I didn’t get this album in 1983. I got it much later.
Dokken was introduced to me in 1986 via a dubbed VHS copy of their “Unchain the Night” video and it was a great introduction.
“Into the Fire”, “Alone Again” and “Just Got Lucky” from the “Tooth and Nail” album appeared.
“Breaking the Chains” appeared.
“The Hunter”, “In My Dreams” and “It’s Not Love” from the “Under Lock and Key” also appeared.
I was an instant fan.
At the same time, I started to buy various Guitar magazines and George Lynch was appearing.
Also in 86, a badly dubbed copy of “Heavy Metal Parking Lot” came my way and in that video, the filmmakers interviewed people before a Dokken and Judas Priest concert.
Then “Dream Warriors” came out via the “Nightmare on Elm Street 3” movie and suddenly Dokken was on my radar of bands I needed to purchase.
So my first actual purchase was the “Back For The Attack” album.
An accumulation of events via word of mouth and pirated video tapes led me to Dokken fandom.
I purchased the LP first via a used record and book store.
Breaking The Chains
Written by Lynch and Dokken.
The riff is excellent and far removed from the L.A sound that was happening at the time. But what I remember most about this song is the tacky camera angles on the chain like strings on Lynch’s guitar in the film clip, plus Don’s terrible lyrics.
“Breaking The Chains” had the title for another teen angst anthem however Don delivered very confused lyrics loosely based on heartbreak.
How can you take these lines seriously!!
Got this letter Came today From my baby Who left me yesterday Said she loves me She’ll come back She wants to try
But it was the 80’s and it was cool to be this tacky once upon a time.
In The Middle
Written by Lynch and Dokken.
This is more in the vein of the L.A sound. The groove of the song would feature prominently when RATT did “Lay It Down”.
In the middle Of love
I dig the music, the vocal melodies, but not the choice of words.
Felony
Written by Lynch and Dokken.
Check out the swingy lead break.
Live To Rock (Rock To Live)
Another speed metal song. This one is written by Lynch, Croucier and Dokken.
Run out of breath And I feel I’m moving too slow Backwards and forwards I don’t know which way I should go
You know the feeling. You worked hard all week and you spent so much time away from loved ones and things that you like. You get paid and nothings really paid off. Outstanding bills still remain and to top it off, your car broke down. And you ask yourself the question, “Did you live up to your promise?”
Live to rock Rock to live It’s all you got when You’re down on the skids Live to rock Rock to live One way or another Survive until the end
When we purchased an album, we stayed up all night listening to it. Even though it had one good song on it. Our view was, if we gave our money, we had to get a return on our investment because we knew we didn’t have any more funds to purchase new music for at least another fortnight (if we were lucky), so we had to listen to it.
Feeling it flow through my veins Rock will never get old
Damn right. It’s always been there in the undertow. And in some era’s it’s the raging river.
Nightrider
Musically it’s excellent, but the lyrics are stupid.
In the car, slam the door, turn the key and I’ll be free On that highway tonight
See what I mean.
Paris Is Burning
The original studio version didn’t cut it, so a “live version” was used instead. Live is not really live, as all of the tracks get re-recorded in a studio, along with the vocals. So after some doodling by Lynch that made me want to go back in time and unplug his guitar cable, good ol’ Mick Brown blasts the song off.
I don’t get the lyrics but I love the music and the vocal melodies. I just wished they used better words for the melodies.
The first two lines in the opening verse deal with getting out of his town, sort of like “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place” and then the verse finishes off with two lines about a woman who became so hard and cold. Check it out for yourself.
This town I’m in can’t take no more Decadence and sin You were my woman Why’d you have to be so hard and cold
And then we are into a Chorus that again doesn’t make sense or have any logical flow.
Paris is burning Want to see it from afar Paris is burning Want to get to where you are
But that was the 80’s and it was allowed.
And there are two versions available. A 1981 version with a different bass player to the 83 version and the Elektra 1983 version.
And according to Lynch, 500 copies of exist that has Don Dokken as the band name.
Then sometime in the 2000s circa 2009, I purchased the CD via a box set.
“V” is album number five, released in 2001. The band for the album is Ed Kowalczyk on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Chad Taylor on lead guitar, Patrick Dahlheimer on bass and Chad Gracey on drums. Like most of the albums, the majority of tracks are written by Ed Kowalczyk.
Wikipedia tells me that the collection of songs that became “V” was never intended to be released as an album. Guitarist Chad Taylor said, “The goal was to prepare songs for the next studio session. MCA got a hold of the material and pushed us to call it an album.” The songs were originally going to be released free to fans as a collection called “Ecstatic Fanatic”.
“Deep Enough”
One of their most creative songs. I was hooked from the intro.
It basically starts off with a music box piano riff, and then a Middle East music melody crashes in, which keeps repeating under a catchy verse vocal line which I’m pretty sure Karnivool was influenced by for the verse melody on “Themata”.
And the track was meant to be the album’s first single but the record company pulled rank and released “Simple Creed” instead which proved to be a big mistake.
Maybe they got scared from the lyrical nature of the song, about skirts rising and male appendage excitement rising with it.
“People Like You”
It feels like a Guns N Roses song from the “Use Your Illusion” album. In the Chorus, Ed even sounds like Axl.
In a dream I had you were standing all alone With a dyin’ world below and a microphone Singin’ hallelujah I finally broke their mold
We take and cop so much crap as we go through life. People try to shape us to some version that they believe is true. Be unique, be free and don’t let others drag you down.
People like you! people like you! Motherfuckers like you! people like you!
It’s my favourite part of the song, when Ed sings the melody for the above lyrics and the guitar plays the octave guitar melody. And yes, he does say “motherfuckers”
“Transmit Your Love”
This track could have been an album cut on “Secret Samadhi”.
“Forever May Not Be Long Enough”
The piano riff to start the song is excellent.
It’s a co-write with Glen Ballard, who everyone wanted to work with after “Jagged Little Pill” blew up around the world in 1995.
In 1997, Aerosmith worked with him on the very underrated “Nine Lives” album and it’s the song “Taste Of India” which Ballard co-wrote with Steve Tyler and Joe Perry, that I’m reminded off when I hear this song, which was also played during the closing credits of “The Mummy Returns” movie.
“Call Me A Fool”
The Beatles influences come through on this.
“OK”
Musically, this is Live bringing the funk and soul.
Take away my TV don’t want your fuckin’ therapy it’s all decay decay decay not today, not today
Kids listening to this song today, won’t even know why someone would want their TV taken away. For them, the TV is like how the radio was for others, background noise. Most of our attentions are fixated on our small black screens.
“Overcome”
It’s got a piano riff and violins to set the mood and a nice vocal melody, but the lyrics about “holy water in lungs” are way to pretentious.
“Hero of Love”
The Beatles are back again for the album closer. Listen to this song for the Chorus.
“Throwing Copper” at 8x Platinum in the U.S was never going to be topped. It was part of a cultural movement. And “Secret Samadhi” is a great album, but it only went 2x Platinum in the U.S.
No small feat, but a massive drop in commercial expectations. “The Distance To Here” is at Platinum for U.S sales. “V” has no certification, not even a Gold.
And their commercial trajectory was similar to the 80’s bands on albums four and five except Metallica who had their biggest success with album number 5.
But they still do good live business, when live shows used to happen.
I felt like I was the only W.A.S.P fan around during this period. Most of my metal head friends had jumped off the W.A.S.P train after “The Headless Children” or “The Crimson Idol”. But I kept going. Actually my cousin Mega and I kept going.
“Unholy Terror” is album number nine, released in 2001 and produced by Blackie Lawless, which from reading some of the reviews online recently, people hated, as they found the production flat. But I never did have a problem with it, as most productions circa 2001 sounded like this.
The band at this time is Blackie on vocals and guitar, Chris Holmes on lead guitar, Mike Duda on bass and Stet Howland on drums. But, the album was started in February 1999 and finished at the start of 2001. So during that two year period, the band was a bit different. Which means, you get some other players.
The late Frankie Banali plays drums on “Hate To Love Me”, “Loco-Motive Man”, “Charisma”, “Raven Heart” and “Wasted White Boys”. Basically, my favourite tracks. And Roy Z plays lead guitar on “Who Slayed Baby Jane?” and “Wasted White Boys”.
But.
Chris Holmes left the band during the recording process for this album. And even though he is credited, Holmes has said in interviews he didn’t play a note on it.
Coming into this album, I didn’t like “K.F.D” and “Helldorado”.
So, I was skeptical.
In the CD booklet, Blackie writes that “this album is similar to “Headless” in some ways with the social and political references but “Unholy Terror” brings my religious upbringing into the picture”.
“Let It Roar”
It’s got that “Love Machine” vibe merged with “The Headless Children” solo section.
Come on and stand for what you believe Oh you gotta get up on your feet Or die on your knees Let it Roar, cause I wanna be oh yeah
Before Kate Perry was telling people to roar, Blackie was doing it from way back.
“Hate To Love Me”
Blackie is channelling his Who and Jethro Tull influences.
“Loco-Motive Man”
It’s got that main theme from “The Crimson Idol” as its centrepiece. Think “Chainsaw Charlie” meets “Black Forever” from the “Still Not Black Enough” album. Its familiar, its flawless and I like it.
Oh God I’m coming Read my words I’m coming I got a gun I’m coming You won’t hear me coming
Inspired by the recent rash of school shootings in America. Then again, it’s still relevant today. Nothing has really changed in that regard. If anything, they have gotten worse and worse.
“Unholy Terror”
Crowned messiah, I crucified him And still ya don’t believe I am Kings – I am queens Unholy terrors me
It’s like a Tool song, with a repeating and percolating clean tone riff, sounding sinister as soon as Blackie’s whispered vocal line starts. As the vocal line builds in intensity, so does the guitar. And it bleeds into “Charisma” because “Unholy Terror/Charisma” is one song divided into two tracks.
“When I was writing the lyrics for “Charisma” and “Unholy Terror”, I was talking about the preconceived idea that most of us have about world figures such as entertainers, politicians or athletes that we admire.” Blackie Lawless in the CD booklet to “Unholy Terror”.
“Charisma”
I’m hooked as soon as the John Bonham drum groove and Zeppelin like guitar groove (which reminds me of “When The Levee Breaks” merged with “Kashmir”) kick in. It’s probably one of Blackie’s best songs of the 2000’s era.
I wrap myself in the American Flag And tell people I’m for which it stands I’m coming back till you know I’m God Till you believe, till you know my charisma
In the CD booklet, the first line is attributed to “Ronald Reagan” and the second line to “Richard Nixon and Al Gore”. Typical of politicians to proclaim themselves as Gods.
I’m a fear from a shadow land I seduce you all Here I come new messiah man To bow to me, make me your God
In the CD booklet, these four lines are about “The Anti-Christ”.
I got them all marching to the rhythm Believing me, oh yeah, their new religion I’m a racist with a waving flag Of domination with a fascist plan
These four lines are about “Adolf Hitler” which is bizarre, because if you didn’t have the CD booklet pointing that out and you heard this song for the first time in the last few years, you would attribute these to an ex U.S President that just got booted.
“Who Slayed Baby Jane?”
TELL ME NOW who slayed oh my Little Baby Jane Rolling down the stairs Her Little head has rolled away Put it in my hands
This is the stuff that Alice Cooper writes. And it works in Blackie’s world as well.
“Euphoria”
It’s an instrumental.
It has this “Hold On To My Heart” feel merged with “Albatross” from Peter Green/Fleetwood Mac and “Planet Caravan” from Black Sabbath.
In the CD booklet, Blackie wrote that its “one of the greatest little tunes I’ve ever done. I love it. It’s music to get high by. Enjoy!”
“Raven Heart”
From the intro riff, which reminded me of “Schools Out”, I was hooked.
“Evermore”
It’s interchangeable with “Forever Free”. It’s actually an demo that goes back to “The Headless Children” album. The CD Booklet mentions that the song was originally titled “Circle Of Legend” and it was meant to act as a reprise to “Forever Free”.
Do the shadows of my memory From a long ago time Lead a path to the other lives of me Souls of past great divides
The song is inspired by Native American Indian stories and mythology.
Who knows what kind of spirit world exists and if it does, how it all interconnects.
“Wasted White Boys”
Man, the whole W.A.S.P catalogue is in this song.
Throughout its six minutes, the song sounds like a derivative version of “Blind In Texas”, “On Your Knees”, “Dirty Balls”, “Mean Man”, “Arena Of Pleasure” and “I Am One”.
Wasted boys feeling no pain Howl at the moon in the night Just give me shooters and that demon cocaine I’m the devil alright
And the outro is like “Free Bird”, with “Wild Child Holmes” allowed to spread his wings and fly on this one. Or was it Blackie wailing away or Roy Z. I guess we will never know the true story because those wasted white boys are keeping secrets.
Now if you haven’t heard W.A.S.P previously, go and checkout, “The Headless Children” and “The Crimson Idol” first. If you are a fan and liked those albums, you will like this album as well. It’s W.A.S.P or Blackie doing what they do best. Rocking out.
“The message here in this album is think for yourself, seek out answers for yourself and not be manipulated (as I was) by some guy, selling you “prepacked” beliefs whether they are religious or political (which often times go together)”. Black Lawless in the CD Booklet to “Unholy Terror”
The band is a natural evolution from the band Dungeon, who sounded more in the power and thrash metal style. Lord is like the classic metal and rock sound I grew up with, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
We did a some shows with em back in 2010 while they were out supporting their “Set In Stone” album in our hometown of Wollongong. Otherwise known as “The Gong”.
I’ve also seen Lord live a few times opening for overseas acts and on their own run of shows.
The band is currently made up of Lord Tim on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards, Andy Dowling on bass and Mark Furtner on guitar.
“Undercovers” is a 2021 release.
This review is based on the Spotify release. To get the full version (23 songs deluxe), you need to go to Bandcamp.
To The Moon And Back
From Savage Garden.
It’s an Aussie Pop classic. Darren Hayes co-write the song and on Twitter he mentioned how there is a section of fans who like heavy metal and Savage Garden and Lord has given em, an awesome Metal version of the song.
Judas Be My Guide
From Iron Maiden.
That’s how quickly Tim can change vocal styles. From pop rock to Bruce Dickinson.
“Fear Of The Dark” album was maligned for sounding too hard rock but I disagree. To me, it sounded like Iron Maiden.
Send Me An Angel
From Real Life.
There is an 80s like synth as the main riff that makes me think of “Sweet Dreams” from Eurythmics.
I remember this from the “Rad” soundtrack.
Shattered
From Pantera.
This song was Pantera doing Judas Priest on their major label debut. Even Anslemo’s vocals mirrored Rob Halford.
Well Lord Tim is an unbelievable vocalist, so his Halford vocal style was all on show to be heard.
Hard To Love
Readers of this blog know that I have a lot of time for Harem Scarem and their underrated and excellent guitarist Pete Lesperance.
This song is from their debut and Lord don’t mess with perfection much, nailing every part of the song musically and vocally.
(I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight
Lord Tim passes the vocal duties to bass player, Andy Dowling.
This song is from Cutting Crew.
I always liked the melodic rock overtones of this song and I still like it to this day.
Reckless
From Judas Priest and the much maligned “Turbo” album.
But.
I like the “Turbo” album. And this version is as powerful as the original with a modern mix. If you like Judas Priest you would want to hear this.
I Want Out (Live)
From Helloween.
It’s faster and energetic. They always delivered in the live arena.
Touch The Fire
From Icehouse.
It’s an Aussie classic and Lord make it a melodic rock classic.
Break The Ice
From John Farnham.
This is an excellent cover of Farnham’s melodic rock era when he was cashing in and singing songs for 80s movies. Before “You’re The Voice” took over the charts around the world.
This song is also from the “Rad” soundtrack.
On A Night Like This
From Kylie Minogue.
Check out the hilarious piss take video clip on YouTube.
Bassist Andy Dowling also has a podcast running called “Nod to the Old School”. Here is the Spotify link.
Finally if you like your 80s hard rock and heavy metal than Lord’s music is waiting for you to invest some time.
I grew up with “Gutter Ballet” and “Streets”. I owned those albums and I played em like I owned em.
Constantly.
My cousin Mega, was also a fan. He’s older than me by 4 years and had more cash, so he had “Hall Of The Mountain King”, “Edge Of Thorns”, “Handful Of Rain”, “The Wake Of Magellan” and “Dead Winter Dead”. Of course, my trusty TDK tapes didn’t fail me in copying those albums, until the time came when I had the dollars to buy em myself.
From a vocal style point of view, I didn’t mind Jon Oliva or Zachary Stevens. Both offered different styles. But I was heaps bummed when Criss Oliva died in a head on car crash with a drunk driver. His guitar playing was and still is, inspirational. His work on the “Gutter Ballet” album is up there for me.
“Poets and Madmen” was hard to get in Australia. Released in 2001, there wasn’t a lot of brick and mortar shops looking to import Savatage and zero distributors to release it locally. So studio album number 11 remained elusive. It didn’t help matters that Atlantic Records dropped them and their German label was still seen as an “IMPORT” label in Australia. But Mega was always resourceful and he got it, albeit a few years later. He called to tell me about it, but by then, I also had a copy of it, via AudioGalaxy.
The album had a last minute concept added, inspired by the career and death of South African photographer Kevin Carter, who committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, a few months after winning the Pulitzer Prize for his “The Vulture and the Little Girl” photo, of a frail famine stricken child, who had collapsed on the ground with a vulture in the background, waiting. This photo also caused an uproar about the ethics of photographers.
Is the shot more important than the welfare of a child?
“Stay With Me Awhile”
The outro lead break by Al Pitrelli (who actually left the band to join Megadeth) reminds me of “Empty Rooms” from Gary Moore.
“There In The Silence”
An 80’s like synth lead kicks off the song, before a foot stomping groove kicks in.
The lead break here from Chris Caffery is guitar hero worthy
“Commissar”
The symphonic elements to kick off the song are excellent.
Then it goes into an Iron Maiden like riff while Oliva delivers a schizophrenic King Diamond like vocal.
And the lead breaks are excellent. The first part of the main solo and the outro is Al Pitrelli and the others are Caffery.
“Morphine Child”
One of my favourite riffs. Its foot stomping, head banging heavy metal. It reminds me of classic Savatage, even “Handful Of Rain” is in this song.
The main solo is Al Pitrelli and its one of those special album songs which has the multi-layered counterpoint vocals.
They sort of go something like this.
There is a bunch of voices repeating one word, another group of voices repeating a different melody, another group of voices doing something else and another group doing something different and blended in they all seem to work.
They started this kind of counterpoint vocal arrangement with “Chance” on the “Edge Of Thorns” album, when Zachary Stevens was the singer. In order to pull it off for this album, three other singers came in.
“The Rumour”
The main solo is Al Pitrelli. I had to mention it.
“Surrender”
It’s a haunting piano riff and vocal kicks it off, before the metal comes. The lead break from Caffery has some massive sweeps happening,
“Back To A Reason”
The first two minutes and twenty seconds is country rock awesomeness as a piano like Free Bird. Then it changes like Jekyll and Hyde, similar to “New York City, Don’t Mean Nothing”. And if there is a fault of the album is that all of the songs move between these kind of moods all too regularly.
The by-product of Savatage existing is Trans-Siberian Orchestra. And that project had just started to play to a lot of people, so clearly the inspiration for Savatage was not there while Oliva and O’Neill started to focus on TSO.
Apart from the great listening experience it also changed the way I played and wrote songs. After this album, I was okay with jamming on a groove instead of soloing.
This album joined albums like “Tribute”, “Powerslave”, “Somewhere In Time”, “Appetite For Destruction”, “Slave To The Grind”, “The Great Radio Controversy”, “And Justice For All”, “Metallica Black Album”, “5150”, “Hysteria”, “Wicked Sensation”, “No More Tears” and “Images And Words” as my “Bible” albums. These “Bible” albums are albums that I devoured, learning the riffs and the licks.
Tool is Maynard James Keenan on vocals, Adam Jones on guitar, Justin Chancellor on bass and Danny Carey on drums. Production is handled by David Bottrill.
The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. It went to No. 1 in Australia. In the U.S its certified as 3x Platinum and in Australia it’s also certified as Platinum. People were listening and unable to turn it off. Even on streaming services, the song “Schism” has only been on Spotify just under two years and it’s at 49.3 million streams, And it’s a 8 minute song.
The album is a product of the members being at the peak of their creativity and a four year label dispute.
At the time the band was critical of file sharing, so as part of the marketing for the album, they announced a different album title and a bogus 12 song track list, with stupid titles like “Encephatalis” and “Coeliacus”. Of course, the unregulated Wild West of file sharing sites, were flooded with bogus files bearing the titles’ names. It wasn’t until a month later that the band revealed the real album name and that the name “Systema Encéphale” and the track list had been a bunch of bullshit.
CD’s can pack 79 minutes of music and Tool gave em a few seconds back. Because at 78 minutes and 51 seconds long, it’s got every groove and landscape packed in across the 13 tracks. And to think that they kept editing the album at the mastering stage to get it under 79 minutes.
The Grudge
The whine of a machine starting up and it all comes crashing in, the toms are syncopated with the guitar riff and the bass is unique, taking the lead here to outline a different melody.
Once the vocals kick in with “Wear the grudge like a crown of negativity / Calculate what we will or will not tolerate”, they syncopate with the guitar riff. Maynard is telling ya, don’t let your grudges hold you back.
At 1.22, the song changes. It takes you into uncharted territory. The previous landscape is gone, in the rear-view mirror. And we are into the verse.
Clutch it like a cornerstone Otherwise, it all comes down Terrified of being wrong Ultimatum prison cell
You can’t imagine your life without the grudge you might have against the person who wronged you, the scarlet letterman. And what if your grudge isn’t justified and you have been wrong the whole time. You don’t want to be in that position, so you keep holding onto the grudge.
The song changes again after the bridge, with the vocal melody of “Choose to let this go”. The riff is heavy, Sabbath like heavy.
Give away the stone Let the waters kiss and transmutate These leaden grudges into gold
Let the burden go, it’s okay. Don’t let your hate and prejudices define you anymore.
The song then percolates and builds from 6.25 as the intro riff returns. Then there is silence and just the bass. And then an explosion of music from the 7 minute mark as Maynard belts out a scream that he carries for 24 seconds.
Studio trickery. Maybe.
The last 30 seconds is how you end a song. Listen to it. You will not be disappointed.
The Patient
A creeping guitar riff starts the song off. At the Sydney concert I watched, Maynard did say the song is about the vampires that you come across in your life, who try to get you down.
But I’m still right here Giving blood, keeping faith And I’m still right here
Wait it out Gonna wait it out Be patient (wait it out)
The vampires could be anything. The education system, society, the corporations, the government, a friend, a lover, a family member. Be patient. Everyone comes undone eventually.
Schism
8 power chords are played on the bass, then silence for a few seconds, before the iconic bass riff starts the song. Justin Chancellor announces himself as a bass hero.
I know the pieces fit cause I watched them tumble down No fault, none to blame, it doesn’t mean I don’t desire To point the finger, blame the other, watch the temple topple over To bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication
Once upon a time, all religions were the right one, than, they fell apart. The pieces are now corrupt, moulded shadows of the once great temple. This song says if the pieces don’t communicate with each other than we are doomed.
Parabol/Parabola
They are two tracks on the album. But they exist as one as the last note of “Parabol” flows into “Parabola”
The three minutes of “Parabol” feels like I’m in the vast plains of the Middle East, looking at the night sky.
The Pre Chorus and Chorus of “Parabola” echo Maynard’s work with A Perfect Circle.
This body holding me, reminding me that I am not alone in This body makes me feel eternal All this pain is an illusion
Live in the now people. It’s easier said than done. I know people who can’t let go of the past. It consumes them to the stage of insanity. They feel wronged. But all this pain a person feels focusing on the past is an illusion. It’s not real, it manifests in the brain. The pain that you think you are experiencing will pass.
At 2.04 it changes from being a standard hard rock song into a typical Tool song.
At 3.58 the bass takes over for a brief moment before the band kicks in, setting up the finale, the last 2 minutes.
At 4.40, a Black Sabbath fuzzed out riff kicks in. it plays while the drums play like a ceremonial fill.
Ticks And Leeches
A drum pattern kicks off the song. The bass kicks in, with a riff that is played along with the bass drum. It’s weird and off putting. Then the guitars kick in with some repeating single notes, the bass gets busier and so do the drums. By the 50 second mark, the double kick is frantic.
And then it changes for the verses.
Maynard’s melody is bordering on the periphery like a chainsaw.
Hope this is what you wanted Hope this is what you had in mind Cause this is what you’re getting I hope you’re choking I hope you choke on this
How good is that that Pre Chorus and Chorus riff, when Maynard is singing the melody of “hope this is what you wanted” and “I hope your choking”.
At 3.24 it changes into a clean tone guitar riff that keeps repeating forever. It percolates up to the 5.58 minute mark, before it explodes for the final 2 minutes.
Got nothing left to give to you
Every person with a dream or a goal has ticks and leeches waiting to suck em dry. Even good old Mother Nature will have nothing left to give us except floods, droughts and fire, for the humans are parasites here, sucking the wealth of resources dry for profit.
Then the massive ending from 7.20. The double kick drums are relentless, that Pre Chorus/Chorus riff kicks in and Maynard starts with his “is this what you wanted” melody.
Lateralus
The epic title track at 9 minutes and 22 seconds long.
The clean guitar riff is basic and it keeps repeating. Then the bass comes in and the drums, an explosion of poly rhythms and exploration.
How good is the main riff from 1.15? It’s a metal tour de force.
At 4.50, it’s just the bass, playing a triplet of notes with a brief pause.
And the intro guitar kicks in again.
And it keeps building.
Then at 7.17, the best part of the song kicks in. The drums play a simple beat, while the guitar is staccato like and the bass is doing something different, highlighting the vocal melody with a choice selection of notes.
It needs to be heard to be understood.
Reaching out to embrace the random. Reaching out to embrace whatever may come.
A song in which the “spirit” lives outside the norms but the person is still human and divine at the same time. They touch on these kind of themes with “Forty Six & 2” from the “Aenima” album.
Listen to it and read the lyrics. It’s like a complex novel coming to life.
Disposition/Reflection/Triad/Faaip De Oiad
The final tracks are part of a large suite but separate tracks on the album.
“Disposition” is like a tribal drum groove with a clean tone guitar riff. It only goes for about 3 minutes and 20 seconds.
It carries into “Reflection” which is the centrepiece at 11 minutes. It has a drum groove that evokes the Middle East, another iconic bass line, synths and an exotic guitar and vocal line.
So crucify the ego, before it’s far too late To leave behind this place so negative and blind and cynical And you will come to find that we are all one mind Capable of all that’s imagined and all conceivable Just let the light touch you And let the words spill through And let them pass right through Bringing out our hope and reason
It’s an incredible Tool song.
How good is the line “capable of all that’s imagined and conceivable”?
It’s the same mantra put forward by the self-development industry. You know the one, the 10,000 hours, showing grit, emotional intelligence, a growth mindset, resilience and creating a culture in which people feel safe to express their thoughts and everything will turn out okay.
From 8.28 it really kicks into a groove. Watching it live, is a memorable experience.
“Triad”
A 6 minute conclusion as the vast plains of the Middle East are back.
“Faaip de Oiad” is Enochian for “The Voice of God”. Now if you’re wondering what Enochian is, I also had to look it up when I came across it years ago. It’s basically an occult language that two spiritualists from England came up with, who claim angels divined this language to them.
As for the song, it’s just abstract noise and nothing worth talking about.
I was introduced to Tool in 1998. My best man burnt me the “Aenima” CD. I immediately got it. It was exactly what I was looking for. I didn’t want the album to end.
This album has sustained 20 years. It’s not something you play a track from and then forget about, it’s something you go deeper into. It’s a journey.
They covered so much ground with this album and “Aenima”, that they next two albums that came after in “10,000 Days” and “Fear Inoculum” got stigmatised as sounding like “Aenima” and “Lateralus”.
And progressive rock/metal is meant to be dead. But Tool doesn’t fit into that category. It’s a little bit of metal, a little bit of rock, a little bit of progressive in its time changes and song structures and in its lyrics, they push different boundaries and messages. And Tool doesn’t care what the labels want or what the charts like. They push their own envelope, catering to their own needs first and taking their listeners with them.
Most of Tool’s songs since the “Aenima” album, are over seven minutes long. Their most recent album “Fear Inoculum” has every song over ten minutes. From a streaming point of view, this is a bad idea, as one Tool song from start to finish equates to three to four pop songs. And in an hour, you will hear a 15 minute Tool song 4 times whereas a 3 minute pop song will be heard 20 times.
So when you see a Tool song in the multi-millions, just think of the time invested listening to these songs.
If you hate Tool, then keep ignoring em. If you are into hip-hop only, ignore em. If you like your 3 to 4 minute pop fix, ignore em. But if you are a rocker and you liked how bands used to experiment with a song or two on an album, then you need to check out Tool.
And like Tool, I couldn’t edit this post any shorter. It is what it is, because it is.
I always have time for a little bit of Bob Seger. “Old Time Rock N Roll” was the song that got his name into my consciousness. “Turn The Page” was another, but I heard the Metallica version first. Actually, that whole “Garage Inc.” album from Metallica, got me excited to check out bands that I wasn’t sure I should check out.
So “Night Moves” is album number 9. For a person who lived on the road, the cover is perfect, with his image and the spotlight in the background.
At the age of 30, Seger did good live business in middle America, but couldn’t break through nationally.
Then he dropped the “Night Moves” album, a road trip of nostalgia and a soundtrack for many growing up in the 70’s. I didn’t hear this album until the 90’s. Such a long time after its release but if I heard this in the 80’s I wouldn’t have liked it, as I was head over heels in love with hard rock and heavy metal.
“Rock and Roll Never Forgets”
It’s a 12 bar blues romp.
The catchcry of “come back baby, rock and roll never forgets” is truth. As fans of the music and its lifestyle, we can dabble our tastes in other styles but we always come back to our rock and roll roots like we never left.
“Oh the bands still playing it loud and lean / Listen to the guitar player making it scream”
“Night Moves”
When I was doing some reading on Bob Seger, a lot of reviews when the album came out, kept mentioning how his songs sound like other songs that came before. And I’m thinking, perfect, that’s just the way I like it.
“I used her, she used me / But neither one cared / We were gettin’ our share / Workin’ on our night moves”
The strummed acoustic guitar kicks it off, but it’s Seger’s phrasing and vocal delivery, almost “American Pie” like.
The narrative of the secret getaways of teenage lovers takes its cues from Van Morrison and his “Brown Eyed Girl” and the movie “American Graffiti”. Bruce Springsteen’s “Jungleland” from “Born To Run” can also be heard, a coincidence or a fact that both artists have the same influences.
“The Fire Down Below”
It feels like a song from The Eagles “Hotel California” album which came a few years after. Reading comments on the YouTube video of the song, led me to a 60’s R&B singer called Johnny Taylor, and his songs “Who’s Makin’ Love” and “Take Care of Your Homework”. And one comment even mentioned that the Silver Bullet Band is tight in the “Brown Sugar” style of the Rolling Stones.
All I can say is, take what has come before and make it better.
“Sunburst”
“Sunburst” has inspirations from the Beatles “Dear Prudence” and Rod Stewart’s “Handbags And Gladrags”.
Stick around for the change at the 2.10 minute mark when it gets a bit metal like.
“Gaze on the sunburst / His weapon at his side / He flashes it with pride / Before his legions”
What’s this. Lyrics about the wood finish on a guitar. Before the term “Guitar Hero” even existed.
“Sunspot Baby”
Another 12 bar blues romp, that he would really nail with “Old Time Rock’N’Roll”.
“She packed up her bags and she took off down the road / Left me here stranded with the bills she owed / She gave me a false address / Took off with my American Express”
Story telling at its best about a lover who did a number on him as she charged up a fortune on his credit card.
“Mainstreet”
It could be about any town in any part of the world, as we all have the same main streets and a story or two of someone who tried to make it out.
The guitar melodies and leads on this one are excellent.
“And sometimes even now, when I’m feeling lonely and beat / I drift back in time and I find my feet / Down on Mainstreet”
That’s right, you can never escape your hometown. You know every corner, every crack on the road, every curb and every smell. It’s in your DNA.
“Come to Poppa”
It smoulders along with its “Cocaine” groove.
“If you need a pacifier / Call me anytime”
This is more crude than any lyric that the PMRC found offensive in a decades time for their “Filthy 15” list.
“Suck on that”, I say.
“Ship of Fools”
The Eagles influence is present again with “Lyin’ Eyes” and “Take It Easy” combining to become “Ship Of Fools”.
“Mary Lou”
It’s a cover and it sounds like Seals and Crofts “Your Mama Don’t Dance” or “Jailhouse Rock” or “Smokin In The Boys Room”.
You know the riff I’m talking about.
In the U.S, six million copies were shipped, for a 6× Platinum certification. And “Night Moves” is the anchor to Seger’s most successful period which includes “Stranger In Town” in 1978 and “Against the Wind” in 1980.
How many artists can say that their ninth album broke em him to the masses?
I’ve already reviewed “TNT” and in The Record Vault post I had “High Voltage”, “Blow Up Your Video”, “For Those About To Rock”, “Let There Be Rock”, “Flick Of The Switch” and “Family Jewels” reviewed.
But.
No AC/DC discussion can be had without mentioning “Powerage”.
Released in 1978. A lot of discussions are had in Australia and around the world, if this is the “album”. It’s not their most famous work and it didn’t chart well but it is seen as their definitive work, like “Sgt Peppers” and “Exile On Main Street”.
Keith Richards and Slash call this their favorite album.
The personnel for the album is Bon Scott on vocals, Angus Young on lead guitar, Malcolm Young on rhythm guitar, Cliff Williams on bass guitar and Phil Rudd on drums.
The label wanted Bon gone as they believed his voice was the reason the band couldn’t get radio play but the Young brothers wouldn’t hear it.
“Let There Be Rock” didn’t do great numbers commercially and bassist Mark Evans was replaced by Cliff Williams, but he couldn’t get a Visa to enter Australia. So because of this, it’s believed that most of the bass tracks are played by George Young.
“Rock N Roll Damnation”
The riff that spawned a thousand copy cat bands.
“Take a chance while you still got the choice”
What a lyric line from a boozer, lover and party animal. AC/DC lost this art when Bon died. Johnson had it in him but the Young brothers took over most of the lyric writing and that was that as AC became sleeker and more corporate.
Burn all your self help development books and listen to Bon Scott’s lyrics in AC/DC. They will motivate you.
“Down Payment Blues”
It’s one of Slash’s favorite songs. And mine too. Especially the riff that would be reused a few years later for “Givin The Dog A Bone” riff.
Living on a shoestring A fifty cent millionaire Open to charity Rock ‘n’ roll welfare
Bon Scott might have portrayed a certain confidence and strut, but he had a soft spot for the broke, bruised and the weak of society. Because he lived what he wrote and we understood what he wrote because we lived it as well.
Get myself a steady job Some responsibility Can’t even feed my cat On social security Hiding from the rent man Oh it make me wanna cry Sheriff knocking on my door Ain’t it funny how the time flies
Eventually we all fall in line to what governments want. Obedient workers who enslaved to earn and pay taxes. And by the time you know it, your retired and then dying. Ain’t it funny how time flies when your doing routine 9 to 5.
“Gimme A Bullet”
How good is the verse riff?
And if the verse sounds familiar it’s basically the “Highway To Hell” verse riff.
“Riff Raff”
Those open string riffs with smashing power chords and that little riff towards the end that sounds like something that Mick Mars took for “Rattlesnake Shake”.
I never shot nobody Don’t ever carry a gun I ain’t done nothin’ wrong I’m just havin’ fun
I thought of this song and lyric when I came across the video clip to “You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll” from Twisted Sister and how the anti noise or was it anti-fun police kept chasing em.
“Sin City”
One of the best riffs ever.
Where the lights are bright Do the town tonight I’m goin’ in To sin city
And you believed every word of it.
“What’s Next To The Moon”
Lars ripped the drum groove from this song and “Dirty Deeds” for his “Enter Sandman” Intro.
Two awesome songs to use for inspiration in my opinion.
“Gone Shootin”
The tune is bluesy and not as heavy but the subject matter of losing someone close to you to heroin is anything but light.
“I stirred my coffee with the same spoon Knew her favourite tune Gone shootin’ My baby gone shootin’…”
“Up To My Neck In You”
It’s that Chuck Berry shuffle they used on “Jailbreak” and “Long Way To The Top”.
“Kicked In The Teeth”
It’s basically “Whole Lotta Rosie” and “Let There Be Rock” musically. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Bon Scott is channeling his Robert Plant voice.
In Australia it went 3x platinum. In the U.S only Platinum. But to me, it’s the AC/DC album. Here is a review I wrote for the album when I covered the 1978 year.
And for the Brian Johnson era “Flick Of The Switch” is his “Powerage” album.
The original cover gets more attention than the actual album. Even Wikipedia was embroiled in the controversy for showing it. I’ll go with the alternative cover.
For me, this album showcases the power of Uli Jon Roth. Four of the compositions “Virgin Killer”, “Hell-Cat”, “Polar Nights” and “Yellow Raven” are written solely by Roth (he even sings on two of em), while opener “Pictured Life” is written with Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker. “In Your Park”, “Backstage Queen” and “Crying Days” are Meine and Schenker compositions.
Rounding out the band is Francis Buchholz on bass and Rudy Lenners on drums, the underrated rhythm section of the band. Dieter Dierks is credited as assisting with the arrangements and production.
“Pictured Life”
It’s like a party is happening. There are leads all over this song courtesy of Roth.
In the intro, in the verses, in the Chorus and after the Chorus.
And one of their biggest songs, “Rock You Like A Hurricane” is very similar to this.
I also think that “Games People Play” from The Alan Parson’s Project sounds like this.
Make sure to check out the Chorus riff.
“Catch Your Train”
Rudolf Schenker delivers killer riffs on this, while Roth creates the Shrapnel label with his shred’a’licious leads.
Check out the lead break here and you will hear a lot of the 80’s players style. Kirk Hammet, Marty Friedman, George Lynch, Randy Rhoads and John Sykes.
“In Your Park”
It’s like a ballad before the word was overused by MTV and for some reason, I can’t stop thinking of “I’m Eighteen” when I hear this song.
“Backstage Queen”
They are doing the British Blues better than the Brits were doing it at this time.
Lenners and Bucholz are super locked in during the solo section and deliver an excellent groove for Roth to solo over.
“Virgin Killer”
How good is the intro riff to this?
When I heard it, I thought of “Too Fast For Love” which came 5 years later.
And the way Klaus Meine sings this, it sounds like an Aerosmith song.
Roth has mentioned that the meaning of “Virgin Killer” is “none other than the demon of our time, the less compassionate side of the societies we live in today, brutally trampling upon the heart and soul of innocence.”
And the record label thought that putting a naked 10 year old on the cover was a good idea and the guys in the band agreed.
“Hell-Cat”
Vocals are provided by Mr Roth for this bluesy number. Musically it sounds like Hendrix and vocally it should have been performed by Meine.
“Crying Days”
It has this arpeggio line in the intro, that appears on “Lords Of Karma” by Joe Satriani and “Hell Child” from Lynch Mob.
“Polar Nights”
This one also has vocals by Roth. Musically, it’s got a sleazy groove and some smooth legato playing from Mr Roth.
“Yellow Raven”
A ballad with some heavy classical overtones.
From the vocal point of view, I would have preferred Meine to sing on all the tracks, because as a fan of the 80’s Scorpions, it’s his voice I am used to.
It’s not on Spotify as their original label Gull owns the rights and the split between artist and label was hostile.
Judas Priest recorded this album on a very small budget, whilst working part-time jobs and living off of one meal a day. As they say, hard times and adversity breeds genius.
This album is the transition point between blues rock and a new style about to be born, which is basically the metal that I got to know.
“Victim Of Changes”
It kicks off the album, a combination of two separate songs. “Whiskey Woman” from the band co-founder and original singer, Al Atkins (who also gave the band its name) and “Red Light Lady” from the person who replaced him, Rob Halford.
The riff reminds me of “Stormbringer” from Deep Purple and both songs came out at a similar time. There is a little lick towards the end of the riff that Metallica swiped for “Seek And Destroy” which they use to “get out” of the intro riff pattern and into the verse riff. Wikipedia quotes a source that the riff was inspired by “Black Dog” from Led Zeppelin.
Regardless of the source inspiration, it’s a beautiful example of how you take little bits and pieces of what came before and make it your own.
“The Ripper”
A lot of bands at this time were doing similar riffs, borrowing from each other and allowing themselves to be influenced. The main riff here is reminiscent of “Stranglehold” from Ted Nugent, however both songs came out at the same time. It could be pure coincidence, but it also means that the artists in question had the same influences.
The Chorus riff feels like a Pink Panther soundtrack and the solo section is the way Muse do their solo sections.
“Dreamer Deceiver”
If you want to know the inspiration behind “The Warning” album from Queensryche, just listen to this.
It’s one of those moody slow tempo songs I really like from acts in the Seventies. From a Judas Priest viewpoint, this song is an underrated cut. I would even call it a masterpiece.
Halford covers so much ground with his voice, singing across four octaves at different times of the song.
And the guitar solo from Glenn Tipton. One of the best guitar solos of all time. So overlooked. It’s on par with “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd for pure emotion.
As the solo went on, Halford came in with his super falsetto ohhhs and ahhhs.
“Deceiver”
It has the triplet galloping style of riffing that Sabbath used in “Children Of The Grave” which came out in 1971. And Halford is going to town with his falsetto voice, clearly showing a certain Scandinavian singer called King Diamond, how to develop his style.
“Prelude”
It’s soundtrack music. A friend of mine said, its influenced by “The March Of The Black Queen” from the Queen “II” album. Listen to em both and you decide.
“Tyrant”
I reckon a young EVH was clearly influenced by the riffs in this song. Listen to the intro riff and you will hear it sounds like a certain Van Halen song.
“Genocide”
There is a lot of Deep Purple in this track. “Smoke On The Water” and “Woman from Tokyo” come to mind, from a groove and feel point of view.
“Epitaph”
It’s a progressive song, with layered vocals while musically, it’s just a piano riff. Black Sabbath’s “Changes” and Queen and ELP comes to mind.
“Island of Domination”
And they close off the album with a track that reminds me of “IV” from Sabbath.
The main riff sounds an awful lot like Nazareth’s “Railroad Boy” released a year earlier.
And you all know my view on this, all music is a derivative of some other music. If you listen closely, the section from 2.20 reminds me of “Wake Up Dead” from Megadeth.
For just their second album, there is a lot of ground covered.
destroyerofharmony 