Category Archives: Classic Songs to Be Discovered

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

Rock And Roll’s Gonna Save The World

Y&T always started off with a strong cut.

This was even more important in the CD era as there was only one side and a lot of people never made it to the end of the album.

The AC/DC style groove kicks it off, first in clean tone, and then with no holds barred distortion rock and roll.

Kings and queens and presidents
Are tryin’ to take the world in hand
Jokers and freaks and Arab sheiks
Are fightin’ over chunks of sand

The same problems that exist today never really went away. We have people in charge who only have their own self-interest at heart, and they are more than capable of spinning and selling a story.

A journalist was beheaded and decapitated in the Saudi embassy, the Middle East is in flames because one outside government backs one side and another outside government backs another side. And once you throw religion into the mix, you get a tar baby, a difficult problem that is only aggravated by attempts to solve it.

So does everyone retreat back into their borders and allow people of their own nations to sort themselves out?

It makes sense that they do.

But corporations from democratic countries have vested interests in these poorer countries. So money talks, freedom walks and the fighting continues forever and a day.

Rock & Roll’s gonna save the world
Don’t you know that’s the way we’re gonna change it?
Rock & Roll’s gonna save the world
Rock & Roll

We believed we could change the world.

Then we got jobs and got loans and became exactly what the institutions wanted us to be. Slaves by choice, because we believed that if we worked hard enough, we would be debt free.

And when life got too much, we would turn the lights off, drop the needle and let the music soothe the soul. That’s how rock and roll will save the world. By giving each person their own unique listening and connecting experience to survive and grow.

Tin soldiers march around the world
No matter what the people say
One man makes all the policies
While the rest of us get blown away

It’s exactly what our leaders are fighting about right now.

Who should make the policies?

Who should tell others what to do?

And democratically elected leaders want to dictate to others how people should live and then take up arms against dictators. Ironic isn’t it. Especially when you take into account the amount of surveillance which happens in democracy, which dwarves the surveillance network and files from the communist era states.

Also as much as the media and the news outlets detest the ones in power, all they do is solidify the support for these leaders, for not everyone comes from the same backgrounds and cultural classes as the newspapers. But what everyone can agree on is money.

If you are in government or the opposition and you tell the person to vote for you because you are going to take away a tax loophole you see as not fair, well, expect to lose, because no one wants to lose their money or access to get money back.

Now’s the time to lift our voices from a whisper to a scream.

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

For Whom The Bells Toll

My ears were conditioned to enjoy the Tom Werman, Keith Olsen, Bruce Fairbairn produced albums, so when I heard the chainsaw sounding guitars I wasn’t sure what I was hearing or if I liked it.

But liked it I did and I still contend that “Ride The Lightning” is the album that should define Metallica. It’s original, progressive and it set the track list template for the albums which followed.

A bell tolls, like “Hells Bells”.

And there is a pause.

A bell tolls again.

And there is a brief pause.

Then the staccato F#5 power chord comes crashing down, before it goes to the E5 power chord to ring out.

Then the bass solo.

Then the descending chromatic riff which mimics the bass solo.

And when you think the first verse is about to come in, a harmony guitar lead happens, which is repeated over and over again, until the riff which underpins the Chorus comes in.

But there is no singing. Just bone crushing music. And after 2 minutes, we are finally rolling with the first verse.

And we are marching to the hills to make our fight, running through the endless grey to kill for a hill and we don’t even know why.

After the first chorus, there is another little lead break, which is a variation of the harmony lead in the intro.

And now we are looking at the crumbling sky before we die, as all is gone, except the will to be.

Suddenly it’s over, with the whammy guitar mimicking the screams of those poor dying soldiers.

For the “fans” who criticised the “Black” album, they should not forget tracks like “For Whom The Bells Toll”, “Escape” and “Leper Messiah” from “Master Of Puppets”. Slower tempo songs that would not be out of place on the “Black” Album. Even a song like “Jump In The Fire” is a slower tempo song.

Time marches on and Metallica marched on to take over the world.

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

The Sentinel

I forgot about this song in the 90’s and the 2000’s. It’s like it didn’t exist. Then I purchased the deluxe edition of “Unto The Locust” by Machine Head, and it was a bonus track. And I immediately ripped the CD and copied the song/album to my iPhone and added it to my playlists. The song was back in my life after a long hiatus.

And that is how our relationship with music works. We fall in and out of love with the songs.

Due to blowing away all of the mp3 tracks I had on my iPhone when I switched to streaming, I lost my mp3 rip of the Machine Head version. And it is not on Machine Head’s Spotify account, which irks me, but a Rock Covers album list.

And “The Sentinel” is my favourite track on the “Defenders Of The Faith” album. I could listen to it over and over again.

It’s music made for the sound system and not the earbuds/headphones, however in this day and age, the headphones will do.

A power chord crashes in.

As it buzzes out for a bar, a single note melodic riff is played.

Then another power chord is played, and another single note melodic riff. It repeats, until it gets into the speed metal riff of the verses.

And Halford sets the scene along deserted avenues with figures primed and ready for a quick surprise.

Then we are into the Chorus.

Sworn to avenge
Condemn to hell
Tempt not the blade
All fear the sentinel

It’s an arena rock chorus but it’s lyrical message is so far removed from the pop charts and the “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “Cum On Feel The Noize” type of messages. “The Sentinel” is like an avenger for the down trodden and forgotten, or just a no bullshit bounty hunter.

The guitar solo has tapping, pentatonic lines, arpeggio pull off licks, natural minor scalar runs and a whole damn of legato.

And there is silence at the end of the solo, as they move into a melancholic and subdued verse, slowly building it up as the vicar stands expressionless, unmoved by his victory.

And how good are the riffs underneath the Chorus vocal melody.

Sworn to avenge.

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

Back In Black

By early 1980, the band’s hard work ethic and songs about life had them on the summit. The next album was crucial. Bon Scott was living the dream with women and booze, Angus Young was getting married and the band started writing the follow-up to “Highway To Hell”.

Bon Scott was involved in early sessions (as a drummer) for songs that would become “Have A Drink On Me” and “Let Me Put My Love Into You”. After those sessions, Bon said to meet up in a weeks’ time as that would give him time to write some lyrics, however that next session never eventuated.

By mid-Feb, 1980, Bon Scott was found dead in his car, and depression set it on the Young brothers. By mid-March, and on the back of words said by Bon’s father, Malcolm called Angus to start working again, just the two of them, no one else. In these sessions post Bon’s death, “Back In Black” would be written.

They finally auditioned some singers and Brian Johnson was hired. With the band complete, they went to the Bahamas to start writing and recording in stormy weather. And as much as the storms come to disrupt our lives now and then, they also clear the path. The bad weather led to “Hells Bells”. “Rock And Roll Aint Noise Pollution” was the last song written.

For the lyrics, a lot of ideas, choruses and melodies were already written by Malcolm and Angus before Brian joined. Stories exists that the brothers took the lyrics from Bon Scott’s notebook, which Angus denied in a Guitar World interview, saying, that all of Bon’s notebooks went direct to his parents.

Released in July, 1980, it was certified as Gold and Platinum in October, 1980 in the U.S. 

And these U.S certifications continued as AC/DC kept on releasing albums in the 80’s which no one bought, because everyone was still buying “Back In Black”.

By October, 1984, it was 5x Platinum and by October 1990 it was 10x Platinum. 10 million in sales. By June, 2004, it was 20x Platinum. The period between 1990 and 1999 is the” CD’s replacing vinyl/cassette’s period”, so it’s hard to quantify the real fans.

And now in December, 2019, its 25x Platinum.

I think it’s important to recognise the commercial and cultural impact of “Back In Black”. 

The cover.

All black, to signify a band in mourning due to the passing of Bon Scott. The opposite of the white album from The Beatles, and it’s funny how another band would use a similar black cover for their biggest selling album. And the label didn’t want it all black, so the grey outline on the logo was created.

Acca Dacca weren’t the first, as Pink Floyd employed a similar concept for “Dark Side Of The Moon” and so did Black Sabbath for “IV”

Even though the album isn’t a heavy metal album, it is still seen as an influential metal album. But it’s the crossover appeal which sent the album to the stratosphere. Guitarists who don’t normally play rock or metal, would still learn the songs from “Back In Black”. There is no escaping the title track, “You Shook Me All Night Long”, “Hells Bells” and “Shoot To Thrill”. Actually there isn’t a song on the album that I would skip or not wanna play.

Mutt Lange’s production on the album is still seen as the go to sound for how hard rock should sound and he did it in six weeks, which is short for Lange’s standard.

And how hard rock should sound, Lange style, is the same as Bob Rock’s production on “Dr Feelgood” and the self-titled “Black” album and how those albums are seen as the heavy rock/metal standard.

Lange’s focus on perfection for each breath, each note, changed the way bands would record in the 80’s, and his attention to detail, pushed recording budgets into the millions. Good for him, as he got paid well and bad for bands who didn’t sell what the budget paid for. And Lange, brought his methods to the mainstream in a super big way on the backs of AC/DC, Foreigner, Cheap Trick, Def Leppard, Bryan Adams and Shania Twain albums.

And AC/DC is still doing its victory lap on the back of this album. They kept working, put their emotions towards creating and in the process delivered an album for the ages.

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

2019 – Part 3

Remember the movie Blade Runner, released in 1982 and set in 2019. Well I guess we are now living in the future.

Anyway, moving on from useless facts, here is Part 3 of my 2019 list for albums released in 2019.

Hey You (You Make Me Rock)
When I Think Of You (Color Me Blue)
Trouble Is Your Middle Name
Flesh And Blood
Well I Never
Sands Of Time
Whitesnake

David Coverdale started writing songs on his own and revisited songs he wrote in the past for this album and it’s a welcome return, as the fans get a very diverse album, with some all-out rockers and shred feasts when DC collaborates with Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra and some gritty blues rock gems when DC takes the reins himself.

And the stand out song is the epic sounding “Sands Of Time”, a co-write with the mighty Reb Beach and a lyrical theme of two lovers living in the same time in parallel worlds.

Purpose For Pain
Red Clouds
Scott Stapp

His career, both public and private always made the news. His baritone voice (more like Eddie Vedder’s voice) was so far removed from the helium banshee screams of metal vocalists like Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford and I liked it.

I followed Creed because of Mark Tremonti’s guitar playing and I follow all of his works post Creed. And I also follow Scott Stapp’s career, as a solo artist and vocalist for Art Of Anarchy.

On this album, “Red Clouds” is the song.

These are the days we live in
Sliding, winding, finding our way through the maze

And the maze is more convoluted than ever because we are constantly distracted. It’s like the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”. The system is designed to keep us poor, and the world we currently live in is designed to keep us confused and distracted.

We Can Make It
Keep On Dreaming
Roulette

Another band from Sweden, with a very generic sounding band name which makes them very hard to find on Google.

These songs are from the “Now” album and they play a style of American Rock that even US bands cant capture at this point in time.

Rolling down the highway
We just leave it all behind

From the song “We Can Make It”. It was a rite of passage, to grow up and get your driver’s licence, as it gave you the passport to escape the borders of your town. Even if it was for just one day.

Cut It All Away
Rearview Mirror
Art of Dying

From the “Armageddon” album but the “Vices and Virtue” album is still my favourite and nothing they have done since has topped that album.

However, each album always has a few songs that get my attention, and these two are the ones from this album.

I will outrun the battle from within
The beginning of the end is to cut it all away

When we are left to our own devices, our own thoughts, we are different creatures. Some people never recover from the darkness, and some people just deal with it and some people seek help from it.

But you need to start somewhere and it starts with recognizing that a darkness exists.

What comes next is up to you?

Die Young (Acoustic)
Machine Head

An acoustic cover by Robb Flynn of a classic Sabbath/Dio era cut. It’s raw, its emotive and powerful all at once and it was released as a sort of pseudo B-side to a live re-recording of “Davidian”.

Robb Flynn also posted in June in one of his email blasts that the song on Spotify had passed over a 100,000 streams within a month of its release. And it all happened from people’s word of mouth and sharing it on our own playlists.

That’s the power of fans.

Watch Your Back
Black Oak County

From Denmark and so far removed from the 262 population of Black Oak a town in Craighead County, Arkansas. I guess you better “Watch Your Back”. (Yep, I know. Bad joke.)

Shutting Down Our Town
I’m In A Bad Mood
Jimmy Barnes

From the “My Criminal Record”. It’s a crazy world when one of my favourite rockers in the 80’s who lost me when he reconnected with his soul influences, drops one of his best albums since the early 90’s.

The song on the album is “Shutting Down Our Town” and it’s written by Australian country artist Troy Cassar-Daley.

This used to be a place where a man could find some work
Put together Holdens or a foundry job at worst

Australia was built on the backs of our steel and car industries.

Eat, sleep, work, drink, that’s all they ever did

And it was okay. People looked happy. It felt like we had each other’s backs. Then the kids grew up and we all moved out, into different towns and with neighbours we don’t even know.

Oh, they’re shutting down our town
They’re cutting down our town
No more production line blue collar can be found

For some people, they couldn’t get reskilled and ended up on the unemployment line.

Herded all together
From many different lands

Australia’s intake of immigrants changed the dynamics of the country.

Satellite
Cabin Pressure Drops
The Night Flight Orchestra

TNFO are building up to something, with two singles released over the course of 8 weeks. “Satellite” is your typical TNFO fare, a new take on an old sound, with heaps of melody and arena rock choruses, while “Cabin Pressure Drop” is an instrumental.

Can’t Sleep
Lay It On Me
Keep
Blacktop Mojo

From the “Under The Sun” album. I became a fan of this band when one of their songs came up on a Discover Playlist a few years back, and the new album, has a few good rockers on it.

That’s it for part 3.

Parts 4 and 5 to come.

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

My Streaming Decade

So Spotify has collated all of my data since I joined in 2013 and here it is.

In 2013, my favourite artist was KISS and the song I listened to most was “A Day In My Life” from Five Finger Death Punch.

In 2014, my favourite artist was Black Label Society and the song I listened to most was “Angel Of Mercy” from Black Label Society.

In 2015, my favourite artist was Trivium and the song I listened to most was “Down From The Sky” from Trivium.

In 2016, my favourite artist was Kingdom Come and the song my 5 year old listened to most was “The Mighty Eagle Song” from The Angry Birds Movie. And this was the reason why I went to a Spotify Family Account.

In 2017, my favourite artist was The Night Flight Orchestra and the song I listened to most was “Gemini”.

In 2018, my favourite artist was Def Leppard, which is no surprise as their catalogue was finally issued on digital services, but the song I listened to most was “A Love Unreal” from Black Label Society.

Finally, in 2019, Free Spirits Rising is listed as my favourite artist and “We Are Here” from Free Spirits Rising is the top song.

Overall, my top five artists for 2019 are, Free Spirits Rising, Everygrey, Whitesnake, Aerosmith and Tool.

But my favourite stat is the time spent listening to music on the service.

  • In 2016, it was 37,977 minutes.
  • In 2017, it was 77,234 minutes.
  • In 2018, it was 52,316 minutes.
  • In 2019, it was 64,753 minutes.

Let’s put some of these numbers into context.

A 38 hour working week equates to 2,280 minutes.

So 64,753 minutes divided by 2,280 minutes equates to 29 working weeks of listening. Over half a working week year of listening to music and somehow working at the same time.

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

The Record Vault – Breaking Benjamin

I downloaded the first three albums via peer to peer networks, because of “Breath” and the “Phobia” album immediately became an influence. And when “Dear Agony” came out, I purchased it on release day along with the back catalogue, via Amazon U.S.

And you know how people complain that piracy has killed their career, well, Ben Burnley and his band Breaking Benjamin must be an anomaly. Check out the list of certifications for Breaking Benjamin, achieved in a market which is apparently “dominated by piracy”.

The albums;

  • “Phobia” is Platinum.
  • “We Are Not Alone” is Platinum.
  • “Dear Agony” is Platinum.
  • “Saturate” is Gold.
  • The comeback album, released in 2015, “Dark Before Dawn” is Gold.

The songs;

  • “The Diary of Jane” is 3x Platinum.
  • “I Will Not Bow” is 2x Platinum.
  • “So Cold” is Platinum.
  • “Breath” is Platinum.
  • “Blow Me Away” is Gold.
  • “Until The End” is Gold.
  • “Give Me A Sign” is Gold.
  • “Angels Fall” is Gold.
  • “Failure” is Gold.
  • “Dance With The Devil” is Gold.

Saturate

The debut album, released in 2002.

And the best songs to me are towards the end of the album.

“Home” is by far my favourite, followed by “Phase”, “No Games”, “Shallow Bay”, “Forever”, “Natural Life”, “Next To Nothing” and “Water”.

We Are Not Alone

The second album, released in 2004 and the sad ominous minor key intro of “So Cold” starts it all off, as singer Ben Burnley holds the so cold hand of an unnamed character. “Follow” rocks out of the gate with its staccato intro. “Forget It” soothes along. “Sooner or Later” brings the nu-metal flavour.

Phobia

“Breath” was the drug that hooked me in to Breaking Benjamin. And the album released in 2006 had a lot of good songs on it, like “The Diary Of Jane”, “You”, “Evil Angel”, “Until The End”, “Dance With The Devil”, “Here We Are”, “Unknown Soldier”, “Had Enough” and “You Fight Me”.

Yeah the whole album.

Dear Agony

Released in 2009, with an image of Ben Burnley’s brain and it’s the last album before a long hiatus that involved a chronic pain condition to band founder Ben Burnley that is still undiagnosed and a court case between Ben Burnley, the record label and the band members who are now ex-band members over their involvement in a Greatest Hits release, without Burnley’s approval.

And if it’s not broke, why fix it, as the album is basically a re-write of “Phobia”, the same way bands in the past re-wrote popular albums, with little tweaks and improvements here and there.

“Fade Away” is a perfect opener like “The Diary Of Jane”. “I Will Not Bow” lines up with “Breath”. And all the songs on the album are favourites, like “Crawl”, “Give Me A Sign”, “Hopeless”, “What Lies Beneath”, “Anthem Of The Angels”, “Lights Out”, “Dear Agony”, “Into The Nothing” and “Without You”.

Yeah, the whole album again.

Dark Before Dawn

The comeback album released in 2015. And like the previous two albums, its taking what came before, made a few small tweaks and a new song is born.

“Failure” stands up there as being in the same vein of “Fade Away” and “The Diary Of Jane”. And the album flows like the previous ones. “Angels Fall”, “Breaking The Silence”, “Hollow” and “Close To Heaven” follow.

“Never Again”, “The Great Divide” and “Ashes To Eden” finalise the album.

And the songs from Breaking Benjamin, like Everygrey, are melancholic and therapeutic.

To be complete, “Ember” came out in 2018. I don’t own it, however I streamed it and it’s my least favourite. The saving light is “The Dark Of You”.

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

2019 – Part 2

The year in review continues.

The “Feral Roots” Album
Rival Sons

Album number six. They started off the release cycle in 2018, by dropping four or so songs that got me interested.

And after the album dropped I started saving songs like “Do Your Worst”, “Sugar On The Bone”, “Back In The Woods”, “Look Away”, “Feral Roots”, “Too Bad” and “Shooting Stars”.

In other words, the majority of the album, took me by the throat the same way the dog on the cover would if it got a hold of me. And the earlier Rival Sons albums didn’t grab me like this one.

It’s like they did a deal with the devil at the crossroads. Even the opening lyric to “Do Your Worst” introduces the devil by saying, “see that stranger coming up the hill, though you don’t recognize him, I know your preacher will.”

Burn
Testament
War
Corroded

Another band from Sweden who write music in a way that I like and can easily relate to. And they have been doing this since 2004 and releasing albums since 2009.

The “Bitter” album is basically loud, aggressive and heavy and people who read this blog know that I have covered Corroded previously.

The Gathering
The Runaway
Gathering of Kings

The “First Mission” album is like a who’s who of melodic rock artists around Europe and “The Runaway” stands out to me because of Bjorn Strid doing some impressive vocals.

Home
Horizon Ignited

From the album “After The Storm”.

I haven’t heard the album yet and I probably won’t at this point in time, however “Home” did come up on a Release Radar playlist and it was good enough to get added to my 2019 list. And I’ve been listening to this song for most of the year, but I know nothing about the band.

So Google tells me they are from Finland, with melodic and death metal influences.

There’s no light beneath the waves, the silence feels like home

Evergrey’s Tom Englund is very big on using water as a metaphor or analogy to convey a feeling and Horizon Ignited are no different, finding comfort at the bottom of the ocean.

Fall Into The Light
Dream Theater 

From the “Distance Over Time” album

It’s probably my least favourite Dream Theater album, but this song has all the things I like about Dream Theater. Killer riffs, frantic drumming, emotional guitar solos and that outro solo with its sweep string skipping is finger breaking.

Never Let You Go
DeVicious

From the “Reflections” album. They are a band based in Germany with German and Serbian members. This song is a duet with Norwegian singer, Age Sten Nilsen from melodic rock bands, Wig Wam and Ammunition.

Mettavolution
Battery
Rodrigo y Gabriela

From when they released there self-titled album in 2006, I have been a fan. I enjoyed their “11:11” album in 2009, their Area 52 band style project in 2012 and their “9 Dead Alive” album in 2014.

Basically I like the shit they create.

And “Mettavolution” is the title track of an album that has them covering Pink Floyd’s 19 minute “Echoes” song plus there is a bonus cover of “Battery” from Metallica. If you are fan of Metallica, you will be pleased of the acoustic rendition, because Gabriela is so percussive in her style, she covers the drum feel along with the rhythm guitars so easily, it allows Rodrigo to flourish the song with the vocal melodies and everything else melodic.

Break These Chains
The Brink

From England and signed to Frontiers “New Breed” roster. And their sound is like the glam rockers of the past and their names mimic the past names as well, like Izzy Trixx, Lexi Laine and Tom Quick.

Break the chains that bind you I say.

Radio Song
Buckcherry

Buckcherry have been going since 1995.

Each album has a song or two which gets me interested and on the “Warpaint” album, “Radio Song” is a ballad about time slipping away and looking for you’re an escape, while you hear the radio playing your favourite song, so you turn it up and have some fun.

Shock
Tesla

One of my favourite acts. Their first four albums became so influential to me, in my song writing, plus the interviews of Frank Hannon and Tommy Skeoch spoke of influences I didn’t really know of, so based on their recommendations, I brightened my musical horizons.

Blood In Blood Out
Mustasch

Another band from Sweden, which I have mentioned before in my yearly write ups. They are basically dudes wearing moustaches with some serious musical ability to craft aggressive, abrasive, metallic and melodic rock songs.

I was born to be defiant

It’s the lifestyle of a metal head.

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

2019 – Part 1

A few years ago I stopped doing albums of the year lists and started doing “songs released that year lists”, along with the yearly playlist which Spotify generates for the songs I listened to in the year. These two lists (my lists and the Spotify list) are more precise for what is hot and what is cold in my life in 2019.

And those Spotify end of year lists always surprise me, because even though I didn’t think I listened to certain artists that many times, they still come up. Hey, who am I to argue with the AI counting and tracking my listening habits.

So here we go, here is the Part 1 list of my favourite songs, released this year (except for a few songs released last year that I really got into this year).

The whole playlist is here.

I Am Fuel
Panoptical
Sons Of War
The End Will Begin Again
From Days Of Jupiter

Yep, this album “Panoptical” came out last year, but I dug these songs so much that I kept listening to em this year as well.

And I have written about Days Of Jupiter before, another band from Sweden who is playing a brand of heavy rock which I like.

And I’m still confused as to why “New Awakening” their 2017 release is not on Spotify Australia.

Promised Land
Revolution In Black
We Are Here
Faith In Life
Homes In The Sky
Whats it To Ya!
Raise Our Voice
The World We Live In
From Free Spirits Rising

“Across the world we have grown up knowing, what it means to have terror touch our lives” …from “Raise Our Voice”.

“Our weapons are the way we choose to live, freedom of thought, freedom to love” …from “Raise Our Voice”.

From Australia, the themes of the songs got me interested and there is a lot of guitar in the songs and there is no album release, just a song a month and a very garage sound which reminds me of the 80s albums before MTV required each band to have polished harmony vocals and guitars all sounding sterile and the same.

“Promised Land” and “Faith In Life” deal with enjoying your only life, it’s here, it’s now and you are living in the promised land which you have created for yourself.

“I believe in, living the right way, I believe in, having a say” …from “Promised Land”

“We are here to right the wrongs, we are here to throw back the stones” …from “We Are Here”

“What’s It To Ya!”, “We Are Here”, “Raise Our Voice” and “Revolution In Black” are like the protest songs, about standing up for yourself and using your voice to speak up and try to make change happen.

“What’s It To Ya!” if I like my music loud, and “What’s it to Ya!” if I live my life proud”.

“The World We Live In” just sums up society, and how we like to fill our cups and look the other way.

“Freedom comes, when you have nothing left to lose” …from “Revolution In Black”

Crazy – Acoustic
How You Like Me Now
Hard And Loud
Paranoid
Adrenaline
Light Of The Moon
Devil With Angel Eyes
Be Original
From Royal Bliss

From the self-titled album.

The modern rock sound which combines elements of the 80’s with the Shinedown/Sixx AM style of rock chucked in, really hooked me in, and I became a fan instantly.

When I googled the band name, I found out they are from the US, have been around since 1997, had a major label deal once upon a time and that this self-titled album is number 10.

And the funniest part of their history is that, vocalist Neal Middleton audition for the second season of “The Voice”, but no judge turned their chairs, so he was eliminated. However the eventual winner of “The Voice”, a person the judges felt they needed to turn their chairs for, has more or less disappeared from the music scene, while Royal Bliss and Matt are still at it, releasing albums frequently.

You can’t keep a good rock and roller down. \::/

Never Surrender
West Bound

It came up on a release radar, and the “give it what you got” message with its arena rock chorus and hard rock guitar riffs got me interested.

So I looked em up and Blabbermouth tells me it’s a rock band on Frontiers featuring vocalist Chas West and guitarist/producer Roy Z. And I was interested because Roy Z did a few albums with Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford that I enjoyed.

The song “Never Surrender” is about going through struggles in life and never giving up on your dreams as the tough times can help you define your true character.

Bringin On The Heartbreak
From Matt Nathanson

Matt Nathanson released an acoustic Def Leppard covers album called “Pyromattia” last year. I saw it on a fellow bloggers EOY list for 2018 and I was interested. I checked it out and loved this cover version of one my favourite Def Leppard songs.

Stalfagel featuring Alissa White-Gluz
You Aquiver
Bleeder Despoiler
The Nurturing Glance
The Ageless Whisper
From Soilwork

To me “Verkligheten” (the Swedish word for “Reality”) is Soilwork’s best album. A combination of their aggressive, abrasive and melodic sides. It’s a metal rock album.

Plus, I am a fan of the work that Bjorn Strid and guitarist David Andersson do with Soliwork and The Night Flight Orchestra.

Live Or Die
Shame
From Reach

The album “The Great Divine” came out last year but I really got into these songs in 2019.

Again, it was an EOY list from a fellow blogger that got me interested to check out this release.

And “Live Or Die” with its Muse like vibe resonated straight away, especially that soaring Chorus vocal melody.

The Ending
Problems
From Papa Roach

“Who Do You Trust?” is a weird album for me to digest.

It’s not one of my favourites from Papa Roach but it’s not a bad album either.

Just weird at this point in time and over the last few albums there has been a shift in the sound to the current popular rock train sound.

“The Atlantic” Album
From Evergrey

What can I say?

Evergrey delivers. I have already written my review on this album here.  

And Tom Englund is keeping himself busy with various projects, like his vocalist stint with Redemption and now a melancholy soundtrack like project called “Silent Skies”

Check out the song “Horizons”.

You will not be disappointed.

Part 2 coming up.

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

The Record Vault – Bon Jovi LPs

I more or less have these same albums on CD.

Bon Jovi

The debut album which gave us “Runaway” and “She Don’t Know Me” along with some ball squeezing falsettos from JBJ.

But my favourite songs on the album are “Shot Through The Heart” which I have written about before and “Burning For Love” which I have also written about before.

7800 Degrees Fahrenheit

It’s the temperature to melt a rock and its virtually ignored in the canon of Bon Jovi, sort of like how all of the Star Wars books pre Disney got taken out of the canon timeline.

It’s the album before “Slippery When Wet” and it’s a melodic rock gem to me.

Songs like “The Price Of Love”, “Only Lonely”, “To The Fire” and “Always Run To You” bring the melody and tracks like “In And Out Of Love”, “Tokyo Road”, “King Of The Mountain”, “Secret Dreams” and “The Hardest Part Is The Night” bring the rock. The only weak track is “Silent Night”.

And I did have this album on tape, however the tape got mangled by the cassette deck, which was a risk “tape owners” faced. I didn’t rebuy it on cassette, I just got a blank tape and dubbed it off a friend (without “Silent Night”) along with “Under Lock And Key” from Dokken.

Slippery When Wet

Coming into the album, the band was a million dollars in debt to the label (bizarre, but hey, label creative accounting is bizarre) and Jon Bon Jovi along with Richie Sambora wanted to write songs for other artists, sort of like how Bryan Adams was writing songs for other artists. But the songs Jovi and Sambora wrote with Desmond Child, ended up as keepers.

And if you want the low down, I’ve already written numerous stories about Bon Jovi during this period here.

Live On Tour

A record label “LIMITED EDITION” release (that would cost the label nothing, but they would still charge the band for it) to capitalise on the sales success of “Slippery When Wet”.

And fans purchased it, as we believed we needed it.

This one hit the streets in Australia, just before they hit our shores for their Beatles like reception with thousands of fans outside their hotel, singing their songs and going nuts.

New Jersey

Like “Slippery When Wet” you can get the various posts here.

Bad Medicine – 7 inch single

You take away the synth sound and add a honky tonk piano sound and the song could have come from a Rolling Stones or Bad Company album.

Jon Bon Jovi – Young Guns II Soundtrack

“You hoo, I can make you famous.”

JBJ caught everyone by surprise with this release and the immediate success which followed on the back of “Blaze Of Glory”.  

But my favourite songs on this album is the blues ballad rock of “Santa Fe” and the Pink Floyd style intro of “Justice In The Barrel” before it morphs into a rock song.

Bon Jovi Tour Book for Keep The Faith

The show was excellent, a band in great form and very jam orientated. Each song had an extended outro solo or an extended interlude sing-a-long.

Plus they played “Dry County” in its entirety.

Next up is my CD collection.

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