Sonny's Forum Replies
I gave this a few listens today and loved it. In contrast to yourself, Daniel, my favourite of the three recordings is the EP. The two tracks that comprise it are a bit doomier, further accentuated by the muddiness of the production, giving me a Winter vibe. The two demos are pretty good too, especially the earlier of the two. The four track run fom "The Awakening of Majestic Darkness" to "Shrouded in Gore" is top drawer OSDM. Thanks for highlighting this brilliant comp.
Sonny, you will definitely want to get on this one if you haven't already. I think it's right up your alley.
I haven't listened to these guys before, but I am always on the lookout for decent death metal recs, so I will definitely give it a try. The mere mention of Incantation is enough to persuade me.
Like I said in my review I haven't checked out anything from Metal Church after "The Dark", which I personally think is a bit limp compared to the debut. I will have to check out the couple you mentioned above, Daniel.
Khanate - "Khanate" (2001)
Stephen O'Malley is a name that is written large over the history of drone metal. Making a name for himself with legendary extreme doom outfit, Burning Witch and short-lived death doom project Thorr's Hammer, he also formed Sunn O))) alongside long-time collaborator Greg Anderson. Khanate was formed in 2000 after O'Malley met avant-garde musician and member of O.L.D. James Plotkin at an Isis gig. Plotkin recruited O.L.D. bandmate Alan Dubin to perform vocals for the new project with the four-piece being completed by drummer Tim Wyskida.
Well, when you dive down this rabbit hole, you'd better not be expecting Wonderland because here be monsters. From the off Khanate set out their stall to be a genuinely disturbing listen, taking the blueprint of Burning Witch's psychotic doom metal and stretching it further with increased repetition, glacially slow tempos, seismic rumblings and squeals of feedback that act as the backdrop to the outpourings of Durbin's troubled and troubling vocal protagonist whose screeching screams worm their way into your brain and sit there eating away at your sanity. Instrumentally quiet and gentle sections where his vocals are mere creepy-sounding whispers, are akin to the murmured secret exhortations to violence I imagine schizophrenic killers hear from the imaginary voices in their heads. A couple of lines from "No Joy", for example, read "No joy precious joy no joy, Eat that smile right off a face, your face, No joy only only eat stuff that grin down, down your neck no more eat no more, Breathe breathe don’t breathe please don’t breathe". I mean, what the fuck? This truly is a trip to the dark side of the human psyche and a disconcerting listen that leaves you with the impression that you have been witness to the outpourings of a genuinely troubled mind, like the innumerable notebooks that Mills and Somerset find in the room of the psycho in Se7en. Sure, Khanate aren't the only band that deal in disturbing lyrical imagery, but here there is no release with a catchy riff or a shredding guitar solo, all there is is the grindingly slow, dissonant throb of bleak inevitability unrelieved by any kind of positivity or hope.
I hate real world violence and horror, but there is a deeply primal and subliminal part of the human mind that is attracted to darkness in art, hence the enduring popularity of horror movies and true crime series. Obviously, drone metal is very much a niche sub-genre in the wider metal world, certainly when it is as disquieting as Khanate, so it obviously isn't for everyone, especially the impatient listener, but if you have a penchant for the darker and more uncomfortable reaches of extreme metal then Khanate are absolutely a required listen.
4.5/5
OK, so I have completed THE GUARDIANS: Heavy Metal - The 1st Era clan challenge I think. Ultimately it doesn't mean anything as I already have my four clans but, should I wish to switch to the Guardians at any point then i guess my work is already done. Anyway I really enjoyed the journey through this challenge and it has actually gone a long way to reigniting my former love of 1980s metal, whilst also providing an enjoyable walk down memory lane.
Here is my ranking of the 25 releases on the challenge:
1. Angel Witch - "Angel Witch" - 96/100
2. Black Sabbath - "Paranoid" - 94/100
3. Diamond Head - "Lightning to the Nations" - 94/100
4. Judas Priest - "Sad Wings of Destiny" - 94/100
5. Mercyful Fate - "Don't Break the Oath" - 92/100
6. Iron Maiden - "Powerslave" - 90/100
7. Motörhead - "Ace of Spades" - 90/100
8. Rainbow - "Rising" - 90/100
9. Saxon - "Strong Arm of the Law" - 88/100
10. Ozzy Osbourne - "Blizzard of Ozz" - 86/100
11. Running Wild - "Gates To Purgatory" - 85/100
12. Satan - "Court in the Act" - 84/100
13. Cirith Ungol - "King of the Dead" - 84/100
14. Metal Church - "Metal Church" - 83/100
15. Jag Panzer - "Ample Destruction" - 81/100
16. Queensrÿche - "The Warning" - 80/100
17. Dio - "Holy Diver" - 79/100
18. Manowar - "Hail To England" - 78/100
19. Omen - "Battle Cry" - 76/100
20. Thin Lizzy - "Thunder and Lightning" - 74/100
21. W.A.S.P. - "W.A.S.P." - 73/100
22. Accept - "Restless and Wild" - 68/100
23. Manilla Road - "Crystal Logic" - 65/100
24. Scorpions - "Taken By Force" - 60/100
25. Riot - "Fire Down Under" - 49/100
Metal Church - "Metal Church" (1984)
I must confess that at the time, back in the 1980s I gave Metal Church a wide berth, for no other reason than their name made me think they were a glam metal band and so were taboo as far as I was concerned. OK, yeah I know, but I have always been a bit of a dickhead, so more fool me. Even to this day this debut is the only album of theirs I have given much attention to. I have heard its follow up "The Dark" but it didn't make much imprssion on me so the self-titled remains my only real touchstone with the San Franciscan metallers. In addition to this I was never a very big fan of power metal, but since joining Metal Academy I have become converted to the joys of the US version which is less bombastic than its european counterpart and is much more to my liking.
"Metal Church" whilst often being touted as speed metal, or even thrash, is neither of those but rather a good example of USPM. Undoubtedly, when they put their feet on the gas, it is certainly pretty close to speed metal, the instrumental "Merciless Onslaught" for example, but overall the tempos are more varied and there is a bit more to it than the average Exciter album. The title track, (my personal favourite) whilst having a relentless riff, isn't an all-out blur of speed, but is a much more deliberate and considered medium-paced affair, meanwhile "Gods of Wrath" even has a balladic verse structure alongside a classic-sounding NWOBHM riff for the chorus.
Having formed in 1980, the band had been churning out demos prior to Metal Church and that experience served them well because I think they sound like a pretty tightly-knit unit here. Whilst the twin guitars of Kurdt Vanderhoof and Craig Wells are undoubtedly the star attraction, I think drummer Kirk Harrington deserves special mention for his performance which is pretty damn impressive and does a lot more than just keep time with his relentless and intricate drum patterns. Vocalist David Wayne has a tendency to become a bit screechy, but never to the point of annoyance, and he does inject some character with his voice. As I said earlier, though, it is those twin guitars that really dominate "Metal Church". Whether it is the charging of the rampaging riffs or the frantic shredding of the electrifying solos Vanderhoof and Wells impress with their energy and skill.
These were pretty exciting times to be a metalhead as the new wave of acts sweeping the metal world were stripping away the final vestiges of hard rock from their sound, pushing each other to be faster and more evil-sounding and with this debut Metal Church can hold their heads high with their contribution to the movement. In all honesty, though, I would have been perfectly happy without the "Highway Star" cover which feels like an unnecessary nod to the increasingly irrelevant old guard. By the way, is it just me, or is the title track a candidate for the "Influence or Coincidence, Inspiration or Plagiarism" thread because it sounds to me like Dave Mustaine ripped it off for the chorus of "Architecture of Aggression". It isn't like he was unaware of this album surely, they are contemporaries from the Bay Area and must have crossed paths in the 80s.
4/5
Reviewed as part of THE GUARDIANS: Heavy Metal - The 1st Era clan challenge (25/25 completed).
Deschamps must have put a rocket up the French at halftime because that was like a completely different team in the second half. Could be very difficult to beat now they have got going.
These tossers throwing themselves on the ground whenever an opponent breathes on them should be made to watch film of Georgie Best, ankle deep in mud, being hacked at by Norman Hunter or "Chopper" Harris and refusing to go down or Pele having the entire Argentinian team trying to break his leg every time he got the ball.
Yes, that's a major annoyance. They could also look at Jimmy Johnstone against Athletico Madrid or Racing Club in the battle of Montevideo (not that I am quite old enough to have seen those live). Or Maradona against Gentile of Italy. I have spoken lots of time to folks I used to play football with as a teenager and I don't ever remember anyone staying down injured at all (never mind this rolling around accompanied by a scream). You do see it a bit in kids football these days, but it's not nearly as bad as the professional game.
When I was a youngster playing both football and rugby the mantra was always "don't let them know you're hurting". It seems that footballers now don't care if they look like a total pussy or not.
Rodri should be more concerned about his team's inability to create any real chances against a resolute defence. I thought Belgium were disappointing and Egypt looked the more dangerous side. New Zealand and Iran both had defences you could drive a bus through and are unlikely to cause the other two in the group many problems I should think.
These tossers throwing themselves on the ground whenever an opponent breathes on them should be made to watch film of Georgie Best, ankle deep in mud, being hacked at by Norman Hunter or "Chopper" Harris and refusing to go down or Pele having the entire Argentinian team trying to break his leg every time he got the ball.
Thanks Daniel. I actually love hearing about reviewers' personal connections to releases and find the human side of music listening to be far more interesting than merely factual, but emotionally cold, reviews that only focus on the technicalities. As long as there is enough information to allow me to decide for myself if a release is something I may enjoy, then I would much rather hear about what makes it special to that person and all the better if there is a personal story attached. I know those types of reviews annoy some people and they just want the facts, but those music theory type reviews aren't my strength at all.
And what kind of fool would throw a perfectly good Motorhead cassette into the street? Good fortune for you though. Maybe things would have turned out very differently for you if it had been a Duran Duran tape!
Motörhead - "Ace of Spades" (1980)
Once again I apologise in advance if you think this review is overly autobiographical, but my earliest days as a metalhead were inextricably linked with this band in a way that no other has been since and I feel I must acknowledge that. Anyway, review incoming:
Ah, Motörhead. I can't tell you how heavily obsessed with this band I was in my secondary school days in the latter part of the 1970s. Lemmy, Eddie and Philthy were the absolute fucking peak of musical rebellion for me back then. Punks thought they were rebelling, but they were just glorified clothes horses. Nah, bikes, booze and speed as preached by this unholy threesome were where rejection of the system and true freedom really lay. Motörhead shows were special, they had a hardcore of fans who always showed up, particularly from the biker community and were a celebration for those who rejected and lived outside of the system. The band had been steadily growing their popularity with each release, but then, all of a sudden in '79 / '80, rock and metal became popular here in the UK and all manner of "normies" started taking notice. Pivotal in that metal explosion here was "Ace of Spades". It became popular on a level that was unprecedented for UK metal bands (even Sabbath didn't really hit this level of popularity in the general populace). Shit, the 'Head were even there on Thursday night on Top of the Pops for fuck's sake. I was a naive kid and some part of my kid's mind felt betrayed by this sudden "sell out". Of course this was a great album, but my admiration of it was a bit grudging because, much as I loved it, I resented having to share something that had been so personal to me with all these newbies who had no history with the band. Stupid and naive, but my immature mind knew no better. Rather than revelling in the fact that my love of the band had been vindicated by so many others now discovering them, my connection now felt diluted.
So now, as an only marginally more mature-minded old man, what's my take on "Ace of Spades"? Well, I don't think its influence on the future of metal can be understated. Its influence on bands such as Venom is evident and therefore, by extension, on the whole extreme metal scene. It was certainly Motörhead's most truly metal album up to this point and is a long way from the material you would find on their earliest recordings such as the heavy rock 'n'roll of "On Parole". It is also one of the band's most consistent records with few real dips in quality, unlike a lot of their albums which always frustratingly seemed to have at least one "bum" track, think "Vibrator", Step Down" or "I'll Be Your Sister".
The tempo established by the iconic opening title track is maintained pretty consistently throughout the album with tracks like "Fire Fire", "We Are the Road Crew" and "The Hammer" while they shake it up with some variety of pacing as supplied by tracks like "Shoot To Win" and the brooding "Chase Is Better Than the Catch". And over all this booms Lemmy's unmistakeable, thundering basslines whilst Philthy lays into all around him like the "Animal" for which he is named, the duo combining into one of the most devastating and charismatic heavy metal rhythm sections of all times. From what I understand Eddie Clarke was already at this point becoming a little disillusioned with playing second fiddle to Lemmy, yet he was such a consummate professional that you would never guess it as this is probably his all-time best work and his riffs and solos are vibrant and energetic, playing the lightning to Lemmy and Phil's booming thunder. Sure, I will concede, sometimes Lemmy's less-than-serious lyrics can cause the odd grimace, but I think he wrote them with tongue firmly in cheek most of the time.
I don't know if they ever suspected that the title track would become the iconic track it did. I mean it is up there with songs like "Paranoid" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in terms of tracks that are so well known people actually become tired of hearing them over time. Whether they did or not, it is one of the best known British metal tracks ever. Hell, even my Elvis-loving mum could be caught singing it occasionally. To be fair she did once sweet-talk a bouncer into letting her in for the last half hour of one of the band's shows at our local fleapit when she came to pick me up. It blew her mind and she always loved Lemmy after that! I digress, but the material on "Ace of Spades" is so strong that even with such a titanic track opening the record, the remainder doesn't feel even remotely disappointing and a couple such as "We Are the Road Crew" and "The Hammer" are even better for my money. Ultimately the top and bottom of it is that this is one of the iconic albums of the UK metal scene alongside "Paranoid" and "Number of the Beast" and no matter what I or anyone else says that ain't changing any time soon.
On a more sombre note, I always use metal-archives as the resource for factual information about the albums I am reviewing and, rather poignantly, I thought, the full lineup page for "Ace of Spades" which includes producer Vic Maile, engineer Trevor Hallesey and even photographer Alan Ballard has R.I.P. next to each name. Fuckin' sad man.
4.5/5
Reviewed as part of THE GUARDIANS: Heavy Metal - The 1st Era clan challenge (24/25 completed). One more to go!
I was going to go to bed at halftime, but this Morocco v Brazil game is so good that I am gonna have to stay up for.the second half. Really impressed by Morocco - great teamwork, pressing high with a good tempo in possession and quick passing combined with excellent off the ball movement. You can never count Brazil out with such brilliant individual skill, though.
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath (1984)
I'm not going to get into the divisive nature of King Diamond's vocals here, I am sure I have addressed that issue elsewhere. Let's just accept for now that I actually do enjoy his idiosyncrasies and move on. The simple fact was, and remains, that Mercyful Fate wrote some absolute killer metal tracks. They gave Iron Maiden and Judas Priest-like melodic riffs a more evil bent with overtly occult lyrics, although still firmly in the literary or cinematic realm rather than the Anton LaVey serious satanism of later black metal bands. This, coupled with KD's histrionic vocals and early version of corpsepaint gave the impression that the Danes were pushing the envelope of sheer metalness ever further. MF were undoubtedly a major influence on the early exponents of extreme metal and the metal landscape may have ended up sounding quite a bit different without them.
I absolutely love the band's debut album, "Melissa" and it has several of not only my favourite Mercyful Fate tracks, but favourites of traditional heavy metal as a whole. Songs like "Evil", "Into the Coven" and "Satan's Fall" have riffs with the ability to get my head nodding and feet tapping whilst King Diamond's vocal hystrionics simultaneously set the hairs on the back of my neck on end. I think it is more than fair to say that there hadn't been anything quite like Mercyful Fate before. The band had a big task on their hands, then, to follow such an impactful record with one of similar quality that would cement their legacy as metal frontrunners. Ten months later they dropped "Don't Break the Oath" onto an expectant public and the rest, as they say, is history.
I think the first thing that hit me about "Don't Break the Oath" is that KD seems to have dialled back the vocal excesses and delivers a more controlled performance behind the mic. That doesn't mean that he took a conventional approach to his singing duties by any means and if you didn't like his vocals on the debut, then this is unlikely to change your mind as he still hits those theatrical falsettos fairly regularly, just not in as over-the-top a manner as on "Melissa". What about the riffs then? Well, DBtO is as jam-packed with riffs as a Snickers bar is with peanuts and every one registers pretty fucking high on Sonny's patented head-bangability scale. These riffs will be bouncing around your brain long after the record has ended, probably getting you very strange looks should you be using public transport at the time. On top of this Shermann and Denner's guitar work is exemplary with an energy and vitality that sounds genuinely thrilling whenever they let rip with those dynamic solos. The songwriting here also sounds more mature than on the debut, the tracks resolving themselves with a little more complexity than before. This ain't prog though and the memorable hooks are still there in vast numbers, they are just not the be all and end all on this album.
This is certainly a worthy follow-up to "Melissa" and is arguably a better record, even though the hooks on the debut are incredible, but there feels to be a bit more meat on the bones here which, when coupled with King's more restrained performance add up to one of the best traditional heavy metal records of the 1980s.
4.5/5
And finally, who here will be watching the FIFA World Cup? I'm planning on checking out the Soccoroos first match against Turkey tomorrow in the hope of an upset.
Yeah, I have watched the Mexico and Canada games live and the South Korea game highlights, so I'm pretty much up with it so far. Half the games are on at like 2 am here in the UK though, so I won't be watching those live. It has been OK so far, but there is still too much throwing themselves on the floor at the slightest touch from an opponent which is one of the things that really riles me up about the modern game. The rule changes to cut down on time wasting are pretty good though and seem to be working so far.
Yeah, but when I read shit on the internet I get the impression that some people feel what they think other people want them to feel!
What can I say, I feel what I feel.
Riot - "Fire Down Under" (1981)
Riot kind of passed me by at the time, never penetrating my 1980s musical bubble and, frankly, this doesn't possess the energy or aggression that is likely to to draw much of my attention all these many decades later. To me this sounds like a product of its time with way too much hard rock catchiness for my comfort. I mean, come on, "Feel the Same" and "Don't Bring Me Down" are Aerosmith tracks surely. This feels like AOR metal to me, written with US FM radio play in mind and not to provide any aggression or adrenaline as that may negatively affect record sales. Basically this is SAFE and safe is not a word I want attached to my metal listening thank you very much. I guess you want a bit more from me but, frankly, I don't want to waste too much time on this because listening to it is like staring at a blank wall for thirty-seven minutes. It gives me nothing and I shall return that with nothing of my own. If this is what was passing for metal in the US back in the early 80s prior to the thrash boom then I can understand why Def Leppard became so big over there (and you were welcome to them). I guess "Swords and Tequila" is kinda fun and "Run for Your Life" is passable, but the rest is anodyne and meaningless to me.
2.5/5
Running Wild - "Gates to Purgatory" (1984)
Whilst prepping a review for this I noticed the inexplicably low score it has on the site. So, I looked through the reviews to see if I could fathom how I could have got my own judgment so wrong when it is at such odds with people whose opinions I respect. One criticism seems to be that it's too satanic and not "piratey". Oh no, I can only imagine the "Metal Band Sings About Satan" scandal that must have been splurged all over the front pages of the german tabloids. Thank heavens for the PMRC! Seriously though, I hate that whole pirate bullshit that soils their later albums, so this really ain't a problem for me. Why have "Pirates of the Caribbean" when you can have "The Exorcist"?
The second criticism is, essentially, that it is too simplistic and samey. Well, I guess that is where being a neanderthal when it comes to music appreciation works in my favour because I don't have any issue with the lack of subtlety or variation on the album at all and, in all honesty, there is all the variety I need on offer here. I honestly don't think they are any more repetitive than a whole slew of bands from around that time, particularly on the speed metal front. Anyway, here's my review:
I have only listened to a handful of albums from Running Wild, from various points in their career and with mixed results. Of those I have heard, for me, this stands head and shoulders over the rest. Their later "pirate metal" schtick doesn't really track and feels a bit too goofy to take seriously, whereas "Gates to Purgatory's" speed metal influenced, occult-themed trad metal is much more to my taste. They appear to have been initially influenced by the early-80s metal coming out of the UK, particularly Venom who, considering their influence here and on the likes of Sodom and Kreator, must have been huge in Germany around this time. They sound more technically adept and tighter than the Geordie trio for sure, but the influence is definitely there. Another obvious touchpoint for me is Tank with Rock 'n' Rolf's vocals sitting very firmly in the same ballpark as Algy Ward. However, with their more melodic sensibilities, twin guitar attack and proficient soloing, the additional influence of english heavyweights Iron Maiden and Judas Priest can't be understated either. In fact I suspect they are named for the Priest song of the same name from "Killing Machine" which seems to be exactly the kind of track that this album's foundations are built upon. For me this dichotomy makes for a nice balance that lends the hooky riffs and proficient guitar work a suitably raw edge that pushes it into the more aggressive regions of the speed metal world and away from the pomposity of power metal.
It isn't all headlong speed metal charging, though, with the pounding and hulking "Preacher" having more of a doomy riff and slower tempo, putting the brakes on and allowing a pause for breath after the opening dual salvo of "Victim of States Power" and "Black Demon" before diving right back into the even more adrenaline-fuelled headrush provided by "Soldiers of Hell" and "Diabolic Force". Meanwhile "Genghis Khan" does sound awfully Maiden-esque and I may be imagining it, but it feels a lot like the spiritual successor to the identically-titled instrumental from the Irons' "Killers" album. It is, however, one of the album's weaker tracks, sounding a little bit messy at times. I'm not convinced by the closer, "Prisoner of Our Time" either. I like the anthemic chorus and the soloing, but the verses just feel a bit flat in comparison.
So how does it stack up then? You know what, I am actually a bit pissed off that I never got wind of this album at the time of its release because tracks like "Diabolic Force" and "Adrian S.O.S." were exactly the kind of burnt rubber, fuel-injected riots that a bike-crazy, speed junkie like I was back then would have absolutely drooled over. A couple of misfires aside I really like this and I would certainly take it over the band's later stuff. Maybe I would be a bit more disparaging of it if I had a history with the band, but I don't so I unashamedly give this a thumbs up.
4/5 (85/100)
I will definitely be looking to score a copy of this soon.
Hey Ben, could you add Aussie stoners Smoke Witch please?
metal archives: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Smoke_Witch/3540424681 (the RYM page is woefully incomplete)
Archgoat are consistent producers of high quality war metal and are good enough that they don't need to blur their sound with a production that disguises their technical shortcomings. Defintely one of my favourite war metal acts alongside Bestial Warlust and Teitanblood.
Could you add finnish funeral doom project Shades of Deep Water please Ben?
RYM: https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/shades-of-deep-water
BC: https://shadesofdeepwater.bandcamp.com/album/the-years-on-borrowed-time
Hey, Xephyr, I am so glad to see you have been able to get a more balanced position. Hope things work out just great for you. I understand what its like to work under more pressure than you signed up for and that is why I took my retirement early. The money wasn't worth the time and the damage to my mental well-being, so I took the plunge.
Your old company's loss is our gain and it is great to see you active on here again.
Satanic Warmaster - "Exultation of Cruelty" (2024)
Finland's Satanic Warmaster is a solo black metal project of Lauri Penttilä, aka Werwolf, who is ex-vocalist of Horna (as Nazgul) and the current lead vocalist with Vargrav, amongst a million other projects. I haven't heard all of SW's releases, but what I have heard has a fair bit of disparity in quality, particularly due to quite a wide variation in production. "Exultation of Cruelty" isn't too bad as far as the production goes, but it certainly isn't the crispest, clearest black metal you will ever hear, exhibiting some degree of muddiness that does blunt the sound a little. The reverb is also set very high and impacts the clarity further.
Music-wise the playbook for most of the tracks sees them lurching from mid-paced, kind-of-melodic black metal riffing to more savage sounding blasting, these switches in pacing providing a dynamic impetus to the tracks that gives the impression of song progression even though there is a fair bit of repetition in the riffing. Occasionally the repetition just reaches the point of outstaying its welcome when, thankfully, Werwolf inserts one of these dynamic shifts and in so doing hits the refresh button before things become tedious. The tracks are actually quite lengthy for this conventional style of black metal, most hitting the 7-9 minute mark, timings more usual in the atmospheric black metal world, so he actually does a pretty good job of preventing staleness from setting in.
The playing is fairly precise, exhibiting none of the sloppiness that poor production values and excessive reverb sometimes attempts to cover up and it is evident that Werwolf is a guy immersed in the black metal scene who just "gets" what it is about and how to deliver it in an authentic and uncomplicated manner. There are no surprises here, but rather a well-conceived and executed album of fairly straightforward black metal. If you are looking for a challenge in your black metal listening then you would be best served looking elsewhere, but if you just love the old-school black metal ethos and aesthetic then get ready for an hour of leather and spikes, unholy blasphemy and spitting in the eye of "the Man".
4/5
Saxon - "Strong Arm of the Law" (1980)
Saxon were on a roll in 1980. After a lacklustre debut album hadn't really gone anywhere the Yorkshiremen shed the more rock-oriented aspect of their sound and sharpened things up for its follow-up "Wheels of Steel". This, aided by the unlikely chart success of the lead single "747 (Strangers in the Night)", thrust them to the forefront of the burgeoning NWOBHM scene. Obviously surfing on a creative high and not wanting to lose any momentum "Strong Arm of the Law" hit the streets a mere five months after its predecessor and only a couple of weeks after their appearance at the inaugural Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donnington, an event that was pivotal for the rock and metal fraternity here in England and which added extra impetus to the metal explosion taking place across the country.
"Wheels of Steel" was an album with some incredible peaks, "747..." and the title track in particular being NWOBHM classics, but taken as a whole I think "Strong Arm.." is the more consistent record with fewer dips in quality than its predecessor. Side One is a collection of four cracking staples of NWOBHM glory with riff after riff of headbanging magic, kicking off with the uptempo, fist-pumping anthem to metal fandom, "Heavy Metal Thunder" the band stick their sword in the ground and say, "on this we make our stand, who's with us?" Biff's nasal vocals soar over everything with his tales of life on the road that paint a picture of a band that genuinely love their fans and really get a kick out of bringing metal joy to a country that in those days was stuck in some very grey times. Saxon have always come over as a really genuine bunch of fellas who would probably still play even if no one came to see them and who don't need drugs because they get high on playing for their fans, as they say on the title track, and that integrity is yet one more reason to get on board with these plucky Yorkshiremen.
Side Two is bookended by two fantastic tracks in "20,000 Ft" and the Kennedy assassination-themed "Dallas 1 PM", and although "Hungry Years" is a decent, if somewhat basic track and "Sixth Form Girls", despite being a bit cringey lyric-wise, has a great main riff and an unpretentious solo, these two feel like a bit of a dip when sandwiched between two such monsters in the band's repertoire. "Dallas 1 PM" in particular sees the band stretching their wings with a little more ambition in the songwriting. The throbbing bass intro and opening bars of the riff remind me very much of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band's excellent "Faith Healer" and the solo that begins after the sample of the assassination commentary is one of my favourites from the band. This, when coupled with the striking subject matter, makes "Dallas" a bona fide NWOBHM classic and is a fantastic way to end the album on a high.
Saxon may not have had the publicity of some of the more notorious metal crews over the years and may even be seen by some as being a bit naff, but these guys were writers of great riffs, consummate entertainers and all-round good guys, which may have seen them overlooked by the more image-conscious metal fans, but the loss is their's, not Saxon's. I saw them play live many times in the early 80s and they were genuinely one of the brightest lights of the NWOBHM and deserve the respect of metalheads everywhere.
4.5/5
Reviewed as part of THE GUARDIANS: Heavy Metal - The 1st Era clan challenge (20/25 completed).
With you saying "opener "Young Man Blues" " I guess this was the original 6-track version. Have you heard the 2-disc special edition of the whole show with a complete performance of Tommy on disc 2? "A Quick One" is a bit embarrassing, but the rest is great and I would recommend it highly.
Could you add Poland's Sarg please Ben?
RYM: https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/sarg-1
BC: https://sarg666.bandcamp.com/
Hi Ben, could you add spanish stoner metal band Santo Rostro please?
RYM: https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/santo_rostro
BC: https://santorostro.bandcamp.com/album/despu-s-no-habr-nada
Thanks for that Vinny. One of the big advantages of a small membership of enthusiasts like we have here is that there is no judgment made on people's individual tastes. Comments are only made on the things being discussed and / or reviewed and nobody is arrogant enough to claim absolute authority on the merits of what is essentially a very subjective and personal medium. I think we are also all mature enough to know that any divergence of opinion is also only about the subject and is not in anyway an attack on the person with whose opinion you may not agree. Unfortunately this isn't the case on the internet as a whole where all manner of assholery is rife and seemingly tolerated. That is one of the main reasons that the Academy is my main site for online musical interaction and I hope that level of integrity and respect long continues here.
I don't think it's a terrible release but it's simply not one that I get much pleasure out of so I've never been able to understand why most fans place it ahead of the other early Manowar releases. 3/5
Simply put, production issues aside (and I do agree that the guitars are underwhelming), for me the songs are better. Well, better than Battle Hymns anyway, I don't recall having heard Into Glory Ride, though. I actually like how the bass rules the roost on Hail to England, weird I know, but true all the same.
Manowar - "Hail to England" (1984)
Ah, Manowar eh? If we are talking about the early years of metal then I suppose we have to talk about Manowar. Loud, crass, bouyed on by a giant, unshakeable ego and somewhat comical, Manowar were the Donald Trump of heavy metal and, as such, were equally divisive inspiring adoration and loathing in equal measure. Also, if you were a metalhead in the 80's, very much like the orange one today, you certainly couldn't avoid them. They were everywhere in the metal press because, let's face it, they were a music magazine's dream with their bold statements and distinctive (some may say cartoonish) visual aesthetic. I was initially interested in Manowar not because of any of this press hype, but because of the involvement of Ross the Boss, who had been a member of US punk / hard rock band The Dictators of whom I was a big fan and whose "Bloodbrothers" album I still spin occasionally. I actually didn't take the plunge with the band until "Hail To England" was released when I finally succumbed to the marketing and got myself a copy from my local rock and metal shop. To be honest, I wasn't particularly impressed and I certainly didn't feel it lived up to the hype and that LP has lived in the nether regions of my collection ever since, hardly ever seeing the light of day.
So, forty years on, it is time for a revisit and to see how it sits with me now, so much water having flown under that particular bridge. The thing that jumps out at me most about "Hail to England" is that it is more mid-tempo than the hi-octane riffing of the comtemporary USPM that it is usually associated with. There are few headlong charges, but rather a more hulking throb, emphasised by Joey DeMaio's basslines which, when coupled with Scott Columbus's uncomplicated, pounding drumming, provide most of the album's forward momentum. "Kill with Power" is the only track that comes close to hitting the turbo chargers, but even that wasn't going to leave the upcoming Slayers and Metallicas of the world in the dust. However, that is fine because that isn't the point here. In a metal world that was becoming obsessed with playing faster and faster with speed and thrash metal gaining in popularity daily, the title hints at Manowar's intention to pay homage to the early progenitors of metal such as Black Sabbath rather than the up and coming young bucks from their own side of the Atlantic. The opening brace of tracks, especially "Each Dawn I Die" even have a tribal-sounding rhythm track that feels almost like a native american raindance or some such ritualistic backdrop. Eric Adams is a pretty solid vocalist and he is quite adept at delivering some really cool vocal melodies, although some of his higher reaches do grind on my ears a bit.
I have to say that in revisiting this I may have been unduly harsh on Manowar in the past. Sure, I still think their whole "real men play on 10" and "death to false metal" schtick was cringeworthy, but listening to this now and with the distance of time putting all that PR bullshit to rest, this is actually a solid album of epic and melodic metal tunes that are as anthemic as they are simple, this uncomplicated infectiousness being the album's real heart and strength. I used to think that Manowar were just embarrassing metal cliches, a pantomime metal band, but truth is they were actually skilled at writing memorable metal tunes that crowds could belt out at full volume with the band at their live shows. In other words, Manowar were a band who were out to have a good time and to let their live crowds have a good time with them, presenting themselves with tongue firmly in cheek and playing with a determination to entertain. Sometimes that is enough and I stand here now, head bowed and admit I was probably wrong about them all along. "Black Arrows" is still a load of bollocks though and is the only real fly in the ointment here.
4/5
I've always quite liked "Ample Destruction" but don't ever really feel the urge to return to it. It's a 3.5-star record for me personally.
I think I have had a bit of a sea change in my attitude towards traditional heavy metal sub-genres over the past few months. I have been finding the sheer unrelenting intensity of extreme metal rather wearying and even downright exhausting at times and have been quite enjoying the less draining experience of listening to traditional metal styles.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to be walking away from extreme metal any time soon, but it is nice to listen to something that is a contrast to the unwithering intensity sometimes and to balance it all out in my head. I don't have much interest in looking outside the metal sphere for a change anymore, so trad metal is providing the respite I feel I need when I need it.
Which 2 am I missing? I'll go write 'em.
It looks like Cannibal Corpse - "Tomb of the Mutilated" and Intervals - "Memory Palace".
Jag Panzer - "Ample Destruction" (1984)
If I am going to listen to power metal, which I have started doing a bit more than I used to, then it is invariably the USPM version I turn to. I have come round to USPM rather late in life as I have spent an awful long time concentrating on extreme metal genres like doom and black metal, so I haven’t really got any contemporary history with the early USPM classics. The latter part of the eighties having saw me diving down the thrash metal rabbit hole and quickly abandoning traditional heavy metal styles almost completely. This is a great shame because there is a lot that appeals to me in any number of the earlier classics of the genre.
Standing tall amongst the formative USPM releases is Jag Panzer's debut full-length, “Ample Destruction”. It took the more uptempo riffs of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden and, taking its cues from the energetic, fast-emerging thrash metal scene, cranked it all up to 11 and delivered an exuberant celebration of heavy metal thunder as a result. Any vestige of hard rock that had survived into the NWOBHM era had been well and truly exorcised by the Americans in this fresh new take on the traditional style, giving it a more epic, harder and just downright more metal edge as a result. The riffs come thick and fast and are generally memorable, fist-pumping bangers. When these riffs are then complemented by some electrifying and exhilarating solos and an effusive vocal performance by Harry Conklin, it is surely impossible for anyone with a true metal heart not to be stirred into headbanging ecstasy.
Coming to this after decades of being immersed in the extreme metal scene feels kind of liberating in a life-affirming way with the rediscovery that metal doesn’t always have to be po-faced and depressing or just so damned intense, but can actually be joyful and celebratory too, with absolutely no loss of integrity. It may sound a bit hyperbolic, but I am finding albums like “Ample Destruction” to be revelatory, their sheer infectious effusiveness providing some degree of relief from the daily assaults on mental wellbeing that modern living entails.
4/5
Just quickly revisiting this.
I have just been looking at the clan members list for The Guardians which is now ordered by ratings. This seems fine in itself, except when you look closer and you see that Martin Davey is next to bottom because he reviews everything he rates, so has zero ratings but over 360 reviews and is listed below people who have joined up, rated one release and then fucked off. It doesn't seem fair somehow. Zach (Gator) too has reviewed all but 2 of his ratings so sits well down the list. Could it be ordered by the total of reviews and ratings combined, or if not then by the number of reviews as it takes more effort to write a review than click on a number of stars.
They always felt more like off-brand ACDC to me.
I get that. Udo has got a kind of Brian Johnson tone to his singing. I'm not a big Johnson fan either, for exacrly the same reason I'm not keen on Udo. I much preferred Bon Scott.
Accept - "Restless and Wild" (1982)
You know what, I have never really been the biggest fan of these german heavy metallers. There, I said it. I know for an awful lot of worshippers at the altar of traditional heavy metal these guys are the dog's bollocks, but I have never managed to board that train. I never listened to them much in their 80s heyday, so I have no nostalgic attachment and over the last three decades or so I have been interested in the more extreme ends of the metal world, so any exposure to Accept has been only in passing.
So, has listening to "Restless and Wild" forty plus years after its release had any impact on my tinnitus-wracked ears? Well, kinda, but its impact is more of a ripple on a pond than a tsunami. I can't fail to register the infectious nature of the riffs and the anthemic choruses but, in all honesty, these sound just like a german Saxon to me and that style of metal only has a very limited appeal now and at least I have the benefit of a nostalgic attachment to the Yorkshiremen's early stuff. Added to that is the fact that I find Udo Dirkschneider's voice pretty annoying. Now I am not so picky when it comes to metal singers, enjoying King Diamond and even Cirith Ungol's Tim Baker, but there is something in Udo's screechy singing that is a bit like fingernails down a blackboard to me. In fact, I actually enjoy some of the later Accept albums without Udo more than these earlier ones.
Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann undoubtedly knows what he is about, his solos are concise and effective and he is obviously a master writer of memorable riffs, but it all sounds so safe and I never find anything here that ignites my passion or soul. It is just kind of there and even though I may occasionally find my toe-tapping or my head nodding it never feels even close to setting the hairs on the back of my neck on end, being more of a Pavlov's Dog kind of a reaction to a catchy riff than any kind of deep engagement with the art. Now, it isn't that I dislike this album, or the band as a whole, in fact I have respect for their contribution to 80s metal and the adulation they inspire in their fans, it is just that I am unable to share in it. If I had been more exposed to their early albums at the time of their release then I may well feel better disposed towards them but, as things have panned out, they are just a footnote in my metal listening history, a band I respect more than enjoy.
3/5
I love Minor Threat. Their Complete Discography CD is well worth a listen. Although it is a compilation of their entire discography, it is still only forty-odd minutes long! The only problem I had with them was that, certainly back then, I was about as far from Straight Edge as you could get - no booze, no drugs? Fuck that!!
Nice review, man. I am glad you enjoyed it. Had you heard it before?
I'm on it. In the meantime I wrote a comment on your WASP review you might check out.
Thanks, Zach. Yeah, as I say in the review, I was also a big admirer of Dee Snider and Twisted Sister. I still have the Ruff Cutts 12" EP that I bought when it came out. Thanks to my first wife's sister again, I did see TS also and Dee Snider was even more impressive a frontman than Blackie. I don't think I had ever heard as much profanity at a live show either before or since!!
Another confession - I also have the first Faster Pussycat album which I bought because they used to play a few tracks off it at The Highwayman, the rock club I used to frequent in the 80s and I got quite into it.
My favourite glam metal track is actually "My Number" from UK band, Girl, which was a really popular number at the aforementioned rock club. I may still even have the original 7" single somewhere unless my first missus took it when we split up. Have you ever heard it, Zach?
It looks looks you have reviewed all the entries in THE FALLEN: Gothic Metal - The Modern Era, THE GUARDIANS: Heavy Metal - The 1st Era and THE HORDE: Death Metal - The Modern Era, Zach. I can't speak as to whether Ben and Daniel decided if you had locked your clans in or not, you would have to ask Ben.
It also looks like you have reviewed 23 out of the 25 in theTHE NORTH: Black Metal - The 1st Decade, so I am guessing that was the one you were working your way through.
OK, Zach, I would love your take on my all-time favourite, an album that touches me very deeply and which resonates on a level I don't really experience with much else and that is Warning's "Watching From A Distance".
https://metal.academy/releases/1070
As I have resumed work on my abandoned Guardians Heavy Metal - The 1st Era challenge I was wondering if anyone else was still working through clan challenges. So is there anyone out there trying to complete any, particularly those who haven't already "locked-in" their required number of challenges?
I was also wondering whether anyone would be interested on going through a challenge together. What I mean by this is, select a challenge that is agreeable to all participants and then go through it in order, say a release a week with everybody reviewing the same album ( a bit like a book club, or even the monthly features I suppose). I guess it would be too onerous of a commitment for most people and it would probably be quite slow in order to give all participants time to do their reviews, but I just thought I would put it out there to see if we could re-ignite the old community spirit in a shared project.
W.A.S.P. - "W.A.S.P." (1984)
I apologise in advance dear Reader, if you feel that this review is excessively autobiographical, but it is kinda relevant to my long-term relationship with glam metal generally and W.A.S.P. specifically, so here we go anyway:
I really didn't get much out of glam metal at all in the 1980s, it's celebration of "life on the Strip" just held no meaning for my life in a dirty, industrial town in northern England. The likes of Motorhead, Iron Maiden and Saxon had far more resonance with my life trying to get by, having left home in 1981 whilst still a teenager and desperately trying to pay my rent or mortgage on a young factory worker's wage. But whilst the likes of Poison and Motley Crue meant absolutely fuck all to me and just pissed me off with their poser attitudes and aesthetics, there were a couple I had a bit more time for. The first was Twisted Sister's Dee Snider. I felt TS were actually a pisstake of the whole glam scene because, not wishing to be too cruel, they were uglier-looking m-fs and the makeup and shit just seemed like a parody to me. The second was Blackie Lawless who I had heard of when he briefly joined The New York Dolls. My first wife's little sister was a big glam metal fan and talked me into taking her to see W.A.S.P., probably around '85, and you know what, they were fuckin' good and, against my expectations, I really enjoyed the show and came away with a lot of respect for how expertly Blackie worked the crowd and how effortlessly charismatic a character he was.
I later picked up The Last Command after hearing a track on the obscure late-night metal video show I used to watch on TV on Friday Nights after coming in from the boozer, the name of which I can't recall. The main draw for me was Blackie's voice which, whilst having quite a high register, also has a ragged edge that gives it a savage roughness and makes it sound way more evil than the Vince Neils or Bret Michaels of the world. And that was my sum total of involvement with W.A.S.P. pretty much up until my time here with the Metal Academy, since when they keep popping into my view from time to time in the forums or on playlists. To be honest I can take 'em or leave 'em, but it is probably a sign of a bit of a shift in my taste lately that listening to this debut album for the first time in quite a while, it is obvious to me that I am enjoying it far more than my original 2.5 star rating would suggest I did back whenever.
One thing is certain from the outset and that is that W.A.S.P.'s debut has far more metal credentials than most of the other glam metal acts of the Eighties who, in the most part, were glorified rock acts for my money. This is certainly bona fide heavy metal we are listening to here, not some lipstick-smeared version of hard rock. Even the band's glam aesthetic seemed more Alice Cooper inspired shock horror than the poor, sleazy drag acts than many of the other glam metallers aspired to. The riffs drive the tracks and whilst there is little you haven't heard before here riff-wise, they are memorable and catchy and filled with an energy and drive that becomes infectious as they thunder from hook to hook. Over all this Blackie snarls and bellows his heart out with tales of schlock and whores (sorry I couldn't resist the pun) that would act as rage bait for Tipper Gore and the tight-assed PMRC, which will always get a thumbs-up from me. The guitar soloing is decent although, again, the solos aren't really unlike many you have heard before, but are well executed and transform a track like the balladic "Sleeping (In the Fire)" from being a bit of a downer into a far more positive experience, whilst adding the icing on the cake to a top-knotch track like "Tormentor". The pacing of the album is just about spot-on too, varying from the breakneck charge of tracks like "Hellion" or "The Torture Never Stops" (my favourite here) to the more considered mid-pacing of "Tormentor" and the aforementioned ballad-like reflection of "Sleeping (In the Fire)". It isn't all good news, however, as indicated by my mid-level rating, with side one petering out badly from a strong start with the brace of "B.A.D." and " School Daze" sounding like the more usual iteration of glam metal that I dislike so much. The cringe-inducing lyrics to "On Your Knees" also ruin a perfectly good riff-led track and are a turd in the swimming pool of the otherwise much stonger second side.
On reflection I have got to say that I am rather pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed listening to this again and I feel I have a bit more of an understanding and respect for what Blackie and co. were doing here (probably alongside the letting go of some of my long-held musical prejudices). I am gonna call this one a win.
3.5/5
Reviewed as part of THE GUARDIANS: Heavy Metal - The 1st Era clan challenge (15/25 completed).
Hey Andi, I have a couple of suggestions for July if you want them:
Knights of the Realm - "Blood on Steel" (from "Knights of the Realm", 2021)
Century - "Fallen Hero" (from "Sign of the Storm", 2025)
I was not able to find the Knights of the Realm track on Spotify (must be only in your country), but I could find the Century track, so I've just added that to the playlist.
OK, Andi. Fair enough.
Slow – absolutely crushing, I am calling this regular funeral doom ending to the list a “Sonny Special”
It's my signature move, like the killing blows each character has in Streetfighter!!
Back when I was contemplating where I would go for my 4th clan I actually began the Guardians Heavy Metal - The 1st Era challenge. However it became increasingly clear that I didn't have the same enthusiasm for the clan as for the more extreme metal sub-genres, so ended up choosing the Horde instead. Over the past few months though I have actually felt better disposed to good old heavy metal and have been inserting a fair bit into my metal listening diet. So, with this change of heart, I have decided that over the summer months I would be up for trying to finish the challenge I began way back whenever. I have reviewed 13 of the 25 releases on the challenge already, so just over half remain. Some of them are from bands I admit I am not too keen on such as W.A.S.P. and Manowar, but rough with the smooth eh?
I haven't had the time to check these out yet, but I am sure they will be great for when I am working outside over the next few weeks.
Great to see Burzum's "War" on that first list. It is one of my favourite Burzum tracks, but it seemed like I was the only one who loved it.
The links are in the playlist titles, Sonny. By clicking on them, you can access them.
Cool playlists, Zach!
Ah, cheers Andi.
Are these playlists Zach? If so could you provide links?
Damn, I already rated most of these. The only ones I haven't rated are the ones I haven't heard yet.
Yeah, me too.