How can you pass up an album with “Stargazer” as its title?
Black Majesty is from Melbourne, Australia. The band is made up of John Cavaliere on vocals, Steve Janevski and Hanny Mohamed on guitars with Pavel Konvalinka on drums. There is no bassist listed.
Steve Janevski on guitar lists George Lynch, Zakk Wylde, John Sykes, Michael Wilton & Chris DeGarmo, Warren Demartini, Ronnie Letekro as his favourite guitarists. All great influences to have.
And apart from playing in Black Majesty (Power Melodic Metal), he also plays in Wicked Smile (Heavy Rock) and The Radio Sun (AOR Melodic Rock).
“Stargazer” was released in 2012.
Falling
The lead breaks are excellent. Steve Janevski and Hanny Mohamed showcase their abilities from the outset.
Lost Highway
Harmony guitars and fast double kick start the song off.
Voice Of Change
A killer Chorus and another killer lead break section. Actually killer lead breaks as there are a few.
Killing Hand
It has a “Paris Is Burning” riff to start off and I like it.
Check out the Chorus. Great vocal melodies, fast double kick and the guitars just play power chords.
As it’s becoming the norm, the lead breaks on this album are guitar hero moments.
Journey To The Soul
How good are the harmony guitars in the intro, before it moves into a Maiden like groove?
Holy Hillers
Another great harmony guitar intro.
Symphony Of Death
The slow Intro reminds of Queensryche circa first two albums and once the gallop riff starts, Helloween and Maiden come to mind.
But the lead breaks. Guitar hero stuff again.
It starts off with an open string harmony lick, then each guitarist gets a chance to shred and tap away before coming back to the open string harmonies to close the solo.
Edge Of The World
It’s blasting fast and loud.
And when it comes to instrumental section, Janevski and Mohamed don’t disappoint.
Stargazer
As soon as the Intro leads start, the song could have appeared on “Brave New World” and people would think Maiden wrote it.
The lead section part of the song is essential listening. it starts off with a sing-a-long harmony lead before it goes into individual solos. And man, what solos they are.
By the end of it, you can only press repeat.
If there is a criticism, the drums seem to be on cruise control with the stock fast double kick patterns Power Metal music is known for.
Steve Janevski and Hanny Mohamed deserve special mention here on guitars.
Vocalist John Cavaliere is a multi-octave vocalist. His voice and style ranges between David Coverdale, Bruce Dickinson, Geoff Tate and Michael Kiske but still sounding unique enough to be original.
I’m not a huge Power Metal fan but I do listen to bands that play that style purely for the guitar playing.
If you like Power Metal, you’ll like this. If you like Melodic Metal you’ll like this. If you like Heavy Metal, you’ll like this.
Daughtry dropped a new album recently and it’s great to hear the hard rock side kick back in after a couple of albums that lived in a popular rock/beats area. Even the metal sites are reviewing the new album.
A review of the new Daughtry will come soon, but it did get me in the mood to listen to earlier Daughtry and so let’s kick off the next Record Vault series with the debut album.
Daughtry is the debut album, released in 2006 by RCA Records. He came to fame by competing in American Idol, but he didn’t win Idol, however he’s had a bigger career then the actual winner Taylor Hicks. I guess the kiddies voting don’t really purchase records.
It’s Not Over
The Bm to A to G chord progression is familiar (think “Kryptonite” from Three Doors Down) but it’s the tone of Chris Daughtry’s voice which hooks me in.
Chris Daughtry, Gregg Wattenberg, Mark Wilkerson and Brett Young are listed as the songwriters and what a song they wrote, sitting at 90.325 million streams on Spotify. But it’s not the most streamed from Daughtry. That goes to “Over You”.
And if the songwriter names are familiar, well, if you own a Train or John Legend or Goo Goo Dolls album, you will see Gregg Wattenberg listed as a producer and writer. Mark Wilkerson was the lead singer and guitarist for Course Of Nature, a rock band which was also known as COG. The Chorus was written by Brett Young, a singer in the same season of American Idol as Daughtry.
It’s also certified 2x Platinum as a single in the U.S. Back in 2007, it got a Gold certification for CD physical sales of the single in the U.S.
Used To
Daughtry, Howard Benson and Zac Maloy are listed as the songwriters.
A simple drum and bass groove start the song, but it’s the repeating guitar arpeggios in the verse which moves the song along.
Another infectious chorus.
We used to have this figured out / We used to breathe without a doubt
So what changes as we get older. As we learn more, do we fear more.
Home
Sitting at 76.8 million streams on Spotify. Certified 3x Platinum in the U.S as a digital single, with its most recent certification happening in September 2019. Back in 2008, it got a Gold certification for CD physical sales of the single in the U.S.
And as an artist, this is exactly what you want. People still consuming your songs, many years after they’ve been released.
It’s written by Chris Daughtry.
My favourite song on the album. It crosses over to so many different styles and genres. If you like Southern Rock, you’ll like this. If you like Country Rock, you’ll like this. If you like Hard Rock, you’ll like this.
And the message of returning home after been away for a while is a message that everyone can understand and relate to.
Over You
This is the most streamed Daughtry track, at 116.8 million streams. And it also has a 2x Platinum in September 2019, for digital sales in the U.S.
Written by Daughtry and Brian Howes it could have appeared on a Jovi album at the time.
It’s a mid-tempo rocker and Daughtry’s vocals are excellent.
And Brian Howes is a Canadian songwriter who has written songs with Adelitas Way, Airbourne, Caleb Johnson, Halestorm, Hedley, Hinder, Nickelback, Rev Theory and Skillet to name a few. A lot of chart cred right there. So if the song sounds familiar, I’m sure some of the melodies from Howes would have been reused.
Crashed
Written by Daughtry, Nina Ossoff, Dana Calitri and Kathy Sommer and the Chorus is catchy.
Feels Like Tonight
Max Martin, Luke Gottwald and Shep Solomon are the writers. These guys wouldn’t come cheap. I would be surprised if Daughtry is listed as re-couped for this album. I am sure the record label creative accountants still have him in debt, even though its 6x Platinum in the U.S.
It starts off like “Chasing Cars”. That’s what writers of hits do. Take what came before and tweak it.
And of course, a Max Martin /Dr Luke song, isn’t a song without a massive Chorus.
What I Want
Written by Daughtry and Howes and features Slash.
Just by featuring Slash, the song already has a hard rock swagger to it more like the “Velvet Revolver” swagger. But it’s short. Just over 2 minutes long.
Breakdown
The songs which are solely written by Chris Daughtry highlight his skills and style as a writer. “Home” showcases his story telling and use of simple chords to deliver an emotive vocal melody.
“Breakdown” is also written by Chris Daughtry.
It’s actually a rewrite and combination of two songs “Conviction” and “Break Down” previously recorded by Daughtry’s former hard rock/alternative metal band, “Absent Element”.
This one percolates, living in the grey area between soft rock and hard rock.
Check out the head banging riff at 2.30.
Gone
Written by Chris Daughtry, it starts off slow, ballad like but by the end of it, it becomes a great melodic rock song.
There and Back Again
Written by Daughtry and Brent Smith from Shinedown who also plays guitar on it.
It feels like a track that would appear on “The Sound Of Madness”. It’s heavy and it rocks hard.
All These Lives
Written by Daughtry and Mitch Allan, it’s in the soft rock domain moving between acoustic verses and distorted choruses.
What About Now
Written by Ben Moody, David Hodges and Joshua Hartzler.
Moody and Hodges had a certain style of writing. They both came to fame via the “Fallen” album from Evanescence and when Moody left the band mid tour, he became a songwriter for other artists. Kelly Clarkson recorded a few of their songs, I think, “Because Of You” was written by Moody and Hodges.
Well this one follows in that vein. It has a piano riff which at the start reminds me of “Alone” from Heart.
Sorry
Written by Daughtry, Alexander Rethwisch, Christopher Langton, Konstantin Rethwisch and Matthias Weber. A lot of writers.
It lives in this acoustic Fuel/Alice In Chains space because it reminds me of Fuel’s “Something Like Human” album and “Sap” from Alice In Chains.
For a debut album from an American Idol contestant who came 5th, every cent was spent by the label on getting the correct songs as evidenced by the different songwriters on each song.
And he had a lot of musicians on the debut album. Phil
X who performs with Bon Jovi now, is on lead and rhythm guitars. The excellent Josh Freese is on drums. Paul Bushnell plays bass except on “What About Now” which is Chris Chaney. Producer Howard Benson also plays keyboards on the album and Chris Lord-Alge is mixing. These guys and production team don’t come cheap.
In an era of low sales, Daughtry also showed that great music can still sell. In Australia and New Zealand it went Gold. In the UK its certified Silver. In Canada its certified 2x Platinum and in the U.S, its certified 6x Platinum.
The album produced 7 singles. Yep, 7, but then again, every song on the album could be a single, hence the different writers.
And Daughtry sings for most of the album so his voice is left, front and right.
Critics did write, what is the point of having Slash appear on a 2 minute track. Or what would have happened if music took the lead in a song instead of Daughtry singing over everything.
But then again, critics don’t normally sell 6 million albums in the U.S.
I wasn’t sure I needed a Kiss “Unplugged” album but after pressing play, I became a fan of it instantly. The songs they selected worked so well in an acoustic setting.
For a band that was trying to find a way to fit into the mixed up 90’s, the “Unplugged” setting was perfect for them.
Apart from Stanley, Simmons, Kulick and Singer, they are also joined by Ace Frehley and Peter Criss for a handful of songs. In Australia it went to Number 4 on the charts. Argentina and the U.S certified the album Gold.
Comin’ Home
I wasn’t a fan of the distorted version that appeared on the album “Hotter Than Hell”, but goddamn I really like this acoustic version. By far the best song on the album and my go to version for this song.
Plaster Caster
I think this is the weakest one.
Goin Blind
Acoustically, it sounds like a progressive rock song from ELP, something which seems to be lost with the studio cut.
Do You Love Me?
A good song works in any format.
Domino
This song works so good in acoustic format, as it brings out its sleazy swampy Delta blues influence.
And how good is Bruce Kulick.
Sure Know Something
One of my favourite Kiss songs. Hated by American fans and loved by the Australian disco rockers.
A World Without Heroes
A perfect song for the “Unplugged” format. Paul Stanley is an excellent rhythm guitarist and Bruce Kulick shines here with the leads.
Rock Bottom
I didn’t think this would translate well, but it did.
See You Tonight
It’s like the Beatles walked into the building.
I Still Love You
This song is a masterpiece in hard rock balladry. The acoustic arpeggio riff which makes up the Intro and Verse is haunting and it sets the tone of the song.
Stanley delivers a killer vocal but the unsung hero is still Bruce Kulick. And check out Eric Singer, as he pounds those drums like the track is electric.
Every Time I Look At You
I’m not a fan of the studio cut, but it really works here and I like the way the guitar lead break sounds. And Stanley is a crooner, he loves doing vocals like this.
2,000 Man
Some members of the family are back, in Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. And I’ve always seen this Rolling Stones track as a punk rock song.
Beth
The big hit. I prefer it as an acoustic guitar led cut, instead of a piano led cut and this version rocks, even though the song is a ballad.
Nothin’ To Lose
It sounds like a Motown cut in this format.
Rock ‘N’ Roll All Nite
It’s a campfire song and a perfect closer, sing-a-long to end the night.
The “REVENGE” band sounds great and this show along with the “Kiss III” release serves as a great testament to their abilities.
But the magazines I purchased at the time, hated it and didn’t write kindly about it. But good rock and roll was never meant to be the critics’ darling.
Here are some reviews that I agree with.
And if you want to check out the views of 2Loud2OldMusic, who gave it an easy 5.0 out of 5.0, then click here.
Or from Mr Mike Ladano who also gave it 5/5 stars, click here.
“Reckless” was massive and is still massive. The follow up “Into The Fire” was seen as a failure but “Waking Up The Neighbours” re-established Bryan Adam’s as a tour-de-force. Mutt Lange was on board for that album as co-producer and co-writer, with Jim Vallance only appearing on half of the tracks as co-writer.
Released in 1996 and five years after “Waking Up The Neighbours”, “18 Till I Die” hit the streets.
Bryan Adams and Mutt Lange are back at producing and writing most of the tracks but Jim Vallance is missing.
The band for the album is Bryan Adams is on rhythm guitar and vocals, Keith Scott is on lead guitar, Mickey Curry is on drums, Dave Taylor us on bass, Mutt Lange is on guitars, Michael Kamen is on piano and string arrangements.
The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me
It’s like a ZZ Top track. No blues purist would give them the credit but ZZ Top with “Eliminator” and “Afterburner” brought back the blues into the pop mainstream in a big way. And those little lead breaks and fills on this song are loaded with Texan spice.
The title is one of those cheesy pick-up lines, but hey, Adams makes it work as he sings about how they stick like glue and how she’s the only thing that looks good on him.
Do To You
It reminds me of a song called “What I Like About You” from The Romantics merged with a bit of “Love Shack” from the B-52’s and a little bit of punk from The Clash and somehow it still sounds like Bryan Adams.
And I like the harmonica licks that kick in between the vocal melodies.
Let’s Make A Night To Remember
This is a Def Leppard cut through and through about getting together and getting it on. It could easily be interchanged with a song from “Adrenalize” and people wouldn’t notice.
The video clip has various women posing for Bryan Adams as he photographs them, an attempt to change his image to fit into some voyeur playboy kind of image.
I like the lead break although its only four bars and way too short.
18 Till I Die
I like the arpeggios in the intro.
When the power chords come crashing in, I feel like it’s like a Rolling Stones or The Kinks like track musically. Lyrically it’s about maintaining youthful traits, even as you grow older.
Star
It’s different, more ballad like and very similar to another song he co-wrote called “Glitter” with Motley Crue. And melodic rockers from Sweden would start to have ballads like this in the mid 2000’s.
I guess Adams was a bit ahead here.
(I Wanna Be) Your Underwear
Stupid title, but hey, management and the label were trying to alter Adam’s image from working class hero to playboy.
Keith Scott has got some Steve Vai talking guitar happening with the guitar whistles to kick off the song.
Check out the bass work in the verses from Dave Taylor. Excellent.
We’re Gonna Win
It’s a punk song, but a rock song. And I like it.
I Think About You
A ballad, but more in the country rock ballad arena, something which Mutt Lange was using a lot of Shania Twain.
I’ll Always Be Right There
Strings, an acoustic guitar and a Steve Perry like vocal delivery. It feels like a movie song but two ballads in a row, lost me.
It Ain’t A Party, If You Can’t Come Round
The cheesy titles are back which also reminds me of a Vince Neil song title and so is the loud country blues rock.
Black Pearl
The country blues rock from the Mississippi Delta continues with this one and a riff inspired by “Peter Gunn”.
The lead break (although brief) from Keith Scott is Grade A Nashville stamped.
You’re Still Beautiful to Me
I like the feel of this song. It’s a simple drum beat, a strummed acoustic guitar, a great Adams vocal deliver and how good are those licks in between the verses and Choruses and under the vocals.
Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?
Written by Adams, Lange and Kamen and featuring the excellent flamenco guitarist Paco DeLucia.
I came across DeLucia via Al DiMeola and the trio they had with John McLaughlin and became a fan with his acoustic guitar playing.
Featured in a movie I can’t remember but these movie placements ended up being huge promotional vehicles for Adams.
It was a Top 10 album in Australian, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Holland, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K (which also had it go to Number 1).
In Australia and Canada it was certified 3× Platinum. In the U.K it was certified 2x Platinum. Platinum in the U.S, New Zealand, Japan and Switzerland. Gold in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany and Spain.
I caught em live on the “Ballbreaker” tour and little did I know that would be the last time I would watch em live.
“Ballbreaker” is a favourite, the same way “Flick Of The Switch” is a favourite. It feels rawer and bluesier. Both albums came after massive periods of success in “Highway To Hell/Back In Black/For Those About To Rock” and “The Razors Edge”.
“The Razors Edge” was that popular that it gave the band a 16 year victory lap. In other words it was still selling when this album and others came out, along with the monster known as “Back In Black”.
Released in 1995, it’s album number thirteen based on the Australian releases. Otherwise its number 12 based on the international releases.
The only change to the band line up was the return of Phil Rudd on drums, replacing Chris Slade.
But the producer this time is Rick Rubin although most of the work is credited to Mike Fraser as Co-Producer, engineer and mixer. And many years later, Malcolm Young said it was a mistake to work with Rubin who was absent for a lot of the sessions.
Hard As A Rock
It’s a favourite. I like the clean tone, droning open string riff to start the song and then it explodes into distortion with the Young brothers jamming on a B5 chord.
Cover You In Oil
The walking guitar riff reminds me of “Ice Cream Man” from Van Halen. And while Brian Johnson was hard as a rock in the first song, now he’s asking if he’s allowed to cover someone in oil.
The Furor
I like the single note riff that Malcom plays in the Verse while Angus strums away in the higher register.
And when the Chorus kicks in, I like what Angus plays on the higher register. And the lyrics are simple, “I’m your furor baby”.
Boogie Man
The riff is derivative and the title is derivative of “Night Stalker”. But hey, AC/DC built a career on being derivative.
The Honey Roll
The riffs in this song are virtually unknown but they are as good as anything that came from the “Back In Black” album.
Burnin’ Alive
A simple riff on a lightly distorted electric kicks off the song. And I like how Rudd builds the intro.
Check out the groove on the verse riff.
Hail Caeser
How good does this start off?
It reminds me of all the things I like about AC/DC like “Dirty Deeds”, “Whole Lotta Rosie” and “TNT”.
I said “Hail”.
Love Bomb
I don’t know what kind of a bomb a love bomb is, but its Wikipedia definition has love bombing as an attempt to influence a person by demonstrations of attention and affection.
The Chorus is catchy, but the lead break is my favourite.
Caught With Your Pants Down
I like the Intro. Sleazy.
In the verses, “Whole Lotta Rosie” went around in the 90’s.
And how good are the chromatics in the Chorus.
Whiskey On The Rocks
This song subliminally makes me drinks whiskey.
Ballbreaker
The riff is excellent, iconic, but when the bass of Williams and Rudd kick in, that’s when you know it’s gonna be a great AC/DC song. A perfect song.
In the end, there are no bad songs here or a skippable track. And seeing em play most of this album on the tour, it’s definitely a favorite.
In Australia it went straight to number 1 (as most albums of AC/DC do here), along with Sweden and Finland.
It was a Top 10 album in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Norway, New Zealand, Switzerland, UK and US.
Certified 3x Platinum in Australia. 2x Platinum in the U.S. Platinum in France and New Zealand. Gold in Austria, Finland, Germany, Switzerland and the U.K.
I don’t own it. Between 2016 and 2019, I didn’t buy a lot of music as streaming was becoming king.
Released in 2018 and after the success of “The Sound Of Silence”, it was inevitable that the sound of Disturbed would evolve to include a lot of acoustic guitars.
In the interviews leading up to the release, the guys in the band mentioned that the classic rock music they grew up with, influenced the writing of this album.
And this time around, Kevin Churko is also listed as a songwriter along with the band (like how Mutt Lange was listed as a writer with the bands he worked with) and the song “Uninvited Guest” has Dianne Warren as a co-writer. Yes the “I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing” Dianne.
Are You Ready
A throwback to the first two albums in musical style, lyrics and vocal phrasing with an anthemic Chorus.
No More
It’s got a riff and drum groove that reminds me of “The Beautiful People” from Marylyn Manson.
In the Chorus, if you like Swedish Hard Rock or Euro Hard Rock, then you’ll get your fix here.
A Reason To Fight
One of the first acoustic tracks on the album, about not giving up when the demon inside you wants you to. Not a favorite.
In Another Time
The start feels poppy, but then a “Kashmir” like riff kicks in.
The way the verses are delivered vocally is more in line with the popular charting songs.
And the Chorus. Huge.
Stronger On Your Own
A drum groove that reminds me of the first album from Imagine Dragons is prominent but the song still sounds like Disturbed with a bit of Shinedown.
Hold On To Memories
A simple strummed progression on the acoustic guitar starts it off, and then a melodic acoustic lead kicks in.
Draiman is hopeful, sending a message to take the ones you love and hold em close, and to make the most of your life.
And the song remains in the acoustic domain throughout, like “A Reason To Fight”.
Saviour Of Nothing
The heavy rock is back.
But the song was pedestrian, until the interlude section from 2.40 got me interested.
Then a lead break started, first with some Digitech Whammy effects and the shred kicked in after.
Watch You Burn
The acoustic guitars are back, more Led Zeppelin like especially the interlude.
The Best Ones Lie
Its back to the Disturbed Hard Rock sound.
Already Gone
Acoustic guitars are back again with a “Stairway To Heaven” like intro.
This is the best of the acoustic guitar songs and the only one that should have been included. The feel of it is almost Country Rock and Draiman’s bass/baritone like delivery is perfect.
Now for the bonus tracks.
The Sound Of Silence (Live with Myles Kennedy)
It’s a great track and Disturbed have done it justice with their re-interpretation.
This Venom
It’s a bonus track, but the Chorus is better than some of the album tracks.
Check out the whole interlude and lead section part.
Are You Ready (Sam DeJong Remix)
It’s an Imagine Dragons song with this remix and I like it.
Uninvited Guest
Another acoustic guitar led song.
Give it a listen just for the orchestra.
And the album at this point in time doesn’t have any certifications. Time will tell if people will keep listening to it. If I had to rank all the albums, this is my least favorite.
Labelled as Nu-Metal. I never understood what that label meant. Even though I hated the “hair metal” tag back in the late 80’s, it was easily understood why the record labels and media outlets labelled bands with that term.
But Nu-Metal always had me confused. To me it’s all just music.
The bands that started to make inroads in the early 2000’s, had the same aggression and rage as a lot of the bands I grew up with. Just because they didn’t have guitar solos, had shorter hair, dressed differently and played syncopated riffs, it didn’t make them that much different.
And the majority of these bands had even bigger arena rock choruses than the bands who made it in the 80’s and still had a level of success without MTV pushing them, which was very different to the 80’s as all the bands then got to a million in sales on the back of the exposure MTV generated.
The vocal tones of singers in the 2000’s were different as well.
Growing up in the 80’s my ears got used to the Bruce Dickinson, Geoff Tate, Sebastian Bach, Ronnie James Dio, Tom Kiefer and David Coverdale style vocals.
And then in the 90’s with the advent of Grunge, Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley and Eddie Vedder (along with others) changed what a vocalist should sound like.
Rob Thomas, Trent Reznor and Jonathan Davis further changed the expectations. And I was like a pariah within my hard rock friends, who hated all of these singers because they didn’t have the range of the metal and hard rock singers of the 80’s.
Back to Adema, the album came out in 2001, but I didn’t hear it until 2003. I have written about them in a Record Vault post, previously.
Adema is Mark Chavez on vocals, Tim Fluckey on lead guitar and keyboards, Mike Ransom on rhythm guitar, Dave DeRoo on bass and Kris Kohls on drums.
Everyone
The Intro riff reminds me of P.O.D and Godsmack.
The Chorus reminds me of Korn. I like how songs do that.
Everyone is the same Quick to point the blame All I know is that life is a struggle
Truth right there.
Blow It Away
So many influences here.
The Intro music reminds me of Godsmack.
In the verses, there is a Nirvana bass feel, with Korn like guitar embellishments.
Lyrically, it’s a nasty song about a relationship gone bad and if you’ve seen American Psycho, you will know what the singer is thinking.
Giving In
The Intro hooks me in, with its combination of Deftones and “Come Undone” from Duran Duran.
And it’s one of my favourite tracks on the album, about giving in to your addictions or giving in to the darkness that loneliness brings due to your addictions.
Freaking Out
The rapped verses have enough melody to keep me interested and the music/feel of the song reminds me of New Order.
The Way You Like It
My second favourite and the flow of the song is great, with a catchy Chorus.
More Linkin Park like.
Close Friends
A bass riff in the verses which reminds me of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
Do What You Want To Do
Aggressive song about living the life you want to live.
Skin
Phased out chorused guitars shimmer and glimmer in the verses over a jazz-rock fusion drum groove. Then the Chorus riff kicks in, abrasive, compared to the verses.
Pain Inside
It’s got all the synth electronics that bands were using back in the day.
The chorus gospel effect on the guitars gets me interested and the verse drum and bass groove keeps the momentum going.
Once the power chords come crashing in for the Chorus, I’m sold.
Speculum
The acoustic guitar gets some use but it’s not a ballad.
There’s so many people dying You complain about your situation
Death gives perspective.
Drowning
The intro riff reminds me of Muse.
It’s like a needle in my spine It stings inside Poisons me with time I can’t deal with your lies
Relationships are tough. They could lift you up or bury you.
Trust
It feels like a song from “The Crow” movie with a bit of “Come Undone” by Duran Duran as an influence.
I’m so alone, empty and lost, it’s easier to let you go Time will erode the shame and the fault, it’s easier to let you go
We become focused on achieving something and when we do, we realize we also lost something along the way, like a relationship that you didn’t want to lose.
And that’s the album.
The band was active up to 2009 and then disappeared, only to resurface in 2021 with a new song and possibly a new album.
But it all started here. The debut gave them the valuable rookie card.
It’s the last album I purchased and much later than its release date at a discounted price. At the time I was still endeavouring at keeping my Disturbed collection intact.
So “Immortalized” is the comeback album after the hiatus, released on August 21, 2015 by Reprise Records. It’s also the comeback album for “The Guy”, the Disturbed mascot.
Between “Asylum” and “Immortalized”, there is a five year gap. “The Lost Children” doesn’t count here as it was an album of leftover tracks.
One song defines this album and it’s the cover of “The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel. As soon as it was released as a single it went to Platinum, and by November 2017, it was 3x Platinum and right now its getting close to 4x Platinum.
The album itself was certified Platinum in January 2018. So in an era of no sales, Disturbed is still pulling good numbers.
The band members David Draiman (vocals), Dan Donegan (guitar) and Mike Wengren (drums) perform on the album. Bass player John Moyer was not present, due to working with Adrenaline Mob and Art of Anarchy so Donegan did the bass. But Moyer is still pictured in the booklet.
Kevin Churko is producing and his run of certifications continues similar to Olsen and Werman back in the 80s.
The reviews at the time were not kind to the album with sentences like “It won’t change the minds of those who weren’t fans before” or “Immortalized” is fans-only release as it feeds the target audience”.
But hindsight is a wonderful thing and “The Sound Of Silence” for better or for worse brought in a whole new audience.
“The Eye of the Storm” (Intro)
You hear the sound of a vinyl record starting, all dusty and then a demented tremolo effect arpeggio starts, complemented by a guitar lead.
“Immortalized”
The Intro riff is classic Disturbed.
“Secure a legacy that will never die, be immortalized”
What kind of legacy is up to you?
“The Vengeful One”
It reminds me of “Louder Than Hell” from Motley Crue. And I like it.
The drum groove sets the pace and then one of my favourite riffs on the album just explodes the same way it does on “Louder Than Hell”.
Pure head banging bliss.
“The rabid media plays their role / Stoking the flames of war to no surprise / Only too eager to sell their souls / For the apocalypse must be televised”
There are no views for happy moments. Chaos, death and destruction gets people glued to their screens.
“Open Your Eyes”
It’s catchy and easily digestible.
This song has John Feldmann (from the band Goldfinger, plus he has a history of writing and producing other artists like Papa Roach, Black Veil Brides, 5 Seconds Of Summer) and Nick Furlong (another songwriter who has worked with Papa Roach, Good Charlotte, All Time Low, 5 Seconds Of Summer) as co-writers, along with Draiman, Donegan and Wengren.
But regardless of the songwriters, it’s still a Disturbed cut, through and through.
You’re hypnotized, demoralized Believe every line that they sell you Start channelling whatever will remains Discern from what’s fiction and what is true
Open your eyes
People need to read more critically and research different point of views. But with social media being such a massive force of nature, it’s very easy to surround yourself in an echo chamber, hearing the same thing, over and over and over again, until you believe it is true and you refuse to see another point of view, which could be true.
“The Light”
A hard rock song, reminding me of “My Hero” from Foo Fighters in certain sections.
And how good is the vocal melody in the Chorus. Pure AOR Melodic Rock.
Four punch knockout combo right there.
“What Are You Waiting For”
I wasn’t surprised that they had a cut that sounded like Five Finger Death Punch on the album. The track is also co-written with John Feldman.
The lead break has a lot of the Digitech Whammy Pedal effects.
“You’re Mine”
The electronic element is back, then again, Draiman’s side project “Device” did sound like this.
“Who”
The riff is a derivative of “Indestructible” and the gang vocal chants are here.
“Save Our Last Goodbye”
It starts off with a person leaving messages on a phone.
The heavy songs were getting derivative at this point in time although I still enjoy listening to em, just to hear what Draiman does with the vocal melodies, or if there is a guitar lead or an interlude that makes me bang the head.
And this song from 3.07 has this Judas Priest like riff in the Interlude which definitely gets the head banging.
In the last minute, it breaks down to a piano and Draiman’s falsetto before building up again.
By the end of it, the person is still calling the number to leave a message and the number is no longer active.
“Fire It Up”
I feel like they started off with an idea to do a song like “We Will Rock You” but once it went through the Disturbed blender, it ended up sounding like “Fire It Up” and if anything it feels like a Godsmack track, with the lyrical line, “when I fire it up, it feels alright”.
“The Sound of Silence”
My brother was singing this song on the day he died from a brain aneurysm and he’s not even a Disturbed fan, but he heard the song on a TV show and it stuck with him.
And I didn’t really care about this song or this version, but a life experience has changed that.
“Never Wrong”
It’s a throwback to the debut album, with a repeating lyrical line done in the Draiman drawl.
“Who Taught You How to Hate”
A great title.
A long time ago I came across a quote like “a child’s life is like a blank sheet of paper, which every person leaves a mark on”.
So how did that child grow up to hate?
Now for the bonus tracks, “Tyrant”, “Legion Of Monsters” and “The Brave And The Bold”.
“Tyrant”
I like the lead break.
“Legion of Monsters”
Inspired by a Rolling Stone article on the Boston Marathon Bomber. It’s angry and energetic.
“The Brave and the Bold”
I like the Blues Rock riff to start off the song. The Chorus is pure Disturbed and the lead break is excellent as there are a lot of Randy Rhoads type licks chucked in and I like it.
For comeback albums, it was well received and while the reviewers said the album is for hard-core fans only, this album actually grew Disturbed’s fan base.
In Australia, Canada and the U.S, the album went to Number 1. In Austria, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K, it was a Top 10 album. In Belgium, Holland and Portugal it was a Top 20 album.
For certifications, it was certified Platinum in Australia, Canada, Germany, Norway and the U.S. It was certified Gold in Austria, New Zealand, Sweden and the U.K.
The “Immortalized” tour was earning on average $200K in B level cities (using California as a guide, San Diego is classed as a B level city) and about $400K in A Level cities (like Los Angeles) a night.
Good or bad, acoustic guitar songs would become very prominent on the next album “Evolution” released in 2018.
The touring cycle was done and the bad was starting a trek of shows to commemorate “The Sickness” 20 year Anniversary before COVID-19 put a halt to proceedings.
De Mont is from Sydney, Australia and is made up of Craig Morrison on vocals, Peter James on keyboards, Terry Mandryk on guitar, Grant Byrne on bass and Rodney Willnet on drums.
Signed to Alberts, who were AC/DC’s Australian label in the early days and George Young was one of the producers and songwriters at the label.
Man, they had some serious promotion behind them.
When Skid Row came to town, De Mont was opening. When Motley Crue hit Australia on the “Dr Feelgood” tour, De Mont was again the lucky band tasked with opening the show.
“Body Language” is the debut studio album released in 1989 on Giant Records.
The album’s style is simply AOR Rock.
Move On You
A fast keyboard synth riff starts the song which reminds me.
Musically, once the guitars kick in, it feels like a Bryan Adams rock cut.
Terry Mandryk is virtually unknown, but he lets loose some excellent guitar work on this, especially in the solo. I read on one of the YouTube videos that he used to be in a metal band based on the Central Coast called “Stark Raven.
I Want Your Body
It was released as a single.
The drum beat to kick it off, reminds of Robert Palmer and his “Addicted To Love” song.
Wild Boy
There is a cool synth lick to start the song off, before all hell breaks loose.
And the lead break from Mandryk is guitar hero worthy.
So Easy
It’s a ballad.
And wait for the lead break by Mandryk. And with each emotive bend, it will have you pulling all the orgasmic faces lead guitar players do.
In My Dreams
Big guitars and synths kick off this song.
And what a Chorus. Excellent.
My favorite song on the album.
Close To The Edge
One of the singles. For some reason I have it on 7 inch single and cassette.
Synth chords kick it off, before the band comes crashing in.
The verses are different, unique and when the Chorus kicks in, it rocks but it felt lacking.
Strange World
A guitar riff dominates the song.
Shake It Up
A skip.
Too Late
A ballad. More pop rock than soft rock.
Sex Attention
The horns make it sound sleazy. It reminds me of a few tracks from the “A Little Aint Enough” album by David Lee Roth.
They released one more album “R.I.P.PED” in 1991 (I just found that out) and then like so many other bands, they disappeared.
According to the bio of Craig Morrison who is an artist in Nashville, a management label dispute led to De Mont disbanding.
“The Lost Children” was released on November 8, 2011.
By the time this album hit the streets, Disturbed was on hiatus for an indefinite period of time. The band had been on a five album cycle of release and tour. 12 years in total without really having a proper break.
The music industry was also going through another transition. The U.S labels weren’t approving Spotify to operate until they got a percentage stake in the company, so P2P piracy was at an all time high and while the labels procrastinated, YouTube became a dominate streaming service which paid even less.
In the break, Draiman would produce a few bands, with Trivium being the biggest, form a new project called Device, which released an album that sounded like “The Sickness” while Donegan and Wengren hooked up with the “Evans Blue” singer Dan Chandler to form “Fight Or Flight” and release the excellent hard modern rock album “A Life By Design”.
Meanwhile bassist John Moyer would hook up with Adrenaline Mob for the “Coverta” and “Men Of Honour” releases, Art of Anarchy for their 2015 and 2017 releases, Geoff Tate’s Operation Mindcrime project and its 2015 release.
Because of these projects, Moyer wasn’t available to play on “Immortalized”, released in 2015, but returned to the band to tour and then played on “Evolution” released in 2018.
“The Children” in the album title is another term for “The Songs”. And “The Lost Children” is all of Disturbed’s non-album tracks up to 2011.
“Hell”
It’s from the “Ten Thousand Fists” album.
I feel like the riff got tweaked and used to better effect for “Indestructible”. But it doesn’t mean that this song is inferior.
Lyrically it’s about s person in a relationship who keeps coming in and out of the persons life, and every time they come back in, they mess up their world a little bit more.
“A Welcome Burden”
From “The Sickness” album cycle and the song appeared on the “Dracula 2000” soundtrack.
Its flow is like the debut album and it’s groovy Nu-Metal riffs.
“This Moment”
It was written for the “Transformers” album, but never used.
And man, what a riff to start it off.
“Old Friend”
From the “Asylum” album cycle and a song which appeared in Dexter.
The Intro riff hooks me in. It’s head banging and almost progressive by it’s notes phrasing.
The Chorus as usual is huge.
“Monster”
From the “Ten Thousand Fists” album cycle and a riff similar to “Stricken” starts the song off.
I like the single note runs in the Verse riff.
And an excellent guitar lead is also present.
“Run”
From the “Indestructible” album cycle.
A fast double time Intro gives way to a groove verse. Actually the drumming from Mike Wengren is a stand out on this.
“Leave It Alone”
From the “Asylum” album batch of songs. The song has excellent riffs throughout.
In the Verses, there is a natural harmonic lick that comes in on certain bars.
The Chorus riff gets the head banging with its military like groove.
For the solo, it goes to half time and how good is that bluesy solo lick to come out of the lead section.
“Two Worlds”
A song from the “Ten Thousand Fists” album cycle.
Can melodic rock, Sabbath and Nu-Metal be a thing?
On this song they exist in harmony.
And I always enjoy a Donegan solo, but this time it’s the riff after the solo which gets me to pick up the guitar.
“God of the Mind”
A B-side from “The Sickness” and it also appeared in the “Valentine” movie. It’s a derivative version of the songs that appeared on the debut.
The verses do remind me of Tool but I feel like the song has more NIN and early Filter influences.
“Sickened”
A B-side from “Ten Thousand Fists” and a massive head banging Intro kicks it off.
For the verses, a tom-tom drum pattern provides the focus while the guitar belts out chords.
And as usual, the Chorus is melodic and big.
“Mine”
A B-side from “Asylum” and the song is about religion as a catalyst for war.
The first part with the spoken samples of leaders and newscasters with Draiman chanting “hey“ is excellent.
After that I feel like the song becomes a thrash groove song. Wengren on the drums is the star here.
“Parasite”
A B-side from “Indestructible” but with a riff that brings back memories of “Fighting For The Earth” from Warrior.
“Dehumanized”
A B-side from “Believe” that they played live regularly with a big Chorus.
“3”
A B-side from “Asylum”, originally released as a digital single to benefit the “West Memphis Three”.
The lead break is shred-a-licious.
In case you weren’t aware, the West Memphis Three are three Metal heads convicted as teenagers in 1994 of the 1993 murders of three boys. During the trial, the prosecution asserted that the juveniles killed the children as part of a Satanic ritual.
Due to the dubious nature of the evidence, the case generated widespread controversy and was the subject of several documentaries. Celebrities and musicians held fundraisers to support efforts to free the men. Metallica, Pearl Jam and Disturbed come to mind.
And after serving 18 years they were freed and the real killers still walk the streets.
“Midlife Crisis”
A Faith No More cover and a B-side from “Indestructible”. And each Disturbed cover is a great rendition. This song could pass as a Disturbed original.
“Living After Midnight”
A Judas Priest cover which starts off with the “Painkiller” drum Intro and a B-side from “Asylum”.
By the end of it, the album didn’t feel like a put together cash in. It actually felt like a new Disturbed album as the sequencing of the songs didn’t follow the chronological release of the songs.
destroyerofharmony 