Monthly Archives: December 2021

Music, My Stories

2021

It’s almost over.

And the state I live in, New South Wales, posted it’s highest ever coronavirus numbers 21,151. It’s fantastic to know that two years of stringent lockdowns in Australia led to this.

But it’s also another year working from home, which I’m really enjoying and I don’t want to go back to the office. Never ever.

So I guess I’ll end the year the same way I started it. With a glass of wine.

It’s less than six hours to midnight, so let the countdown begin.

And I press play on “The Final Countdown”.

Standard
Music, My Stories

The Record Vault: Deep Purple – In Concert With The London Symphony Orchestra

It was recorded at Royal Albert Hall, London on 25th and 26th September 1999 and the audio album was released on 8th February 2000 by Eagle Vision while the DVD was released on 25th July, 2000.

Pictured Within

It’s the title track from Jon Lord’s solo album released in 1998.

Very soundtrack like.

And it’s so far removed from the hard blues rock of Deep Purple. Only Jon Lord appears from the Deep Purple band along with the orchestra.

Wait a While

It’s also from Jon Lord’s solo album and Jon Lord is the only one who appears from the band here.

The opening two songs are skips for me.

Sitting in a Dream

This track and “Love Is All” are from Roger Glover’s solo album, “The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast”, a concept album released in 1974.

On these two tracks, Ronnie James Dio (RIP) sings the studio versions and he also appears here to sing the live tracks.

And it looks like the DP band is here with the Orchestra.

Love Is All

It’s like an ELO Beatles Cabaret tune and the great Dio is on hand to perform vocals.

As a side note that 1974 Glover album also had Glen Hughes and David Coverdale contributing vocals plus Les Binks on drums.

Wring That Neck

On the audio version of this concert release there are two Ian Gillan tracks and a Steve Morse track and then “Wring That Neck”.

But on the DVD those tracks don’t appear.

It’s written by Richie Blackmore, Nick Simper, Jon Lord, Ian Paice and it’s from “The Book of Taliesyn” released in 1968.

And it’s like a jazz fusion rock number with the brass instruments. Ian Paice again showcases his brilliant drumming techniques.

I could go on about each track and try to find some postives but when when the Concertos started I was more or less pressing stop. While they are great pieces for some they aren’t that for me.

Standard
Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

The Record Vault: Deep Purple – Bombay Calling

It’s a 2004 DVD release of a concert recorded in 1995.

It’s Deep Purple post Blackmore and Steve Morse is the guitarist and has been the guitarist since.

Morse play’s Blackmore’s recorded parts more accurate than Blackmore ever did as Blackmore really liked to improvise.

Fireball

It opens the show and I’m struck by how very un-Metal they look.

Gillan is wearing a vest, with baggy tracksuit like pants and black slip on shoes that people involved in karate wear. It’s definitely not a Metal look but it’s a relaxed look.

And there is no stage show with pyro and backdrops. It’s just the band and their music and a few lights.

Maybe I’m A Leo

The blues groove shines through.

There’s no doubting their musical technique and prowess. Morse really shines through when he hits those fast Lydian lines in the improv solo.

And you can’t escape his Peavey 5150 amp set up. RIP EVH.

Black Night

Glover’s bass sound is monstrous so far and he really drives this song.

And Ian Paice doesn’t get the credit he should as one of the most dependable and skilled drummers in rock music. He’s thunderous on here.

The Battle Rages On

It really fits the spot it occupies in the concert.

And Jon Lord is the star here with his synth riff.

How good is it?

The song is not an easy one to perform. It’s epic Metal with a lot of exotic minor key riffs and melodies.

Check out Morse in the solo. A true guitar hero.

And have I mentioned how good Ian Paice is?

Woman From Tokyo

A classic.

That Intro riff is huge. Instantly recognizable.

And did anyone notice the drum pattern and how a certain song called “Run To The Hills” has a similar pattern.

Have I mentioned how good Paicey is behind the kit?

Purpendicular Waltz

They played an unreleased song that they were still writing. The blues rock groove definitely grabs ya and never lets go.

When A Blind Man Cries

One of my favorite ballads.

Lush keys from Jon Lord starts it all off.

And Steve Morse comes in with volume swells, delay and slides. Throughout the song, Morse is decorating with licks.

And Ian Gillan has a voice for these kind of songs.

Stick around for when Morse takes the shred solo. It’s “hairs on the back of your neck” type of soloing.

Perfect Strangers

Glover and Paice lay down the foundations which allows Lord and Morse to decorate musically.

And Gillan is in fine form here.

Pictures Of Home

Morse is in cruise control here. He’s having a blast and as the new guy, it’s like he’s always been there.

And Paice on the drums, so precise and yet so jammy.

Child In Time

When I think of this song, I think of the vocal ohhhs and ahs.

And I like how it builds and it gets louder and more intense as it goes on.

And Morse is helping Gillan here as he plays the higher pitch vocals melody on the guitar and it sounds fantastic.

Gillan then moves to percussion while the rest of the band jams out the next section. Morse is burning the fretboard here.

The music stops and Jon Lord brings back the Intro riff and groove.

Anya

From “The Battle Rages On” album. And while Morse didn’t write it, he made it sound like it was written by him in the instrumental intro.

But when the song kicks in, it’s a Rainbow tune from the Bonnet and Turner era. Maybe because Turner was involved at some stage on this album.

Space Truckin’

I enjoy this song as the way it was recorded. I wasn’t a fan of the 15 plus minutes live versions they did while Blackmore was in the band.

On this they keep it simple and just rock out.

The chromatic lines in the Chorus reminds me of stuff that Metallica would do. Just check out the Intro to “Master Of Puppets” and you’ll hear what I’m saying.

Guitar Solo

As good as the guitarists are I’m just not a fan of these kind of things.

Lazy (Including Ian Paice Drum Solo)

And they move into the Bluesy “Lazy”.

Speed King

And after the drum solo, another uptempo blues rock number begins. If you haven’t gotten the idea so far, the band has a great jam element to their live show.

Highway Star

The story behind this song and it’s creation is legendary.

Smoke On The Water

And the closer itself has a story to tell in the lyrics along with one of the most iconic riffs ever.

The 1995 Bombay show is a good historical capture of DP MK7. The show was filmed for Indian TV, and the crew did a great job. It was also the bands first visit to India.

YouTube has the whole 2 hour show, so crank it.

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

2021 – YouTube Listening

I normally go to YouTube to listen to music which isn’t on Spotify.

And one artist always has me going to YouTube and that artist is John James Sykes otherwise known as John Sykes.

We all know that Sykes puts Boston and the Axl led Guns N Roses “Chinese Democracy” album for to shame for gaps between albums.

The last proper full length album that Sykes released was “Nuclear Cowboy” in 2000. Yep, 21 years down and approaching 22.

The “gap” between albums is now old enough to buy alcohol and drive.

But that doesn’t mean Sykes has been dormant.

In 2004, he released a live album called “Bad Boy Live” which is in my Top 10 of live albums. If you haven’t heard it, check it out, as it’s a perfect capture of his Whitesnake, Blue Murder, Sykes and Thin Lizzy days.

And when he appeared with super hyper release Mike Portnoy on Eddie Trunks show, we all thought that if anyone could get Sykes to release an album, it would be Portnoy.

Well that also didn’t happen.

But Sykes was working and writing and songs started to appear on YouTube.

Dawning Of A New Day

It hit YT on 2 Jan 2021. My review of that song is here.

Gates Of Hell

It came out in 2017. Check it out here.

Out Alive

It came out in August 2021. Check it out here.

And the album “Sy-Ops” is scheduled for March 1, 2022.

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

2021 – Spotify Wrapped Summary

I spent 40,275 minutes on Spotify listening to music.

That equals about 671 hours and close to 2 hours of music on the service alone.

And I have a lot of vinyl which also gets listened to, YouTube also gets some of my attention and various CD’s and DVD’s of artists.

In other words, I’m madly in anger with music.

I listened to 86 different genres. But I’ll take that with a big asterisk as Spotify needs to break down musical styles in many little categories so their algorithms can get down low.

And the top 5 are listed as follows:

It’s a pretty common theme that the music is either Rock or Metal. And who comes up with a genre called “Album Rock”.

What does “Album Rock” even mean?

But in the space of 365 days, I listened to 819 different artists.

And I remember in 1988, I purchased 8 albums and copied about 20 other albums from friends onto cassettes. From those albums, some were from the same artists. For example, I purchased “And Justice For All” and dubbed “Kill Em All” from Metallica.

Even if it was 28 different artists, that number is nothing compared to 819. And any new artist trying to make a dent to get peoples attention is up against the history of music on streaming services plus all the new releases that come out each day.

From a podcast point of view, “No Fucking Regrets” from Robb Flynn was my main one.

It’s cool to see a musician doing different things. Apart from the podcast, Robb also does “Electric Hour Fridays” on YouTube/Facebook in which he drinks beer and plays through songs from Machine Head’s catalog along with cover songs. And he does his “General Journal” posts.

My top five artists vis Spotify are Free Spirits Rising, Coheed And Cambria, Daughtry, Disturbed and Dokken.

And that’s the summary of my Spotify Wrapped.

Standard
Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

The Week In Destroyer Of Harmony History – December 19 to December 25

4 Years Ago (2017)

2017

The 2017 list was in.

And it had a lot of songs.

And here are a few selections.

Life Ain’t Easy (For A Boy With Long Hair) – The New Roses

Who would have thought that a German act would sound better than the American acts that influenced them?

So what can I say
Things got that bad
I stood before the mirror
To shave my head
But then I looked into my eyes
And I knew right then
You’ll let your hair grow
And start a band

Freedom – Revolution Saints

It’s the best song on the album.

Musically it sounds like a Deep Purple song from the Coverdale era and there’s nothing wrong with that influence whatsoever.

Freedom
Sweet freedom
Coming my way

Gemini – The Night Flight Orchestra

On each album, TNFO have a disco pop metal rock track. “West Ruth Ave” took the spot on the first album, “Living For The Night-time” took the spot on the second album and “Gemini” takes the spot on the third album.

Blind Leading The Blind – Adrenaline Mob

Man the “Mob” has suffered on the road.

AJ Pero didn’t survive the previous tour he was involved in and bassist David Z lost his life when a truck slammed into their van parked on the side of the road.

Goodbye Forever – Volbeat

We are the birth
We are the end
We are the souls
We have a name
We are the rising and fallen ones
We are the spirit forever more

It’s my favourite part of the song. I dig how the military style drumming works with the syncopated guitar lines and the gospel backing vocals.

Just brilliant.

Black Rain – Eclipse

This song is here because of the lead break. The riff under it reminds me of “Hangar 18” by Megadeth, while the actual lead break itself is reminiscent of the “Mr Crowley” outro lead and the “Tornado of Souls” lead by Marty Friedman.

No Surrender – Art Of Anarchy
Changed Man – Art Of Anarchy
The Madness – Art Of Anarchy

I was really surprised by this release. Actually I was blown away by it.

Carry Me My Bones – Corroded
A Note To Me – Corroded

It’s the acoustic versions from “The Nevo Sessions” and they sound swampy, bluesy and groovy and raw and better.

Carry me my tired bones

Light Me Up – Doom Unit

It’s got this swampy bluesy feel which I really dig. Plus the vocal melodies are addictive. And they are from Finland.

Human (Jim Eno Sessions) – Ran’n’Bone Man

If you haven’t heard “Human” then you should. It’s a hit.

I’m only human
I make mistakes

The Road – Quiet Riot

As soon as I heard the voice, it was familiar. I’d like to tell you that I knew it was Durbin on vocals just from hearing him, but I had to Google it to find out.

American Rock ‘n Roll – Kid Rock
Greatest Show On Earth – Kid Rock
Stand The Pain – Kid Rock

I can’t say I’m a huge Kid Rock fan, but I do check out his stuff from time to time. I also caught him live on the Bon Jovi “Because We Can” tour.

He’s a showman and a very good one at that. These three songs are hard southern rock all the way and man, they are a joy to listen too. It’s like one big party jam committed to tape.

Angel Of Mercy – Black Label Society

I don’t know what it is, but man this song gets the hairs rising on the back of my neck.

For those that don’t know, the song appears on the album “Catacombs Of the Black Vatican” from Black Label Society. It’s not a 2017 release but it’s been in my playlist since it came out in 2014.

The lead break is pure magic. It just explodes out of the speakers and builds and builds to the point where you cannot help but be in awe at the feel, the melodic phrasing and the disciplined technique on display. The song will never be a hit on the Billboard Charts and due to its mellow nature it might never get a live appearance, but god damn it, the song is a classic.

Rags to Riches – Babylon A.D

“Rags To Riches” is one of the singles released in the lead up and it hooked me in with its “Atomic Playboys” style riff.

Wanderlust – Black Country Communion

I dig this “super” group. First, I am a fan of Joe Bonamassa on guitar. Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals is a no brainer. Then when you add the rest of the personal, you can see it’s got some serious cred.

I don’t know what the song is about lyrically. I don’t really care, because the sounds, the groove and the feel hook me in.

God of the Sun – Sons of Apollo
Alive – Sons Of Apollo
Labyrinth – Sons Of Apollo

When I read that Portnoy/Sherinian started a project together I wasn’t interested. However as a fan of Ron Bumblefoot Thal, I was suddenly very interested. And when I read that Portnoy/Sherinian tapped Jeff Scott Soto to do vocals, I was very intrigued.

Any fan of progressive rock/metal will love this album. It has everything that all the great albums have. Even the musical interludes are memorable and hummable, which has become a forgotten art form over the last 15 years as bands play more technical and physically exhausting intricate passages in their songs.

The Sin And The Sentence – Trivium
Other Worlds – Trivium
Beyond Oblivion – Trivium
The Revanchist – Trivium
Endless Night – Trivium

Trivium is still at it and still kicking some butt.

Check out the T1000 Cybernetic drummer in The Sin And The Sentence.

The speed and precision. Human capabilities never cease to amaze me.

Find Your Way Home – King King
Broken – King King

There is a lot of good music out there and artists like “King King” are virtually unknown in the major music markets. They are a band that has this 70s Brit Hard Blues Rock sound and I like it.

This Is War – Audrey Horne

My favourite supergroup of extreme metallers (along with “The Night Flight Orchestra”) was back with a new album that brings back memories of the Seventies and Eighties. Once the harmony guitars that sound like “Fear Of The Dark” from Maiden kick in, I’m ready to throw my computer screen at the window.

It’s brilliant.

We will never be silence or divided
This is war

My 2017 call to arms.

And that my friends brings 2017 to close.

LIVIN ON THE CHAIN GANG

You get a power chord and then a vocal melody.

Did Skid Row try and recreate “Still Of The Night”?

It follows the same structure and in truth Coverdale and Sykes tried to recreate “Jailhouse Rock” with “Still of the Night”.

Turn on the TV, Cause I got nowhere to go
Seems that there’s a little trouble down in Mexico
A 13-year-old boy robs a store so he can eat
And they got him doing time while killers walk the streets

Once Bach sings “streets” he holds the note forever while the single note riff kicks in. Like “Still Of The Night”.

A hungry politician is the wolf that’s at the door
Hell-bent on submission and feeding’ on the poor
We could stare into the sun if we would open up our eyes
But we paint ourselves into a corner coloured in white lies

So true. Politicians want applause, want to be liked and want to please their donors. So while they seek submission from the poor, they then submit themselves to their donor and the corporations who are paying them millions to introduce laws to benefit their business model.

8 Years Ago (2013)

CRYING IN THE RAIN and JOHN SYKES FIRING

Two official studio versions exist. A very bluesy and sorrowful version from the 1982 album, “Saints and Sinners” and a very polished guitar heavy gem from the 1987 self-titled “Whitesnake” album.

And then there is the version that appears on the “Bad Boy Live!” album by John Sykes, released in 2005. It is an exact replica of the 1987 version that brought “Crying In The Rain” to the masses.

John Kalodner in an interview on the Melodic Rock website, said that he always tells David Coverdale that he should work with John Sykes again.

JOHN SYKES

How do you follow-up “Still Of The Night”, “Bad Boys”, “Give Me All Your Love” and “Is This Love”?

You don’t.

You change tact and form a super group with musicians that have some real rock credentials.

Forming a new band or going solo (depending on how people see the Blue Murder project), John Sykes believed the world was his oyster.

Surrounded by the expertise of John Kalodner and a big money offer from Geffen Records, he believed he would have instant success now that he could play by his own rules.

However that was not to be.

The Blue Murder self-titled debut got stiffed from the outset, due to the Geffen label bosses doing everything to please David Coverdale.

And it’s follow up “Nothin But Trouble” got stiffed by the record label playing grunge politics. While “Nothing But Trouble” didn’t have the same impact has its predecessors, it is still a very satisfying album and it’s a John Sykes album I still listen to today.

So it is 1994 and John Sykes is without a record deal.

What does he do next?

He goes solo.

In a gatekeeper controlled market, interest in John Sykes was still high in Japan and Europe.

In 1995, “Out Of My Tree” drops. I didn’t hear this album until Napster hit in 1999. I couldn’t justify paying the $80 for it in Australia, just because it was a Japanese import.

And that’s another wrap for another week.

Standard
Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

2021 – Released Too Late In The Year To Listen To Properly

These albums came out at a time which is too close to the end of the year to be properly assessed for any EOY list.

Especially when they are up against albums which came out in the first four months of the year and those albums have became part of my fabric.

Volbeat – Servant Of The Mind

The pre releases single “Shotgun Blues” is a great classic Metal song.

It’s on my “On Repeat” playlist from Spotify which is basically designed to help the user keep track of what they’ve been playing most over the past 30 days.

And the “Shotgun Blues” single dropped in September and it’s still on the playlist.

The album dropped on December 3 and on purposely I’ve not listened to it as I’m waiting for my break to happen so I can sink my ears into it.

Black Label Society – Doom Crew Inc.

It dropped in November 26.

But I’ve been heaps busy to devote the time I want to this album.

And Zakk Wylde has earned the respect for people to devote proper time to his music and if they play guitar, to put in some woodshedding to learn some of his riffs.

Crazy Lixx – Street Lethal

The album dropped on November 5.

The pre-release singles all connected with me but I haven’t had the time to fully digest the album. It’s going to happen soon.

They are a Swedish Metal band formed in 2002, who bring back the 80’s Sunset Strip with the aggression of the San Francisco Bay Area Thrash scene and the defiance of Twisted Sister.

And once you add the Brit bands to the mix, it’s a whirlpool of creativity.

Their first album came out in 2007 and since 2010, they’ve been on the Frontiers label, releasing albums on a two year cycle.

If you’ve heard these albums drop your thoughts in the comments.

Standard
Music, My Stories

2021 – Not As Good As I Expected

It’s always unpopular to have an opinion on an album that isn’t favorable.

Liquid Tension Experiment – III

John Petrucci delivered a great solo album in 2020, but when LTE reformed with Petrucci, Portnoy, Ruddess and Levin, the “III” album didn’t have the same impact as the first two LTE albums which I saw as ground breaking instrumental albums.

The first two albums were released in the late 90s and they came out at a time when most instrumental artists brought in an industrial sound to their albums because that sound is what was popular however LTE didn’t conform to what was popular.

Songs like “Acid Rain”, “Paradigm Shift” and my favourite “Universal Mind” which Petrucci borrowed from for “Happy Song” are instrumental masterpieces.

And the deeper you dig into the first two albums you’ll hear other awesome tracks like “Kindred Spirits”, “Freedom Of Speech” and “When The Water Breaks”.

But if you do want to press play on a track from this album, then “Blink Of An Eye” is the one. It’s got this groove that it’s intoxicating and it sets the foundation.

Trivium – In The Court of The Dragon

I’m a big fan of Trivium and in April 2020 just when lockdowns started around the world, they dropped the excellent “What The Dead Men Say”.

And they couldn’t tour behind it. Matt Heafy did a side project and the band got together and wrote another album.

Which didn’t have the same impact as “What The Dead Men Say”.

Dream Theater – A View From The Top Of The World

I will buy it as a Dream Theater fan so I can have it in my collection but it didn’t connect with me.

But like previous releases there are some nice instrumental sections.

I’m also not a fan of riffs created on the super heavy gauge of an 8 string guitar. It’s too low and muddled for my ears.

Black Veil Brides – The Phantom Tomorrow

It’s their third rock opera.

I really want to like it, but I couldn’t wait for each song to finish.

Bullet For My Valentine – Bullet For My Valentine

We fall in and out with our favorite artists.

At the moment I’m out with BFMV who I think are suffering an identity crisis.

George Lynch – Seamless

I purchased it as I have all of his recordings and while it was okay, I was expecting something else.

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

2021 – The 50/50 List I’m Still Investing Time In

Sometimes albums don’t capture me in their entirety but there is something there that keeps me going back.

Tremonti – Marching In Time

The debut album, “All I Was” from 2012 caught me by surprise because of its slant towards Classic Heavy Metal and Speed Metal.

“Dust” and “Cauterize” from 2016 and 2015 are my favorite albums, especially the song “Dust”, it’s a masterpiece.

“A Dying Machine” from 2019 brought a concept story to the mix and now we have “Marching In Time”. In between Mark Tremonti also did Alter Bridge, so no one can question his work ethic.

I listened to this a lot the week it came out and while each song has a section or a riff which floors me, I only press “like” on four songs, “A World Away”, “Now And Forever”, “Under The Sun” and “Marching In Time”.

It doesn’t mean the other songs are crap.

Far from it. I just need to find the connection.

KK’s Priest – Sermons Of The Sinner

I heard it once and I was impressed.

KK Downing is still a beast on the guitar and we all know that Tim Ripper Owens has an awesome set of pipes on him and is technically better than a lot of the vocalists doing the rounds including his idols.

Before all the JP fans tear me apart, this isn’t meant to be a slight on Halford at all, it’s just progression that people surpass their idols in technicality. Halford is still the “Metal God”.

I remember a Bruce Dickinson interview in which he said, he was floored when he heard Ian Gillian signing “Child In Time” and he started practicing like crazy in his bedroom to mimic what Gillian did on the recording, without knowing that Gillian’s vocals were dubbed in and recut a lot of times and heavily delayed. But Bruce was doing it all naturally. Progression.

For a bit of backstory, K. K. Downing got the idea of forming KK’s Priest after doing a one-off show billed as MegaPriest in 2019 with David Ellefson (my, my, how far has he fallen since his sex scandal) on Bass. As a band, KK’s Priest is somewhere between a solo project of Downing and a reunion with his former Judas Priest bandmates Tim “Ripper” Owens and Les Binks. However, Binks left the band just before the making of “Sermons of the Sinner” because of health issues.

So joining K.K Downing and Tim “Ripper” Owens is A.J. Mills on Guitars, Tony Newton on Bass and Sean Elg on Drums.

And I was a fan without even hearing a track.

My favourite track from JP is “The Sentinel” and when I saw that the last track is called “Return Of The Sentinel” I was sold. Even though the songs sound nothing alike, the nod to a classic sealed the deal.

Blacktop Mojo – Blacktop Mojo

They won a competition to open up for Bon Jovi who at the time were picking local acts from each city to open for them. Thats how they came to my attention.

And they do a mean cover of “Dream On” from Aerosmith and a drunken YouTube cover of “In The Air Tonight” from Phil Collins.

From Texas, so they have this blues southern rock vibe happening but there’s also a Soundgarden and Alice In Chains vibe as well.

Actually Black Stone Cherry comes to mind here as well.

This is album number 4 and it’s slowly growing on me.

Check it out.

Standard