the industrial percussion behind the riffing, as well as the vocals sounding a little odd. At least there's some more kick-A soloing midway through. Adding in a bit of their 70s roots is "Love Zone". Then "Come and Get It" has a little more of the Turbo sound bled through.

Their later speed is hinted further in "Hard as Iron", particularly in the bass and drums. What a shame this wasn't a live staple because it's perhaps the best track here. An absolutely underrated kick-A speedy tune, again an early sign of Painkiller! "Blood Red Skies" is an 8-minute industrial-infused epic. Apparently it was originally over 10 minutes long but ended up trimmed a bit. That would've surpassed "Run of the Mill" from their 1974 debut Rocka Rolla as their longest song at the time. Anyway, the first minute sounds more like a soft ballad, then electronic beats come in alongside dark riffing. Rob Halford's vocals range from his usual falsettos to unusual whispers. Strange but I like it. In fact, that song would've fit quite well in a Terminator movie soundtrack. "I'm a Rocker" is another solid anthem, describing the life of a rockstar. That would've fit well in one of the Back to the Future movies. Speaking of which...

"Johnny B. Goode", the Chuck Berry classic that people know from the first Back to the Future, is given a metal makeover. Some love it, some hate it. I'm one of the people who love it, especially the soloing melody. All that's missing is the epic shredding performed by Marty McFly at the end of his version. "Love You to Death" is the one track that doesn't have much business here. The doomy "Monsters of Rock" ends the album with a more appropriately fitting tale of heavy metal than in the song "Heavy Metal".

It's strange how well some albums turns out for me when I don't expect them to. I thought Ram It Down would be a heavier take on the glam cheese from Turbo, but it's more of a somewhat polar opposite than a total counterpart. The rapid drums and guitars help fire things up, alongside the vocals and bass. I would've loved this album a lot if not for a couple tracks that almost come out as stinkers. That being said, the fist has really slammed down like the one in the iconic cover art made by Mark Wilkinson, pounding with metal anthems that are both either popular or in need of attention. Any kind of metalhead should give this offering some listening....

Favorites: "Ram It Down", "Hard as Iron", "Blood Red Skies", "Johnny B. Goode", "Monsters of Rock"

The UK was the ultimate birthplace for classic heavy metal. The two biggest pioneering bands of the genre are Black Sabbath and, of course, Judas Priest. However, there comes a time when one of those bands would water down their sound for the mainstream. For Judas Priest, their brief direction in Turbo is not as pretty as it looks...

The US saw the rise of the two popular genres in the 80s; glam metal and thrash. The glam sound has then made its way overseas, as UK metal artists like Def Leppard would switch gears from their earlier heavy metal sound. Glam "metal" is generally more of a hard rock genre and the only reason for some bands to sacrifice some integrity is to make some cashola. Turbo is Judas Priest's sole attempt at following the glam trend, filled with synthesized guitars.

They already crank up the glam heat in the opening hit "Turbo Lover". The drumming rhythm and guitar riffing are indeed in more of the glam side, but those along with the vocal strength of Rob Halford help make that song be recognizable as a true classic. "Locked In" is far more glam-ish than the previous song. This is where some of the strength is lost. "Private Property" doesn't reduce any of the poppiness going on in the guitar tones nor the lyrics of love and sex. "Parental Guidance" was written as a "f*** you" to Tipper Gore and the PMRC, and I can respect the band for standing up to the (wo)man.

But I can't respect the next track "Rock You All Around the World". It's just too cheesy for me, and I prefer to get my cheese from power metal. Now we're getting some slower metal with the 6-minute epic "Out in the Cold". It starts with a long intro that makes more use of their guitar synths, leading into guitar riffing, all done by the legendary duo of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton. Furthermore, the soloing is filled with memorable melody without too much shredding. Truly a diamond in the rough!

"Wild Nights, Hot & Crazy Days" is another sweet and sappy glam track. All it's good for is being the soundtrack for a sunny day at the beach. Venice Beach. More for glam fans than metalheads. "Hot for Love" is another one of the best songs here, even with some glam. "Reckless" closes the album somewhat decently.

It's easy to come across the singles from Turbo via radio and TV, but that's sadly what many listeners only hear from the album when they don't buy it. Still one of the singles is a great one, along with 3 underrated highlights and, oh yeah I forgot to mention, the speedy bonus track "All Fired Up" paying homage to their roots. The rest, however, is just the metal equivalent to bubblegum pop. Luckily their next album would prove that selling out is not a long-term option for these metal gods....

Favorites (only ones I really like): "Turbo Lover", "Parental Guidance", "Out in the Cold", "Hot for Love", "All Fired Up" (bonus track)

Through no conscious effort on my part, I completely missed the Blaze-era albums that Maiden put out in the 90s. The fact that I have never heard or read a good word about that period anywhere has ensured that I have never bothered to find out if I was missing anything at all. I guess I am comfortable for once in not knowing if the criticism was justified or not. As such, listening to Brave New World is essentially me listening to the follow up to Fear of the Dark. Acknowledging that this approach does neglect an important comparator, it is still more than a valid reference to base my review on and arguably is unique amongst the Bayley-bashing that normally goes on.

Fear of the Dark was poor, making up for none of the lost ground that No Prayer for the Dying sacrificed before it. In my review scenario then, if I am not treating Brave New World as a standalone release, it has an easy task. The bar was already low, let’s be honest, before BB entered the fray. Brave New World feels like it would have been a great opportunity to kick on from the duller years and make this a proper reunion album that realised once again the glorious melodies that Maiden had for so many years been able to consistently deliver. And you know what? They almost get there. In fact, no, in fairness they do get there for some of the album. The first three tracks are consistent winners, well-written and hooky as you like. Later, too there are treats like ‘The Mercenary’, ‘The Nomad’ and ‘Out of the Silent Planet’. Whilst I could not go so far as to say the reunion is held together by the same glue that made them such a strong songwriting machine for so many years (Bruce does sound a little disconnected at times), it is encouraging to find some enjoyment from an artist I had all but written off some years before this album had been released.

Consistency is my main gripe with Brave New World. Tracks like ‘Blood Brothers’ and ‘Fallen Angel’ are just not of the same quality as the above-mentioned ones. The terrible closing track is perhaps one of the worst tracks I think Maiden have ever released and I can only guess that they simply had little other material to bring for consideration given the track is frankly laughably bad. Has this album managed to pique my interest into any later releases? Well, yes and no. I won’t be dashing off to jump into Dance of Death by any means but I have been able to take heart from some semblance of quality still being present in one of my teenage go to bands of yesteryear.