Category Archives: Classic Songs to Be Discovered

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

Circle The Drain

The song started its life 13 plus months ago. It had a hook about “Treading Water” initially and that was probably going to be the title.

Robb Flynn then mentioned how the song title came about. He had a friend, who returned from Afghanistan only to have his relationship fall apart. His girlfriend messed around on him while he was gone, then she got paranoid about him messing around on her and drove him crazy. The title came from the words Robb’s friend said to him, “they were just circling the drain”.

Circling the drain means to be very near death and have little time to live. It is also used to describe a project or relationship that is on the brink of failure.

Robb also lost two long term band members who decided to leave Machine Head.

I don’t know if it was a relationship gone bad or if it was just time to move on, as nothing lasts ever, even the cold November Rain.

But when relationships do go bad, either romantic or band breakups, the people’s lives change forever. Suddenly, people/friends take sides, and you are not being invited to the events you used to go to and you are exposed to it all via social media and societies quest to showcase how great their lives are on it.

So artists channel this pain and anger and aggression into their music and their words.

Treading water, were just numbing the pain
Spinning round as we circle the drain

You know how it’s going to end, but you are too scared to move on and break ties. So we go around in circles, walking on egg shells and taking care to not hurt each other’s feelings, while our real feelings left the building a long time ago.

Excuses don’t mean anything when tears run down our eyes

No one said break ups are easy. And totems of the relationship are left behind everywhere, like a song or a movie that you don’t like anymore, because it brings back memories of that person.

And if it’s not tears running down the eyes, its blood. For all of our advancements in science and technology, we still can’t control our lizard brain, that small section of the brain that controls everything once it’s activated. It’s dangerous and on occasions deadly.

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Revelation (Mother Earth)

So Ozzy gets fired from Sabbath because he’s apparently more wasted than the rest of the other guys in the band, and while he is wasted in L.A, all the people around him, manage to put a band together which involves Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake.

And this separation between Ozzy and Sabbath wasn’t just tied to this band.

All of the bands that had success in the 70’s went through this. Aerosmith was experiencing their own dramas amongst wasted members, along with Kiss, UFO, Scorpions, Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, The Eagles and Styx. Deep Purple was already done, while Rainbow already experienced a turnover of musicians.

The record labels were always looking for their next cash cows and so many bands had artists in there, that could be successful on their own, so the sway of the dollar was causing a huge turnover of personnel. Ronnie James Dio is a perfect case, from Elf to Rainbow to Black Sabbath to Dio.

And from all of these movements of personnel, the Blizzard Of Ozz band came to be and man, they created some memorable masterpieces.

“Revelation (Mother Earth)” appeared on the “Blizzard of Ozz” album from 1980. But the definitive version is from the “Tribute” live album released in 1987 as the tempo is increased a little bit, plus you get the fake crowd noises added which weren’t really there and you get recut vocals from Ozzy.

Bob Daisley wrote the lyrics about how we are destroying our own planet. I guess not much has changed since 1979. Forty years later, the planet is definitely on a highway to hell and we keep finding ways to fuck it up. Some of the lyrics reference the book of Revelations in the bible and the word “Mother” in the title came from a John Lennon song called “Mother”.

The intro/verse riff from 0.00 to 1.24 is just pure Randy Rhoads. A classical piece, it can be a little song within a song. It’s timeless and it doesn’t sound dated at all.  

Mother please forgive them
For they know not what they do
Looking back in history’s books
It seems it’s nothing new
Oh let my mother live

How much more can Mother Earth forgive and forget?

In Australia we have just come out of fires and endless days of smoke haze and poor air quality only to enter into severe rain and flooding.

Heaven is for heroes
And hell is full of fools
Stupidity, no will to live
They’re breaking god’s own rules
Please let my mother live

Everything is a balance. Screw up the balance and things change.

Father, of all creation
I think we’re all going wrong
The course they’re taking
Seems to be breaking
And it won’t take too long

As a society, people are trying to move to more sustainable models, but nothing is easy when big business is involved. And people’s livelihoods are at stake here as well, who work in these industries. Then you have other countries who just don’t care, who will just burn their rubbish. If you travel, you would have seen it.

Children of the future
Watching empires fall
Madness the cup they drink from
Self-destruction the toll

Every great empire has fallen. Alexander’s Empire disintegrated, the Roman Empire fell, the British Empire is no more and currently, some of the large democratic countries are showing similarities to the Empires of the past, just before they crumbled.

I had a vision, I saw the world burn
And the seas had turned red (seas had turned red)
The sun had fallen, the final curtain
In the land of the dead

Those pictures from Australia got traction all around the world. There was no need for Photoshop to enhance the destruction as mother nature’s fury was enough.

Mother, please show the children
Before it’s too late (before it’s too late)
To fight each other, there’s no one winning
We must fight all the hate (must fight all the hate)

It’s too late. All the different races and colours still hate each other. All the ones who seek profit over nature, will lie and scheme to get their way.

Then 03.03 to 3.21 just before the acoustic interlude.

Then from the 5 minute mark to the end is just brilliant. It is a merge of heavy riffing and classical / baroque influenced lead break that twists and turns into each other.

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

All My Love

Led Zeppelin became the biggest rock act in the world. If there was any doubt about their status after “IV”, then “Physical Graffiti” put all doubt to rest. In over a decade, Jimmy Page went from being an unknown guitarist in “The Yardbirds” to a rock god, a guitar hero, a songwriter and producer.

When something reaches critical mass, what is next?

The only highs left are the ones that narcotics provide and “In Through the Out Door” is the album in which Jimmy Page went missing from the song writing department, sort of like how James Hetfield wasn’t really into Metallica and “St Anger” was the result.  

Wikipedia tells me that the album is a reflection of the personal turmoil that the band members had been going through before and during the recording. Robert Plant and his wife had gone through a serious car accident, and their young son then died from a stomach illness. All four band members also felt weary of dealing with record companies and other associates. Jimmy Page was strung out on heroin and John Bonham on booze.

But even if Jimmy Page was missing mentally on this album, Robert Plant had things to say and man, “All My Love” is just one of those songs that connected with me from the first time I heard it. It’s written by Plant and Jones.

And that vocal line from Plant is emotive as he references his loss in the same way Clapton did in “Tears In Heaven”?

Should I fall out of love, my fire in the light
To chase a feather in the wind

I didn’t really know what Plant was singing about when I first heard this song, I just knew that it was sad because of the minor key chord progression, which is interesting because the verses have this Am, G, Dm, Am, G, D major chord progression (with the major key giving the tone a hopeful vibe) and on the chorus it goes to a C, G/B, Am, F – G chord progression, so it has this major key hopeful vibe but with the minor chord in the centre, it remains sad.

And chasing that feather in the wind is like chasing that dream or the spirit of someone you think about a lot.

For many hours and days that pass ever soon
The tides have caused the flame to dim

Knowing that the song is about Karac Plant, these lines have a different meaning, but my initial views are about chasing a dream and because all our dreams are grand, you are questioning yourself and questioning if you have the same passion and desire to keep going on.

Yours is the cloth, mine is the hand that sews time
His is the force that lies within
Ours is the fire, all the warmth we can find
He is a feather in the wind, oh
Time heals the heartache but the memories never fade.

And it’s no surprise that Led Zeppelin would break apart a year later and for Jimmy Page, he didn’t set the mainstream on fire again until he hooked up with David Coverdale in the early 90s and then with Plant again afterwards.

Meanwhile Robert Plant was focused, driven and he just kept on writing and recording and releasing.

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Overkill

It’s 1975.

Punk music is taking over in England and rock music made famous by Sabbath, Purple and Steppenwolf was fading. And Motorhead was there to bridge the gap.

In 1979, “Overkill” and “Bomber” come out, charted well and suddenly the band was making some coin, which they put into the stage production. And bands like Motorhead started to appear all over England, as the disenfranchised youth from the projects and housing developments took up arms in denim and leather and started supporting this bludgeoning new sound.

Lemmy is the definition of a person loaded with GRIT. After so many false starts, Motorhead finally started rolling with “Overkill”.  Labelled as Heavy Metal, Lemmy rejected that label from the outset and said they are just a rock and roll band. Lars Ulrich even credits “Overkill” as his first introduction to double bass drumming and when Metallica ruled the business pre-Napster, people listened to Mr Ulrich.

Only way to feel the noise is when its good and loud

Fast Eddie Clark is no slouch on the guitar, bring his speed blues rock into the mix, which allows him to wail, while the Lemster and Philthy lay down the foundations. And its loud and its fast and there is no commercial expectation.

On your feet you feel the beat, it goes straight to your spine
Shake your head you must be dead if it don’t make you fly

Line credits to vodka, amphetamines, bikers and roadies and groupies. Shake you head and keep flying.

Know your body’s made to move, feel it in your guts
Rock ‘N’ Roll ain’t worth the name, If it don’t make you strut

All of the 70’s acts started off playing rock and roll/blues covers and somehow they ended up as metallers. But don’t tell Lemmy that. He will still kick your arse even from the afterlife.

And how good is that outro for the last 30 seconds.

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January 2020 – Part 2

Here is the Spotify playlist that covers both posts.

The January 2020 Part 1 post is here.

There’s a worldwide revolution happening to the ears of music consumers and it’s all because of the internet.

You see, when the music distribution chain was decimated by Napster and not dominated by the US labels and their affiliates, suddenly everyone could play in this new world. But this new world didn’t really take off until Spotify started. This streaming tool and all the different digital distributors that have appeared in the last 10 years made this new world a reality.

And artists are coming up from every corner of the world to play.

My previous 2020 list had an artist from Mongolia on it. The list below has bands from Finland, Mexico, U.S, Sweden, England, Wales, Italy and Canada. And as a fan of music, it’s a great time to be alive because a lot of the music below would probably have been available via import in Australia.

Poets Of The Fall – King Of Fools

These dudes from Finland can rock but this is an acoustic piece from a Theatre session album released on Spotify.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela – Mettal EP

I love this EP and the work these two do.

They cover “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” from Megadeth, “Battery” from Metallica and “Season In The Abyss” from Slayer.

How can you not like it?

Especially the way Gabriela percussively lays down a rhythmic foundation and flamenco’s her way through it all. The true star of this duo.

Khymera – Walk Away

I love me a dose of melodic rock Euro style. Nothing earth shattering original but a great listen and excellent musicianship, plus a keyboard lick that’s addictive like sugar.

H.E.A.T – Come Clean

Another melodic rock gem and the Frontiers label is cleaning up in this era. They have kept the style alive for so many years.

Asking Alexandria – Rise Up

This isn’t a January 2020 release song, but it came into my life this year via a Spotify “Rise Up” playlist. And I like it.

Pop Evil – Divide

Same deal with this song. It didn’t come out in January 2020, but it came into my life via the same “Spotify “Rise Up” playlist.

Allen/Olzon – Worlds Apart

Russell Allen is a great vocalist and so is Annette Olzon and this is another cool Frontiers project full of melodic metal.

“Worlds apart, no matter how close we are”

What a great line.

Because it happens, you can be in the same room and be worlds apart, even more so these days with our tech devices giving us access to communicate with people from all over the world, instantly.

Those Damn Crows – Never Win

From Wales and their new album “Point Of No Return” came out this year.

A solemn piano riff kicks off the song and I was interested.

Then the vocal melody starts and I pressed like.

If I worked to the bone, pay for all we own, would you let me in?

Sometimes the expectations of others is a chain around the neck. How can we measure up when the rules are made up every day and are constantly changing?

There’s no more I can do, I have proved to you, I will never win…

Relationships are a compromise. How much people are prepared to compromise determines how the relationship goes.

I know we were far from perfect but I fought so hard for you

I’ve had friends who told me they never argued, until they did and separated. Arguments are a part of life and relationships are littered with them. At first it’s towards each other and why things got said. Then when children come, the arguments are about them. And there is financial pressure and suddenly someone is suffering in the relationship.

I can never win

It’s better to walk away than stay.

Breaking Benjamin – Aurora album

I’m a fan of this band and have been since the “Phobia” album.

My friend once described their music as depressing, but it’s exactly why I like this band, because life is not perfect. If you want to hear Breaking Benjamin do some of their classic songs in acoustic format, then “Aurora” is a perfect album.

Dirty Shirley

How dirty can Shirley get and how many more projects can George Lynch be involved in?

“I Disappear” is heavy foot stomper, “The Dying” sounds like it came from George Lynch’s “Sacred Groove” album and “Siren Song” sounds like a “Tooth N Nail” cut with just a mild distorted sound.

And its cool how the Frontiers label is getting people from different countries but with similar tastes, to write and create.

Dino Jelusick is one hell of a vocalist and from Croatia. There are YouTube videos of him doing “The Last Time”, a Badlands cover and his band “Animal Drive” released a covers EP of some hard rock gems along with a full length album.

But this dude needs more exposure and George Lynch is always up for a project because he knows that to survive in the current market it’s all about creativity. And once they added Will Hunt on drums Dirty Shirley became to be.

And the jury is out if these little projects are actually working or just a copyright grab from Frontiers to secure as many copyrights as it can, so they have a better negotiating position when it comes to streaming deals.

But like Revolution Saints, I would like to see Dirty Shirley get a few more chances to record albums on Frontiers.

British Lion – Last Chance

Do we listen to British Lion to hear Steve Harris recreate Iron Maiden or do we listen to this to hear Steve Harris do something different?

“Last Chance” is a good track. It starts off with an apreggiated riff which reminds me of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. At 55 seconds the song kicks in and Steve’s bass is rolling along.

How good is that lick from the 1.15 mark?

The verse riff is brilliant.

And the vocals are an acquired taste.

If you listen to this and expect Dickinson style vocals, then don’t bother.

I read a live review that blasted the vocals in a live setting and how the vocalist lacked any charisma and stage presence. Maybe so, but from the sound of the voice, the vocalist sounds more like an acoustic melancholic singer than a rocker. Even the debut had that same vocal vibe.

“Is this the end of me and you?”

Not really, I will give British Lion another chance.

Storm Force – “Age of Fear” album

This album surprised me and made me press like on a lot of songs and thanks to the Thunder Bay blog for sharing their music with us.

Opening track “Because Of You” has the symphonic keys for about 50 seconds before it goes into a “Won’t Get Fooled Again” style riff from The Who and once the verses kick in, I felt like I was listening to a seventies act.

“I heard on the news today, it’s all about to change, but I think well be okay”

The human spirit sees hope in all situations, because our DNA coding is to survive and we find that strength in ourselves and because of others.

“Age Of Fear” is a foot stomper of a title track with Scorpions like harmonies in the intro.

“It’s the age of fear, where you spread your made up stories”

It’s a sign of the times when everyone surrounds themselves in their own echo chambers and the people in power are trying to influence others by spreading fake stories.

“Breathe – Words” starts off ominous and the opening lyric sets the tone of depression.

“You’ve got nothing to live for, nothing to wish for, nothing to hold on”

There is always something to live for, something to wish for and something to hold on to. Resilience and survival go hand in hand.

“Breathe with me, just let it all go”

That’s all we want in life, someone to talk to and breathe with.

“Breathe with me, just take control”

Take control, let the past die and embrace the day, for you have everything to live for.

“Ride Like Hell” makes me want to jump in the car and speed 55. And there a lot other good tracks on this, so it’s worth the check out.

And this is a wrap for January 2020.

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Evil Wind

From the “Desolation Angels” album as Paul Rodgers is channelling what Santana should have sounded like at the turn of the decade. The first 4 songs of this album are a knock-out punch combo.

I’ve been gone such a long time,
I never thought I would return,
Now I found myself standing in the rain,
Waiting for your key to turn, yeah, yeah.

You been on the road for so long, it’s not the same when you get home. People have moved on because once you stop being around, you start to disappear. Out of mind and out of sight.

I remember reading a story about Bob Seger and how his kid didn’t recognize him when he returned from the road.

Evil wind, passed me by,
Troubled waters, pay me no mind.

You’ve gone through a difficult situation to return home only to find the situation is even more difficult.

I have crossed the waters
That will keep them miles apart,
Now I know the time has come
To make a brand new start.

Acceptance of the situation and acknowledging it’s time to move on.

By the end of the 70’s, those iconic bands were struggling to replenish their audience. And for the ones that didn’t look music video worthy, well, their career was at a standstill. They had to be in it to make music because they loved writing music. Some of the artists re-invented themselves and became even bigger in the 80’s. Aerosmith is one such band, but Tyler and Perry did have a pretty boy look.

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Promised Land

What does the promised land mean for you?

That is the question that Chris DeGarmo, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield, Geoff Tate and Michael Wilton are asking on the overlooked eight-minute title track of their 1994 album after the mega success of “Empire”. It is a dark piece, full of space so the notes resonate in the atmosphere.

Do you see the promised land as success and your name in lights everywhere?

Do you see the promised land as being at home, surrounded by loved ones, doing your duty and having a laugh?

Do you see the promised land as some magical place that fame and success was meant to bring?

Or do you see the promised land as a place of loneliness, disillusionment and disappointment as it is not the utopian paradise you envisaged?

Because even though we all have ambitions to be successful, success also comes with drawbacks.

But what is clear, is that the promised land is something which is special to all of us and for us alone to discover. But it’s hard to quantify, because from birth, we are told that success relates to money and material possessions.

“Look at my house”.

“Check out my car”.

“Like my Rolex watch”.

We are conditioned to believe that we need to show people how we are successful because culture and society is setting the definition. “Making it” to me is not about how many houses and cars and money I have. It’s not something I want to teach my kids to strive and attain for because it’s so easy to get caught up focusing on attaining instead of living and life will just pass on by.

The promised land to me is all about balance. I want a family that I can spend time with, have laughs, watch movies, go to concerts and experience as many memories as I can. I also want to create art with words and music and I want to work and I want to spend as much time travelling as I can. I also want to keep coaching.

I appreciate each day, I love life (including all of its ups and downs) and I know each day is a blank canvas to create something. Sometimes, some things get more attention than others, but in the long run, it all balances out.

There is no unique riff to kick off the song, but a feel, with jarring bass and guitars coming in and out.

Standing neck deep in life,
My ring of brass lay rusting on the floor.
Is this all?
Because it’s not what I expected

“Operation Mindcrime” was released in 1988 and “Empire” was released in 1990. Those two albums saw Queensryche move from a cult following to a global following.

After a decade of slogging it out, they had finally reached a level of fame that was deserved. That ring of brass was given, but a few years later it was rusting on the floor, because it wasn’t what they expected.

And it wasn’t only Queensryche who experienced success like this.

David Coverdale via Whitesnake had seen a decade of hard work lead to mega success in 1987 and again with the “Slip Of The Tongue” follow up. Coverdale then folded the band.

Metallica went from cult thrash metal act to a mainstream metal monolith. This in turn led to them trying to emulate the success and when it didn’t happen, addictions took over.

Motley Crue had seen a decade of drugs and sex pay off in the mega selling “Dr Feelgood” and a global tour that would eventually break the band up and kill their personal relationships.

Bon Jovi was no different, with album and your cycle which led to Jovi putting the band on hold after the “Jersey” tour.

Basically, any act that got a music video on constant rotation on MTV experienced success like this. And then they had to see if the riches they earned gave them what they really wanted.

Somewhere along the way
Friends I once held close fled the fast lane.
I didn’t notice, I just had to make it.
Head down, nose in the grindstone

In the quest to be somebody, as Blackie Lawless said, the people they knew got let down and forgotten. So when they’d return home and expected a victory parade, there was none. No one even cared.

The lyrics of “Stay Hungry” from Twisted Sister come to mind because it is a song about the drive to make it, so when Dee Snider sings, “expect no sympathy, there’s none to be had”. And there isn’t any sympathy. You made the decision to pursue this dream, this quest to be a rock and roll hero and your all friends have moved on because they got left behind.

Life’s been like
Dragging feet through sand,
And never finding,
Promised land.

The promised land isn’t what you thought it would be. Your marriage is crumbling, there is a dispute over assets and your thinking, my life was so much better off when it was less complicated.

But it wasn’t, because there is no safety net in life. And if you want conformity, expect death. And we are getting so much better at re-evaluating our mindsets, finding new ways to set goals and to create our own promised land. Not someone else’s.

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Best Of January 2020 – Part 1

My end of year lists this year will be a simple post as I’m wrapping up each month this time around. And here we start with January.

Saint Asonia – The “Flawed Design” album

No one even knows the personnel in this band and the platinum awards they have had as previous members of “Staind” and “Three Days Grace”. It’s the times we live in. Everyone is unknown, unless you’ve released a sex tape.

So, in case you are not aware, Adam Gontier from Three Days Grace is on vocals and Mike Mushok from Staind is on guitars. And this time around, they have surrounded themselves with some heavy duty guest vocalists.

“Sirens” features Sharon Den Adel from Within Temptation (who have filled the void left behind when Amy Lee decided to put Evanescence on hold) to awesome effect.

Have we been standing on an empire?
When every floor is made of sand

That sinking feeling when you know that everything you owned or thought you had sinks and disappears. Because history always carries a lesson of empires falling and new opportunities arising, of people losing everything and finding hope to rise again.

“Beast” and “The Fallen” are all great songs along with “The Hunted” which features Sully Erna on vocals.

I’m fighting with this beast inside
Will it ever die? Will it ever leave me alone?
Leave me alone

That inner fire, the voice which whispers to get back up when you are knocked down, is the same beast that fires rage and hate when the fight or flight trigger is pushed. It never leaves us, its always there.

It’s the way life goes
When we are waken we get taken

From “The Fallen”, about a life who struggles to find clarity and purpose and once they find the answers, it’s too late as their time on this Earth is at an end.

The Hu – Wolf Totem

The version with Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach crosses over brilliantly.

The song isn’t original in its riffage, but its original in its sound, with the use of native Mongolian instruments. And if the feel and groove of this song doesn’t get you pumped up for a fight, nothing will.

If the lions want war we go fight em till the battle ends
If the tigers come running we go fight em till the battle ends

And the madness begins.

Smile Empty Soul – Hang Your Head

The main riff of “Hang Your Head” got me re-interested in the band. There was a period the band had me as a fan and then sort of lost me.  But they got me back again.

The dark machine will crush your dreams again

I’m not sure what the song is about, but the lyric sticks with me because the dark machine can be our thoughts, our fears, our devotion to the family and to not disappoint them.

CrashCarBurn – Under A Falling Sky

It’s s a great song.

Suddenly we find ourselves faced with overwhelming odds

What a great lyric to kick off the verse. A snapshot of society and the pressures to survive in this fast paced world.

Undivided enemies, they come to change the way we see things

We cant escape the hive mind, manipulated and controlled by strings we cannot see who try to change and control who we are.

Mustasch – Go To Hell

“Go To Hell” sounds like it’s got elements of “Run Like Hell” from Pink Floyd.

And these moustached dudes from Sweden really take their love of hard rock and classic metal into the modern world with a metal kick up the butt.

And I love this song as they just sit on this groove which makes me want to break my desk in half with abilities I don’t really possess.

Archon Angel – Fallen

Zachary Stevens from Savatage has such a unique singing style and voice, its so easily recognizable for any fan who has owned a Savatage album from “Edge Of Thorns”.

Here along the distant road lie memories as thoughts unfold

We’ve all been there, cruising in our cars, thinking and contemplating and replaying events from the past and dreaming of a future.

Life is full of forceful lies

Do we really tell the truth to each other?

We are left alone to find our way

We might have mentors and parents and others to help us and provide advice, but the journey is lonely and the decisions are ours, and ours alone.

I’ve waited so long but the dream never came

Because utopia never survives reality. Our emotions and needs and wants always divert us from our paths. But then again, no one said the path to achieving dreams is all straight and easy.

The Night Flight Orchestra – Divinlys

I am a sucker for the melodic rock approach of TNFO. It’s another song which sounds like many of their songs that came before, but still pleasurable to listen to with its modern take on an old sound.

And I always love how most of their songs start off with that double time drum beat. I call it the “Strutter” beat.

Free Spirits Rising – I Would Love To Rock The World

Drums, bass and a call to the promoters trying to get a show kicks off the song about a person wanting to rock the world and who wouldn’t want to rock the world.

Sign me up please.

But then all the messages left are unanswered trying to give rock a go. Still, I would like to sign up because by the end of the song, he would do it all again if given a chance.

Sons of Apollo – Desolate July

The album is a disappointment compared to the debut. But that’s okay, the debut had enough there to keep me interested in the band. And the standout track is “Desolate July” as it kicks off with a massive bell ringing, which reminds me of “Hells Bells” and “For Whom The Bells Toll”, but it sounds like neither. Instead it’s a retrospective slower tempo rocker.

And “Desolate July” is about David Z, the bass player for Adrenaline Mob who died tragically when an out of control truck hit their touring van stopped on the side of a road.

Without reason / A dream becomes a tragedy / I’m still not believin’ / Is this reality?

And it’s reality, that someone who is doing what they love, like playing music for a living, loses their life.

Ozzy Osbourne – Ordinary Man

He’s coping flak for writing with Elton John, but he never wrote with Elton John. Elton just sings on a second verse. The song is written by other musicians like Duff, Chad and Andrew Watts. Plus Slash delivers a killer solo, while Duff and Chad Smith deliver a great foundation.

And it sounds like other ballads that Ozzy has done like “So Tired” and “Road To Nowhere” and “Old LA Tonight”. But it still rocks.

The Ragged Saints – Secret In Our Hearts

Another melodic rock gem which is a modern take on an old sound. And I’ve been a fan of this band from Melbourne, Australia, since their 2013 album called “The Sound Of Breaking Free” entered my life via a cyberlocker that specialised in melodic rock titles. Yes I obtained it illegally.

The album, “Sonic Playground Revisited” also came out a few days ago and “Absence Of Light” really stood out, with it’s Rainbow/Malmsteen (Odyssey) era feel along with “Turning Cold” which has this Aussie pop rock sound crossed with Euro melodic rock.

Mark Morton – Ether album

Mark Morton is really showcasing his diversity. He is so much more than just the guitarist in Lamb Of God.

“All I Had To Lose” and “Black” (Pearl Jam cover) feature Mark Morales on vocals, “Love My Enemy” features Howard Jones, “The Fight” features John Carbone on vocals and “She Talks To Angels” features Lzzy Hale. Here is a pretty cool review.

Shakra – Too Much Is Not Enough

The riffing has this Five Finger Death Punch vibe, and it connects and the vocals are melodic.

Apocalyptica – Rise

I felt like crying and I still felt hopeful at the same time.

Jasta, Howard Jones – Heaven Gets What It Wants

Jasta is another artist that is showing his diversity and songwriting chops. Hatebreed is what brought him to the masses, and he wrote and produced most of the songs for Dee Snider’s solo album “For The Love Of Metal” and his solo output is a who’s who of modern metal talents. And on top of that, he has his highly successful podcast.

Avenged Sevenfold – Set Me Free

When this band plays straight ahead metal and rock, I’m in.

And there is a lot of guitar here, which I dig especially when that open string lead break starts about the 4.10 minute mark.

This track also hooks me, because it was recorded for 2013’s “Hail To The King” album, which is my favourite album (their sort of “Black” album) and it’s just behind their self-titled “White” album.

Red – Sever

I really like this band. The moods they create with the music and the vocals just resonate.

Paralyzed the soul that I bared again
I gave more than I could give

We don’t know how much we have given until we are back on our own and doing all the things we stopped doing while we kept a relationship going.

Time won’t stop another setting sun
Facing this pain like a loaded gun

There is one thing certain in life, time always moves forward, never back. And unresolved emotions and memories from the past, will never go away unless they are settled and resolved.

With the turning of this knife
I’ll sever

That’s it Part 1 done, Part 2 coming up.

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

The Record Vault – Bon Jovi In The 90s

When I heard that Bon Jovi was back together and recording, I was looking forward to the “Keep The Faith” release.

I enjoyed what JBJ and RS did on their solo albums and of course I enjoyed NJ and SWW and the rest of their 80s output.

The “Keep the Faith” single dropped and although Jon Bon Jovi’s “Jennifer Aniston” hair moment took a lot of the conversation, their was no denying the power of the track. And I purchased the CD single.

The bass riff to kick it off, the piano chords, the U2 Edge Like Guitar in the pre Chorus and of course the massive arena rock Chorus.

Underpinning it all are the melodies and lyrics of trying to keep our heads up even when the world tries to knock you down. For some of the youth of the 80s who had grown up with metal and rock music, we needed a little bit of faith and hope at this time.

Then the album dropped and “Dry County” just got me hooked. The full 10 minutes of it, their opus and a song they never attempted to rewrite again.

Why have multiple 10 minute songs when one is enough?

And it’s also home to their worst song as well in “Bed Of Roses”. Well that was until the next album and “This Ain’t A Love Song” took its place. Jovi does Ballads well, but these ones felt just too orchestrated and lacked authenticity.

Plus it’s the home to some of their grooviest in “Save A Prayer”, a bonus track.

But “Dry County” (along with their earlier albums) is the reason why I still give Bon Jovi a chance, even after their last three current albums.

Then came “Crossroad”, a cash grab “Best Of” because it had a few new songs like the number 1, “Always” and top ten “Someday, Ill Be Saturday Night”.

“These Days” came out and although I wasn’t really enthused with “This Ain’t A Love Song” I was still a first day buyer.

And the first two songs “Hey God” and “Something For The Pain” kick it off nicely, until “This Ain’t A Love Song” ruined the flow.

Hey God, do you ever think about me

“These Days”, “Lie To Me” and “Damned” (which is “Keep The Faith” part 2) follow nicely and “Something To Believe In” and “If That’s What It Takes” are worthy editions but after that, the album becomes repetitive and a bit of a bore. “My Guitar Lies Bleeding In My Arms” has some moments. And I don’t like “Diamond Ring” at all.

For diversity and grown up lyrics, it’s one of Bon Jovi’s best albums. For the singles released, one of the worst A&R choices ever. And it sold more around the world than in the US because the whole world was in those same places that Jovi referenced in the lyrics.

We all needed something for the pain and something to believe in because what we did before wasn’t working anymore like working hard with the view that we will rise to the top.

Then came an expensive solo album in between movies for JBJ, which I enjoyed to listen to, as it captured the British popgeist that Oasis created and album closer “August 7” channeled Neil Young. But it did nothing in the U.S. while it saw success everywhere else.

For the record, the album had five producers, a shitload of engineers, a lot of musicians and Jovi got to write with some different writers this time, like Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics, Eric Bazilian (who wrote “One Of Us” for Joan Osborne) and Mark Hudson who wrote heaps with Aerosmith.

And Jovi realized that his strength and fame is with the Bon Jovi franchise as this became the last solo album he did.

Coming up next is Bon Jovi in the 2000’s.

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

Got To Give It Up

This one is written by Gorham and Lynott and I like the way it starts, with a simple strum of a chord and the chorus vocal line. Then when the distorted guitars kick in, how can you not play air guitar.

Tell my mama and tell my pa
That their fine young son didn’t get far
He made it to the end of a bottle
Sitting in a sleazy bar

He’s singing from experience and spinning a story around it.

I’ve got to give it up
I’ve got to give it up
That stuff

He knows he’s got to quit but he cant. The people around him, will not let him, all of those beggars and hanger-ons. So he’s in a vicious cycle of album and tour and hotel rooms, either partying or being lonely and taking drugs and alcohol to cope with the highs of the stage and the lows of loneliness.

James Hetfield is fighting a constant battle with it and no one knows how long that can continue. It’s been 17 plus years from the other public rehab stint that we all saw on “Some Kind Of Monster”.

Will he return for another stint?

I’ve been messing with the heavy stuff
For a time I couldn’t get enough
But I’m waking up and it’s wearing off
Junk don’t take you far

It didn’t take him far. It was only a matter of time before the junk creeped up and took him out, way too early.

And rock and roll history is littered with people overdosing. Nikki Sixx overdosed and came back to life as one of the lucky ones while Robin Crosby got AIDS because of the junk and passed away in the late 90’s, unknown and unrecognisable. Slash recovered.

And speaking of guitarists, how good is that outro lead break.

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