Monthly Archives: March 2020

Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Harem Scarem – Change The World

I listen first to the music. There has to be something there which resonates and connects with me. If the guitar riff makes me pick up my guitar to learn it, then god damn, it’s a good song. And on occasions the guitar riff could be simple, but the vocal melody and the lyrics drive home the song. There is no perfect science, but, if there is cool guitar riff, then I am sold.

And Harem Scarem’s new album, “Change The World” has a lot of nice guitar work. Pete Lesperance is one of the most underrated guitarists, ever. His style of playing is exactly what I like, even bringing back memories of Vito Bratta’s style playing.

I remember purchasing Guitar World magazines in the 90s and suddenly how uncool it was to play fast and to practice. But practicing was all about developing different techniques so that the guitarist had an arsenal at their disposal, ready to produce the correct weaponry when needed.

Change The World

The E major intro lick reminds of “Glasgow Kiss” from John Petrucci’s solo album. But this is its own beast.

The chords in the verse move from an E to a B chord but under an E pedal point. The chorus has a stock chord progression that every chart topping song uses. In the key of E major, the chords are E to B to C#m and A.

The main lead break is brilliant and as good as any lead break from all of the 80’s guitar heroes.

Aftershock

The intro riff, is heavy and melodic. The way Lesperance uses octaves and single notes under ringing pedal points reminds me of the best things about grunge music and bands like Smashing Pumpkins.

The main lead break, needs to be heard.

It’s so well structured, it flows nicely, and the phrasing is perfect. It’s got legato lines, bends, string skipping, palm muted fast picked lines and hammer ons.

Searching For Meaning

Waiting for the lead break is worth it, as it kicks off with double-stop bends before it moves into a melodic section.

And the man riff of the song is scattered with power chords and palm muted arpeggios.

The Death Of Me

The intro riff grabs me and that lead break again, god damn. Lesperance’s use of the Lydian and Mixolydian scales over minor key chords, works so good.

Mother Of Invention

It’s a ballad.

And I had an idea as to how the solo would go from hearing the chord progression.

And it went down that road, starting off with pentatonic lines and some bends, then there was a section of some fast pull off patterns and hammer ons, then a fast picked open string lick and some string skipping interval slides to end it.

Perfect.

Next.

No Man’s Land

Now this solo starts off, with this classical style lick and it reminds me of that Christmas tune that the Trans-Siberian Orchestra do.

On the Savatage album, “Dead Winters Dead” it’s called “Sarajevo”.

And that same lick ends the song, it’s that good.

In The Unknown

So many of the Harem Scarem songs start off with a sing along guitar lick like this song.

Do I have to mention that you need to listen to the lead break, constructed like a separate song within a song. It has this repeating open string lick for 8 bars which is catchy and melodic, before it goes to some octave slides and fast picked licks.

Riot In My Head

Another memorable riff to kick off a memorable song with another memorable solo.

Swallowed By The Machine

This is one of my favourite songs, hands down. The lyrics connect, the music connects and the lead breaks definitely connect.

We’re falling into dystopia
It’s crumbling before our eyes
Black mirror reflecting all our lives

Don’t worry about the “Black Mirror” TV show, which shows some of the horrors our love of technology could bring forth to us.

But we should worry about how many times we access our tablet or iPad’s or phones.

I access my tech devices so much, just to hear music from it. I feel like I am constantly touching it, calling up different albums on Spotify, saving songs, adding songs to playlists and finding other albums.

Then I check my emails a few times throughout the day, then Twitter three times a day and WordPress a few times a day as well. Then there are text messages and phone calls to deal with and I also read books on iBook’s and the Kindle app on the iPhone.

Suddenly, that little black mirror has seen my face and fingerprint an unbelievable amount of times.

We all have dreams
We all have doubts
Be careful which you feed
And don’t get swallowed by the machine

If you want to transform your reality, make sure you avoid all the negative people and doubters in your life, and surround yourself with people who believe in your potential to achieve your dreams.

Good things happen, but you need to look for these good things and open up your outlook and your mindset. Feed the good and ignore the doubt.

And crank Harem Scarem’s new album.

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A to Z of Making It, Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

And The Cradle Will Rock

From the jet flanger in the intro, played on an electric piano, cranked through a Marshall, to the cruising vibe of the song and DLR freestyling over the verses, it makes this one of my favourite Van Halen songs. In addition, the purchase of this electric piano led to the “Jump” keyboard riff.

Well, they say it’s kinda frightening
How this younger generation swings
You know it’s more than just some new sensation

It’s like the movie “Footloose” before it was even written and made.

No one wanted to go to school.

We just wanted to hang out somewhere, listen to music, read about music, talk about music and do so many other things. Because going to school was like being in the military. It’s why “I Wanna Rock” resonated. The teachers demanded obedience and everyone was moulded to fit a box.

But that doesn’t work.

It’s been proven to not work. The military even stopped this kind of teaching in the early 70’s, but schools kept at it, up to the late 80’s. Kids need to have their beautiful uniqueness kept intact, it’s what makes em special.

And these days we tell our kids to enjoy school, as it should be the most stress free time of their lives. Unless they freak out over exams, which means, it’s not as stress free. But you know what I mean.

Teachers are also at a different level these days, being more enablers than disablers. But kids need to deal with social media and the good and bad which comes from it. So maybe not as stress free as it should be.

Which brings me back to the words of the mighty David Lee Roth which I quoted above.

Well, they say it’s kinda frightening
How this younger generation swings
You know it’s more than just some new sensation

The younger generation swings to technology more than music these days.

Once upon a time, having an album from an artist was like a badge of honour and now, the kind of phone you have is the new totem. Plus, the mainstream news outlets just don’t understand the youth of today. They worry about climate change and student debt and all the things that the current powers ignore, while they drain our Earth of its resources.

It was the youth that blew apart the record labels business model. They killed CD’s, adopted Napster early, then iTunes, then YouTube, then other streaming services. And the youth have short attention spans, moving from one thing to the next. The only thing they can do for a short time is binge Netflix.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

February 2020 – Part 3

And with this post, February 2020 is wrapped up. You can find the Spotify playlist here and posts one here, and post two here.

Tension
Afterlife – Alternate Version
Avenged Sevenfold

These old cuts are from their B sides re-release on Spotify.  “Tension” is a favourite of mine.

I sit in traffic every single morning
Just as I arrive, im slaving to the grind
Making the money so I feed my family
But I can’t raise them, cause I aint got the time

God damn, that was my life for 7 years as I commuted 90 minutes (on a good day) to work one way.

And what is the point of making money for your family when you can’t spend time with them.

By the way, the outro solo in “Afterlife” makes me want to break my guitar and never touch it again. The speed, the precision and the melody.

Bubbles
Framing Hanley

It reminds me of Chevelle and I like it.

There’s a revolution coming’
Fuelled by years of giving’ in

These kind of revolutions are always long overdue, but giving in for too many years is not how one should live their life. The song could be about a relationship, but society at large is no different. We give in to the demands of teachers, employers, corrupt politicians and everyone else who tries to exploit someone.

And then the fuel turns to fire.

I’ve sat in silence
burning up my tongue

Man, I have been there so many times. I wanted to say the words, I wanted to step in, but I didn’t. I am thankful I didn’t bite, but man, my tongue was on fire.

All our lives in a bubble
Losing sight of reality
We paint the lie in pretty colors
And blur the lines and what’s between

So many people I know are separating because their bubble burst and reality took over. There is only so much bull shit a relationship can take. Even in society, when the GFC happened, the bubble burst big time and its bursting again now because of COVID-19. And people need to face this shit, it’s real and it’s here.

Your confusion
Has got you twisting’ facts
Your fantasy intact
Tell the story how you want to
But we both know the truth

This could be about any Facebook news site or website, which is filled by the same voices, saying the same thing, in a constant echo chamber.

Eventually, people who are not sure what to believe, come across these viewpoints and stories, and start to believe that it is all true.

If there is one thing I can recommend, read critically. Read points of view that differ to your own, read points of view that you agree with and read points of view that are totally out there. Somewhere in between the lines of what you expose yourself to, there will be your truth.

Under The Graveyard
All My Life
Eat Me
Straight To Hell
Goodbye
Ozzy Osbourne

These are my favourite tracks from the album at this point in time.

For a 70 year old artist, to deliver an album this good, it’s amazing. The people around Ozzy, like his family, the label, management and so forth, they know that Ozzy is marketable. Surround him with creativity and good musicians/producers, it can’t really go that bad, could it.

“Under The Graveyard” has a clean tone intro which could end up on any pop song, that’s how much crossover appeal the riff has. The chorus is heavy, and that “Children Of The Grave” solo section fits.

“All My Life” is similar to songs that have appeared on previous Ozzy albums. The album “Scream” has a few songs with this major key vibe. “Eat Me” came from the depths of Ozzy’s Delta Blues Sabbath past. “Straight To Hell” rocks out of the gate and “Goodbye” starts off like “Iron Man” but it sounds like a track from “Ozzmosis” which is an album I dig.

Get well Ozzy, scrap touring and keep recording and releasing.

Create a final legacy and based on current Copyright laws (which I disagree with anyway) your music and image will be with your family for another 70 plus years after death (there is an RIAA push to extend this to 90 years).  

Dangerous Ground
Come Clean
Victory
We Are Gods
Adrenaline
One By One
Heaven Must Have Won An Angel
Under The Gun
Rise
H.E.A.T

This album surprised me at how good it is. I can’t even explain all the influences on it that I hear.

Songs feel like they come from Harem Scarem, Skid Row, White Lion, Van Halen, Ratt, Bon Jovi, Kiss, Whitesnake, DLR, Dokken, Queensryche, Europe, Scorpions, Nelson, Lynch Mob, Firehouse, Ozzy “Bark At The Moon” and “The Ultimate Sin” era, Malmsteen “Trilogy” and “Odyssey” era, Judas Priest, Poison and Motley Crue albums.

There is just so much good stuff happening, and if you really like the 80’s, then man, this album is for you.  

“Dangerous Ground” kicks off with the sound of an high performance motor vehicle starting. It’s perfect for a Mad Max movie. “Come Clean” has a Chorus which remains with me long after the song is finished. “Victory” kicks off with an instantly memorable guitar lick before morphing into a heavy riff. “We Are Gods” sounds like it came from the movie “Rockstar”. “Adrenaline” has this Journey vibe, but the more rockier Journey than the ballad Journey.

Heartless Madness
Dynazty

I love the Swedes. The music that comes out of the country is something which resonates with me. This one is like a symphonic classical rock song, with some Vito Bratta style soloing. And we get treated to two solos, in the middle and the outro. Check em out and be blown away.

I Will Not Fall
King King

From Scotland, their cover of a song called “Jealousy” by Frankie Miller made me a fan and I have been following them ever since. This one is more funky and I like it.

Catastrophist
Trivium

I love Trivium. The riffage from these guys gets me head banging all the time. This song just came into my life at the end of Feb so it’s in my March list as well.

Wait
Earshot

This is from 2004 and it came back into my life this year. If you like Tool, then you will like Earshot. If you hate Tool because they don’t know how to edit their songs, then Earshot is the band for you, who write nice 4 minute songs with arena rock choruses chucked in but with a Tool like vibe.

Underwater Silence
Audiovent

I checked this band out because of the blog, 2Loud2OldMusic.

This is from 2002, a one off album before they argued over the direction of the second album and broke up. This song is a mixture of all the best things I like about Muse, hence the reason why it stuck with me.

Man Or Ash
Corrosion Of Conformity

This is from 1996.

Mike Ladano started reviewing Corrosion of Conformity albums on his blog, I commented that I got into the band because James Hetfield spoke very highly of em in various interviews and suddenly I am overdosing on this song.

The riffs on this song, a cross between Sabbath, Metallica, Soundgarden and Pantera, gets me moving, gets me frowning and gets my head banging. And once the lead break kicks in, the speed of it comes from out of nowhere before it morphs into a wah drenched bluesy break.

Plus did I mention that James Hetfield provides backing vocals and he sounds as angry as ever.

Day At The Beach
Joe Satriani

This is from 1989 and I was showing my son a song that has tap harp like harmonics. Listen to the intro of this song and get blown away.

The mighty Satriani never disappoints. 30 plus years in the business as a solo artist playing primarily, instrumental music. That’s Legend status for me.

And that’s a wrap for February 2020 releases with a few oldies but goodies chucked in.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Dust N Bones

From the proper follow-up to “Appetite For Destruction”, the two CD “Use Your Illusion”. I never counted “Lies” as a follow up, it was just a stop gap cash grab to capitalise on the success of “Appetite”. I remember clearly saying, they didn’t even need to release this EP because “Appetite” was still selling like crazy.

This song is what Izzy Stradlin is about, that social, bluesy, laidback feel and full of soul.

And the lyrics are some of the best he has written.

“He lost his mind today, he left it out back on the highway”

There is nothing like a long drive to get you thinking. Our thoughts can be our best friends and our worst enemies.

“Time moves on, that’s the way, we live an hope to see the next day”

I want to live and see the next day. It’s the basic fight or flight response within us. To survive

“Ya get out on your own and you take all that you own”

So true. When I moved out of home the first time, I just took my music collection. It was all that I owned.

“And you forget about your home and then you’re just fucking gone”

I never forgot about home, I still want to return to it. My life story will have a final chapter about the return.

“There’s no logic here today, do as you got to, go your own way”

These lyrics are from 1990/91 and has anything really changed today.

“Time’s short, your life’s your own and in the end we are just Dust n’ Bones”

Damn right. Life is short, use every moment you can, to do something you love.

GNR haven’t been the same act since Izzy left. Some would say it’s a natural progression for GNR to move to the sounds on “Chinese Democracy”, but GNR is a rock band, that’s what they do best. “Chinese Democracy” became a rock album in the end, but Axl took a very long way to get there, first with electronic sounds and industrial sounds, then with so many different studio guitarists and when you hear sweep picking in songs (like that sweep picking lick in “Better”), then you know that path of good intention went a bit sideways.

Axl, Slash and Duff should get Izzy back. And Steve Adler. Fans will lose their shit. And release new music with the original five.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Review in 40 Words

February 2020 – Part 2

The Final Frontier
Die Young
Naked City
Ride Like The Wind
Lonely Nights
New York Minute
Needles and Pins
Love
Mystery
Running Up That Hill
Jorn

Jorn Lande is one of the best singers to have come out in the last 30 years. His style is rooted within the classic signers of Coverdale, Dio, Dickinson and Gillan. And to his detriment, the previous labels he was on, marketed him heavily as a clone of those singers which either will get a curious audience to check him out or people would just ignore him, because hey, why would they need a clone.

He started off with a band called Vagabond, which had TNT members in it, released an album on a label, got dropped from the label and released another album independently. Then when TNT reformed, Vagabond was done, and Jorn joined a band called The Snakes with Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody, which sounded like another band that has Snake in the title. He was fired from that band, did a few projects here and there, until he formed the band Jorn and started a long partnership with Frontiers Records.

“Heavy Rock Radio” is a project which has Jorn Lande covering some classic songs which inspired him. Of course, it’s another project funded by Frontiers who is trying its hardest to get so many recordings under its control.

One of my favourite Kiss songs is “Naked City” and it gets an updated rendition here. Which I certify as 100% excellent.

“Ride Like The Wind” from Saxon and “Lonely Nights” from Bryan Adams got taken out of the early 80’s and brought into the 2020’s as modern rock songs.

And there is no cover album from Jorn without a tribute to Ronnie James Dio material, in this case, “Die Young” and “Mystery”.

“The Final Frontier” actually sounds better than Maiden’s version and Jorn delivers on the vocal front.

“New York Minute” is a Don Henley cover and the intro highlights were “18 And Life” might have come from.

“Needles and Pins” is from the 60’s by The Searchers and the band Smokie made it a rock like ballad in the 70’s which sounds like the version that Jorn took and modernized even more into a melodic rock anthem.

“Love” is from Santana’s 1979 album, “Marathon” and this version is so good.  

Suffering’ night and day
People all around me crying
Enough–what’s the use
We don’t even feel like trying

Lyrics like the above, is a big reason why music is special to me. It’s easy to give up than continue especially when you don’t feel up to it, to face the day. And when you feel alone, you hear that others are feeling the same.

Hatred, doubt, and fear
It’s not the way toward the solution
There must be a way
To be free from all illusion

The people try to find a way, but money and fear clouds everything. Doomsday scenarios of financial Armageddon and what not always abound.

And humans are bad at making decisions. We have a strong view point against illicit drugs, while we hold a cigarette in one hand and a glass of scotch in the other. We are scared to travel because of a virus but the virus is in our country as well.

Love
Oh, love
All we need is love

We have it in abundance. We share it carefully.

History loudly claims
That we never learnt our lesson
We kill one another
We put the blame on greed and passion

Has anything changed?

We move from one conflict to the next, from one virus to the next, from one recession to the next and the cycle keeps repeating, because greed rules everything. As long as corporations exist on foreign soils, exploiting the native lands and its workers, we will kill one another.

Wise men calmly say
Every man shall reach perfection
If we help each other
We will reach our destination

And that’s the problem.

Have we forgotten how to help each other?

I’ve include “Running Up That Hill”, a cover from Kate Bush, which appeared on Heavy Rock Radio Volume 1 from a few years before because Jorn has taken a unique pop song and turned it into a beautiful rock track.

Feeling Whitney
Royal Bliss

Royal Bliss are a great band. This is a cover of an acoustic song from Post Malone, released in 2016.

The chord progression reminds me of “Dust In The Wind”. And for those hard rock and metal elitists who mocked the Ozzman for collaborating with Post Malone, should check out this song (along with tracks like “Hollywood Bleeding”) and understand that just because someone has 53 million Spotify listeners a month, and has dance beats in their songs, it doesn’t mean they don’t have any rock credibility.

The intro of the voices humming out the melody is enough to get me interested and then the opening line sealed the deal.

I been looking for someone to put up with my bullshit

Isn’t that teamwork. Find someone to love, to put up with your BS and in return you put up with their BS and you live happily ever after.

Show no emotion, against your coding, just act as hard as you can
You don’t need a friend, Boy, you’re the man

Masculinity is toxic. Having more testosterone doesn’t make a man invincible. Emotions and feelings are still the same as everyone else’s. And we need to be allowed to show these emotions without judgement. Because it is part of our coding.

From about 1.42, the song kicks into overdrive.

Fireline
Shakra

Shakra really knows how to deliver some heavy melodic rockers. Crank this song and if it doesn’t get your foot tapping and your head banging, you are too uptight to let go.

Death Of Me
Another Lost Year

The guitar lick after the singing at the start gets me playing air guitar and the vocal melody lingers for a long period.  

I remember everything that you said

We have a tendency to remember more bad things than good.

Part 1 is here.

Part 3 is up next.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Miss Mystery

Black N Blue started off like every band, with some high school friends getting together to write and play. In this case, it was vocalist Jamie St, James and guitarist Tommy Thayer.

Brian Slagel then came across their song “Chains Around Heaven” and added it to his Metal Massacre Vol 1 album in 1982, the same album that had songs from Metallica, Ratt and Malice on it. That same year they also moved from Portland to LA and started doing the Sunset Strip scene, which led to a recording contract with Geffen in 1983 and their debut came out in 1984.

“Miss Mystery” is a forgotten track from their second album, “Without Love”, released in 1985, and man this album had some secret herbs and spices in the production.

The song is written by Jamie St. James, Tommy Thayer and Jim Vallance. The same Jim Vallance who had a great song writing partnership with Bryan Adams and the same Jim Vallance who co-wrote the Gene Simmons signature song for the 80’s, “War Machine”.

Producing the album is Bruce Fairbairn, engineering is by Bob Rock, with support from Mike Fraser, before they all became household names with “Slippery When Wet”.

Speak to any listener of music under the ages of 30 and they would not even know who Bruce Fairbairn is, let alone Mutt Lange. They are almost completely forgotten. It’s a crime.

And “Miss Mystery” is a pop rock gem, building on the sounds that Def Leppard brought to the masses a few years before. As fans of this music, we can move on, hear different songs and artists, but we still return to this sound.

If you call it up on YouTube, watch the video clip and see why bands could never recoup. That clip would have been charged back to the band in the hundreds of thousands and its nothing special.

They toured with Kiss on this album and this got Gene Simmons interested in the band, who would go on to produce their next two albums and co-write with the band, as well as take some of the riffs from their songs and write a song called “Domino” which is then solely credited to Simmons. And then Thayer also joined Kiss in 2002. Actually Tommy Thayer has been a member of Kiss longer than Ace Frehley but Ace has appeared on more albums (well depending on which books you read, maybe not).

Somehow, Black N Blue, still didn’t break through like the other acts even though they had a major label deal with Geffen and a production team from Canada on their second album.

Maybe the involvement of Gene Simmons as a co-writer for albums three and four, wasn’t the best decision for the band, as Simmons didn’t really set the charts alight with his songs around this period and as Paul Stanley said in his book, Gene went missing from Kiss around 1984 to 1987. They should have kept him just as producer.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

February 2020 – Part 1

February 2020 proved to be an interesting month. Some big releases for my listening habits and a reconnection to some forgetting gems released a while back.

World To Burn
Rev Theory

This is an old one, from their “Truth Is Currency” album released in 2005. Its appearing here because the album is on Spotify Australia.

The riff, the vocal melody and the chorus just flow so nicely into each other and it reminds me of an aggressive Three Days Grace merged with Chevelle merged with the melodic Linkin Park.

Guitarist and one of the main songwriters, Julien Jorgensen, got hooked by Angus Young and ACDC growing up. And you can hear in his style, shades of The Edge from U2, Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins, Adam Jones from Tool, Dave Gilmour from Pink Floyd, Zakk Wylde from his Ozzy work (especially the “No More Tears” album) and Bruce Springsteen.

I still remember the fall out that can’t be erased (and bite my tongue now)

Man, arguments are good for the relationship as it shows people care, but they very rarely end pretty and even all the sorrys in the world can’t change the feeling afterwards. If the relationship stays intact, someone will be biting their tongues and walking on eggshells. And if both sides are doing it, the fall out will be much bigger later on.

This is the world that you burn
This is the life that you waste

One side has ended their commitment and thrown the years of history you had together in the bin. Like it didn’t matter. But to you it matters. That record you both listened to and liked is now unlistenable because of the ties it has to your past.

How does it feel? I still remember the fall out?

F8
Inside Out
Living The Dream
Darkness Settles In
To Be Alone
Scar Tissue
Brighter Shade Of Grey
Five Finger Death Punch

The first two songs, “F8”, a minute and a half instrumental, which slowly percolates until it explodes into “Inside Out” is what music is about. The whole intro is what I call “Euro Metal” full of symphonic elements and drum fills that makes me want to break my desk in half, with my head.

I’m not a dog (I’m not a dog), I’m not a slave (I’m not a slave)
It doesn’t matter how much money I get paid
From “Inside Out”

Getting paid for doing what you love is good. Getting paid for doing a job to get by is probably not so good. Regardless, if we don’t have money, we cannot survive in this world. So we need to do something to get money, and that means we more or less became a slave to the system, until death.

They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions
Why did they never mention what’s real and in between?
From “Living The Dream”

There is a saying that every bad person started off with good intentions. Somehow, along the way, they made decisions which made them stray from the path of good and onto the path of bad. In life, things happen, jobs get lost, you get sick and suddenly you are about to be homeless, because of piling debts.

How does it feel to be alone?
From “To Be Alone”

It feels like shit.

What You Give – Live at Abbey Road
Tesla

I like Tesla.

I hold them up very high, way above the “hair band” term they got labelled with.

And Tesla can play, it’s how they built their reputation. By gigging.

But in order to achieve anything, you need to be able to write and god damn, Tesla can write.

It’s not whatcha got, it’s what you give
It ain’t the life you choose, it’s the life you live

I think this simple message is forgotten in the world today. Possessions for a lot of people are associated with status. My banker friend keeps telling me how much money I’ve spent on vinyl, LP’s, cassettes, DVD’s, BluRays, Books, VHS, concert tix/merch, guitars, amps, strings, cables and so on. Then he keeps telling me how much money I could have had if I invested it. And I tell him, I would rather have my metal and rock and the experiences that come with it.

Aeromantic (the whole album)
The Night Flight Orchestra

The whole album is excellent.

Each song has enough of an influence from a previous song to connect with me and TNFO are excellent players, so the musicianship and song writing is excellent.

If you like your classic Deep Purple, then opening track “Servants Of The Air” will serve you well, kicking off the street opera about shattered dreams, broken illusions and glimmers of hope.

“Divinyls” is full of hooks, nice synths and pulsing bass riffs.

“If Tonight Is Our Only Chance” brings the disco rock melodies, handled masterly by the TNFO guys, with a dose of rock thrown in. And the lyric line of taking that last chance is inspiring and hopeful.

“This Boy’s Last Summer” has a pop punk feel merged with a melodic hard rock. “Curves” is a funk masterpiece in the vein of Steely Dan.

ABBA is all over “Transmissions” in the Chorus and the synth is just driving the song along, which makes me think of driving. The violin solo at the end is brilliant.

“Aeromantic” has a riff which came from their first album (the song “California Morning” comes to mind) which is basically a riff inspired by their love of Kiss, Free and Sweet.

The ballad ‘Golden Swansdown’ has two brilliant guitar solos. “Taurus” sounds like “Gemini” from their previous albums as it rolls along with its addictive chorus and melody. “Carmencita Seven”, “Sister Mercurial” and “Dead Of Winter” close the album, a triple punch combo knock out.  

Set In Stone
Those Damn Crows

Those damn Welsh rockers are back in my life with a heavy rocker from their album.

Circle The Drain
Machine Head

I have already written about this song here.

But god damn, that intro with the chorus vocal melody, gets me pumped every single time, especially when that riff kicks in after Robb Flynn sings, “bring that hammer down”. Its bone crunching mosh pit time.

In the verses, Flynn is freestyling his way through so much melody, and I wish he sings more with his melodic voice, but his snarl is what makes him unique because that voice is his lifestyle, so he does a bit of both.

Change The World
Harem Scarem

They have been in the musical game since 1987, released their debut in 1991 and are still releasing quality material. I don’t know what happened with their label or marketing in the early days, but their first album was still released when rock ruled the charts and it should have done better.

I didn’t know about this band until the early 2000’s when people started sharing their music online.

How good is that guitar lick from Pete Lesperance in the intro?

“You and I, are gonna change the world”, is the war cry, but the world is changing us and we don’t even see it.

In a few years’ time, no one will remember COVID-19, except the ones who lost loved ones to it and the ones who were exposed to it. We move on so fast, we fail to learn the lessons of the past.

We all want to find
Peace and harmony

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My Stories, Stupidity

COVID-19

There’s an evil virus that’s threatening mankind
From Virus by Iron Maiden

Yeah, I know, the Maiden song is using virus as an analogy of the ills that the two faced elites and backstabbers do to society. Regardless, the song highlights a troubled society and we are living in troubled times.

COVID-19 is spreading around the world and people are scared.

I’m due to go to London, Mallorca and Munich at the start of April with two of my boys for a football tournament. And there is no travel insurance for a pandemic. Although the virus hasn’t been classed as one yet, it’s getting close.

There also isn’t any insurance for travelling when a virus is circulating. Yeah there is some grey wording around it, like, “if you took out the insurance policy before it became a known event, you might be covered”, but I’ve worked in insurance and policy of the insurance companies is to deny all claims from the outset. Then if people persist with appeals, they will revisit the claim, and try to wear down the people, hoping that they give up.

Viruses are contagious based on their R-nought rating, and the R0 rating of COVID-19 is 2, which means that for each person who has it, another two more people will get infected. And looking at people who are coughing in a strange way doesn’t help the situation, as people who are not coughing are as contagious.

And no one cannot escape this or buy their way out of this. It’s something we will need to face and a mask will not do the trick nor will the riches of a person.

The public is scared, panicked and fearful. And Governments like fear, because fear is control,

On the way to paranoia
From “Hardwired To Self-Destruct” by Metallica

We live in a world where facts don’t matter.

So social media spreads the paranoia even more with disinformation mixed in with facts to suit the narrative. People start panic buying, because its every person for themselves. And the ones who need it most, the sick, have no supplies, because all of the hospital gear comes from China and all imports are stopped or delayed for 14 days.

Yet, millions of people would die from smoke related illnesses, a motor vehicle accident, a cancer or heart related complications then they would die from this virus.

China was first, then Japan, then a cruise ship, then Korea, then Italy, then Iran and the rest of the world is slowly getting cases. And how the hell did the patients of a hospital that caters for the elderly in Washington State get it. In Australia, the virus entered via the returning citizens from Italy, Iran and China.

Dean Koontz even wrote about a biological virus called “Wuhan-400”, manufactured by the Chinese to kill humans. It appeared in a book he released in 1981, called “The Eyes Of Darkness”. It’s another event of fiction mirroring real life, sort of like that Simpson episode that had Trump as President in the future.

So, once again, we are on our own.
I don’t want to live forever but I don’t want to die
From “Live Forever” by Black Sabbath

To a pandemic.

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A to Z of Making It, Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Aeromantic

I really like The Night Flight Orchestra, otherwise known as TNFO for short. This little side project from melodic death metallers which paid homage to their classic rock and pop influences from the past has grown into its own beast.  

The first album, “Internal Affairs” came out in 2012 and I thought it was a one off. Then in 2015 they dropped “Skyline Whispers”, then “Amber Galactic” in 2017, “Sometimes The World Ain’t Enough” in 2018, then a couple of stand-alone tracks in 2019 called “Satellite” and “Cabin Pressure Drops” and in 2020, the new one.

In between the album release years, the guys in the band did albums and tours with their “original” bands of Soilwork and Arch Enemy and released albums with those bands and toured with those bands.

So for all those artists from the past complaining about everything not being like how it used to be, change your mindset and your work ethic and anything is possible.

And man there are so many good songs on this.

The opening track, “Servants Of The Air” has a similar riff to “This Time” from their previous album, “Sometimes The World Ain’t Enough”. The similarity is enough to make me a fan.

“Divinyls” is one of the pre-release tracks, with its infectious keyboard lick still remaining in my brain long after the song is finished. Actually the keyboard lick is the chorus vocal melody, hence the reason why it remains.

Glancing at the stars, mending my own heart
Is it time to break the chains?
Now I will embark, making my own mark
Waiting for the world to quake

We all had dreams to get out of the town we lived in and make it in the big city. Then we grew up and became comfortable and we don’t want our kids to even think about things like this. But we still yearn and dream of making our own mark.

“If Tonight Is Our Only Chance” sounds like it came from an ABBA album, but with metal overtones.

If tonight is our only chance, we’ll take it,
If tonight is our only chance, we’ll try it

So much truth in these lines. Our situations and lifestyles determine what chances we take. And when those chances come up, the aim is to be free to take it.

“Transmissions” is another pre-release track. It’s classic TNFO, full of hooks and homage to past influences, even a killer violin solo to close it off.

Talk to me
Won’t you talk to me?
You’re the remedy
For my starless visions

Ace Frehley once said talk to me, all he needs is a little conversation. I guess he wasn’t wrong. It’s why we always look for connections.

“Aeromantic” has my favourite drum beat in the intro. “Curves” has this funky groove. “Taurus” sounds like it could come from a Styx/Toto/Steely Dan album (the earlier ones).

“Carmencita Seven” has this musical passage after the chorus that I keep scrolling back to listen to. “Sister Mercurial” has a super catchy synth riff over my favourite drum beat. I call it the tark, tark, tark, beat, as its metronomic in nature.

“Dead Of Winter” is the closer and it’s such a good closing song, that the only thing I can do is press repeat and re-listen to the album again.

In other words, I love this album.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Can’t Get Enough

It came out in 1990 on “In The Heart Of The Young”, the follow up to their mega successful debut. And the power of this track, the bass sound and the guitar riff is made for big speakers. Which people don’t have any more and those rigs have been replaced by headphones, some good and a lot of em are really bad.

This is Winger at its peak. I think its spelled “Can’t Get Enuff” on the album, but spelt properly on digital services.

After many years of doing their time with other projects and other artists, the band members Kip Winger, Reb Beach, Paul Taylor and Rod Morgenstein got together and recorded a brilliant debut with songs mainly written by Kip Winger.

But the follow up cemented them, with songs mainly written by Winger and Beach. The album was helped by the rock momentum from the early eighties, as rock still ruled MTV at the start of the 90’s. For the kids who have grown up with pop and hip hop as the dominating force, rock did dominate TV and radio stations once upon a time.

For me, it’s the vocal line and the sound of the voice which connects. It’s like a cross between Bryan Adams and Joe Elliot and I dig it.

Reb Beach on guitar decorates the song throughout with power chords, little fills here and there and triad chords. Underpinning it all, is the locked in bass and drums of Kip Winger and Rod Morgenstein, driving the song forward like a diesel train.

And a few years after this release, the rock landscape became confused, between 1993 to 2000. Lars Ulrich threw darts at Kip Winger during the making of the Black album and Beavis And Butthead built a cartoon comedy career from poking fun at Kip Winger and his nude spread.

The record labels abandoned rock music and went looking for Grunge artists (while their back catalogues of rock music kept selling), then the labels went looking for Industrial artists (while their back catalogues of rock music kept on selling), then Nu Metal artists (while their back catalogues of rock music kept on selling and selling) and then pop artists (while their back catalogues of rock music kept on selling and selling and selling).

Then came file trading/sharing.

I guess I just can’t get enough.

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