Category Archives: My Stories

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

April 2020 – Part 1

April 2020 has finished and a lot of new music has hit my earbuds and I am still listening to tunes released between January and March 2020. While the last post started off with the songs from previous months, this post will start the new ones;

Here is the Spotify link.

Sever
From The Ashes
Red

From the album “Declaration”.

“Sever” and “From The Ashes” have been added to the excellent “The War We Made”.

There is something about the voice tones and the vocal melodies of Michael Barnes which always hook me in. But if I look at the writers or co-writers, Barnes isn’t even listed as a songwriter. The majority of the songs are written by guitarist Anthony Armstrong along with producer Rob Graves.

In case you are not aware, Red is made up of Barnes on vocals, the Armstrong brothers, Anthony on guitars and Randy on bass and piano with Dan Johnson on drums. I have been a fan of this band since 2008. Their first three albums are my favourites and the albums that came afterwards had some cool songs, but they also lost me a little bit with their direction, but “Declaration” is a step back into my headspace and a direction I like.

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

There’s no escape from problems. The more they are ignored, the bigger they become.

Sever these fraying ties

Break away instead of mending. It’s easier said than done, because while one part of the mind knows it’s right, the other part holds on to the memories, the good ones and the heart wants everything to stay as it is.

Agonize alone in the cold again
I loved more than I could hold

You think you could have it all, a relationship, a family, a career and a life as a touring musician or a high paying job.

But it’s hard.

Having so many commitments, something or someone will suffer.

I Would Love To Rock The World
Moon Of Forever
Free Spirits Rising

“A call to the promoters, trying to get a show, messages left are unanswered, trying to give rock a go” is how “I Would Love To Rock The World” starts off.

You can tell they are having fun with this song as it tells the story of trying to get a gig because even though they have failed or been burned many times, they would do it again if given the chance.

“Castles are burning as mother earth cries, her message of love is etched forever in blue” is how “Moon Of Forever” starts off, which has more of a 70s feel. In the 5 minutes, it has three verses and a lot of music with different moods.

From what I can gather, Free Spirits Rising is an Australian artist (just one dude who plays all the instruments). At this point in time he has released 10 stand-alone songs on streaming services since April last year. Sort of like a song a month policy.

The Black
Hologram
Dynazty

The Swedes are back with a new album called “The Dark Delight”.

“The Black” and “Hologram” stand out for me.

That harmony lead lick to kick off “The Black” is excellent and the vocal lines in the chorus which are inspired by classical and old folk pirate songs.

Meanwhile “Hologram” is a pop metal gem, if there is such a term. The lead break in “Hologram” is one of my favourites for this year so far. You need to hear it, to know what I mean.

Ride The Blade
Rock’N’Roll Survivors
Bonfire

For two albums (“Fireworks” released in 1987 and “Point Blank” released in 1989), Bonfire was one of my favourite acts.

The riffage and the songs were exactly to my liking. Then all hell broke loose with record labels dropping hard rock bands and suddenly Bonfire’s 1991 record, “Knock Out” was nowhere to be found. I couldn’t even get it imported into Australia and I couldn’t even get any news from em, because the usual metal mags I was buying didn’t mention em.

But Napster and its users gave me their 90’s output, and streaming now has some of their albums, but not the ones I like. “Fistful Of Fire” is their 17th studio album and man it’s been a long ride for founding guitarist Hans Ziller, the only original member since 1972.

So it’s probably a big reason why “Rock ‘N’ Roll Survivors” resonated plus the riffs and lead breaks played a pretty big part.

And the intro to “Ride The Blade”. Crank it loud and start to play air guitar.

She Dragoon
Conception

“By The Blues” has been doing the rounds for a few months on my playlists and now, “She Dragoon” is added to the list. This is one of the best Queensryche songs that Queensryche didn’t write.

In case you are not aware, Conception is from Norway and they came into my life via the excellent “In Your Multitude” released in 1995. which reminded me of Dream Theater’s “Images and Words” and “Awake” era albums, but with the songs more accessible. They also released another good album in “Flow” in 1997 and then they disbanded between 1998 and 2018.

Awaken Me
Spoken

I like this band.

They are marketed as an American Christian Rock band.

But to me, they are pretty awesome hard rock band who has been doing the rounds since 1997. The last new music from the band was back in 2017 and in February, they released a nu-metal song, called “The Way Back Home” with a massive melodic chorus.

“Awaken Me” is not as aggressive in the riffage as “The Way Back Home”. It’s more melodic and the chorus remains with me.

Awaken me to you
Cover me with the fire of your love
Take me with you
Forever, forever
With you

The “YOU” can be a lover, a parent, a child or a God. Just insert which one you want. And its catchy. Hence the reason why the song is in the list.

Stay tuned for Part 2.

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Copyright, Influenced, Music, My Stories

Winds Of Change

A music festival in Moscow that features Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Scorpions, Ozzy, Skid Row and few other acts.

Then came the Scorpions, “Wind Of Change” and its lyrics about being like brothers and following the Moskva River to Gorky Park.

Plus it’s the only song on the album written by Klaus Meine.

Where the Scorpions influenced or paid or instructed by the CIA to write this song?

Because we all know, the US and the USSR tried to outdo each other with their nuclear arsenal. When that failed, the US via the CIA tried to do what the USSR did in Eastern Europe.

Create dictatorship governments in Latin America loyal to the US. But that went all downhill as those Governments really liked to murder its own people.

But the biggest threat to the US was still USSR and Communism.

So they created a Congress For Cultural Freedom office, which was set up in 35 countries, including Eastern Bloc countries. The Office was run by the CIA and they used music as its centrepiece, to put on concerts and promote anti-communist behaviour via placing the records of banned artists secretly in the hands of citizens.

So I had a look at the “Crazy World” album from Scorpions and its lyrical references. There is no doubt that the more social conscience lyrics in “Winds Of Change” are a departure from their “rock you like a hurricane” and “rhythm of love” lyrics from their albums before. It’s not like the Scorpions didn’t write these kind of lyrics before. The Uli Jon Roth era had some songs that dealt with society and social issues.

Anyway I thought I would go through the “Crazy World” album lyrics.

So the album kicks off with “Tease Me, Please Me” and it’s about going around the world and loving lots of girls. Basically a song about groupies. “Don’t Believe Her” is about a woman who is a tease and who knows the game of breaking hearts.

“To Be With You In Heaven” is about a woman who will treat you like crap, but her loving is so good, that Klaus would walk through the darkest hell to be with her in heaven. “Restless Nights” talks about making love in Paris and London and rocking hard in Dallas and Rio. Basically the song is about touring and the “sexcess” that comes with it.

“Lust Or Love” is easily predictable based on the title. “Kicks After Six” is about a woman who works nine to five and is a slave to the suit and tie, seven days a week, but each night, this good girl gets her kicks after six and becomes a bad girl who wants it bad.

“Hit Between The Eyes” is a dumb song about feeling tension on the street, getting closer to some invisible heat and that if someone wants to cut you down to size, you can never argue with a 45. Maybe it was their attempt at a social issue around gun control, but then the chorus comes in and it makes no sense whatsoever. Like he is ready for the hit between the eyes, but he wants someone to get him out alive because he is too young to die.

“Money And Fame” is about a woman who just wants money and fame and how she is using Klaus as a stepping stone to something greater. “Send Me An Angel” is about a wise man who is giving advice and to be honest it’s pretty dumb lyrically.

So all the songs listed have lyrics which are pretty standard and about relationships.

Keith Olsen said when he was hired to produce the album, he found the lyrics really dumb and he asked for outside writers like Jim Vallance to come and work with them and tighten em up. But the overall message was still dumb.

And then you have “Winds Of Change”.

With music and lyrics written solely by Klaus Meine.

Songfacts and all of those other websites say that Klaus Meine was inspired by the band’s first visit to the USSR in 1989 for the Music Peace Festival.

Manager Doc McGhee said that Klaus was whistling the melody and he had the basis of the song written in Russia. But look at the lyrics.

Was Klaus capable of writing lyrics like these on his own or did someone else (a CIA ghost writer or speech writer) use Klaus’s melodies and write them for him?

Read this from Keith Olsen;

Interviewer:
You produced The Scorpions Crazy World album, tell us about the recording sessions for that album?

Olsen:
I really liked working with all of them as they were really cool people. Herman Rarebell [drummer] was the guy who spoke the best English, because he had lived in the UK for a while, so he was really good bilingual. So Klaus, Rudolf, Matthias and Francis had a very limited vocabulary in English. So they had a lot of the lyrics always had tease’, please’, me’ very simplified lyric which made us bring in some very good lyric writers to help write.
Keith Olsen in an interview at Ultimate Guitar

And when I look at the lyrics below, it sure feels like the words came from someone else.

I follow the Moskva down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night, soldiers passing by
Listening to the wind of change

The world is closing in
Did you ever think that we could be so close, like brothers
The futures in the air
I can feel it everywhere, blowing with the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change

The wind of change blows straight into the face of time
Like a storm wind that will ring the freedom bell
For peace of mind let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say

Everyone went to a dictionary to see what a balalaika is.

Regardless if conspiracy or truth, or if they became celebrity James Bond’s, rockers and rock music, changed the world.

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

Providence

“That’s (thrash metal) what developed my style as a child, and that’s what I grew up listening to. It’s funny that my newest music is showing my oldest techniques, but one of the reasons I wanted to do this solo band is there’s a huge side of my playing that I never got to put out there. It’s something that the other guys [in Alter Bridge] weren’t really into; they’re more classic and hard-rock guys and were never into speed metal, so I wanted to do a band that I could put my biggest influences on my playing into.”
Mark Tremonti

“Providence” is from the “Cauterize” album by Tremonti released in 2015.

It’s one of my favourite songs because of that riff that comes in at 2.25. Then it gets doubled, then the rest of the band comes in, then a cool vocal line comes in and then the shred begins..

For those that don’t know, Mark Tremonti became known to us via Creed, then Alter Bridge and in between Alter Bridge albums, he did Tremonti albums, while Alter Bridge vocalist, Myles Kennedy did albums and tours with Slash plus a solo album for good measure. If you want an example of hard working musicians and what it takes to survive in the current music industry, then look no further.

And another thing that Tremonti has become known for post Creed is his shredding skills. There wasn’t much of it in Creed, a little lick here and there. And I was like telling people, this dude can shred. He just needs the outlet.

Then he would do the interviews in Guitar World and Guitar (which was formerly known as Guitar for the Practicing Musician) and he would talk about his influences like Randy Rhoads, Zakk Wylde, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Rusty Cooley and how he likes thrash music and bands like Slayer, Celtic Frost and King Diamond.

“I consider these records to be the building blocks as far as my being a rock and metal guitarist,” he says. “They’re all classics, but they’ve really been important influences for me as I came up as a player.”

Mark Tremonti at Classic Rock

He lists “AC/DC – Back in Black” released in 1980 and he mentions how Angus Young has got such feel and that this album is wrapped around monster riffs and memorable solos.

“Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV” released in 1971 is next, and other than “Kashmir” not being on it, it’s a perfect album. And from a guitar playing point of view, it has riffs, it has folk open string tunings, it has classical fingerstyle picking and underpinning it all, is Jimmy Page’s swagger in how he plays and John Bonham’s behind the beat drumming.

“Boston – Boston” released in 1976 is part of everyone’s DNA. Every song on the album was more or less played on radio. This is the template for mainstream rock and roll music and underpinning it all is Tom Scholz’s quest for the perfect guitar tone, hence why guitar synthesizers became a big thing in the 80’s. Iron Maiden’s “Somewhere In Time” use em and so does “Turbo” from Judas Priest.

“Guns N’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction” released in 1987. As Tremonti states, “from top to bottom, it’s one of the most solid rock records ever made”. It didn’t change the game straight away but it prolonged the LA Sunset Strip for a few more years.

Finally “Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath” released in 1970 as nobody had this sound in the 70’s except for Tony Iommi.

And Tremonti sums it up by stating, “a lot of the metal that followed, like black metal, was directly influenced by Black Sabbath. Tony Iommi‘s riffs are and his guitar tone are so scary and gloomy. If anybody ever asks, ‘What does heavy sound like?’, this is the answer.”

“Shield what you love and hope it’s enough and pray that your providence comes”….

From “Providence”

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Music, My Stories

Are We Fans Of The Music Or The Artist or Both?

I never looked to music for the artists. I would wake up and say, I gotta play this song or that song.

I listened and became a fan of hard rock music because the lyrics resonated and gave me something to believe in. The message was in the songs and as a kid growing up, music which was aggressive and laced with attitude, was screaming for attention.

As a by-product of all of these different reasons, I would then follow the artist who wrote those songs and I would consume their other releases.

But eventually I would fall out with the artist because they ceased to connect with me. And sometimes I would fall back in.

And it didn’t matter who was the best player. It never was about that. All the biggest acts didn’t have the most technical players and singers. But they could write.

And if they couldn’t write anymore or they ran out of ideas, then outside writers would come in to assist them. Like Aerosmith, Kiss, Ozzy and Bon Jovi just to name a few. At least no one was assisting Tom Keifer. But the again Keifer disappeared for a decade and a bit, while the other acts continued.

I was listening to “Blizzard Of Ozz” and it never was a hit record. Hit records were irrelevant back then, and only became relevant when MTV became dominant and people tried to rewrite history. The artist sustained their careers because we believed in their message. And who wrote the message is still disputed when it comes to Ozzy. Bob Daisley says he wrote em.

Some artists break the mold and lead us into new sounds and territories while others capitalize on the mold.

Love em or hate em, but you can’t deny Motley Crue and how “Dr Feelgood” took the sonics of heavy rock and made it heavier and punchier, something that got James and Lars very interested. And it took a pop rock producer called Bob Rock to deliver this. He’s a star. He paved the way for other heavier bands to dominate the charts.

Want to talk about stars?

How about Dee Snider?

He said what he thought, and he poured his passion into efforts like free speech. And he got ostracized for it by people tied to the hip to the record label. Like Lars Ulrich and his Napster crusade a 14 plus years later

People like Dee Snider appear in our lives to tests the limits, and not shy away from them. And he got stiffed by the labels during the heyday of hard rock on MTV between 1988 and 1991 because of it.

Artists from back in the day did not kiss ass. Ask Roger Waters. He was his own singularity. He would deliver the album when he decided it was ready. Not when the record label rep said it was ready. Or his Pink Floyd band mates. Or when John Kalodner said it was ready. Although I must admit I am a fan of albums that John Kalodner was involved in.

Axl Rose is a star. He did shit in his own way. He wrote with whoever he wanted and rejected all the norms of the record and tour cycle. But every star is subject to hate and criticism.

The key is not to give in to the pressure.

Kind of like Michael Jordan.

He had the skill, but so did many other players of his era like Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley and Karl Malone. His performance under pressure, and executing the correct skill under pressure and when the trophy was on the line, well that’s special. A separate skill that is developed with experience. It takes time. It takes some pain and some hurt.

But when he retired, people didn’t stop following the Bulls and those NBA championships he won sustained like good songs. Enough to get a new lease of life via “The Last Dance” documentary on Netflix.

And even though the artists haven’t had the same public acceptance as their earlier songs, those songs that sustain.

So music and lyrics got me interested, eventually I became a fan of the artist and moved in and out of between just liking the song or just liking the artist or both.

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Influenced, Music, My Stories

Circus Rock ‘N’ Roll History from 1969 to 1989

Ahh, the history of rock and roll from Circus in 1989 makes interesting reading. Like all histories, there is a bit of revisionist writing taking place based on what is or was popular at the time.

Because history is always written to suit the winners or the populist viewpoint. Sometimes revisionist history sheds new light on historical events because of new evidence or new interpretations of previous evidence. But generally its seen as showing history in a distorted and dishonest way.

We see it a lot these days with our current leaders trying to reframe themselves to suit their own revisionist narrative.

So in 1989, whatever was popular, would get a small sentence.

Bon Jovi is mentioned as releasing their little known debut album in 1984, because in 1986 they would take over the world with “Slippery When Wet”. And by 1989, Bon Jovi ruled. If “Slippery When Wet” and the follow-up “New Jersey” sold like the first two Jovi albums, well Bon Jovi wouldn’t even get a mention here.

Metallica in 1989 was just another speed metal band with a cult following.

But if you read the 80’s histories written after 1992, well it’s all about Metallica and their ground breaking albums in “Kill Em All”, “Ride The Lightning” and “Master Of Puppets”. Or their ground breaking technical thrash metal album in “…And Justice For All”.

It’s a very different history and Metallica is featured prominently and so is Ozzy.

Because for all of his mis-deeds, Ozzy has survived and he’s become part of popular culture. But by 1989, Ozzy was not as big as he was in the early 80’s.

His next comeback happened with “No More Tears” a few years later and then the Ozzy brand just kept getting bigger with Ozzfest, The Osbourne’s TV show, the Black Sabbath reunions in between and so forth.

If you read any history of rock music, Black Sabbath and Ozzy are featured, however in the 70’s Black Sabbath was seen as a really extreme act to be classified as rock. Now they sound like kids playschool music compared to the other extreme acts.

Joe Perry is mentioned as re-joining Aerosmith in 1984, but if “Permanent Vacation” and “Pump” sold as much as “Done With Mirrors” then there would be no conversation of Joe Perry re-joining.

No-one could escape what happened with Vince Neil and Razzle. It’s mentioned and so is “Shout At The Devil”.

Judas Priest just kept getting press for the wrong reasons. Concert vandalism and subliminal messages. What about the excellent releases that kept coming?

“Condition Critical” is mentioned as well as Kevin DuBrow’s big mouth hindering the albums promotion which eventually led to his dismissal.

Twisted Sister is mentioned twice, once in 1979, as an unsigned band selling out a 3000 seat theatre in New York and once again, in 1984 as Dee Snider is arrested for swearing too much.

Van Halen and 1984 and David Lee Roth’s are mentioned.

Going back to 1969, it starts with The Beatles last gig. Steppenwolf is mentioned, for their “heavy metal thunder” follow up, “Magic Carpet Ride”. There are arrests for lewd behaviour, drunkenness, drug possessions and there are deaths and for a bonus, there is Ted Nugent winning a National Squirrel Shooting Archery Contest. WTF.

How would have this Rock’N’Roll history look if it was re-written in 1999, 2009 and 2019?

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

Survival

For those that don’t know, TesseracT is a British progressive metal band formed in 2007.

All up they have released four full-length albums, one live album and three EPs. And they are building their audience, city by city, stream by stream, show by show, release by release.

The thing about TesseracT is the labelling.

A band called Meshuggah and Sikth came out many years ago and someone labelled their form of progressive music as djent. Seriously what the hell is djent or math core or math metal.

Who comes up with this rubbish?

Nikki Sixx said on Twitter once that all labels are from record label marketing.

Anyway, TesseracT started off as a metal act, with progressive time changes and feels and vocals with ranged between aggressive and melodic.

Then by the time they got to “Altered State” in 2012, it was like a different band. The music was more textured, subdued and melancholic. The progressive time changes were still there, but so were the clean tone vocals this time around, courtesy of new vocalist Ashe O’Hara, who left and old vocalist, Dan Tompkins came back.

Which brings us to “Polaris”. It was listed as sixth in my 2015 list.

“Survival” was the first track released to streaming services. It got a lot of press on the metal sites.

And if you want an introduction into the album, then “Survival” is the song. It’s got a bendy off-time single note riff with a catchy rock chorus.

Musicians never have “overnight” success. We all know that news stories like these headlines but behind every headline like that, there are artists who have worked tirelessly for a long time and committed to many days apart from their to families so they could exist as a band.

This is what “Survival” is about.

Ten years of hope have passed, you felt alone
And pictured life a little differently

Ten years trying to build a music career and you are still in the same apartment or house from where you started. And your loved ones are there, supporting you and giving you advice and hope.

And people say that life has just begun
When you’re not a part of me I feel dead inside

It’s not your “standard touring life” or “trying to make it in music” song like “Turn The Page” or “Wanted Dead Or Alive” or “Home Sweet Home”.

It’s a bit more intellectual because post Napster, there was no record label whisking you away from your family with millions of dollars. There never was.

But people believed their was.

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

The Record Vault – Black Label Society

I don’t have a lot of Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society on physical. I have three albums from BLS and his Pride and Glory album, which I will talk about when I get to the letter P.

But I do stream his songs like crazy from the last two albums, “Catacombs Of The Black Vatican” and “Grimmest Hits” and I have written various blog posts about certain tracks from those albums.

Anyway, let’s talk about what I have in my collection.

1919 Eternal

This is the first physical purchase I got from BLS.

I didn’t jump on the BLS earlier releases when they came out. Maybe I just wanted Zakk to work with Ozzy and write music for Ozzy only. Whatever the case, this was my first entry.

“Bleed For Me” kicks off the album.

The speed metal like riff and sparse production got me interested.

The syncopated verse riff which merges the speed metal riff from the intro and the vocal melody sound brutal. The kicking chorus melody and that riff under it is perfect.

This grave of life, I give to you
Ignore what was, you know it’s true
Realms of fear, they speak the truth
What has past, I hand to you

Bleed for me, I’ve bled for you
Embrace me, child, I’ll see you through

Zakk put a tribute to his Dad in the booklet, and the title “1919 – Eternal” is in reference to his Dad’s year of birth and how his memory to Zakk is eternal.

A lot of the songs reference WW2, a war his father was involved in. Zakk is writing in a conversation sense. It’s like we are a fly on the wall, while Zakks father is telling him about his views on life.

“Lords Of Destruction” basically destroys.

The talk box vocal melody, the fast picked metal riffs and that droning/ringing note makes this song fit the modern metal scene which at that time involved bands like Korn, Spineshank and Disturbed.

But make no mistake, this is Zakk paying homage to his heavier Black Sabbath influences first and then decorating the song as he sees fit.

Walk in my world of war and mass confusion
Peace is a word that no one cares of knowing
Death is the drug of choice amongst the masses
Engines of hell forever burning faster

So powerful.

In my lifetime there have been small wars here and there about oil and dick sizes.

The biggest global conflict I have seen is COVID-19.

And it’s funny how some of the governments tried to keep the economy open even though the scientists told them to lockdown much early on. So the body count kept rising and then they acted.

I guess death still is the drug of choice amongst our leaders.

“Demise Of Sanity” has a head banging riff throughout.

It’s gonna break you, son, it’s gonna rot you through
Forget the past and all you ever knew
You’ve never known such fear, you’ve never shed such tears
It’ll have you wishin’ you were never here

All that has been, all that’s to be
No tomorrow, the demise of sanity

The war stories of Mr 1919 Eternal Wylde continue. I can’t even remember Zakk’s real name or surname. It feels weird to type Wylde.

I studied WW2 in History at school and one of the texts we looked at, was letters sent back home to loved ones, and a similar quote stood out to me, about, not knowing such fear.

“Life Birth Blood Doom” has the excellent chorus line of “Life birth blood doom, the hole in the ground is coming around soon”.

I walk through fire, I feel no pain
Fields of war which fuel my veins
In the end, son, I was once like you
Cut me, child, you’ll see I bleed

War changes everything. Events change people.

How will the current pandemic change everything?

“Bridges To Cross” feels like it came from the 70’s and Zakk has a certain style when it comes to ballad like songs which just works for me. And the lyrics on this song just connect.

Hands on the wheel
All is straight ahead
Left behind

Having a car and hitting the open road gave me freedom.

Freedom to leave behind whatever I wanted to leave behind.

But my Dad once said that the family and the ties to the family play the biggest part in a person’s live. He had the guts to leave Europe behind, even when his Dad (my grandfather) threatened to kill all of my Dad’s brothers and sisters if Dad left. It was my grandfather’s way of making Dad stay. Dad called his bluff and made his way to Australia.

Second guessing all that I once said
I once said

My spirit is bent and there’s blood on my hands
The more I’m down, the less I understand
Once so found, now so lost
I ask no questions, it’s just one more bridge to cross

I struggled between the ages of 30 and 35. It was a great time and a tough time. I don’t even know how that makes sense.

During that period my life went from no kids to three kids. The most beautiful moments of my life. Suddenly I had responsibilities, and that scared me a lot. I had to care and provide for someone more than me.

And one of my kids got so sick he spent all up 21 days in hospital as the only way the antibiotic could be administered to a three year old child was via a drip. The relationship with my wife was up and down, as financial pressures and children and our own needs, made the arguments worse.

At least my entertainment budget didn’t diminish, much to the displeasure of others. I couldn’t stop that. It would have been the end of me, if I couldn’t go out and buy CD’s and experience new music.

All is black and white
Wouldn’t change even if I could
I’ll take what I’m handed
Whether it’s damned or if it’s good
If it’s good
If it’s good

Amen.

Truth in those words.

Eventually all of the memories and the past become words on pages which will eventually tell the history of my life or our lives. I will take what I’m handed and I will do the best I could to make it work, regardless if its damned or not.

“Battering Ram” feels like the “You Could Be Mine” drum intro on acid and steroids. And the lead break is insane. Chromatic craziness I call it.

For I am eternal, battering ram

I love that lyric line.

It brings back memories of “Battery” from Metallica and “Bulldozer” from Machine Head. Because if you want to live your life as free as possible, you need to be a battering ram, putting aside all the restrictions which people place in front of you and try to stop you from chasing your dreams.

“Refuse To Bow Down” and “Beserkers” have some brutal riffs in those songs.

“America The Beautiful” is a nice acoustic 2 minute piece that basically sounds like you step outside your house, breathe in the smells of your area, hear the sounds and just smile at how beautiful and peaceful it all is.

Overall, it doesn’t have big songs like his Ozzy days but a lot of songs with some excellent riffage.

The Blessed Hellride

This came next. By buying this, it felt like I was joining a motorcycle bike crew.

“Stoned And Drunk” kicks off the album.

Poppin’ pills and drinkin’ booze, smokin’ everyday
Stoned and drunk completely gone,
my world is here to stay

As Zakk says in one of the verses, “were I’m rolling, I’m never knowing”.

It’s easy to fall into dependencies and so hard to get out. I’ve seen it with my older brother, four times caught drunk driving, and each time was meant to be the last time. And now his marriage has crumbled apart and every time I call, he’s drunk, completely gone.

It’s a vicious cycle.

“Doomsday Jesus” grabbed me by the throat and threw me down to the ground with its metallic precision and syncopated riffs merged with sludgy Sabbath. And because Zakk developed a voice that sounds like Ozzy, it’s like I’m listening to an Ozzy album song.

Horsemen rolls, tomorrow’s fading fast

When those biblical horsemen roll through town, there will not be much left. Or they could join the party and get high and drunk with everyone else. Either way, the horsemen win.

I was already familiar with the riffs from “Stillborn” as Guitar World had a transcription and I started to play the riffs.

But I was blown away at how good the vocal melodies are.

Plus the Ozzman makes an appearance as “The Special Guest” because Sony (or maybe, you know who) wouldn’t allow them to use Ozzy’s name to promote the album.

How good is that bit, “I waited here for you, so loooooong”.

“Final Solution” is a pinch harmonic festival and man, that riff before the solo, which becomes the backing riff for the solo, is powerful.

Plus the solo is a guitar hero spotlight.

“Destruction Overdrive” has this 16th note riff that keeps rolling on about a song which tells us that the masses gather around as the drug of choice is found and the hate machine keeps rolling on.

“Blackened Waters” is one of those Zakk Wylde “ballad to rock” songs with that 70’s classic rock and metal feel. And that last 1 minute and 10 seconds, is excellent as it all quietens down and then builds up into the solo.

Mafia

This was a first week purchase.

And man “Fire It Up” just gets me rocking every time.

That talk box intro through a voice loudspeaker for the main riff is perfect and when the whole band fires up, its head banging time.

Fire It Up
Let the engines roll

It should be everyone’s daily motto. Fire up your engine and starting rolling.

Accept your war
It is what it is

Own your decisions, your mistakes and your greatest achievements. It is what it is. Your greatest competition is you.

“Suicide Messiah” is another rocker and “Forever Down” has a wicked guitar solo.

“In This River” is a great song. The way Zakk plays the piano is very 70’s like. It just has this classic rock feel.

In this river all shall fade to black
In this river ain’t no coming back

“Been A Long Time” sounds like a cross between “War Pigs” and one of those songs that Zakk was involved in via the “Rock Star” movie with Mark Wahlberg.

“I Never Dreamed” is a Lynyrd Skynyrd cover and it has a kicking intro lead which keeps on repeating throughout the song and it gets me interested.

Well that’s a wrap on Black Label Society, I think Bad Company is next.

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

A Nightmare To Remember

“Black Clouds and Silver Linings” is Dream Theater’s last album with Mike Portnoy.

The opening track “A Nightmare To Remember” is 16 minutes plus. Four songs in one to sink your teeth into.

The opening 2 minutes could have come from a black metal act or a thrash metal act. But it didn’t. It came from these Jersey dudes. Then from about 1.50 to 2.20 some of the best hard rock bands in the world wished they were writing head banging riffs like this.

The first verse riff is palm muted, with the swagger of Guns N Roses “Appetite For Destruction” album. Then John Petrucci brings out the wah wah pedal, showing Kirk Hammett how it should be used and the. its back into the head banging verse riff.

And the song’s music just keeps morphing as the lyrics detail a car accident that John Petrucci’s family had when he was young.

I really like the clean tone section from the 5 minute mark. It’s very “Diary Of A Madman” and it connects immediately. It’s like a different song, and that chorus like section when James LaBrie sings “hopelessly drifting” is super melodic.

And by 8.30 that clean tone part is done, as Petrucci moves into a jazz fusion solo, then Jordan Rudess starts to solo on the keys and the instrumental section of the song is before us.

They trade solos until the 10.30 mark and the song is back to the black metal style intro with a lot of chromatic style soloing. Portnoy takes over on the vocals here, bringing a growl element to it. It was hated by reviewers and elitists but we liked it. As I’ve said before, you need to accept the cheese elements with Dream Theater.

Then at about 12.10 it moves to another instrumental section. This section has got more of a “Learning To Live” vibe from “Images And Words” which I like.

And at 13.20 its back into the singing, before it moves into a few familiar riffs played throughout the song and then back to the intro black metal riff to close the song off. This time, Portnoy brings out the blast beats.

And at 16 minutes, the ride is over.

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Music, My Stories

New Tattoo Tour, Australia, 2000

The tour that wasn’t.

The Crue had no press in Australia at the time. It’s like they didn’t even exist. Acts like Limp Bizkit, Matchbox 20, Blink 182 and Pearl Jam ruled. The only 80s act that could still draw big crowds was Bon Jovi and “Its My Life” was a massive comeback song and it proved to be a stayer on the charts.

So it was a bizarre feeling when I saw this advertisement on September 7, 2000 for Motley Crue shows in two months time.

Small time windows like this; from when tickets go on sale, to when the shows are meant to be on, just don’t happen in Australia. There is at least, as a minimum 6 months to a year notice.

And Australia wasn’t getting a lot of live acts at this point in time, especially hard rock acts who weren’t selling a lot because our AUD dollar was low compared to the USD, so to bring the acts out and pay them their US fee, meant the prices here would be extraordinarily high.

Plus it was a risk for the promoter, because an acts draw was always based on record sales. And hard rock acts just weren’t selling like they used to.

Anyway who was I to argue.

The mighty Crue we’re coming to town.

Yeah it’s not the Crue that I knew growing up as Tommy Lee was missing and his replacement Randy Castillo was undergoing cancer treatment, so Samantha Maloney was behind the kit.

But it was still the Crue.

The bad boys (now mid 30s men) we’re coming to town and playing the same arenas like it was 1989.

But “New Tattoo” didn’t set any charts alight when it came out in Australia. It was no “Dr Feelgood”, so this tour would need to rely more on the hardcore audience to buy tickets for nostalgic purposes rather than any new fans because of the “Generation Swine” and “New Tattoo” albums.

So I purchased tickets for myself, my wife and a few friends, as the gig on November 23 fell on my birthday. I thought man, it they make it and they don’t kill each other before hand, as the airport incident between Tommy and Vince was still fresh in my mind, then it would be a great birthday present.

Then on October 27, almost a month after tickets went on sale, the Crue cancelled their Australian tour which for a band as big as Crue was, it was only going to be their second ever tour of Australia. There first one being the “Dr Feelgood” tour.

The press release said it was because of “personal circumstances beyond the bands control” but Sixx filled in the blanks later when he said it was due to low ticket sales.

No shit.

But I didn’t think they would cancel because of low tickets. Like come on, it was still the Crue. Surely they still had enough fans to sell out. I guess in 2000 they didn’t care enough.

Redemption came in December, 2005 when they came to town and sold out a bigger arena than they had scheduled to play in 2000.

5 years. Things change a lot.

It goes to show what a game changer Napster, file sharing and “The Dirt” book were for Motley Crue.

Having their music easily available around the world because of file sharing, increased their fan base exponentially, which led to ticket sales and “The Dirt” book sealed the deal.

It gave them a golden run of another 12 plus years and if COVID-19 doesn’t kill it, they have their comeback tour planned on the backs of “The Dirt” movie. Funny how “The Dirt” was pivotal in two comebacks.

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

The Record Vault – Black Veil Brides

Let’s talk about Jinxx and Jake Pitts.

Jinxx and Jake Pitts, are the guitarists in Black Veil Brides (from here on, known as BVB). Jinxx plays rhythm guitars and violins and Jake Pitts is the lead guitarist.

Jinxx (real name is Jeremy Ferguson) is also classically trained, but the first album, he ever owned was “And Justice For All” from Metallica. Great mix in my book. His influences are of course, Randy Rhoads, Metalica and the various classical composers that inspired Malmsteen.

Meanwhile Jake Pitts learnt music and harmony theory from his mum, who is also an accomplished classical pianist in her own right. And of course, his influences are people like Randy Rhoads, Paul Gilbert, EVH, Dimebag Darrel, the Schenker brothers, the various Dio guitarists and of course Metallica.

And these two dudes are very big reasons why I am a BVB fan. Plus Bob Rock produced their self-titled fourth album and what an album it is.

But let’s start at the beginning.

Courtesy of The Pirate Bay, I downloaded their first two albums. I liked em and I purchased them from Amazon U.S as it was cheaper to purchase from the U.S and pay for delivery than to buy them here in Australia. It’s insane how physical products are priced in Australia.

Even the Guitar World magazines. A subscription from the U.S would get me 12 issues for $70 Australian. That comes to $5.83 an issue. To buy that same issue from the newsstands, the cost was $15 an issue.

Anyway, back to BVB.

We Stich These Wounds

Released in 2010, it starts off with a scratchy vinyl record playing and a small talking piece called “The Outcasts (Call To Arms)”. And then the riff for the title track, “We Stich These Wounds” kicks off and I was hooked.

The guitar playing in BVB is exactly what I like. And the “outcasts” theme is what BVB would build their songs around. Metal and hard rock bands from the 80’s had these themes as well.

Vocalist Andy Biersack is not as confident on this album as he is on the albums which followed, but heavy metal music was never about perfect pitch. It’s about the rawness, the attitude, the melody and the aggression. Of course when bands got bigger, they actually got better as well.

Then again, for all of the vocal lessons that someone like James Hetflied had for the “Black” album because Bob Rock requested it, I still prefer his chainsaw like vocals from the first four albums.

In “Beautiful Remains” the guitar solo is a shred-a-licious.

“Children Surrender” has a fast paced intro, with an excellent melodic lead and a chorus with harmony guitars and lots of wohhhs. There is screaming in the pre-chorus which I’m not a fan off, but the music is enough to get me going. And before I forget, the drumming is metronomic precision by Christian “CC” Coma.

“Perfect Weapon” and “Knives And Pens” have the best riffs on the album. On the Reddit forum’s it’s been mentioned that “Knives And Pens” is a rip off from an Avenged Sevenfold song. To me, the riff is from the NWOBHM, one of those derivative riffs that just can’t be copyrighted, so if people are looking for a well-known song, “Electric Eye” from Judas Priest comes to mind.

And the Chorus in both songs is worthy of attention.

The creepy title of “The Morticians Daughter” disguises an acoustic song which borders on the Lynyrd Skynyrd Southern Ballad Rock.

And the best solo on the album is on the song, “All Your Hate”. Listen to it and put the guitar back in the box. It reminds me of the solo in “Afterlife” by Synester Gates in A7X.

And all of the classical influences from Jinxx and Jake Pitts comes out in “Heaven’s Calling”. Crank it and enjoy it. It’s a song that deserves more attention. “Never Give In” also breaks out the classical references with a digital delay melodic riff. “Carolyn” is written by Jake Pitts dealing with his mother’s illness. Listen to it as it has so much beautiful guitar moments.

Basically, the debut has enough musical moments to get me interested. On to album number two.

Set The Word On Fire

Released in 2011.

The album kicks off with a monster in “New Religion”, full of double time riffage. It’s all an album without any song writing credits from Jinxx, however the two producers Josh Abraham and Lucien Walker get a few credits here and there, and Marti Frederiksen, who is well known for his song writing contributions to Aerosmith, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi and other artists of the hard rock genre.

It moves into “Set The World On Fire” with more excellent riffage and you know that by track 2, Andy Biersack has found his Mr Sparrow swagger. “Fallen Angels” is track 3 and it’s a three punch combo knockout. It also has 28.4 million streams on Spotify.

“Rebel Love Song” keeps the up-tempo vibe of the album going with more riffage and killer leads. Plus Choruses that are memorable. “The Legacy” is a thrash song crossed with a pop song chorus.

“Die For You” is probably my favourite. It’s the Chorus which seals the deal. Its written by Biersack, Pitts, bassist Ashely Purdy and Frederiksen. No surprise there that the co-writing credit Frederiksen has, delivers my favourite song on the album.

After the album was finished and recorded, the guys put Def Leppard’s “Hysteria” on and starting mixing the album with the “Hysteria” vibe. They are ticking all of the boxes in my book so far of paying homage to their roots or to the best-selling hard rock albums.

The Wretched and Divine

The concept album with the “Mad Max” and “Shout At The Devil” look was released in 2012. They even had a movie made that told the story of the “The Wretched And The Divine” uprising against F.E.A.R, the overlords who protect and watch over the citizens in this dystopian Mad Max wasteland.

“I Am Bulletproof” is a perfect opener and “Wretched and Divine” is a metal track, the way I know metal. It’s guitar heavy and I like it. The guitar solo is a guitar hero spotlight full of melody, and brought to life by fast alternative picking, sweep picking, bends and legato lines.

“We Don’t Belong” is the best Bon Jovi chorus that Jon Bon Jovi didn’t write, with its woohs and ohs. “Devils Choir” has another guitar hero spotlight solo while “Resurrect The Sun” moves between being a ballad and a rocker.

“Overture” is a violin instrumental and it showcases the impressive violin skills of guitarist Jinxx. He layers those violins and creates a symphony. “Shadows Die” is up next, with its very sounding Avenged Sevenfold arrangement. “Days Are Numbered” has got this up-tempo “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) inspired riff, which connects and gets me interested.

“Done For You” is just a laid back ballad and man, it reminds me of Coheed and Cambria. And the Chorus has a repeating line of “it’s all done for you” and the ohhh backing vocals. Its haunting and hopeful. The yin and the yang.

“Lost It All” has this piano intro which immediately connects. And Biersack sings with a bass-baritone voice, which is perfect for the melancholy that the first part of the song brings out. Then the band comes in, and man, this is a good song. That’s it. It’s a good song. The way Jinxx and Jake Pitts decorate the verses with their palm muted arpeggios and Jinxx is also wailing away on his violin. And then the violin takes centre stage from about the 3 minute mark, with female gospel like vocals.

Then the big one starts, “In The End” with 84.6 million streams on Spotify and counting. Plus it has a Gold certification from the RIAA, for over 500,000 sales in the U.S.

Black Veil Brides

The self-titled album came out in 2014.

Bob Rock is producing and man, this dude takes it to another level in the sonics and the sound. It’s perfect. If you are a fan of the 80’s music or grew up during the 80’s and want an introduction to Black Veil Brides, then let this album be it. I swear it’s like a different band, that’s how good Bob Rock is in capturing everything.

“Heart Of Fire” is the opening track and it plummets your brain with the sonics, the heaviness and its super catchy chorus. And on this album, there are a lot of outside songwriters. For example, this song is written by Andy Biersack, Jake Pitts and Jinxx, along with Justin Cordle and Mark Holman. Don’t know who these dudes are or their background, but who cares, as the song is doing the talking.

“Faithless” is a thrash metal piece in the intro. Listen to it. Metallica hasn’t written anything this heavy and this good in the 2000’s. The first 40 seconds is a circle mosh pit. This song has a song writing committee of Biersack, Pitts and Christian Coma from the band, along with Tommy English and Nick Long. Again, no idea who these extra song writing dudes are from.

From about 2.50 there is this military style snare beat, which sort of sets up the song for the interlude and solo section. Again, it’s a thrash metal mosh. Did I mention the guitar solo is another entry into the guitar hero spotlight?

“Devil In The Mirror” again brings out the heaviness. This one is written by Biersack, Pitts and Jinxx from the band, along with Tommy English and Josh Moran as the outside writers.

“Goodbye Agony” is my favourite. That clean tone intro riff reminds me of “Tears Of A Dragon” from Bruce Springsteen merged with “Nobody’s Fool” from Cinderella. It’s a good song.

“World Of Sacrifice” has this bridge section from about 2.20 which gets my head nodding and there is no guitar solo spotlight on this one. Because it didn’t need one, the riffage and all the guitar melodies over it was enough.

“Last Rites” is a head banging hard rock song.

“Walk Away” is written by Biersack, Pitts and Jinxx from the band, along with Marti Frederiksen and Mark Holman. It’s a ballad, but it’s not clichéd or boring or all mushie. Just listen to the last two minutes of this song. You will know what I mean.

“Drag Me To The Grave” has another head banging and foot stomping riff along with an arena rock chorus. “The Shattered God” has another bone crunching riff in the intro. And the album closers with “Crown Of Thorns” another rocker.

After this album, Andy Biersack released two solo albums which lived in the pop and acoustic domain, under the name of Andy Black.

Then “Vale” came out from Black Veil Brides in 2018, a prequel to “The Wretched And Divine” album. And a two song single called “The Night” came out towards the end of 2019. But the band became a bit different, with bassist, Ashley Purdy leaving in 2019, replaced by Lonny Eagleton.

I’m interested to hear what’s next.

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