Category Archives: Derivative Works

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

A Rite Of Passage

“A Rite Of Passage” is the second track on the “Black Clouds and Silver Linings” album released in 2009.

The music is written by John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, Jordan Rudess and John Myung. The lyrics like “The Count Of Tuscany” are written by John Petrucci.

There are always accessible songs on each Dream Theater album. Accessible in Dream Theater’s language is shorter.

The main riff on this song is a metallic masterpiece. The riff moves between the E major and E minor scales.

Actually John Petrucci recorded this song using a 6-string guitar tuned 1 whole step down (D-G-C-F-A-D) so even though you play the riff like you would play it in standard tuning, the actual tone is D major and D minor.

And the song is filled with so many good bits like;
– The heavily palm muted verse riff.
– The pre chorus riff and the vocal melody.
– The chorus riff and the melodic lead break over it and the vocal melody. It’s an AOR arena rock chorus.
– Then when we go back to the next verse, the foundation chord progression is the same, but Petrucci decorates it with fast arpeggio and single note lines, before it moves back to the familiar pre chorus and that excellent Chorus.

After the Chorus, the intro riff is back and in your face.

Then it goes into this Megadeth style riff, like how they do in “Holy Wars” for the solo section. And man, John Petrucci brings it. Especially that chromatic little section with sweeps and single note lines.

Then Jordan Rudess makes chicken noises and gets a chance to throw another million notes at us, but I wanted Petrucci to take this one. It was perfect just for the guitar to shred over.

And then the solo section abruptly ends as it goes back to the intro riff for 10 seconds before it moves into the Chorus.

Did I mention that the Chorus is excellent?

And it ends the same way it started, with the bone crushing intro riff which fuses major and minor modes in E, but it’s in the key of D because Petrucci down tuned.

Lyrically the song is about secret organisations, like the freemasons.

As the lyrics state, “a brotherhood of wisdom, strength and dignity, its rituals and secrets, remain a mystery.”

These kind of organisations are shrouded in conspiracy, and are either up to good or evil. Just think of Dan Brown’s novel – ‘The Da Vinci Code’.

And these kind of organisations have so much power, but not a lot of people know much about them. There was a quote from a documentary I watched which said, there is a very high chance that a person would have had dealings with a person who is a freemason, and they wouldn’t have known it.

Beneath an ever watchful eye
The angels of the temple fly

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

The Record Vault – The Butterfly Effect

The Butterfly Effect are from Brisbane, Australia. Formed in 1999, they dropped their debut EP in 2001.

“Crave” is from their “Begins Here” album released in 2003. The next song “Saved” didn’t appear on any album until their 2016 release, “B Sides, Live and Rarities”. “The Cell” and “Take It Away” appeared on their six song EP, released in 2001. It was “Take It Away” from the EP, which got me interested in the band. 

“Imago” was released in 2006.

It debuted at No. 2 on the ARIA charts.

You could hear in this album that the band was progressing in their song writing department. You can hear the onus on more melody. Getting older, playing live, building on experiences and relationships all enhance the song writing.

But it wasn’t so smooth making the album.

“I think, as a grown man, I can probably say it would have been the most stressful seven weeks of my life”

Drummer Ben Hall 

Joe Barresi was hired to produce the album. He heard the demoes the band sent and was enthusiastic to work with them. He just finished recording Tool’s “10,000 Days” album and the band flew to LA as soon as a slot came up in Barresi’s calendar.

But the band wasn’t really ready to start recording at this point in time. And Barresi sure let them know it. The band started to not enjoy the process, but the experience with Barresi, showed them gaps in their commitments which they used to realign their goals with their music career.

From the opening one minute instrumental “Imago”, to “Aisles Of White” to “Gone” to “A Slow Descent”, it’s a four punch combo. The ending of “A Slow Descent” is excellent. But the album gets better. “Before They Knew” and “In A Memory” are my favourite cuts on this album. 

“In A Memory” has this bass riff inspired by Tool as it rumbles along and leads the song. But when you think the song is over at the 3.30 minute mark, it moves into this beautiful section which starts with chords and then arpeggios and a haunting vocal melody. And it’s got an ending as good as “A Slow Descent”. And those endings are pure gold.

It’s just a memory of all that we could have been

It’s just a memory and all that we could have been

It’s just a memory, I’ve seen

It’s just a memory, I’ll see 

The way these words are delivered is haunting, like a dream you’ve just had and you are not sure when you wake up, if it’s a real memory or a dream memory.

As good as “Imago” is, their piece d resistance album is “Final Conversation Of Kings” released in 2008.

I have no photo to share of this album because I gave it and the debut EP to my ex drummer, along with “The Dirt” hardcover book from Motley Crue, a  Rush “Live in Rio” DVD and a Coheed and Cambria live DVD. I should have gotten my stuff back first, before I booted him.

And speaking of band members not getting on, The Butterfly Effect had some issues between founding guitarist Kurt Goedhart and lead vocalist Clint Boge. So it was no surprise that the band members went their separate ways, until a few years ago, when they released a new song and announced a tour around Oz. 

Welcome back. 

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

Army Of Noise

“Army Of Noise” has got that feel of “Metal Militia” and overall the song has a “Kill Em All” vibe in the lyrics.

The intro riff morphs into the verse riff and it’s a combination of Metallica and Slayer, from their “Ride The Lightning” and “South Of Heaven” albums. It’s fast and aggressive and Matt Tuck spits out the words.

Anticipation we’re on the attack, just keep pushing forward, there’s no turning back

I lived this during the 80’s, but there is a whole new generation who needs these words and are living it right now.

Lights out, fist raised, adrenaline rushing infecting our veins

Going to the show was about the adrenaline. Now it’s about the best seat, which you pay premium for, and the selfie and the filmed footage to show the world that you went.

I’m guilty of it as well.

Now feel the heat as the temperature spikes, bodies are thrashing, the fire ignites

I’ve never been in a circle pit but goddamn they are wicked to watch.

At one of the Machine Head Sydney concerts, I saw this guy on crutches make his way into the circle pit and he just vanished like a person in a twister, only to be lifted up in the air and held up high by the circle pitters. Unbelievable, that in all of that chaos, there was a sense to protect.

Before the Chorus comes in, there is this foot stomping riff that just gets me ready to break stuff.

Once the Chorus kicks in, its arena rock all the way.

So here we are
Weapons in arms
Army of noise has come to destroy
We will not fall
Brothers in arms
We will deploy our army
An army of noise

The message and the ethos is the same as the 80s. In those times we had “Stand Up And Shout”, “I Wanna Rock”, “Cum On Feel The Noize” and “We Rock”. Judas Priest took it to another level with “Ram It Down” and “Heavy Metal”.

One thing that I’ve always liked about BFMV is the drumming from Michael “Moose” Thomas. The way he builds intro’s and riffs with metronome precision, his double kick work and tom rolls is excellent.

But he is no longer in the band, fired during the “Venom” tour. Well, he left the tour to go home, so he could be there for the birth of his child and after a few months, he contacted the band and said he was ready to return, but they didn’t offer him a return date.

And the lead break is Triple A rated. Michael Paget is an unknown in the larger field of guitarist these days, but he is a bonafide guitar hero in my book.

So feel the sound as it pounds in your chest
Eardrums exploding bodies possessed

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

The Count Of Tuscany

The intro and the outro are two of the best musical pieces put together by Dream Theater.

For the start, Petrucci took the chord progression from the song “Another Day” (which was released on “Images And Words” in 1992), changed the phrasing, added a few extra bass notes and chord movements and made it into one of his best Dream Theater riffs. But it’s also the solo that he takes, which makes it even more memorable. And it builds and builds for the first 3 minutes and 27 seconds. To me, it’s essential listening. I call this Section A.

Then the vocal part comes in. I call this movement between 4.23 and the 11 minute mark Section B. Musically its brilliant. Melodically its brilliant.

Lyrically it falls down for a lot of people. And when you think of Dream Theater lyrics, sometimes they are great and sometimes they are loaded with cheese. Personally I don’t mind the cheese but this one has a lot of it. Get ready.

It’s about a trip years ago. The band went on a vino tour with a young eccentric man who became their guide. The young eccentric man had an older brother, who had a unique library, which served as inspiration for a few scenes in the “Hannibal” book.

And as part of this tour, they kept moving more away from the city and into the isolated country side of Tuscany.

Then their guide, introduced the band to his brother, a bearded historian, with a distinguished accent who didn’t mind sucking on his pipe. Dream Theater sleuths even worked out who the Count of Tuscany is and how he also appeared in the “Hannibal” movie.

And the guys in the band are now frightened for their lives, because they are offered a vintage glass of wine that gets better with age. But this offer of wine comes after the Count tells them the tale of French soldiers who hid in the barrels and never made it out of alive.

And then we are up to Section C of the song. This nature section between 11.01 to 14.19 could have been left out.

Because the last bit, known as Section D from 14.20 is one of those moments of awesomeness. The 6/8 time signature, the vocal melody, how it slowly percolates until it explodes, the lead break to finish it. Everything about this last section is addictive.

And the song ends with the Count saying to them to not be afraid, as these are stories passed down through generations.

The chapel and the saint
The soldiers and the wine
The fables and the tales
All handed down through time

Of course you’re free to go
Go and tell the world my story
Tell about my brother
Tell them about me

The Count of Tuscany

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

Up All Night

Slaughter is a forgotten band.

The people who normally read and comment on this blog would know that Mark Slaughter and Dana Strum were in Vinnie Vincent’s Invasion, which was signed to Chrysalis, when a person called John Sykes ran the label (not the John Sykes that we all know from Whitesnake, Blue Murder, Thin Lizzy and Tygers Of Pang Tang fame), but what a bloody coincidence.

Anyway, Vincent’s diva like demands didn’t sit well with the label and they offered the rest of his deal to Slaughter and Strum and the rest is history.

For two albums, Slaughter ruled because the band could rock, could croon like Michael Bolton and they could also bring out the metal, with Mark Slaughter belting out a triple octave voice.

And they even had a 25 year old Michael Bay direct the music video clip for this song. In 5 years’ time, he would become well known with the first “Bad Boys” movie.

Up all night
Sleep all day

This is an anthem.

It still has the same power 30 plus years later as it did back in the day. We tried to live to this. Artists lived this life, they didn’t care about their brand, their endorsements, their promo on Morning Breakfast shows. They kept it mysterious. All to themselves. With a lot of groupies.

Which doesn’t even exist anymore in music, because the techies and the financers are now breaking the rules and living the rock star lifestyle. When Steve Jobs hit the stage at an Apple launch event, he was greeted with an applause that was normally reserved for rock stars. When Oprah or Ellen or Lettermen walked onto their sets, they had a bigger applause than rock stars.

And musicians just kept signing their rights away for another chance to record and to be in a state of never recouping with the labels, while the labels laughed their way to billions in profits. Those same label execs who contributed nothing to culture, fly private, while the artists who made them billions don’t. There is no way a techie would have given away their rights the same way the music artists did.

When evening comes
I am alive

I feel I am most productive at night. Sometimes its past midnight and I don’t want to sleep because I am in the zone.

Up all night, sleep all day.

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

Fly To The Angels

Slaughter was one of those bands you either liked or didn’t like.

Bassist Dana Strum was a go to man when people needed band members. He recommended Randy Rhoads to Ozzy’s camp along with Jake E Lee.

Afterwards, he teamed up with Kiss outcast, Vinnie Vincent for his Invasion. After Mark Slaughter joined the band (replacing the original singer, Rob Fleischmann), the Invasion went full tilt on album number two, before Chrysalis pulled the plug on Vincent’s diva like demands and offered his record deal to Slaughter and Strum.

And for a 4 year period, Slaughter was slaying the scene, becoming a reliable platinum act in the process.

Nothing lasts forever and for Slaughter, the fall was quicker than the rise in a commercial sense. Guitarist, Tim Kelly had some law enforcement problems over trafficking narcotics and then tragically, he lost his life in a motor vehicle accident. These days, Strum is more than happy playing Motley covers with Vince Neil, while Mark Slaughter is still writing and dropping new music.

“Fly To The Angels” is not my favourite track from the debut album, but it captures the great song writing that Slaughter and Strum are capable of. There is an electric and acoustic version of the song and both are good.

It’s a sad song and Slaughters vocal commands attention with its power.

Heaven awaits your heart

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

Nobody’s Fool

I don’t think they wanted to be glammed up, with teased hair and matador clothing with long jackets, but they did it anyway.

Signed to Polygram, the debut album, “Night Songs”, produced by Andy Johns, had everything from AC/DC style riffing and grooves, to Aerosmith style highs and Keifer’s unique raspy snarl.

But Keifer and co didn’t just sound like all of the other bands out there, because their influences weren’t just your standard Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC acts. They also went back and found out who influenced their influences, and allowed those artists to also influence them, hence the reason why Cinderella was more bluesier than the rest.

The cymbals ring, while the clean tone Am arpeggio chord progression starts the song.

I count the falling tears, they fall before my eyes
It seems like a thousand years since we broke the ties

It seems like the hate and pain will never end, when relationships go bad, but it’s only been a day or two. Time heals all wounds and hearts. You just need to be patient.

I’m no fool

We can believe what we want, but when it comes to love, David Coverdale had it down pat, when he said he’s a fool for loving, because god damn it, that man lives and breathes love. So yes, when it comes to love we are fools. And we keep going back to it.

And the solo, so emotive, building up to the ending and that final chorus.

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

March 2020 – Part 1

So my March listening started off with tracks from January and February that I liked. I have written about these tracks already.

Here is the March playlist.

Circle The Drain – Machine Head
I like the melodic metal side of Robb Flynn. And he crushes on this song, as it moves between melodicism, nu metal and groove metal.

Feeling Whitney – Royal Bliss
The original Post Malone version is pretty good as well, a cross between “Dust In The Wind” style fingerpicking and modern rock.

Royal Bliss turn it into a modern pop rock song. And that also works.

Naked City – Jorn
Running Up That Hill – Jorn
Lonely Nights – Jorn
What does Kiss, Kate Bush and Bryan Adams have in common?

Bubbles – Framing Hanley
“I hear the nervousness in every word that is said” and in these pandemic times, I hear it and I see it loud and clear as our leaders make panic policies and suspend the sitting of parliament. I guess the bubble has burst and what comes next no one knows.

We are in uncharted waters here.

Come Clean – H.E.A.T
Dangerous Ground – H.E.A.T
Melodic Rock at its best. The Chorus in “Come Clean” is super catchy, with a R nought of 2.

Under The Graveyard – Ozzy Osbourne
At this point in time, it’s on the playlist.

Will it be in 10 years’ time?

Maybe. And on the COVID-19 news front, writer, guitarist and producer of this album, Andrew Watt has been diagnosed as having it.

Let’s hope for a speedy recovery as other musicians have already died, from an ex-Riot member, Fountains Of Wayne bassist and a country songwriter/guitarist.

Catastrophist – Trivium
I have been a Trivium fan for 13 years now.

It’s funny how fast time goes and it’s funny how many haters this band gets as well, because the old school metal fans don’t like the screaming, the old school death metal fans think it’s too fake and they just can’t win. But they can play their instruments, and they can play it well.

Singer Matt Heafy even put in time with former Emperor guitarist and vocalist, Ihsahn, learning the art of Black Metal and progressive songwriting. Not a lot of artists can lay claim to that.

F8/Inside Out – Five Finger Death Punch
These two songs work brilliantly together.

“I stand alone, I guess I knew it all along” and it feels more like that these days than ever before. We look at our leaders and our heroes from music and entertainment to give us some insights, but in the end, the decisions made are ours to make alone. And our heroes are as clueless as us.

Because Of You – Storm Force
This song just refuses to go away from my life. The music, the verse lyrics and that chorus. All so familiar and i like it.

“The world is yours today always something going down”. For me 2020 has seen; devastating bush fires which brought forth air quality issues, then came the rains and the floods. And now, we are at the start of the biggest threat in my lifetime, COVID-19. So we look to our families, our partners, our children and our friends for inspiration and reflection.

Dear Agony – Breaking Benjamin
The mood of this song gets me. This song gives me hope, even though it’s a depressing song itself.

“Dear Agony, just let go of me, suffer slowly, is this the way it’s gotta be”.

No it didn’t have to be this way. Fighting for life is more important than anything else in the world.

Aeromantic (Album) – The Night Flight Orchestra
Let’s just say that this album would most probably appear in all of my monthly reviews, because it is so damn good.

Songs like “Aeromantic” and “Taurus” pick up the energy. My favourites are the closer “Dead of Winter” and “Transmissions” with that violin solo.

Change The World (Album) – Harem Scarem
Have I mentioned that Pete Lesperance is one hell of a guitar player?

Part 2 for March coming up.

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

The Way It Is

This song was great on “The Great Radio Controversy” and it was even greater on “Five Man Acoustical Jam”, the surprise hit album which was the inspiration for MTV “Unplugged”. But then again, so many other artists claim that “Unplugged” title as well.

It was the “Five Man Acoustical Jam” and their cover of “Signs” which got Tesla some mainstream press here in Australia and made us early fans say, “I told you so” to all of the detractors who called them Aerosmith copycats.

For me, “The Great Radio Controversy” is a special album. I learned every riff and every lick on it and one of my favorites to play was “The Way It Is”.

I love the movement of the major chords, the D major chord with the F# note then moves to the F major chord, so it has this cleansing chromatic effect and then it moves to the G major chord before it comes back to D major chord. It’s very Credence Clearwater Revival and Southern Rock”ish”.

The simple solo to kick it all off in the intro which is repeated again in the main solo.

The way it is
The way that it goes
Happening day after day
The way it is
The way that it goes
Working in the strangest ways

Right know we can’t leave home unless it’s for something essential. That’s the way it is.

Taking it day by day in a strange new world.

And the song is full of little lead breaks and the outro has the guitars wailing while Jeff Keith keeps singing, do you believe.

And I did believe.

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

Kashmir

“Physical Graffiti” was released forty five years ago last month.

I really had no idea of the Led Zeppelin album until Nikki Sixx started talking about Motley Crue writing their “Physical Graffiti” in response to a question he was asked after “Decade of Decadence” came out and what would be next for the band. As soon as Sixx mentioned that, the album was on my radar.

Of course, we all know that Vince Neil got booted or left (depending on whose story you believe) and Motley Crue went to work, writing over 20 songs for what would become their “Physical Graffiti”, the self-titled “Motley Crue” album, otherwise known as Motley Corabi. My views of this album are all over this blog as one of the best Motley albums to date.

And I didn’t get “Physical Graffiti” until I picked it up at a record fair, for a very cheap price in the mid 90’s. I even heard Motley’s album before Led Zep’s. I know it’s sacrilege, but to have music at home, meant I needed to use my money for it and money was limited. And no one I knew had the album for me to dub.

The production team on this album is a who’s who of people that we all got to know from various hard rock albums.

Jimmy Page as usual is the producer, and you have Andy Johns engineering, Eddie Kramer engineering and Ron Nevison also engineering. These guys are all paying their dues, learning their craft from a master, which in this case is Page. It also has so many engineers because some of the songs which made the album are leftovers from previous albums.

But the stand out song on the album is KASHMIR.

I remember a time, when the riff was everything and there is no better definition of the riff being everything than this song.

I have already written about “The Kashmir Effect” before and again here. And man, i know it’s not right to say that I heard “Get It On” from Kingdom Come first. I even heard “Judgement Day” from Whitesnake before I even heard “Kashmir”. But that’s how it happened.

I didn’t own not one 70’s record until the 90’s.

And the older people I spoke to, said how “Kashmir” was one of the most popular songs in Australia, behind “Evie” (all three parts), “Stairway To Heaven”, “American Pie”, “Bat Out Of Hell” and “Hotel California”.

Not one of those songs is under 7 minutes.

An era in which artists did what they wanted and wrote what they wanted and FM radio had no choice but to play the whole damn thing.

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